archie harvey simmons, sr.
1898-1981
Life Story
Early Life & Family Roots in Newton County
Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr. was born in August 1898 in Newton County, Mississippi, to Morris Simmons and Mary Thompson Chapman Simmons. He entered the world during a period of profound change for African Americans in the South. Born only a generation after emancipation, Archie grew up in a family striving to build stability through farming, faith, and hard work despite the growing challenges of the Jim Crow era.
Raised in Beat 4 of Newton County, Archie was one of several children in a large agricultural household. His siblings included Linsey, Richard, Francis, Margarett, Horton, Lucy, John W., and Otto Simmons. Like many children in rural Mississippi, Archie divided his time between attending school and helping his parents cultivate the family farm. By 1910, census records show that he was attending school while also assisting with the daily responsibilities of farm life. During these years, he learned to read and write, skills that would serve him throughout his lifetime.
The values of perseverance, faith, and family that shaped Archie’s childhood would remain the guiding principles of his life.
Marriage & Building a Family
Around 1916 or 1917, Archie married Rena Belle Evans, whose name appears in various records as Rena Bell and Irna B. Together they began building a home that would become one of the larger households in the Lawrence community.
As the United States entered World War I, Archie completed his draft registration in neighboring Scott County, Mississippi. His registration described him as a young man of medium height and medium build. Although there is no evidence that he entered military service, the registration documents him as a hardworking husband preparing to provide for his growing family during a time of national uncertainty.
Over the next two decades, Archie and Rena welcomed eleven children, each of whom would carry the Simmons family legacy into future generations:
- Willie Mae Simmons
- Annie M. Simmons
- Robert Morris Simmons
- Odessie Simmons
- Jessie Bernham Simmons
- Grenada Simmons Dukes
- Mattie Lou Simmons
- Archie Harvey Simmons, Jr.
- Johnetta Simmons
- Vera Mae Simmons
- Levern Simmons
As their children matured, the Simmons family grew beyond Newton County. Some remained in Mississippi while others established homes in Missouri, Wisconsin, California, and elsewhere, extending the family’s influence across the country while remaining connected to their Mississippi roots.
A Farmer, Landowner & Provider
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Archie devoted himself to farming in Beat 4 of Newton County, making his home near Highway 80 in the Lawrence community.
Census records identify him as an independent farmer operating on his own account, and by 1930, he had achieved the important milestone of owning his farm. For an African American man living in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era, landownership represented far more than financial success. It meant independence, security, and the opportunity to establish a lasting inheritance for future generations.
Working the land required long days and constant determination, but Archie and Rena created a home where faith, discipline, and family remained at the center of daily life. Their farm became more than a livelihood—it became the foundation upon which generations of the Simmons family would build.
The Second Great Migration
Following World War II, Archie joined many African American families who sought greater economic opportunities outside the rural South during the Second Great Migration.
By 1950, he and members of his family had relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where they lived on Cook Avenue. There, Archie found employment as a clubhouse janitor, while his younger children attended school and adjusted to life in a growing urban community.
Although the move offered new opportunities, Archie never lost his connection to Mississippi. Later records also associate him with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reflecting the movement of family members throughout the Midwest. Yet the Lawrence community remained home in his heart, and he ultimately returned to Newton County during his later years.
His life reflected the experience of many African American families whose roots remained firmly planted in the South even as later generations spread across the nation.
Final Years
After more than eight decades marked by hard work, family devotion, and steadfast faith, Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr. passed away suddenly on November 23, 1981, at the age of eighty-three, in Lawrence, Mississippi.
Funeral services were held on November 28, 1981, at Union Chapel United Methodist Church in Lawrence, with Rev. Jerry Collier officiating. Arrangements were entrusted to Holifield Funeral Home of Forest, Mississippi.
He was laid to rest in Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, surrounded by generations of family members in the community where his life’s journey had begun.
Legacy
Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr. lived through one of the most transformative periods in American history.
Born in the nineteenth century, he witnessed the rise of Black landownership in rural Mississippi, endured the hardships of the Great Depression, experienced two world wars, watched his children come of age during the Second Great Migration, and lived to see the victories of the Civil Rights Movement.
Yet throughout those changing times, Archie remained steadfast in the values that defined his life—faith in God, devotion to family, honest labor, and perseverance.
His greatest achievement was not measured by acreage or possessions, but by the family he and Rena raised together. Their eleven children established homes across the United States, creating a legacy that continues through countless descendants.
At the time of his passing, Archie was survived by ten children living in Mississippi, Missouri, Wisconsin, and California; his sister, Mrs. Lucy Evans of Newton; forty-four grandchildren; thirty great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends whose lives had been enriched by his quiet example.
Today, Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr. is remembered not only as a farmer and family patriarch, but as a man whose life bridged generations. His story reflects the resilience of African American families who transformed hard work into opportunity, preserved their communities through difficult times, and built foundations strong enough to support generations yet to come.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Graveyard
Photos/Albums
Sources
- U.S. Federal Census records, 1900–1950, Newton County, Mississippi, and St. Louis, Missouri.
- World War I Draft Registration Card for Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr.
- Mississippi marriage records for Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr. and Rena B. Evans.
- Obituary of Archie Harvey Simmons, Sr., November 1981.
- Burial records, Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawrence, Mississippi.
- Social Security and public residence records documenting later residences in Missouri, Wisconsin, and Mississippi.
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