John Martin Simmons was born in Elkin (Surry County), North Carolina, on December 23, 1873. Simmons was a real estate agent, livery proprietor, and later president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Elkin. During the July 1916 flood, his home and livery business on Front Street in Elkin were seriously damaged. He died in Halifax (Halifax County) on September 17, 1948.