Main information
Gender / Year of Submittee
Kona (1973)
Dating
Day sent: 28.01.2019
Object-related numbers
"Museumnumber b": 2015-1-90
Place
Núverandi sveitarfélag: Rangárþing eystra, Rangárþing eystra
Questions / Answers
Allar spurningar
Vilborg Rós Eckard
Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir
ENS203G Composition Assignment 7
26. March 2013
Unsung Heroes
The subject of the Icelandic midwife is one type of story that has almost slipped through the fingers of our history writers, although it is known that there were women who specialized in this kind of help as early as the first settlement of Iceland. These women were a special kind of hero often said to have healing hands and a gentle touch. Most of all they had great strength and empathy towards their fellow man in times that were harsh and nearly unbearable which made them remarkable (Sveinn Víkingur, 1963).
Social, medical and living conditions in Iceland during the 18. an 19. century were very different than they are in today's modern times and had stayed nearly the same for centuries until modernization happened nearly overnight at the turn of the 20.century. When the industrial revolution also reached the remote island of Iceland with electricity, telecommunication, automobiles and many other things that changed the world (hugi.is). The work of the Icelandic midwifes had also stayed the same for a long time, they were often housewives with midwifery on the side asked to become midwifes by the people of their own town communities (Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir,2002). My great, great, grandmother born in 1868 was one of those women and these women did so much more than just help women deliver their children in fact it can be said that they constituted for the social and medical aid of those times (Sigurður Fannar, 1999).
Living and social conditions were very harsh in Iceland until the mid 20.century. Iceland was mainly a rural society and poverty was endemic, people lived in turf houses made of stone or timber with turf roofs and often earth floors that were cold and wet in the wintertime and sanitation was very poor. To survive people had to work nonstop, owning cows and sheep was essential to that survival, they provided most of the food and clothing. Along with the farm work the land had to be worked, and those that had the opportunity to fish from the sea did that also. Everything possible had to be done to provide the fundamental necessities. Medical help was nearly nonecistant
My great, great grandmother needed her strength right from the beginning of her life being born in to very harsh conditions to a mother who became a widow a year after she was born. Her name was Þorbörg Benónýsdóttir and she was born in 1868 (d.1949) at Ormshús under Eylafjöll in the east of Iceland. Her mother worked as a maid in several places after she became a widow and Þorbjörg was sent to another farm called Mið-Grund where she grew up. She was seventeen years old when her mother died. Instead of being a dependent on the state she went south to Miðnes shire where she found work as a maid in several places. She had a son in 1891 when she was 23 Magnús Guðmundsson, before she became a maid in Syðstakot Miðnes shire, where she later became a housewife marrying Guðjón Þorkelson a farmer, sailor and carpenter who owned Syðstakot. After being literally homeless from the beginning of her life, Syðstakot was her home for the rest of it. At the time of 1850-1950 Syðstakot was thought to be a prosperous farm, that is no one went hungry living there but one had to work hard for that prosperity (Oddný Guðjónsdóttir, Helga Guðjónsdóttir, Sigurður Friðriksson and Þórhallur Gíslason).
Although life conditions were harsh Þorbjörg showed her perseverance by securing herself a position as a midwife in her home shire in spite of being a single mother and even then having started to lose her own children. Along with working on farms, Þorbjörg as a maid, helped women deliver children. In the fall of 1906 when she was 39 then having delivered her eighth child she was sent by Miðnes shire's authorities to Reykjavík to obtain a midwife license which took about twelve weeks in those days. She was a midwife for her shire for 32 years. She was a single mother until Guðjón married her in June of 1907 by that time she had had seven children by him; two of which had died few days after they were born Þórður Nóvember and Benóný Sveinbergur (Oddný Guðjónsdóttir, Sigurður Friðriksson and Þorbörg Kristjánsdóttir). Shortly after she became a licensed midwife and married Guðjón her eight (seventh by Guðjón) child Jón Árni died at the age of two in Jan. 1908. She had her ninth and last child in 1909 Jónína she only lived for three days. And the tragedies continued, two years after Jónína died her daughter Þóra died of diphtheria at the age of twelve in1911 and two years after that in 1913 her first child Magnús then 23 years old, drowned from a boat sailing between Sandgerði and Reykjavík (Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir).
