“Safn til Landnámssögu Íslendinga í Vesturheimi “(Collection of the Settlement History of Icelanders in the West) was the name of the series published in Ólafur Þorgeirsson’s Almanak in Winnipeg. Learned men in the various Icelandic settlements in the West prepared these series and often based them on the accounts of the settlers themselves or their descendants. One such author was Jón Jónsson from Sleðbrjót and in 1914 his following account of Sigurgeir Pétursson from Reykjahlíð in S. Þingeyjarsýsla was published:
“Sigurgeir Pétursson, son of the famous farmer Pétur Jónsson in Reykjahlíð, son of Jónsson of Rev. Þorsteinsson the rich in Reykjahlíð. Sigurgeir’s mother was Guðfinna Jónsdóttir, daughter of a farmer in Shoal Lake. Pétur’s brother in Reykjahlíð was Hallgrímur, archdeacon in Hólmur. They were many brothers and generally referred to as the “Reykjahlíð brothers”. Sigurgeir is married twice. His first wife was Hólmfríður Jónsdóttir Jónsson, daughter of a farmer in Shoal Lake. Their two children are alive, Geirfinnur and Kristjana…Sigurgeir’s second wife is María, the daughter of the well-known famous man Jón Jóakimsson, a farmer on Þverá in Laxárdalur in Þingeyjar. María’s mother was Herdís Ásmundsdóttir, daughter of a farmer at Stóruvellir in Bárðardalur; she was closely related to farmer Sigurður in Gautlöndum, father of Jón, Member of Parliament in Gautlöndum. – Sigurgeir and María have two daughters, Hólmfríður and Bergljót, both still on the family farm”.
Coming West – settlement
“Sigurgeir came west by sea in 1893; was first in Argyle settlement, but then moved here and took up land and has lived here ever since. He has built a spacious house on his land, with central heating, and lives a generous life. Sigurgeir and his relatives were saddened in the early winter of 1909 when his son Arnthór drowned on ice on Lake Manitoba. Arnthór, rest his soul, was the greatest man of substance, and popular and lamented by all who knew him. Sigurgeir Pétursson is an intelligent man and enjoyed much more education in his youth than many of his peers. He is the head of his household and shows great hospitality to visitors. He has most of all encouraged the people here to come together on the issues that concern the future interests of the settlement. And the time will come someday, when the villagers here will see that he has done the right thing and that unity and organization are good for the community. Together with his son Geirfinnur, he has been the main promoter of curbing the enjoyment of alcohol in the village and founding the Goodtemplar Society here. Matters have come to such a point that a considerable majority of the youth are in that group with considerable interest. Sigurgeir was also one of the main promoters of the founding of a reading club here and was its chairman for the first few years. He follows with sincere interest all dynamics in Icelandic national life, both at home in Iceland and here in the West, and is always ready to contribute to a good discussion in matters that Western Icelanders want to strengthen at home in Iceland. Sigurgeir is now over sixty years old, but he is still young and quite healthy, and is rightly considered one of the most innovative farmers in the settlement.”. (Maps; see Byggðir við norðanvert vatn)