GÍSLI BJARNASON

Gisli Bjarnason was born 10 October 1879, the son of Bjarni Jonsson, born 12 September 1854 died in Utah 16 August 1883; and Johanna Jonsdottir, born 10 March 1856 in Rangarvalla. Gisli’s father, Bjarni Jonsson, immigrated to Utah in 1881 leaving his fiancée Johanna Jonsdottir and their son Gisli in Iceland. Johanna and Gisli immigrated to Utah in 1883. His father died two weeks after he arrived in Utah. His mother Johanna married Erlendur Arnason.
At the age of seven Gisli went to live with Petur Valgardsson. Petur had baptized Gisli’s mother in Iceland 12 March 1883. Gisli lived and worked with Petur until he was able to be self-supporting. At a young age of 15 he went to work on the Rio Grande Railroad. He also worked in the mines at Scofield for three or four years, and was working there when the most tragic coal mine disaster, in terms of the number killed, in American history occurred, up until that time. The Scofield mine disaster occurred 1 May 1900, when an explosion ripped through the Winter Quarters Number Four mine located west of Scofield. Men working in the mine were killed outright by the explosion, which occurred when an excessive amount of coal dust ignited inside the mine. Gisli was not on shift when the disaster occurred, but he helped with the rescue effort. With the $805.00 in gold he earned he paid off his first ten acres of land he had contracted to buy at the age of seventeen. From that time on farming and raising stock, were his life.
Gisli married Sarah Ann Tilley 12 March 1902; she died 7 November 1903, when their daughter Sarah Ellen, was born. Gisli married Vilmina Christina Valgardson, born 3 September 1882 in Spanish Fork Utah the daughter of Petur Valgardsson (1842 -1918); and Gudrun Soffia Jonsdottir (1863-1893), 22 February 1905. Gisli and Christina had ten children: Fay, Bertha, Wilma, Elva, Mildred, Bernice, Geraldine, Perry (who died shortly after he was born), Sherman, and Norma. In addition to these children, Sarah Ellen, Gisli’s daughter, with Sarah Ann Tilley lived with them and Christina’s brother, Ephraim’s two children: Hannah and Paul Valgardson.
Gisli and Christina went to Roosevelt, Utah, where he homesteaded. There were no houses, and the family lived in a tent. He helped to bring the first water to Roosevelt. After improving upon his homestead he sold out and moved back to Spanish Fork. Gisli saw many changes in farm equipment; he always kept up on the latest. As a boy he walked to Leland to work on a horse- powered threshing machine. Later he and his partner, Arni Johnson, owned and operated three different steam-engine threshing machines. They were the first to thresh grain at Roosevelt; they threshed all over Utah, Idaho, and even into Canada. They later owned two different gas-tractor operated threshers. The last part of his life, he owned, along with his son Sherman, the latest models of combines used for harvesting grain, as well as other modern farming equipment.
Gisli was appointed to the Board of the East Bench Canal Company in 1931 and served in that capacity for forty years. He worked diligently to promote the business activities of the Spanish Fork River System. He gave progressive leadership and was untiring in his efforts to promote the growth and development of water resources and made great contributions to agriculture on lands served by the system in the State of Utah.
He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he served in the bishopric of the Fifth Ward with Bishop Arthur T. McKell, and on the building committee when the church was built. He always actively supported the ward and stake farms. He is remembered as a man who helped shape the destiny of his children, and tried to instill in them the principles that were important to him: honesty, integrity, love of work, the will to help others, and the determination to keep going when things get tough.
Gisli donated a small corner of his property to the Icelandic Monument in Spanish Fork, Utah. The Lighthouse Monument was dedicated 2 August 1938. Gisli actively worked on his farm chores almost to the end of his life. At the age of 90 he could be found working on the haystack and doing other chores around the farm. When he could no longer drive he would have one of his children drive him around to check on the crops or the cattle. He died peacefully 4 August 1972 and is buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery. In Utah he was known as Gill Bearnson and Gesli Bearnson. Gisli is number 190 in Icelanders of Utah.

Helen Wilson

Helen Emily Johnson Wilson passed away peacefully on the morning of December 27, 2009 in Salem, Utah. She joined her husband of almost 50 years.

Helen was born August 6, 1917 in Spanish Fork, Utah to Emily and Autna P. Johnson (Arni Palsson, born in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland). She attended and graduated from Spanish Fork High School. She married Fred L. Wilson in Los Angeles, CA in 1937. They were later sealed in the Provo Temple. She was a school lunch worker for many years and was The head baker for several schools. She also worked for J.C. Penney and the Del Monte Cannery in Spanish Fork. After she retired and after her husband died, she enjoyed several years as a Grandmother for The Grandparent program. She was a talented artist-family and friends have many of her beautiful paintings.

