Willard Samson

 

SOURCE: "History of Champaign County, Illinois with Illustrations," 1878

SURNAMES: CANADY, CRANDEL, FITZGERALD, GROW, KNOX, MARR, NICHOL, PLATT, SAMSON, VAN BRUNT

WILLARD SAMSON (Deceased). Willard Samson, a former citizen of Sidney township, was born in Washington county, N. Y., November 4th, 1793. Previous to the war of 1812 his father moved with the family from New York to Canada, where during the war which followed Mr. Samson was drafted into the Canadian militia. He married Margaret MARR about 1816. She died in 1828, and he married as his second wife Margaret CRANDEL who was born within forty miles of London, in Canada West, September 20th, 1840.

In 1838 Mr. Samson emigrated from Canada to Marshall county, Indiana, and settled in the timber, nine miles east of Plymouth. In 1852 he removed to the place where he lived till his death, two miles south of Sidney, in this county. At that time there was no house on the prairie between him and the Embarras, and only one to the west, at Lynn Grove. He had been Justice of the Peace in Indiana for several years. He was a member of the Methodist Church all his life, with the exception of three years before his death, during which time he was connected with the Christian (New Light) Church, of Philo township. He was originally a Democrat and afterwards a Republican. He was a man of strong constitution, and scarcely ever sick, and died September 10th, 1876, at the advanced age of eighty-two. He was a good citizen, and much respected. He had five children by his first marriage and nine by his second. His oldest son, Hiram, is in Minnesota; the next, William, in Missouri; Persis, wife of Noah KNOX, is living in Texas; George is deceased, and Nelson living in Sidney township. Of his children by his second wife, Mary Ann married John GROW, and is living at Danville; John B., is deceased; James W., is living on the homestead farm; Belinda married George NICHOL and died in Sidney; Matilda is the wife of McD. FITZGERALD of Mahomet; Ellen, the wife of John PLATT, of Champaign; Rachel married Samuel VAN BRUNT; David L., is deceased; and Emma is the wife of Jones CANADY, of Edgar county.

Three of the sons served in the Union army during the war of the rebellion John B., enlisted in Co. I., Tenth Illinois Cavalry; he served in Missouri and Arkansas, and was accidentally killed at Little Rock, Ark., December 23d, 1863. David L., served four years as bugler in Co. I ,Tenth Illinois Cavalry, and died at home April 10th, 1875. James W. was in Colorado during the war, and enlisted in August, 1861, in the First Colorado Cavalry, served in Colorado, New Mexico, and other Territories, and was discharged October 8th, 1864.