James B. Simmons
James B. Simmons, was an American missionary who was Corresponding Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society from 1867–74. He was an early benefactor and trustee of Hardin-Simmons University in Texas, which is partially named for him.
He was born in North township, Duchess County, New York. His father was a thrifty farmer of German extraction, and his mother was of Scotch descent. She was thrown from a carriage and killed when James was but five months old.
He graduated from Brown University in 1851 and Newton Theological Seminary in 1854. He served as a Baptist minister in Providence, RI, Indianapolis, IN, and Philadelphia, PA. He was recruited from Philadelphia by the ABHMS, and was assigned in 1869 to development of missions among the colored peoples of the South and West and Mexico. He was instrumental in this role in the early development of Shaw University, Benedict College, Virginia Union University, Morehouse College, and the defunct Roger Williams University of Nashville and Leland University of New Orleans.
Simmons also founded Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX. Simmons, his wife, and his son are all buried in a gravesite on campus.
