Cataline Simmons Explained

Cataline B. Simmons (1806 – July 13, 1883) was an American businessman, politician, and religious leader in Florida.

Simmons was born in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1806. He was brought to Florida while he was enslaved and reportedly was able to ultimately purchase his freedom.^[1]

Simmons served as the first pastor of the Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville, Florida.^[2] He served as its pastor from 1868 to 1880.^[3]

Simmons served as a Duval County commissioner from 1868 to 1870. He and William T. Garvin then became the first African Americans to serve on the Jacksonville City Council,^[4] serving on it from 1870 to 1872.^[5] He also served as a tax assessor. At the time of his death, Simmons was noted as one of the wealthiest "colored men" in Jacksonville.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Florida's Black Public Officials 1867-1924 by Canter Brown Jr. pages 125 and 126
2. Web site: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM.
3. Web site: Reverend Cataline Simmons - Jacksonville, Florida. Florida Memory. April 16, 2022.
4. https://www.jacksonville.com/11521165007 Jacksonville has impressive civil rights history Florida Times-Union July 13, 2018https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/columns/mike-clark/2018/...
5. Book: Bartley, Abel A.. Keeping the Faith: Race, Politics, and Social Development in Jacksonville, Florida, 1940-1970. April 16, 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group. 9780313310355. Google Books.