I am researching my family history, with the help of some relatives here in the US. A huge gap in my information is everything about my mother’s family. She was born in Iceland, and passed-away when I was just a teenager, well-before I was interested in her side of the family. I had, fortunately, visited Iceland with her before she died, but did not keep any contact information after she passed.
Here is what I know:
Name: Elin Kristin Guðmundsdóttir
DOB: 16 Jan 1929
District: Ísafjörður, Norður-Ísafjarðarsýsla, Iceland (based on what she told me, and what I remember)
Emigration: She came to the US in 1951 and married my father (Edmund Gibbons) in 1952.
She died on 02 Apr 1978
Her Mother’s Maiden Name was: Kristjan Jonsdottir (she reported on her marriage license)
She had one full-brother; Haikur (sp?) Gudmundson, who lived and worked on Westman Islands. I don’t know his wife’s name, but he did have a daughter also named “Elin”
She told me her father was a fisherman, and traveled all over the world. She left me his collection of foreign coins he collected. Both of her parents died before she came to the US. I never met them and only ever saw one picture of them.
She also told me that she had a few half-sisters, so her mother may have remarried after her father died.
She had a “Great-Aunt Disa” who passed away in 1973 or 74. This relative left her estate to my mother and her brother. This relative was in possession of a great many paintings by a famous Icelandic painter (I do not know his name), which were confiscated by the government, as they were concerned my mother would take her share out of the country. I went to Iceland in 1974 and was her legal representative and received a small sum of money from the attorney for this estate settlement.
I would appreciate any help you can provide, or if you can at least direct me where I can begin researching for information about the rest of my family.
Thank you in advance.