Simons, James, 1813-1879

Attorney, legislator, and militia general of Charleston, S.C.; Simons was serving as speaker of the S.C. House in the legislature when the Civil War began; during the war, he served as brigadier general of the South Carolina Militia Fourth Infantry Brigade. After the war, he and his son, James, Jr. (1839-1919) practiced law in Charleston as Simons and Simons.

James Simons (1813-1879) of Charleston, S.C., was a lawyer, legislator, and militia general. His son, James Simons Jr. (1839-1919), was a student in Leipzig, Germany; a Confederate officer; a state legislator; a lawyer; and was active in the Society of the Cincinnati as president of the state society in 1898 and vice president general of the national organization in 1902.

James Simons (1813-1879) of Charleston, S.C., was a lawyer, legislator, and militia general. He was speaker of the house in the South Carolina legislature when the Civil War began. During the war, he served as brigadier general of the South Carolina Militia Fourth Infantry Brigade. James Simons married Sarah L. Wragg and with her had at least two children: James Simons Jr. and Henrietta Simons.

James Simons Jr. (1839-1919) attended South Carolina College and the University of Leipzig. He returned to South Carolina in 1860 and served as a captain and later a colonel in the Confederate Army. After the war, he practiced law in Charleston with his father as Simons and Simons, and later with Rudolph Siegling and John D. Cappelmann. He served in the state legislature from 1878 to 1891, and was speaker of the House from 1882. Simons was president of the News and Courier Company for 25 years, was chair of the Board of Public School Commissioners of Charleston, and was active in the Society of the Cincinnati as president of the state society in 1898 and vice president general of the national organization in 1902. Simons married Elizabeth Potter Schott in 1890.