chapter X – WILLIAM FLEMING, SON OF NATHAN FLEMING, part 3

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Zora Fleming (5-2-7-2), born January 20, 1898, married Evan B. Murdock and lives at Springville, Utah. Children: (1) Richard; (2) Vivian, deceased; (3) Dorothy; (4) Donald Dean; and (5) Betty.

Marjorie Grace Fleming (5—2—7—3), born September 1, 1901, married Joseph Mikkelson and lives at 2122 Monroe St.. Ogden, Utah. Children: (1) Virginia Jeanne; and (2) Gory.

Dennis Ward Fleming (5-2-7-4), born April 5, 1903, married Thelma Grange and lives at Ogden, Utah. Children: (1) Marion Louise; (2) Dona; and (3) John.

Gerald Claude Fleming (5-2-7-5), born duly 25, 1906, was single in 1931 and was living at 614 Canyon Road, Ogden, Utah.

Virginia Fleming (5-2-7-6), born November 25, 1908, married David Stayner and lives at Farmington, Utah.

6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FLEMING was born on the 5th of April, 1810. He married Rhoda Brooks, daughter of Rev. Asa Brooks, November 23, 1837, and lived on the West Fork River between Fairmont and Clarksburg. He died on the 28th of October, 1876; his wife, on the 10th of February, 1905. Children: (1) Aretas Brooks; (2) Robert Flavius; (3) George Mervin; and (4) Lucy Myra.

Aretas Brooks Fleming (6-1) was born on his father’s farm, which was then in Harrison County, on the 15th of October, 1839. Brought up as a farm boy, he attended the private and select schools of the neighborhood and later entered the University of Virginia to study law under the famous Dr. John B. Minor, completing the course there in 1859. Afterwards he taught school for a term or two and then opened a law office at Glenville, where he also conducted a private school for a short time. His law business increased to such an extent that he called upon his brother, Robert, to take charge of the school, while he devoted all of his time to the law. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he returned to Fairmont and was elected prosecuting attorney of Marion

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County in 1863. At the close of his first term of office in 1865 he was again elected to the same position for another two years. In 1872 and again in 1875 he was elected to the state legislature.

In February, 1878, he was appointed a circuit judge in the second judicial circuit. He was the Democratic candidate for the unexpired term of two years at the election in the fall of 1878 and carried every county in the circuit in the face of a large normal Republican majority. He was again elected to the same office in 1886. While he was still serving at judge in a circuit composed of Harrison, Marion, and Monongalia Counties, he was nominated for Governor in August, 1888. He soon resigned his judicial position and entered upon a vigorous campaign for the governorship against General Nathan Goff, the Republican nominee. The result was a contested election which was carried to the courts in various forms and finally ended in the state legislature, where Judge Fleming was alected on the 4th of February, 1890. He was inaugurated two days later. This memorable political contest caused much bitter feeling between many members of the two political parties, but Judge Fleming and General Goff remained warm personal friends as long as they lived.

After having served his state for four years as its governor he returned to Fairmont and resumed the practice of the law. For the remainder of his life he was connected with many of the chief business enterprises of his community and was instrumental in developing the natural resources of northern West Virginia. He was one of the founders of the Fairmont State Normal School and was always one of its most loyal supporters. His father and mother were both Presbyterians and he adhered to the same faith, being for years one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, which he very liberally supported.

On the 7th of September, 1865, he married Carrie M. Watson, the

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eldest daughter of James Otis and Matilda Watson. He died on the 13th of October, 1923; his widow, on the 19th of July, 1931. Their children were: (1) Robert, died in childhood; (2) Ida W.; (3) Margaret Caroline; (4 and 5) George W. and Virginia W.; and (6) Aretas Brooks, Jr.

Ida W. Fleming (6-1-2) married Walton Miller, son of Samuel B. Miller, April 23, 1896, and lived at Fairmont. She died on the 21st of April, 1906; her husband, on the 31st of December, 1924. Her only child was Helen Quarrier.

