Simmons, Dr. Jonathan Oscar

1821 - 1890  (69 years)

• Name	Simmons, Jonathan Oscar
  Prefix	Dr.
  Birth	12 Jan 1821	Westfield, Medina, Ohio, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Relocation	1856	Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA   [2]
  	Moved with his family to Little Falls, Minnesota.
  Land	25 Apr 1877	Bismark, Burleigh, North Dakota
  	J.O Simmons obtained a federal land patent for 102.53 acres of in Bismark, Dakota Territory. This land had once been the site of Mitchell's Post of the Columbia Fur Company. His son Franklin B. Simmons describe life there in hyis diary (The diary is in the Morrison County, Minnesota historical society.)
  Civil office	1879-1881	Morrison County, Minnesota   [3]
  	Elected County Coroner
  Death	31 Jan 1890
  Burial	Oakland Cemetery, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA
  Person ID	I142	Martin-Bloom
  Last Modified	1 Dec 2022

  
  

  Father	Simmons, Jonathan Jr.,   b. 3 Mar 1796, Dighton, Bristol, Massachusetts d. 23 Apr 1863, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Briggs, Abigail,   b. 5 Mar 1799   d. 17 Feb 1846, Friendsville, Westfield Twp, Medina, Ohio (Age 46 years)
  Marriage	9 Dec 1819  [4]
  Histories		The Simmons Family of Westfield Township, Medina Co.,Ohio by Ruth Simmons Stebbins Part 1 outlines the relocation of several Simmons family members to Ohio and their lives there. It also includes some information on the founding of the Ohio Farmers Insurance Co., in which members of the Simmons family played roles. Part 2 was originally a separate document, but it is appended here because it provides more information on the extended Simmons family in addition to details on Erastus Simmons descendants and family life. Ruth Stebbins sent part 1 to her cousin, Lottie Tanner Martin and Patricia Vanhoose donated part 2 to the Medina County Public Library. Download a PDF (50 KB) of this history. ______________________________
  Family ID	F54	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lee, Harriet Hurd,   b. 26 Jan 1825, New York d. 10 Aug 1869, Willsons Point, Louisiana (Age 44 years)
  Marriage	14 Oct 1846	West Bloomfield, Ontario, New York, USA   [4, 5]
  Children	+ 1. Simmons, Mary Jane,   b. 3 Feb 1848, Westfield, Medina, Ohio, USA d. 14 Sep 1916, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA (Age 68 years) + 2. Simmons, Jonathan 3rd,   b. 29 Mar 1850, Westfield, Medina, Ohio, USA d. 5 Apr 1896 (Age 46 years)   3. Simmons, Oscar Napoleon,   b. 2 Mar 1852   d. 21 Aug 1855 (Age 3 years)   4. Simmons, Charles Lee,   b. 24 Jul 1854   d. 24 Aug 1855 (Age 1 year)   5. Simmons, Charles Gay,   b. 8 Jun 1856, Westfield, Medina, Ohio, USA d. Yes, date unknown   6. Simmons, Franklin Bradley,   b. 18 Jan 1859, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA d. 7 Jan 1930, Portland, Oregon (Age 70 years)   7. Simmons, Henry Willard,   b. 7 Nov 1861   d. 21 Apr 1864 (Age 2 years) + 8. Simmons, William Lee,   b. 23 Aug 1864, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA d. 22 Feb 1922, Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois, USA (Age 57 years)
  Photos		Simmons, Jonathan Oscar
  		Simmons, Harriet Lee Lottie Lee Martin wrote on the back "Harriet Lee Simmons - my Grandmother".
  Family ID	F53	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Dec 2011

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 12 Jan 1821 - Westfield, Medina, Ohio, USA Marriage - 14 Oct 1846 - West Bloomfield, Ontario, New York, USA Relocation - Moved with his family to Little Falls, Minnesota. - 1856 - Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA Burial - - Oakland Cemetery, Little Falls, Morrison, Minnesota, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Simmons' Tin Trunk This is the tin trunk described by Ruth Simmons Stebbins (see the Simmons Family of Westfield, Medina County, Ohio under histories). Originally the property of Jonathan Simmons Sr., it is now in the possession of descendants of Jonathan's son Erastus. It contains many documents including Jonathan Simmons' appointment as Captain in the New York State Militia in 1804, and deeds to land in Bristol, Ontario, New York and in Medina County, Ohio.

  
  

  Documents

  Map of Medina County, Ohio, 1857 A section of the map showing parts of Westfield and LaFayette Townships. The map was drawn from actual surveys and shows the owners of properties. Large numbers are lot numbers, smaller numbers are acreage.

  
  

  Headstones		Simmons Family Obelisk Inscription for Jonathan Oscar Simmons (1st) is on the north side, for Jonathan Simmons [not Jonathan Jr. but son of Jonathan Oscar] on the west side, for Lavina C. Simmons on the south side, and for Jonathan Oscar Simmons (2nd) on the east side.
  		Simmons, Dr. Jonathan Oscar The inscription reads "Jonathan Oscar Simmons Born Jan 12, 1821 Died Jan 31, 1890"

  
  

• Notes

  Usually referred to as J.O. Simmons. In the 1850 US census he and his family were recorded as living in Westfield Twp, Medina Co, Ohio. In the 1860 Census, he was living in Little Falls Village, Morrison, Minnesota with Harriet H (wife), Mary Jane (12), Jonathan (9), Charles (4), Franklin B. (2) Jonathan (62; his father, a farmer) and a servant. LFM wrote"before removing to Minnesota he farmed and ran a livestock exchange in what was then known as Ohio Western Reserve, dealing as far away as New York State, where he most likely met his future wife. . . He moved to Little Falls in 1857, became a merchant and a "'cruiser" for a railroad. In 1864 he went south to St. Louis in government service as an agent under General Haines, then did what could be called "carpet bagging" on the lower Mississippi River between Memphis, Tennessee and Vicksburg, Mississippi, selling goods, dealing in lumber, & cotton farming. His wife died in the south in 1869. He and his sons returned to Little Falls in 1870, took up the study of Homeopathic medicine. . . tried homesteading in Bismark, Dakota Territory, 3 years, returned to Little Falls in 1876 and began the practise of medicine." [6]

  
  

• Sources

  [S7] Ruth Simmons Stebbins, Simmons Family of Westfield Township, Medina County, Ohio. [S8] Mary J Simmons Obituary, (Published in Little Falls (Minnesota) Herald, 15 Sep 1916). [S138] Clara K. Fuller, History of Morrison and Todd Counties Minnesota , (1915, B.F. Bowen and Co., Indianapolis, Indiana), Vol 1, p 83. [S47] Unknown author (found in family documents), Simmons Family Record , p. 2. [S140] Frank Simmons' Diary, p. 129. [S29] L. Frederick Martin's papers, p. 5.