George Franlkin Simons
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Clockwise from top left: Harry, Ernest and George Simons
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George Franklin Simons was born February 19, 1894 in Creston, Washington, the
twelfth child born to Elizabeth and George Simons. George had six older brothers
and two older sisters when he was born. Four more children were born after
George. George and his next older brother Ernie were inseparable playmates as
kids.
George started his education at the Mountview school which was close to the
family farm. As an old man, George said that at about the age of 12, he had
attended Mountainview for seven months and the Brents school for three months,
and Stella Cheley had been his teacher at both. Stella later became his
sister-in-law, marrying Elmer Simons.
When he was just eight years old, George’s mother died, leaving behind a large
family of children. His father, George Henry Simons, found a housekeeper named
Jennie Overbay,Keys-Louthain who would help with the care of the children. She
came from Virginia for the job and brought two of her youngest children with
her. By 1904, the senior George married Jennie, but the marriage did not last.
George Franklin stated many years later that the older boys were not very kind
to their stepmother. He praised her as a good, simple cook and remembered that
she would sew for the family. Jennie and George were divorced in 1910. By then,
all the children were school-aged. George Sr. hired housekeepers for the cooking
and canning.
Like all of his brothers, George learned at a very early age to manage horses
and do all of the tasks of farming in that age.
At the age of nineteen George, following in the footsteps of many of his
siblings, took the train from Spokane and went to Montana in order to file for a
homestead of his own. He needed to lie about his age, saying he was born in 1893
instead of 1894.
Just two weeks after arriving in Montana, George got word that his father was
sick and dying. And so he hopped freight trains to get back to Spokane because
he had used all his money to get to Montana. George got to Spokane in time
to see his father before he died. After his father’s death, George Franklin
stayed a while to help with the thrashing before then returned to Montana for
his claim.
While in Montana, George registered for the army. He was consigned by the United
States Army during the First World War and was assigned to break horses. Being a
farm boy, he knew how to do that really well. He put them through their paces
every day until the time for the inspection. Each horse had to pass three tests.
For the first test, the rider had to walk the horse away from the judges about a
hundred feet, then back again. Test two – trot away and back. Test three – run
away and back. This was to test the horse’s wind. George was paid $15 a head so
that when they were needed, the horses were ready. When asked if he had gone
into combat during war time George said, "No, I didn’t fight, I wasn’t mad at
anybody."
George married Bonnie Hamilton. They adopted a son, Larry. They then had three
children of their own, Glen, Joyce, and George, Jr.
George and Bonnie lived in Eastonville, Washington. Bonnie died before George,
who himself died on June 23, 1985 in Tacoma, Washington. He was ninety-one years
old, the longest living male child of Elizabeth and George Simons.
Continue reading about the other children of George and Jeannette:
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