Helen Quarrier Miller (6-1-2-1), born February 17, 1897, married Dr. Amos F. Hutchins, son of Thomas Hutchins, October 11, 1919. He was born on the 28th of September, 1884, holds degrees from John Hopkins Medical School; is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Urological Association, a trustee of St. John’s College; and is an Associate of John Hopkins Hospital. During the first World War he was a captain in the United States Army. They live at 1227 North Calvert St. in Baltimore. Children: (1) Walton;
(2) Frances; and (3) Amos, Jr.

Margaret Caroline Fleming (6-1-3), born October 2, 1868, married Charles E. Ward, of Yorkshire, England, son of Charles Ward, January 18, 1894, and lives in Charleston, West Virginia. Her husband died on the 9th of August, 1941. Children: (1) Margaret Fleming; and (2) Caroline Brooks.

Margaret Fleming Ward (6-1-3-1), born January 12, 1895, married Robert E. McCabe, son of Judge J. B. McCabe, January 8, 1916, and lives in Charleston, where her husband is a practicing attorney. Children: (1) Caroline Norris; (2) Brooks Fleming; and (3) Robert E., Jr.

Caroline Norris McCabe (6-1—3-1-1), born November 10, 1916, married Marcus A. Harris, son of Henry M. Harris, August 17, 1940, and lives at Scarsdale, New York.

Caroline Brooks Ward (6-1-3-2), born January 4, 1897, married T. Brooke Price, son of George E. Price, January 24, 1920, and lives in Morristown, New Jersey. Children: (1) Edwin Ward; (2) Anne Dorsey; and (3) Caroline.

George W. Fleming (6-1-4), born November 15, 1874, married Doris Underhill, December 11, 1905, and lived in New York City, where he was one of the vice-presidents of the Consolidation Coal Company. He died on the 24th of December, 1935. No children.

Virginia W. Fleming (6-1-5), born November 15, 1874, married Rev. Charles Baird Mitchell, September 6, 1917, and lives in Baltimore. No children.

Aretas Brooks Fleming, Jr., (6-1-6), born July 10, 1882, married Amy Dodson in 1906. She died in 1907; and he afterwards, June 7, 1910, married Maria Antoinette Boggess, daughter of E. Stringer Boggess. They live in Fairmont. Children: (1) Caroline; (2) Virginia; (3) Ida Watson; and (4) Sarah, died at 13.

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Caroline Fleming (6-1-4-1), born November 14, 1911, married Richard C. Moore, son of Judge K. C. Moore, June 30, 1934, and lives in Parkersburg. No children.

Virginia Fleming (6-1-4-2), born December 5, 1915, married F. Hurst Weaver, son of Frank H. Weaver, May 11, 1940, and lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Robert Flavius Fleming (6-2), born February 14, 1842, married Emily T. Moore, daughter of Charles P. Moore, May 8, 1873. He was an attorney and practiced in several of the northern counties of West Virginia. His death occurred on the 2nd of January, 1909. His wife died on the 5th of April, 1927. Children: (1) May; (2) Charles Moore; and (3) Roberta.

May Fleming (6-2-1), born May 14, 1874, was single and was living at Saint Lucie, Florida, in 1931.

Charles Moore Fleming (6-2-2), born December 21, 1876, died single on the 7th of December, 1899.

Roberta Fleming (6-2-3), born December 8, 1891, married George Pullen Peed, son of Samuel S. Peed, March 28, 1917, and lives at 3240 Washington Boulevard, Indianapolis, Indiana. Her husband is a colonel in the medical corps of the United States Army. Children: (1 and 2) twin daughters, died in infancy; (3) George Pullen, Jr.: and (4) Emily Way.

George Mervin Fleming (6-3), born January 1, 1848, married Fannie Edmiston, of Weston, West Virginia, and was a practicing attorney at Buckhannon, West Virginia. He and his wife are both deceased. No children.

