Saga - 1980, Page 79

STAÐNÆMZT í RAUÐÁRDAL
73
SUMMARY
Pi'om 1874 to 1880, Jón Jónsson from Mjóidalur and his family
'v®re among the Icelandic emigrants who, on the advice of the Rev.
^áll Thorláksson from Stórutjarnir, stayed in Wisconsin. The first
year, Jón worked as a hired hand for a Norwegian farmer, Jerome
Scalen (?), but in September, 1874, he joined a group of Icelanders
vho made a trip to buy farmlands in Shawano County; the acreage
hhat became his cost $39, the trip $40. In all of 1874, he earned
?120, daughter Helga some $30 and son Jón $10.
In October, 1874, the Icelandic settlers received deeds to their
ands as well as naturalization papers; the next years, they were
Usy building, breaking land in intermittently working for pay. The
h6°P^e gradually adjusted to new customs while trying to retain
reir own. Among the new skills they learned were cultivation, grow-
Pag of grain, woodcutting and diverse work with lumber. Although
°n s feelings hardly ever surface in his diary writing from that time,
entry from April 1876 is an exception: “I have barely been able
0 get out of bed the whole month, about the most miserable time I
Uye experienced, though I have not lived well or happily since I
t my relations and my country. May the will of the good Lord
be done.”
n the fall of 1876, the Rev. Páll Thorláksson confirmed a few
andic children in Shawano County, including the younger Jón
°m Mjóidalur. There were then only 29 Icelanders living in the
^mrnunity, with the Rev. Thorláksson serving for a time as their
mster while otherwise being retained by Norwegian congregations
ln the
Jón’
area that were affiliated with the Norwegian Synod.
s income and outlays in 1876 were nearly even, but there was
^enerally a slight surplus after that, and the value of his holding
oat er°Wl:n8'' hn 187'7» he had six acres under crops: rye, wheat,
s> Potatoes, corn, cabbage and beans (peas?); the cost of seed
Was $10.65.
e e daughter and son were away working for extended periods,
'vhe'112' ^ Helga the first years, and she contributed significantly
n animals or expensive implements were purchased.
him]Wlng’ haymaking, harvesting of crops, woodcutting, clearing
^’as' ^.0usehuhding and road construction were the work the settler
aj cniefly engaged in, for himself and others. There were occasion-
lcrfriods when son Jón attended school or worked for merchants,
aoteU Ic or otherwise; generally, not least early on, the diarist
triotSs thc nationality of these he mentions if they are not compa-