James Simons Jr.

James Simons Jr. was a lawyer and politician in South Carolina who served as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1878 to 1891 and was its speaker from 1882 to 1890. The South Carolina Historical Society has a collection of his papers.
His father James Simons Sr. was also a lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
He belonged to the Society of the Cincinnati. He was a member of the Anti-Inperialist League, a group opposed to the U.S. annexation of the Philippines.
He studied at South Carolina College and Leipzig University in Leipzig. He was active in Charleston's German community. He served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He had a leadership role at a Charleston newspaper and served on the city's school board.
In 1890 he married Elizabeth Potter Schott. His portrait has been displayed at the James Simons School on Moultrie Street at King Street in Charleston.