Simmons, Phoebe
Phoebe Simmons (1800-1886)
Surry, NH/ Keene, NH
Written by Keene State College student Olivia Whittier and Historical Society of Cheshire County education director Jennifer Carroll
In 1800, Joseph and Phoebe Simmons of Rockingham, Vermont, welcomed their daughter, Phoebe into the world. At the time of her birth, Phoebe’s parents were raising their four-year old daughter Sarah. Although not much is documented about Phoebe’s early life, the information that is known portrays valuable stages and experiences as a female youth of color in the areas of Surry and Keene, New Hampshire. While the state of Vermont officially banned slavery in its state constitution in 1777, Phoebe’s life shows us that it still existed at the turn of the 19th century.
Phoebe Simmons was enslaved as a young child yet the exact date of her move to New Hampshire is not clear. The 1810 Federal census in Surry, NH, indicates that one “other inhabitant not taxed” resided in the community but whether or not this could have been 10-year old Phoebe is not known. Records do show that she lived initially with Simon and Margaret Baxter in Surry, New Hampshire. Phoebe worked most of her life as a domestic servant for several members of this extended family.
As head of the household, Simon Baxter II, was born on May 6, 1730, the son of Simon Baxter and Rebecah (Tarbox) Burge. As a young man, he served in the New Hampshire militia at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Although he was a resident of Alstead, Baxter was understood to have traveled nineteen miles away from home to serve in the militia under the charge of Captain Isaac Wyman. The dedication that Baxter showed toward the state of the nation deemed him to be a hardworking and loyal man by many in the community.
In analyzing letters written by Simon Baxter’s daughter in the years following the war, one can see how complex the family dynamics just prior to Phoebe’s arrival in the family. The New Hampshire State Archives contains documents by daughter Prudence Baxter to the state government outlining her father’s offenses during the War and begging for his pardon. In the report, she indicates that Simon Baxter had joined the opposing party in an act of loyalism in July of 1777. Upon this news, Baxter’s land and money were seized by the NH government. Prudence wrote on behalf of her father, explaining his deep regret, begging for forgiveness and the return of his properties.
Records accounting the Revolutionary War indicate that Simon Baxter was, in fact, an absentee. His land in Alstead was sold to the state of New Hampshire to pay off the family’s tax debt. By the time young Phoebe Simmons entered the household as an enslaved child, the Baxter family was recovering from this loss.
Margaret Baxter, the wife and mother of the household, most likely played a more prevalent role in Phoebe’s life at the Baxter home. She was born to James and Margaret Noney on June 14, 1750 in Suffield, Connecticut and later married Simon Baxter. Margaret was in her 60s when her husband died in 1817, leaving her to search for new living arrangements for herself and Phoebe. For a short time, they lived with Margaret and Simon’s son William in the nearby town of Surry, New Hampshire.
In November 1823, Phoebe Simmons transferred from the Field home to that of Margaret Baxter’s granddaughter, Elvira (Shaw) Robinson. According to newspaper accounts of the 1880s, it is believed that Phoebe’s services as an enslaved domestic servant were offered as a wedding gift to the Robinsons. Phoebe soon found herself to be the only female person of color residing in the small town of Surry. Her new enslaver, Elvira (Shaw) Robinson, was born July 15, 1802 in Alstead, New Hampshire, making the two young women approximately the same age.
Also residing in the Robinson household at the time was Charles Robinson, son of Jonathon and Elvira (Shaw) Robinson. Charles was born on June 14, 1824 in the town of Surry and would have essentially grown up with Phoebe his entire childhood. Later in his life, Charles took in Phoebe as an elderly blind woman and he cared for her in his home until she passed away in 1886.
Although the federal census for Surry showed no females of color living in the area in 1830, it is known from other records that Phoebe Simmons was residing within the Robinson home at the time. Around 1840, at the age of 40 years old, Phoebe is listed in the census as a free woman of color, living and working in the Robinson household. At this time, Phoebe was single and she remained unmarried for the rest of her life.
