In 1870 the population of Iceland was approximately 70,000. Looking at the population by percentage, approximately 75% of the people were farmers, 10% made their living in the fishing industry and 15% were craftspeople or government employees. Reykjavík and Akureyri together had a population of under 3,000 people. There were few other towns and so the vast majority of citizens were living in rural areas. Many were subsistence farmers, living in crushing poverty, with little opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families. The economic conditions of the country at the time played a big part in the decision to leave the country and this was supported by the various agents, hired by the shipping lines, who travelled around Iceland encouraging people to emigrate.

As time passed and emigration increased, more people had family and friends who had emigrated and were sending home word of positive experiences in the ‘New World’. The records show that roughly equal numbers of men and women emigrated, eighty percent of them being under 40 years of age. Approximately two-thirds of them were from the northern and eastern parts of the country. It may be said of all the Icelandic emigrants that to undertake such a long journey, to an unknown land, took courage and stamina. Surely most of the emigrants believed they would never see their native land again.