Gustave Carl “Charles” Simmon (1826–1908)
Rachel Ann (Wilson) & Gustave Carl “Charles” Simmon
Charles Simmon was born in Meisenheim (in what is now Germany) on July 26, 1826. His father Peter was 33 and his mother was 31 years old. Charles was the fifth of Peter and Catherine’s nine children. He was seven years old when the family emigrated to the United States.
At the age of 29 Charles married 18-year-old Rachel Ann Wilson on December 20, 1855 in Rock Island. Rachel was the daughter of Mr. Lewis Wilson, who owned the farm adjacent to the Simmon Farm in Rural Township.
Less than a year after Charles and Rachel were married, Rachel’s
father Lewis married Charles’ younger sister, Catherine Phillipian Simmon. This made Catherine both Charles’ little sister and his mother-in-law.
Charles and Rachel Simmon had eight children together. They were married for just over 52 years and died just four days apart in early 1908.
I don’t know who the baby is in the photo with them, though I presume it’s a grandchild of theirs.