George Franklin Simms, 1875–1920

George was born on 5 October 1875 in Farmington, Missouri, to Sarah Ellen Yeargain and Benjamin Franklin Simms.

George enlisted in the U.S. Army on 6 June 1898 at age 23 8/12 years. His enlistment record shows that he was 5 feet, 7 3/4 inches tall and had blue eyes, a fair complexion, and light brown hair. At that time, George worked as a plasterer. He enlisted in Denver, Colorado, for a three-year period starting on 10 June 1898. He took his basic training at Port Tampa, Florida, and served in the U.S. Infantry 7th Regiment and then in the 5th Regiment during the time of the Spanish-American War. George received his discharge on 27 May 1899 in New York, New York, with the rank of private and very good service.

On 20 November 1899, George and Gladys Cynthia “Laydes” Snider were married in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. This couple had three children between 1901 and 1915.

According to the 1900 census, George, at age twenty-five, lived in Byrd Township, Cape Girardeau County, with his sister, Mary, brother-in-law, Andrew Williams, and their son Franklin, age five. After George married Laydes, he worked as a professional photographer for the state of Missouri.

George and Laydes lived at 4011a Shaw Avenue in St. Louis when he died on 30 May 1920. His cause of death was lobar pneumonia after a nine-day illness. George was forty-four years, seven months, and fifteen days old when he died.

Written by Judy Broleman
June 2020

© 2020, St. Louis Genealogical Society

Return to St. Louis City/County Biographies.

Last Modified: 04-Dec-2020 15:02