JÓN ÁRNASON (IR# I66036)
29 September 1798 – 5 September 1862
By Brian Borgford
Although Jón Árnason was born in the district of Mýrasýsla, he made his significant mark on Iceland during his time in Borgarfjarðarsýsla from 1839 until his death in 1862. He was reputed to be the largest, wealthiest, landowner, and farmer in Borgarfjarðarsýsla on his farm, Leira, where he housed as many as three dozen workers.
In 1843 a royal decree from ruling Denmark created a new “Alþingi”. Jón was elected in 1844 as a member of the 26-person body to represent the district of Borgarfjarðarsýsla and attended the new parliament at its first meeting in 1845.
Jón was appointed as the district manager, or sheriff, on at least six occasions. In 1854 he received the Order of the Dannebrog, bestowed by the Danish monarchy for service to the “fatherland” for a meritorious deed. It is not clear what his meritorious deed was, but it is reported that Jon hosted Prince Fridrik of Denmark (later King Fridrik VII) in 1834.
Jón died in 1862 at the age of 65 (63 as per the alternate birthdate) and is buried in the local cemetery. His metal grave marker reads:
JÓN ÁRNASON
Student. Dannebr.m. (1)
F. 7 febr 1797 (2) D. 5 sept 1862
Somewhere in the same cemetery, in unmarked graves, lie my great-great-grandparents, who were neighbours of Jón.
The moniker, “student” on his grave marker, is due to Jón’s formal studies. After losing his father and mother, while he was a teenager, Jón studied under a scholar in his district, before attending formal studies at Bessastaðir, which today serves as the residence of the President of Iceland. Jón was successful during his time at school and excelled in athletics, especially glima (wrestling). It is reported he may have bested, or perhaps assaulted, one of his instructors. Although not a tall man, he was strong and handsome and was liked and respected by all, especially women.
Upon his graduation in 1820, Jón married Halla Jónsdóttir, daughter of the local priest, and the first cousin of his mother. He had 12 children with Halla. His attraction to other women became apparent when he fathered a child with Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir, a thirty-five-year-old maid/farm worker in the district, at the same time as his wife was bearing her fourth child.
Halla died at the age of fifty-five, and shortly thereafter, Jón married twenty-year-old Ragnhildur Ólafsdóttir with whom he had seven children.
Jón produced 20 offspring, of which seventeen reached adulthood. Counting to the sixth generation, Jon’s descendants total more than 1,200, some of whom are still living. But that only includes offspring who were publicly acknowledged.
Jón, who enjoyed his alcohol, was known as a womanizer and is rumoured to have had affairs with local farm wives and workers, which may have resulted in more offspring who were not acknowledged.
Jón’s farm, Leira, abutted the farm of my great-great-grandmother, Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir, who was married to Gísli Magnússon. Ingibjörg’s eleventh child, Helga, my great-grandmother, was the only one of her 17 children who was not raised by her parents. She was sent away to live, and work, on other farms in the district. Family rumour indicates that Helga may have been the biological daughter of Jon Arnason. The farms where Helga lived were all connected to Jón Árnason in some manner.
Jón Árnason was an important man in the history of the district of Borgarfjarðarsýsla, and he may be my great-great-grandfather.
(1) Dannebr.m. refers to “Order of the Dannebrog”
(2) There is some dispute on Jon’s actual date of birth