Reynifell

Horft frá Þríhyrningi niður á tóftir Reynifells og til Heklu

Reynifell við Reynifellsöldu og fjallið Þríhyrningur

ÞORGILS AND GUÐRÚN Husband and wife Þorgils Þorgilsson, 42 and Guðrún Erlendsdóttir, 38, settled at Reynifell in the spring of 1760. They had previously lived at Kot, one of the so-called Hekla farms. The Reynifell farm stood by the ridge Reynifellsalda, to the north, by the foot of the mountain Þríhyrningur. From there one can see far and wide across well grown lava fields beyond the home-field and mountains in the distance where Hekla, the great volcano, takes pride of place. Water trickling from Reynifellsalda was channelled into a dry-stone well at its roots. The couple had four children in spring 1760: Magnús twelve, Kristín nine, Sigurður eight and Jón three. That summer a fifth child was born, a son who was named Finnbogi. Another son was born in 1763 but he died that same year. That year, the father, Þorgils and the couple´s only daughter, Kristín, twelve, died as well. Guðrún continued farming at Reynifell with her sons and managed the farm for 27 years after the death of her husband. The three older sons later became farmers on neighbouring farms in the district Rangárvellir, Magnús farmed at Foss and later Tunga, Sigurður at Bolholt and later Stúfholt and Jón at Rauðnefsstaðir, becoming district administrative officer in Rangárvellir.

A BIG ERUPTION IN HEKLA 1766-1768 Three years after Þorgils and the two children died, a great eruption began in Hekla. It was in the morning of the 5th of April 1766 that the eruption began, with sharp seismic activity. Then fire was seen rising from the mountain, in up to 18 places at the same time and rock, pumice and ash rained over the surrounding area. Lava flowed in all directions, though mainly to the southwest but ash came down mostly to the east of any habitations. The people at Reynifell had one of the greatest Hekla eruptions in Icelandic history before their eyes for two years. A great lava field flowed up to the slopes of the mountains Vatnafjöll and on in the direction of the mountain Hafrafell but stopped there. Nothing obscured the view from the farm of the ongoing cataclysm.

FINNBOGI AND HELGA Finnbogi, Guðrún and Þorgils´ youngest son took the Reynifell farm over in 1790. His wife was Helga Teitsdóttir from Gunnarsholt. Their children were: Teitur, b. 1788, d. 1873; Árni, b.1790, d.1849; Guðrún, b. 1792, d. 1810 (only 18 years old); Jón, b. 1794, d. 1859; Höskuldur, b. 1797, d. 1832 and Finnur, b. 1802, d. 1832. FINNBOGI AND HELGA´S SONS Teitur farmed at Efrihvolur in Hvolhreppur in 1812, married to Kristín Björnsdóttir from Efrihvolur. Later they lived at Skeið by Þverá. Kristín died in 1831 but Teitur continued farming at Skeið. They had no children. He later married Sigríður Styrsdóttir. Árni lived in Vestritunga in Landeyjar from 1822 and at Galtalækur in Land from 1828 with his wife Margrét Jónsdóttir. Jón lived in Vatnagarður in Land from 1824 with his wife Guðrún Einarsdóttir from Þverá. His father, Finnbogi, bought the farm Mörk in Land at auction in 1818 and gave to Jón in 1825. Jón and Guðrún moved there in 1827. Höskuldur farmed at Þorleifsstaðir, the next farm to Reynifell, from 1829, with his wife Guðrún Jónsdóttir. Finnur, the youngest son, worked as farm hand for his parents. His fiancé, Þorbjörg Sigurðardóttir, was there as well and they intended to take the Reynifell farm over.

TURBULENT ÞVERÁ 1832 The brothers Höskuldur and Finnur were travelling in Fljótshlíð on the 5th of August 1832 and had business across Þverá, which at that time was a turbulent major river. They were on horseback and both ended up in the river and drowned. Finnur was thirty and Höskuldur would have become 35 the following day. It is not unlikely that they were on their way to or from the farm Skeið on the southern bank of Þverá where their brother Teitur lived with his wife Sigríður. A few months after the accident, Þorbjörg, Finnur´s fiancé, gave birth to a baby girl who was named Finnbjörg.

FARM SOLD 1835 But who was now to carry on at Reynifell? Helga and Finnbogi were beginning to tire, being in their seventies. The summer after the accident, Finnbogi died but Helga farmed on for another two years. She had two sons farming in Landsveit, Árni at Galtalækur and Jón at Mörk. In 1835, Helga moved to her son and daughter-inlaw, Jón and Guðrún at Mörk. The oldest son Teitur moved a year later to Landsveit and took over the farm at Skarð. Reynifell was sold and the farm taken over by Böðvar Tómasson.