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Point Roberts is a geo-political oddity. The western United States-Canadian border follows the 49th parallel because of the Oregon Treaty signed on 15 Jun 1846. The treaty ended a dispute between Britain and the US for claims to the area now known as the Rocky Mountains of Oregon Country. The little piece of the Point Roberts peninsula was south of the 49th parallel and thus was placed in the United States but is not connected by any land. A small group of early settlers to Point Roberts, Washington were Icelandic immigrants. They first lived in the areas of Bellingham and Victora. There was a depression in Victoria and many were unemployed and Point Roberts had jobs in the fishing cannery. Departures from Victoria, BC for Point Roberts began in 1893. By 1900, the Icelandic population of Point Roberts grew to about half of all people living there. In 1908, President Roosevelt opened the Point Roberts area up to homesteaders and many were able to file official papers to claim their homesteads. The photo below was taken about 1918 of the Alaska Packers Association Point Roberts cannery. Alaska Packers Association Pt. Roberts cannery Today, Icelanders still comprise about one-seventh of the residents. The population in 2020 was 1,100 people. Point Roberts, Washington is a small peninsula of less than 5 square miles surrounded by water on three sides. It is a US/Canadian border town. It is located just south of Vancouver, British Columbia's metro area, and though a city in the state of Washington, USA, can only be reached by boat, small planes, or by driving 23 miles through British Columbia. Dagbjört Dagbjartsdóttir was born in Iceland and emigrated in 1887. There is much information on this Midwife, who lived in Point Roberts, in the Icelandic Roots Database. She is IR I396679 where you can read the Women and Children's Stories, Midwife Story, Obituary, and much more. To find all those connected to Point Roberts and to watch a short 2-minute video on how to find your own special places in the world, go to this link on the Icelandic Roots YouTube channel. You can also read a previous article on the Point Roberts Church built by the Icelandic pioneers of the area. Two IR Volunteers have ancestors that lived in Point Roberts.

Public Webinar on Friday, 27 April 2026 Jen Nelson joined the Icelandic Roots Member Tour in 2025 and came home with a newfound love of skyr. Photo Credit: Icelandic Provisions; Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icelandic_Skyr.jpg : 30 Mar 2026 Skyr is often mistaken for yogurt, but skyr is thicker and creamier in texture. Made with heirloom Icelandic cultures, it has a rich mouthfeel and a less tangy taste. Skyr is mentioned in several medieval Icelandic sources, including Egil's saga  and Grettis saga, but no one knows how similar it was to modern skyr. With a 1000-year history, skyr is still consumed daily by Icelanders as a healthy, high-protein breakfast, snack, or dessert. Back home, Jen missed this Icelandic staple and began researching and experimenting with making it at home. She discovered that, with the right tools and guidance, it’s not that complicated. Jen Nelson celebrating skyr Join us on April 27, 2026 , when Jen will share her journey from her introduction to skyr in Iceland to learning how to make it herself. Be part of a conversation that explores how Icelandic culinary traditions, like skyr and other time-honored recipes, are finding new life in North America. We’ll explore heritage, migration, and how food carries Icelandic identity across generations and continents. Jen and her husband, Chris, are opening a new Icelandic-inspired café in Fargo, North Dakota. They’re blending traditional Icelandic foods with modern, local flavors, and their house-made skyr will be a signature item on the menu. Jen will talk about how the simple and rooted nature of Icelandic food culture inspired her to turn her foodie experience in Iceland into something tangible. Jen has been a member of Icelandic Roots since 2020 and is also a 2003 Snorri alum. See the Events Calendar for more information about local times and to get the Zoom link.

The goal for many Icelandic emigrants to Canada was to get to Gimli, Manitoba and join those who left before them. The plan was to establish Nýja Ísland , where the immigrants could be close to friends and family, and preserve their culture, traditions, and language.   However, the first Icelanders to Canada settled in Ontario. In The Icelanders of Kinmount, Don Gislason referred to it as an “experiment in settlement” because it largely failed. Only a few families chose to stay and set down roots. The rest moved on to Gimli or to settlements in the USA, and a few attempted to make a home in Nova Scotia. Today, there’s little evidence of Icelandic influence in Ontario. And yet they were there.   The first group left Iceland in 1873. Sigtryggur Jónasson, had arrived in Canada in 1872, making him the first permanent Icelandic settler. He became an immigration agent and led his fellow Icelanders from Toronto to the Muskoka area. The train dropped them off at the end of the line in Washago, Ontario. From there, the group travelled by stagecoach to Gravenhurst, and finally by steamer to northern Lake Rousseau. They named the area Hekkla * , after the very volcano that had triggered their departure.   The Icelanders were attracted to Ontario by the talk of free, fertile land and employment. They came to understand that the sales pitch had been an overstatement. Yes, there was good land available. But it was located on the Precambrian Shield. The land grants included unusable areas due to the rock. The fertile land suitable for agriculture was heavily forested and needed to be cleared. It was a challenge for the Icelanders, who lacked forestry skills. The jobs? There was road construction work in the area. It was difficult work and didn’t pay well enough to support a family. With the government increasingly resistant to offering any real assistance, the immigrants began considering their options. Just over 100 immigrants moved to Cardwell Township, near Parry Sound, where they were closer to amenities and jobs in the lumber industry. They established a school, a post office, and a small church for the few families who settled. The rest scattered to Western Canada and North Dakota, where they heard there was better land and more of their friends and family.   In 1874, another group of emigrants prepared to leave Iceland. Their journey was fraught from the onset, and they arrived in Toronto in the autumn, when they were expected to continue north to Kinmount, Ontario, to work on the Victoria Railway. The settlement lasted all of 11 months before most of the settlers moved on to Gimli, Manitoba. The promised railway jobs disappeared when the project was discontinued. In addition, a downturn in the Canadian economy disrupted other industries, such as lumber, where the Icelanders might find work. The free land came at a cost in time and labour to make it productive. The Kinmount group also suffered from ill health due to poor housing, lack of food resources, and the challenging climate. The Ontario and Canadian governments suffered from inefficiencies and lacked the will to help immigrants overcome their difficulties.   By 1875, most of the Muskoka and Kinmount settlers had chosen to try their luck in Manitoba or the USA. So ended the Ontario Experiment.   Ryan Eyford analyzed a common myth that the Ontario settlements failed because the Icelandic Immigrants stubbornly insisted on an exclusive settlement where they could resist assimilation into Canadian society. He concluded that the early groups of Icelanders were initially drawn to Ontario with exaggerated claims of arable land and good employment. They were not expecting to find a ready-made Icelandic enclave, but they were also not expecting to be dropped off in the rugged Northern Ontario wilderness and left to clear forests to establish functional farms under their own power.   Photo credit: Telyboy, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia If the Ontario settlements were failures, some of the responsibility fell on the federal and provincial governments of the time. The Icelanders demonstrated resilience and adaptability when they recognized that success in these difficult circumstances was unlikely, and they pursued more promising economic opportunities elsewhere.   What evidence of the Icelanders remains in Ontario?   Visitors to Kinmount can find the  Icelandic Settlement Disaster Memorial , also known as "In the Presence of a Soul." The memorial is at the former railway station in the village. Affixed to the concrete base of the sculpture are plaques that describe the disaster in three languages. See also the Icelandic Roots video depicting the dedication ceremony with comments from Don Gislason.   _____________________ Note * It was supposed to be “Hekla,” but the Canadian Postal authorities erred when they sent the franking hammer imprinted with “Hekkla.” Protests to Ottawa did not lead to a correction, so the spelling remained with that pesky extra ‘k’. Sources Eyford, Ryan C. (09 May 2003). Icelandic Migration to Canada, 1872–1875: New Perspectives on the ‘Myth of Beginnings’. [ Thesis]. Retrieved from https://carleton.scholaris.ca/items/12f5aa54-1840-4d6c-bfdb-1cfdad16f650 : 17 Mar 2026. Gislason, Donald E. (Apr 1999). The Icelanders of Kinmount: An Experiment in Settlement. Icelandic Canadian Club of Ontario. Retrieved from: Icelandic Roots Database/Media: 17 Mar 2026.   Icelandic Roots. (31 Jul 2000). “Kinmount, Ontario Icelandic Memorial Dedication.” [YouTube video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceLX1j3uhxM&t=7s : 17 Mar 2026.   Kinmount Committee for Planning and Economic Development. (Sep 2012). “Icelanders” in Kinmount Gazette , p1,6,17. Retrieved from https://www.kinmount.ca/media/September_2012.pdf : 17 Mar 2026   Scott, Guy. “The Icelanders at Kinmount” in Maryboro Lodge Museum [website]. Retrieved from: https://maryboro.ca/story/the-icelanders-at-kinmount/ : 17 Mar 2026.   Thor, Jonas. (2002) “Chapter 4: Early Settlement Attempts in Canada” p61–71 in Icelanders in North America: The First Settlers . Winnipeg: The University of Manitoba Press. Tiffin, Sue. (05 Jul 2022). “Icelandic group celebrates heritage, resiliency in Kinmount” in The Minden Times . [web page]. Retrieved from: https://mindentimes.ca/news/icelandic-group-celebrates-heritage-resiliency-in-kinmount/ : 17 Mar 2026.

