Henry Simon Jr ¹³

  General Notes:

Henry was the seventh child of Henry Simon Sr. and Maria Catherina Justen, baptized "Henricus". Godparents at the baptism in Erden Catholic parish were Henrico Schwind of Bengel & Catherina Ketter, Maiden of Erden. Henry's mother died in 1848; Henry was age 27, with 4 older and 6 younger siblings. At age 29, Henry Jr. immigrated with the family on the Ship ''Edwina'', Antwerp to New York arriving in June, 1850. Henry was naturalized with his father and brothers John and Mathias Simon on November 29,1850 in Spencer County, Indiana.
Henry's wife, Anna Nemer, immigrated to the U.S. with her family on May 20, 1852, on the Ship "Gertrude", Havre to New York, at age 21. Anna's father is unknown and her mother, Anna nee Kreil, had remarried to Casper Obermeier. Anna was the oldest of the 6 Nemer siblings who immigrated with J. Casper and Anna Obermeier, in addition to their 5 year old son, Xavier Francis Obermeier.
Anna married Henry Simon six months later in St. Boniface Church, Fulda, on November 16,1852. This was the first marriage to be recorded by Fr. Kundak in the new St. Boniface parish records.
In 1856 Henry purchased 80 acres in Spencer County from his father's estate. Henry was a farmer according to the 1860 census, and a shoemaker with a cobbler shop located diagonally across from St. Boniface Church by 1870. It is probable he learned this trade as a young man in Prussia from Nicolas Preuer, a shoemaker in Erden, probably his father's cousin. Henry and Anna had 5 children. According to the 1880 census, son Henry Francis, age 19, was also a shoemaker.
Henry Simon Jr. died in December, 1885, a month before turning age 64. After Henry's death, his wife Anna Nemer Simon, lived with their son Henry Francis and his family according to the 1900 Census. Anna died in March, 1906 at age 78. Both Henry and Anna are buried in St. Boniface Cemetery, Fulda. THE SIMON HOUSE
The two story hewn log house built by Henry Simon as a cobbler shop was located on the corner of Main & Jefferson Sts., Fulda. The base logs were oak, with a mix of poplar and beech also used in the walls. The interior walls were chinked and the exterior shingle-sided. In 1914 the house was sold by Henry's son, Henry Francis Simon to Joe Beier, who opened a hardware/general store in it. Henry Francis moved to Owensboro and later continued his shoe business there.
The original Simon house stood in Fulda until 1975, when, in lieu of being torn down, it was purchased and dismantled by Ben Hubbard of Shoals, Indiana, with intentions of rebuilding it in Shoals. Ben also purchased a second log house from just north of Fulda, the Dilger house. The two log houses were erected in a woods high on a ridge overlooking the White River above East River Road, about 5 miles outside of Shoals. To maintain the integrity of the original houses, each has a separate foundation, and are connected in the middle by a bathroom and kitchen. Electricity and water were not added to the original structures. Mr. Hubbard said the process beginning with putting a road through the woods to the top of the ridge, to finishing the project of combining the two houses, took 6 and a half years.
Several years ago Mr. Hubbard sold the property. The present owner, Mrs. Nickerson, relayed an interesting local history of the dwellings. After the joined houses were sold by Mr. Hubbard, the property passed through several owners over a period of years, the longest owner remained about 3 years. Rumor was the Simon house was thought to be haunted. When she purchased the property, the previous owners would not even enter Simon side. Mrs. Nickerson is not bothered by the rumors, and had remained in the houses for 8 years, the longest owner to date since 1975.

Henry married Anna Nemer, daughter of Unknown Nemer and Anna Kreil, on 16 Nov 1852 in Spencer Co, IN. (Anna Nemer was born on 19 Dec 1827 in Bavaria and died on 30 Mar 1906 in Spencer Co, In St. Boniface Cemetery A-18-08.)