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Guy Ernest “Kickapoo” Sampson

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Guy Ernest “Kickapoo” Sampson

Birth
Wisconsin, USA
Death
8 Feb 1961 (aged 85)
Los Angeles County, California, USA
Burial
Garden Grove, Orange County, California, USA Add to Map
Plot
Section AG Block SE Lot 81Sx S Space 2
Memorial ID
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Mr. Guy Ernest Sampson
Biography of sorts-Unable to locate an obituary- I located a mere four lines on page 33 in the Daily Herald stating that relatives and friends were sorry to learn of his death.

Guy was one of seven known children born to Oliver Pierce and Flora Alice Ward Sampson. He was born in Gays Mills, Crawford Co., Wisconsin. January 19, 1876. His known siblings: Baby Boy Sampson, Edith Kate "Edie" Sampson Winn (Harvey), Herman Wilson Sampson, Mary La Vinnie Sampson Schuhmann (Otto), Clara Theodosia "Carlie" Sampson Breedlove (Joshua)

On April 4, 1897, in Crawford Co., Wis., he married Metta May "Mattie" Mansfield, daughter of William H. and Mary Frances Alvord Mansfield. They lived in Gays Mills, Crawford Co., Wis., where their first son Lyall Edson Sampson was born in August of 1898. By the 1900 Census they had moved to Union, Jackson Co., Iowa. I cannot make out what his job was on the census but since he retired from the railroad then perhaps that is what he was doing. Their second son Harold A. Sampson was born in Iowa in 1901.

In 1905 he was listed as a brakeman for the railroad and by 1910 he was a conductor.
By the 1910 Census they were living in La Crosse, Wisconsin at 407 Avon Street, and he is a conductor for the railroad on the C. M. & St. P. Line. His wife Mattie died in May of 1911 from complications brought on by surgery.

In June of 1912 Guy married Estella Mae "Stella" Miller. Stella was the daughter of Jay Henry and Ocenia Seely Miller. She became an instant mother to Guys sons by his previous marriage and went on to have four known children; Gerald Everett who was killed at the age of 15 in a car accident in 1930, Ruth May who died at the age of 9 months in 1923, Kenneth R. who died from complications from surgery in 1934 and Virginia Mae Sampson who lived to adulthood and married Clarence Melvin Gilbert. They lost another son, Harold A. Sampson to a terrible accident at sea when he and his brother Lyall were on the same ship. It blew up and they both survived but Harold died from drinking salt water and hunger and was buried at sea.

I found an article about Clara Tallman visiting from Gays Mills in 1914 and another one where she takes Harold and Lyall to Washington to visit relatives. Clara was actually Clara Sampson. She was the daughter of Charles and Araminta Hartwell Sampson from Crawford Co. Clara was a sister of Guys father, Oliver. After the sudden death of Charles and Araminta, Clara was adopted by Nelson and Mary Ann Hartwell Tallman. The articles confirmed that the families stayed close.

Estella died in 1931 in Bensenville, DuPage, Illinois and had one of the longest obituaries I have ever seen. I have transcribed it and am hoping to put it on her memorial. It is very interesting and explains some of the ways they dealt with scarlet fever in those days.

On April 4, 1932 Guy married Elizabeth Niland in Bensenville, Illinois. Elizabeth was the widow of Michael Niland of Waukeza, Wisconsin. I have found nothing on this lady as far as parentage. He retired from the newspaper and they moved to a farm in Portland, Oregon. He wrote letters to his newspaper of daily live and travels and they were published religiously. In 1943 they moved to Southern California but returned north again in 1947 for Elizabeth's health. On March 4, 1949, Elizabeth died in Portland, Oregon.

Guy remarried to Elnora Grace Alton, widow of Thomas Kiehl and daughter of Charles and Zeruah Rayner Alton. They married November 14, 1954 in Los Angeles.

I found an article dated Oct. 30, 1958 that was printed in the Daily Herald that "word has been received from Guy E. Sampson of Long Beach, Cal., that he entered the hospital October 25 for the amputation of his left leg. Mr. Sampson was the former editor of the DuPage Register upon his retirement from the Milwaukee railway. The Sampsons left Bensenville to make their home in Portland, Oregon., but later moved to Twenty-Nine Palms, Cal., and then to Long Beach."

There are many, many newspaper articles about him and written by him..he was an amazing man. In 1937 a large article was written about his retirement from the newspaper. It was in the Daily Herald.