By Shaune Jonasson This book review presents The Young Icelander – The story of an immigrant in Nova Scotia and Manitoba . A classic in Iceland that has been translated and published in English, offering insight to the challenges of emigration and settling in a foreign land. The emigrants are resilient. Their spirit, motivated by hope and determination, molds their greatest desire of creating a better life for their families.   In 1899, Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason wrote the story Eiríkur Hansson  in Icelandic. This story is a testament to the settlers who endeavoured to carve out a life in Markland, Nova Scotia beginning in 1875. It could be interpreted as a memoir of Eiríkur Hansson as it describes his life from a young boy in Iceland, emigration to Canada and through his years to adulthood. The book, as claimed by the author, is a work of fiction. Eiríkur Hansson  was the first of three books and was very popular in Iceland and amongst the Icelandic immigrants in North America, rendering it as a best seller. This launched the author, Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason, to prominence as one of Iceland’s leading writers during the early 1900s. A second book that continued the story of Eiríkur was written in 1902, followed in 1903 with the third and final book. The story begins in Iceland. A very young Eiríkur is raised by his grandparents after the death of his mother. The family faced diverse challenges, not unlike their neighbours, and yearned for a better life. Believing they would find that in Canada, they prepared for their new life. From the early stages of their departure, trouble ensues, full of twists and turns, beginning with the gruelling crossing that lasts weeks more than anticipated. Finally they arrive in the Port of Nova Scotia. With their meagre belongings, including an Icelandic-English dictionary that rarely leaves Afi’s side, they take up residence in a nearby boarding house until their homestead is ready. After laboriously long days, they settle west of Halifax in the Mooseland Hills. The area was called Markland. Dreams of Iceland with its wonder and beauty remain in Eiríkur’s heart and mind. He longed to return to what he loved and vowed he would someday go back to his homeland. In the meantime, he makes friends, attends school and works hard. A proud young Icelander, Eiríkur, at every opportunity, courteously announces his name and declares himself as an Icelander.   Readers will engage with the young Eiríkur: expectations of getting an education, learning their religion, but also working to support the family and community. An abundance of characters cross his path, from the strict schoolmaster and his punitive measures in educating children, to Eiríkur’s lasting friendship with Lalla, once his tutor, whose compassion for Eiríkur was befitting of a sister. The death of his afi changed everything for Eiríkur. His amma, no longer able to provide for him, bade farewell. He left w ith few belongings, including two coveted books, one of poetry by Jonas Hallgrimsson and the New Testament. A long distance from Markland, Eiríkur was delivered to the home of the widow, Mrs. Patrick. She was an eccentric and well-off Irish woman who had long desired for a son. She proclaimed Eiríkur will be Patrick, or Pat for short. He would be known as “Patrick Patrick,” and will do precisely as she commands, including calling her “Mother.” Eiríkur’s life is never again the same. His schooling continues with Lalla, his tutor and daughter of the local policeman, Mr. Sanford. They each display a fondness for Eiríkur. Desperate to return to his amma, young Eiríkur escapes, trekking over sixty miles on his own. He finally sees home, but he doesn't make it there. A second opportunity arises. Upon arriving, however, Eiríkur realizes that a change of plan is necessary; there is no going back. This turn of events presents a host of various characters, stripping Eiríkur of his innocence. We observe the growth of wisdom, his determination and the sometimes scrupulous activity he engages in simply to survive. Through it all, Eiríkur remains positive; he never stops believing life will get better. With kindness of friends and some strangers, occasional luck, and Viking grit, Eiríkur finds stability and thus, graciously reciprocates his good fortune.     THE AUTHOR: Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason   (I521874) As much as the author himself emigrated with his family to Markland in 1875, the trials and tribulations of Eiríkur are by no means an account of his own life; it depicts a purely fictional account. Nevertheless, the story addresses the hardships and challenges of those living at the end of the 19 th  century in the Nova Scotia settlements and in Halifax. Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason (I521874). Image sourced from the Icelandic Roots Database. Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason was born in Meðalnes, Ássókn, Fellahreppur, N-Múlasýsla, Iceland on 24 March 1866. He emigrated with his parents and younger sister from Seyðisfjörður in 1875 when he was ten years old. Five years later, the family relocated to Manitoba, one of the last to leave the Markland settlement. Other families had already departed the area for either Manitoba or North Dakota.   Jóhann Magnús met and married his wife, Guðrún Hjörleifsdóttir in 1887. They did not have their own children but raised a young girl from four months old as their own daughter. They remained in the New Iceland area where he taught school. He continued teaching in other Manitoba centres, North Dakota and Vancouver. Jóhann Magnús and Guðrún spent their final days in Elfros, Saskatchewan. It was here on 10 August 1945 that Guðrún died. Jóhann Magnús died a month later, 8 September 1945. From his obit: “The church was filled to capacity and floral tributes were received from friends from all over Canada”. He and Guðrún are laid to rest in the Elfros Cemetery. His headstone commemorates the genuine and humble man that he was: “Poet…Novelist… Fabulist…Inspirational Teacher of Youth and Friend of Man.” Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason is known as one of Canada's most notable Icelandic authors. He was well known as a master storyteller in Iceland and in Canada's Icelandic community through his novels, short stories, plays, poetry and other articles submitted to various periodicals. The Icelandic Parliament awarded him with their highest honour, the Royal Order of the Icelandic Falcon in 1936 when he was 70. Other work by Johann Magnus Bjarnason and translated by Borga Jacobson is Errand Boy in the Mooseland Hills published in Nov. 5 2001.   