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Surnames: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
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Vol V File 1: The Genealogy of Genevieve Simmons James

The initial material for this volume comes primarily from Bobbye Miniard, a distant cousin of Genevieve Simmons James, from Bulverde, TX, near San Antonio. She had contacted Greta Simmons Laakso in 1991 for additional information on the family history. Later information has been received from Tracy Lee Van Burkleo, Jr. in 1995.

I use Brother's Keeper, an IBM-compatible computer program which facilitates the systematic compilation of genealogical records. From this point I started a serious study of available information in public libraries, university libraries, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library, and other sources, using the names of the various ancestors in the Negus records.

Another source of information is the late Christina Van Burkleo Kenneaster, regarding members of the Van Burkleo family.

Based on the currently available information, this ancestral record originates in England for its most distant time in the past (Pendleton and Pettus lines,) about the end of the 15th Century. It is however, quite logical to assume that the Van Burleos came from Holland. Records in the IGI data base, maintained by the Mormons, show a number of Van Burkleos in NJ and Maryland in the 1700's who were associated with the Reformed Dutch Church. Further investigation is warranted in this area.

Homer Beers James

1636 Jamestown Place

Pittsburgh, PA 15235

May 31, 1995

________ "Maher Collection from the Missouri Historical Society (St. Louis)"

________ "History of Duncanville, Texas"

________ "Hairstons and Penns and Their Families"

________ "Illinois State Genealogical Quarterly", Vol 1, 9, and 10.

________ "International Genealogical Index," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pittsburgh (Greentree), PA.

________ "Penn Pals", Vol 1, Issue 3, pg. 3-4. (Bobbye Jo Miniard)

________ "Genealogies of Virginia Families," Vol. IV., pp. 646-654.

________ "Some Prominent Virginia Families," Vol II-IV, Chapter X., pp. 224-231.

________ Harleian, 1552, folios 241 and 246, "Visitation of Norfolk, 1613.", Harleian Society, Vol. 32, page 219.

Barker, Lucretia, "History of Cedar Mountain, Texas"

Du Bellet, L., "Some Prominent Virginia Families," Vol II-IV (issued oiriginally in 1907) (reprinted in 1976).

Gray, Sydney Howard, "James Madison" (1884) - Part of American Statesmen Series)

Hazel, Michael,"Putting Down Roots: The Penns and Their Farmstead," Heritage News of the Dallas County Heritage Society," Fall 1985, pp. 6-10. Michael Hazel is the Curator of Education for the Dallas County Heritage Society.

Hill, L. R. (Editor), "A History of Greater Dallas and Vicinity", Vol II, Selected Biography and Memoirs, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois (1909), pg. 218.

Keannester, Christine, "Personal Collection of Genealogical Information on the Van Burkleos and the Penns," (prepared about 1970).

Miniard, Bobbye Jo, "Personal Collection of Genealogical Information on the Penns and Others," (prepared about 1991).

• 1. Unknown large family, needs research in Texas.

• 2. William Edwards Simmons., from West Texas. At age 17 years, he married Sally Victoria Risdon, born May 23, 1877, daughter of Hirian Risdon, and his wife, Maggie Armstrong. They were both from very large families, and both were orphans. She was 14 years old when she was married. He died circa 1957. She died about the same time. They had the following children:
  
  • 1. Mae Simmons, born November 2, 1895, married ________ Moncus.

  • 2. Leonard Pierce Simmons, Sr, born August 26, 1896. See below.

  • 3. Rose Simmons, born February 18, 1898, married ________ Price.

  • 4. Tennie Simmons, born November 11, 1901, married _______Dubert.

  • 5. George Simmons, Sr., born May 24, 1904.

  • 6. Robert Simmons, born September 10, 1906.

  • 7. Clark Simmons, born August 14, 1912.

  • 8. Mary Estelle Simmons, born in 1918, married ________ Fletcher.
    

• 3. Leonard Pierce Simmons, born August 26, 1896 in Lebonen, Texas (West Texas), married on June 9, 1923, in Brownsville, Texas, Dora Mae Van Burkleo, born March 6, 1903, in Greer County, Oklahoma, daughter of Samuel Emmons Van Burkleo, and his wife, Nancy Jane Penn, daughter of Robert Gilmore Penn, born at Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois, October 3, 1835, and his wife, Elizabeth Susan Littrell, born in Barren County, Kentucky, December 1, 1847. Dora died October 12, 1967, in Harlingen, Texas, at the age of 64. See their lineages elsewhere. Leonard Simmons migrated to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, because of poor farming conditions in West Texas. He was a cotton sharecropper for a number of years, worked for the WPA, during the Depression in the early 1930's and eventually, through government loans, became an independent farmer in Harlingen, Texas. He died of lung cancer on September 25, 1952, at the age of 56, and was buried in Harlingen, Texas. Leonard and Dora had the following children:
  
  • 1. Samuel Edward (Sam Ed) Simmons, born at home on the Rangerville Road in Harlingen, Texas, May 3, 1924. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He died October 2, 1944, of kidney injuries, as a result of inadequate equipment in a high school football game. He married Vera Miller, and they have three children as follows:
    
    • 1. Jimmy Merrill Simmons. He has been married twice and has two adult children, who live in California. He is an electronics engineer, living with his second wife in Campbell, California. He at one time worked for Westinghouse in Baltimore. Maryland, following graduation from the University of Kansas.

