Name/Title
Portrait of Agnes Jackson SimonsEntry/Object ID
2006.5.0093Description
Black and white photo a woman's face. She is wearing a dark colored collared button-down shirt with a pin at the top of the collar. Her hair is parted down the middle, and she has small hoop earrings.Photograph Details
Subject Person or Organization
Agnes Jackson SimonsContext
Agnes Jackson (1831-1907) was the daughter of midwife Celia Mann (1799-1867), the wife of boatman Ben Delane (1800-1890). Both Celia and Ben were born enslaved in Charleston and obtained their freedom in the 1820s. They moved to Columbia in the mid-19th century, where they were among just a few free people of color who owned property, as evidenced by a legal document from 1843 that transferred the land on the northeast corner of Richland and Marion streets from Ben to Celia.
Agnes inherited this property after Celia's death in 1867. During the late 1870s or early 1880s, she oversaw the construction of the current dwelling at the Mann-Simons Site, and under her ownership, Agnes managed and developed the property at 1403 Richland Street. Agnes served as baker, laundress, and the property's matriarch to her descendants through her six children; she had three children with Thomas Jackson - Harriet Jackson (1853-1930), Ben Jackson (b. 1856), and Margaret Jackson (1857-1909) - and four children with William "Bill" Simons (1810-1878) - Ellen Simons (b.1860), Thomas Simons (b.1860), John Lucius Simons (1859-1925), Charles Hall Simons (1865-1933), and Celia Simons (1875-1945).
Upon her death, the property transferred to her sons, John Lucius and Charles, and her daughter-in-law, Amanda Green (1874-1960). The property remained in the family until 1970. Agnes is buried at Randolph Cemetery at 301 Elmwood Avenue under the name Agnes Jackson Simons.Dimensions
Height
25-1/2 inWidth
22-1/4 inRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Agnes Jackson Simons