Symons brothers of Jackson

Brothers Alfred and Silas James Symons and their wives emigrated from England to Jackson in June 1889. They immigrated primarily because their brother, Frederick "Fred" Symons, was the local rail agent for the Missouri Pacific Railway Co. All the brothers had married and began the process of becoming naturalized citizens shortly after they arrived. Silas had only been married to Eva Jane Mulcock a few weeks before boarding the ship to come to America. Sadly, she died of typhoid malaria Aug. 12, 1889, at the age of 22. This would not be the only tragedy to strike this family. Their brother, Fred, and his wife lost all of their children between 1887 and 1903. Eva and the children are buried in Jackson City Cemetery.

During their short time in Jackson, Alfred and Silas operated Symons Brothers mercantile store. They opened for business July 6, 1889. The store formerly was Howard and Ramsey (Old Grange Store), which had recently folded. They offered a variety of items for their customers, including ammunition, clothing, grocery items and hardware supplies. They operated strictly on a cash or produce trade model. According to an advertisement in the Missouri Cash-Book on April 10, 1890, they kept no books and extended no credit. This same advertisement stated residents did not think the business would survive a year because of the unique nature of not giving credit. The business initially thrived as the brothers expanded their offerings, and they supplied school desks and other equipment to Jackson School District. The store ultimately failed in May 1893, and their assets were sold to creditors for half the cost.

With the loss of their business and Silas's untimely death in 1895 from drowning, the two living brothers parted ways. Fred and his wife, Martha, remained in Jackson until moving to Dexter, Missouri, where Fred became a railroad agent. After the death of their son, Charles, from tonsilitis in 1903, the bereaved family moved to Fredericktown, Missouri. The couple divorced in 1912, with Fred remarrying, but last living as a widower in St. Louis in the 1940 census.

Alfred and his wife, Fanny Mulcock Symons, and daughter, Mabel Fanny Symons, initially moved to Fredericktown, along with Fred, to become a Methodist Episcopal Church book salesman, but around 1904 the family moved to Jonesboro, Arkansas. There, Alfred and Fanny resided until their deaths, in 1939 and 1942, respectively. They are buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in Jonesboro. Their daughter, Mabel, became a beloved teacher, married John Clare Woodside of Thomasville, Missouri, and raised a family of two girls and two boys in that small town in Oregon County. She died in 1976 and is buried in Woodside Cemetery in Thomasville.