When I had the pleasure of visiting North Dakota while touring the old Icelandic settlements in N-America the summer of 2004 (see Newsletters 41-46), my friend George Freeman handed me as a gift (one of many) a booklet called "Echoes from the Icelandic Immigrants". Very interesting one in which I always find something to read and reread. One small chapter there is a story titled Halldor "Sko" Thorgillson (Halldór Þorgilsson). He emigrated in 1876 from Dalasýsla County with his wife Málfríður Tómasdóttir and tree children: Þorgils, Kristján and Guðrún. The family settled at first in Mikley (Big Island or Heckla Island), Manitoba. It is uncertain when he left Mikley but known that he was in Mountain in 1882. He homesteaded near Mountain and remained there until his death.
Except for the story's headline, there is no mentioning in the chapter of Halldor's middlename "Sko". And I wonder if anyone knew the meaning of it - the middlename - when that chapter was written. It's obvious that "Sko" was Halldór's nickname.
Nicknames are well known wherever you go. In the small village where I grew up, on the north coast of Iceland, almost every man had his nickname. Nicknames related to e.g. the person's size (Jon "stutti" or Jon "shorty") or the person's age (Einar "gamli" or Einar the old one). Some had nicknames drawn from a color. The rainbow was well represented. There was Helgi "svarti" (the black one, because of his coal black hair), Páll "græni" (the green one, drawn from the name of the farm he came from: Grænavatn or the "green lake"), Valdi "hvíti" (the white one, because of his snow white hair, actually, he was an albino), Kalli "rauði" (the red one, because of his political believes rather than his red hair) and Stjáni "blái" (the blue one, because of the blue and obvious vains in his nose and cheeks). And there was Ingvar "sko". He was called so because of his habit of saying this word "sko" in almost every sentence he spoke. "The car "sko" broke down." "My wife "sko" went shopping." Etc. The word "sko" simply means "you see". I'm sure you all know someone with this "sko" or "you see" habit of talking. And Halldór "sko" Thorgillson brought his habit of saying "sko" from Iceland to the Icelandic community in N.-Dakota and the nickname was stuck on him for good.

A small additional story on nicknames. In a small village in Iceland a man named Jon became aware of that something (don't remember what it was) had been stolen from him. So he went to the sheriff to make a charge. Well, this became a common knowledge in the village and Jon was from then on always called Jon the thief.

Here is another one: In the Westmann Islands off the southern coast of Iceland, lived a man named Guðjón. During his twenties he moved to Reykjavík on three separate occasions each time failing to settle and returning home. From then on, until his death at the age of 81, he was affectionately known by his nickname, Gudjon the Wanderer.

The genealogy search for Icelandic women who emigrated alone - they may have been in some families' company but unmarried - can more than often be very difficult and sometimes quite impossible.
In the book of Veterans of Icelandic Descent in the WWI (Minningarbók íslenskra hermanna 1914-1918) I find very vague information of Edward Lessard's parents. He was born about 1895 in Br. Columbia. His father was of French origin, Alphonse Lessard, and his mother was Katrín Árnadóttir, born in Iceland. She lived in Teulon, Manitoba and her son lived there too after his return from the war. I really would like to know more about this Katrín Árnadóttir and her relation to Mr. Lessard. Were they married? Did she marry someone else? Did she have other children? Does anybody know about her or know how to find out? Canadian Census records? Too many questions?
In the Icelandic Emigration records there is a young girl who could be this Katrín. She emigrated in 1882, then 13 years old, with her mother, Þórunn Björnsdóttir a 51 year old widow She had been married to Árni Gíslason who died 1876. The same year, two other children of Þórunn and Árni emigrated, Sigurður and Þórður. Sigurður changed his surname Árnason to Anderson. He was married to Ólína Björg Bríet Ólafsdóttir (1872-1965), daughter of Ólafur Guðmundsson Nordal and Margrét Ólafsdóttir. They had many children: Ólafur Thordur (1890-1958), Carl (1892-??), Margrét Sigríður (1894-1965), Anna (1896-??), Sigurður Árni (1898-??), May (1900-??) and Harold (1902-??). Sigurdur Anderson became well known in Selkirk, Manitoba and was the first Icelander to be elected to Selkirk city council.
But don't forget, I want to know about Katrín Árnadóttir