Kenosha Simmons family · direct line

From Zalmon G. Simmons to Peter L. de Vietien

A generation-by-generation pedigree of the Kenosha, Wisconsin, Simmons industrial family down to Peter. Living people are shown only by names and relationships already stated by Peter or found in public sources.

Sourced (obituaries, Wikipedia, newspapers) Compiled genealogy (FamilySearch) Probable / circumstantial User-stated; not independently verified
Generation count (relative to Peter). If Patricia Simmons is the daughter of Zalmon Gilbert Simmons III — the best-supported path — then Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II (“the Chief,” Beautyrest era) is Peter’s great-great-grandfather, and the company founder Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. is Peter’s great-great-great-grandfather. The founder is one generation farther back than “great-great-grandfather.” Several men in this family were named Zalmon G. Simmons.

Great-great-great-grandfather

Direct ancestor · sourced

Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr.

10 Sep 1828 – 11 Feb 1910

Kenosha, Wisconsin. Founder of what became the Simmons Company (mattresses / wire beds). Mayor of Kenosha; Wisconsin Assembly, 1865.

Born Montgomery County, New York; family moved to Southport (Kenosha) in 1843. Buried Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha.

m.
1850

Spouse on this line · sourced

Emma E. Robeson

c. 1830 – 11 Oct 1899 (see notes)

Married 20 Apr 1850, Kenosha. Daughter of Capt. Morris Robeson of Lake County, Illinois.

Some secondary lists give her death as 1893; a 1906 Kenosha biographical sketch cited by Wikipedia says 11 Oct 1899.

Great-great-grandfather

Direct ancestor · sourced

Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II

2 Nov 1870 – 26 Apr 1934

Youngest of six children; only surviving son. President of the Simmons Company 1910–1932 (“the Chief”). Mass-produced the Beautyrest mattress.

Moved the family to the Rambleside estate, Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1923. Died after surgery at Johns Hopkins. Surviving sons: Grant Gilbert Simmons and Zalmon Gilbert Simmons III.

m.
1892

Spouse on this line · sourced

Frances Etheridge Grant

1872 – 1964

Married 6 Sep 1892. Daughter of a Wisconsin lumberman. First name also appears as “Francis” in some accounts.

After 1934 she sold parcels of the Greenwich estate; the main house was later owned by the Skakel family.

Great-grandfather · probable as Patricia’s father

Direct ancestor · probable

Zalmon Gilbert Simmons III

12 Mar 1898 – 12 May 1960

Born Kenosha; lived Greenwich by 1940; died Tucson, Arizona. Also called Zalmon G. Simmons Jr. in racing coverage. 1939 APBA Gold Cup winner (boat My Sin).

FamilySearch lists three daughters with Jeannette Horlick, including Patricia Simmons (b. 1928). His brother Grant’s documented children do not include a Patricia. That is the best public path from Zalmon II to Patricia.

m.
1922

Spouse on this line · compiled + newspaper

Jeannette Arabella Horlick

1901 – 1989 (FamilySearch)

Married Zalmon III on 30 Dec 1922. Later, as Jeannette Horlick Simmons, married broker John F. Bowles Jr. on 8 Apr 1937 at Riverside Church, New York; they planned to live in New York and Greenwich.

Horlick is the Racine, Wisconsin, malted-milk family name. Her exact Horlick parents were not independently confirmed here.

Grandmother

Direct ancestor · user-stated + probable

Patricia Simmons

Born 1928 (FamilySearch; not a retrieved vital record)

Peter’s grandmother, by his account. FamilySearch lists Patricia Simmons (b. 1928) as a daughter of Zalmon III and Jeannette Horlick.

Oct 1948: “Miss Patricia Simmons” was a bridesmaid at the Greenwich wedding of Sanford Graham Simmons (son of Grant G. Simmons). John Stuart Lovejoy was an usher at the same wedding — same social circle, likely cousins.

m.
by 1950

Spouse on this line · probable

John Stuart Lovejoy

Dates not retrieved

Called Stuart Lovejoy by Peter. Appears as John Stuart Lovejoy (1948) and J. Stuart Lovejoy (1950).

By June 1950 a “Mrs. J. Stuart Lovejoy of Greenwich” appears in a Westchester wedding party. Exact Simmons–Lovejoy marriage notice was not independently retrieved. Secondary summaries often give April 1950, Christ Church, Greenwich — treat that date as unverified here.

Mother

Direct ancestor · user-stated

Diane Sterling Lovejoy

Living · dates not published here

Peter’s mother, by his account. No independent obituary or wedding notice tying her by name to Patricia Simmons and Stuart Lovejoy was found.

Support for a Lovejoy parent: Peter’s published full name is Peter Lovejoy De Vietien.

m.

Spouse on this line · user-stated

M. Paul de Vietien

Living · dates not published here

Peter’s father, by his account. Spouse of Diane Sterling Lovejoy on this line. Given name not independently verified.

No extra personal details included. A public professional profile uses the name Diane de Vietien in Indiana, consistent with Peter’s published hometown of Indianapolis — not used here as a private-data source.