Lucy Myra Fleming (6-4), born October 17, 1853, was a prominent teacher in the Fairmont State Normal School from 1873 to 1882. On the 22nd of November, 1882, she married Frank E. Stewart and went to Montana, where she died about 1903. Her only child, Nannie. died young in Montana.

7 SOLOMON STEVENSON FLEMING was born on the 19th of October, 1812. About 1840 he located at Shinnston in Harrison County, where he lived the remainder of his life. Prior to the Civil War he was a zealous advocate of the Union cause and was a delegate to the convention at Clarksburg on the 22nd of April, 1861, which adopted strong resolutions in favor of the North. He was also a delegate to the famous Wheeling conventions in 1862 and 1863. For six years he was a member of the state legislature and was speaker of the House in 1869. His name is among the list of patriotic citizens of Harrison County on a bronze tablet in the court house at Clarksburg. His store was raided by the famous Jones party of Confederates in April, 1863, which resulted in considerable litigation and probably much bitter feeling after the war. Several cases were taken to the Supreme Court to test the right of parties to recover damages for property taken from them by bands of Confederates. One of these cases is styled Asbury

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P. Sturm vs. Solomon S. Fleming and others and is reported at length in 22 W. Va. Reports at page 404. From the papers filed in this case it appears that Fleming, in November, 1864, sued Sturm and one Charles E. Mclntire for “the taking and carrying away of certain goods, wares, and merchandise” and had an attachment levied on their land on the theory that they were non-residents of the state. It seems that no defense was then made and Fleming recovered a judgment against Sturm and Mclntire in December, 1864, for $877.72, with interest from April 30, 1863, which may be taken as the day of the raid. There were several other suits and attachments of the same kind against Sturm and others. Selden M. Ogden sued him and Mclntire “for an alleged taking away of three head of horses.” Charles E. Billingsley had a suit of the same kind against Sturm and Peter B. Richter, but it is not stated what was taken from Billingsley. John M. Fortney, as administrator of Joshua Robinson, claimed that Sturm and Mclntire were responsible for the “alleged taking and carrying away of five head of horses.” Sturm, Mclntire, and Richter were all sued by Emory Strickler and charged with the taking of “one horse, twc hundred bushels of corn, and various articles of provisions, and for destruction to the grain field, buggy and gearing” of Strickler. William Monroe had a case against Sturm and Mclntire for “the alleged taking away of two head of horses.” Sturm, Mclntire, and Richter were also charged by George W. Martin, Jr., with the “taking and carrying away of two horses, one saddle, and one bridle.”

Judgments were rendered against these men in all the cases and their lands were afterwards sold to pay the judgments. But, on the 29th of April, 1873, Asbury P. Sturm filed his petition in the Circuit Court of Harrison County to have all these proceedings set aside chiefly on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction to render these judge-

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ments in 1864. In reply to the claim he was not a resident of West Vir­ginia when these suits were started he says in his petition:

“That he was temporarily absent from his home within the so-called Confederate lines of the armies of the so-called Con­federate states of America and in the regular military service thereof; that he was not there and in said service by his own voluntary act, but, on the contrary, was arrested at his home in said county of Harrison by armed men and conveyed to a mili­tary prison, and by the military forces of the United States sent against his will and without his consent within the lines of the armies of the so-called Confederate States of America, where he remained until the close of the war.”

He further stated that “the taking and carrying away of said property, alleged to have been done and committed by petitioner, for which said several judgments were rendered, were acts done according to the usage of civilized warfare.” The lower court held that Sturm had not shown that he was entitled to relief. He, of course, appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which decided that if he was in the military service his property could not be attached. The case was sent back to the lower court and was later appealed again. This time, on the 27th of June, 1885, the appellate court decided that Sturm was entitled to get his land back, notwithstanding the fact that it had been sold to John Chalfant in 1865.

