Person Page

     Fanny M. Bryant was born about 1885 in Charlotte, Eaton Co., Michigan.¹ She married Elton J. Johnson, son of William Adelbert Johnson and Sarah Medora Taylor, on 28 May 1914 in Battle Creek, Calhoun Co., Michigan.¹

     Samuel Simmons was born on 27 September 1786 in Little Compton, Newport Co., Rhode Island.² He married Amy Beal, daughter of Joseph Beal and Sarah (?), on 26 January 1809 in Little Compton, Newport Co., Rhode Island.^3,1 He died at a fairly young age, certainly before 1830 when his wife Amy was listed as head of her own household in the census.⁴

     Amy Beal married Samuel Simmons, son of Ivory Simmons and Sarah (?), on 26 January 1809 in Little Compton, Newport Co., Rhode Island.^1,2
     After the early death of her husband Samuel, sometime before 1830, she was no longer able to afford the mortgage on the family farm, and began doing weaving jobs to earn money.²
     She is listed in Marion, Wayne Co., New York, in the 1830 census, with one male age 5-9, two males 10-14, two females 15-19, and one female 30-39.³
     About 1834 she moved with her three sons to Oakland Co., Michigan, where her two daughters had earlier moved after being married.²

     Ivory Simmons married Sarah (?).¹

     Sarah (?) married Ivory Simmons.¹

     Joseph Beal married Sarah (?).¹

     Sarah (?) married Joseph Beal.¹

     Thurston Simmons was born on 23 November 1818 in Marion, Ontario Co. (now Wayne Co.), New York.¹ He married first Hannah Sawyer, daughter of James Sawyer, about 1838 in Marion, Wayne Co., New York.¹ He married second Ellen Pratt on 12 May 1865 at the residence of Wm. Drake in Bloomingfield, Oakland Co., Michigan.² He married third Jennie McFarlin, daughter of William McFarlin, on 18 November 1871 (his biographical sketch says 13 November) in Delaware Co., Ohio.^3,1 He died on 6 July 1894 in Detroit, Wayne Co., Michigan, at age 75 from pneumonia.⁴ He was buried at Coughran Cemetery in Fowlerville, Livingston Co., Michigan.⁵
     About 1834, at age 15, he moved with his mother and brothers to Oakland Co., Michigan, where his two sisters had earlier moved after being married, but moved back to Marion after about a year.¹
     In November 1840, after working for a farmer for a couple years, he and his wife Hannah began a move to a 40-acre plot of undeveloped land that he had purchased in Conway, Livingston Co., Michigan. They stopped in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan, for a few months while he worked to pay off debts he had incurred to finance their move, and finally reached Conway in March 1841.¹ He worked various jobs to acquire a cow and a pair of calves, and to hire labor to help clear the land for farming, eventually expanding it to 113 acres.¹ He and Hannah are listed together there in the 1850 census, enumerated on 9 October.⁶
     In the spring of 1850 he traveled to California, perhaps lured there by the recent discovery of gold, but fell ill, and returned home in January 1851.¹
     He and Hannah later sold the farm, and in 1856 moved to Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan, where they were among the first settlers, and built the first house in the area.¹ They are listed there in the 1860 census.⁷ Thurston is listed there with his second wife Ellen in 1870⁸, and with his third wife Jennie (listed as Jane) in 1880.⁹
     He became a merchant, running his store out of their house. He also served at various times as a notary public, postmaster, supervisor, and state road commissioner, and was a member of the congressional district committee. He joined the Odd Fellows in 1862, eventually becoming District Deputy Grand Master. He was also a strong believer in the temperance movement, prosecuting liquor sales in court, and closing two "dram shops" (stores selling alcohol) by buying them out for $1740.¹
     On 16 April 1848 he purchased plots at Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan, that were later used by his presumed sister Patience and her husband Luke Phillips, their children Almyra and William, and William's wife Phoebe. A sixth plot was apparently never used (the internment record simply says "Phillips, Adult," with no other information).¹⁰

     Hannah Sawyer married Thurston Simmons, son of Samuel Simmons and Amy Beal, about 1838 in Marion, Wayne Co., New York.¹ She died on 19 April 1864.¹ She was buried at Coughran Cemetery in Fowlerville, Livingston Co., Michigan.²
     In November 1840 she and her husband Thurston began a move to a 40-acre plot of undeveloped land that he had purchased in Conway, Livingston Co., Michigan. They stopped in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan, for a few months while he worked to pay off debts he had incurred to finance their move, and finally reached Conway in March 1841.¹ They are listed together there in the 1850 census, enumerated on 9 October.³ They later sold the farm, and in 1856 moved to Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan, where they were among the first settlers, and built the first house in the area.¹ They are listed there in the 1860 census.⁴

     Ellen Pratt was born about 1841.¹ She married Thurston Simmons, son of Samuel Simmons and Amy Beal, on 12 May 1865 at the residence of Wm. Drake in Bloomingfield, Oakland Co., Michigan.¹ She died on 22 November 1870 in Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan, from "taking cold."^2,3 She was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan.⁴
     She and her husband Thurston are listed in Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan, in the 1870 census.⁵

     Jennie McFarlin married Thurston Simmons, son of Samuel Simmons and Amy Beal, on 18 November 1871 in Delaware Co., Ohio.^1,2
     She and her husband Thurston are listed in Gaines, Genesee Co., Michigan, in the 1880 census.³