From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Simms, James N.

(born: October 25, 1868  -  died: March 7, 1932) 

James N. Simms was born around 1868 in Port Royal, KY. He was the first African American graduate of the Indiana Law School [source: "No color line," Freeman, 05/29/1897, p. 8]. A lawyer, he compiled Simms' Blue Book of National Negro Business and Professional Directory, published in Chicago in 1923. A photo of Simms can be viewed at the New York Public Library Digital Gallery.

James N. Simms died in Chicago and is buried Lincoln Cemetery. He was the son of Henry and Frankie Marshall Simms. 

For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Henry County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Port Royal, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Outside Kentucky Place Name

Chicago, Illinois

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: The Freeman [Indianapolis Freeman] (newspaper)
NKAA Source: Simms' blue book of national Negro business and professional directory
NKAA Source: Who's who in colored America; a biographical dictionary of notable living persons of Negro descent in the United States [1927, 1933-37]

Related Entries Citing this Entry

NKAA Entry: Clark, Charles H.
NKAA Entry: African American Lawyers/Attorneys, Kentucky, 1880-1940

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Simms, James N.,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 27, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/index.php/items/show/122.

Last modified: 2024-01-22 19:30:44