Ingeborg Regine (Halvorson) Sampson (1852-1907)

HALVORSON, SAMPSON, SIME

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 5/15/2017 at 16:45:55

From Nevada Representative November 27, 1907

County Correspondence

ROLAND ROCKETS

The Iver Sampson Tribe.

The recent death of Mrs. Sam Sampson at McCallsburg was the occasion for bringing together one of the most remarkable families perhaps to be found anywhere in the state of Iowa. In 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Iver Sampson immigrated from the old country, Norway, and settled in Ill., where they resided until the year 1873 when they came to Iowa, settling in Hardin county near where Garden City is now located. Here they continued to make their home until the angel of death called them home. At the present time there are living twelve children, sixty-eight grand-children and fifty-three great grand-children, making the total of the descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Sampson 133. This then is a kind of Rooseveltian family that will no doubt make glad the President when he hears the news. The children of Iver Sampson in the order of the their ages are--Iver Sampson, Roland, Ia.; Oscar Sampson, Roland, Ia.; John Sampson, Clinton, Ia.; Sam Sampson, McCallsburg, Ia.; Andrew Sampson, Pequat, Minn.; A. S. Helvig Sampson, Roland, Ia.; Ole Sampson, Gretinger, Ia.; Iver Sampson Jr., Gretinger, Ia.; Christian Sampson, Radcliffe, Ia.; John Sampson, Radcliffe, Ia.; Oscar Sampson, Garden City, Ia.; Mrs. John Sime, Radcliffe, Ia. It will be noticed that there are two Ivers, and two Oscars in this family and at the time the father , was living there were three Ivers.

Readers will no doubt ask how this came about, and in reply I will say that it was a custom in the old country to carefully perpetuate family names. On this subject I made inquiry of our citizen, Oscar Sampson, as to how it came that he had a brother by the same name. "You see" he said, "I was in the civil war at the time this brother was born, and my parents fearing that I would never return, wished to keep the name in the family, hence this brother was also named Oscar."

"Yes" we said, "but you did return; then how did you avoid confusion of the names." "Oh that was easy" he replied, "I was big Oscar and the brother, little Oscar." It will also be noted that A. S. Helvig appears in the list as a brother. This is accounted for by the fact that he was raised by a family by the name of Helvig and has ever since retained that name. Oscar Sampson of Roland was the only one of this family that served in the civil war, the other brothers being to young to enter the service.

One thing notable here is the fact the the twelve children have all prospered reasonably well and have a sufficient amount o this world's goods to last through declining years. In politics all are of the republican faith, and take an active interest in local affairs. This large family have done much and are doing much to keep this old world jogging along. Oscar and Iver of this place have both retired from active life, both owning good farms in this neighborhood. There may be a few errors in this short history, but none grave enough to demand correction. We are indebted to Mr. Oscar Sampson, for the information furnished here.