Lögberg-Heimskringla - 18.06.2004, Page 6

6 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 18 June 2004
Fire on ice in Utah for 150 years
Steinþór Guðbjartsson
Spanish Fork, UT
Many books and booklets on Ice-
landic matters have been published in
Utah and The Icelandic Association of
Utah (http://groups.msn.com/Icelandi-
cAssociationolUtah/) sells most of
them.
Ffed E. Woods, professor in the
department of Church History and
Doctrine at Brigham Young University
in Provo, UT, is working on a book,
Fire on lce, about the history of the
Icelanders who became Mormons and
emigrated to Utah.
Fred’s primary area of research is
Mormon migration in the 19th century.
The publication of his book about the
Icelandic mormons is planned in con-
nection with the celebration of the
150th anniversary of the first Ice-
landers coming to Utah, The Icelandic
Association of Utah (LAU) will be
hosting June 23, 24, 25 and 26 2005.
Lœrum íslensku (Let's Learn Ice-
landic), a complete course in modem
Icelandic by Brian D. Moser, was pub-
lished in 2003.
Iceland Mission History was com-
piled by David A. Ashby in 2001. This
includes the History of the Icelandic
Mission 1851-1914, the list of emi-
grants from Iceland to Utah 1854-
1914, a Mission Report of Iceland by
Byron T. Geslison in 1977 and a Sup-
plement Mission Report by Geslison in
1985.
The Icelanders of Utah by LaNora
Allred was published in 1998. It con-
tains 410 biographical sketches of the
emigrants from Iceland to Spanish
Fork, Utah from 1854 to 1914.
The Life and Times of My Ice-
landic Grandfather and Icelandic
Advenlure by Lois Bowen Christensen
were published in 1992.
In addition the 1AU is selling The
Sagas of lcelanders with a preface by
Jane Smiley, and Paradise Reclaimed
by Hallclpr Laxness.
CANADA
ICELAND
FOUNDATION
INC.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Offered

We invite students to apply for the following scholarships which are
offered, or administered, by the Canada lceland Foundation.
Priority may be given to first time applicants.
All applications must be received by Friday, 24 September, 2004
Information and applications are available electronically by request at
Canadalceland@netscape.net (for application requests only)
and in hard copy from Lögberg-Heimskringla.
The completed applications are forwarded to: Canada lceland Foundation Inc.,
Box 27012, C-360 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4T3
The Heidmar Björnson Memorial
Scholarship
In the amount of $500, will be given
annually to the student obtaining the
highest academic standing in lcelandic
Studies in his/her final year at the Uni-
versity of Manitoba. The award will be
made by the Department Head.
The Margaret Breckman Mack Sco-
larship Award
In the amount of $500, will be given
anually to a needy student of good
scholastic ability who is enrolled in the
University of Manitoba bachelor of Sci-
ence Nursing Degree Program.
The Canada lceland Foundation
Scholarship
One scholarship of $500, to be awarded
annually. Award to be determined by
academic standing and leadership
qualities. To be offered to a university
student studying towards a degree in
any Canadian university.
Einar Páll & Ingibjörg Jónsson
Memorial Scholarship
One scholarship of $500, to be awarded
annually. Award to be determined by
academic standing and leadership
qualities. To be offered to a high school
graduate proceeding to a Canadian
university or the University of lceland.
Emilia Pálmason Student Aid Award
Two awards of $500 each, to be given
annually. The recipients must be of good
moral character, college calibre and
primarily in need of help to continue their
studies in high school, college, or at the
university level. The donors hope that
“somewhere along the highway of life”
the award winners will try to provide com-
parable help to another needy student.
The Gunnar Simundsson Memorial
Scholarship
One scholarship of $500, to be awarded
annually. This annual scholarship will be
awarded to a student in university or
proceeding into a university in Canada
or the United States. The recipient must
demonstrate financial need and high
scholastic ability.
Thorvaldson Scholarship
One scholarship of $500, to be awarded
annually. This annual scholarship will be
awarded to a student in university or
proceeding into a university in Canada
or the United States. The recipient must
demonstrate financial need and high
scholastic ability.
John Jónas Gillis Memorial Scholar-
ship
The late Ingunn Gillis made a gift to the
Canada lceland Foundation to set up a
scholarship in memory of her son. A
scholarship of $500 will be awarded.
Arnold W. Holm Scholarship
One scholarship of $500, to be awarded
annually. This scholarship is to be
awarded to a student demonstrating
financial need and who qualifies to
proceed to university education and a
degree.
The Kristin Stefanson Memorial
Scholarship
One scholarship of $500 to be awarded
to a student who is registeredxtr will be
registering to take a course offered by
The Department of lcelandic at the Uni-
versity of Manitoba. Preference may be
given to students who have not
previously taken a course offered by
that Department.
The Lorna and Terry Tergesen
Scholarship
One scholarship of $500 to be awarded
to a student entering the second or a
later year of study of architecture, fine
arts, design or graphic design, music,
dance or voice.
Three words do the
trick in genealogy
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Bliis K. Anderson helps people research their family trees at
the Family History Center in Spanish Fork.
Bliss K. Anderson takes
care of the Icelandic Genealogi-
cal Department of the Family
History Center in Spanish Fork,
Utah. She worked in the Iceland
Department for 13 years in Salt
Lake City before it was closed
and the resources were moved to
Spanish Fork in 1996.
“All we did was a research
in the genealogical aiea,” she
recalls, and mentions that her
mother, Jóhanna Johnson, did
genealogy at home for a long
time. “When the Department
closed I thought that rny Ice-
landic life would end, but I can
see what a blessing it has been to
bring the resources to Spanish
Fork.”
The Department has many
Icelandic books on genealogy,
films, family group sheets,
extractions, and indexed Ice-
landic census from 1703, 1762,
1801, 1816, 1845, 1901 andpart
of 1930. Bliss helps visitors to
do their research on putting their
family trees together, and says
that her leaming experience has
been very helpful. “My mother
said to me: ‘Bliss, you can do
this, and all you need to know
are three words — foreldrar,
kona, börn [parents, wife, chil-
dren].’”
Bliss has lived in Spanish
Fork for over half a century. Her
maternal grandparents were
Halldór B. Jónsson from Reyk-
javík and Þórunn Guðmundsdót-
tir from Langholt in Arnessýsla.
They emigrated to Spanish Fork
in 1881 and about 90 years later
Bliss went to Iceland and
ieamed more about her family.
She was shown the genealogy
book Nokkrar Arnesingaœttir
and there her name and three of
her children were in Auðsholt-
sætt. “It went back to my great,
great-great-grandfather,
Steindór Sæmundsson,” she
recalls.
When she got back home
she continued her research and
stopped at the name Sigurþór
Margeirsson. One day she decid-
ed that she would like to contact
someone living in Iceland so she
borrowed an Icelandic phone-
book and started looking
thröugh the pages. She stopped
when she saw the name of Sig-
urþór Margeirsson. She wrote to
him, and soon found out that his
wife Þóra Asa Guðjohnsen was
an avid genealogist. “I could not
have found anybody that would
have been better,” she says.
When Bliss started working
for the Department all of south
and west Iceland had been
extracted but Arnessýsla. ‘“I
guess we saved it for you,’ Wtis
the answer when I asked why,”
she says. “If not I would proba-
bly not have been involved in the
Icelandic department,” she adds
and points out that she also did
Vestur- og Austur Húna-
vatnssýsla and Norður- and
Suður Þingeyjarasýsla.
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