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Genealogy Research Activities
- Ongoing research on the Icelandic Cemeteries in Northeast North Dakota
- “Cousins Across the Ocean” – an ongoing project to help people visiting from Iceland to find their cousins in North America. (2008 – present)
- Genealogy Center volunteer at the “Icelandic Heritage Festival” a.k.a. “August the Deuce” in Mountain, ND (2004 - present)
- RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) for Pembina County, ND
(2004 – present) – take photos of tombstones, farms, churches and send to people that request the information, help them with Pembina County Genealogy questions and provide links or the information.
- “Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival” - Genealogy Resource Room in Moorhead, MN (2005- 2006, 2008-2010)
- US GenWeb County Coordinator and webmaster for Pembina County, ND website. (2008 – present)
- US GenWeb: do lookups in historical publications, take photos of tombstones, cemeteries, farmsteads, schools, churches, etc for all of Pembina County
(2008 - present)
- Administrator for Surname Board, “Furstenau” on RootsWeb Message Boards (2004-present)
- Administrator for Surname Board, “Olafson” on RootsWeb Message Boards (2004 – present)
- Genealogy Custom Website Design and Maintenance
Board Positions Held
- Board of Directors for the Heritage Education Commission (August 2008 – present)
- Board of Directors for the Icelandic National League of North America
(May 2010 – present)
- Board of Directors for the Icelandic National League of Iceland
(September 2010 – present) Liaison from the United States
- Genealogy/Culture Related FB Page Administrator
A networking site to educate and inform FANS of the page about various topics related to the page. For instance, on the ‘’August the Deuce’’ page, I post links to interesting news in Iceland, historical information about Iceland and the pioneers that immigrated to America, current events in the Icelandic Community, recipes, traditions, poems, stories, folklore, Icelandic Language tips and translations, etc.
- FB page for ‘’August the Deuce.’’ (June 2009 - present)
- FB page for ‘’Family History Workshop:’’ (August 2009 – present)
- FB page for ‘’Icelandic Klub of Fargo-Moorhead’’ (January 2010 – present)
- FB page for ‘’Nordic Culture Clubs.’’ (January 2010 – June 2010)
- FB page for ‘’Icelandic National League of North America’’ (May 2010 – present)
- FB page for “Cousins Across the Ocean” (August 2010 – present)
- FB page for ‘’Icelandic National League of Iceland’’ (Nov 2010 – present)
- FB page for ‘’Lögberg-Heimskringla’’ newspaper (April 2011 – present)
- FB page for ”Hofsós Iceland Emigration” (September 2011 – present)
- Gestsson/Sigurdsson/Krakksson Family Reunion regarding Icelandic Heritage and Genealogy (2007)
- Heritage Program for the Deuce of August Celebration regarding the ‘’Cousins Across the Ocean’’ project. (2009)
- Heritage Program speaker for the Deuce of August Celebration regarding the “Cousins Across the Ocean” project. (2010)
- Icelandic National League of Iceland Annual Convention 2010 in Reykjavík at the Þjóðmenningahúsið. “Icelanders of North Dakota” (08 Sep 2010) 25 minute presentation with 350 photos to tell the story of our ancestors and the Heritage Celebrations in North Dakota with special focus on August the Deuce and inviting Icelanders to come to North Dakota.
