John married Elke Irmlind JANTHUR [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Andrew Eric SIMMONS

Notes:

John Bruce Simmons skriver om ham:

During WWII he served as an officer with the Naval Construction Battalions "Sea Bees". As a civil engineer, he was commissioned a LTJG. Because of ulcer he was not considered fit for overseas service. He was assigned to travel the midwest as a recruiting officer for the Sea Bees. By the end of the war he had become a Lieutenant Commander. After I was born, he was assigned to engineering duties at Great Lakes NTC. He ultimately received a medical discharge from the Navy on account of his ulcer. I think that he liked the Navy life and would have been happy to make it his career.

John married Dorothy Helen JOHNSEN on 27 Mar 1943 in Wilhamsburg. Dorothy was born on 8 Jan 1919 in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE, USA; died on 25 May 1990 in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Hun hadde Parkinson, og var bl. de yngste som fikk sykdommen.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Northwood, IA, USA

Notes:

John Bruce Simmons skriver om ham:

From the obituary of John J. Simmons:

Pallbearers at his funeral were T. O., Orin, Rudolph, Elmer, and Clarence Groe. Thosten, Clarence, and Orin were sons of sister Anna. Elmer and (presumably) Rudolph were sons of sister Gertrude. Mrs. Josie Thompson, daughter of Anna Simmons Gro e, sang two songs at the service.

"Mr. Simmons was the youngest son of John and Gertrud (Troe) Simmons, and was born May 12, 1870 at Vang, in Valdres, Norway. He was baptized in Norway and came to this country as an infant. His first birthday was celebrated on board ship en rout e to the United States. His parents settled on a farm in Silver Lake township where he was later confirmed in the first confirmation class of the late Rev. L. Tosdal. He attended the old Breckenridge school in Decorah and was graduated the St. Ansgar seminary in 1900 . As a young man he taught school in Worth County and later was County Treasurer for 17 years. Mr. Simmons was a member of the Sons of Norway and the organizationnow known as the Lutheran Brotherhood. During his life he held several offices in the Lutheran Church, taught Sunday school, and was director-at-large of Silver Lake township scho ols. He was married June 8th, 1909, to Mabel Krogh and they had four children. From 1922 to 1927 he lived in Medford, Minn., where he was office manager and treasurer of a sand and gravel and tile concern. From 1927 to 1939 he lived on the family far m in Silver Lake township, and in 1939 he moved back to Northwood, where he spent the rest of his life."

John married Mabel Amanda KROGH on 8 Jun 1909 in Northwood, IA, USA. Mabel (daughter of Bernhardus Arnoldus KROGH and Mathilde Euphemia STROMSTEIN) was born on 31 Oct 1885 in Northwood, IA, USA; died on 12 Jul 1975 in Dewitt, IA, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Northwood, IA, USA

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: USA
• Baptism: 23 Dec 1826, Vang Kirke I Valdres

Notes:

Han var gårdsgutt på Kattevold før han dro til USA Dette må være Vangs største rundbrenner på den tiden. Han fikk minst 10 barn med seks forskjellige jenter, før han giftet seg med en av dem i 1865. I USA kalte han seg John Simmons (etter farens navn Simen).

I bladet ".................." fra 1865,(se faksimile), står det etter min omsetting: "En norsk Don Juan! Under en straffesak mot den 37 år gamle Jon Simonsen Kattevold, som er inderst i Vang prestegjeld, blir det opplyst at han har fått 10 uekte barn med 6 forskjellige piker. Under forhøret forklarte tiltalte at pikene, "meget ofte kom til Kattevold , både om dagen og om aftenen for å fa fatt i ham". De trakterte han ofte med brennevin og lokket ham deretter til å ha legemlig omgang med dem. Når disse piker har kommet til Kattevold samtidig, har det ofte hendt at de har kommet i klammeri og slagsmål seg i mellom om førsteretten til ham. Da tiltalte har et godt utseende og til og med er flink til å danse og har lett for å omgås "fruentimmer" har det vært nesten umulig for ham å klare å stå imot så mange forelskede piker. Lagrette erklærte at den var fullkomment bekjent med at tiltaltes forklaring var riktig. Tiltale, som tidligere var straffet fordi han hadde avlet 4 uekte barn, erklærte straks at det var hans hensikt å ekte den siste av hans elskerinner og han fikk også utsatt rettsaken en tid slik at han skulle få mulighet til å fullbyrde ekteskapet . Da rettet ble satt på nytt erklærte han at det fortsatt var hans hensikt å gifte seg, men han hadde kommet til at han først ville sone den straff han måtte bli dømt til. (Selv om retten hadde stor forståelse for at han var blitt fristet over evne , kom den likevel til at han måtte dømmes og han fikk 2 års straffearbeid for sin umoralske oppførsel, i rettsreferatet heter det videre): Etter at han ved Overretten var dømt til 2 års straffearbeid, ble det kjent at han hadde henvendt seg til soknepresten for å bli gift, men soknepresten var ikke villig til å vie ham før han hadde hørt "den Geistlige Overøvrighetsens" (Biskopens ) mening om saken. Presten hadde også forsøkt å overtale piken til ikke å gifte seg med Jon Simonsen Kattevold. Presten hadde forklart at om hun, i sin unge alder, ville kaste seg i denne ryggesløse mannens favn, da ville hun atskille seg enda me r fra sin Gud enn det som alt var skjedd. Pike hadde gråtende svart presten at hun heller ville lide den første straff enn den siste.

