Sammon Family Line

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www.laberge.info

Sammon Family
Line

Austin Sammon
B: 1765
W: Bridget

James Sammon
B: 21 Apr 1789
Galway, Ireland

D: 03 May 1860
Wilmington, OH
W: Marcella O'Brien

Items in italics
need verification.

Thomas Sammon

B: 01 Jun 1818
Galway, Ireland

D:15 Jan 1887
Bayard, IA

M: 15 Nov 1847

W: Julia Ann McKenna*

B: 12 Oct 1827

New Jersey
D: 29 Sep 1891

Edwin F. Sammon

B: 1868

Laona Thownship, Ill
D: 16 Aug 1955

Bayard, IA

M: 1895

W: Emma Duffy

B: 22 Apr 1872

Janesville, WI
D: 14 Sep 1955

Howard (Bud) Sammon

B: 31 Aug 1897

Bayard, IA

D: 26 Feb 1965

Palm Desert, CA

M: 01 Sep 1924

Chicago, Ill

W: Marion Ruth Haggerty
B: 05 Mar 1902

Chicago, Ill

D: 18 Nov 1995
Lake Forest, Ill

Patricia Anne Sammon
B: 31 Jul 1925
River Forest, Ill

D: 20 Mar 1982
Aptos, CA
M: 05 Sep 1949
River Forest, Ill

H: Walter Barber LaBerge
B: 29 Mar 1924

Chicago, Ill

D: 16 Jul 2004
Aptos, CA

Philip Charles LaBerge

B: 2 Sept 1957

Palo Alto, California

W: Lois Elaine Foster

B: 23 June 1959

Midland, TX

Name: Philip Charles LaBerge

Father: Walter Barber LaBerge

Mother: Patricia Anne Sammon LaBerge

Thomas Sammon

Thomas Sammon was the son of James Sammon and Marcella (O'Brien)
Sammon. He emigrated to the United States in 1836, settling in Philadelphia,
where he learned the tailor trade. He remained there five years. He then
moved to Cincinnati and then to St. Louis, working at his trade in both
those cities about one year. He then went to Galena, Ill where he lived
12 years and married Julia McKenna in 1847. He then moved to the Laona Township, Illinois where his brother owned 162 acres of farmland. He farmed
there until 1875. He then moved to Bayard, Iowa where he purchase 160
acres that he farmed.

Here is a brief history of the family that he wrote:

Sammon_Family_History.htm

                       Family Timeline
        With Historical Events for Context
          ---------------------------------------

1649 - 1683: The conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English
Parliament was led by Oliver Cromwell. The name Ó Bradáin was
anglicized to Salmon. Sammon is a variant of Salmon.

1765: Austin Sammon is born (per the Shaw family tree on Ancestry.com)

1789: James Sammon is born in Gallway, Ireland. (per the Shaw family
tree on Ancestry.com)

It is believed that James Sammon had three sons.

Timothy (1807-1878)

Thomas (1818-1887)

John (1825-1870)

Austin (1830-1908)

1807: On April 10th, Timothy Sammon is born. Timothy is believed to
be Thomas Sammon's older brother.

1818: On June 1st, Thomas Sammon was born in Galway, Ireland per his gravestone in Willow Cemetery.

Catherine Dunn, the wife of Timothy Sammon (Thomas' older brother), was
born in Westmeath, Ireland which is not far from Garbally where Thomas is
believed to have been born. Here is a map showing the county of
Westmeath and Ballinasloe (Garbally).

Map of Westmeath

1820: On March 6th, the Missouri Compromise was signed and admitted
Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. It maintained the
balance of power between the North and South and prohibited slavery
above the 36°30' parallel,excluding Missouri.

1827: On October 12th, Julia McKenna is born in New Jersey.

1835: On June 25th, Timothy Sammon's son William is born in PA.
William served in the Civil War and died in Durand (Laona Township), Ill.,
which helps confirm that Thomas and Timothy must have been brothers.

William Sammon Info

1836: Thomas Sammon immigrates to the United States
and becomes a tailor in Philadelphia. It is not clear if his port of entry was
Philadelphia or New York.

Important: This places both Timothy and Thomas in Pennsylvania at
the same time around 1835/36.

