Northern Manitoba consists of countless lakes, some of which carry an Icelandic name. One such is Lifman Lake thus named in honor of Baldur Lifman. Here is the story:
Iceland – Emigration
Bjarnþór Jónsson was born in Hraundalur in Mýrasýsla August 29, 1884, son of Jón Þorsteinsson and his wife Solveig Bjarnadottir. They emigrated west to Manitoba with their four children in 1886 and settled in Arnes in New Iceland. The chosen land was difficult to work so, after some deliberation, they opted to move to Winnipeg. Friends in Gimli, Kristján Sigurðsson Lifman and his wife Guðlaug Sigfúsdóttir, realizing that difficult times awaited the family family offered to foster the youngest child, Bjarnþór. Kristján was the son of Sigurður Jónsson at Stóra Vatnsleysa in Gullbringusýsla and emigrated with his mother, Oddný Hannesdóttir in 1876 to Manitoba; she was one of the pioneers in New Iceland. Guðlaug’s parents, Sigfús Ólafsson and Elín Jónsdóttir from Eyjafjarðarsýsla were on the same ship in 1876 and one can speculate that perhaps 17 year-old Kristján may have befriended the 14 year-old Guðlaug during the Atlantic Ocean crossing. The families travelled together from Quebec in Canada to Gimli, Manitoba. There, by Lake Winnipeg, the relationship between Kristján and Guðlaug probably grew stronger so it must have been hard for her to say goodbye in 1879 when her parents moved south to North Dakota.
Lífmann -Lifman
Kristján and Guðlaug got married in 1881 and settled in Gimli. At that time, he changed his surname to Lifman (Lífmann in Icelandic) but why remains a mystery. Icelanders in North America soon realized that the Icelandic naming system was not well suited for the North American society. In rural communities, mail was not delivered to each farm, instead, a post office was established and it acted as the home address of every farmer in the community. The Jónssons, Sigurðssons or Guðmundssons often had a few namesakes and it happened often that one Jón Jónsson was given a letter intended for another Jón Jónsson, a farmer living miles away. Our Kristján Sigurðsson may have had such an experience in Gimli, a few settlers in and around Gimli were Sigurdssons. Through the years, settlers would pick a name of a place in Iceland thus we have Vopnfjord, Borgfjord, Vatnsdal, Hrutfjord to name a few. Kristjan was from the farm Stora Vatnsleysa in Gullbringusysla. The thought of using Stora Vatnsleysa as surname, Vatnsleysa or even Gullbringa probably never entered his mind. No, something different was his choice. This deliberation ends here. In printed material in Canada or the US, Lifman is most often used, and on occasion one finds Lifmann, but the Icelandic version, Lífmann is almost non–existent. We did find a death announcement in Lögberg, the Icelandic newspaper in an August, 1943 issue where the passing of Guðlaug is announced. She died at the home of her foster–son B. J. Lifman in Arborg. The same article mentions her husband and there his name is spelled Kristján Lífman.
New Iceland – New Future
Kristján and Guðlaug adopted Bjarnþór in 1886 and, after a few years, his name was spelled Bjarnthor J. Lifman but he was eventually best known as Thor J. Lifman. Unable to have children, Kristjan and Guðlaug later adopted a girl, Lilja in 1892. The couple fostered the children as best parents but soon Kristján´s days were numbered; he passed away in 1898. Young Bjarnthor soon began to work and happily accepted whatever was offered. These times saw the Icelandic settlement grow and prosper thus giving Bjarnthor opportunities and valuable experience. He ruled out higher education but used every moment of leisure for reading so, when fully matured, he was a self-educated man. He married Kristín Margrét Eiríksdóttir in Winnipeg April 21, 1913. She was the 
daughter of Eiríkur Jónsson and Vilborg Stefánsdóttir who left from Rangá in Tunguhreppur in N. Múlasýsla in 1878. They settled in Minnesota and lived in Yellow Medicine County for 16 years. Here Kristín Margrét was born in Minneota on March 16, 1884 and grew up in Minnesota until 1901 when her parents moved north to Arborg, Manitoba. Thor and Magga, as she was always called in Manitoba, lived in Gimli their first years together but moved to Arborg in 1918. Thor had a good job with International Harvester Company which sold farming equipment, trucks, and cars. They had not been in Arborg long when their natural interest in community affairs became apparent. Thor became involved in the Icelandic community and local politics. Magga opened her home to friends and family, often providing meals for large groups.
Family
Baldur Lifman Photo A Century Unfolds
Thor and Magga had six children; 1. Bergþóra (Bergthora) b. July 18, 1914 in Winnipeg 2. Margrét (Bibsa) born in Winnipeg February 24, 1916 3. Laufey b. October 4, 1918 in Gimli 4. Baldur, only son, b. August 9, 1921 in Arborg 5. Stefanía b. June 4, 1923 in Arborg and Solborg b. September 29, 1927. Baldur received his elementary and high school in Arborg and was employed by the local Sigurdsson-Thorvaldson Co., his future looking bright. This changed when Canada became involved in WWII. He joined the RCAF in 1941, graduating as a Navigator Observer. In December of 1942 he went to Europe and after numerous bombing raids over Germany he was shot down and killed August 18, 1943.
English version by Thor group.