Paul is my dad's name, yes, but I am actually the sixth in a row of Simmers that have the name Paul.*

 

The first one I know of, Henry Paul Simmer, was born in 1799 in Germany about 60 miles (90 km) north of Frankfurt. We know that he came to Ontario, Canada sometime before 1834 because his children were all born in Ontario after that time. Mr. Simmer actually shows up in the 1851 Ontario census as "Henry Seymor" because, I would imagine, of his accent when pronouncing his name to the census-taker.

 

Mr. Seymor/Simmer had a son Henry (born around 1844) who moved to Isabella County in Michigan. He too had a son Henry who was born when he was pretty darn old (1891) and by this point, the Simmer family was well-entrenched in Isabella County. My dad was the third generation to be born in Isabella County but by that point his family had been there for some 70 years.

 

By all accounts these men were all German farmers who moved only when the opportunity to improve their family's lot in life was a possibility. They stuck true to their ethnicity as well, residing in primarily German farming communities in both Ontario and Michigan.

 

This spring Giles and I are planning a return visit to Ontario to see what we can uncover from the local parishes. Hopefully we'll learn more about the Pauls*. I enjoy the mystery of the unknown and hope to learn more about my heritage from these men soon.