Here are some possible passenger ship list matches:

	Thomas Salmon: arrival: 16 May 1836, line 102, age 20, male, Liverpool - New York, ship name: Katherine. He is listed as a currier. Curriers work and finish leather after it is tanned. That skill could have led him to becoming a tailor. Listing , Document
	Thomas Salmon: arrival 03 May 1837, age 20, male, Liverpool - New York, ship: William Brown, His is listed as a laborer. Listing, Document

Note:

	Passenger lists started being kept in the U.S. in 1820.
	Port of departure passenger lists were not kept in Ireland prior to 1890.
	In the early 1800's, Liverpool acted as a stage point for immigrants going to America.
	From 1848 to 1850, over 6 million people emigrated from Ireland of which 2.5 million departed from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland, making it the second most port of debarkation.

1841: Thomas moves to Cincinnatti where he owned his own tailor establishment. It is believed that Thomas' father James died on 03 May 1860 in Wilmington, OH located 50 miles north east of Cincinnati. References to Thomas living in Cincinnati may have been Wilmington.

1842: Thomas moves to St. Louis and continues working as a tailor.

1843 : Thomas moves to Galena, Ill. where the Sammon Family Album states that he became a farmer and stayed there 12 years. Galena directories. however, listed him as a tailor in 1847/48 and 1854.

1845 - 1852: The Great Famine in Ireland was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration. It is also referred to as the Irish Potato Famine, because about two-fifths of the population was solely reliant on this cheap crop. During the famine, approximately one million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population do fall by between 20% and 25%.

1846: On January 9th, Timothy Sammon acquires 40 acres of land in Winnebago County, Illinois.

1846: On November 26th, Timothy acquires 40 more acres of land.

1847: on 15 Nov 1847, Thomas Sammon marries Julia McKenna* in Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Julia was a native of New Jersey. They would have seven children--John, William, Thomas J., Timothy, Edwin, Margaret and Julia*. Illinois Mariage Index

* Note: Thomas Sammon's wife Julia's maiden name was spelled a number of different ways. It was written McKenna in the Sammon Family Album which we believe to be most accurate.

	1847: McKenna - Illinois Marriage Index 1860-1920
	1847: Mckinna - Illinois County Marriage Records 1800-1940
	1891: McKenna - Julia's grave information at Willow Cemetery
	1897: Kenney - son Timothy's wedding register
	1923: Kenney - son Timothy's grave info at Willow Cemetery
	1925: McKenna - daughter Julia Sammon Gouger's grave info at St. Joseph Cemetery.
	1925: Kinney - daughter Julia Sammon Gouger's death certificate.
	1926: Kinney - daughter Margaret Theressa Sammon Croak's death certificate. It incorrectly lists Julia as from Virginia, not New Jersey.

1847 - 1848: The Galena Directory and Miner's Annual Register,
for 1847-8 Published by E. S. Seymour, Galena, 1847

Sammon, Thomas, tailor, res T D Kelly's

1848: On March 1st, Timothy acquires 40 more acres of land.

1849: On January 1st, Timothy acquires 52 more acres of land.

1849: On November 6th, Laona Township is established in
Winnebago County, Illinois.

1850: The Laona Township, Winnebago, Ill. census lists Timothy(40), Catherine(40), William(12), Margaret(10), Mary(7), John(6), Catherine(2), Elizabeth(3 mos.). Thomas Sammon is not listed.
1850 Census - p1 , 1850 Census - p2 Surname spelled Sammons.

1854: The Galena City Directory: 1854 lists

Cavanaugh, Jas, tailor, bds T Sammon's.
Sammon, Thomas, tailor, h Fourth.

1854: Racine, Janesville & Mississippi Rail Road Map

1854: Mary Duffy is born in Janesville, WI. Her daughter would Emma marry Edwin Sammon, Howard Sammon's father.

Mary Duffy

1854: On May 30th, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed with the goal of opening up new lands to development and facilitating construction of a transcontinental railroad. The Kansas–Nebraska Act is most notable for effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, stoking national tensions over slavery, and contributing to a series of armed conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas".

1855: Having moved to Galena from St. Louis after 1842 and having stayed there 12 years, according to the Sammon Family Album, Thomas would have left for Laona Township, Winnebago, Ill. around 1855.

