The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1979, Page 24

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
WINTER 1979
SETTLERS IN MIKLEY (HECLA ISLAND) 1878
Compiled by Nelson Gerrard
(Continued from the Autumn Issue)
THE AUTHOR
Nelson Gerrard was born in 1951 near
Strathclair, Manitoba and raised on a farm
on the north end of nearby North Salt Lake.
His parents are George Gerrard. the son of
Scottish settlers in the Menzie district, and
Helga Olafson from Riverton. After gradu-
ating from the University of Manitoba with
an honours degree in fine arts in 1973,
Nelson studied at the University of Iceland
for three yeras on scholarship, graduating
with a degree in Icelandic philology in
1976. He is presently teaching at Arborg,
Manitoba.
16. Halldor Thorgilsson— Kirkjubol:
from Hundadalur in Dalasysla, born there in
1831, the son of Thorgils Halldorsson and
his wife, Solveig Helgadottir. Halldor came
to Canada in 1876 with his wife, Malfridur
Tomasdottir and two sons Thorgils and
Kristjan. Halldor planned to have a church
on his land and therefore named his farm.
Kirkubo! (church-abode). On his land is a
cemetery where about 30 smallpox victims
were buried.From Mikley, Halldor moved
to Mountain, N.D. where he died in 1919.
Malfridur died in 1900. Their three sons all
farmed in the Mountain area. Halldor’s son
with his second wife, Olof Kjartansdottir,
was Fridrik Theodor, also a farmer at Moun-
tain. (Dalm III, 332; ThJ II, 117; et al.)
17. Jon Jonsson — Laekjarskogur:
from Svarfholl in Myrasysla, bom there in
1846, son of Jon Halldorsson and Helga
Jonsdottir. Jon emigrated from Uppsalir in
Borgarfjordur in 1878 with his wife, Sigri-
dur Jonsdottir and three children, Thor-
bjorg, Jon and Kristin. It is said that the
family spent the first winter at Furubrekka
(nr. 19), then occupied by Stefan Jonsson.
A daughter, Helga Jorunn was bom in Mik-
ley on March 26, 1879. Shortly after com-
ing to Mikley, Jon must have chosen land
where he intended to settle and named it
Laekjarskogur, although the survey shows
he did not have a house on the land by the
end of 1878. This seems to be the same land
that later became known as Hlidarhus as it is
stated that Jon gave his claim on this land to
Halldor Halldorsson who also arrived in
Mikley that year. Jon and Sigridur later
moved to Grund on Gull Harbour where
they lived for many years before moving to
Gimli. Their children: Jon H. Johnson at
Amaranth; Thorbjorg, married Johannes
Sigurdsson at Hnausa; Stefania; and Olafia,
married Rev. Eyjolfur Melan.
(ThJ II, 134; L 16. Feb. 1928; etal.)
18. Halldor Halldorsson — Kirkju-
bol: from Bjargarsteinn in Myrasysla, born
1832. Halldor emigrated in 1878 with his
wife, Gudrun Gudmundsdottir and seven
children; Elin, Halldora, Johannes, Ingi-
bjorg, Sigridur, Gudrun and Sigurlin. This