Alfhildur Ólafsdóttir

Álfhildur was born and raised on the farm Gerði in Hörgárdalur, Eyjafjarðarsýsla. With parents, grandparents, and three siblings in the home, genealogy was an everyday topic of conversation.

Álfhildur studied agriculture and has worked as a teacher and advisor to farmers as well as in the ministry of agriculture. She has also been a farmer herself for some years. Álfhildur says that working with farmers all over the country has made genealogy a natural part of her life. Her area of expertise is northeast Iceland, from Eyjafjörður to Vopnafjörður. She currently resides in Akureyri.

Since she was a child, Álfhildur was aware that one of her great-great-grandmothers emigrated to America, taking four of her fourteen children with her. In 2011, together with her siblings, Álfhildur was able to visit her great-great-grandmother’s grave in Árborg, Manitoba. On the same trip, she and her siblings met many relatives in Manitoba and North Dakota and were welcomed warmly. It was also on that trip that Álfhildur learned about Icelandic Roots. As a volunteer, she says she finds it especially interesting to connect people to the places in Iceland where their ancestors lived.