“Growth often means pushing into unknown territory. Did any of your ancestors push to see new horizons (literally or figuratively)? How about you? Have you pushed your research by stretching into “new-to-you” resources or techniques? Feel free to post your links and stories in the comments below.” prompt by Amy Johnson Crow for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
Thinking of new horizons always brings to mind our ancestors who traveled to America based on a story of hope they had heard from family or friends. Those stories must have been heard at just the right moment, the moment when hope was as necessary as oxygen. To leave so much behind and go to a place you have never seen before would be both exciting and terrifying. So many unknowns were involved and yet they were at a place in their life where making this leap seemed like the next logical step.
My husbands Icelandic relatives had so much happening in their lives at the time they made this journey. Thorfinnur Johannesson (1838-1900) had been blind for fourteen years when they made the trip. That has to add a little more hesitation in the decision making process. Or maybe it spurred him on even more because he was being held back by those around him. The family was split among several homes. Two of the children were adopted by other relatives, three died young. So they still had five children who were living in various households. They wanted their own home and a place for all of their family to live together.
One of the daughters wrote a little about their trip to America which I found in the book “Pembina County Pioneer Daughters Biographies Akra/Cavalier, Gardar and Mountain” compiled by George Freeman. She was only eight when they made the trip, so I believe it was Gudny who wrote this. Gudny was born in 1874 in Iceland. They came to North Dakota in 1882.
Thorfinnur Johannesson and his wife Elisabet Pjetursdottir (1839-1911) were the parents in this adventure to a new horizon. Gudny (1874-1933) wrote that there was much talk about how foolish Elisabet was to make this trip with her blind husband and five children they planned to take with them. Two of the children were to be left behind and brought over later when life was more settled. Three of their children had died before they decided to leave Iceland. So Gudny lived in a household with none of her actual family and listening to much criticism of her mom and dad about this trip they were all to take soon. That would be hard for any child to endure, I can just imagine what was also being thrust on her parents at this time. Gudny said one afternoon when she was especially lonely and weary, word came. It was time to get ready for that trip to America. Did she look forward to it, or was she terrified?
At that time the only way to travel was horseback. They traveled two days across rivers and mountains before reaching the village called Akureyri (look north). The harbor was in this city. They unfortunately had to wait a full month in Akureyri as the ship was already gone when they arrived. I wonder how they fared for that month, where they stayed, did they have enough food. As they finally left Iceland behind Gudny remembered the sad faces of the people who left many belongings behind, wondering when they would see land again. They traveled first to Scotland and from Scotland to America. Late in the fall they arrived in Pembina County, North Dakota. They traveled about another fifty miles on a team of oxen to Mountain, North Dakota.
Elisabet’s brother was already in North Dakota and he met them the first night they arrived. He took them to Hallson for the first night. Elisabet and Thorfinnur and the two youngest boys, Arni who was four and Fred who was eighteen months all returned to Mountain with Elisabet’s brother. The children were again scattered among other relatives. Next spring Thorfinnur filed on some land and he managed to build a log cabin. They moved in the summer of 1883. What a joy that must have been for them. This was their first family home! They still had a lot of work to do. The property was covered in trees. Elisabet and Thorfinnur managed to clear enough to have a garden. The two older children were earning a wage and able to help their parents a little. Gudny worked for her board and clothes until she was twelve. Later they were able to add cows and sheep and chickens. They both worked hard at spinning and knitting. Here is a link to some amazing photos of farms in Iceland.
It wasn’t until the spring of 1899 when they moved to a different location that they were able to bring the two children left behind in Iceland to come and live with them in North Dakota. A joyful family reunion at last.
Gudny married in 1893 to Nimundur Josephson. They had eight children of their own between 1896 and 1917. Gudny died in 1933 in Saskatchewan, Canada where she lived with her family. Her life was so different from mine. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to shuffle around from household to household. Working for your room and board from the age of eight to twelve knowing your family wasn’t too far away but far enough you couldn’t just walk over to visit.
Arni, one of the two youngest boys who lived with their parents more than the other children, was my husbands grandfather. His family life was probably a little more normal than his older brothers and sisters. The first winter they were in North Dakota they lived in a dugout. I’m not exactly sure what a dugout is but it doesn’t sound warm enough for a winter thirty miles from the Canadian border. But he did live with his parents.
Thorfinnur died in 1900 and is believed to be buried in the cemetery at Vikur church in Mountain. Elisabet died in 1911 and is buried in Mountain Cemetery. They were an amazing hard working couple who worked extremely hard to make a better life for their family in this new world. They exemplify the story of many immigrants who came to America from a life of hardship and continued to work hard to build the life they dreamed they could have.
Hoping your family came simply for a new adventure but I imagine there are many stories such as this and many who had it even worse. We all need to give thanks to those brave pioneers who risked everything because they had a tiny spark of hope.
My Tree in the Forest 