Memorable Manitobans: Olafur Pétursson (1879-1952)

Real estate agent, building contractor.

Born in Iceland in 1879, he came to the United States with his family in 1882 and settled at Roseau, Minnesota. He moved to Foam Lake, Saskatchewan in 1903 where he farmed and operated a store then came to Winnipeg around 1911 where he worked as a building contractor with his brothers Hannes Pétursson and Rögnvaldur Pétursson and as a real estate agent.

On 28 January 1901, he married Annie Azelia McNab (c1884-1960) at Winnipeg and they had ten children, including Philip Markus Petursson, Elsabet Gudrun “Elsa” Petursson (1904-1989, wife of Terry Angantyr Arnason), Rognvaldur Franklin “Valdi” Petursson (1906-1968), Hannes Jon “Pete” Petursson (1908-1985), Anna Rosa Petursson (1911-1992, wife of Sigurdur Sigmundson), Olafur Bjorn Petursson (1913-1975), Lillja Petursson (1917-1987, wife of Kenneth Oatway Mackenzie), Petur Bjarni Petursson (1921-1983), and Sigurdur Gunnar “Siggi” Petursson (?-?). The family lived at 123 Home Street (1952).

He died at Winnipeg on 7 February 1952 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.

Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Acadia Apartments	590 Victor Street, Winnipeg	1913
Elsinore Apartments	677 Maryland Street, Winnipeg	1913
Tremont Apartments	694 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg	1914	Destroyed by fire (2022)
Trevere Apartments	300 Furby Street, Winnipeg	1926
Fairmont Apartments	52 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg	1927
Monterey Apartment	45 Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1928
Camelot Apartments	400 Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg	1929

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Bjorn Pétursson (1871-1946)

Memorable Manitobans: Hannes Pétursson (1881-1961)

Memorable Manitobans: Rögnvaldur Pétursson (1877-1940)

Sources:

Birth registrations, Saskatchewan Vital Statistics.

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“O. Petursson funeral,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 February 1952, page 22.

“O. Petursson leaves estate of $104,430,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 1952, page 3.

Obituary [Annie Azelia Petursson], Winnipeg Free Press, 9 September 1960, page 28.

Obituary [Annie Azelia Petursson], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 September 1960, page 6.

“Early Icelandic builders in Winnipeg” by S. Aleck Thorarinson, Logberg-Heimskringla, 30 March 1967, page 5.

Obituary [Rognvaldur Franklin Petursson], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 August 1968, page 28.

Obituary [Petur Bjarni Petursson], Winnipeg Free Press, 25 February 1983, page 38.

Obituary [Hannes Jon Petursson], Winnipeg Free Press, 9 November 1985, page 42.

Death registrations [Elsabet Gudrun Arnason, Anna Rosa Sigmundson], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

“Rev. Philip M. Petursson, DD.” by Rev. Stefan M. Jonasson, Icelandic Unitarians, http://members.shaw.ca/icelandic-unitarians/My_Homepage_Files/Page3.html [Internet Archive, 4 March 2014].

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 May 2022

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!