In the year 1883 Lewis Simonson came to the United States from Norway with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mathies Simenson, at the age of 10. They settled near Cooperstown and in 1896 they joined the Lutheran church there.
On December 4, 1902, Lewis Simonson and Anna Trostad were married. She came from Norway with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ole Trostad, in 1884. The Trostad family settled in northern Griggs County near the banks of the Sheyenne River in a log cabin with a dirt floor. Lewis and Anna had nine children:
Mabel, Olaf, Theodore, Cora, Leonard, Helen, Sever, Nora and Margaret.
Lewis and Anna lived with Mathies Simensons for about 2 years when they moved to Bryan Township. They operated the farm until 1918 when Lewis took his family to Section 7 in Kingsley Township. In 1945 Lewis purchased the farm from Travelers Insurance Company It was here that the children attended school. They joined the Lutheran Church in Glenfield and were members until their death, Lewis in 1958 and Anna in 1963.
Mabel married Robert Christ in November 26, 1925, and they have four children:
Robert, Jr., Virginia, Elaine and Richard. The Christs live on a farm near Leal, North Dakota and Mabel and Bob now spend their winters in Texas.
Olaf married Catherine Pulver in May 18, 1929 and they have four children:
Kenneth, Clarence, Mavis and Marjorie. Olaf went to Zap, North Dakota where he worked in a coal mine, later becoming owner of a strip coalmine at Underwood, North Dakota.
Theodore remained a bachelor, staying at home with his parents and farming.
Cora married Irvin Shelstad on June 23, 1936 and lived in Finley where Irvin owned a creamery. After Irv's death, she accepted a position with the State Health Department in Bismarck.
Leonard never married and died unexpectedly at the age of 33 from a heart attack.
Helen married Earl Rickford on July 2, 1940 and moved to a farm in Willow Township. They had two children:
William and Patricia.
Sever entered the service during World War II and was stationed in the European area. He married Phyllis Langager on June 10, 1946 and they came to the home farm where they lived until Sever's death in June 1974. Sever had three children:
Leonard, Rebecca and Susan.
Nora married Nordeen Ronningen in April 29, 1945 and Nordeen accepted a position with the Veteran's Hospital in Fargo. They had two children:
Barbara and Steven.
Margaret married Leonard Seim on December 10, 1942 while Leonard was still in the service. On his return they farmed near Finley until Leonard's death in 1967. They had three children:
Janice, Peggy and Leonard. Margaret remarried Elverne Haugen on June 19, 1971 and they operate a farm near Hannaford.
Lewis and Anna Simonson purchased a home in Binford and moved there. After Sever's death his son, Leonard, decided to come home to farm. He married Joanne Johnson in 1969. Rebecca married Robert Delfs in 1974 and Susan married Ronald Bakko in 1974. With Leonard farming, this is the third generation of Simensons operating this farm in Kingsley.
All belong to the American Lutheran Church.
Lewis Simonson Family
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 331