Móníka Guðmundsdóttir, William Eccles and Kristín Jónasdóttir. Photo: WtW
Móníka Guðmundsdóttir was born in Skagafjarðarsýsla on February 26, 1847. She died in Lundar in 1932. She took the name Monica Eccles with marriage.
Spouse: 1) Jónas Jónasson b. in Eyjafjarðarsýsla 1848, d. there on February 27, 1887. 2) November 13, 1894 William Eccles of Canadian descent
Children: 1. Svanhildur b. 1879, d. 1891 in Lundar. 2. Árni b. 1880, d. February 27, 1887 3. Kristín b. 1882 4. Guðrún b. 1886, d. February 27, 1887.
Móníka lost her husband and two of her children early in 1887. She saw no other hope than to move west with her two daughters, and she did so in 1888. They came to New York, from there they went through Toronto, Ontario to Winnipeg, Manitoba. There, Móníka got a job in a store despite her poor English skills. She got to know Icelanders and one of them, Jón Helgason, offered her a job on his farm not far from Lundar. Early in 1891, little Svanhildur’s health began to deteriorate, and she died in September of that year. A grave was dug and Móníka herself took care of burying her daughter because there was no priest. Reverend Runólfur Marteinsson came to the settlement in 1894 and willingly blessed the grave. She met her second husband there in the settlement and lived with him the rest of her life.