Harry A. Simons, a successful hardware merchant in Platte, South Dakota, was born in Wisconsin in 1866. His father, Calvart Simons, originally from New York, moved westward, farming in Wisconsin before settling in South Dakota. Harry spent his early years on the farm before learning engineering and working in that field for six years. After a stint in blacksmithing, he transitioned to the hardware business, first in Castalia, South Dakota, and later in Platte, where he built a thriving enterprise. A committed Republican and member of the Christian church, he married Delia Holden in 1890, and they had five children: Blanche, Raymond, Ernest, Ronald, and Mildred.
Harry A. Simons, owner of one of the leading hardware stores at Platte, is descended from a New York family long identified with the West by early immigration. His father, Calvart Simons, left his native state when a young man, settled in Wisconsin, and was engaged in farming for about fifteen years. He then moved to South Dakota, purchased four hundred acres of land, and spent sixteen years in the cultivation of the same. At the end of this period, he went to White Lake, South Dakota, where he devoted six years of his time to the implement business. He married Mary Allen, and Harry A. Simons, one of the children of this union, was born in Wisconsin in 1866. He remained on the farm until the completion of his twenty-third year, when he learned practical engineering and followed that occupation for six years. The following two years and a half were devoted to the blacksmithing business, after which Mr. Simons located at Castalia, South Dakota, as a hardware merchant. In 1900, he removed to Platte, where he continued in the same line until he eventually built up a large trade and now does a flourishing business with the surrounding country. In addition to his hardware store, Mr. Simons owns other town property and is one of the thriving citizens of Platte. Personally, he is popular, indicating that he is honest in his dealings and a man who can be relied on to help in any movement which promises public benefit and municipal growth. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, though he has never held office and wastes no time seeking for such honors. In religious faith, he has always been an adherent of the doctrines taught by the Christian church.
On March 30, 1890, Mr. Simons was united in marriage with Miss Delia, daughter of Abraham C. and Sarah (Heath) Holden, of Iowa, and they have five children: Blanche, Raymond, Ernest, Ronald, and Mildred.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.