1930...Amel's Life on on the Farm

Amel was 14 years old at the time and worked on the farm as a laborer as did his older brother Clark. Elliot, 43 and Mabel, 35 had been married now for 11 years. Mabel was born in Montana and her Father was born in Germany and her Mother was born in Canada. Elliot and Mabel had two children together. Lee was now 9 years of age and Margaret was now 7 years old. Both were born in Montana as a result of when Elliot met Mabel while working in Montana. Elliot had left Missouri in search of work in Montana in 1917. Apparently, Elliot lived and worked in Montana at least until 1923 when Margaret was born.

According to this census my Great Grandparents John, 79 and Belle, 73 and Howard ,11 were living together. Howard, called Buster was the son of my Aunt Mary. On this census Howard too is listed as a laborer for general farm work.

Also highlighted on this census is Alva Simmons and his family. Alva was Elliot's brother and Amel's uncle. That makes Alva my Great Uncle.

(click on image to enlarge)

Elliot's WW1 Draft card...in Russell, Montana

Click on picture to enlarge...
Elliot left Missouri to find work on a farm in Montana after Becca passed away in 1916. He had two baby boys to support. There was Clark at age 2 and Amel at age one. Elliot is listed as a single man at this time and he was one month shy of 31 years of age. Chouteau county, Montana is written on the page on the right. Choteau is 32 miles northwest of Great Falls and is 70 miles south of the Alberta, Canada border.

John F. & Philenia Simmons...my Great Grandparents

Scroll down to lines 8-16 to locate 236, 238 Simmons, John. Below his name you will find Philenia, his wife. There were 7 children in this family...4 boys & 3 girls. The children were born in this order; John A., Anvil C., Elliot M., Laura E., Carrie, Mary E.E., & Wily. Elliot Monroe is my Grandfather and father of my dad, Amel. Mary E.E. is my Aunt Mary Simmons. The other children are my aunts & uncles that I never knew. All members of this family were born in Missouri, however both of John F. & Philenia's parents were born in Tennesse.
This document is a United States census taken Franklin Township of Dent County on June 21, 1900. It indicates that the family lived on a farm that they owned and not rented. It also indicates that there was a mortgage on the farm. Five of the children attended school and four of the kids could speak english, read & write. My Grandfather Elliot was born in July, 1886 and was just shy of his 14th birthday at this time. My Aunt Mary was just 4 years of age as she was born in August of 1895. The head of the family is listed as a farmer.
My Great Grandfather, John Fielding Simmons was born in January of 1851 & my Great Grandmother, Philenia Simmons was born in January, 1857. Her maiden name is Philenia Belle Cage. John and Philenia were married in 1882.

The Cedar Grove mail route

The Simmons' farm totaled 360 acres and it apparently was in the Simmons name for quite a while. My Great Aunt Belle recalled Civil War soldiers from both the North and the South traveling thru the area and she told of soldiers taking chickens and livestock for their meals. Belle was a young girl at the time of the war, but remember she lived to be 99 years old. Belle passed away in about 1957-8. She was the mother of my Aunt Mary Simmons. I believe Belle was a generation older than my grandfather Elliot.

The mailing address on the postcard from my Dad to Jack was the "Cedar Grove Route." My Dad would tell me that the farm location was south of Salem and between Jadwin and Eminence. Cedar Grove is in northern Shannon county near the Current River.

I found this map from 1895 on the internet and thought it appropriate for this post because it could be very close to the time that Elliot was born. Also, there is a good chance that Belle may have still been living on the farm then.