    • 2. Twin girls, Sharon Simmons and Karen Simmons. They became alienated from their family and their whereabouts are unknown at this time. One has a daughter, and at one time they both lived in Chicago, Illinois..
      

  • 2. Nannye V. Simmons, born March 30, 1927, in Harlingen, TX., died May 5, 1928.

  • 3. Genevieve Simmons, born October 13, 1928, in Valley Baptist Hospital, Harlingen, TX. See below.

  • 4. Leonard Pierce (L. P.) Simmons, Jr., born July 27, 1930, in Valley Baptist Hospital, Harlingen, TX. He married Dolores (Dodie) Barnes. They operate a large farming complex in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, with their children and their spouses. They have the following children:
    
    • 1. Leonard Pierce Simmons, III., born June 22, 1951. He married Mary Beth Klug, of Ohio. Leonard manages his own farm and is President of "801 Farms, Inc." with his father, L. P. Simmons. He is a partner with his brother, Sam Ed Simmons, in "Los Hermanos, Inc." and with his brother-in-law, Thomas McLemore, in "L & T., Inc." Leonard and Mary Beth have the following children:
      
      • 1. Courtney Leigh Simmons, born December 15, 1976.

      • 2. Natalie Marie Simmons, born November 19, 1978.

      • 3. Audrey Elizabeth Simmons, born July 23, 1980.
        

    • 2. Sandra (Sandy) Louise Simmons was born September 15, 1953. She married (1) Jerry Williams, and (2) George Brooks. Sandy is now single. She was living in Dallas, TX, but currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia, with her children. She is an office manager By the second marriage she has two children as follows:
      
      • 1. Martha Elizabeth Brooks, born January 22, 1978

      • 2. Robert Brooks, born September 9, 1980. He has spent time on the Simmons' farms in the summer time.
        

      • 3. Samuel Edward (Sam Ed) Simmons. He married October 25, 1980, Susan Prescott, born September 11, 1956. Sam Ed is a partner with his brother Leonard in "Los Hermanos, Inc." Sam Ed and Susan have two boys as follows:
        
        • 1. Samuel Edward Simmons, born June 2, 1983.

        • 2. James Simmons, born March 3, 1986.
          

      • 4. Martha Simmons. She married August 16, 1980, Thomas (Tommy) McLemore. Tommy is a partner with his brother-in-law Leonard in "L. & T., Inc." Martha and Tommy have two children as follows:
        
        • 1. Clayton McLemore, born November 14, 1983.

        • 2. Zachary Tyler McLemore, born December 2, 1985.
          

      • 5. Greta Simmons, born March 15, 1931, married Charles Leon (Chuck) Laakso, whose father emigrated from Finland to the United States. Chuck is a retired U. S. Army Colonel, later managing the Los Amigos Water District, near Brownsville, Texas, until retirement in late 1994. Greta was an office manager, but is retired. They now live in Universal City, near San Antonio, TX. They have three daughters as follows:
        
        • 1. Carol Gene Laakso, unmarried, a lawyer, currently living near Hartford, CT.

        • 2. Judy Lea Laakso, married April 19, 1972, William Gregory Hintz. They have a daughter, Greta Gene Hintz, born April 21, 1982. He is a Vice-President and Actuary for an insurance company in Phoenix, AZ.

        • 3. Brenda Joyce Laakso, married (1) Dennis Roper, of Indonesia, and (2), Randall James Foster, of Taos, New Mexico. She is lives in Greenville, SC, working in training for A.T.&T. (NCR), and she lives with Don Freeman. There were no children by either marriage.
          

      • 6. Cecil Randall Simmons, born October 10, 1934, married May 25, 1957. (1) Carolyn La Motte, born June 3, 1936, daughter of Dr. La Motte, and on April 29, 1989, (2) Juana Lawson. They live on a ranch near San Benito, Texas, where he is a medical doctor, with a general practice clinic, and she was a school principal and is now a central staff administrator. From the first marriage Cecil and Carolyn had three children as follows:
        
        • 1. Anita (Nita) Simmons, born December 13, 1960, married October 1, 1983, Chris Boswell, born June 1, 1958. She is a Vice-President in a bank, and he is a lawyer. They have a girl, Megan Boswell, born June 20, 1989.