- 2nd Annual Þorrablót at our farm – ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota’’ (29 Jan 2011)
- Kynningarfundur er í Amtsbókasafninu – INL/ÞFÍ, Verurfarasetrið, og Vesterheimur convention in Akureyri ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota’’ (15 Feb 2011)
- North Dakota State Genealogy Society meeting in Bismarck, ND – ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota’’ (08 Apr 2011)
- Minneapolis Hekla Club 2011 Samkoma Event at the Knights of Columbus, Bloomington. ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota.’’ (16 Apr 2011)
- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Presentation: ‘’INL of NA Facebook’’ (30 Apr 2011)
- Fargo-Moorhead Icelandic Klub May meeting at Hope Lutheran Church – South Campus, ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota.’’ (05 May 2011)
- Heritage Program speaker during the 112th Deuce of August Icelandic Celebration in Mountain, ND. Presentation: “Cousins Across the Ocean.” (30 Jul 2011)
- Sunday featured speaker at the 112th Deuce of August Icelandic Celebration in Mountain, ND. Presentation: ‘’Icelanders of North Dakota.’’ (31 Jul 2011)
- 2011 Icelandic National League of Iceland Convention in Hofsos, Iceland. Presentation: “The Love of Iceland in America.” Featured speaker during the convention. Speaking about the strong ties between Iceland and NA especially with the 2 INL’s, Snorri Programs, and the Icelandic Heritage Celebrations that happen throughout America (28 Aug 2011)
Special Projects
- Researched and developed five large outdoor storyboards at the Thingvalla Lutheran Church Memorial site. The panels use English and Icelandic text, data, and photos to tell the story of the Icelandic immigrants to the area. Schools, church, community, area history, and information about the Icelandic poet, K. N. Julius are included in the storyboards. www.thingvalla.org (2005 – 2007) Dedicated 04 Aug 2007.
- Assisted the Thingvalla Church Memorial committee in fundraising, designing the layout, and choosing the sculptor for bronze replica Christus statue (2003 – 2007)
- Organized the repair of tombstones in the Icelandic Cemeteries of NE North Dakota, contacted family members that have ancestors buried in these cemeteries and are missing grave markers. Assisted these families in getting grave markers for their family members. (2010 and 2011).
- Volunteered at the North Dakota Exhibit, ‘’Prairies Wide and Free’’ at Hofsós, Iceland for the week of August 21 – 29.
- Coordinate presentation in North Dakota by Kristínn Guðjónsson, Volcano Expert, at the Icelandic State Park (08 October 2010 at 7 p.m.) as part of the International Visits Program through the INL of NA in cooperation with the Icelandic Communities Association of northeastern North Dakota.
- Host, advertise, purchase, and coordinate movie held at the Cavalier Theater, ‘’From Turf Cottage to the Cover of Time’’ (30 October 2010 at 2 p.m.) as part of the INL of NA Donald K. Johnson Movies.
- Purchase, advertise, and coordinate movie at the Mountain Community Center, “The Seagull’s Laughter.” (07 May 2011 at 7 p.m.) as part of the INL of NA Donald K. Johnson Movies in cooperation with the ICA and MCC.
- Jon Sigurdsson Play and Bústaðakirkja Choir Concert at the Mountain Community Center. I designed the brochures, did all the advertising set-up and distribution, hosted the 6 people from Iceland associated with the play: Almar Grímsson, Sveinn Einarsson (director and writer), Þóra Kristjánsdóttir (his wife and past art historian of the National Museum), Ásta Sveinnsdóttir (their daughter and professor of Data Theology in California), Árnar Jónsson (old Jón), Hilmar Guðjónsson (young Jón). (15 Jun 2011 at 7 p.m.) in cooperation with the Mountain Community Center, Mountain Legion, and ICA.
- Mats Wibe Lund, International Visits Program presentation on ‘’Icelandic Ancestral Farms.’’ Helped area people research the names of their farms, much communication needed between Mats and the people he is working with for their farms, did all the advertising and publicity. (08 Oct 2011 at 7 p.m.) at the Mountain Community Center in cooperation with the MCC and ICA.
