Abner A. Simonton was born in Alabama in 1849 to Albert and Mary (Reed) Simonton, the youngest of two children. His paternal grandparents, Abner and Nancy (Bailey) Simonton, came to America before the Revolutionary War. They first lived in Virginia, moved to North Carolina, and finally settled in Greene County, Georgia. His maternal grandparents were James and Rebecca (Duke) Reed, and they were also early settlers of Georgia. Abner’s parents lived in Alabama the year he was born, and it is unclear when they moved to Georgia.

In 1878, Simonton married Margaret Johnston of Catoosa County, Georgia. Born in 1850, she was the daughter of William H. and Susan (Adams) Johnston, who had come to Georgia from North Carolina in 1846. Her father was a Presbyterian minister, and according to letters in the collection, he died in 1859 while the family lived in Yorkville, South Carolina. Soon after, his widow and children returned to Catoosa County, Georgia.

Abner and Margaret Simonton had five children together: Cora M. Simonton, Susan R. Simonton, Albert A. Simonton, Margaret E. Simonton, and William J. Simonton. Simonton was a successful miller and cotton gin operator in Carrollton. He died on July 18, 1919.