Heirloom

This week’s prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is ‘Heirloom’. I have an heirloom from three of my grandparents: a thimble from my maternal grandmother, who was a beautiful quilter; a fishing net shuttle from my paternal grandfather, who was a fisherman and would use it to mend his nets; and a brooch from my paternal grandmother, made for her by her grandfather.

For the purpose of this blog I will write about the brooch. It was made for my grandmother, Margaret Einarson, who I wrote about in a previous blog, published January 8^th, 2018. Margaret was born September 18, 1897 in Arnes, Manitoba, Canada at the farm called Búastaði. Her parents were Jón Einarsson and Sigriður Jónsdóttir, both emigrated from Iceland in the early 1890’s settling in the Arnes area where they met and were later married December 21^st, 1895.

Margaret’s paternal grandfather was Einar Eiríksson, Jón Einarsson’s father. Einar was born in Svalbarðsseli, Þistilsfirði, Iceland on August 3rd, 1835. He left Iceland for Canada in 1894 and settled in the Arnes area. In the 1901 Census of Canada, Einar is listed as living in the Selkirk district in the area of Township 21, Range 4, Meridian E1 with his son, Jón Einarsson, and his family. At this time the family was said to be living at the Búastaði farm in the Arnes area which is consistent with the location recorded in the census. He moved with them to Kettle Bay on Red Deer Point in 1903. In the 1911 Census of Canada, Einar is listed as living in the Dauphin district in the area of Salt Springs with his son, Jón Einarsson, and his family. According to the Manitoba Historical Society publication Number 51 in February 2006, Virginia Petch wrote an article titled Salt-Making in Manitoba and Red Deer Point on Lake Winnipegosis was known as one of the Salt Springs in Manitoba. The Salt Springs of Manitoba were known to have water that contained enough salt that the salt could be harvested. According to Petch’s article, the salt was harvested by putting the brine into large kettles and using an evaporating furnace. Thirty gallons of brine would produce one bushel of salt and two bushels of salt could be produced daily from a kettle. The Einarsson family farmed in Kettle bay for nine years and then moved to George Street in Winnipegosis in 1912. In both the 1901 and 1911 Census of Canada records Einar is listed as “blind”. Einar passed away September 7^th, 1914 in Winnipegosis and is buried in the Winnipegosis Cemetery.

Einar was a goldsmith by trade. As a celebration of Margrét’s birth Einar designed and crafted a brooch. He was considered blind but by combining two pair of glasses he was able to see well enough to create the delicate work in this brooch. Einar engraved the initials ‘MJ’ in the gold plate in the middle of the brooch to represent Margrét’s initials as they would be if she were living in Iceland. The use of the patronymic naming pattern of Iceland would register her name as Margrét Jónsdóttir. However, as a Canadian Margrét’s last name was registered using the patrilineal naming pattern and she received the same last name as her father, Einarsson. Eventually her name was anglicized and she was known as Margaret Einarson. I am not sure of the exact age of this brooch but recognize it was made between the birth of my grandmother and the death of Einar, 1897 – 1914.

My grandmother gave this brooch to me and when I was married I affixed this brooch to my wedding hat and it represented ‘something old’. When my older sister was married she also wore it attached to her wedding hat and my younger sister attached it to the handkerchief she was carrying. This started the tradition to have the brides in my family wear this brooch for their weddings. My daughter-in-law and two of my nieces have worn this brooch and it is safely stored waiting for the next bride. This is such a beautiful heirloom to have in the family and to have it cherished by brides of each successive generation as they wear it proudly during their wedding.