Sammy Sewell was born August 10, 1933, in Weston County to Tillie Bock Sewell and George Sewell.
Sammy was one of seven children. He was the youngest of the Sewell boys and learned to be a cowboy at a young age. Sammy went to grade school in Osage from 1940 to 1947 and high school at the Newcastle High School from 1948 to 1951. He excelled in all sports including rodeo where he did bulldogging, calf roping, and bareback riding.
He and Gerald Davis earned a trip to the 3rd (1951) National High School Final Rodeo in Sulphur, Louisiana, for their calf roping. They were awarded the trip as the result of winning, top place in the Rapid City Rodeo the prior spring. Also in Rapid City, Sammy placed second and third in bulldogging and second in bareback riding, all in a one-day entry.
When Sammy was old enough, he worked for his Grandfather, J. F. Bock and for Bill Burke. In 1953 and 1954, he did some flying, but never soloed. In 1955, Sammy and Irma “Marie” Oudin were married. They would have two children, Debra Ann Sewell and Scott Everett Sewell, and were married for 55 years.
The family lived on Skull Creek running part of the ranch for his mother, Tillie, who is now also in the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1972, he purchased the Harry Sedgwick ranch out of Newcastle. In addition to managing the Skull Creek ranch for his mother for 17 years, he also ran his own ranch for 41 years. Sammy was involved in many activities: 4-H leader, Mason, Shriner, on the Natural Resource Soil Conservation Board, and on the Inyan Kara Grazing Association Board. Sammy died July 11, 2014, at the age of 80.