Beth Finnson

Beth is a native of Washington state, born in Anacortes and raised in Bellingham. Her father, Buddy Finnson, was born and raised in Blaine, Washington, where his Icelandic grandparents settled after immigrating to the U.S. Very proud of his Icelandic family and heritage, he enjoyed sharing stories about his ancestors with his children and grandchildren. The Icelandic Roots database actually helped Beth confirm his story that Ragnar Loðbrók Sigurðsson AKA Shaggy Breeches was really an ancestor!

Buddy’s relationship with his paternal amma, Maria, was so strong that he took Beth’s mother to meet her to obtain approval to marry a non-Icelander. He dreamed of one day traveling to Iceland to see his grandparents’ homeland. Beth has pursued his dream by researching their ancestry and traveling to Iceland a few times to visit the farms from which their ancestors emigrated. She believes that you can’t know who you are until you know where you came from.

Beth became an Icelandic Roots member a few years ago. Now that she has retired from a 26-year career as a dental hygienist with the U.S. Public Health Service, she is filling her free time with ancestry research. She particularly enjoys tracking down details, finding cousins, and using the relationship calculator. Beth recently joined the IR team as lead volunteer managing the membership group on Facebook.