Why did Sturm wait until 1873 before taking any action in regard tc this matter? To fully understand the reason for the delay it would be necessary to go into some of the political history of the state and to show under what handicaps Confederate soldiers were placed by some of the laws of the new state. It appears that he did make an attempt to have these proceedings set aside in 1867 only to be confronted with the “suitor’s test oath” which prohibited a Confederate soldier from bringing any suit in this state. After this policy of the state was aban­doned in 1873 he proceeded.

Solomon Stevenson Fleming married Elizabeth Ebert, daughter of Henry Ebert. He died on the 2nd of March, 1901; his wife, on the 6th of December, 1899. Children: (1) Ann Rebecca; (2) Isabel Sophia; (3) Louise Lowrie, died at 6; (4) Mary Ann; (5) William Henry; (6) Florence Augusta; (7) John Albert; and <8> Robert Bruce, died in infancy.

Ann Rebecca Fleming (7-1), born December 16, 1835, married David Shinn, son of Seth Shinn, April 9, 1857, and lived at Shinnston. She. died on the 30th of June, 1906; her husband, on the 9th of November, 1905. Children: (1) Edward Smith, died in infancy; (2) Henry Fleming, born February 16, 1859, died single on the 7th of December, 1912; (3) Hugh Mercer, born January 25, 1861, died single on the 5th of February, 1917; (4) Frederick, died in infancy; (5) David Edgar, died in infancy; (6) Isabel Sophia; (7) Sabria Virginia; <8> Robert Carter, born October 26, 1869, died single on the 14th of September, 1922; (9) Richard Laurence, died in childhood; (10) Elizabeth Ebert, born

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March 29, 1875, died single on the 30th of March, 1928; and (11) Catharine.

Isabel Sophia Shinn (7-1-6), born October 1, 1865, married B. A. Robinson, son of Joshua Robinson, February 3, 1886, and lives at Shinnston. Her husband died on the 13th of November, 1898. Children: (1) Alice Clare; (2) Flora; and (3) Virginia.
Alice Clare Robinson (7-1-6-1), born November 29, 1886, is single and lives at Shinnston.

Flora Robinson (7-1-6-2), born February 1, 1892, married Russell Stanley Sage, August 12, 1922, and lives at Berea, California. Children: (1) Stanley Robinson; (2) Virginia Clare. deceased; and (3) Alice Catharine.

Virginia Robinson (7-1-6-3), born August 21, 1893, married George F. Shumaker, son of Edgar Shumaker, July 2, 1918, and lives at Shinnston. Children: (1) Mary Isabelle; (2) George Francis; (3) David Edgar; and (4) James Robert.

Sabria Virginia Shinn (7-1-7), born February 21, 1867, married Orville L. Lowe, son of John Lowe, November 13, 1889, and lives at Shinnston. Her husband died on the 14th of October, 1921. Children: (1) Esther Anne; (2) Robert William; and (3) David Shinn.

Esther Anne Lowe (7-1-7-1), born April 18, 1891, married Cecil Hoff an, October 30, 1922, lives at Shinnston, and has no children.

Robert William Lowe (7-1-7-2), born August 10, 1897, married Margaret Creed Parks, daughter of A. J. Parks, August 12. 1922, lives at Springfield, Illinois, and has one child, Robert Frederick.

David Shinn Lowe (7-1-7-3), born March 24, 1900, married Helen Stone Crooks, daughter of George N. Crooks, September 15, 1925, lives at McConnellsville, Ohio, and has one child, Shirley Ann, now deceased.

Catharine Shinn (7-1-11), born February 25, 1878, married Conrad Haas, son of Jacob Haas, November 14, 1923, lives at Shinnston, and has no children.

Isabel Sophia Fleming (7-2), born May 15, 1837, married William Knox, son of Purnell Knox, September 7, 1862, lived at Shinnston till her death on the 18th of January, 1864, and had no children.

