Pioneer farmer.
Born in Iceland on 10 September 1850, he immigrated to Canada in 1874 and, the next year, was sent by the Canadian government to investigate settlement prospects in the new province of Manitoba. He is believed to be one of the first Icelanders to visit Manitoba.
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, he and three other Icelanders traveled up the Red River to the western shore of Lake Winnipeg before choosing a site near present-day Gimli. In 1881, due to repeated crop failure, he left the settlement and took up a homestead near what later became the town of Glenboro.
He and his wife Anna G. Arason (1848-?) had six children: Tryggvi Arason (1878-1965), Gudrun Arason (1880-?), Ole Arason (1882-1966, grandfather of Gregory S. “Greg” Arason), Herman Arason (1884-1920), August Arason (1886-1958), and Gudny Arason (1888-?).
He farmed until his death on 24 June 1903 and was buried in the Grund Cemetery. A short memoir of his experiences in Canada is held at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Death of Skapti Arason,” Glenboro Gazette, 26 June 1903, page 1.
“Recalling a distinct society: Last St. Boniface Mayor remembers,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 July 1988, page 70.
Skapti Arason fonds, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 December 2024
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