Lögberg-Heimskringla - 08.11.1985, Síða 7

WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 8. NÓVEMBER 1985-7
Discovering My Icelanders
Continued from page 7.
The next day they arranged for us
to fly to the birthplace of my grand-
parents, the Westman Islands.
Mechanical problems delayed the
flight two hours, but when we land-
ed, another cousin was there to greet
us. He showed us the home where
my grandfather was born and then
took us to the cemetery, where we
were able to obtain vital information
from family headstones. He even
took us to a nursing home to see his
mother, who could remember my
grandfather when she was a small
child.
Again, miracles seemed to be con-
tinuously forthcoming. The Westman
Islands were almost destroyed by a
small volcano several years ago. The
lava destroyed over four hundred
homes and came within half a block
of where my grandfather was born.
Volcanic ash buried the cemetery,
but international student volunteers
joined natives and hauled away the
ten feet of ash that covered the
headstones. Despite the natural
disasters, the genealogical data I
needed was there waiting for me.
Even my cousin, Bogi Sigurdsson,
turned out to be a miracle. He could
verify all the data I received because
as a youth he had memorized his
ancestral line for six generations.
Because the flight to the Westman
Islands was so late arriving, we only
had three hours on the island before
we had to return to Reykjavik. With
much emotion and love, we
departed. My ancestors were now
real, personal, and, I felt, nearby.
On our third and final day in
Iceland, my cousin Valborg came to
the hotel and took us shopping. And
then, as a last-minute gesture, she in-
vited us to her home for light
refreshments before we departed for
m
The Westmann Islands.
the airport. Her husband, Sighvatur,
and their child were there to greet us,
and we enjoyed being together.
Then another miracle occurred.
Just before we were to leave,
Sighvatur said he wanted to show us
his den and collection of Icelandic
books. Time was short, but to be
courteous we went upstairs to see
them. To my amazement, he pulled
a book from the shelf which con-
tained the biography of my great-
grandfather, Thorstein Jonsson. A
cursory glance told me immediately
that it contained further family
records and information of con-
siderable value. I had started copy-
ing feverishly when he, almost
casually, pulled out an ancient hand-
written document and said, ''You
might be interested in this. It's the
genealogy of Thorstein Jonsson."
I literally trembled as he handed it
to me and I leafed through the pages
— thirty-two in all — handwritten. It
provided a complete record of Thors-
tein Jonsson's family back to A.D.
1124! It even included a paragraph in
Thorstein Jonsson's own handwriting
saying he had read it, reviewed it,
and could unequivocally state that it
was accurate! Again I could have
floated away. Then Sighvatur told me
that he was going to give the original
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document to a museum for preserva-
tion, but that he had photocopied it
and would like to present a copy to
me.
As we left for the airport, I thought
to myself, "If Marino had been here,
I probably would never have gone to
the home where the only copy of this
document was to be found, and con-
sequently I wouldn't have received
it.”
I don't remember much more. The
flight home was smooth, the food
was good, the people were pjeasant.
All I remember is the words, "The
Lord will open the way for you."
Clark T. Thorstenson, professor of
recreation management and youth
leadership at Brigham Young Univer-
sity serves on the General Ac,:vities
Committee of the Church.
Ensign, August 19, 1981; Symbol-C,
1981, by the Church of Christ Latter-
day Saints. Permission.
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
JOHN V. ARVIDSON
PASTOR
10:30 a.m. The Service followed
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