Self

Peter · public name + user-stated

Peter Lovejoy De Vietien

Living · also Peter L. de Vietien

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory intern profile (public): full name Peter Lovejoy De Vietien; hometown Indianapolis; Purdue nuclear engineering. That public middle name is the strongest independent Lovejoy link found.

No other private facts are listed.

Notes and ambiguities

  1. Which Zalmon? Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr. (1828–1910) founded the Kenosha company. His son Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II (1870–1934) expanded it and introduced Beautyrest. His grandson Zalmon Gilbert Simmons III (1898–1960) was a sportsman in Greenwich and later lived in Tucson. Period newspapers often called III “Zalmon G. Simmons Jr.”
  2. Great-great vs great-great-great. Counting from Peter: mother Diane → grandmother Patricia → (if correct) father Zalmon III = great-grandfather → Zalmon II = great-great-grandfather → Zalmon Sr. = great-great-great-grandfather. If “Zalmon G. Simmons the industrialist” means the founder, that is 3× great. If it means Zalmon II, “great-great-grandfather” is the right label.
  3. The missing-looking middle generation is not missing on the Zalmon III path: Patricia’s father is the generation between Zalmon II and Patricia. Grant Gilbert Simmons (1893–1974), Zalmon III’s brother, ran the company after 1932; his son Grant G. Simmons Jr. was the fourth-generation CEO. Patricia is not among Grant Jr.’s children. She is much more likely Zalmon III’s daughter (a first cousin of Sanford Graham Simmons, whose 1948 wedding she attended).
  4. Patricia ↔ Stuart Lovejoy is strongly consistent with Greenwich 1948–1950 social notices, but a full marriage announcement with parents’ names was not pulled in this research pass. Do not treat April 1950 / Christ Church as proven until that clipping is read.
  5. Diane and Peter. Parentage of Peter as son of Diane Sterling Lovejoy and of M. Paul de Vietien is user-stated. Public confirmation stops at Peter’s middle name Lovejoy. Living-person privacy: no extra dates, addresses, or occupations are given.
  6. Emma Robeson’s death year conflicts across sources (1893 vs 11 Oct 1899). Marriage date 20 Apr 1850 is consistent.
  7. Not this family: unrelated people named Patricia Simmons, Patricia Lovejoy, Diane/Diana Lovejoy, and Peter L. Simmons (attorney) appear in search results and were excluded.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Zalmon G. Simmons (Sr.: dates, marriage, children, Kenosha career).
  2. Wikipedia, Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II (1870–1934; Frances Grant; sons Grant and Zalmon III; Greenwich; company history).
  3. Find a Grave, Zalmon Gilbert Simmons Sr., Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha (memorial 25136267). Death listed there as 10 Feb 1910; Wikipedia uses 11 Feb 1910.
  4. Wisconsin Historical Society biographical sketch of Zalmon Gilbert Simmons, 1828–1910 (Dictionary of Wisconsin History / WHS article; also quoted on the Find a Grave memorial). Cites Kenosha Evening News, 12 Feb 1910.
  5. American Aristocracy, Zalmon Gilbert Simmons II (parents, spouse dates, two sons).
  6. FamilySearch compiled page, Zalmon Gilbert Simmons III (1898–1960): marriage to Jeannette Arabella Horlick, 30 Dec 1922; daughters including infant 1923, Jeannette Horlick Simmons (1924–2012), Patricia Simmons (1928– ); death Tucson, 12 May 1960. Compiled tree — useful but not a vital-record image.
  7. Scarsdale Inquirer, 8 Oct 1948, “Nancy Quackenbush Bride in Greenwich”: Sanford Graham Simmons (son of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Simmons) married at Greenwich; bridesmaid Miss Patricia Simmons; usher John Stuart Lovejoy; best man Grant G. Simmons Jr. HRVH scan.
  8. Scarsdale Inquirer, 30 Jun 1950, Henry See–Gail Sullivan wedding: bridesmaid “Mrs. J. Stuart Lovejoy of Greenwich.” HRVH scan.
  9. Daytonian in Manhattan, “The 1900 Alfred G. Jennings House — No. 2 East 82nd Street” (citing the New York Times): Jeannette Horlick Simmons married John F. Bowles Jr., 8 Apr 1937, Riverside Church; they would divide time between New York and Greenwich. Article.
  10. Leslie Field / APBA Gold Cup notes: Zalmon G. Simmons Jr. of Greenwich won the 1939 Gold Cup in My Sin (identifies Zalmon III in contemporary “Jr.” usage). 1939 Gold Cup.
  11. Furniture Today, 25 Mar 2008: Grant G. Simmons Jr., fourth-generation Simmons CEO, died at 88. Obituary.
  12. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, “Meet Peter De Vietien: future fusion engineer”: full name Peter Lovejoy De Vietien; hometown Indianapolis. LLNL profile.
  13. Peter’s own account (starting hypotheses): grandmother Patricia Simmons married Stuart Lovejoy; mother Diane Sterling Lovejoy; father M. Paul de Vietien; suspected link to Zalmon G. Simmons.