Sander Sanderson, one of the early settlers in what was to become Griggs County, North Dakota arrived in the Sheyenne valley in 1881. He had been born in Oslo, (Christiania) Norway on May 17, 1859. His father, Olson Sanderson, came to America in 1869 and his wife and youngest son, Sander, arrived in 1871. Later, two older brothers Carl and Olaf, and a sister Annie, joined the family in Illinois. Sander learned the trade of cooper, or barrel-maker, and in 1881 he and his brother-in-law, Robert Busse, Annie's husband, set out for North Dakota. They left Chicago in early April and arrived in Mayville later that month. They then walked some forty-four miles to the Sheyenne Valley, arriving at the Thorson farm on April 28, 1881. They stayed there a day or so and then took squatter's claim on 160 acres each. Sander's property later, after survey, became part of Section 24, Sverdrup Township, Griggs County. Busse's land ended up in Steele County.
Like many settlers, Sander dug a sod house to shelter himself until he could cut enough logs to make a log cabin large enough for himself and his parents. In 1882 Sander's parents arrived to work on and hold the claim while Sander went to Minneapolis to work in a flour-barrel mill. He continued to work and send money to his parents until 1884. On April 4th of that year he sold his interest in the barrel mill and returned to the homestead to work his claim. He remained there until his death in 1941.
On January 25, 1889, Sander married Jennie Gertrude Johnson, who, like himself, had been born in Norway, at Bergen. Her family was from Wisconsin, and Sander had met her in Chicago. Their first child, Herman Teodor, was born in the log cabin in July 1890. By about 1900 Sander and Jennie had built a neat frame house on the cast bank of the river for their growing family. All told, seven children were born, four of whom reached adulthood. They were:
Herman Teodor, July 16, 1890-April 11, 1964
Gertrude Marie, January 19, 1892-March 21, 1896
Adolph Gerhart, March 22, 1894-March 5, 1895
Priscilla, December 18, 1899-October 23, 1905
Silvanus (Sandy), September 10, 1903
Torval (Torry), October 2, 1906
Alford Gerhart, May 14, 1909-September 10, 1946.
Herman married Bertha Christofferson and made his home in and around Guthrie, Minnesota. They had nine children, seven daughters and two sons. Silvanus married Mae Flaagan, and they lived for a time in Cooperstown, eventually moving to Portland, Oregon, and then to Eugene, Oregon, where they still live.
Torry's first wife was Beatrice Ladbury. They had no children, and in the mid-30's Torry moved to Oregon, eventually settling in Eugene. He served in the Navy during WW II, and after the war married Delta A. Johnson from Utah. They have three children, two sons and a daughter. Torry, too, still lives in Eugene.
Alford married Rudha Heskin, who still lives in Cooperstown and runs the beauty shop there. They had two daughters, Jean and Karen. Karen lives in New York, and Jean, who married Don Savre, still lives in Cooperstown. She and their two sons, Jason and Preston, are the only direct descendants of Sander and Jennie Sanderson who still live in Griggs County.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 440