Iva Susanna Polen was born on February 13, 1875, in Little Sioux, Harrison, Iowa, to Nelson and Martha (Hartley) Polen. She was the second of seven children.

She married Charles Wallace Hamar on February 2, 1898, in Sparks, Cherry, Nebraska. According to the 1900 census, she had a child, Jettie Viva, in 1896. I have not found records for a previous marriage. Charles and Iva had 13 children.

Iva  died at the age of 90 on January 12, 1966, in Valentine, Cherry Nebraska. She is buried with her husband in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Valentin.