Charles E. Simmons
Charles E. Simmons, M.D., was present at the Founding of the Theosophical Society in September, 1875. Josephine Ransom said of him that he was "a well-known New York physician," but that otherwise "no information has been discovered."[1]
Modern genealogical research has uncovered listings for him as a physician at 742 Lexington Avenue, New York in several city directories and business directories.[2] A directory of deceased physicians lists him as an allopathic physician trained at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York in 1864. He was born in 1840 and died on May 3, 1917.[3] Finally, an obituary appeared by a family historian in Ancestry.com:
Dr. Charles E Simmons, a native of Troy and for many years a prominent practising physician in New York and former Commissioner of Charities and Correction of the metropolis, died yesterday after a long illness at his home, 42 West Sixty-sixth Street, New York, in his seventy-seventh year. Dr. Simmons was born in Troy, a son of the late Joseph F. Simmons, a member of the firms of Simmons & Darling and Simmons, Darling & Company, wholesale grocers of this city, from 1868 to 1879 and one of the founders of the National State Bank. He was graduated from Williams College in 1860, from Gottingen University in Germany in 1862 and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1864. He practiced as a physician in Troy for four years and then located in New York, where he continued in practice until his death. Dr. Simmons was a member of the University Club, the Manhatten Club, the Delta Psi Farternity, the New York County and State Medical Societies, the Greater New York Medical Association, the St Nicholas Society and the New England Society. In June, 1865, he married Miss Ruby Gould, daughter of Gen. Jacob Gould of Rochester. He leaves his wife and three children, Edward DeForest Simmons, Mrs. Henry K Browning, and Miss Ruby Gould Simmons. Dr. Simmons was a brother of the late J. Edward Simmons of the Third National Bank, New York and Mrs. Charles R. Flint.[4]
Other records show that he was physician to New York governor Samuel J. Tilden. Dr. Simmons had to sue Tilden's estate to get payment for services.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Josephine Ransom, A Short History of The Theosophical Society (Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1938), 115.
- ↑ Goulding´s Business Directory of New York, 1872-73, 1877; Goulding's Manual of New York and General Statistical Guide, 1875; New York, New York, City Directory 1872, 1874, 1876, 1977, 1878, 1879, 1888, 1891.
- ↑ Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929
- ↑ "Obituary" posted 29 Dec 2014 by SaratogaCounty on Ancestry.com.
- ↑ Transcript from Troy Budget newspaper, circa 1892-1894. Posted 29 Dec 2014 by SaratogaCounty in Ancestry.com