Mary Ann Fleming (7-4), born October 2, 1840, married David E. Foreman, son of John Nelson Foreman, December 23, 1862. He died on the 23rd of August, 1869; and she afterwards, October 1, 1872, married Samuel B. Davis, son of Dr. Peter Davis. They lived at Shinnston. She died on the 16th of April, 1921; her husband, on the 25th of January, 1873. Children: (1) Dora Isobel Foreman; (2) Frederick N. Foreman, died in childhood; and (3) Samuel Benton Davis.

Dora Isobel Foreman (7-4-1), born November 7, 1863, married Dr. Thomas Milton Hood,* son of Smith Hood, December 27, 1882, and lives

*Dr. Hood’s mother was Maria Smyth, a daughter of Hynson Smyth. (For the Smith and Carhart families, see the chapter on Leven Fleming.)

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in Clarksburg. Children: (1) Mary Maria, died in childhood; (2) Edgar Foreman; (3) Robert Carhart; and (4) Agnes Fleming.

Edgar Foreman Hood (7-4-1-2), born July 27, 1885, married Florence Virginia Patton, daughter of Thomas Patton, July 14, 1909, and lives at Clarksburg. Children: (1) Thomas Milton, Jr.; and (2) James Patton.

Robert Carhart Hood (7-4-1-3), born July 28, 1889, married Virginia  bvbDavis, daughter of J. Homer Davis, December 2, 1923, lives in Washington,
D. C., and has one child, Virginia. He also has an adopted son, David Lincoln.

Agnes Fleming Hood (7-4-1-4), born January 18, 1892, married Herman A. Gronemeyer, son of Herman H. Gronemeyer, October 25, 1916, and lives in Clarksburg. Children: (1) Elizabeth Ann; (2) Jean Fleming; (3) Herman, deceased; and (4) John Hood.

Samuel Benton Davis (7-4-3), born August 7, 1873, married Virginia Pearl Anderson, daughter of John Anderson, February 6, 1907, and lives at Shinnston. Children: (1) Samuel Benton III; and (2) Robert Fleming.

William Henry Fleming (7-5), born October 23, 1842, married Mary Columbia Morris, daughter of Isaac Morris, October 26, 1869. He was a merchant at Shinnston for a few years and then moved to a farm about a mile south of Shinnston, where he lived till his retirement from active life in 1907, when he went to live in Shinnston. During the Civil War he served seven months in the 3rd W. Va. Regimental Band. He died on the 24th of March, 1920. Children: (1) Mabel; (2) Estelle; and (3) Donald Henry.

Mabel Fleming (7-5-1), born September 19, 1870, married Claude S. Randall, son of George Franklin Randall, March 31, 1897, and lives at Shinnston. Children: (1) George Fleming; and (2) Estelle Ebert.

George Fleming Randall (7-5-1-1), born October 20, 1898, married Olive Rymer, daughter of Osiah Rymer, June 24, 1930, and lives in Morgantown. No children.

Estelle Ebert Randall (7-5-1-2), born March 15, 1901, is single and lives at Shinnston.

Estelle Fleming (7-5-2), born July 25, 1872, married Lawrence E. Hawkins, son of Abraham Hawkins, June 6, 1906, and lives at Shinnston.

Her only child is Lawrence Fleming. Donald Henry Fleming (7-5-3), born December 22, 1881, was a dentist at Shinnston and died single on the 26th of July, 1930.

Florence Augusta Fleming (7-6), born October 14. 1847, married William B. Wilkinson, son of William Wilkinson, September 8, 1871, and lived at Shinnston. She died on the 19th of July, 1891; her husband, on the 7th of February, 1922. Children: (1) Frederick Fleming; (2 and 3) Archibald Solomon and Allie Elizabeth—Aiie Elizabeth died at 7; (4) Anna Mary: and (5) George Sidney.