THE TRANSLATOR: Borga Jakobson Borga Jakobson translated the three books into English, bringing them together as one novel, The Young Icelander, published in 2009. Divided into three sections we read about Eiríkur in Childhood , The Struggle , and Aspirations, representing Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason’s three books. The manner in which the book was translated facilitates an exceptional understanding of the life, its challenges and the interactions between the characters. Much like the original Icelandic version, Borga presents the parlance a young Eiríkur in the beginning, where its evolution parallels the maturity of boy to man. THE PREFACE: Birna Bjarnadóttir The Preface by Birna Bjarnadóttir, who at the time of writing, was the head of the Icelandic department at University of Manitoba. Here she explains the Icelandic story and expresses how well celebrated this novel is in Iceland. She commends the novels historical Canadian content, in particular with the English translation that has occurred. This is a most noteworthy preface and well worth the reader’s time.     Resources BJARNASON, Jóhann Magnus. The Young Icelander: The Story of an Immigrant in Nova Scotia and Manitoba . Translation of Eirikur Hansson from the Icelandic by Borga Jakobson. (Halifax, Nova Scotia): Formac Publishing Company Limited, (2009). First Canadian Edition. "Printed and bound in Canada".   Literary Review of Canada. A Gem Worth Waiting For   https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2010/05/a-gem-worth-waiting-for/

By Katrín Nielsdottir < Katrin.Nielsdottir@umanitoba.ca > The Icelandic language, verbal or written, holds importance not only for us to learn about our past, but to preserve the very same for our future. Katrín  Nielsdottir, the Icelandic Liaison Librarian at The University of Manitoba, explains a recent online project regarding the preservation of the Icelandic language, produced through the Digital Museums of Canada. What does it mean to carry a language across an ocean—and keep it alive for generations? For Icelanders who settled in North America, that question doesn’t belong to one country. It belongs to all of us. The digital exhibition, Preserving the Most Precious Heirloom: Icelandic Language Publishing in Manitoba, tells a story rooted in Manitoba—but its meaning reaches far beyond provincial or national borders. It is, at its core, a shared Icelandic North American story: one of migration, resilience, and the enduring power of language to connect communities across Canada and the United States. From the 1870s onward, Icelandic immigrants built vibrant communities on both sides of the border. Whether in Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota, or beyond, they created newspapers, wrote poetry, organised lectures, and built institutions that allowed Icelandic to remain a living language in a new world. This exhibition captures one of the richest centres of that activity—but the echoes will feel familiar to Icelandic Roots members everywhere. The Icelandic Reading Room at University of Manitoba. Image sourced from Digital Museums Canada - The Icelandic Collection 8 April 2026 A Language That Crossed Borders—and Stayed Alive One of the exhibition’s most powerful themes, explored in Living in the Language , is that Icelandic was not just preserved—it was lived. It shaped everyday experiences: theatre productions, church life, festivals, letters, and family conversations. These were not isolated cultural moments, but part of a broader North American Icelandic world where language created continuity between generations and across regions. What makes this especially meaningful is the multimedia dimension of the project. Visitors can hear voices recorded in the late 1980s—people speaking Icelandic as it had been carried and adapted in North America—and watch video footage from as early as 1975. Alongside these are digitized manuscripts and printed materials dating back to the 19th century. For anyone tracing family roots, these materials feel strikingly familiar. The cadence of speech, the phrasing, even the blending of English and Icelandic—these are not abstract linguistic features. They are the sounds of grandparents, great-grandparents, and community gatherings remembered across generations. Women, Writing, and a Transatlantic Conversation The chapter, Writing for Women’s Equality, reminds us that Icelandic-language publishing in North America was never just about preservation—it was also about progress. Publications like Freyja , edited by Margrét Benedictsson (I106771) in Selkirk beginning in 1898, advocated for women’s rights, education, and political participation. These ideas did not remain confined to one place. They moved through networks of readers and writers across North America, contributing to a broader conversation about equality and modernity within Icelandic communities. For Icelandic Roots readers, this is an important reminder: our ancestors were not only preserving tradition—they were actively shaping the future. Making History, Preserving Memory "Guttomur Guttormsson's writing desk in the Icelandic Reading Room". Image and Caption sourced from Digital Museums Canada - The Icelandic Collection  8 April 2026. In Making History , the exhibition highlights how newspapers, personal writings, and printed materials became a record of immigrant life. These sources document how Icelanders understood their journey, their challenges, and their place in a new society. Today, those same materials form the foundation of the work many Icelandic Roots members are engaged in—tracing family histories, reconstructing migration stories, and reconnecting with cultural identity. This exhibition strengthens that work by making rare and fragile materials accessible online. It brings together scholarship, community memory, and archival preservation in a way that allows individuals to see their own family stories within a larger historical context. A Shared Heirloom Although this exhibition is based in Manitoba, its message belongs to all Icelandic North Americans. The language, the publications, the voices—they do not stop at a border. They reflect a shared experience of settlement, adaptation, and cultural continuity across the continent. "Part of Stephan G Stephannsson's personal library in the Icelandic Reading Room". Image and Caption sourced from Digital Museums Canada - The Icelandic Collection 8 April 2026. For those exploring their ancestry through Icelandic Roots, this digital museum offers more than historical information. It offers recognition. You may hear something familiar in the recordings. You may recognize a name, a place, or a way of speaking. You may see, in these materials, a reflection of your own family’s story. That is the power of this project. It reminds us that Icelandic in North America was never just something that was lost or fading. It was something that was carried, reshaped, and lived—generation after generation. And it still is. Explore the Exhibition We invite you to explore the digital exhibition here: The Digital Museums of Canada Preserving the Most Precious Heirloom - Icelandic Language Publishing in Manitoba, University of Manitoba As you move through the chapters, consider what connections you recognize—what echoes of your own family or community you might hear or see. Because this is not just Manitoba’s story. It is ours.

