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ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

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gnstill
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ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by gnstill » Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:13 pm

New Family Page: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Please post comments and queries about the family of Alfred John EVANS here.

bthor
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by bthor » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:47 pm

Hi Gary
The Icelandic tradition is a Child is always their father’s son or daughter (dottir in Icelandic), and women never change their names when they marry.
1)Elin was Svein’s daughter, hence Elin Sveinsdottir, later Ellen Swanson.
2)Svein was Gislas’s son, hence Svein Gislasson.
3)Kristin was John’s daughter, hence Kristin Johnsdottir.
My father ‘s side of the family came from Iceland. Over time the Canadian Icelanders (Goolies) stop the tradition and were sort of forced to use the English form of surnames. I had some trouble with the census because an English person used the fathers surname instead of their real surnames in one and an Icelandic person used their real surnames in another.
Beth (Thorsteinson) Balsillie

gnstill
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by gnstill » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:43 am

Thanks Beth. Icelandic surnames have always been a problem for me.

I’m still confused though. Does that mean that they did not have surnames at all in the sense that English people use them? You say Elin’s father was Svienn. Svienn what or who (surname)? And Gisla who or what?

Does that mean that SVEINSDOTTIR isn’t really a surname and that next generations all used the name SWANSON? What would be a proper way to state Elin’s mother and father then?

bthor
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by bthor » Fri Mar 07, 2014 10:17 pm

Yes, please take the English use of surnames and throw it out the window.

The best way to explain it is to use you as an example. You and all your brothers would have the surname Jamessson (James's son), your sister would have the surname Jamessdottir (James’s daughter). Your wife would have been Eldred Merle Ventricesdottir even after she was married and your sons would be Adam and Christian Garysson.
The Icelanders don’t use the apostrophe with the s to show possession. Slowly over time, the extra s in front of "son" was dropped - their way of becoming more English. Also Icelanders were forced to comply with English form of surnames around the 1890's, so some names became the English translations.
Now for Elin:
Please remember, back in the day racism did run ramped. Icelanders had to deal with their fare share of it too. The English were at the top of the totem pole. Ellen Swanson was born Elin Sveinsdottir. Whether it was at school or someplace else, she was told Sveinsdottir was unacceptable and like many other little girls, was forced to change the “dottir” to “son”. Remember females had very little rights in Canada back then. Elin’s surname became Sveinson and to be more English she used the name Swanson.
I hope I explained very thing ok.
Beth

gnstill
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by gnstill » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:54 am

Yes, I guess that explains everything Beth, but its cold comfort. This confusing name structure has to be a nightmare for anyone trying to trace their Icelandic ancestors. It renders it almost impossible to do any follow-up using conventional methods.

bthor
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by bthor » Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:23 am

Icelanders are a very proud breed and keeping track of their heritage is very important to them. As long as we keep track of what happen here in Canada, the rest is very well document in Iceland.

rossm
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by rossm » Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:28 am

Tell me about it. The good news is the fact that they wrote every thing down. Without access to the book "Icelandic River Saga" researched and written by Nelson S. Gerrard, I never would have traced my sons Icelandic ancestry back to Séra (Pastor) Mikael Bergsson, born abt. 1575 at Gar§ur in Kelduhverfi, Iceland.

Ross

gnstill
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by gnstill » Mon Mar 10, 2014 6:30 am

That’s interesting Ross. Now that you mentioned this I’m curious about your wife’s ancestors. Can you tell us more about your wife’s parents? Probably better if you reply to that under the topic for your father:
FORUM DISCUSSING the ARCHIBALD McLEOD FAMILY

slsjj48
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Re: ALFRED JOHN EVANS (1873-1941)

Post by slsjj48 » Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:00 pm

Our cousin brought this site to our attention. Alfred John Evans was my husband's great grandfather & his youngest son Svein "John" Evans was his Grandfather or Granddad as he called him. We are very thankful to learn more about our heritage. Thank you :)

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