        • 2. Tommy Simmons, born December 13, 1965, died November 4, 1985, at the age of 21 from a heart attack at Texas A. & M., just prior to being recruited into the U. S. Marine Corps.

        • 3. Sarah Simmons, born November 20, 1967, married June 20, 1991, David Hays, an accountant. She graduated from Texas A. & M. She is a school teacher. They live in Houston, TX.
          

      • 7. Sandra Gail Simmons, born November 9, 1938, died in 1989, married Clement E. Bellion, of Mississippi, now a retired Air Force Colonel. He was a pilot and later managed maintenance activities. He worked for several electronics firms following his military career. He is now the Editor of Deadalus Flyer, a magazine dedicated to the history of USAF fighter pilots. He and his second wife, Cathy, reside in Universal City. a suburb of San Antonio, TX. Clem and Sandra had five children as follows:
        
        • 1. Clement ("Little Clem") Bellion, born September 7, 1957, killed by a motorist in Harlingen, TX, about 1967.

        • 2. Cheryl ("Sissie") Bellion, born February 12, 1958, retired Major in maintenance in the U. S. Air Force Major. She is living in San Antonio, TX with Connie ________. She is a manager for H.E.B. SuperMarkets.

        • 3. Charlene Bellion, born February 5, 1961, married to Todd Wolters, U. S. Air Force F-16 pilot, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada. They have the following children:
          
          • 1. Sandra Wolters, born ??

          • 2. Thomas ("Tommy") Wolters, born ??
            

        • 4. Cynthia ("Cindy") Bellion, born January 20, 1963, married to Peter Spacil, U.S.Air Force F-16 pilot, stationed in 1993 at the R.A.F. Lakenheath Air Base in England. They lived in military housing in Feltwell, co. Norfolk, England., but Peter has now been assigned to Fayetteville, North Carolina. They have the following children:
          
          • 1. Dana Spacil, born ??

          • 2. Abigail Spacil, born ??
            

        • 5. Matthew (Matt) Bellion, born June 30, 1972, married to __________. He and his wife live in Austin, TX.
          

      • 8. Connie Lee Simmons, born January 14, 1941, off Rangerville Road, Harlingen, TX. She married (1) John Eugene (Gene) Burnett, and was divorced. She married January 27, 1961, (2) Byron Allen, born February 8, 1940, from San Angelo, Texas. They live in Universal City, next to Randolph Air Base, on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. He is a retired U. S. Air Force officer-pilot. He was a co-pilot with America West Airlines after retirement, but is now working at Del Rio USAF Base on flight simulators.
        

        Connie and Gene Burnett had one son as follows:
        

        • 1. John (Johnny) Allen (was Burnett), born January 1, 1958, surname changed to Allen, when adopted by Byron Allen. He married (1) Nancy Wardell, of Houston, Texas. They had a son, Tyler Winston Allen, born November 3, 1987. He married (2) Lou Dupre. He is an accountant with a firm which specializes in health care management. They live in Houston and are expected a child in late 1995.
          

          Connie and Byron Allen have two daughters as follows:
          

          • 1. Amy Allen, born April 14, 1962, married April 17, 1986, in San Antonio, TX., Kurt Gembeck, born December 18, 1960. They now are living in Illinois. They are expecting a child in late 1995.

          • 2. Heather Allen, born March 9, 1963, living near San Antonio, Texas.
            

• 4. Genevieve Simmons, born October 13, 1928, married Homer Beers James, son of Charlie Negus James, Sr. and his wife, Helen Mae Beers. See details of the "Genealogy of Homer Beers James, Volume I, II, III, and IV." They have the following four children (three sons and one daughter), born between July 1949 and August 1954:
  
  • 1. Randall Pierce James, the eldest son, married Ann Elizabeth McCrow of England, daughter of Reginald C. McCrow and his wife, Elizabeth Baush, of Philadelphia, PA, with two brothers and one sister. Her parents and brothers, Richard and Charles and their families, reside in England and her sister, Leslie, who is married, lives in Toronto, Canada.
    

    Randall was born July 24, 1949 in Lima, OH. He grew up there and in Seattle, WA. He graduated from Antioch College in 1972 with a BA in Philosophy with a minor in Art. While attending the University of Leeds in England, as a part of his undergraduate work, he met his wife, Ann McCrow, who was also attending Leeds. She and her family had lived in many different parts of the world, before coming to Leeds (Rio De Janiero, Mexico City, Portugal, Evansville, IN., etc.). Randall was the Production and Laboratory Manager of Light Impressions, Inc., a company that makes commercial holograms. The company filed for Chapter 11 in 1995 and Randall is organizing a new company to take over the efforts of Light Impressions. Randall has many holograms which he created in his home laser laboratory on display in galleries and museums all over the world. His first commercial work was purchased for Mayor Beame of New York City, and now resides in the Brooklyn Museum for Children. He has been in international holography exhibitions in England and Japan. Until its demise, he regularly had works in the National Museum of Holography in New York City (Soho District).
    