She was also one of the few remaining "full-blooded" Icelanders in Spanish Fork. Her mother, Emily Johnson, was born in Minnesota to Icelandic emigrants Einar Herman Jonsson and Gudrun Halgrimsdottir.

Helen is survived by three children, Lois Ann Cameron (Dave), Spanish Fork; William LaMar Wilson (Marilynn), Payson; and Helen Marie Jackson, Shoshone, Idaho; 11 grandchildren; 30 great grandchildren, 17 great great grandchildren (incl. one unborn), and 1 unborn great great, great grandchild.

She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, (Jack and Heber Johnson); two sisters, (Christine Yergensen and Cecil Curtis Gull), and a newborn brother.

The family sincerely thanks the staff at the Salem Beehive home for their loving and compassionate care and A-Plus Hospice for their excellent care and compassionate service.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 12:00 Noon at Walker Mortuary, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork, Utah. Family and friends may call at the mortuary from 10:45-11:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.

The Fairy Maiden

An Icelander and his grandson
are by the sea one day,
talking as they go along,
telling stories on the way.

“Grandpa,” the boy said earnestly,
“tell me about the fairy maid,
and how she lit her light for you
at Black Rock on Cliff’s Isle, to aid.”

“Ah, yes, my son, I rowed my boat
far out to sea when it was calm,
out to the cleft where there were fish
and earned a blister on each palm.

“Out where the yellow cod swim by,
the halibut slide far below.
It was food waiting to be had,
but soon the wind began to blow.

“The day grew dark. The sky went black.
and rain clouds piled in the sky.
It was a whirlpool of doubt.
I thought that I was going to die.

“I saw a light shine in the dark
and rowed to it with all my might.
The boat was carried on the crests.
Black Rock was darker than the night.

“Yet I could see where Black Rock was.
I saw a light upon the shore.
There was a maiden holding it,
where nobody had been before.


“The torrent failed. The sea grew calm.
I passed the skerries to the bay
and pulled my boat upon the shore,
then sought the light without delay,

“but it was gone. The maiden, too–
the Fairy Maiden of the sea,
who steered me from the raging depths
and bore me through eternity.”


D. Gary Christian
Santa Clara, Utah
June 13, 2007

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

EYJÓLFUR GUÐMUNDSSON

Eyjolfur was born 11 October 1829 at Illugastadir, Tjorn i Vatnsnesi, Vestur Hunavatn. His parents are Gudmundur Ketilsson, born 1791, died 24 June 1859; and Audbjorg Joelsdottir, born 26 January 1802, died 14 December 1884. Eyjolfur married Valgerdur Bjornsdottir 12 November 1853. Valgerdur was born 9 September 1828. Her parents are Bjorn Sveinsson, born 9 March 1795, died 25 November 1859; and Rosa Bjarnadottir, born in 1806.

Eyjolfur and Valgerdur had twelve children: Ogn Eyjolfsdottir 1854-1940, Eygerdur Eyjolfsdottir 1855-1885, Audrosa Eyjolfsdottir 1857-1941, Sigurbjort Eyjolfsdottir 1858-1859, Gudmunda Minnie Eyjolfsdottir 1859-1929, Bjarnlaug Eyjolfsdottir Anderson 1861-1942, Gudmundur Eyjolfsson Jameson 1862-1955, Frodi Eyjolfsson 1864-1864, Ketill Eyjolfsson (Kelly Jameson) 1865-1917, Numi Eyjolfsson 1867-1867, Eyjolfur Eyjolfsson 1870-1934 and Bjorn Eyjolfsson 1872-1884.

Eyjolfur was a farmer by trade, but he had other interests. He gathered eiderdown; he hunted and trapped gray foxes and seals and sold their hides. He was awarded a medal by the king of Denmark for improving the living standards of the people. This award is still in the little church near his old home in Eyjatbakki. He had his own personal seal or stamp, given him by the king of Denmark.

Eyjolfur and Valgerdur joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The missionaries were Elders Haldor Jonsson and Einar Eiriksson. In 1883 Eyjolfur and Valgedur and eight of their children emigrated to Spanish Fork, Utah via North Dakota and Helena, Montana. Their son Bjorn drowned in quicksand near the Red River in Pembina, North Dakota in 1884.

Eyjolfur was an unusually intelligent and talented person. He helped many of the Icelandic people in Spanish Fork with medical problems. He was not licensed to practice medicine, so he was not accepted by the American Medical Association. He was a talented singer and wrote poetry in Iceland as well as in Utah. He was also a good wood carver and carpenter.

Eyjolfur and Valgerdur became disenchanted with the Mormon Church. They and all of their children, except Audrosa, left the Church and joined the local Lutheran congregation. Eyjolfur was a deeply religious person. He was kind and compassionate, and people who knew him loved and appreciated him. He was a student of the Bible and its teachings.

