Conversation with
Weyman Penn Simpson
grandson of William Penn Simpson, on 9/10/2003
By Ralph Simpson
Weyman says that
after William witnessed the long and painful suffering of his wife, who
succumbed to cancer a year earlier, stated that he would kill himself rather than
go through that agony. So, when he was diagnosed with terminal kidney
cancer, his family hid all the guns and ammunition that were commonly in the
house. They had forgotten about one pistol that William owned and the
fact that he had much earlier also hidden some bullets in the grandfather
clock, in case of emergency. It was those hidden bullets he used to kill
himself under the oak tree in his front yard.
Contributed by Wanda Snyder
15. WILLIAM PENN7 SIMPSON
(WILLIAM RANDOLPH6, JOHN5, GEORGE4, GEORGE3,
RICHARD2, JOHN1) was born 11 Mar 1851 in Walton Co., GA106, and died 13 Aug 1919 in Gwinnett Co., GA107. He married
IVA NONNIE MOON108 10 Aug 1879 in Walton Co., GA109, daughter of
THOMAS MOON and RACHEL MOON. She was born 15 Jan 1857 in Walton Co., GA110,
and died 19 Mar 1918 in Gwinnett Co., GA110.
Notes for WILLIAM PENN SIMPSON:
TWO OLD CITIZENS TAKE OWN LIVES -
.......... Wm. P. Simpson, of Martins district, went into his back yard
early Wednesday morning and shot himself through the head with a pistol, and
died a short while later. Mr. Simpson had been in bad health, suffering
with cancer of the kidneys, and had been told by the doctors that nothing could
be done for him, and this is supposed to have been responsible for the act.
The deceased was a good and substantial citizen, had a splendid farm, and
was known as an upright man. He was the father of a large family, and was
sixty-eight years old. Funeral and interment will be at Mt. Carmel today.
[The News Herald, Thursday, August 14, 1919]
Killed himself a year after the death
of his wife. My grandmother, Ella Jane Simpson, heard the shot early one
morning. She and her husband, Joseph Harrison Simpson, found him under a
tree - dead.
1900 Census -
Simpson, William
Head; Iver - Wife ; Cora -
Dau; Alexander - Son; William T. - Son; Iola - Dau;
Joseph H. - Son; James F. - Son; Oliver O. - Son; Myrtle
- Dau
More About WILLIAM PENN SIMPSON:
Burial: Unknown, Mt Carmel Meth,
Gwinnett Co., GA110
Census: 1900, Duluth Dist, Gwinnett Co,
GA111
Residence 1: 1912, Martins Dist. #544112
Residence 2: 1903, Pinkneyville Dist.
#406113
Will: 1919, Gwinnett Co., GA114
More About IVA NONNIE MOON:
Died 2: 18 Feb 1918, Gwinnett Co., GA115
Burial: Unknown, Mt Carmel Meth,
Gwinnett Co., GA116
Children of WILLIAM SIMPSON and IVA
MOON are:
31. i.
CORA8 SIMPSON, b. 09 Jun 1880; d. 1964.
32. ii.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON SIMPSON, SR., b. 11 Nov 1882, Milton
(now Fulton) Co., GA; d. 13 Feb 1974, Colquitt Co., GA.
33. iii.
WILLIAM THOMAS SIMPSON, b. 18 Sep 1885; d. 20 Jan 1945,
Gwinnett Co., GA.
34. iv.
IOLA SIMPSON, b. 22 Apr 1888, Gwinnett Co., GA; d.
1968.
35. v.
JOSEPH HARRISON SIMPSON, b. 05 Nov 1890; d. 20 Feb
1922, Duluth, Gwinnett Co., GA.
vi.
JAMES FRANKLIN SIMPSON, b. 18 May 1893117; d. 12
Nov 1933, Of leukemia118.
More About JAMES FRANKLIN SIMPSON:
Burial: Unknown, Mt Carmel Meth,
Gwinnett Co., GA118
36. vii.
OLIVER ORIEN SIMPSON, b. 01 Mar 1896; d. 20 Feb 1922,
Duluth, Gwinnett Co., GA.
37. viii.
MYRTLE VIVIAN SIMPSON, b. 26 Nov 1898; d. May 1994, Memphis, TN.