HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1281.AM: Lorenzo Albert Simmons, 1857-1937
Papers: 1936 and undated
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska: Pioneer
Size: Two items
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Lorenzo A. Simmons was born in Story County, Iowa on May 22, 1857. He came to Nebraska Territory in 1862 with his parents who settled near Nebraska City. In March of 1863 the family moved to Lancaster County and most of Simmons’ early life was spent on a farm near Saltillo.
Lorenzo Simmons married Margaret A. Porter on January 30, 1879. Simmons served as postmaster of Cortland for four years and then became station agent and operator for the Union Pacific Railroad at Princeton. In 1900, the railroad transferred him to Raymond where he remained until 1915. Simmons moved to Lincoln following his 1916 election as Lancaster County Sheriff. In 1922 he was chosen president of the Nebraska Territorial Association. From 1919 to 1930 he was in the contracting and building business, and from 1931 to 1934 he was weight master and clerk for the municipal coal yard, retiring in 1935. He died in Lincoln on February 14, 1937.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of two manuscript items. The first item is the undated autobiography of Lorenzo Simmons. In his text Simmons discusses the early days of settlement in Lancaster County. The second item is a map drawn by Simmons in 1936 titled, “Sketch of the Old Freight Road Across Lancaster County.”
INVENTORY
Item
- Autobiography, Lorenzo A. Simmons, n.d.
- Map, “Sketch of the Old Freight Road Across Lancaster County,” 1936
Subject headings:
Freight and freightage — Nebraska
Lancaster County (Nebraska) — History
Lincoln (Nebraska) — History
Steam Wagon Road
AIP/ksa 10-1990
Revised TMM 01-25-2007