“Icelandic Heritage Festival” a.k.a. “August the Deuce” in Mountain, ND
(Volunteer 2004 - present)
RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) for Pembina County, ND
(Volunteer 2004 – present)
·“Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival” - Genealogy Resource Room in Moorhead, MN
(Volunteer 2005, 2006, 2008 - present)
US GenWeb County Coordinator for Pembina County, North Dakota
(Volunteer 2008 – present)
US GenWeb: do lookups in historical publications, take photos of tombstones, cemeteries, farmsteads, schools, churches, etc for PembinaCounty (Volunteer 2008 - present)
“Heritage Education Commission” Board Member (Volunteer 2008 – present)
Administrator for Surname Board, “Furstenau” on RootsWeb Message Boards
Administrator for Surname Board, “Olafson” on RootsWeb Message Boards
Genealogy Custom Website and Facebook Design and Maintenance
·ThingvallaLutheranChurch – Icelandic Church Memorial
(volunteer 2003 – present) www.thingvalla.org
“Icelandic Heritage Festival” a.k.a “August the Deuce in Mountain, ND.”
(volunteer 2005 – present) www.august2nd.com
On Facebook as “Deuce of August”
US GenWeb Pembina County, North Dakota – design and maintain website
(volunteer 2008 – present) http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ndpembin/pembina.htm
Personal Website for genealogy http://www.rootstotrees.com
Design and maintain Facebook page for “Icelandic Klub of Fargo-Moorhead.”
Design and maintain Facebook page for “Family History Workshop.”
Genealogy Speaking
Gestsson/Sigurdsson/Krakksson Family Reunion regarding Icelandic Heritage and Genealogy 2007
Annual 2nd of August Icelandic Heritage Celebration 2009 speech on “Cousins Across the Ocean” project
Special Projects
Researched and developed five large storyboards at the Thingvalla Lutheran Church Memorial site. The panels use English and Icelandic text, data, and photos to tell the story of the Icelandic immigrants to the area. Schools, church, community, and history are included in the storyboards. www.thingvalla.org
Assisted the Thingvalla Church Memorial committee in fundraising, designing the layout, and choosing the sculptor for bronze replica Christus statue
Ongoing research for the Icelandic Churches and Cemeteries of Northeast North Dakota.
Personal Genealogy Publications
·“Roots to Trees - Hungary and France” – A 330 page, hardbound volume concerning husband’s maternal ancestors and all living relatives. (Published 2004)
“Roots to Trees - Scotland and Norway” - A 250 page, hardbound volume concerning my maternal ancestors and all living relatives (Published 2005)
“Roots to Trees - Germany” is a book that is in progress concerning my husband’s paternal ancestors and all living relatives
“Roots to Trees - Iceland” is a book that is in progress concerning my paternal ancestors and all living relatives
Written several newsletters and news articles regarding genealogy
“Cousins Across the Ocean” – a magazine article for the Icelandic Genealogical Society. Ran in the 2008 winter edition of their quarterly magazine.
Specific Genealogy Research
84 page family history for Rock Messerschmidt (gift when he married my sister)
(Volunteer 2007)
100 page family history book for Sigurdur Isfeld for his 89th birthday (Volunteer 2008)
105 pages of documents for Barry Schmiess ancestors with Pedigree and charts (Volunteer 2008)
Genealogy research for many people on a smaller scale (2004 – present)
Genealogy Memberships and Organizations
Thingvalla Cemetery Association
ICA - Icelandic Communities Association
FM Icelandic Klub - on Facebook as “Icelandic Klub of Fargo Moorhead.”
Northeast North Dakota Heritage Association
NDPCHS – ND Pembina County Historical Society
Heritage Education Commission
State Historical Society of North Dakota
NDSGS - North Dakota State Genealogical Society
Ox Cart Trails Historical Society
Various online message boards
Various magazine subscriptions
Education
1980 Registered Nurse Diploma, St. Luke’s School of Nursing, Fargo,ND
2003-present Self-taught computer and genealogy skills
2005 German Genealogy Class – through OurFamily.com
2005 Family History Workshop
2006 Family History Workshop
2007 Family History Workshop
2008 Family History Workshop
2009 Family History Workshop
2009 Genealogy Trip to Iceland and to Salt Lake City
2010 Genealogy Trip to Iceland
2011 Genealogy Trip to Iceland
2011 Family History Workshop
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