Note:

Birth date may be incorrect on marker

.Andrew was born in Chambers County, Alabama in 1852. His parents were John W. SImmons and Lorena Weldon SImmons. His parents had moved to Chambers County from Harris County, Georgia in about 1842.

He moved with his family to Tallapoosa County, Alabama in 1855. The family was living in Beat 7 and Post Office DeSoto in 1860. War came to the south and to Alabama in 1861. Andrew saw his two brothers, Henry and Allen, go off to war in the spring of 1862. His brothers did not return. They were in the same company of the 47th Alabama Infantry and were lost at Gettysburg, Andrew's brother, Henry, was killed and his brother, Allen, was captured and died in POW camp at Ft. Delaware. Andrew also saw another brother, TIllman, go off to war. He was very young and served n the 63rd Alabama Infantry fighting at Spanish Fort and Ft.Blakely near Mobile. He returned home after the war.

Andrew's father served in a reserve regiment. . The area where he lived with his family in Tallapoosa was called Simmons Crossroads. The war had cost Andrew's family greatly and the Union Cavalry under General Rousseau even came through that portion of Alabama destroying the railroad connections at Opelika. The Union troops came through Dadeville and between Flurry's and Simmons Crossroads.

After the war the Simmons family resumed there life as much as possible suffering through the painful period of reconstruction.

Andrew lived on the farm with his parents and siblings. The Simmons family lived in the area known as Simmons Crossroads named for the Simmons family that was prominent in that area of Tallapoosa County. Simmons Crossroads is only a few miles from the county line with Lee. Lee County was created in 1866 from part of Tallapoosa, Macon, Chambers, and Russell counties.

Andrew and family were living in Tallapoosa County in 1870. On the 1880 census he is incorrectly recorded as Aron R. Simons. He was living with his parents in the Kinderhook area of Tallapoosa County.

Andrew was married to Ella Laney in in November of 1882 and they started a family. Land was sold to Andrew by his father in 1884 in Section 2, Township 19 and Range 23 of Tallapoosa County. Andrew's mother died in 1886. She was buried at Roxana Cemetery in Lee County. Andrew and Ella had many children. By 1900 they had nine and were living in Church Hill Precinct in Tallapoosa County. Andrew and his wife had another child in 1902. This also was the year Andrew lost his father. John W. Simmons was buried at Roxana next to his wife. Andrew moved his large family in 1903 from Alabama to Texas with his brother, Thomas J. Simmons. Andrew's brother and his wife remained in Texas in Upshur County. Andrew moved his family to Hempstead County, Arkansas. He was living in De Roan Township in 1910 on his farm with his wife and children. He died there in 1934.

Note that the date of birth for him on grave marker is not correct. He is not on census records for 1850. He is listed as age 8 on the 1860 census and his date of birth is listed as December 1852 from the 1900 census.

Bio from John Simmons