The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2001, Side 19

Vol. 56 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
101
this party at home and in other parts of
Gimli and Bifrost districts after he moved
to Vi'dir. Jon was involved with the school
board before he moved from the Lake to
ViSir, among other things.”
In the Icelandic River Saga, Nelson S.
Gerrard provides a history of settlers from
Iceland in the area of the mouth of the
Icelandic River. In doing that Gerrard also
provides information about relative and
other people connected too these settler.
Therefore, it is often possible to discover
historical accounts about those who have
links with these Icelandic settlers.
Nelson Gerrard, provides a brief back-
ground about Baldvinsson, not because he
was a settler in New Iceland, but because
he married Helga Sigurdardottir, a woman
who was a daughter of one of the Icelandic
River settlers, Sigurdur Gudmundsson and
Gudrun Helgadottir. Helga had come to
New Iceland in 1883 with her foster par-
ents, Stefan Jonsson and his wife,
Ingibjorg, who also were settlers in the
Icelandic River area. Nelson Gerrard states
that, “On the voyage to America she
became acquainted with Baldvin L.
Baldvinsson of Winnipeg, who was the
immigrant agent in charge of the contin-
gent, and on Sp. 24, 1886 she married him.”
This information provides the clue as to
how Baldvinsson got acquainted with Jon
Sigurdsson. Jon was on this same voyage to
America and, no doubt, would also meet
Baldvinsson. This voyage was important in
that it brought 1,375 immigrants to New
Iceland, one of the largest for any year. The
exodus, from 1878 to 1883, resulting from
hardships, the smallpox epidemic, quarrels
over religion and the persuasion that better
land existed elsewhere had depleted the
population of New Iceland from approxi-
mately 1,500 to about 250. Jon Sigurdsson
at the age of 13, was part of an historic
moment for New Iceland. Each year there-
after more immigrants came and by 1894
the population had reached the number
before the exodus. It is believed that
Baldvinsson brought approximately 7000
immigrants to Manitoba.
An article in the Reykjavik newspaper,
Morgunbla[i[, March 14,1998, details some
of the work done by Baldvinsson as the
Icelandic Immigration agent. For instance,
the article discusses that in 1892, he came to
Iceland to advertise and give out informa-
Sigurdsons’ enlarged house, with an addition built onto the side for the post offic