top of page
Free!
**Never Miss a Blog Post: Subscribe to Icelandic Roots!**
Are you eager to stay informed about all things Icelandic? Look no further than the Icelandic Roots newsletter! Our dedicated team of authors and guest writers brings you insightful and engaging content on various topics related to Icelandic culture, history, travel, famous people, language, genealogy, and upcoming events.
Subscribe Today!


Kristín í Watertown and the Watertown Icelanders
By Jason Doctor At family reunions and visits with relatives in Watertown, South Dakota, a rich history of Icelanders from the area was...
Feb 2811 min read


150th Anniversary of New Iceland
Note: On January 29, Icelandic Roots will host a public webinar featuring Julianna Roberts, the executive director of the New Iceland...
Jan 184 min read


Rikkard (Richard) Hansson Beck 1897-1980
Richard Beck noted Icelandic-American scholar, teacher, writer and poet
Jan 34 min read


My Irish Vínarterta Making Mom
Author's note: I got an email from Rob Olason asking if I had any vínarterta stories. He is the editor of the Icelandic Roots newsletter....
Nov 23, 20244 min read


Pioneer memory: 'Torrential storm like an endless Icelandic waterfall.'
The roots of Vinarterta; the cake and the company.
Nov 23, 20244 min read


They left for Minnesota…
Celebrating the Icelandic settlement in Minneota 150 years earlier.
Oct 25, 20243 min read


Samtal Hour Explores the Journey to the Americas From Iceland
Journey to North America from Iceland
Sep 14, 20243 min read


Immigrating to America
The Icelandic Roots Writers Group used an exercise to create a dialogue between two people planning to emigrate. By Doreen Borgfjord...
Aug 31, 20244 min read


Stories, Sagas, and Captivating Tales-The First Decade of Icelandic Roots
By Rob Olason In 2012, Icelandic Roots was the name of a blog Sunna Furstenau started to document her role as the Icelandic National...
Jul 5, 20243 min read


Secrets Beneath the Earth in an Icelandic Cemetery
We’ve been working on a mystery, and for now … it remains unsolved. Where is the exact burial location? The secrets are beneath the earth.
Jun 29, 20246 min read


Mekkin Sveinson Perkins, the Translator
Remembering Mekkin Sveinson Perkins, a talented and driven woman who defied the social norms and its pressures on woman in the workforce.
May 11, 20245 min read


Abandoning Vinland
The Icelandic Roots Writers Group used an exercise to create a dialogue between two people planning to emigrate. By Bryndís...
Apr 12, 20242 min read

All new! The Icelandic Connection literary journal
by Sharron Arksey Although the last print edition of The Icelandic Connection came out in the summer of 2023, the saga of the literary...
Feb 29, 20241 min read


Bibles in the Icelandic Immigration to North America: Part One
by Doreen M (Borgfjord) McFarlane At the time of the immigration, 1875–1914, nearly all Icelanders were baptised and confirmed in the...
Feb 29, 20246 min read


Book Club - January 2024
The Icelandic Roots Book Club is back for another eventful season. As winter has endeared itself to many of us, it's a great time for...
Dec 9, 20234 min read


Minneota - An Icelandic Community
Note: Find the link to the recording of this webinar at the bottom of this post. By Kathryn Rothman Judy Dickson and the Samtal attendees...
Dec 9, 20233 min read


Icelandic Roots Emigration Port Plaques
By Rob Olason In September 2023 a group of Icelandic Roots volunteers traveled to Iceland to dedicate four monuments in four emigration...
Nov 11, 20234 min read


Why The Icelanders Left
By Sharron Arksey Why did thousands of Icelanders leave their homeland for North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s? The easy...
Oct 29, 20233 min read


1887 Icelandic Emigrants
by Willie Engelson As Willie is researching an 1887 travel journal that tells of his great grandparents and their journey to Washington...
Oct 29, 20235 min read


The Vinland Sagas
The voyages to Vinland from Greenland are described in Eiríks saga rauða (The Saga of Erik the Red) and Grænlendinga saga (The Saga of...
Oct 29, 20235 min read
bottom of page