By Jason Doctor   Public Webinar on Friday, 27 March 2026 : INDIGENOUS AND ICELANDIC INTERACTIONS AT THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS Our Icelandic Roots Host, Jason Doctor, welcomes guest Hildur Sigurbergsdóttir, historian and Snorri West alum. We will be discussing the complex story of the encounters between the Icelandic settlers and the existing Indigenous populations as part of an extended celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of New Iceland and Minneota. "The Landing" by Arni Sigurdson (1950). This painting is housed at the New Iceland Heritage Museum in Gimili, MB. Hildur Sigurbergsdóttir’s research covers an often-overlooked part in the history of Icelandic immigration to Canada in the 19th century: the relationship between the Icelanders and the First Nations around Lake Winnipeg, where the former group established their colony.   Hildur Sigurbergsdóttir Her bachelor’s thesis titled “ Bears, Wolves and Indians ,” starts off by examining what ideas Icelanders had of Indigenous peoples in North America prior to the mass emigration in the 1870s. In Icelandic manuscripts and newspapers from the 19th century the Indigenous peoples are often portrayed as violent savages. Those ideas seem to have been somewhat widespread as per the writings of the earliest Icelandic immigrants in Canada. When they wrote their letters home, often in hopes of attracting more immigrants, they assured their readers that the Indigenous peoples were nothing to worry about – making it clear that there was a worry present. In a letter published in 1874, Sigtryggur Jónasson, often called “the father of New Iceland,” reassures his readers that “the terrible Indians” are “as peaceful as lambs, as long as you don’t give them whiskey or other alcohol.” Sigtryggur also took part in writing a report on New Iceland, which acted as an advertisement/travel brochure for incoming Icelanders. On their Indigenous neighbors he writes, “There is no need to fear them, they are both Christian and civilized, and they are of the tribe of Indians that are the most peaceful.” He ends the paragraph by stating that when Icelanders start building their colony: “these Indians will be moved elsewhere.” New Iceland was established as an exclusively Icelandic colony on the shores of Lake Winnipeg in 1875, somewhat to the dismay of the Cree, Saulteaux and Ojibwe peoples who lived along the lake. Through the lens of microhistory, we explore different personal examples of the relationship between the Icelanders and First Nations residing around the lake. The first example regards perhaps the most well-known Indigenous person in New Iceland, John Ramsay. In 1876, three Icelandic families moved from Gimli to the banks of the Icelandic River (previously named White Mud River). As they started to build their homes, Ramsay along with other Saulteaux men, confronted them, as they believed the land belonged to them. The conflict escalated and grudges came from both sides, but in the end an Indian Agent deemed the Icelanders to be within their right. However, Ramsay was able to negotiate a deal with one of the Icelanders, allowing him to keep his potato garden and tent in the backyard of the house. Ramsay’s story stretches into the second example where the Smallpox winter of 1876–77 is covered. One hundred and two Icelanders died in the epidemic, but it’s believed that the neighboring Indigenous population lost twice that amount. These two groups received starkly different responses from authorities during and after the epidemic. As an example, when authorities decided to sanitize the area, they decided to burn down Indigenous homes, possessions and bodies, but the Icelandic settlement stood as it was. Ramsay lost his wife and four children that winter and a couple of years later he lost his land near the Icelandic River. The Icelander he negotiated with, Ólafur Ólafsson, moved to North Dakota in 1879. Ramsay saw this as an opportunity to finally get his land claim acknowledged and frequently wrote to the authorities, but ultimately an Icelander named Jón Bergvinsson was awarded the land. No matter his conflicts with the settlers and authorities, Ramsay remained popular within the Icelandic community, even after his death. His lasting legacy is possibly thanks to an Icelandic carpenter named Trausti Vigfússon who immigrated to Canada in 1898. He never met Ramsay but had heard many stories of him and his helpfulness. In 1908 Ramsay came to him in a dream and asked him to build a fence around his late wife’s grave, which Trausti did in 1917. One could argue that the ongoing popularity of this dream has helped shape the idea that Icelandic-Indigenous relationships were overall positive, when in reality they were much more complex and nuanced. The findings of Hildur’s research indicate that while instances of cooperation, friendship, and even romance did exist, Icelanders generally carried their prejudices toward Indigenous peoples across the Atlantic, thereby contributing to the continued marginalization and displacement of Indigenous communities in Canada. VIEW THIS WEBINAR HERE . Post-webinar note: The John Ramsay exhibit at the New Iceland Heritage Museum provides a wealth of information on this topic.  The exhibit uses clips from the Andy Blicq and Hue Eirug’s film A Song for John Ramsay :   https://youtu.be/lhyNvV9wUtQ?si=IgqaOzotfBtOrJSR     A short interview on the Song for John Ramsay exhibit by CTV Winnipeg and with Ryan Eyford is here:   https://youtu.be/GveMMVnlbFY?si=bQEYkFjR2acTDyag

by Jason Doctor Icelandic Roots hosted a public webinar on Monday, 16 February. Jason Doctor welcomed Kathy Thorbjornasson, who described the saga of Eirik the Red. Many of us are familiar with this saga, but Kathy has dug deeper and reveals what she has discovered while entering the saga details into the Icelandic Roots database. This article provides background on the saga. The video of the presentation can be viewed from this link: https://youtu.be/C0WcaZm2Dzk Eirik the Red’s Saga  records the settlement of Greenland and the earliest Norse voyages to lands west of it. It is not a heroic tale in the usual sense. The saga proceeds by exile, accident, and consequence. It is meant to give a somewhat historical understanding of the actions of Eirik. Eirik Thorvaldsson was born in Norway. His father, Thorvald Asvaldsson, was involved in killings and was outlawed. As a result, Thorvald took his household to Iceland. They settled at Drangar in Hornstrandir. Thorvald later died there.  Eiríksstaðir . Photo from Icelandic Roots image bank taken by Kent Lárus Björnsson Eirik married Thjodhild, daughter of Jorund and Thorbjorg. They lived first at Eirikstadir in Haukadal. Eirik was a large man, strong, red-haired, and quick-tempered. Conflicts followed him. Slaves belonging to Eirik caused a landslide that damaged the farm of a neighbor, Valthjof. Valthjof’s kinsman Eyjolf the Foul killed the slaves. Eirik then killed Eyjolf. This began a larger feud. Further killings followed. Eirik killed Hrafn the Dueller and others. The matter was taken to the Thing (Parliament). Eirik was declared an outlaw for three years. He was required to leave Iceland. This judgment led directly to the discovery and settlement of Greenland. Eirik had heard reports of land to the west, sighted earlier by Gunnbjorn Ulfsson when driven off course. Eirik decided to look for this land during his exile. He sailed west from Snæfellsjökull. He explored the coastline for three years. He wintered first at Eiriksey, then farther south. He found fjords with grass and driftwood. He named places as he went. Eirik called the land Greenland. He said this name would encourage settlement. When his exile ended, he returned to Iceland. He reported that the land was usable and described where farms could be established. Many people decided to go with him. Not all reached the destination. Some ships turned back. Some were lost. Those who arrived settled mainly in two areas, later known as the Eastern Settlement and the Western Settlement. Eirik established his farm at Brattahlid in Eiriksfjord. He became the leading figure in Greenland. He was not formally a chieftain, but others deferred to him. Among the settlers was Thorbjorn of Laugarbrekka and his daughter Gudrid. Thorbjorn left his property in Iceland after uneasiness with a neighbor and attempted to settle in Greenland. His ship was delayed by ice. During this period, famine struck Greenland. The settlers lacked food. Thorbjorn’s ship arrived late. He and his household stayed with Eirik for the winter. During the famine, a seeress named Thorbjorg was invited to Eirik’s farm to foretell the future. She required certain rituals and songs. Though a Christian, Gudrid, who would later become a famous Icelandic explorer, sang the traditional chant because no one else knew it. The seeress predicted that conditions would improve and that Gudrid would have an important future and descendants of note. Gudrid later married Thorstein Eiriksson, son of Eirik the Red. Thorstein was regarded as capable and even-tempered, unlike his father. Before their marriage, Thorstein attempted to travel to Vinland with another man named Thorfinn. The voyage failed. Storms drove them off course. They returned without reaching their destination. Thorstein later fell ill during the winter and died. After his death, Gudrid experienced disturbances and visions, including an episode in which Thorstein spoke to her after death. These events are reported without explanation. Gudrid later left Greenland. Another son of Eirik, Leif Eiriksson, traveled to Norway. He met King Olaf Tryggvason. The king converted Leif to Christianity and instructed him to bring the religion to Greenland. Leif sailed back, intending to return directly, but his ship was blown off course. He came upon new lands west of Greenland. Leif explored these lands briefly. He found flat stones and named the first Helluland. The next was forested and named Markland. Farther south he found a place with mild climate, salmon, wild wheat, and grapevines. He named this land Vinland. He built shelters and wintered there. On the return voyage he rescued shipwrecked men. For this he was later called Leif the Lucky. Leif returned to Greenland and reported what he had seen. He also brought Christianity. Many Greenlanders accepted baptism. Thjodhild did so quickly and had a church built near the farm. Eirik refused to convert. He continued to follow the old religion. Leif did not return to Vinland. Instead, others attempted voyages there. Thorstein Eiriksson tried again but died before succeeding. Later, Thorfinn Karlsefni, a merchant from Iceland, organized a larger expedition. He married Gudrid, now widowed. They gathered ships, livestock, and people, intending to settle Vinland. Gudridur and Snorri - monument in Glaumbær, Iceland. Karlsefni’s group reached Vinland and stayed for several years. They encountered the local inhabitants, whom the saga calls “ Skrælings ” (believed to be a term used to describe the indigenous people). At first, trade was peaceful. The Norse offered red cloth and dairy products. The Skrælings offered furs. Later, conflict arose, apparently from misunderstandings and fear. Fighting occurred. The Norse decided the area was too dangerous for permanent settlement. During the Vinland stay, Gudrid gave birth to a son, Snorri Thorfinnsson. He was the first child of European descent born in the western lands. After the abandonment of the settlement, the group returned to Greenland and later to Iceland. Gudrid eventually traveled to Rome. After returning, she lived as a nun or religious woman. Her descendants became prominent in Iceland. The saga notes this fact without elaboration. Eirik the Red did not die in Vinland or at sea. He remained in Greenland. Late in life he intended to join a Vinland voyage but fell from a horse and was injured. This was taken as a bad omen. He stayed behind. The saga does not record his death in detail. The saga ends without a final summation. It does not praise Eirik or condemn him. It records that he discovered Greenland, that settlements were established, and that voyages were made farther west. Christianity arrived alongside exploration. Some attempts succeeded briefly. Others failed. Throughout the saga, events follow from prior actions. Killings lead to outlawry. Outlawry leads to exploration. Exploration leads to settlement. Settlement leads to scarcity, religion, and further movement. Individuals do not control outcomes.   Eirik the Red’s Saga  preserves an account of Norse expansion across the North Atlantic. It describes how Greenland was settled and how lands farther west were reached and briefly occupied. This saga and the Greenland Saga are described in more detail in an Icelandic Roots blog post called “ The Vinland Sagas ”.

