Sæmundur Jónsson was born in Borgarfjarðarsýsla in 1847. He took the last name Borgfjörð in the west.
Spouse: Helga Gísladóttir b. 1841 in Mýrarsýsla, d. 1902 in the Siglunes Settlement in Manitoba.
Children: 1. Jón b. 1866 2. Þorsteinn b. 1874 3. Ingibjörg b. 1880, d. 1902 4. Gísli.
They emigrated west to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1886 and settled in the Árnes Settlement in New Iceland. Forced to move due to flooding of Lake Winnipeg, the couple settled in the Argyle Settlement with the children Ingibjörg and Gísli. In 1892, the family moved to the Siglunes Settlement near Lake Manitoba and lived there until 1902. Their daughter, Ingibjörg, contracted tuberculosis and died that year, as did Helga. Gisli also became sick and never fully recovered. Sæmundur then moved from there with Gísli and bought land in the Arnes Settlement. Gísli died as a young man and when Sæmundur was getting older, Jón took over the farm, and Sæmundur moved to Winnipeg to to live with his son Þorsteinn.