1860: The census in Laona Township, Ill. lists Thomas (45), Julia (33), John (11), William (9), Margaret (4) and Thomas (1). Note that land records do not show that Thomas owned land, so it is assumed that he farmed Timothy's land. 1860 Census - p1 , 1860 Census - p2
Timothy and family, however, can't be found in the 1860 census.
Timothy's daughter Mary is listed as a domestic worker in the home of Lines L. Jones in Beloit. Record , Census

1860: Thomas Sammon's father James dies in Wilmington, OH

1861: On April 12, 1861, the Civil War started.

1862: The Homestead Act is passed after southern senators leave Congress before the Civil War.

1863: Railroad map with stop in Durand and note showing Laona Township. Railroad map

1863: Civil War draft record listing William Sammon from Avon, WI,
age 27, white, farmer, single, born in PA. Draft record

1865: The Civil War ends on May 9, 1865. The family memoirs stated that he enlisted in Captain Crow's company, but is yet to be verified.

1868: Edwin F. Sammon is born in 1868 in Rockford (Laona), Illinois.

1869: Opening on May 10th of the Transcontinental Railroad.

1870: The Laona Township, Winnebago, Ill. census lists Thomas(55), Julia(40), John(21), William(19), Margaret(12), Thomas Jr.(10), Julia(8), Timothy(6), Edward (3). Thomas Sammon in 1870 Census

1870: The Avon, Rock, Wisconsin census lists Timothy(60), Catherine(58), William(32), John(25), Frnk(15), Kate(24), Elizabeth, Julia(18). Avon is located 10 miles north of Durand, Laona Township, Ill. Timothy moving may have contributed to Thomas leaving five years later. Timothy Sammon in 1870 Census

1870: Iowa Railroad Land Company offers 1.7 million acres of Iowa land for sale.

1871: Iowa Railroad Land Company advertisement map and detail showing location of Bayard, Iowa.

1872: On April 22nd, Emma Duffy is born in Janesville, WI.

1873: The property of both Timothy and Thomas Sammon are shown
in Avon, WI. Avon Land Map Avon Land Map - zoom

1875: On November 8th, Sara Sammon in born in Laona Township.
(James>Timothy>William>Sara)

Sara Sammon

Between 1875 - 1880: Thomas Sammon along with his wife and
seven children move to Bayard, Iowa sometime between the 1870 census where he is in Laona Township, ILL and the 1880 census
when he is in Highland Township, ILL.

1876: Both Timothy and Thomas are listed as living on Sec. 33 in Avon, WI. Avon Directory

1878: Timothy Sammon dies on 25 Mar 1878 and is buried in
Calvary Cemetery in Beloit, Rock County, WI. His wife Catherine is listed on the tombstone with him. Grave Info Gravestone

Timothy's probate documents show that he owned 120 acres of land in Avon, WI and 54 acres of land in Laona Township, Ill which was listed
as being in poor condition.

1880: the census in Highland, Guthrie County, Iowa lists Thomas(63),
Julia(50), Julia A.(18), Timothy(15), Edward(12) followed by William(28)
& Ann(20), and John(30) & Mary(24), Emma(3), and Thomas P. They are listed as Simons rather than Sammon. Census of 1880

1885: the census lists Thomas(65), Julia A.(58), Timothy(20), Edward(18). Census of 1885

The Sammon family settled on section 2, in Highland township.

The Sammon family home in Bayard, Iowa. The house no longer exists.
Here is where the house used to stand: 41.849182, -94.537012

Edwin Sammon's farmhouse was a comfortable one. It was built with the help of the town carpenter and local character Old John Palmer, age 90 years plus or minus a few. That John didn't tolerate "putting on airs" or "party manners" is hinted at by another of Howard Sammon's endless anectdotal stories from his early memories of life in Bayard. It was at lunch with the farmhands one day that John became impatient for a dish to be passed his way. He simply called down to the end of the table, "Ed, pick the flies out of the gravy and pass it around to the boys." Needless to say, that command quickly became an "in" joke in our family.