    Ann taught school in Dijon, France and worked for the University of California Press in Berkeley, CA. She worked as a volunteer with the Santa Cruz Public Schools for a number of years and is now employed by the school district. .
    

    They currently live in Santa Cruz, CA. Both Randall and Ann are very active in the Unitarian Church of Santa Cruz, CA., where he was the Board President and she was in charge of Religious Education and other positions as well.
    

    They have two sons as follows:
    

    • 1. Nathan Samuel James, born January 25, 1981, in San Francisco, CA. It is noteworthy that when his name was selected there was no prior knowledge of the multitude of Nathans and Samuels which exist in the Beers Line of his ancestry. He was honored with a U. S. Savings Bond shortly after his birth from his great-uncle, Samuel Beers, who erroneously thought he had been selected as a namesake. He has spent the summers of 1994-95 in Italy with a friend. He is currently involved with a student hot-metal musical group as the vocalist.

    • 2. Leo Alexander James, born May 5, 1984, in San Francisco, CA. He has been very active in soccer, with his father a coach.
      

  • 2. Gary Scott James, the 2nd son, married Julie Martin of Louisiana, Missouri, daughter of Dr. Joseph Martin and his wife, Janet. Dr. Martin is now retired from medical practice. Gary was born December 2, 1950 in Lima, OH. He grew up there and in Seattle, WA and Pittsburgh, PA. He has a BA in Psychology from Antioch College, an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and a Master of Theology from Starr King School of Theology associated with the University of California, Berkeley, CA. He interned at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, MO. was then called as the minister of the North Hills Fellowship in Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently is the minister of Northern Hills Church in Deerfield, IL, a suburb of Chicago.
    

    Julie graduated from Washington University of St. Louis, MO and from the National School for Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR. She has held a number of church positions, such as office manager and director of religious education. She expects to start her naturopathic medical practice in the Deerfield area.
    

    Gary and Julie, have two children as follows:
    

    • 1. Jennifer Lauren Martin James, born September 16, 1985, in St. Louis, MO.

    • 2. Joshua Kyle Martin James, born February 6, 1989, in Cincinnati, OH.
      

    • 3. Mark Simmons James, the 3rd son, married Mary Poore of Butte, Montana, daughter of Robert Poore, Esq., a retired corporate lawyer and his wife, Pauline. Mark was born November 22, 1951 in Lima, OH. He grew up in Lima, OH, Seattle, WA, and Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from Antioch College with a BA in Outdoor Education and Botany. He also attended Prescott College in Arizona, and Oregon State University. He graduated from the National School of Naturopathic Medicine, Portland, OR., where he spent some time as a clinical instructor.
      

      Mark is in practice with his wife, Mary Poore, who also graduated from the National School of Naturopathic Medicine. They jointly run a comprehensive naturopathic clinic in Flagstaff, AR.
      

      Mark and Mary and their girls are avid outdoors people, and Mark continues to run in marathons and triathalons.
      

      They have three daughters as follows:
      

      • 1. Cara Genevieve James, born October 10, 1985, in Portland, OR.

      • 2. Emily James, born January 6, 1988, in Flagstaff, AR.

      • 3. Lily Ann James, born October 10, 1991, in Flagstaff, AR.
        

        Mark also has an older daughter, Juniper Painton, born about 1980, in Salem, OR, prior to his present family. She currently lives with her mother in Portland, Oregon.
        

      • 4. Janet Charlene James, the only daughter, married Galen Spielman of Larimore, North Dakota, born October 12, 1937. She was born August 24, 1955 in Lima, OH. She grew up in Lima, OH, Seattle, WA, and Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from Antioch College with a BA in Psychology, a MSW from Case-Western University in Cleveland, OH, and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business. She is a consultant in Business Administration, working with clients in southwestern Pennsylvania. She was previously an Administrator with the Western Pennsylvania High Technology Council and the Enterprise Corp., both in Pittsburgh, PA.
        

        Galen Spielman is a director with KDKA-TV, the main station of Westinghouse Broadcast network, in Pittsburgh, PA. He has been in the television industry for many years, following service in the U. S. Army military intelligence in Korea, at the end on the Korean War. Galen has adult children by two previous marriages, and has several grandchildren through these previous marriages.
        

        Janet and Galen have two children as follows:
        

        • 1. Galen James Spielman, born July 3, 1987, in Pittsburgh, PA.

        • 2. Jesse Ann James Spielman, born March 30, 1989, in Pittsburgh, PA.
          

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