Fisherman, dog trainer.
Born on the east coast of Iceland in 1875, one of nine children of fisherman Eirikur Palsson Isfeld and Ingibjorg Einarsdottir, his father drowned when he was 7 years old. His mother remarried in 1884 and, two years later, the family moved to Cavalier, North Dakota. They relocated to Husavik, New Iceland in 1889 and settled on a farm at NW20-18-4E.
On arrival in Manitoba, he began raising husky dogs that he used to transport people around the Interlake region and also worked as a commercial fisherman. In 1914, he supplied 100 sled dogs to explorer SIr Ernest Shackleton for his expedition to the Antarctic. He also supplied dogs to the 1933 Antarctic expedition of Admiral Richard Byrd.
On 22 April 1903, he married Maria Tofhildur Jonasson (1885-1930) at Gimli and they had four children: Aurora Violet Isfeld (1904-?, wife of Ian Innes-Taylor), Stefan Lorence “Steve” Isfeld (1906-?), Olafur “John” Isfeld (1909-?), and Emily Anna Ingibjorg Isfeld (1912-?).
For the final eight years of his life, he lived with his daughter Emily at Edmonton, Alberta. He died there on 27 July 1973 and was buried in the Gimli Community Cemetery.
Marriage registration [John Isfeld, Mary Johansson Jonasson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [Aurora Violet Isfeld, Stephan Lorence Isfeld, Olafur Isfeld, Emily Anna Ingibjorg Isfeld], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Aurora Violet Isfeld, Ian Innes-Taylor], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registration [Maria Lorflildur Isfeld], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Around the town of Gimli,” Arborg Lake Centre News, 7 August 1973, page 2.
Isfeld Family of South Beach, Gimli by Lawrence Frantz, 2017.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Evelyn Ward for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 October 2026
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