The Sims Family of Ellis County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Sims Family of Ellis County, and friend, this one's worth your time. Now, when people talk about who built Ellis County up from raw Texas earth, certain names keep surfacing. The Sims family is one of them.

They weren't just passing through. They settled in, dug down, and stayed, for a hundred and fifty years worth of staying. It starts in 1851, when the Sims family put down roots along Chambers Creek in what was called the Greathouse area, at a place they named Sims Camp Ground.

And right there, Nicholas P. Sims, born 1806, lived all the way to 1902, so the man had time to get things done, ran a mill. Ellis County was newly formed and rough around the edges, and the family was among the first called on to help build the roads that would stitch it together.

That kind of work doesn't make you famous, but it makes a county function. The very next year, 1852, Nicholas gave ten acres to establish the Bethel United Methodist Church at High Springs. Ten acres, just given.

That same year, Nicholas and his brother-in-law Ezekial Marshall Brack organized the Waxahachie Masonic Lodge number ninety. Ezekial, born 1815, died 1888, served as its first master. And if that wasn't enough for one year, Ezekial was also elected the second county judge of Ellis County in 1852 and served for several years.

The man was havin' quite a twelve months. Now Nicholas's nephew, Wilson Dabney Sims, born 1824, died 1892, was carving out his own mark as a businessman. He owned and operated a cotton gin, previously held the office of county commissioner, and served as vice president of the Texas Pioneer Association.

The family had range, is what I'm sayin'. Mills, churches, lodges, courthouses, cotton gins, civic associations, the Simses had a hand in most of it. And here's the part that lands quiet but lands deep.

Both Nicholas and one of his stepsons, S.M. Dunlap, born 1857, died 1924, each in turn bequeathed their estates to build public libraries. Nicholas's bequest went to Waxahachie.

Dunlap's went to Italy. Two men, two towns, two libraries, left behind not for family alone, but for all citizens of Ellis County. The land they'd settled, thousands of acres running along Chambers Creek from the Boz-Bethel area in the north all the way down to Italy in the south, would become the foundation for what was first called the L.R.

Campbell Ranch, and later the Pecan Springs Ranch. Much of it stayed in family hands for a hundred and fifty years. That's a legacy that doesn't announce itself with any noise.

It's paved roads, and church pews, and a library card somebody's great-grandchild used without ever knowing who made it possible. That's the Sims family of Ellis County.

What the marker says

Some of the first pioneers to help in the development of Ellis County, the Sims family settled on and around what would become the foundation for the L.R. Campbell Ranch, later known as the Pecan Springs Ranch. Over the years, they would purchase thousands of acres along chambers creek that would stretch from the Boz-Bethel area in the north to Italy in the south. Much of the property was owned and operated by the family for 150 years. In 1851, the sims family settled on what was called “Sims Camp Ground” along Chambers Creek in the Greathouse area where Nicholas P. Sims (1806-1902) operated a mill. Various members were soon called on to help build roads across the newly-formed Ellis County. In 1852, Nicholas gave ten acres to establish the Bethel United Methodist Church at High Springs. The same year, Nicholas and brother-in-law Ezekial Marshall Brack (1815-1888) organized the Waxahachie Masonic Lodge #90, and Ezekial served as the first master. Ezekial was also elected the second county judge for Ellis County in 1852 and served for several years. Nicholas’ nephew Wilson Dabney Sims (1824-1892) was a businessman, having owned and operated a cotton gin. He previously held the office of county commissioner and served as vice president for the Texas Pioneer Association. Additionally, both Nicholas and one of his stepsons, S.M. Dunlap (1857-1924) each in turn bequeathed their estates to build public libraries in Waxahachie and in Italy. The pioneering spirit of the Sims Family contributed much to the development of Ellis County over the years. They endeavored to leave Ellis County a better place to live, not only for their descendants, but for all citizens of Ellis County. (2017)