Ed and Emma's family of four children, Howard (Bud), Marie, Edwin (Ted), and Madeline, grew tall and prospered as did the corn planted in the rich, cleared fields. The Sammon farm numbered 400 acres, planted mostly in corn in those days before the knowledge of the wonderful soya bean changed the crops of Iowa.

Ed Sammon can best be described as a gentle, kind, and very verbal man. Not only did he communicate abundantly in the verbal mode, but his written communication was enormous. He did like to talk, but he wasn't too good at listening and frequently was caught with his hearing aid turned down in the midst of an ardent discussion - one sided, of course. When Patricia Sammon was thirteen, she sat on the porch with Grandpa Sammon at their Des Moines home (where they moved later in life). After about a half hour or so, he'd always say, "Well Patty, I think I'll just saunter down to the poultry market (Ted Sammon owned the local poultry market) and have a talk with the boys." These talks always lasted until dinner time and Patricia often wondered whether there was that much to talk about. Grandpa had opinions on politics (Democratic) and religion (Catholic, of course) and just about anything else including the weather, which was the farmers constant concern (it was always bad).

1887: On 15 Jan 1887, Thomas Sammon died. He was burried at Willow
Cemetery in Greene County, Iowa just north of Bayard.
Last Will of Thomas Sammon Note that Thomas signed his name with a
mark indicating that he was illiterate.

1890: On April 5th, Thomas J. Sammon (Thomas' son) died at the age
of 31 years old and was buried in Willow Cemetery.
(James>Thomas>Thomas J.) Tombstone

1891: On September 28th, Julia McKenna died and was buried in Willow
Cemetery next to Thomas.

1895: On Jan 30th, Edwin Sammon and Emma Duffy are married in
Bayard, Iowa.

1897: On August 31st, Howard (Bud) Sammon is born in Bayard, Iowa.

1905: Census in Rock, WI showing William(70), Julia(52) & Frank(50). Record , Census (James>Timothy>William, Julia & Frank)

1910: On 26 Dec, birth of John Patrick Paul Sammons. Parents: Timothy Francis Sammons and Ella McHugh (vs Mccuen per 1885 census). (James>Thomas>Timothy>John P.) Birth Record

1910: Census - Illinois, Winnebago, Rockford Ward 4, District 0171.
Timothy's son John-Head(61), Mary-Wife(55), Anna(32), Bertha(24), John(22), Lloyd(20), Frank(17), Jay(15).
(James>Timothy>John) Record , Census

1911: On Jan 25th, William Sammon died at 75 years old. He was buried in Irish Grove Cemetery in Rock, WI. (James>Timothy>William) Record

1920: Census with Thomas' son William J. living in Roger Mills, Streeter (Crawford), OK. Census - 1920 (James>Thomas>William J.)
Record , Census

Census with Thomas' son Timothy's family in Bayard. Timothy F(58), Ella M(48), Winfred T(22), Clarance V(17), Ralph L(15), Jewell K(14), Marjory(12), John P.(9), Mary A(7), Sarah L(7).
(James>Thomas>Timothy) Name written as Sammons.
Census 1920 - p1 , Census 1920 - p2

1924: Howard Sammon meets Marion (Garrity) Haggerty on Valentines Day. They were married on Septemer 1st.

Howard Francis Sammon, born 1897, the first son of Ed and Emma must have been born with a determination to succeed in this world as his story is pure "Horatio Alger" almost from the beginning. Bud, as he was called on the farm, must have been about ten years old when he was sent out on the farm to round up Grandma's geese (she raised them and plucked the down for feather beds). It was cold and starting to rain as Bud was chasing the elusive fowl, a train (the Rock Island Line) came whistling along the track that bisected the family farmland. As Bud stopped to watch, it slowed slightly and as the last car, a posh pullman, moved past, the cold, wet ten year old boy could see robust gentlemen and their elegant ladies dining under chandeliers and served by black porters in white uniforms. That did it! Bud vowed he would grow up and go to Chicago and become a banker - and he did eventually, but that's getting ahead of the story.

