Life History
1863 |
Born in Arkansas.8 (less likely) |
Apr 1867 |
(most likely) |
1870 |
Born in Arkansas.6 (less likely) |
between 1880 and 1930 |
|
15th Apr 1884 |
Married Thomas W SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.4 |
11th Nov 1886 |
Birth of daughter Lillie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1,5 |
11th Nov 1886 |
Birth of daughter Lillie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1,5 |
19th Jul 1889 |
Birth of daughter Ethel Oral SEAMONS in Possum Waller, Arkansas, Arkansas.4,12,13,9,1,14,4,15,16 |
19th Jul 1889 |
Birth of daughter Ethel Oral SEAMONS in Possum Waller, Arkansas, Arkansas.4,12,13,9,1,14,4,15,16 |
Dec 1892 |
Birth of daughter Tempie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1 |
Dec 1892 |
Birth of daughter Tempie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1 |
31st Jan 1894 |
Death of Thomas W SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.6,22 |
9th Aug 1896 |
Married Pleasant S SIMMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1,4 |
21st Aug 1898 |
Birth of son Arthur Edward SIMMONS in Van, Arkansas, Arkansas.1,6,17,4,18,19,20 |
before Apr 1907 |
Divorced from Pleasant S SIMMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.11,4 |
before 5th May 1910 |
Death of daughter Tempie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas |
before 5th May 1910 |
Death of daughter Tempie SEAMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas |
6th Jan 1927 |
Death of Pleasant S SIMMONS in Arkansas County, Arkansas.21 |
after 1940 |
Notes
- Jennie never appears under the name Virginia, but we would expect that to be her full proper name. Some genealogies list her that way. Most stick with the records and family name Jennie.
1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 18, Hse/Fam #151
Miller, John 26 M W Farmer $400 Real Estate $300 Personal b Mississippi
Miller, Mary 24 F W Keeping House born Louisiana Cannot read or write
Miller, Jane (Jennie) 3 F W born Arkansas
1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, Page 15C, LDS transcription of census, household numbers not given, Jennie reported as a child of John W and Mary Miller:
John W Miller W M 38 Farmer MS Prussia AL
Mary Miller W F 34 Wife House Keeper NY VT Ireland
Jennie Miller Dau S W 13 AR MS NY
Mr Seamons is thought to have died, but I have not found his death information. Nor have I found any record of him after they married. They married in 1884. Jennie's real name was Virginia, as we might expect, but the only document I have found using that name is her marriage record.
Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
Thomas Seamons
Age 21, Birth Year abt 1863
Spouse's Name Virginia Miller
Spouse's Age 17
Marriage 15 Apr 1884 Arkansas County
Marriage License Date 14 Apr 1884
Thomas died 10 years later. Jennie married twice-widowed Pleasant Simmons.
1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 6 June, Prairie Township, District 7, page 4A, Hse #55, Fam #56
Simmons, Pleas S Head W M Sept 1874 55 Married 3 yrs TN NC NC Farmer
Simmons, Jennie Wife W F Apr 1867 33 Married 3 yrs borne 4 children, 4 living AR MS MS Dairy Farmer
Simmons, Loula Daughter W F Feb 1884 6 AR TN TN
Simmons, Arthur Son W M Aug 1897 2 AR TN AR
Seemons, Lillie Daughter W F Nov 1884 15 [?] AR TN AR
Seemons, Ethel Daughter W F Apr 1888 12 [?] AR TN AR
Seemons, Tempa Daughter W F Dec 1892 7 AR TN AR
The name of the head of household is smudged, partially faded and overwritten. Ancestry.com transcribes it as Pleas S. The first name may be Pleasant, which is a man's first name in many families in the 1800s.
The section of the sheet containing this family is faded, so parts of letters are illegible, only certain heavier strokes appear. Some are also smeared or smudged. The birth dates are generally clear, but some numbers are faded. The enumerator's e's are closed, but somewhat rounded, while the i's are straight and usually clearly dotted.
I note that Jennie is shown with an occupation, Dairy Farmer, different from her husband's occupation of simply Farmer. Were they operating two separate farm homesteads?
Note that all the children are reported as children of Mr Simmons, though we know the Seamons (Seemons) children are the children of Thomas Seamons, who died before this census and Jennie's marriage to Mr Simmons. Also the last listed is shown as older than the other two girls. The oldest is usually listed first.
The Seemons name is partially faded, and is written only on the first entry, that for Lillie. Lillie's name is spelled here the way the family sources spell it, and as it is spelled in her obituary. The census of 1910 also spells it Lillie, but in 1930 it is spelled Lilly.
The last child listed is hard to read. The name is largely faded. It is appears to be Tempa, matching the family information in the name Tempie. It is transcribed by Ancestry.com as Amka. The k is not clear, and the lower part looks like some of the p's on this page. The first letter is mostly gone. It appears this name could be a form of the name Tempie. At any rate it seems to match that child, who appears in this census, but is probably the child reported in the 1910 census, as having died. The child reported as Tempie in family sources had no birth or death dates. The full name of this child was likely Temperance.
In 1910, Jennie is listed with her children in the household of her father, J W Miller. His record here reports he is a widower, however, his wife, Jennie's mother is listed below, three houses away with Jennie's sister Josephine! Mary is reported as Divorced, not widowed. Some records here are hard to read, due to the enumerator's sloppy penmanship. The record indicates that Jennie is divorced, which matches information discovered from family sources. Jennie and her second husband Pleasant Simmons divorced between the 1900 and 1910 censuses.
