The Sources on this Page
Pembina County has some of the best Icelandic information sources on the Internet. Maps, land patents, naturalization, and census data are available. Most of these sites are available at the USGenWeb Project.

• 1888 Map of the Dakota Territory shows Pembina County in the northeast corner.
• 1895 Map of North Dakota shows Pembina County in the northeast corner.
• Bureau of Land Management provides a search by name of homestead land patents in a state. This site will tell you if your ancestor homesteaded in the state, and if so, where. The date of patent is at least 5 years after the person first occupied the land. For US$10 you can order a copy of the patent application forms which will provide details about the buildings and livestock at the time of application.
• Map of Pembina County Townships in 1893. Most Icelanders are in Akra, Park, Thingvalla, and Gardar townships. Use the township and range from the homestead to determine the township where your ancestor lived.
• Plat Maps of Pembina in 1893 has an index of landowners by township and shows who occupied each piece of land in 1893. Use the township name from the map of townships to select the correct township map.
• North Dakota Naturalization Records Index can tell you when your ancestor became a citizen. Only the head of household needed to become a citizen. The rest of the family automatically got citizenship at the same time.
• 1900 Census Index (With Film Scans) lists heads of households by township and provides scans of the actual census documents. This tells you who in the family is still alive and resident in 1900.
• State Historical Society of North Dakota lists other information that can be searched in the state archives. Resources include a large collection of digitized photographs.
• Icelandic State Park has various information about Icelandic settlers in Pembina County. They have cemetary lists and maps that show where the first pioneers homesteaded. These are similar to the Plat Maps listed above. You can e-mail them.
• Social Security Death Index contains the records of deceased persons who possessed Social Security numbers and whose death had been reported to the Social Security Administration. It is most useful for later generations that died after 1962. It can provide the date and address at death.
• Saga Islendinga í Norður-Dakota by Thorstina Jackson Walters, 1926 in Icelandic. Most of this book is devoted to family histories of Icelanders in North Dakota. With the help of an Icelandic-English dictionary, the reader can usually determine the year of immigration, ancestors, siblings, and children of the people recorded in the book. Check the online index for articles about your ancestors.
• Vestur-Íslenzkar Æviskrár by Benjamin Krístjánsson and Árni Bjarnarson, published in 4 volumes by O. Björnssonar [1961-] in Akureyri. This is a collection of family histories of Icelandic immigrants to North America in Icelandic. Many are drawn from obituaries in Icelandic newspapers. Many entries are about residents of North Dakota. With the help of an Icelandic-English dictionary, the reader can usually determine the year of immigration, ancestors, siblings, and children of the people recorded in the book.
• The Icelandic Settlement of Pembina County by Sveinbjorn Johnson, published by State Historical Society of North Dakota, Volume 1, Bismark ND, 1906, pp. 89-131. This is a history of the community, rather than of individuals.
• Modern Sagas, The Story of Icelanders in North America by Thorstina Jackson Walters published by North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota Agricultural College, Fargo ND, 1953. This book is found in various libraries. It describes the history and development of the Icelandic community, but has relatively little detail about individuals.
  
  
  
  Hálfdan Helgason - Reykjavík - Iceland
  halfdan@itn.is