Ernest Walker Simons (October 11, 1848 – February 1, 1917) was the founder of the Ernest Simons Manufacturing Company of

Port Chester, New York Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...

, manufacturer of shirts, sheets, and pillowcases.

Early life

Simons was born in

Ullesthorpe Ullesthorpe is a small village and civil parish situated in the Harborough district in southern Leicestershire. Ullesthorpe is noted for its historic background with a mill, disused railway station and traces of a medieval settlement evident o ...

Wibtoft Wibtoft is a small village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village was originally within the civil parish of Claybrooke Magna in Leicestershire. According to the 2021 Census, it had a population of 62. The villag ...

, Leicestershire, England to James Walker Simons and Jane Ann Loveitt. He was the oldest of eight children. The family emigrated to Connecticut in 1858, eventually settling in

Mamaroneck, New York Mamaroneck ( ), is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 31,758 at the 2020 United States census over 29,156 at the 2 ...

Career

Trained as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, Simons first became involved in the manufacture of various tools and hardware at Riversville, Connecticut. In 1876, Simons joined the firm N.C. Pond & Company in a former shovel factory, making shirts on a small scale. In 1879, a partnership was formed under the name Pond, West & Simons, consisting of N.C. Pond, Marshall O. West, and Simons. In addition to manufacturing shirts, they also sold and repaired sewing machines. They built a two story frame building as their factory, soon adding a third story. After N.C. Pond left the business in 1892, the firm was renamed West & Simons, until the death of West in January 1902, when it became known as the Ernest Simons Manufacturing Company. During the latter period, a large brick factory was constructed consisting of three buildings with a floor space of 152,000 square feet, employing 800 people. The firm manufactured shirts, sheets, pillow cases, and related items for various American brands such as

Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and undergarment, underwear. The company's world headquarters are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary ...

, Anchor, Whitehorn, and others. During World War I, they were also contracted to produce military clothing. It was one of the largest firms of its type in the country during its operation. Many of his family members were among the board of directors during his leadership. Apart from the shirt factory, Simons was also involved as a Director with the Port Chester First National Bank.

Personal life

On January 2, 1873, Simons married Anna Willis, daughter of Judge Anson Willis. Together they had four children. Simons was heavily involved as a trustee with the Summerfield M.E. Church in Port Chester. He was a benefactor to the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, the Summerfield M.E. Church, and he also built a mission in India. He was a supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, and allowed meetings to be held at the factory. At his funeral, Bishop William F. Anderson of Cincinnati wrote a eulogy in his honor about his devotion to his religion and to charity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simoons, Walker English emigrants to the United States 1848 births 1917 deaths American mechanical engineers American company founders American textile industry businesspeople People from Mamaroneck, New York People from Leicestershire (before 1897) 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American engineers