Kathleen Peterson

As a proud descendent of Icelandic immigrants on her mother’s side, Kathleen has been dabbling in genealogy since her 20s, having listened to all the family stories throughout her childhood. Back in the 80s, trying to keep track of a grandfather who married twice and had 13 children and a great-grandfather who had three wives and 13 children, all with the complication of Iceland’s unique patronymic naming system, she took to writing down tidbits of information gleaned from these stories. Forty years later, with the help of today’s electronic indices, websites, and databases, all of the family stories (and all those bits of paper) are finally coming together in one place.

Kathleen’s maternal grandfather emigrated to Canada in 1887 and eventually settled in the Argyle Municipality of Manitoba, between the towns of Baldur and Glenboro. Her mother’s maternal grandparents emigrated in 1888 and 1891 and eventually settled near Lundar, Manitoba.

Having followed Icelandic Roots for years on Facebook, Kathleen took the plunge and became a member in January 2022. Right away, a wealth of information about her family tree fell into her lap. She thanks the volunteer team as well as past and present members for building up this informative database, which is assisting her in untangling her family history.