1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 5 May, North Prairie, District 12, page 8A, Hse #144
Miller, J W Head M W 63 Widowed MS Germ AL Farmer
Seamans, Jinnie Daughter F W 40 borne 4 children, 3 living AR MS AL
Seamans, Lillie Granddaughter F W 20 AR AR AR Laborer, Home Farm
Seamans, Ethel Granddaughter F W 16 AR AR AR Laborer, Home Farm
Simmons, Arthur Grandson M W 13 AR TN AR Laborer, Home Farm (born abt 1997)
The ages vary wildly here for Lillie and Ethel. In 1900 Ethel was 12, which matches her birth date known by the family as 19 Jul 1889. The birth date reported in the census, however, partially faded, appears to be April 1888, which is wrong. In 1930, her age is 41, which is still within range. But in 1910, we see her age is said to be 16, only 4 years older than in 1900!
In this 1910 census, Lillie is reported as 20, only 5 years older than in 1900. Her birthday is reported in 1900 as November 1884, while the family records her birth date as 11 November 1886.
Arthur Simmons is the son of Jennie's second husband, whose first name is Pleas, short for Pleasant. Since the last census, Jennie has divorced Mr Simmons. Also one child has died, as now only 3 of her 4 children is reported as living. This must be the child called Tempie in family sources, and probably listed as Amka or similar in the faded entry in 1900.
Note that the birthplace of Jennie's mother is now shown as Alabama, not New York. Ancestry.com has the surnames of the Seamans members of this family badly mistranscribed, with every one of them having a different name. The closest to what is actually written is Lille Seamens. The family did spell the name as Seamans at times. The more common spelling seems to have been Seamons.
In 1930, Jennie has moved into the household of her daughter Ethel Oral Seamons Dumond.
1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 April, Prairie Township, District 25, page 6A, Ethel and Point Rd, Hse #106, Fam #107
Dumond, Ira E Head M W 36 AR AR AR Farmer
Dumond, Ethel O Wife F W 41 AR AR AR
Maddox, Alma M Dau F M 16 S AR IL AR
Dumond, Bertie Dau F W 12 S AR AR AR
Dumond, Lillian Dau F W 10 S AR AR AR
Dumond, Gertrude Dau F W 8 S AR AR AR
Dumond, Ira E Jr Dau F W 3yrs 9mos S AR AR AR
Seamons, Jennie Mother-in-Law F W 67 [Married state unreadable] AR AR VT
This census reports Jennie's mother as born in Vermont instead of New York. 1910 said Alabama. 1900 said Mississippi. While Jennie was still in her parents' home in 1880, at age 13, her mother's birth state was said to be New York. That census reported that Jennie's maternal grandmother was born in Vermont.
In the 1940 census, Jennie is reported in the home of another daughter, Lilly Huser. The enumerator got her name wrong and reported her as Janice.
In 1940, Lillie's mother is living in her household.
1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 23 April, Henton Township, District 1-13 Page 7A, Road to Hwy 79, Hse #108, Rents $4
Huser, John Head F W 52 Grade 8 b Germany Naturalized Rural Ark, Ark in 1935 Farmer [b abt 1888]
Huser, Lily Wife F W 53 Grade 8 b Ark Rural Ark, Ark [b abt 1887]
Seaman, Janice [Jennie] W 74 Single Grade 6 b Ark Rural Ark, Ark in 1935 [b abt 1866]
Sources
- 1. 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 6 June, Prairie Township, District 7, page 4A, Hse #55, Fam #56
- 2. 1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 2 June, PrairieTownship, page 21 (scan p15C), Hse #21, Fam #25
- 3. 1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 18 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 18, Hse/Fam #151
- 4. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
- 5. 1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 23 April, Henton Township, District 1-13 Page 7A, Road to Hwy 79, Hse #108, Rents $4
- 6. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 5 May, North Prairie, District 12, page 8A, Hse #144
- 7. 1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 2 June, Prairie Township, District 2, page 21 (scan p15C), Hse #21, Fam #25
- 8. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 18 April, Prairie Township, District 25, page 6A, Ethel and Point Rd, Hse #106, Fam #107
- 9. Personal Letters
- 10. Personal Communation
- 11. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 27 April, La Grue Township, DeWitt Town, District 9, page 4B, Hse/Fam #63
- 12. 1940 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 19 April, Ethel, District 1-26, page 10A, Oak Flat Rd, Hse #152, Owns $500
- 13. 1930 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 18 April, Prairie Township, District 25, page 6A, Ethel and Point Rd., Hse#106, Fam #107
- 14. Gravestone of Ethel Seamon Dumond, Mt Pleasant Cemetery, Ethel, Arkansas
- 15. 1920 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
- 1 February, Prairie Township, District 16, page 5B, LaGrue Springs and Ethel, Hse #98, Fam #101
- 16. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
- 17. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- 18. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
- 19. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
- 20. 1940 Federal Census, Jefferson County, Arkansas
- 4 April, Humphrey, District 35-33 Page 4A, Main St, Hse #66, Owns $1000
- 21. Arkansas Death Index, 1914-1950
- 22. Gravestone of Thomas W Seamans, St. Charles Cemetery, St. Charles, Arkansas, Arkansas