Gudmundur
Palmason:
Farmer in Rekavik Bak Latur
and Lighthouse Keeper at
Straumnesviti.
This picture was taken in Hull, Yorkshire. It was important that he learnt English so
that he could communicate with shipping more effectively.
Apparently, he made frequent visits to Hull or Grimsby. Rekavik Bak Latur was a harsh place to survive in...and farming was insufficient to sustain a family; especially one where sons
and daughters ammounted to around 17. My mother told me that the months after Xmas could be near starvation until the first supply ship passed by. She also told me that meat would be salted
to preserve it. The lighthouse job was important indeed. Gudmundur died in 1951 - and the family farm was eventually deserted as his offspring moved to cities and towns. A re-union of the descendants of Gudmundur Palmason took place in Hornstrandir a few years back. My brother and sister attended this and brought back a camcorder recording of the event. There were 200 people showing up. There were many who couldn't make it to the feast, including my parents and I. The 20th Century never truly took hold in Hornstrandir. Populated for centuries by isolated, hardy families the growth of the modern world left Hornstrandir deserted by the '60s. It is now a nature reserve - with settlement forbidden, it would seem, without permission. But tourists are finding this area attractive (particularly hikers). Away from the noises and bustle of man - into the Tolkienesque images of people who once upon a time sought to hold sway upon this
land - who built their fortresses (farms) to display their territorial advance - but who have long since passed away or moved elsewhere. So if you visit Hornstrandir and walk the lonely valley of Rekavik Bak Latur - there should be a ruined farmhouse where my mother was born and raised. The place where her mother Ketilridur Porkelsdottir died - with Asa (my mother) only 8 years old. She would remember little of poor Ketildur, but the inner loss probably remained. About eight years after this Asa quarreled with her father and left home - borrowing
her brother's horse to travel to Isafjord.
Why was the
area named Rekavik Bak Latur?
A: Because people who came to visit tended to
come bak even latur than they said they would.
Yes Brian. That was very funny. Do you want me
to laugh now or later?
Anyhow, let's go back to 1750:
Hilda Olafsdottir was born
In 1761:
Gudmundur Gudmundsson was born
In 1783:
Mt. Laki erupted, and for about
nine months it produced a cloud that blanketed the sky. Livestock died
from
eating fluorine contaminated
grass.
Crops failed through acid rain. At times the clouds reached as far as
Syria.
As well as being a possible
contributory
factor toward the French Revolution it devastated Iceland, wiping out
25% of its population. Much of
Iceland became uninhabitable for awhile. But Hornstrandir, according to
my
brother's information, was not
affected by Laki in any serious way. In fact, Hornstrandir thrived. It
is likely
many displaced Icelanders
migrated
to the region in this decade.
NEW!! Gudmundur
Gudmundsson lived in Midfirdi (north of Iceland). He was forced to move
when the sea in
that region froze, leaving it
impossible
to fish. It is likely to have been a climatic result from the Haki
eruption.
In
c.1786:
Gudmundur moved from Midfirdi to
Adalvik in the Hornstrandir region.
AT SOME POINT, BEFORE OR AFTER
THIS UPROOTING HE MARRIED HILDA.
It seems a curious thing, but many of the
husbands in this genealogy married females that were older than them.
Was
this a way to acquire a farm or homestead - or was
the mortality rate of men in harsh working conditions
(fishing,inclement
weather, etc.) giving rise to widows or oldest daughters
who needed a man about the place? Or was it, simply, that men tended to
prefer older women? Any ideas?
It seems Iceland was having a
problem
with destitute people wandering the country and their dependency on the
rooted
population must have become too
much to tolerate, because a law was introduced which required all
inhabitants
to have
a domicile/farm. Women were given
an equality that was remarkable in 18th and 19th century Europe. Upon
the
death
of a husband - the wife would
inherit
the farm.
A female (ie. eldest daughter)
could inherit a farm.
