James C. "Jim" Simmons, my maternal great-great Grandfather, was the son of Silas Simmons and Janet "Jenny" Freeman, was born 20 February 1828 in Leaf River Community, Perry County, Mississippi and died c. 1886.
He married (1) Celia Anna Yates, c. 1856 in Mississippi, the daughter of Isaac & Celia Anna Yates. Celia was born 28 December 1838. Jim & Celia's children were: Sons- William Isaac "Ike", Benjamin Franklin, Henry Louis, John Kennedy and James El; Daughers- Josephine Sebelle, Celia D. and Annie Jane. Celia died c. 1878 while in her late 40's, leaving Jim with several young children. The cause of Celia's death remains unknown.
Jim then married (2) Elizabeth Jane "Eliza" Entrekin, the daughter of Thomas Geather Entrekin and Julia Josephine Hudson, on 08 August 1886 in Marion County, Mississippi. Born 05 May 1856, Eliza was about 26 years younger than Jim. However, in that era it was not uncommon for men to marry women much younger than themselves. Jim and Eliza had 2 daughters- Nancy Emmaline and Cora Lee. Although their marriage records reflect they were married in 1886, Eliza is listed in Jim's household on the 1880 federal census as his wife. Also shown is their daughter, Nancy E., age 3 months. Were they actually married then, in 1880, or did they misinform the census taker? This leaves me to wonder. I also noticed from the 1880 census that "Sarah Entrican", age 6, was listed as a boarder in the same household. After further research, I discovered that Eliza had previously been married, to John Entrekin. Eliza and John Entrekin married in 1872 and they had a daughter- Sarah. After Jim's death, Eliza later married Elam Troy Barefoot and had four additional children.
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| Marriage Record- J.C. Simmons and Elizabeth Entrekin |
Jim was laid to rest in the family cemetery on property owned by his son, Benjamin Franklin Simmons. See "Frank Simmons Family Cemetery".
Burial: Blog Post- Cemeteries: Frank Simmons Family Cemetery
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