Magnús Vilhjálmur Magnússon was born on May 25, 1858 in S. Þingeyjarsýsla. He died in N. Dakota on December 13, 1918. He took the last name Melsted in the west.
Spouse: Valgerður Kristjánsdóttir b. in Skagafjarðarsýsla on June 20, 1858, d. September 21, 1898 in N. Dakota. Some western sources identify her as Valney Stephan.
Children: 1. Elín Stefanía b. August 24, 1886 2. Kristín Lilja b. November 1, 1887 3. Sigríður b. February 10, 1889 4. Guðrún b. June 12, 1891 5. Karl b. January 8, 1893 6. Stefán died in birth.
Magnús came west to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1876 with his mother, Elín Magnúsdóttir, stepfather, Ólafur Jónsson, and siblings. They settled at Melstað near Gimli and lived there until 1881. From there, they moved to the Garðar Settlement in N. Dakota. Valgerður came west to Ontario, Canada in 1874 and moved east to Markland, Nova Scotia a year later. She moved to N. Dakota about 1880.