The Daily Herald-Oct. 8, 1937

Bensenville Editor To Retire
Guy Sampson Will Leave Next Week for Portland, Oregon, Quits Work for Pension.
Guy Sampson, known to many about Bensenville as "Kickapoo" has quit his job as editor of the DuPage county register, and will retire from manual labor too a little home in Portland, Oregon, The opportunity for a railroad pension proved too strong for him and he decided to enjoy easy living while he is sill to be classed among young men.

The career of Mr. Sampson has been interwoven with railroad and newspapers. Born at gays Mills, Wisconsin, Jan. 19, 1876, he started newspaper work before he was 20 years old, as a local correspondent for the Kickapoo chief, printed at Wauzeka, Wis. With the smell of ink in his nostrils he became a newspaper compositor for a weekly newspaper at Soldiers Grove, Wis. Recognizing the fact that no newspaper man never became wealthy, he regretfully bought a pair of overalls and entered upon a railroad career in 1901 as a brakeman on the old K. V. & N. Ry.
Later this property was sold to the Milwaukee Ry. Co., and Mr. Sampson has been with that company ever since. Twenty five years ago the Milwaukee company began printing an employees magazine each month and Guy was placed on the staff and until a year ago was an active contributor to that magazine.

Nearly ten years ago, through one of Mr. Sampsons's articles in that magazine, the publishers of the DuPage County Register learned of his writing ability and persuaded Guy to again become an active newspaper man,

Since assuming the editorship of the Register, Mr. Sampson has been keenly alert to opportunities to advance interests of his home town. His popularity among the business men and others enabled him to make contacts that resulted in making the Register worthy of the community it endeavored to serve.

During these years there has never been anything but the most pleasant of relationships between the publishers of the paper and its editor. Guy was more than an employee. He was a friend of the publishers and all of the boys at the publication plant. No matter how gloomy the day, the voice of "Kickapoo" over the phone was a ray of sunshine to the member of the office staff who chanced to be on the other end of the wire.

Guy never claimed to be an auditor, but his accounts with the home office always balanced to a cent. His last act this week before retiring from the job was the turning over of the newspaper files of the Register that contained the story of Bensenville the last few years and with them the desk upon which he typed those trade at home editorials that were his specialty all of these years. Mr. Sampson has been a home town booster in every meaning of those words.
Kickapoo regrets to leave Bensenville but he carries out west with him, only one regret-that destiny did not allow him to set upon a small office in the down town district where he could spend his full time editing the Register until he passed on. When that time comes, Guy fully believes that good old St. Peter will find for him a newspaper within the pearly gates.
Mr. Guy Ernest Sampson
Biography of sorts-Unable to locate an obituary- I located a mere four lines on page 33 in the Daily Herald stating that relatives and friends were sorry to learn of his death.

Guy was one of seven known children born to Oliver Pierce and Flora Alice Ward Sampson. He was born in Gays Mills, Crawford Co., Wisconsin. January 19, 1876. His known siblings: Baby Boy Sampson, Edith Kate "Edie" Sampson Winn (Harvey), Herman Wilson Sampson, Mary La Vinnie Sampson Schuhmann (Otto), Clara Theodosia "Carlie" Sampson Breedlove (Joshua)

On April 4, 1897, in Crawford Co., Wis., he married Metta May "Mattie" Mansfield, daughter of William H. and Mary Frances Alvord Mansfield. They lived in Gays Mills, Crawford Co., Wis., where their first son Lyall Edson Sampson was born in August of 1898. By the 1900 Census they had moved to Union, Jackson Co., Iowa. I cannot make out what his job was on the census but since he retired from the railroad then perhaps that is what he was doing. Their second son Harold A. Sampson was born in Iowa in 1901.

In 1905 he was listed as a brakeman for the railroad and by 1910 he was a conductor.
By the 1910 Census they were living in La Crosse, Wisconsin at 407 Avon Street, and he is a conductor for the railroad on the C. M. & St. P. Line. His wife Mattie died in May of 1911 from complications brought on by surgery.

In June of 1912 Guy married Estella Mae "Stella" Miller. Stella was the daughter of Jay Henry and Ocenia Seely Miller. She became an instant mother to Guys sons by his previous marriage and went on to have four known children; Gerald Everett who was killed at the age of 15 in a car accident in 1930, Ruth May who died at the age of 9 months in 1923, Kenneth R. who died from complications from surgery in 1934 and Virginia Mae Sampson who lived to adulthood and married Clarence Melvin Gilbert. They lost another son, Harold A. Sampson to a terrible accident at sea when he and his brother Lyall were on the same ship. It blew up and they both survived but Harold died from drinking salt water and hunger and was buried at sea.

