born in what later became haskell, oklahoma, simmons was the ninth of ten children. his great-grandfather had been a slave of the creek indian tribe, and later became a chief as well as a leader for many of the freed creek slaves. simmons father owned a ranch in the haskell area. as a child, simmons repaired fences and worked cattle. at the age of 10, he told his father, "i want to be an oil man."