Finding the Legacy of a Pioneer Mother

In 1936, a pioneer mother of seven children and with eleven siblings died as the last surviving member of her family. Guðrún Ólafsdóttir was 93 years old and had seen a lot of changes in her 67 years in North America. She had lived a life of struggles and heartaches yet family stories tell of her being patient, kind, loving, and a diligent worker.

Guðrún was born 20 Jun 1843 at the farm Hvammur just south of Akureyri to Ólafur Guðmundsson and Sigríður Jósepsdóttir. She was their third child and the third daughter. Two years later, a baby boy was born but he died at the age of 21 months. Over a span of twenty years, twelve babies were born to Ólafur and Sigríður. Five of them did not reach t