Howard Sammon

As viewed from a later date in history, growing up in Bayard must have had its hardships, but Howard's stories always dealt with pleasant or whimsical anecdotes. To Patricia Sammon as a child, these seemed endless. They detailed the bizarre goings on at Halloween when outhouses were routinely upturned by pranksters. There was for some time a racetrack near Bayard where Howard and his versatile and inventive cousin Jack O'Brien were reported to have ridden and wagered on occasion. There was the Bayard town band featuring among others, Howard Sammon on the clarinet. Culture was alive and well in Bayard during the last part of the last century as the band played regularly in the town square, most girls took piano lessons, live theater occasionally came to town and of course, the highlight of every season was the appearance of the Greatest Show on Earth - The Barnum and Bailey Circus. After all of the excitement was over, if you were a boy in your early teens, you could always relax behind the barn with your dog. Howard had endless tales to tell about the family pet known in the stories as "Ole Dog Judge". This dog was so talented and intelligent that he must certainly have been an ancestor of Hollywood's famous Lassie as he performed all of those marvelous feats that Lassie movies are so well known for portraying. Patricia Sammon remembers, as a child, many a winter evening curled up in front of the huge fireplace in the Lloyd Wright house as Howard Sammon recounted in vivid detail these many grand adventure stories and reminiscences of his youth in Bayard.

Marion and Howard Sammon

1925: Patricia Anne Sammon was born on July 31st, 1925 in River Forest, Illinois.
She was the first child of Howard F. and Marion Haggerty Sammon.

1925: Census with Thomas' son Timothy's family in Bayard.
Census 1925 Ella listed as head of household. Name written as Sammons.
The census record lists Ella as Mccuen vs. McHugh.
Census record.

1929: Thomas' son William J. is buried at Willow Cemetery (79 yo).
(James>Thomas>William) Cemetery Record

1930: Census with Ralph L. Sammon-head(26), Ella-mother(57),
Mary-sister(17), Lavonne-sister(12), John-brother(14).
(James>Thomas>Timothy>Ralph L.) Census 1930

1940: John P. Sammon WWII draft card. (James>Thomas>John>John P.)
Draft Card

1940: Census with Howard Sammon Family. Record , Census

Patricia Sammon attended St. Mary's College. It was there that she met Walter LaBerge who had returned from the Pacific in WWII and was working on his PhD
in Physics at Notre Dame. The married in 1949, and had their first child, Peter,
in 1950. It was that year that Walter accepted a position as physicist at the Naval Weapons Testing Station in China Lake, California. They moved that
year.

1955: On September 14th, Emma Duffy, wife of Edwin Sammon, died.

Pat concentrated on raising a family as Walt's career advanced from being
the project manger for the Sidewinder Missile project, his acceptance as a
manager of Philco-Ford's development labs in the San Francisco bay area,
and then responsibility for managing the construction of NASA's Houston
Mission Control Center.

1965: On February, 25th, Howard Sammon passed away.

While the family lived in the San Francisco Bay Area,
Pat returned to school to get her teaching credentials in speech pathology
and was a professor at San Jose State University.

As the family continued to move around the country and over to Europe
following Walt's increasing responsibilities with the Department of Defense,
she accepted positions as a speech pathologist in the public school systems.
She was relentlessly dedicated to the children that she worked with and
made a huge impact in their lives. In early 1981 she was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer while she and Walt were living in Alexandria, Virginia.
They moved to Mountain View, CA and spent much of their time in Aptos, CA
where they had an apartment by the coast. On March 5th, 1982, they
celebrated the 80th birthday of her mother, Marion Sammon, in Aptos, CA.
She passed away two weeks later on 20 Mar 1982.

Some Useful Info:

Garbally Cemetery location

Tithe Applotment 1823 - 1837

Sammons & Salmons on the Tithe Applotment Map 1823-1837

Sammon Surname Map in Ireland: 1864 - 1913

Sammon Residential Phone Listing By County in 2010

Table showing distribution of Sammons in 2014

IrishGraveyards.ie Map of Graves after 1900

In Connacht Irish, Salmon is an anglicization, by translation, of Ó Bradáin,
which retains the earlier form Bradden in Donegal and Leitrim. The English
name Fisher is also occasionally so used. Sammon is the variant in use in Co. Clare.
Salmon is also a name of English origin, and as such it is fairly numerous in Co. Leix
and north Kilkenny, where it was established in the sixteenth century. SIF 133
— A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght