Jeptha Root Simms (December 31, 1807 – May 31, 1883) was an American historian best known for chronicling the settlement of upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Personal life

Jeptha Root Simms was born at Canterbury, Connecticut, on December 31, 1807, son of Joseph Simms and the former Phoebe Fitch. His family moved to

Plainfield, New York Plainfield is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 915 at the 2010 census. The Town of Plainfield is located in the northwestern corner of Otsego County. History The town was first settled ''circa'' 1793, ...

, in 1824. He married April 1, 1833, to Catherine Lawyer of

Schoharie, New York Schoharie ( ) is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in and the county seat of Schoharie County, New York, Schoharie County, New York (state), New York. The population was 3,299 at the 2000 census. The Town of Schoh ...

. He died May 31, 1883, in

Fort Plain, New York Fort Plain is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 2,322. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution at the junction of the Mohawk River and its tr ...

, age 75.

Education

Mr. Simms was largely self-educated. He became an acknowledged authority on the history and geology of upstate New York through years of personal interviews with the region’s oldest surviving residents and collecting fossils and mineral samples. The interviews became the backbone of his subsequent writings, while his geological collection was eventually purchased by the State of New York for $5,000 (an impressive sum at the time).

Career

As a young man, Simms worked at

Canajoharie, New York Canajoharie () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,730 in 2010. Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River o ...

, but removed to New York City in 1829. A few years later, he returned to upstate New York and began compiling his collection of historical material while working as a railroad ticket agent.

Bibliography

* ''The History of Schoharie County and Border Warfare'' (1845). * ''The American Spy: Or, Freedom’s Early Sacrifice, A Tale of the Revolution Founded Upon Fact'', (1846). * :: Re:

Nicholas Stoner Nicholas Stoner (Maryland, Dec. 15, 1762–Caroga, New York, Nov. 26, 1853) was a hunter and trapper in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. He served in the Continental Army in the American Revolution and the American forces in the War of 1812. H ...
Nathaniel Foster

1850
. . 1851; 2nd ed.
. . 1857; 3rd ed.
1960; 3rd ed.
1871; 3rd ed.
.

* ''The Frontiersmen of New York: Showing Customs of the Indians, Vicissituds of the Pioneer White Settlers, and Border Strife in Two Wars'' (Volume 1 in 1882 and Volume 2 posthumously in 1883)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Jeptha Root 1807 births 1883 deaths 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Writers from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers