I-Pariss Sims, 1750-1833.
II-1. Robert Sims, 1783-1842.

III-17. Abraham Martin Sims, the youngest son and eighth child of Robert and Frances Merritt Sims, was born in Wayne County June 13, 1834; died Sept. 29, 1913-see Chapter Four. He married Hannah Stooksberry Sept. 26, 1875. She was a daughter of the Robert Stooksberry who moved from Anderson County, Tenn., to Wayne County after the Civil War. She had an uncle, Jim Stooksberry, who was killed in the Battle of Shiloh. She was born April 17, 1851; died May 7, 1929.

Known by all his kin as Uncle Mart, he started out in life to be a lawyer but gave it up, on account of his health, and became a prosperous farmer at the forks of Indian and Dry Creeks, the center of what was long known as Sims Post Office Community, now Three Churches Communitysee Chapter Two.

He was the sage and counselor of the community and for a number of years was post master of the Sims, Tenn., postoffice which was located in his home. When there was no doctor immediately available neighbors sought his advice and when disputes arose they came to him as arbitrator. When a young nephew, Thetus W. Sims a U. S. Congressman from Tennessee for more than twenty years, came to him for advice he gave him his law books and told him to make a lawyer out of himself-see Chapter Eleven.

Judge Joseph (Joe) Sims, his oldest son, now 89 years old (1965), holds the distinction of being the only living great grandson of Pariss Sims, the Revolutionary War soldier. He has been of great assistance to me in compiling this history of the family, having made several trips with me in visits to various branches of the family and to old home places and cemeteries.

Judge Joe has a distinguished record as an educator, politician, public speaker and leader in the Baptist Church and the Masonic Lodge. He began his career as a teacher in Wayne County; was Superintendent of Schools in Lawrence County and was a teacher and principal of the Lawrence County High School at Lawrenceburg for a number of years. He was chairman of the Lawrence County Republican Committee for several years; was Postmaster at Lawrenceburg for eight years; County Judge for eight years and served for two years as a member of the House of Representatives in the Tennessee Legislature.

One of the activities closest to his heart throughout his long career has been his service to his church. For more than 40 years he was superintendent of the Sunday School of the First Baptist Church at Lawrenceburg where he was still active as the teacher of a men's Bible class as late as 1964. He began teaching in Sunday School at Lutts in Wayne County in 1898 which gives him a record of some 66 years as teacher and superintendent, a record equalled by few people. He has also been equally active in Masonic work, holding many high positions in his local Lodge, as well as district and state-wide.

IV-175. Judge Joseph (Joe) Sims-see record of his family below.
IV-176. Robert Martin Sims--see record of his family later in this chapter.
IV-177. Mary Sims, born Jan. 28, 1882; died, unmarried, June 17, 1902.
IV-178. Arthur Sims, born June 30, 1884; died Jan. 30, 1885.
IV-179. Zella Belle Sims, born Nov. 14, 1887-see Sims-Bromley Family, later in this chapter.
IV-180. Frances Jane Sims, born Oct. 20, 1892; died unmarried July 17, 1921.

IV-175. Judge Joseph (Joe) Sims (175), born in Wayne County Aug. 27, 1876; married Ora E. King July 4, 1894. She was born Sept. 4, 1877; daughter of John King who married Virginia Copeland, a sister of my maternal grandmother, Nancy Copeland Davis-see Copeland-Cypert Family, Chapter Seven. They had six children, some living in Alabama and others at Prescott, Arizona, as follows:

V-181. Clara Sims, born Oct. 6, 1895; lives at Greenhill, near Florence, Ala., where she was a high school teacher for a number of years, now retired. She married Dr. Henry L. Stutts, a prominent doctor, community leader and plantation operator at Greenhill. He died in 1963. They had no children.
V-182. Alva Merritt Sims, born Feb. 19, 1899. He attended the University of Tennessee where he met and married Inez Frost of Knoxville, Dec. 1, 1921. He began his career with the Post Office Department as a mail clerk at Lawrenceburg, transferring from there to Las Vegas, Ariz., thence to Prescott, where he rose to the position of Superintendent of Mails, a position which he held for a number of years-now retired. He has quite a reputation as a collector of Arizona Indian lore, artifacts and relics.

VI-183. John Lewis Sims, born at Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Feb. 15, 1923; married Billy Jean Peters, June 15, 1945, at Deland, Fla. Children:

VII-184. William Merritt Sims, born May 2, 1946.
VII-185. Sharon Dianne Sims, born Oct. 19, 1947.
VII-186. Linda Peters Sims, born April 15, 1949.
VII-187. Thomas Alva Sims, born March 12, 1956.
VII-188. John L. Sims, Jr., born July 6, 1959.

VI-189. Edith Alva Sims, born at Lawrenceburg June 15, 1925; now lives at Globe, Ariz.; married Ollie Lee Mahana, Feb. 28, 1948. Children:

VII- Edith Kathleen Mahana, born Nov. 27, 1948.
VII-Gray Lee Mahana, born May 2, 1951.
VII-Larry Mack Mahana, born July 26, 1953.
VII-Randall Lloyd Mahana, born Aug. 6, 1955.
VII-Molly Colleen Mahana, born May 14, 1960.

VI-190. Karl Sims, born Oct. 31, 1927; mail carrier, Prescott, Ariz.; married Patricia Jo Barnes, March 9, 1952. Children:

VII-191. Karen Louise Sims, born Nov. 19, 1952.
VII-192. Karla Marie Sims, born Aug. 11, 1955.
VII-193. Carolyn Sue Sims, born July 28,1957.

VI-194. Phillip Gene Sims, born Aug. 11, 1930; connected with the Arizona Public Service Company; married Marilyn Delene Conklin, May 22, 1953. Children:

VII-195. Phillip Daniel Sims, born July 4, 1956.
VII-196. Jason Luke Sims, born April 18, 1959.

VI-197. Mary Joe Sims, born Feb. 20, 1934; married William Dale Collins, June 23, 1952. Children:

VII- Richard L. Collins, born June 14, 1953.
VII-Sandra Louise Collins, born June 25, 1954.
VII-David Layne Collins, born Feb. 24, 1956.
VII-Janice Lee Collins, born Sept. 19, 1957.
VII-Paul Wayne Collins, born April 29, 1959.
VII-Nancy Arlene Collins, born July 1, 1961.

VI-198. Patricia (Patty) Sims, born April 18, 1937; married Robert McAlister of Oakland, Calif., May 1, 1959. Children:

VII- Robert Patrick McAlister, born Dec. 12, 1961.
VII-Bonnie Ann McAlister, born Jan. 3, 1963.

VI-199. Barbara Lee Sims, born Oct. 30, 1941; married C. Dexter Gill of Prescott, Aug. 26, 1960. Children:

VII- Tracy Lee Gill, born July 21, 1961.
VII-Curtis Paul Gill, born Oct. 30, 1963.

V-200. Ollie Ruth Sims, the third child of Joe and Ora Sims, born Jan. 30, 1905; graduate of Vanderbilt University Nursing School; married James J. Hart of Nashville. After his death she moved to Prescott, Ariz., where she was a registered nurse, at the Veterans Hospital, until her death in 1951. Children:

VI- James Joe Hart, Jr., born April 19, 1933 in Nashville; lives in Phoenix, Ariz., where he is connected with the Santa Fe Railroad.
VI-William Shelby Hart, born July 11, 1935; college graduate and Methodist minister, Prospect, Ala. He married Nora Bradley of Iuka, Miss., July 15, 1955. Children:

VII- Sherry Hart, born April 10, 1956.
VII-William R. Hart, born May 15, 1959.

V-201. Joseph (Joe) King Sims, second son of Joe and Ora Sims, born Aug. 13, 1907 is security officer for an industrial plant in Florence, Ala. He married Lora Clayton of Wayne County, Feb. 24, 1934. Children:

VI-202. Joe Edwin Sims, born Jan. 23, 1936; married Margaret Lazzara of Pomoma, Calif., Aug. 18, 1959. He is a member of the police force of Los Angeles County, Calif. Son:

VII-203. Michael Scott Sims, born April 13, 1963.

V-204. Horace W. Sims, born Oct. 14, 1914; an invalid, lives with parents.
V-205. William Gilmore Sims, born at Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Aug. 19, 1919; attended University of Tennessee; Captain in 30th Army Division, World War Two; bank cashier, Prescott; now bank auditor, Phoenix; married Bessie Seaver April 18, 1941 and had one child:

VI-206. Sandra Kay Sims who married a Clark.

William and Bessie Seaver were divorced in 1946 and he married Maybelle Hankison in 1947 and had son:

VI-207. Ronnie Sims, born Jan. 17, 1948.

 

IV-176. Robert Martin Sims (176), second son of Abraham and Hannah Stooksberry Sims, was born in Wayne County Feb. 22, 1879; died at Florence, Ala., Nov. 3, 1957; married Naomi Suddath of Harriman, Tenn., Oct. 20, 1904; began practice of law at Lawrenceburg, moved to Waynesboro in 1905; thence to Florence, Ala., in 1918, where he continued law practice and was Assistant U. S. District Attorney for Northern Alabama for 11 years, from 1922 to 1933. His wile, Naomi, died May 17, 1947. and he married Edith Ross of Sheffield, Ala., March 26, 1948. He and Naomi Suddath Sims had the following children:

V-208. Hubert Brown Sims, born Aug. 2, 1905 at Waynesboro; died May 24, 1940 at El Paso, Tex. He married Cornelia Jefferson of Maplesville, Ala., Aug. 3, 1930. They had no children. He was a civil engineer in highway construction.
V-209. Thetus W. Sims, born Aug. 29, 1907; married Grace Morrison of Florence, Ala., Sept. 3, 1932. They lived at Fort Thomas, Ky., where he was Radio Engineer with the U. S. Engineer Corps at Cincinnati, Ohio, for a number of years. He is now retired and lives at Florence, Ala. Children:

VI-210. Beverly Jane Sims, born Sept. 8, 1933; married Thomas McReynolds, Sept. 3, 1955. Children:

VII- Michael Lee McReynolds, born Feb. 23, 1958.
VII- Kathryn Grace McReynolds, born Oct. 6, 1959.

V-211. Carrie Roberta Sims, born Jan. 12, 1912; married Robert Jackson Gonce, Florence, Ala., April 19, 1935. He is credit manager for the Florence Packing Co. Children:

VI- Robert Lowery Gonce, born April 1, 1939; married Nancy Cummings of Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 26, 1961. He is a lawyer at Florence.
VI- Mary Katherine Come, born June 18, 1946; married Harry M. King, Jr., Aug. 13, 1962.

 

IV-179. Zella Belle Sims (179), the second daughter and fifth child of Abraham and Hannah Stooksberry Sims, was born Nov. 14, 1887; died Dec. 10, 1950. She married Jasper T. Bromley of Iron City, Tenn., in November 1907. Children:

V- Ernest Clarence Bromley, born Nov. 4, 1908; married Mary Eloyce Thompson, Aug. 18, 1938; served in the Navy in World War Two, now an electrician, Children:

VI- Martha Elizabeth Bromley, born Jan. 31, 1940; married William E. Sisson, Dec. 22, 1957.
VI- Frances Carol Bromley, born Aug. 24, 1942.

V- Vernon Bromley, born Sept. 28, 1911; married Harvey Bradley, March 25, 1926. Children:

VI- J. T. Bradley, born May 13, 1927; married Effie Daniels in April 1948. Children:

VII- Stanley, Dennie, Deborah, and Dallas Bradley.

VI- Frances Ruth Bradley, born June 29, 1929; married Hugh P. Carson, Jan. 8, 1944. Children:

VII- Mildred, Martha, James and Billy Carson.

VI- Nathan Bradley, born June 11, 1932; unmarried.
VI- Mary T. Bradly, born June 30, 1935; married Wilkie Purser, Sept. 15, 1955.
VI- Carolyn Bradley, born Oct. 18, 1952.

V- Frances Eloise Bromley, born June 23, 1914; married Richard Hensley, June 4, 1933. He was a fireman of the L&N Railroad and was killed in a train wreck, near Nashville, Oct. 1, 1944. Children:

VI- Helen Imogene Hensley, born Nov. 28, 1934; married Jim Marshall in 1955. Children:

VII- Ronnie, Frances and Steven Marshall, Hermitage, Tenn.

VI- Josephine Elizabeth Hensley, born March 4, 1936; married J. H. Fellius and have two children:

VII- Elisia and Linda Jo Fellius. The family lives in Chicago.

VI- Lemuel Quince Hensley, born Oct. 31, 1938; married Carlin Loyer, Oct. 29, 1963. Children:

VII- Frances Hensley.

VI- Larry Hensley, born April 3, 1943; unmarried.

V- Jasper Sims Bromley, born May 17, 1922; served in the Navy in World War Two; married Helen Gnoch, May 19, 1964.

Footnote; Roman Numeral, indicate generations; Figures are Sims identification numbers.

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