Etter at saken ble anken til høyesterett, la Jon Simensen Kattevold fram en attest som viste at ekteskapet var fullbyrdet. Etter lovens ord ble tiltalte der med fritatt for straff."

John Bruce Simmons skriver om ham: Born John Simonsen Kattevold. Born at Qvam, baptized at Vang on Dec. 23, 1826. Kattevold farm is near the town of Vang, Valdres, Norway. Emigrated with wife and four children in 1871. John Simonson Kuttevold [sic] became a naturalized citize n on March 16, 1886 (copy of Clerk of District Court's certification - dated Sept. 17, 1921). Purportedly, this was also the name used on the transfer of property to his son Nels. Gertrude and Anna were born before parents married. Vang baptismal records show the parents of all four children as John Simonsen Kattevold and Gjertrud Nilsdatter Myhre. For the girls John is listed as a bachelor and Gjertrud was listed as a ma iden.

The records further list the births as her first and second "indiscretions". However, They are shown as John's eighth and tenth!

However, by 1886 the family had anglicized the name to Simons. Two books in the possession of Ruth (Simmons) Schroeder bear inscriptions by his son:

American Educational Reader - "John J. Simons Northwood, Iowa Oct. 2, 1886"

Thompson's Teacher's Examiner (copywrite 1886) - "Christmas present from uncle G. N. Troe John J Simons Silver Lake Worth, Iowa 1888" Interestingly, on the same page the book has been stamped five times with the rubber stamp "John J Simmons".

My feeling is that the second "m" was added to shorten the "i" and make the name conform more to the Norwegian pronunciation of Simon.

Ruth Schroeder has three earlier books, which suggest an intermediate step in the Americanization of the family name:

A history book (copy write 1857) has the written names "Anna Johnson" and "John Johnson"

An arithmetic book has "Nels Johnson' written in it.

A reader is inscribed "Nels Johnson" and "John Johnson".

Note that Anna uses Johnson as opposed to "datter". Family tradition holds that both John and Nels had no middle name and took a middle initial to be more American. I submit now that the initial "J" is for Johnson. Compare to Knut N. and Nel s N. Troe, whose father was Nils. The arithmetic book mentioned above also contains the name O. T. Nelson Troe and may a hand-me-down from a cousin.

His and Gjertrud's tombstone bears the inscription "GRAV IKKE HAN HVILER - HAN ER IKKE DOD MEN SOVER" Roughly, He reposes not (in the) grave. He is not dead, but sleeping." Bildet er av Jon, Gjertrud Nilsdtr og barna deres.

Jon married Gjartrud Nilsdtr MYRE on 5 Jan 1865 in Vang i Valdres, Oppland Fylke, Norway. Gjartrud (daughter of Nils Jørnson BØE and Berte Øystensdtr LØKEN) was born on 3 Nov 1839 in Myre 47/2 Trøo; died on 8 Oct 1910 in Northwood, IA, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: USA

Notes:

Hun fikk to barn med rundbrenneren Jon Simensen Kattevold eller Lajord, og bodde med dem på husmannsplassen Søre Trøadn, sammen med enkemannen Knut Øysteinson (1818-), antakelig stelte hun for ham. I følge Frøholm ble Jon Simensen gift med Gjartrud Myre (1842-) fra hovedgården, men etter notater fra Bruce Simmons, ser dette ikke ut til å stemme. Han giftet seg antakelig med denne Gjatruden da de dro til USA.

Sources: Worth Co. Iowa death records, Northwood, IA. Atlas of Worth Co.; The Anderson Publishing Co; 1913

The Atlas contains a picture of siblings: Knut N. Troe; Nels N. Troe; Mrs. John Simmons; and Mrs. Siverson. A presumtion is made here that the "N" in both males' names is probably for Nelson, since Gjertrud's father is listed as Nils Troe in th e Death records.

Betty Rockswold, Valdres Samband genealogist, confirms that Troe is in fact a sub-farm of the Myhre farm, and therefore, reasonable that her parents and siblings carried the name "Troe". The Troe farm is also called Trøadn, Trøo, Tontidn, and Tom to Nørde.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Northwood, IA, USA

Notes:

According to the Stavanger Emigration Index at Vesterheim, Søren de Fine, his brother, traveled with him.

Bernhardus married Mathilde Euphemia STROMSTEIN on 8 Jun 1884 in Northwood, IA, USA. Mathilde (daughter of Johan Otto STROMSTEIN and Anna Christine GUNDERSEN) was born on 16 Sep 1856 in Norge; died on 5 Jun 1913 in Northwood, IA, USA; was buried in Sunset Rest Cemetary, Northwood, IA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]