Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.11.1991, Blaðsíða 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 1nóvember 1991
By Nelson Gerrard
Try to imagine what possible con-
nection there could be between
Ólafsfjörður, Iceland; Gloucester,
Massachusetts; Montreal, Quebec;
Toronto, Ontario; Winnipeg, Man-
itoba; Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba; and
Hnausa, Manitoba! Even a geogra-
pher or historian would be hard-
pressed to come .. -
Most researchers of ‘things
Icelandic’ come to recognize these
odd coincidences and strange links
as more than just coincidences.
These incredibly convoluted connec-
tions represent remnants of the
unusually tenacious bonds which for
over a century linked — and in many
cases still link — those oflcelandic
descent scattered across the vastness
of the North American continent.
up with a link,
but just such a
connection sur-
faced here at
‘Eyrarbakki’ this
summer —
through one of
those incredible
coincidences fa-
miliar to anyone
who has ever
delved into Ice-
landic family
history.
It was one of the last weekends of
summer, when I arrived home at
Eyrarbakki from a short trip, to learn
— via a phone call from neighbours
Bert and Vera Osborne at Kirkj ubær—
that I had just missed visitors from
Toronto. Having landed on my door-
step to find no-one home, these
visitors had stopped nearby at
Kirkjubær, a
newly opened
bed and break-
fast house just
down the road, to
make inquiries.
They left a pack-
age of informa-
tion with the
Osbornes and
carried on their
way, leaving not
more than an
hour before I re-
tumed home.
Over coffee
with the
Osbornes the
next day, I
leamed that the
vistors had been
D o r o t h y
Gislason of To-
ronto and some
of her family
m e m b e r s .
Dorothy had
called earlier in
the summer to
ask if I would be
around in Au-
gust, as she had an errand with me,
having heard of me through Gerald
Jónsson-Berry of Toronto — whose
distant relationship with her I had
turned up in some research two
years ago. Gerald Berry and I had
met at Wynyard, Saskatchewan, at
the 1989 Icelandic National League
convention, through Don Gislason
of Toronto. Don Gislason, in tum,
had originally contacted me on behalf
of the Toronto Icelandic Club as a
result of my books. Unfortunately,
Dorothy and I hadn’t set a specific
date for her visit, and as luck would
have it, this was one of the few week-
ends I was away.
Believed to be Einar Einarsson Anderson of
Gloucester, originally from Ólasfjörður, a brother
to Þórdis Einarsdóttir who married Sigurður
Hannesson, Gimli.
Photo from Gudrún Hanneson, Gimll
Among the items Dorothy had left
for me was a red folder with some
papers which she had been sent by a
new-found friend from Gloucester,
Massachusetts. She had been travel-
ling in Quebec not long before, and
while staying at an elder-hostel in
Montreal, chanced to mention her
Icelandic parents. An American sit-
ting across the table showed a sudden
- interestandmen-
tioned that his
grandparents
had come from
Iceland, settling
in Gloucester
in 1894! His
name was Ken
Anderson.
DorothyandKen
became well-
acquainted on
thistour,andshe
volunteered to
connect him
with someone who could find out more
about his forefathers. The folder, con-
taining the few details he had, had
arrived in Toronto after Dorothy re-
tumed home, and when she set
off on her next trip, to visit her
brother in Winnipeg, she brought it
with her, intending to bring it to
Eyrarbakki when she came to see
me.
The mention
of Gloucester,
Massachusetts,
sparked my in-
terest, as I had
inmypossession
a chocolate box
full of letters
written in Glou-
cester during
the early 1900’s.
These old letters
had been written
by a man named
Einar Einarsson,
to a sister, Þórdís
Einarsdóttir
Hannesson at
W i n n i p e g
Beach, Mani-
toba, and were
part of a collec-
tion of papers
and artifacts I
hadpurchasedat
Gimli someyears
ago. I also had
photos taken in
Gloucester, and
postcards. No
sooner had I opened the new folder
from Ken Anderson than I recognized,
from the first paper, that he was a
grandson of this very same Einar
Einarsson who had penned these let-
ters! Originally from Ólafsfjörður in
Northem Iceland, Einar had settled in
Gloucester in 1894 and adopted the
anglicized surname Anderson! Not
only did I have letters, I had on display
here at Eyrarbakki several items
brought from Iceland by Einar’s sister
— including her ‘skotthúfa’ (Icelandic
headgear), ‘peysuföt’ (Icelandic cos-
tume), sewingeffects, and various small
wooden boxes including an ornate,
painted container called a ‘tína’.
A “tína” (painted wooden box) from Einar's sister Þórdís Hannesson
of Winnipeg Beach, ca 1880.
Shortly after buying these artifacts
and letters two years ago, I had at-
tempted to locate descendants of Einar
Einarsson of Gloucester, making in-
quiries of an Icelander in Framingham,
Massachusetts, but without success —
small wonder after almost a century.
Now, here was the connection I had
given up on — dropped right into my
hands!
Though it is a little known fact,
there were actually several Icelanders
in the Gloucester-Boston area at one
time, including Einar’s sister (Sigríður)
and her husband (Jónas); Einar’s
Tfad&ional
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wife’s parents (Þorkell Jónsson and
María Stefánsdóttir); and her brother.
Flóvent Jónsson from Skriðuland,
one of the earliest pioneers of New
Iceland, also spent some years in
Gloucester around 1900, and a sea
captain named Auðunn Auðunsson
(the son of Auðunn Arngrímsson)
settled permanently in that area.
Since Dorothy Gislason’s visit, I
have made direct contact with Ken
Anderson, informing him of this
strange coincidence, offering access
to the letters and other information,
Contlnued on page 7
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