By Heather Goodman Lytwyn Join our host, Heather, when she invites the author and the translator of our next book, HARM. After reading the intriguing journey of the detectives, both at work and their home lives, you won't want to miss the Book Club on Thursday, 9 April. Please note the timings: this will be a daytime event. Icelandic Roots Book Club on April 9, 2026, features the murder mystery Harm with author Sólveig Pálsdóttir and translator Quentin Bates. Our two guests in April have a long list of accomplishments. Sólveig Pálsdóttir Sólveig Pálsdóttir 's first degree was from the Icelandic Drama School, now the Iceland University of the Arts. She has a teaching degree, and has taught linguistics, drama and public speaking. She was involved in theatre, television and radio, both as an actor and as a producer. Sólveig's  first novel was published in 2012 and became a bestseller, and was the beginning of several successful publications.  Harm was published in Icelandic in 2021 and translated into English in 2022 by Quentin Bates. Quentin Bates Born in southern England, Quentin Bates decided to work in Iceland for a year but ended up staying for a decade. His own published  novels are set in Iceland and are identified as Scandinavian crime fiction. He has translated books of the same genre by several Icelandic authors, among them Óskar Guձmundsson and Ragnar Jónasson. Harm , featuring the Reykjavik detective Guձgeir Fransson, is Sólveig's third novel to appear in English. The drama begins in the opening pages when a wealthy doctor vacationing in the Westman Islands goes to sleep in a luxurious caravan and does not  wake up. Upon discovering him the next morning, his girlfriend fears she will be suspected of causing his death, and runs away. Guձgeir Fransson is called in to investigate.  The setting is perfect for a murder mystery and one familiar to Icelandic Roots' Book Club members from Eliza Reid’s Death on the Island.  The next time any of us are touring around  Iceland, I think taking a ferry to the Westman Islands will be added to our itinerary to explore on foot a setting that inspired at least two authors to use as the perfect location for a murder mystery. Please note that our April Book Club will meet on 9 April during the daytime (12 noon Central Time/5 PM in Iceland). It will also be held on the second Thursday of the month to avoid potential commitments on Easter Weekend. Hope you will join us to discuss the mystery with Sólveig and Quentin . The Zoom link will be sent in the Samkoma newsletter on 8 April with the appropriate timings for the different time zones. If you need additional information beforehand, please link to the Icelandic Roots Event Calendar .

By Rob Olason (I149007) In the January 18, 2026, edition of the Icelandic Roots newsletter, Rætur Fréttir/Roots News , I published the article, “The Icelandic Roots 2026 Focus.” Each year the newsletter team picks a theme to emphasize when we gather articles from our contributing authors. We intend that this sustained exploration of a topic over the course of a year will provide our readers with a deeper understanding of this aspect of Icelandic heritage. The 2026 focus is on the communities where the Icelandic settlers made their new homes in North America. I asked readers to share what they knew about their ancestors’ communities by sending that information to the IR genealogists to be included on their ancestors’ page in the database. What I really hoped for, however, is that we share that information with the entire Icelandic Roots community through our newsletter articles.   In the article, I pointed readers to the https://www.icelandicroots.com/emigration-immigration page as a starting point. By scrolling down the page to the section titled “Immigration - Where Did They Go?” readers could see the many communities in which the Icelandic diaspora settled in North America. Is every Icelandic settlement community listed on the emigration page? No. Could you help us identify communities that need to be included? Yes, please! I asked eight questions and invited readers to look at their ancestors’ history to determine where they lived after emigrating. One Icelandic Roots member, Dennis McLane (I692471), took up the challenge. He sent in a remarkably detailed account of his family members coming to North America and the paths they took across the continent to find their new homes. Dennis McLane is no stranger to genealogy. He was hard at work discovering his family history long before so much information was available online. McLane previously published “Icelandic Genealogy the Hard Way” in the Icelandic Roots Blog on September 28, 2024. https://www.icelandicroots.com/post/icelandic-genealogy-the-hard-way I asked Dennis if we could publish some of his responses to the eight questions posed in the January 18, 2026 article. He readily agreed. As you read his responses, consider how his family story compares to yours. Has your family crossed paths with his? Do other communities figure in your family’s past? How would you use the 2026 challenge to explore your ancestors' lives? If you do take on this challenge, send your results to outreach@icelandicroots.com . We can link your information to your ancestor’s page on the database. If you have information about settlement communities we are missing on the webpage, we’d like to include it in future updates. At the end of this article, I've posted the eight questions for you to consider. The SS Camoens which many Icelanders departed Iceland aboard. Sourced from Icelandic Roots Database Photo Archive. Here’s how Dennis answered the first question, which asks if your family’s settlement community is listed on the Icelandic Roots Emigration page: The two places that my family had a presence in that are listed in the article are North Dakota and Saskatchewan. But I am sure you are aware that those named places are very broad and include a lot of smaller places. My ancestors and their relatives are an example of the diaspora Icelander people in North American. They came to one place in the beginning, but rather than staying there, they migrated and spread to many other Icelander communities in North Dakota and Saskatchewan. My ancestors and their relatives had a presence in the following places: North Dakota: Akra, Gardar, Fargo, Edinburg, Grand Forks, Cavalier, Lakota, Adams, and Sherwood. Saskatchewan: Kristnes, Bertdale, Foam Lake, Leslie, Wynyard, Kandahar, Harvard, and Raymore. The second question, “Can you share what you know about your family’s settlement journey, all the temporary and permanent communities they called home?” Here Dennis shared a great deal about several ancestors' journeys, which make great biographies in their own right. For now, here is how he began to answer the question: The story of my ancestors and their relatives’ journeys to North America is a story of chain migration. The first of my ancestors' relatives to leave Iceland was my great-great-grandmother’s sister, Sigurbjorg Bjornsdottir (I335470), with husband Sveinn Thorsteinsson and seven children, who departed Seyðisfjörður in 1876 on board the Verona  to Glasgow, Scotland. She departed Glasgow on 19 Jul 1876 on board the SS Phoenician and arrived at Quebec  on 31 Jul 1876. Note here that the Canadian Government operated an Inspection and Quarantine at Grosse Ile in the middle of the St. Lawrence River before reaching Quebec City. The station was continuously in