John Simmons

Some people are suspicious of paper money. John found that paper brought him money, and lots of it. Some people think recycling was the invention of the environmental activism of the late 20th century. John built his business on recycling in the 19th century by buying and selling paper and rags.

His “rags to riches” story began when he was born in Tankardstown in County Limerick, Ireland, and arrived in Philadelphia in 1850. He responded to a Methodist preacher’s call to invite Jesus Christ into his life in 1853 and that decision rippled through everything he did. Then he met Sarah Ann Topping, from the opposite end of Ireland, and they became one in 1859 at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church. 

(That church was the first Methodist church in America, founded in 1769. Robert Henry Pattison served as St. George’s pastor in the midst of the Civil War. His son, Robert E. Pattison, a life-long member of St. George’s, was elected Pennsylvania’s 20th governor.)

In the middle of the 19th century, rags played an essential role as raw material for the paper industry. The first step was rag collection, which was typically associated with peddlers, but what they scavenged was a critical input as demand for paper exceeded supply. John started his business in 1860 as a middleman, buying the raw material from “rag pickers” then sorting and selling it to those who manufactured paper.

In the late 1860s that process began to shift toward wood pulp to make paper. It didn’t put an end to the use of fibers like cotton, linen, or silk, but John shifted with the times. The industry grew so fast that by 1870 there were 669 paper mills in the United States, making it the world’s largest paper producer. These are samples of his newspaper advertising  from 1869 and 1875. The 1870 census shows they owned real estate worth $20,000 and valued their personal estate at $15,000.

Sarah gave birth to eight children, although three of them didn’t live beyond a few weeks. Some were baptized at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church and the others at Salem M.E. The Simmons family didn’t just dabble with religion, they walked the walk. They annually attended summer “camp meetings” hosted by the Methodist Conference and found ways to show their faith by their works. 

Along with notable businessman Thomas Tasker, John was on the inaugural board of trustees of the 18th Street Methodist Episcopal Church in 1872. He was on the same board 16 years later when the church outgrew the first building and erected another one. The congregation had grown to an attendance of 800, with 600 in Sunday School.

There were important issues of the day that prompted John to get involved. In 1881 he won a seat on the city’s Common Council for one two-year term, hoping to help institute reforms. His deeply-held convictions prompted his active role in the Philadelphia Sabbath Association, supporting the enforcement of laws against stores being open on Sunday. 

He also helped fellow prohibitionists organize politically for the cause of temperance, and volunteered with the Irish Parliamentary Fund to support home rule for Ireland. Among his associates in that group were retailers John Wanamaker and Isaac Clothier, banker A.J. Drexel, and cracker maker Godfrey Keebler.

In support of his church, he took an active role in the Historical Society and the Freedmen’s AId Society of the M.E. Church, attended the annual meeting of the Philadelphia Conference, and was one of the incorporators of the Methodist Episcopal Hospital, now known as Jefferson Methodist Hospital on South Broad Street.

The Simmons sons came into their own during the 1890s. The first to join his father’s business was William Lincoln (1865-1959), followed by Thomas Francis (1871-1928) five years later. John Wesley (1867-1951) became a lawyer in 1890, working in the law office of ex-governor Robert Pattison.

In 1893 John Wesley filed incorporation papers for the South Broad Street Building & Loan Association, of which he, father John, brother William, and two others were co-founders. His father had some prior experience, being on the inaugural board of Chestnut Street National Bank in1887.

Having faith didn’t insulate the family from setbacks any more than it guaranteed prosperity. The Simmons warehouse burned down, once in 1869 and again in 1880. John’s biggest disappointment may have been the Chestnut Street Bank which became insolvent after 10 years. After his death there was no mention of the South Broad Street Building & Loan Association, so that may have been another financial failure. But Simmons and Sons continued long into the 20th century.

It took nearly 18 years for his church at 18th Street to pay off the mortgage because of some unexpected repair expenses that set them back. But within 18 months of his death John was able to participate in the official “mortgage burning.”

As the last of the founding trustees, he was asked to do something he didn’t often do, burn paper instead of recycle it. In late 1905 he performed the ceremonial burn in front of a large and jubilant crowd. Standing with him was his five-year-old grandson, John Simmons III, who had been baptized in that church.

After John’s death from heart disease in 1907, William and Thomas remained in the paper business for the rest of their lives. John’s estate was appraised at $266,405 or, in today’s dollars, about $9 million. (Who was the richest person buried here? It most likely was John Eagle, who would have had a valuation today of $135 million.)

Thomas and John Wesley were the only children not buried at Mount Moriah. In the family plot, shown here, are individual headstones for John and Sarah, daughter Sarah, son William and his wife, and the three who died as infants. The oldest child, Mary, is buried with her husband in Section 127.