Friðrika Björnsdóttir
A "Royal Grave" in New Iceland
Friðrika’s story is as much about her intriguing royal bloodline as it is about her bravery, courage, and resilience. In her short 35 years of life, she took risks, suffered loss, and died tragically due to complications from childbirth. Her lone grave sits on her family farm, and to this day, her descendants faithfully care for the site.
The Royal Bloodline
Both family lore and genealogical records attest that Friðrika Björnsdóttir was a great-granddaughter of King Friðrik VI of Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The story is not without controversy, as Friðrika’s grandfather, Samúel Friðriksson, was fathered outside of marriage to a Danish woman known only as “Soffía María” when King Friðrik VI was only Prince Regent.
Nonetheless, the unrecognized royal bloodline continued. Samúel Friðriksson left Denmark, moved to the East Fjords of Iceland, married Jórunn Tómasdóttir and had several children, including a daughter, Lovísa María Samúelsdóttir. On July 25, 1849, Friðrika Björnsdóttir was born to Lovísa and her lover, Björn Jónsson.
Immigration to New Iceland
Friðrika immigrated to Canada in 1876 and lived on the now-historic homestead of Árskógur in what is now the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton, Manitoba. She died on August 8, 1884, shortly after the birth of her eighth child. As the cemetery at Nes had been abandoned, and the present community cemetery had not yet been established, Friðrika was buried on the family homestead. Her grave site was unmarked, recognized only by a small fence in poor repair.
Head over to "The Restoration" page to see the site as it was and the improvements we’ve made in recent years.
Friðrika’s Many Descendants
The descendants of Friðrika Björnsdóttir, a pioneer with ‘royal blood,’ now number in the hundreds and live all across the world. If you live in North America and have the following surnames in your family tree:
Magnússon
Guttormsson
Jónsson
Vídalín
You may be a descendant of Friðrika!
Check out the lineages on the "Are You 'Royally' Related?" page to see if you're related!
Information (Royal Grave) gathered from the now defunct website www.sagapublications.com, with special thanks to historian Nelson Gerrard.
A special thanks to Icelandic Roots for support in researching the royal connection.