operation from 1832 until 1937. It is now a National Historic Site managed by Parks Canada. I visited Grosse Isle in 2015. It is sort of the “Ellis Island” of Canada. I was told by the park staff that all emigrant ships were required to stop here for inspection and possible quarantine before they were permitted to land at Quebec City. So all Icelanders who came to Quebec would have had a stop at this station. How Sigurbjorg Bjornsdottir made their journey to Manitoba is unknown, but they first settled in New Iceland, Manitoba and later resided in Mountain, ND . Mountain ND, north end of Main St, taken from Vikur Church tower. Sourced from Icelandic Roots Database Archive March 29, 2026. Original from Susan Hermann Atwood The next of my ancestor’s relatives to leave Iceland was my great great grandmother’s sister Katrin Bjornsdottir (I537427) who departed on 15 Jul 1878 with her husband Jón Jónsson and one child aboard the ship Queen from the port at Seyðisfjörður destined for Quebec. Then on the SS Waldensian  which departed Glasgow, Scotland on 21 Jul 1878 and arrived at Quebec on 1 Aug 1878. They would have to be subject to inspection at Grosse Isle. It is not known how they traveled to Minnesota. She settled in Swede Prairie, MN . The next of my ancestor’s relatives to leave Iceland was my great great grandmother’s brother Jon Bjornsson (I335469) who departed Seyðisfjörður with his wife and one children on the Cameons  on 14 Aug 1882 with an intended destination of Quebec. Subsequently he and his family departed Glasgow, Scotland on 24 Aug 1882 on board the SS Buenos Ayrean and arrived at Quebec on 9 Sep 1882. They would have to be subject to inspection at Grosse Isle. They settled in the Mouse River, ND settlement. The next of my ancestor’s relatives to leave Iceland was my great grandfather’s brother Fridbjorn Samsonson (I96555) who departed from Vopnafjörður in 1882 aboard the ship Camoens , intended to be bound for Quebec, with his wife, three of their children, a working woman named Elísabet Halldórsdóttir and an infant son of Fríðbjörn's she apparently just had. It is not known what ship he and his family may have transferred to. His first naturalization filing indicates that he arrived in the United States at the port of Boston, MA  in about September 1882. Gardar ca 1915 (L-R) Breidfjord General Store and Post office Stephen Eyjolfson Farm Implements. Sourced from Icelandic Roots Database Archive March 29, 2026. Original from Susan Hermann Atwood Ship lists for this period of time at Boston are not available. It is assumed that he most likely traveled to Pembina County, ND via railroad and other conveyances. He took up a homestead claim in Gardar Township  of Pembina County, ND  (which at the time was the Dakota Territory). Pembina County first opened to homestead claims in 1868. The first General Land Office was established at Pembina in 1870. Many of the claims were taken up in the 1870s and 1880s, so Fridbjorn arrived at an opportune time and there were still some unclaimed lands available. Not only would he have to take up occupancy of his homestead claim, but he also had to declare his intention to become a U.S. Citizen which he did on 6 Mar 1883 (just 6 months after his arrival in the United States.) It is assumed he began occupying his homestead claim of 80 acres in S1/2, SW1/4 Section 34 T159N, R56W (Gardar Township) around this time. He would prove up his claim and receive patent to the land on 16 Nov 1891. A story about Fridbjorn Samson extracted from Saga Íslendinga Norður-Dakota by Thorstina Jackson is as follows (translated from Icelandic): Friðbjörn Samson, son of Samson Björnsson from Hávarðsstoðir in Þistílfjörður and Kristbjörgar Þortsteinsdottir, Einarsson from Tungusel in Langanes. They immigrated to America in 1883 and settled in Garðar . Friðbjörn's wife was Jarðþrúður Gísladóttir, originally from Langnes. Friðbjörn and Jarðþrúður had 12 children. Of these, six reached adulthood. Now living: Samson, in Passiae, Canada [1]; Kristbjörg, married to Ólafur Ólafsson in Canada; Stefan, a shopkeeper in Grand Forks ; Juliana, married to Jón Magnusson in Grand Forks . Friðbjörn was a special farmer, and his home was known for its hospitality and generosity. His wife died in 1922, and shortly after Friðbjörn gave up farming and now lives in Garðar . By 1889, my great grandparents Jonas Samsonson (I96556) and Katrin Asmundsdottir (I249183) had at least four relatives who had made the journey from Iceland the North America. It is not known if they had been any written communication to them from their relatives in North Dakota. The closest relative was Jonas’s brother Fridbjorn who by that time had been in North Dakota for seven years. So it is assumed that Jonas may have intended to first go to the location ( Gardar Township ) where his brother lived. Jonas Samsonson departed from probably Seyðisfjörður in 1889 with his wife Katrin Ásmundsdóttir and their children Ásmundur Jónasson, Svava Jónasdóttir, Kristján Jónasson, Samson Jónasson, Kristín (Kristrun) Jónasdóttir, and Kristlaugur Jónasson. The ship they were on to Glasgow, Scotland is not known but they transferred to the SS Siberian  which departed Glasgow on 26 Oct 1889 and arrived at Quebec on 8 Nov 1889. They would have to be subject to inspection at Grosse Isle. The family ultimately settled in Akra, ND . Arriving in 1889 was not an opportune time for obtaining a Homestead claim as much of the land in Pembina County had been taken up by those who arrived earlier. Family lore says Jonas had rented land in the east corner of section 24 in Akra Township and was employed as a farm operator and a carpenter. He found work as a carpenter right away and one of his projects was the building of the Akra town hall which is now exhibited in Icelandic State Park. In future articles, we will continue with Dennis McLane's narrative where he explores his ancestors' journeys across North America. In the meantime, here are the eight 2026 Focus questions we ask you to consider in exploring your own family's emigration journeys: -As an Icelandic descendant, is your family’s settlement community listed on the Icelandic Roots Emigration web page? -Can you share what you know about your family’s settlement journey, all the temporary and permanent communities they called home? -Do you know some of the history of those settlements? -Do you know of some of the prominent members of the community? -Or some of the “characters” in the community? -Do Icelandic descendants still live there? Does the community still exist? -For all of us, whether Icelandic descendants or Icelandic interested, how much of this story do we know? -What else can we find out about this story? If you would like to share your research, send it in an email to outreach@IcelandicRoots.com . Footnote: [1] "Passiae, Canada": Dennis McLane offered clarification on this location. "  I believe that 'Passiae' is most likely a corruption of Paswegin, Saskatchewan. It is located between Quill Lake and Wadena, Saskatchewan, north of Little Quill Lake.  I got this location from finding him listed as being in there in 1919 in "A History of Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. He and his family are found in the 1906 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in Humboldt District #13 and Sub-District #29. This area is described as Little Quill Lake. Later in the 1921 Census, he is found in nearby Elfros, Saskatchewan."

