Harry Simms born Harry Simms Hersh, was a Jewish American labor leader from Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

. He was sent by the National Miners Union to Harlan County, Kentucky

Harlan County, Kentucky

Harlan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. As of 2000, the population was 33,200. Its county seat is Harlan...

 during the Harlan County War

Harlan County War

The Harlan County War was a violent labor dispute between the United Mine Workers union and strikebreakers in Harlan County, Kentucky in 1932.-External links :* by Katie Rorrer...

 to organize the mine workers there.

On February 10, 1932, Simms was shot near Brush Creek in Knox County

Knox County, Kentucky

Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 31,795. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox...

 by a sheriff's deputy who also worked as a mine guard for the local coal company. Simms died of his wound at Barbourville Hospital the next day. He was memorialized in a ballad, "The Death of Harry Simms" by Aunt Molly Jackson

Aunt Molly Jackson

Aunt Molly Jackson was an influential American folk singer and a union activist. Her full name was Mary Magdalene Garland Stewart Jackson Stamos.-Biography:...

 and Jim Garland

Jim Garland

Jim Garland was a songwriter from the coal mining country of eastern Kentucky, where he was involved with the National Miners Union during the violent conflicts of the early 1930s. He came to New York City in 1931 with his older half-sister Aunt Molly Jackson where he participated in the...

.