Björn Jónsson was an active man in Manitoba during the settlement years of Icelanders there. He made his way to Lake Manitoba and took advantage of what nature had to offer. Jón Jónsson from Sleðbrjót wrote in 1914 in Ólafur Þorgeirsson’s Almanak a chapter on Icelandic settlement by the lake and it says about Björn:
“Björn Mathews, the son of Jón (Metusalemsson) was first with his father: he started a small business, but had to close because he lacked the money needed to run it. He was for a time (two years) south in the United States and did various jobs there; he gained knowledge of various things. A long story could be written about Björn, because his biography is so deeply woven into the history of the settlement that they can hardly be separated. He has been around for many years and has often been by far the largest employer in the village. He has been a trader for himself, a sales manager for others (Armstrong Trading Co.), a fish trader for Hon. Hugh Armstrong, sawmill owner with various others. Björn has not had a long tenure in any company, and there are many reasons for this, and the main one is that his nature is such that he can be said to be like what Reverend Rögnv. Pétursson said so aptly about my old acquaintance Björn Halldórsson from Úlfsstaðir, “that he is more temperamental to say than to obey”, as this character will follow most of those who are big-minded and never bother to make an attempt to let their mind and hand follow. The thread in Björn Mathews’ biography is this: In 1899 he moved to Birch Island (Birkieyja) and started farming there, engaged mostly in sheep and fishing, and earned a lot of money with both. He lived there until 1908, when he moved and took land next to his father and brothers in Siglunes. He has built a two-story stone house there, about 6o feet long and about 30 feet wide, and has spared no effort to improve it as best he can. In it is steam heating. I have heard people say in various places that they have never seen such an expensive and magnificent building in any country under the rule of law.
After Björn had been on the “island” for two years, he started trading in “land” with his father, but stopped again after a few years, because he had invested too much of his money in a loan to be able to run the store. He suffered from his goodwill as so many others have. Some time later, he bought a sawmill in partnership with an Englishman, Mat. Hall, a large farmer at Westbourne; after two or three years, Mat. Hall left the partnership; his share was bought by Asmundur Freeman of Bluff, west of the Narrows. Bjorn and he built a sawmill in Siglunes, where Bjorn now lives. A year later, Ásmundur sold his share to a Jewish association based in Winnipeg and Oak Point (Lake Manitoba Trad. Co.); they set up a trading post at Siglunes, put a steamboat on the lake, which ran between Oak Point and Siglunes, and pulled lumber to the sawmill west of Crane River (northwest of Lake Manitoba) and beyond. After a year or two, the Jews broke up with Bjorn and the property was divided. Björn got, in his share, the store in Siglunes and the sawmill with all the equipment. But the other boat and timber remains with the others. Shortly after they split, the sawmill burned to cold coals, and most of the machinery became almost useless. The damage amounted to thousands of dollars, because everything was uninsured. At this time, Björn had sold the Armstrong Trad. Co. store, and became the sales manager for that company in Siglunes; he kept working with them until this spring, when he resigned. Björn has, as mentioned before, provided many jobs, both in sawing, fishing and more, and it has helped various newcomers here for a while. Because the sawmill was here and timber of all kinds was available in the countryside, there are more well-built residential houses in this countryside than in most other rural areas. Björn married on July 22, 1898 Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir Lundal; they have 5 children: Otto Wathne, Sigurður Jón, Guðmundur, Margrét and Aðalbjörg. Björn is by nature an intelligent man, cheerful and quick-witted; generous by nature and most helpful to all men, and has therefore often made many friends. He has named one of his sons after the Norwegian-Icelandic hero Otto Wathne, and I think that Wathnes’ big-picture view of what is best for the community had some effect on the progressive mind that Björn has shown in every way. But now he has to untie the knot the way Wathne did, and that is to become a wealthy man but start without any money. Most of those who know Björn will love him for being able to untie that knot, because despite differing opinions, he will have a fairly warm influence in the minds of most of those with whom he has had business dealings.”
English version by Thor group.