Afterwards there was an 18 year period of peace and healing but then tragedy struck again and for that she would need all her strength and kindness to overcome. Þorbjörg was a very fortunate midwife and had never lost a mother or an infant at her many deliveries. But in 1931 her daughter Ólafía Kristín 35 died of complications during childbirth and the child a girl died with her, leaving six children motherless. Furthermore little over two months later her oldest daughter Guðbjörg Sigríður 36 died of tuberculosis leaving another seven children motherless and Þorbjörg with only one child living of the nine she had born in to the world. There was no room for the devastation and sorrow they must have all felt, 13 children had to be taken care of. At first Þorbjörg and Guðjón took their grandchildren home with them. As time went by the oldest ones went back home and instead of a mother they had maids to take care of them and life simply had to go on (Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir, Þórhallur Gíslason and Oddný Guðjónsdóttir).
Although much has improved regarding medicine and living conditions, life can also be hard in our modern times. My great, great grandmothers strength, perseverance and kindness to everyone that came her way despite all her troubles is an inspiration when life deals you one of its harder lessons. Everyone who knew her and of her tell a story of a petite dark haired woman who embraced life, was much revered, had great character, a sense of humor with her chiming laughter in addition to being hardworking and kind to everyone she came across. I have drawn strength from this remarkable woman's story since I was a young single mother and later a mother who had to bury a child, I hope I have at least an ounce of her valor.
Works Cited
Helga Guðjónsdóttir. Personal Interview. 11 March 2013.
Oddný Guðjónsdóttir. Personal Interview. 28 February 2013.
Sigurður Friðriksson. "Re: Information about Þorbjörg Benónýsdóttir." Message to the author. 10 March 2013. e-mail.
Sveinn Víkingur. Íslenskar Ljósmæður. Bindi I. Akureyri: Kvöldvökuútgáfan hf, MCMLXIII(1963). print.
Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir. Personal Interview. 9 March 2013.
Þórhallur Gíslason. Personal Interview. 11 March 2013.
Sigurður Fannar http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/486619/
Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir http://vefnir.is/UserFiles/File/2003/ThorunnGudmundsdottir-MenntunOgStorfIslenskraLjosmaedra.pdf
http://www.hugi.is/saga/greinar/701220/idnbyltingin/
Vilborg Rós Eckard
Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir
ENS203G Composition Assignment 7
26. March 2013
Unsung Heroes
The subject of the Icelandic midwife is one type of story that has almost slipped through the fingers of our history writers, although it is known that there were women who specialized in this kind of help as early as the first settlement of Iceland. These women were a special kind of hero often said to have healing hands and a gentle touch. Most of all they had great strength and empathy towards their fellow man in times that were harsh and nearly unbearable which made them remarkable (Sveinn Víkingur, 1963).
Social, medical and living conditions in Iceland during the 18. an 19. century were very different than they are in today's modern times and had stayed nearly the same for centuries until modernization happened nearly overnight at the turn of the 20.century. When the industrial revolution also reached the remote island of Iceland with electricity, telecommunication, automobiles and many other things that changed the world (hugi.is). The work of the Icelandic midwifes had also stayed the same for a long time, they were often housewives with midwifery on the side asked to become midwifes by the people of their own town communities (Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir,2002). My great, great, grandmother born in 1868 was one of those women and these women did so much more than just help women deliver their children in fact it can be said that they constituted for the social and medical aid of those times (Sigurður Fannar, 1999).
