Ole Severson is a native of the land of the Midnight Sun. Among the
representatives of that nation who have sought homes in America are found men
of the most substantial and reliable citizens of our land. Thrift, enterprise,
loyalty and fidelity are numbered among the chief characteristics of these
sons of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and it is such qualities that have gained
Mr. Severson his plate among the substantial farmers of Greenfield township,
Grundy county. He was born in Schonwick, Norway, in August 1845, and is a son
of Sever and Mary (Knutson) Lawson. The father was a farmer and a very hard-
working man. His children were: Knut, Laws, John, Knut (the second of the
name), Ole, and Valia. Mr. Lawson died in Norway, at the age of seventy years,
in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which he had long been a member.
Ole Severson was reared on the little farm in Norway on which his parents
resided, and received such educational privileges as the common schools of
that country afforded. He was trained to habits of industry and economy, and
became familiar with the duties and labors of field and meadow. In early life,
however, he went to sea, sailing on fishing and merchant vessels. When thirty-
five years of age he crossed the Atlantic to America, taking passage on a
westward bound steamer at Bergen, and landing at New York in 1880. Taking up
his abode in Morris, Illinois, he secured employment on a farm in Grundy
county, and throughout his residence here has been connected with its
agricultural interests. He was married in Morris, about 1888, to Elizabeth
Sampson, whose birth occurred in Norway in 1844, her parents being Mauns and
Gusta (Yonson) Sampson. Her father was a farmer, and on emigrating to America
took up his abode in Greenfield township, Grundy county, where he died at the
age of eighty-five years. His wife passed away at the age of eighty-three.
They were highly respected people and were consistent members of the Lutheran
church. Their children were: Sarah, Annie, Elizabeth and Senie.
Mr. and Mrs. Severson have one son, Eli. After their marriage they took up
their abode on a rented farm in Greenfield township, and in 1891 Mr. Severson
purchased his present farm, a tract of eighty acres, for which he paid fifty
dollars per acre. He has greatly improved the property, placed many rods of
tile upon it, and now has a rich tract under a high state of cultivation, the
well tilled fields yielding to him a golden tribute in return for his care and
cultivation. His life has been one of hard labor, and he has had many
difficulties and obstacles to overcome. It was particularly difficult for him
and his wife to gain a start, as they were unfamiliar with the English
language; but as the years have passed they have steadily worked their way
upward, the enterprise, capable management and untiring industry of the
husband being supplemented by the labors of his wife, who in the care of her
household displayed excellent judgment and strict economy. In this way they
obtained a start, and to-day they are in comfortable circumstances. They may
well be proud of their success, for it has been worthily won, and their home
stands as a monument to their thrift and ability. Mr. Severson exercises his
right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party,
and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church.