Jonas Thor established Isbjarmi ehf. company in 2017 and work on www.vesturfarar.is commenced shortly afterwards. He completed his B.A. from the University of Iceland in 1977 and completed his M.A. in History from the University of Manitoba in 1980, his thesis dealt with the religious controversy in New Iceland, Manitoba 1875-1880. He was the editor of the Icelandic weekly Lögberg-Heimskringla and taught part time in the Icelandic Department of the University of Manitoba. He was fortunate to work with and get to know
Prof. Haraldur Bessason, Head of the Icelandic Department; few knew the North American-Icelandic community better than he.
Jónas is a recognized subject matter expert in the early emigration period of Icelanders to North America. He has authored several books, including ISLENDINGADAGURINN -Saga Islendingadagsins, a history of the Islendingadagurinn festival which was published by the Icelandic Festival Committee in Gimli, MB in 1989; Icelanders in North America: The First Settlers, published by the University of Manitoba Press in 2002; A Monument in Manitoba that documents the history of the statue of Jón Sigurðsson in Winnipeg, published in 2011 in both English and Icelandic. For many years, Jonas led tours of Icelanders to key settlement areas in Canada and the United States, totalling over 4000
individuals.
Additional content contributors:
Historian and author Jón Hjaltason, focuses on 19th century Iceland. He has written several books, the most recent being Káinn – Fæddur til að fækka tárum.
Harvey Thorleifson is originally from the town of Baldur in western Manitoba, completed his undergraduate study in geography and biology at University of Winnipeg, his Master´s degree at the University of Manitoba in 1983, and his geology Ph.D. at the University of Colorado. He was appointed Director of the Minnesota Geological Survey, State Geologist of Minnesota, and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota in 2003. His credentials are extensive and include national and international appointments.
Transplanted heritage:
One of the most precious thing emigrants brought with them from Iceland was Icelandic heritage. For centuries the small population struggling to survive in rural areas preserved their language, recited stories from the past and wrote them down. When the immigrants from Iceland, pioneering somewhere in the West, tried to foster in their children the same love, same feelings they had to their native country, their most common way was to tell and read stories which described human life in Iceland. The living conditions in the 19th century Iceland and the struggle of centuries in remote sod houses in rural areas. Iceland preserved memories of childhood, the inseparable ties of every human being with his place of birth. The roots of every Icelandic emigrant lie deep in the soil in the Icelandic countryside. The love of the descendants of those emigrants for Iceland and the Icelandic people is of a special nature. It may lack some of the bonds we, living today, value most. The practical nature gradually gave way to the more romantic elements. This love nowadays is almost entirely of a romantic nature so clearly expressed in North America when Iceland is hailed, successes of Iceland´s sons and daughters on the global stage are recognized. Einar Hjörleifsson described this and wrote: “The love for Iceland in the hearts of the Icelanders in North America is a plant, that is rooted deep in every person´s soul where only the best qualities of man can grow”.
This amazing chapter of the History of Icelanders is the focus of the website where it will be preserved for future generations.
About the Website.
In the past few years, a group of individuals in Iceland, Canada, and the US, interested in the emigration from Iceland to North America, has worked together on a remarkable project. The project created a database with information on Icelandic immigrants to North America from 1854-1920 and their children’s ties with Iceland. The database, which is housed on website www.vesturfarar.is will be educational and informative. It deals with all issues during this period which concern the ties with Iceland and the common heritage on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Main objectives:
Create a database containing names of emigrants and their children from the
emigration period of 1854-1920. This currently totals nearly 20,000 entries.
Link the emigrants to the various Icelandic settlements in North America.
Describe life in Iceland in the second half of the 19th century, explaining the causes of
emigration.
Discuss the emigration and Icelandic settlements in North America: why was such
and such a place chosen and how did the settlers manage in a new land.
Describe each Icelandic community and life in general.
Describe making a living in rural communities, towns, and villages.
Preserve the great variety of information concerning emigration from 1854-1920, for
example in poetry, annals, stories, and photos.
House and preserve articles and essays regarding the emigration and settlements.
Focus on history, not genealogy.
Provide a resource for current and future research projects.
