Rev. Magnús J. Skaptason Photo: FAtV
Rev. Magnús Jósepsson was born on February 4, 1850 at Hnausum in Húnavatnssýsla. He died on March 8, 1932 in Winnipeg. He took the name Magnús J. Skaptason in the west.
Spouse: 1876 Valgerður Sigurgeirsdóttir b. April 8, 1855, d. April 12, 1905
Children: 1. Anna Valgerður b. April 28, 1878, d. December 17, 1881 2. Marta Ólöf b. November 11, 1879, d. March 17, 1937 3. Anna Valgerður b. March 29, 1882, d. July 17, 1956 4. Jósef Gunnar b. January 19, 1887, d. 1936 5. Fanney Guðrún b. October 29, 1889, d. July 19, 1963.
Reverend Magnús came west in 1887 and moved on to New Iceland. They spent the first winter with Jóhann Briem in Icelandic River (Íslendingafljót) but then settled at Bjarkarstaðir in the Hnausa Settlement and changed his name there. He served all the settlements of New Iceland from 1888 to 1891, but then moved from the Hnausa Settlement to Gimli and lived there for two years. They moved from there to Winnipeg and lived there for another four years. From there, the road led to Roseau, Minnesota. He moved back to Winnipeg in 1905. He bought a small piece of land in the Hnausa Settlement in 1921 and lived there for a while, but on September 2, 1925 he moved to Winnipeg where he lived the rest of his life.