When the family moved to Main Street in Keene, New Hampshire, during the 1850s, Phoebe moved with them. Phoebe Simmons continued to work as a domestic servant in the Robinson household until she lost her sight sometime in the 1870s. In her final years, she lived on Lincoln Street in Keene under the care of Charles Robinson. She died on December 8, 1886 in Keene.
Written sources make it clear that Phoebe Simmons became well known to many in the Keene community. In 1929, Charles L. Barrett of Keene gave a presentation to the members of the Historical Society of Cheshire County entitled “Main Street in the 1870’s.” In it, Barrett recounts his memories of “Aunt Phoebe” Simmons.
Here I wish to mention a character who played a part in the lives of the young people who lived in the neighborhood. Some of you may remember old Aunt Phoebe Simmons, a colored woman who lived for many years in the family of Jonathan Robinson, as well as in the family of his father before him. Aunt Phoebe was a character in every sense. She was considerably under five feet in height and of liberal dimensions but north and south and east and west, and with her colored handkerchief covering her head, she made a typical picture of the old southern mammy. She was of a very variatable temperment. She assumed the general oversight of all the young people of the neighborhood, and I might add that even the older ones were not exempt from her scrutiny. I will not say that she ruled with a rod of iron, but almost. She had two very effective weapons with which to enforce her authority, as for example, the Robinson buildings with the long row of sheds and barns made an attractive place for the boys to gather for fun. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were fond of young people and did not object to having them run around the building as long as they did not mischief, but with Aunt Phoebe it was quite a trial. I have seen her many a time, after an unusual outburst of noise from the children, rush out like a roaring lion, waving her favorite weapons for quelling riotous proceedings, — a chunk of cake in one hand and a butcher’s knife in the other, — the cake as a reward if we would go away and NEVER come back, and the butcher’s knife to cut off our ears if we did not go. At heart Aunt Phoebe was purre gold, as I knew from her watchful and loving care for the comfort and well-being of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Aunt Phoebe at her worst was better than most of us at our best.
As previously mentioned, Phoebe Simmons’ death records indicate that she passed away on December 8th, 1886. The records suggest that her cause of death was old age. The Keene Sentinel released a statement about Phoebe upon her passing which stated:
“Miss Phoebe Simmons, an old and established colored woman who had been in the Robinson family for over 60 years, died at the residence of Mr. C. D. Robinson at the age of 86. She was born in Rockingham, VT, in 1800 and was given by Mrs. Margaret Baxter of Surry to her granddaughter Mrs. Jonathan Robinson 63 years ago, since which time she has remained in the family. She leaves a sister, now 90, living in Charleston.”
Looking at accounts from Phoebe’s life gives a good indication of the type of person she was. The legacy that she left behind when she passed away was filled with positivity and passion, despite the obstacles she may have faced along the way.
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
PHOEBE SIMMONS was born in 1800 in Rockingham, Vermont to Joseph and Phoebe Simmons. She died on December 6, 1886 in Keene, New Hampshire. She never married and is not known to have had children.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Barrett, Charles L. “Main Street in the 1870’s.” Collections of the Historical Society of Cheshire County, 1930. - Historical Society of Cheshire County, Wright Reading Room.
Keene City Directory, 1880- Historical Society of Cheshire County, Wright Reading Room
Kingsbury, Frank B. History of the town of Surry, Cheshire County, New Hampshire : from date of severance from Gilsum and Westmoreland, 1769-1922, with a genealogical register and map of the town. (1925)- Archives.org
New Hampshire Revolutionary War Records- Ancestry.com
New Hampshire Sentinel newspaper, December 29, 1886, p.3.
New Hampshire Vital Records, Deaths, Keene- 1886- Ancestry.com
New Hampshire Wills and Probate, 1877- Ancestry.com
U.S. Federal Census, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880- Ancestry.com