Hello Howard, In the history of Orange County they list a James Simmons, page 529. under Cornwall and Monroe . In 1769 Selah Strong, William Thron, Henry Wisner, jr. and Silvanus White, four of his Majesty's Justices, declared the indenture of the apprentice, James Simmons, void, by the ill-treatment of his master, John Tuthill, and discharged the apprentice. and on page 577 a Benj. Simmons is listed under Cornwall and Monroe A list of men taken at Fort Montgomery under Col. Woodhull's Regiment. In Portrait and Bio. record of O.C. NY pg.212 Mr. Demerest has been for years an enthusiastic and prominent member of the Masonic order, having been initiated into the secrets of this fraternity in March 1869, when joining Goshen Lodge no. 365. He later became identified with lodge no. 711, which was organized at Chester. July 27, 1871, but which is now stationed at Monroe. Of this he has been Warden, and for several years was Master. In 1881 he was appointed District Deputy of the Tenth Masonic District by Horace Taylor, Grand Master, and on the expiration of his term of office, two years later, was made his own successor by J. Edward Simmons, Grand Master. yours in genealogy Joanne -----Original Message----- From: Howard Swain [mailto:hswain@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2000 8:15 PM To: NYORANGE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Henry SIMMONS -- searching for his parents Hi all, I am searching for the parents of Henry SIMMONS. According to his obituary, which appeared in the Garden Grove (Iowa) Express: He was born in Goshen, NY on May 11, 1804. At the age of 14 he left home and went to New York City where he remained 38 years chiefly engaged in the mercantile business. In the spring of 1856 he moved to Republic, Ohio. In March 1858 he moved to Garden Grove, Iowa. It appears that both Henry and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church at the time of their deaths. His gravestone in Garden Grove has the above birth date and has death date of 19 Mar 1882. According to _Ancestors and Descendants of Captain Frans Janse Bloodgood, Vol I Revised..._ by George M. Bloodgood, 1980: Henry married on 12 Aug 1835 Louisa Bloodgood, who was the dau. of John Bloodgood and Rachel Simmons. In NYC directories I have found a Henry Simmons with a drygoods store at 84 Hudson (at Franklin) and 100 Hudson (NYC) from 1837 to 1855. This is only about 8 blocks across town from where John Bloodgood had lived at 22 Mott, according to the Bloodgood book above. I've checked _Early Records of the Presbyterian Church of Goshen 1767-1885_ and found nothing. In the 1810 NY census for Orange Co., I found several Simmons families, but none appeared to be in Goshen. Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Howard hswain@ix.netcom.com