Samuel B. Langford. As a representative farmer and exemplary citizen of Sverdrup township, this gentleman is deserving of special mention. He is one of the earliest settlers of Griggs county and from a limited start he has gained a fine estate, and on section 6 enjoys the comfort of one of the finest residences of the county. Mr. Langford was born in Cornwall, England, January 8, 1837, and was a son of Samuel and Mary Langford, both natives of England. The father died many years ago and the aged mother survives him and makes her home in Cornwall, England.
Our subject remained in his native land and attended school and also assisted on the farm until he had attained his majority, when he came to America and located at Ontario, Canada. He engaged in the pursuit of farming there until 1872, when he removed to St. Clair county, Michigan, where he also followed farming and resided until 1881, when he went to Griggs county, North Dakota. He erected a shanty on his land, near the site of his present residence, and the little shanty was among the first built in the neighborhood. He has steadily improved the property and has gathered about him all the conveniences and comforts of modern farming. His buildings are substantial structures and every arrangement has been supplied with an idea to the economical conduct of the farm and the comfort of its inhabitants.
Mr. Langford was married in Canada, in 1859, to Mary Brown, a native of England. Mrs. Langford died about four years after their marriage, leaving two children, Samuel and Bessie. Mr. Langford married Miss Hannah Lewis, a native of England, in 1865. Nine children have been born to this union, as follows: Laura M., Alberta A., Oliver A., John H., Alfred E., Lillian M., Ida E., who died in infancy, Cora and Minnie. Mr. Langford is prominent in local affairs of public nature and is justice of the peace. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Methodist Episcopal church and is a trustee and steward of that denomination. In political sentiment he is a Populist. He is a man of broad ideas and keeps abreast of the times and is highly esteemed throughout the county.
Source: Compendium of History and Biography of North Dakota 1900 Page 459