Gimli Saga

Sigurbjorn and Anna Hallgrimsson

Sigurbjorn Hallgrimsson, born at Brekka in Kaupangssveit, in Eyjafjordur, Iceland, in 1841, son of Hallgrimur Sigurdsson and Gudrun Thorsteinsdottir, moved to Logmannshlid in Glaesibaejarhreppur. On Wednesday, "the 23rd week of summer", September 27, 1864, he married Anna Sigfusdottir from Svarfadardalur.They lived in Hesjuvellir. In 1874 they migrated to Canada living at Kinmount, Ontario and then settled in Gimli with the first group of settlers in October 1875. They had three daughters, Kristin, Gudrun Helga, and Hammgrima Fridrika.

The Bristow Family

William Herbert Bristow married Gudrun Fridrikka Gottskalksdottir. Gudrun came to Canada at the age of 3 in 1876 with her parents Gottskalk Sigfusson and Holfridur Jonatansdottir. William came to Canada at the age of 15, played in the army band at Fort Osborn as a cornet player. He was the son of Willian James Bristow, educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England he was Vicar of Offenham.

Donald K. Johnson

Born in Lundar, Manitoba Mr. Johnson has been a tenancious advocate in the investment industry. Appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2005 "for his key role in changing Canada’s tax laws to eliminate the capital gains tax on gifts of publicly traded securities to registered charities, and for his support of health care research and the arts". References

Margret Benedictsson

We have a long way to go in Canada for equality for women, but we can be thankful that Margret brought her progressive Icelandic thinking to Canada and fought for women's right to vote.

Honourable senators, the women of Manitoba were given the right to vote on January 28, 1916. Manitoba was the first province to pass legislation to this effect, which also defied the disgraceful clause in the Dominion Elections Act which read, “No woman, idiot, lunatic or criminal shall have the right to vote.”

Janis Johnson, Senator (Feb 2016).

W. D. Valgardson

Raised in Gimli Manitoba and retired professor from Victoria he has won numerous awards including the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for The Girl With the Botticelli Face and Books in Canada First Novel Award for Gentle Sinners (1980). Billy maintains a great blog with wonderful recollections of all things Icelandic www.wdvalgardsonkaffihus.com

Canada has the largest ethnic Icelandic population outside Iceland, with over 100,000 people of Icelandic descent. Many Icelandic Canadians are descendants of people who fled an eruption of the Icelandic volcano Askja in 1875. These pioneers were highly educated, spoke several languages, progressive (women were held in equal regard) and held their own government in Canada. Education was so important to them, building a school was one of their first goals