In matters of status Iceland
classed
thus:
Farmer HIGH STATUS - Farmer's
Wife
HIGH STATUS - Farmer's widow HIGH STATUS
Labourers LOW STATUS - Female
servants
LOW STATUS - Children LOW STATUS
If you want to offer further info
don't hesitate to contact
me BACK TO TOP
On 05/09/1792:
Gudmundur and Hilda had a son,
who they named: BJORN GUDMUNDSSON
Two years
later
- 1794:
Porgerdur Jonsdottir was born
At an unknown date:
Bjorn Gudmundsson and Porgerdur
Jonsdottir married
On 13/04/1818:
SILFA JONSDOTTIR was born
On 22/06/1822: Bjorn and Porgerdur had a son
named JON BJORNSSON
On 17/02/1833: Hildur Olafsdottir died; aged
c. 83y
On 19/09/1846: Jon Bjornsson (24) married
Silfa
Jonsdottir (28)
On 08/12/1847: Gudmundur Gudmundsson died;
aged 86y
On 26/02/1850: Gudridur Sigurdardottir was
born
On 27/09/1852: Jon Bjornsson and Silfa
Jonsdottir
had a son, whom they named PALMI JONSSON
On 26/11/1853: Porgerdur Jonsdottir died;
aged
59y
On 18/01/1870: Jon Bjornsson died; aged 77y
On 18/08/1875: Ketilridur Porkelsdottir was
born
On 13/09/1877: Palmi Jonsson (24) married
Gudridur
Sigurdardottir (27)
On
28/01/1878: Gudmundur Palmason was born
Looks a little like the Spring of 1877
produced
more than a little love. Naughty Palmi and Gudridur!
TOP In 1882: Widows/unmarried females who
were independent householders were given the right to vote.
Apparently, women had had this right taken away earlier in this
century, because diplomats from other European countries had observed
women farmholders being allowed to vote. They
informed
the confused Icelanders that women voting was 'not an accepted thing in correct government'. On 05/04/1883: Silfa Jonsdottir died; aged
64y
On 03/03/1887: Jon Bjornsson died; aged 64y
On 30/12/1887: Gudridur Sigurdardottir died;
aged 37y
On 30/10/1899: Gudmundur Palmason (21)
married
Ketilridur Porkelsdottir (24)
On 03/11/1914: Palmi Jonsson died; aged 62y
On
27/10/1917: Gudmundur Palmason and
Ketilridur
Porkelsdottir had a daughter, who they named: ASA BYRON GUDMUNDSDOTTIR
On 26/11/1918 - at Bishop's
Stortford,
England: Philip William Pearce was born
On 18/11/1925: Ketildur Porkelsdottir died;
aged 50y
Asa Byron Gudmundsdottir left the Hornstrandir
in the mid thirties for Isafjord. She worked for a dentist whose wife was disabled. The dentist died from a heart
attack while shaving. The dentist's wife decided to move to Reykjavik - and Asa went with her. Asa moved on to share
a place with a sister. Like most Icelanders she was chilled by the German troops masquerading as 'civilians'
who sought to gain control of the country - and relieved when the
British sent an open military force to round up the
Germans. But once the Americans joined the war Asa started to have fun. She fell in love with an American soldier
and exchanged many love letters with him after his posting to Burma. One day..the letters from the American stopped
arriving. Philip William Pearce had been serving in
the RAF amongst the groundcrew. At the end of the war he was posted to Iceland as part of the team that would hand
over power back to local government. He arrived in October, 1945. On
15/06/1946:
Philip William Pearce (27)
married
Asa Byron Gudmundsdottir (28)
Philip and Asa moved from Reykjavik to
Bishop's
Stortford, Hertfordshire,England. TOP
1950:
Philip and Asa had a son, who
they
named MICHAEL PHILIP PEARCE
On 21/02/1951 - in Rekavik Bak
Latur:
Gudmundur Palmason died; aged73y
On 07/07/1952 - in Bishop's
Stortford:
Philip and Asa had a daughter,
who they named DIANA ASA SUAVA PEARCE
On 09/05/1954:
Philip and Asa had a son, who
they
named BRIAN ROBERT PEARCE (me)
1991:
Brian and Paula had a daughter
named RACHEL
On 25/01/1993:
Philip William Pearce died; aged
74y
On 24/01/1994:
Asa Byron Gudmundsdottir died;
aged 76y
In June, 1997:
Diana Asa Suava died; aged 44y
LINKS:
English text links:
ICELAND
ROOTS: Michael Philip Pearce takes a more detailed look at the
genealogy
of Gudmundur Palmason and Ketilridur Porkelsdottir
THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN APPROX. YEAR 1912
IT WAS TAKEN IN REKAVIK BAK LATUR
IT IS GUDMUNDUR PALMASON WITH PARENTS (?), SISTER (?) AND HIS EARLIEST
CHILDREN
TO SEE THIS PICTURE, PLUS PICTURES OF ICELAND
IN 1945 AND MORE...
CLICK
HERE
Icelandic text links:
SIGURVEIG PALMADOTTIR has got reams of info on family history in
Hornstrandir. TO OBTAIN FURTHER INFORMATION ON GUDMUNDUR PALMASON AND HIS
CHILDREN,
PLUS OTHER RELATIVES: VISIT SIGURVEIG PALMADOTTIR'S SPLENDID WEBSITE:CLICK
HERE
Gudmundur
Palmason:
THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN APPROX. YEAR 1912
