Lögberg-Heimskringla - 05.02.1982, Síða 2

2 WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 5. FEBRÚAR 1982
Tracing your roots
Icelandic immigrants founded own republic
by C.J. Cunningham
Iceland was settled as early as 874
by Norwegians, and it accepted that
country's supremacy until 1380.
From then until 1944 it was a
Danish possession, at which time it
became an independent country.
There has never been civil
registration of births, marriages and
deaths in Iceland, but the clergy
kept such records as early as 1735.
It was reinforced by another royal
decree in 1746 which prohibited
removal of the parish records from
the respective parishes.
The registers are still kept by the
clergy, who send their annual
returns to the Statistical Bureau. All
parish records are deposited in the
National Archives, which was
established in 1899.
The first census in Iceland took
place in 1703. It includes names,
social status, occupation, place of
residence and age.
There is a copy of this census in
the Icelandic collection of the
University College Library in Lon-
don, England.
There still exist fragments from
1729 and 1762, and a complete
general census of 1801.
The 1816 census gives places of
birth, an important bit of informa-
tion not included on previous cen-
suses.
Canada's first link with Iceland
came in the year 1000 when Leif
Ericsson voyaged to the east coast.
It was not until 1872 that
Icelanders returned to North
America. In that year, 22 im-
migrants set out for ,North America,
but only one came to Canada.
Sigtryggur Jonasson arrived at the
age of 20 and became agent for the
Ontario government.
The first group of 100 settlers ar-
rived in 1873 and chose a site in the
Muskoka area. The site'was not
suitable, however, and they dispers-
ed.
Jonasson helped settle a second
group at Kinmount, 100 miles north-
west of Toronto. Some of the Kin-
mount group later founded a small
colony in Nova Scotia which they
called Markland.
Neither settlement lasted. Thus,
the first permanent Icelandic com-
munity in Canada became Gimli,
Manitoba, in 1875 when settlers
moved from Kinmount.
Other towns were established
Icelandic
Lessons
The first half of the Iceiandic
lessons by Professor Haraldur
Bessason and Richard Beck was
completed in the January 15th issue
of L.-H. The second half of the
lessons will hopefully appear on this
page within a month.
Editor
north of Gimli at Arnes, Riverton
and Hecla Island.
The whole area was called New
Iceland, and a trip I made there in
1979 confirms the suitability of the
name.
Gimli functioned as the capital,
and in 1878 the "republic" of New
Iceland came into being, unique in
the settlement history of Canada. Its
autonomy was respected until 1887.
The first exodus from New
Iceland came in 1878 when 30
families moved to North Dakota.
Two years later a large group form-
ed the Argyle settlement north of
Winnipeg.
The Icelandic population of Win-
nipeg showed a spectacular rise in
the 1880's. Eventually the popula-
tion reached 7,000 in the city.
Churchbridge, Saskatchewan,
was pioneered by Icelanders in
1885. The largest farm colony of this
ethnic group in Canada is located
around Foam Lake, Quill Lake and
Fishing Lake.
In Alberta they are concentrated
at Markerville. In B.C. they settled
in Vancouver, Victoria and the
Peace River valley.
The greatest period of immigra-
tion was between 1875 and 1910.
Their numbers fell off gradually un-
til 1920, after which only a few have
arrived.
Their population peaked in the
1961 census with 30,623. By 1971
their numbers had fallen to 27,905,
only .1 per cent of the population.
The provincial breakdown in 1961
was Manitoba (14,547), B.C. (5,136),
Sask. (3,405), Alberta (2,325),
Quebec (2,516), Ontario (2,313).
The majority of Icelanders are
Lutheran, but the Unitarian
denomination has also attracted a
sizable number.
The two prime groups in Canada
are the Icelandic National League
and the Icelandic Canadian Club,
which publishes an English-
language quarterly.
Canadians of Icelandic origin are
fortunate in having a large amount
of historical material at their
disposal.