by Becky Byerly-Adams Wisconsin was the chosen settlement area for many Icelandic emigrant families in the 1870s. Becky provides background and insights from the areas of Milwaukee and Shawano. These settlements were not without challenges; many relocated while others remained. Their preservation of Icelandic life and culture remains their legacy. We still celebrate them today. Wisconsin Map 1866. Image sourced from Maps of the Past MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the center of Icelandic immigration to the United States between 1870 and 1875. The Icelanders found employment on the docks and the fishing boats. On June 13, 1872, the ship Thor  departed Eyrarbakki with 15 Icelanders bound for Quebec, Canada who then traveled by rail to Milwaukee. Most of the group continued on to Washington Island but some stayed in Milwaukee. Reverend ( Séra ) Páll Þorláksson (I36310), his brother Haraldur, and wife María Stefanía were among those who stayed. Þorlakur Jónsson Family ca 1863 . Image sourced from Icelandic Roots database. More Icelandic immigrants arrived in Milwaukee late in 1873 including Reverand Páll’s parents and seven siblings, Reverend Jón Bjarnason (I205869) who became one of the most influential leaders in the North American Icelandic community, and Jón Ólafsson (I186820) a journalist fleeing Iceland to avoid criminal charges due to his criticism of the Danish government.  By 1874 there were 200 Icelanders living in Milwaukee.  Iceland had been under harsh Danish rule for hundreds of years, and the people wanted their freedom. Finally Danish King Kristján IX approved a new constitution allowing the Icelanders limited home rule. King Kristján IX approved a new constitution allowing Icelanders limited home rule. The King proclaimed he would present this new constitution to the Icelandic parliament at Þingvellir and every church in in Iceland would have services on that same Sunday. The Constitution on the Special Affairs of Iceland / Stjórnarskrá um hin sérstaklegu málefni Íslands gave Iceland increased autonomy, but executive powers remained with Denmark. While not perfect, it was a significant step toward independence. Jón Ólafsson formed a small committee to organize the first Icelandic celebration in America to coincide with that 1000th-anniversary celebration of Iceland’s settlement at Þingvellir. On this monumental day, August 2 nd 1874,  Icelanders on two continents celebrated the “ Day of the Icelanders.” In Milwaukee, at a Norwegian Lutheran church, a congregation of nearly 70 people gathered to hear Reverend Jon Bjarnason deliver the first Icelandic religious sermon in North America. It also was based on Psalm 90, the exact passage heralded throughout Iceland on this day. After the service, a parade formed outside the church led by two men wearing the Icelandic national costume. One carried a United States flag while the other carried a blue flag printed with an Icelandic falcon. There was no official Icelandic flag then. Following the flag bearers were men and women adorned in traditional Icelandic costumes. Behind them were the remainder of adults, followed by the teenagers and children. Winding its way through the streets of Milwaukee the parade stopped for the official program of the day with speeches by Jón Ólafsson and Reverend Páll Þorláksson.  Before the event ended, The Icelandic Organization of North America was created. Their goals were to preserve and strengthen the Icelandic cultural identity in North America; to maintain deep ties with Iceland; and to support the establishment of Icelandic communities in both the United States and Canada. The small group of Icelanders in Milwaukee had been canvassing possibilities for a larger settlement in the US. A group travelled to Nebraska in quest of land where a few families settled in1875. Other Icelanders found their way to Minneota and New Iceland in Canada. Many more immigrants came through Milwaukee, but it was primarily a stopover for people continuing west. By 1876, the settlement here had disappeared. SHAWANO, WISCONSIN Mural "The First Settlers" by Eugene Higgins displayed in Shawano Post Office. Photo credit: David W. Gates, JR. Image sourced from Post Office Fans 26Mar2026 Another group arriving in 1874-75 founded a small Icelandic settlement near Shawano County in northeastern Wisconsin that they called Ljósavatn. It was in Shawano County that the first Icelandic congregation in North America was founded by Reverend Páll Þorláksson. The first Icelandic child born in the settlement was Reverend Páll’s niece, Maria Lovisa. She was also the first to be baptized in the church. Reverend Páll received approval for an Icelandic settlement in Shawano County around Shawano Lake. The settlers would receive no more than 80 acres each for half price. The soil was poor and the land north of Lake Shawano was useless for planting crops, although it could be used for raising sheep. This was not enough land for a major settlement and only a few Icelanders moved here. Marriage Certificate of Stephan G. Stephansson and Helga Sigríður Jónsdóttir. Reverend Páll was the officiant. Image sourced from Icelandic Roots Database. The poet Stephan G. Stephansson  (I187678) was among the early settlers to this area having emigrated with his parents and sister in 1873 from Akureyri. In 1878, Stephan and Helga Sigríður Jónsdóttir were married with Reverend Páll officiating. Departures from this area began almost immediately, with a few going to the Minneota community in 1876 and the majority relocating to Pembina County, North Dakota in 1880. The Shawano settlement disappeared after 1880. Resources  Icelandic Roots  Blog Post: The First “Day of the Icelanders” -The 1874 Milwaukee Icelandic Festival The Best Day of the Year Video: First Day of the Icelanders Festival in 1874 Icelandic Roots Database Jonas Thor, Icelanders in North America: The First Settlers (University of Manitoba Press, 2002).

By George T. Freeman This month's Interesting Icelander article featuring Hjörtur (Chester) Þórðarson/ Thordarson was written by Hjörtur's great-great-nephew, George Freeman. Arriving in North America as a young lad of six, we learn about Hjörtur's life and legacy. Icelandic Roots is sharing this article with permission. THE VIKING HALL AT WISCONSIN’S ROCK ISLAND STATE PARK Hjörtur Thordarson (I481526) Icelanders and their descendants enjoy tales of the accomplishments of other Icelanders. In the case of inventor Hjörtur Thordarson (I481526), the story leads an interested traveler to a stone Viking Hall on an island at the end of Wisconsin’s beautiful Door Peninsula. When Hjörtur, later known as Chester, stepped onto the Milwaukee train platform with his family in July 1873 he had no idea about building a feasting hall in the old Nordic style on his estate at Rock Island, Wisconsin. Tired from the long trip, and only six years old, he surely only wondered what his family would do in the new land far from his birthplace in Hrútafjörður, Iceland. Chester lived in Wisconsin until 1879 and then moved with his family to a homestead in the Icelandic community at Mountain, North Dakota. Chester was thirteen when his family started the two-month trip to North Dakota. He traveled the entire 700 miles on foot. He also learned to read and educated himself from a physics book translated into Icelandic. His study of this book and the suggested experiments led him to want to work with electricity. It also left him with a love of books. Chester moved to Chicago at age eighteen and completed the first seven grades of school in the next two years. When he found work, Chester took one dollar of his weekly wage of four dollars and started to buy books. He bought books his entire life. His first jobs involved installing electric engines in streetcars. Later he worked at the Chicago Edison Company before starting his own business in 1894. The business prospered and at one time employed over 2,000 people. Hjörtur (Chester) Þórðarson/ Thordarson. Image source: Icelandic Roots Chester married Júlíana Friðriksdóttir (I398093) from Eyrarbakki on New Year’s Eve, 1894. Some of her relatives lived in the Icelandic community on Washington Island, the island next to Rock Island. In 1904 Chester constructed a one-half million volt electrical transformer at the request of Purdue University for exhibition at the 1904 St. Louis Fair. No one had built a transformer this large before and Thordarson was awarded a gold medal for the accomplishment. Chester later built a one million volt transformer that was exhibited at the San Francisco International Panama-Pacific Exposition. Chester became widely known in the electrical community and over his life had over 100 inventions, most of them patented. These ranged from electrical transformers for radios to other non-electrical ideas. Chester bought Rock Island in the early part of the century and made many alterations to the island. In 1926 he started the construction of the boathouse and feasting hall. Chester also asked Icelandic artist Halldor Einarson to carve the oak furniture and the runic letters above the huge fireplace for the hall. Einarson based the furniture carvings on the myths in the Prose Edda. The Great Depression in the 1930’s eventually ended Chester’s hopes for large mansion to be shared with scientists and scholars. During his life, Chester accumulated one of the largest private collections of rare books in North America. The University of Wisconsin acquired the library of over 11,000 volumes after Chester’s death. This rich collection is known for its “elephant folio” edition of Audubon’s Birds of America. The library has numerous rare books on science, flora and fauna of the world, long runs of English almanacs and many Icelandic titles. The collection is now the foundation for the Department of Special Collections housed at Memorial Library in Madison, Wisconsin. Many students of the history of science use Chester’s rare books for their work. After Chester passed away in 1941, the state of Wisconsin turned the Thordarson estate at Rock Island into a park. This thousand-acre island with four miles of three hundred foot limestone cliffs lies to the north of Washington Island, a large island at the end of the Door Peninsula. Viking Hall on Rock Island. Rock Island is a short ferry ride from Washington Island. The main attraction is Chester’s large stone building appropriately named the Viking Hall. The building has sixty-foot oak beamed ceilings and a large fireplace over eight feet high. Tall arched windows look out on Lake Michigan and the hall still houses the Einarson oak furniture. The visitor can stay in the campground, read on the beach and hike a gentle forest trail around the island. Some of the first Icelandic immigrants to North America came to Washington Island. These fishermen sent letters to Iceland praising the fishing and agriculture that lead to other immigrations from Iceland. Of course, the early immigrants knew a little bit about the new land from Leif Erickson’s exploratory voyage a few years earlier. Washington Island takes great pride in its Icelandic community, as well as its camping, biking and boating. These attractions provide a pleasant excursion to the Door Peninsula and Rock Island for those interested in the first Icelandic immigrants and a rare piece of architecture. George Thorstein Freeman is the great-great nephew of Chester Thordarson. His grandmother Olivia Thordarson Freeman was the daughter of Chester’s older brother Grimur Thordarson. Grimur’s North Dakota homestead is still in the family. More about Chester and Rock Island from Icelandic Roots: Icelandic Settlement on Washington Island, Wisconsin Exploring Washington Island and Rock Island, Wisconsin In addition to this article, the Icelandic Roots library holds three books about Chester as well as extensive information about Wisconsin Icelanders. All books and periodicals will soon be housed in the upcoming Rootshús , our heritage interpretive center opening in July 2027. Valhalla In America - Norse Myths in Wood at Rock Island State Park, WI Book explaining the carvings on the Rock island boathouse furniture which Iceland woodcarver, Halldór Einarsson, did for Chicago industrialist, Chester Thordarson. Contains 35 photographs explaining the Nordic myth illustrated, many of which have runic inscriptions which are translated. Available through most book retailers.

