Albert Jónsson (his Icelandic name) anglicized his name to "Albert Johnson" after he migrated to Canada.  Lögberg was an Icelandic-language newpaper published in Winnipeg.

On the Front Cover

Það sorglega slys vildi til fyrra miðvikudag, að Albert Johnson ís- lenzkur maður að 644 Toronto Str.   beið bana í einum vatnsleiðslubrunni bæjarins ásamt öðrum enskum manni.  Enski maðurinn hafði unnið við vatnsleiðsluna á nóttum, og virðist svo sem hann hafi farið ofan í brunngöngin til eftirlits nokkru áður en Albert heitinn kom til verks síns um morguninn, en hafi vanmegnast af gaslofti og fallið niður á járnslá, og þar fannst hann dauður.   En þegar Albert sál. kom að hafi hann saknað félaga síns og farið niður í brunngöngin til að reyna að bjarga honum en látið líf sitt við það.  Gasloftið yfirbugað hann og hann hrapað ofan í vatnið og drukknað.  Albert sál. hafði um mörg ár unnið við vatnsleiðsluna hér í bæ, og var einkar vel látinn maður. Hans er nánar minnst á öðrum stað hér í blaðinu.

A tragic accident happened on last Wednesday, that Albert Johnson, an Icelandic man who lived at 644 Toronto Street, was killed in one of the water wells of the town as he tried to rescue another man, from England, who also died in the accident.  The Englishman had been working on the water main during the night and it looks like he went down into the water well to inspect it just before Albert came to work that morning, but had fainted from poisoned gas and fallen onto an iron pipe, where he was found dead.  When Albert came to work, he started to look for his co-worker and  went into the well in order to save him.  The gas fumes overcame him and he fell into the water and drowned. Albert had worked for many years on the water main here in town and he was very well respected.  He will be further remembered inside the newspaper.

Inside the Newspaper

ÆFIMINNING   Miðvikudaginn hinn 8. þ.m. vildi það hörmulega slys til að landi vor Albert Johnson, sem vann við vatnsleiðslu bæjarins, dó af ofmiklu "gasi", ásamt með félaga sínum, enskum manni.  Að líkindum hefir Albert sál. verið að hjálpa félaga sínum, en beið bana af.   Albert sál. var tvíkvæntur, en missti fyrri konu sína fyrir rúmum 5 árum, - Sigríði, mestu sómakonu. Eftir hana lifa 3 börn. Seinni kona hans, Ástrós Jónsdóttir, lifir mann sinn.  Þeim varð eins barns auðið, sem kom liðið.    Albert sál. var einstakt ljúfmenni, starffús maður og skyldurækinn og vildi hvervetna láta gott af sér leiða.  Hans er mjög sárt saknað af harmandi ekkju og öllum þeim, sem nokkur kynni höfðu af honum.   Jarðarför hans fór fram frá heimili hans hér í bæ, og voru þar viðstaddir tveir prestar, sem héldu sína ræðuna hvor, séra Jón Bjarnason og séra  Bjarni Thórarinsson frá Wild Oak. Fylgdi honum fjöldi fólks til grafar og jarðarförin var öll hin vegle- gasta.    Ekkjan þakkar af hrærðu hjarta öllum hinum mörgu, sem studdu að því að gera útför síns sárt saknaða elskhuga virðulega, bæði með nærveru sinni og blómum á kistu hans.  B.Th.

OBITUARY   On Wednesday the 8th of April, a tragic accident happened, that our countryman, Albert Johnson, who worked on the water mains in the town, died of poison gas as he tried to rescue his co-worker from England who had already been succumbed to the gas. Albert was married twice, but he lost his first wife five years ago.  Her name was Sigridur and was a fine woman.  They had three children, who are still alive.  His later wife was Ástrós Jónsdóttir.  They had one stillborn child.   Albert was uniquely kind person; he was hard working and a man of duty who always wanted to do well.  He will be deeply grieved by his widow and all that knew him.    His funeral was held at his home in Winnipeg with two priests present, Rev. Jon Bjarnason and Rev. Bjarni Thórarinsson from Wild Oak, they both read a eulogy. Very many people attended the funeral, which was splendidly organized.   The widow wants to thank from the bottom of her heart everybody who made it possible for the funeral to be so honorable, both with his or her presence and with flowers on the casket. B.Th

Acknowledgement:
Thanks to Hálfdan Helgason, Reykjavík, Iceland  <[email protected]>  who located the article and typed the text (because the microfiche was difficult to read).   See his web page: The Emigration from Iceland to North America. <http://nyherji.is/~halfdan/westward/vestur.htm>

Thanks to Ms Edda Langsworth, Burnaby, BC, Canada, who made the final English translation in the third (right) column of the above table.
 

Updated: 2002 March 10