Eyjolfur died 19 September 1913 and is buried in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery. He went by Eyjolfur Jameson in Spanish Fork. He is number 125 in Icelanders of Utah.

Sherman Valgard Bearnson 1922 ~ 2009

Another 100% Icelander has gone on to that great reunion in heaven.

Spanish Fork . . .Sherman Valgard Bearnson, age 87, died Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at his home of causes incident to dementia. He was born April 25, 1922 in Spanish Fork, Utah to Icelandic immigrant parents, Gisle Bearnson (Gisli Bjarnason) and Christina Vilmina Valgardson. He was educated in Spanish Fork schools and graduated from Spanish Fork High School in 1940.
He worked alongside his father as a farmer and cattleman. Although farmers were exempt from the draft in World War II, Sherman enlisted in the Navy to serve his country. He served in the South Pacific on an aircraft carrier until the end of the war.
When he returned from the war, he met and married, Beverly Boyer, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on September 1, 1949. Beverly worked hard alongside Sherm on the family farm, along with their son, Steven. Sherman and Beverly modeled honesty, integrity, and hard work for their children. Sherm worked as a farmer and cattleman from the time he was a small boy until 2000, when he retired at the age of 78. He was the President of the South Irrigation Company, where he served on the Board for 32 years. He served as Vice-President of the East Bench Irrigation Company. He served 30 years on the Soil Conservation Commission Board; he and Beverly traveled to farms throughout the United States in the service of Soil Conservation. He was named Utah County Cattleman of the year and was honored by the Icelandic Association of Utah as Icelander of the year.
Sherman was a High Priest in the LDS Church where he served as Sunday School President and home teacher. For many years he volunteered on the 5th Ward Church Farm, donating his time, farm equipment, and fuel. He attended Utah Technical College on the GI Bill, where he learned flying, welding, and auto mechanics. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and working in his shop welding and repairing equipment.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Beverly Boyer Bearnson, and five children, Susan (Richard) Huff; Steven (Michelle) Bearnson, both of Spanish Fork; Barbara Bearnson (Todd Utzinger); Patricia Bearnson; and Gill (Cathy Revere) Bearnson, all of Salt Lake City. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, as well as two sisters, Geraldine Smith and Norma (Weston) Jones, of Spanish Fork. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Chet Bearnson; and siblings, Sarah Ellen Hanks, Faye Bearnson, Wilma Harmer, Mildred Hall, Elva Levanger, Bertha Johnson, Bernice Bearnson, and two cousins who were reared with the Bearnsons as siblings, Hannah and Paul Valgardson.
Funeral services will be Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the Spanish Fork Stake Center, 1006 East 200 South. Friends may call Saturday at the church from 11:00 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. prior to services. Interment will be in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery under the direction of Walker Mortuary, where military rites will be accorded by the American Legion Post 68.

ERLENDUR ÁRNASON

Erlendur was born 11 August 1844 at Stor i Lambhagi, Leira, Borgarfjardar. His parents are Arni Bergthorsson, born 3 May 1798 at Hafthorsstadir, Hvammur i Nordurardal, Myra; and Malfridur Gudlaugsdottir, born 21 July 1804 at Kollslaekur, Stir i As, Bordarfjardar, died 2 June 1869. Erlendur immigrated to Canada in 1876, where he spent a couple of years in the settlement called “New Iceland” on the west shores of Lake Winnipeg. Like many others, he moved on and went to the Dakota Territory. About 1880 he came to Spanish Fork, Utah. He wanted to follow the trade of goldsmith and learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a great reader and writer. He owned an agency for selling men’s suits. He would fit them and then order from a catalog. He was a practicing calligrapher. He wrote such beautiful handwriting that people would have him prepare their important records.

Erlendur married Johanna Jonsdottir, born 10 March 1856 in Rangarvalla, the daughter of Jon Bjarnason. They had two children: Autna Julius and Steinunn (Stana). Their marriage ended in divorce. He then went to Scofield and Winter Quarters in Carbon County to work in the coal mines. About this time he started to correspond with Katrin Jonsdottir, who was living in Winnipeg and working as a nurse at the time. She came to Spanish Fork in 1893 and married Erlendur 19 August 1893. They made their home in Winter Quarters, where Erlendur worked in the mines. They had six children: Katie, John, Olga, Ella, Cornella and Elma. Erlundur and Katrin split, and she went to Blaine, Washington, where she died 17 January 1944. She is buried in the Blaine Cemetery. Erlundur never went to Blaine, Washington. He died in Salt Lake City 12 September 1918 and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Erlundur is number 7 in Icelanders of Utah.