By Gay Strandemo Settling in the Wisconsin area, our Scandinavian ancestors left their mark. A strong sense of literacy and the preservation of historical records has offered enhanced understanding of their cultures, traditions, languages and more curated by the Department of Scandinavian Studies, which has a history unto itself. Established in 1875, the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the oldest Scandinavian Studies department in the United States. From the beginning, the department has offered studies in literature, linguistics, language, culture, philology, and folklore within the Scandinavian/Nordic field. The Scandinavian Studies program at UW-Madison was founded by Rasmus Bjorn Anderson (1846–1936), the first child born in the Norwegian immigrant Koshkonong Settlement in Dane County. His parents were among the first settlers of the Town of Christiana, in Eastern Dane County. Anderson’s colorful path to UW included being expelled from Luther College after leading a protest against students chopping wood for the teachers. He was fired from the faculty of the Albion Academy in the Town of Albion in Dane County when he plotted to take over as its president. In 1869, he was hired at UW as an instructor and was soon named professor of Scandinavian Studies in 1875, the same year the UW Scandinavian Department was founded. Anderson was a tireless organizer of Scandinavian cultural and academic events during his 14 years at the UW-Madison campus. He arranged lecture tours and concerts featuring Nordic scholars. Musicians such as the violin virtuoso (and later close friend) Ole Bull gave a benefit concert on May 17 (Norwegian Independence Day) in 1872 that raised money to purchase 500 books for the department—the beginning of the Scandinavian collection at the library. In 1885, Rasmus Anderson was appointed as the US minister to Denmark by President Grover Cleveland, ending his career at UW. During this time Copenhagen was at the height of the “Modern Breakthrough,” a movement that emphasized realism in the arts versus the Romantic period. Anderson hobnobbed with many cultural celebrities from literature, academia, and the arts. He frequented the same cafe as August Strindberg and said of him, “His talents are everywhere recognized and it is plain that he is a towering genius, but it would be difficult to determine from his strange conversation whether he is sane or not…for he told everything about himself from his childhood up. How he hates women! On that subject he certainly is insane.” When Anderson returned to Wisconsin, his former post had been filled by his brother-in-law, Julius Olson, who held the position for 50 years. Anderson sold cod liver oil, became involved in local politics, and in 1898 became editor of Amerika , a Norwegian language journal, for 24 years. Memorial Library, UW–Madison. PhotoCredit: Michael Barera, Wikimedia , 0 8 August 2022. The Department of Special Collections in Memorial Library, at the UW-Madison, houses the Chester H. Thordarson Collection, a private collection previously kept at Thordarson’s home on Rock Island in Lake Michigan. The University acquired the collection in 1946 after Thordarson’s death. The collection, which includes several Icelandic manuscripts, was preserved in the Wisconsin State Historical Society until 1953 when the Memorial Library opened — although Thordarson’s papers, including a childhood diary and correspondence in Icelandic are still kept in the nearby Wisconsin Historical Society Archives. Chester Hjörtur Thordarson (I481526) * was a genius in electrical inventions, whose contribution to Wisconsin history was his home built on Rock Island in Door County. Thordarson was born in Iceland in 1867. In 1873, the family immigrated to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. His father died soon after arrival, and the family moved to Dane County, then Shawano, and eventually to the Red River Valley in North Dakota. Thordarson had received little formal education, but finished the fourth through seventh grades in two years once he had moved at age 18 to live with his sister in Chicago. Hjörtur / Chester Þórðarson / Thordarson He was also an avid book collector, starting early in life. Working with dealers in London and Europe, he built a library of Scandinavian influences on science and culture. For example he acquired the notebooks of Carl Linneaus, the taxonomist, and copies of the Icelandic explorations by Henry Holland, who climbed Volcano Hekla in 1810 as a young medical student in the company of Sir George Mackenzie. This collection of rare books of science and literature formed the basis of the Rare Book collection in 1946 at the UW-Madison’s Memorial Library. In 1929, the University of Wisconsin gave Thordarson an honorary master’s degree. He was later awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Iceland. The Nordic Studies program at UW-Madison has in 150 years expanded its offerings to include studies of Upper Midwestern Culture, Scan-Design Fellowships, and a Folklore Program, plus expanding the number of languages taught, including Old Norse. Modern Icelandic is offered irregularly at the UW-Madison department and taught three times weekly over two semesters. The stated main goal of the course is to acquire the necessary Icelandic grammar and vocabulary to carry out basic conversations, express in writing, and to understand written texts in Icelandic. Helpful with learning Icelandic is the Icelandic Online Dictionary , a digital collection developed by the UW-Madison to complement the University of Iceland’s internet course Icelandic Online . The Icelandic to English Dictionary is free to use and available online in conjunction with the course, which offers levels of proficiency from basic to higher ability. Notes * Watch for our "Interesting Icelander" article that will feature an expanded biography of Chester Thordarson in the next issue of Icelandic Roots . _______________________ Sources University of Wisconsin-Madison . "U-W Digital Collections" [website]. Retrieved from: https://search.library.wisc.edu/search/digital : 11 Mar 2026. Wisconsin Historical Society. "About our [online] collections" [website]. Retrieved from: https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15310 : 11 Mar 2026. White, Harry K. “The Icelanders of Washington Island,” in The Library of Congress . Retrieved from: www.loc.gov/resource/lhbum.7689c_0371_0377 : 11 Mar 2026. Ruff, Allen & Tracy Will. Forward! A History of Dane: the Capital County. (1st ed). Woodhenge Press, Cambridge, Wis., 2000.