I found an article about Clara Tallman visiting from Gays Mills in 1914 and another one where she takes Harold and Lyall to Washington to visit relatives. Clara was actually Clara Sampson. She was the daughter of Charles and Araminta Hartwell Sampson from Crawford Co. Clara was a sister of Guys father, Oliver. After the sudden death of Charles and Araminta, Clara was adopted by Nelson and Mary Ann Hartwell Tallman. The articles confirmed that the families stayed close.

Estella died in 1931 in Bensenville, DuPage, Illinois and had one of the longest obituaries I have ever seen. I have transcribed it and am hoping to put it on her memorial. It is very interesting and explains some of the ways they dealt with scarlet fever in those days.

On April 4, 1932 Guy married Elizabeth Niland in Bensenville, Illinois. Elizabeth was the widow of Michael Niland of Waukeza, Wisconsin. I have found nothing on this lady as far as parentage. He retired from the newspaper and they moved to a farm in Portland, Oregon. He wrote letters to his newspaper of daily live and travels and they were published religiously. In 1943 they moved to Southern California but returned north again in 1947 for Elizabeth's health. On March 4, 1949, Elizabeth died in Portland, Oregon.

Guy remarried to Elnora Grace Alton, widow of Thomas Kiehl and daughter of Charles and Zeruah Rayner Alton. They married November 14, 1954 in Los Angeles.

I found an article dated Oct. 30, 1958 that was printed in the Daily Herald that "word has been received from Guy E. Sampson of Long Beach, Cal., that he entered the hospital October 25 for the amputation of his left leg. Mr. Sampson was the former editor of the DuPage Register upon his retirement from the Milwaukee railway. The Sampsons left Bensenville to make their home in Portland, Oregon., but later moved to Twenty-Nine Palms, Cal., and then to Long Beach."

There are many, many newspaper articles about him and written by him..he was an amazing man. In 1937 a large article was written about his retirement from the newspaper. It was in the Daily Herald.

The Daily Herald-Oct. 8, 1937

Bensenville Editor To Retire
Guy Sampson Will Leave Next Week for Portland, Oregon, Quits Work for Pension.
Guy Sampson, known to many about Bensenville as "Kickapoo" has quit his job as editor of the DuPage county register, and will retire from manual labor too a little home in Portland, Oregon, The opportunity for a railroad pension proved too strong for him and he decided to enjoy easy living while he is sill to be classed among young men.

The career of Mr. Sampson has been interwoven with railroad and newspapers. Born at gays Mills, Wisconsin, Jan. 19, 1876, he started newspaper work before he was 20 years old, as a local correspondent for the Kickapoo chief, printed at Wauzeka, Wis. With the smell of ink in his nostrils he became a newspaper compositor for a weekly newspaper at Soldiers Grove, Wis. Recognizing the fact that no newspaper man never became wealthy, he regretfully bought a pair of overalls and entered upon a railroad career in 1901 as a brakeman on the old K. V. & N. Ry.
Later this property was sold to the Milwaukee Ry. Co., and Mr. Sampson has been with that company ever since. Twenty five years ago the Milwaukee company began printing an employees magazine each month and Guy was placed on the staff and until a year ago was an active contributor to that magazine.

Nearly ten years ago, through one of Mr. Sampsons's articles in that magazine, the publishers of the DuPage County Register learned of his writing ability and persuaded Guy to again become an active newspaper man,

Since assuming the editorship of the Register, Mr. Sampson has been keenly alert to opportunities to advance interests of his home town. His popularity among the business men and others enabled him to make contacts that resulted in making the Register worthy of the community it endeavored to serve.

During these years there has never been anything but the most pleasant of relationships between the publishers of the paper and its editor. Guy was more than an employee. He was a friend of the publishers and all of the boys at the publication plant. No matter how gloomy the day, the voice of "Kickapoo" over the phone was a ray of sunshine to the member of the office staff who chanced to be on the other end of the wire.

Guy never claimed to be an auditor, but his accounts with the home office always balanced to a cent. His last act this week before retiring from the job was the turning over of the newspaper files of the Register that contained the story of Bensenville the last few years and with them the desk upon which he typed those trade at home editorials that were his specialty all of these years. Mr. Sampson has been a home town booster in every meaning of those words.
Kickapoo regrets to leave Bensenville but he carries out west with him, only one regret-that destiny did not allow him to set upon a small office in the down town district where he could spend his full time editing the Register until he passed on. When that time comes, Guy fully believes that good old St. Peter will find for him a newspaper within the pearly gates.

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Father And Grandfather
Guy E. Sampson
1876 - 1961



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