The famous Icelandic Collection
at the University of Manitoba con-
tains about 21,000 volumes. From
1939 to 1978 it received every
publication from Iceland.
Nowhere else in Canada will a
person wishing to trace his ancestry
find a more complete array of data.
There are books, periodicals,
newspapers and photographs.
One notable acquisition is a hand-
written manuscript covering the
genealogy of 40 families from 1761
to 1842. Known as the Snoksdalin, it
is one of two copies in existence.
On microfilm are most of the Ice-
landic-Canadian church records.
While most of the materials are
written in Icelandic, the staff is
fluent in the language and will be
glad to help those who only know
English.
An excellent book on the subject
is the Canadian publication Tracing
Your Icelandic Family Tree by Eric
Jonasson.
Courtesy of the Toronto Star
New Icelandair folder describes
1982 summer tours to Iceland
Departures are Fridays from each
city, June 11-Aug. 20. Inclusions
range from airfare, transfers, ac-
commodations, tour guide, and
hotel tips and taxes to continental
breakfast daily, 12 lunches and 11
dinners.
Other tours include "Iceland
Panorama," "Viking Vista,"
"Iceland in a Nutshell," and "The
Adventure Week." Icelandair also
offers a nurnber of tours to Green-
land.
For further information on the
tours and for copies of' the tour
folder, see your travel age'n't or call
Icelandair. Check your telephone
Yellow Pages for the airline's toll-
free number in your area.
sightseeing tour, roundtrip airfare,
and transfers between the airport in
Iceland and the capital. The $768
tour leaves from New York every
Saturday from june 19 through Aug.
28. Chicago tours start Sunday, June
20 and are priced at $789.
"High Country Safari" is a 10-day
tour of camping adventures through
south-western Iceland and its
mighty waterfalls, glacier fields,
black sand deserts, and volcanic
areas. Departures are every Friday
from New York and Chicago, July 2
through Aug. 13. Tour price from
New York is $1,076; and from
Chicago, $1,097. Included are ac-
commodations in tents in the coun-
tryside, double room accommoda-
tions while in Reykjavík, continen-
tal breakfast daily' six lupches and
five dinners, full-time guide in the
Á Hnausa Miðum by Bragi Magnusson
Brimið beljar Rísa reiðar Veik er virtist
brakar í árum Ránar dætur vonar önd
hálft til heljar byrsta breiðar Brátt þar birtist
á holskeflu bárum boða rætur bjargar strönd
hefjur halda kólgan kalda halir í höfn
um hvíta falda kára valda halda af dröfn vaskir vinir
Feygðar fokið frostið bitra risa rokið röskir titra vaskir vinir Víkinga synir Myrkká miðum magnast él grunnt á griðum gadda hél frjósa fingur fokið syngur valkyrju synir
NEW YORK - A new folder just
issued by Icelandair spotlights the
low cost pioneer's tours to its
homeland for summer.
"Iceland Tours-Summer 1982"
describes seven packages ranging
from three eight-day tours to a
16-day "The Great Adventure" tour
around the storied Land of Fire and
Ice. Departures are available from
New York and Chicago on Iceland-
air.
Tour prices start at $768 for an
eight-day "Iceland: With the
People" package featuring stays in
private homes in the capital city of
Reykjavík, d.aily continental
breakfast, a Viking Table buffet
lunch at the Hotel Loftleidir, city
countryside and a guided sightsee-
ing tour of the capital, tips and taxes
at hotels, as well as roundtrip air
and transfers.
"The Great Adventure" focuses
on nature's spectaculars: geysers,
waterfalls, volcanoes, rugged fjords
öf .western Iceland, the summer
resort of Lake Myvatn, beautiful
Skaftafell National F^ark, breathtak-
ing seascapes, and postcard-pretty
fishing villages. Reykjavík,
Akureyri, Husavik, Hofn, Laugar-
vatn and other Icelandic towns are
included in-tour itineraries.
From New York, "The Great
Adventure" costs $1,777 for 16
days; the tour is offered for 15 days
from Chicago and priced at $1,753.