CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

John Simpkins

American politician, Massachusetts (1862-1898)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ1701759 ↗
Source-derived summary

John Simpkins (June 27, 1862 – March 27, 1898) was a U.S. representative from Massachusetts.

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Simpkins attended the public schools of Yarmouth and St. Mark's School, Southboro, Massachusetts.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1885. From 1890 through 1891 he served as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate.

He served as president of the Republican Club of Massachusetts in 1892 and 1893.

He served as member of the Republican State committee 1892–1894.

Simpkins was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses and served from March 4, 1895, until his death in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 1898.

He was interred in Woodside Cemetery, Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

He amassed a large collection of books that was donated to the public school he had attended (at 134 Old Main Street in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts) upon his death in 1898.

Editorial summary

“John Simpkins” enters the record as american politician, Massachusetts (1862-1898). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what John, Simpkins and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1862, 1898, 1885, 1890—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1862-06-27. Its strongest next move is a source search built around John, Simpkins and American.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“John Simpkins” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, John, Simpkins and American provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1701759. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1862, 1898, 1885 and 1890.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “John Simpkins”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow John Simpkins primary sources, John Simpkins archive and John research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “John Simpkins”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “John Simpkins” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.