Jasper Simmons was born ca. 1882 in Tennessee to Ralph and Mary (Whitfield) Simmons. Jasper Simmons came to Missouri with his family around 1886. After his parents separated in the 1890s, Jasper lived with his father in Dade County, Missouri, where he worked as a zinc miner. The 1900 census reports that Jasper attended school for three months in the year 1900, as had all the zinc miners listed in the Dade County census. The date and place of Jasper Simmons' death are not documented apart from the Berry Cemetery grave marker, which lists January 11, 1908 as the date of Jasper's death. Whether Jasper was actually interred in the Berry Cemetery, or like his brother Enoch was interred elsewhere but memorialized on the Berry Cemetery grave marker, is not known (Russel 2012).
Grave Marker: As noted above, Jasper Simmons may not be buried in the Berry Cemetery. However, he is memorialized there by a marble cross vault obelisk that bears the names of four individuals: Jasper Simmons (west face), brother Enoch Simmons (east face), father Ralph Simmons (west face), and grandmother Charity James (south face). The monument records death dates for Enoch, Jasper, and Ralph that precede Charity's death, suggesting that this stone was commissioned after Charity died as a memorial to all four individuals. The monument is set on a marble upper base and limestone lower base. This monument bears text and ivy imagery on its south, east, and west faces. By 2009, the upper part of the monument had detached from the base. In 2017, through a grant from the Phenix Marble Company, the upper portion was re-attached to the base. Excluding the base, the monument is 31 x 10 x 10 inches in size. The two-part base is 8 x 15 x 15 inches in size.
Monument in 2009, before repair
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West face of monument
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Bird's eye view
ivy leaves design on upper part of each side of monument
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Text on West Face RALPH SIMMONS JULY 4 1854 MAY 6 1904 JASPER SIMMONS MAY 2 1882 JAN 11 1908 |
Text on East Face ENOCH SIMMONS AUG 13 1886 FEB 1 1900 |
Text on South Face CHARITY JAMES MAR 18 1842 MAR 31 1914 |