George & Paul Sambuc, Orphan Train Rider

George Sambuc (1870 - ?) wrote in his letter of 1895 from Piper City, IL that although his brother Paul had a successful farm in North Dakota, he would not think of going there. George had put up with a cantankerous old farmer for 12 years and was rewarded with a legacy of $1000 at his guardian's death. In 1900 George had apparently put the legacy received from his guardian's estate to good use. He was a jeweler in Artesia, Illinois.

George did not appear in a census again until 1925, when he appeared in the 1925 census of North Dakota, where he was farming. Apparently the lure of North Dakota and the company of his brother could not be resisted. He continued to appear in the farmer's directory for the next thirty years in Minot, North Dakota.

Paul Sambuc (1867 - ) was included in the 1880 census in Illinois and was living in Pella, Ford County. He was with a farmer named Reed and just 13 years old. Paul married in 1899 to a woman named Maggie. They lived in Sharon, North Dakota in 1900. In 1910 Paul and Maggie had a two year old daughter, Ruby. Maggie died in 1915, and Paul remarried sometime before 1925. At the time of the 1925 North Dakota census Paul was recorded with wife Rena and daughter Ruby. Although George said that Paul had a farm, his occupation was always listed as a salesman in a general store.