in 1934, sampson and her husband, edward c. sampson sr., moved from jamestown to port angeles, washington. there, the sampsons became one of the thirteen founding families who purchased and owned land on the lower elwha klallam reservation. she was married to edward sampson for 75 years, until his death in 1995. she was also a member of the jamestown s'klallam band, which was established as a separate klallam political entity during the 1980s. according to jamestown chairman ron allen, sampson, "considered herself a s'klallam first. she associated closely with all three bands" in washington state.