Living and social conditions were very harsh in Iceland until the mid 20.century. Iceland was mainly a rural society and poverty was endemic, people lived in turf houses made of stone or timber with turf roofs and often earth floors that were cold and wet in the wintertime and sanitation was very poor. To survive people had to work nonstop, owning cows and sheep was essential to that survival, they provided most of the food and clothing. Along with the farm work the land had to be worked, and those that had the opportunity to fish from the sea did that also. Everything possible had to be done to provide the fundamental necessities. Medical help was nearly nonecistant
My great, great grandmother needed her strength right from the beginning of her life being born in to very harsh conditions to a mother who became a widow a year after she was born. Her name was Þorbörg Benónýsdóttir and she was born in 1868 (d.1949) at Ormshús under Eylafjöll in the east of Iceland. Her mother worked as a maid in several places after she became a widow and Þorbjörg was sent to another farm called Mið-Grund where she grew up. She was seventeen years old when her mother died. Instead of being a dependent on the state she went south to Miðnes shire where she found work as a maid in several places. She had a son in 1891 when she was 23 Magnús Guðmundsson, before she became a maid in Syðstakot Miðnes shire, where she later became a housewife marrying Guðjón Þorkelson a farmer, sailor and carpenter who owned Syðstakot. After being literally homeless from the beginning of her life, Syðstakot was her home for the rest of it. At the time of 1850-1950 Syðstakot was thought to be a prosperous farm, that is no one went hungry living there but one had to work hard for that prosperity (Oddný Guðjónsdóttir, Helga Guðjónsdóttir, Sigurður Friðriksson and Þórhallur Gíslason).
Although life conditions were harsh Þorbjörg showed her perseverance by securing herself a position as a midwife in her home shire in spite of being a single mother and even then having started to lose her own children. Along with working on farms, Þorbjörg as a maid, helped women deliver children. In the fall of 1906 when she was 39 then having delivered her eighth child she was sent by Miðnes shire's authorities to Reykjavík to obtain a midwife license which took about twelve weeks in those days. She was a midwife for her shire for 32 years. She was a single mother until Guðjón married her in June of 1907 by that time she had had seven children by him; two of which had died few days after they were born Þórður Nóvember and Benóný Sveinbergur (Oddný Guðjónsdóttir, Sigurður Friðriksson and Þorbörg Kristjánsdóttir). Shortly after she became a licensed midwife and married Guðjón her eight (seventh by Guðjón) child Jón Árni died at the age of two in Jan. 1908. She had her ninth and last child in 1909 Jónína she only lived for three days. And the tragedies continued, two years after Jónína died her daughter Þóra died of diphtheria at the age of twelve in1911 and two years after that in 1913 her first child Magnús then 23 years old, drowned from a boat sailing between Sandgerði and Reykjavík (Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir).
Afterwards there was an 18 year period of peace and healing but then tragedy struck again and for that she would need all her strength and kindness to overcome. Þorbjörg was a very fortunate midwife and had never lost a mother or an infant at her many deliveries. But in 1931 her daughter Ólafía Kristín 35 died of complications during childbirth and the child a girl died with her, leaving six children motherless. Furthermore little over two months later her oldest daughter Guðbjörg Sigríður 36 died of tuberculosis leaving another seven children motherless and Þorbjörg with only one child living of the nine she had born in to the world. There was no room for the devastation and sorrow they must have all felt, 13 children had to be taken care of. At first Þorbjörg and Guðjón took their grandchildren home with them. As time went by the oldest ones went back home and instead of a mother they had maids to take care of them and life simply had to go on (Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir, Þórhallur Gíslason and Oddný Guðjónsdóttir).
Although much has improved regarding medicine and living conditions, life can also be hard in our modern times. My great, great grandmothers strength, perseverance and kindness to everyone that came her way despite all her troubles is an inspiration when life deals you one of its harder lessons. Everyone who knew her and of her tell a story of a petite dark haired woman who embraced life, was much revered, had great character, a sense of humor with her chiming laughter in addition to being hardworking and kind to everyone she came across. I have drawn strength from this remarkable woman's story since I was a young single mother and later a mother who had to bury a child, I hope I have at least an ounce of her valor.
Works Cited
Helga Guðjónsdóttir. Personal Interview. 11 March 2013.
Oddný Guðjónsdóttir. Personal Interview. 28 February 2013.
Sigurður Friðriksson. "Re: Information about Þorbjörg Benónýsdóttir." Message to the author. 10 March 2013. e-mail.
Sveinn Víkingur. Íslenskar Ljósmæður. Bindi I. Akureyri: Kvöldvökuútgáfan hf, MCMLXIII(1963). print.
Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir. Personal Interview. 9 March 2013.
Þórhallur Gíslason. Personal Interview. 11 March 2013.
Sigurður Fannar http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/486619/
Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir http://vefnir.is/UserFiles/File/2003/ThorunnGudmundsdottir-MenntunOgStorfIslenskraLjosmaedra.pdf
http://www.hugi.is/saga/greinar/701220/idnbyltingin/
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