USA > West Virginia > Genealogical and personal history of the upper Monongahela valley, West Virginia, Volume II > Part 2
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(II) Boaz, fifth child of William and Jean (Frame) Fleming, was born January 3, 1758. He married (first) Elizabeth Hutchinson, (second) Eliza Laidley. Children: Clarissa, married James Hamil- ton; William, married (first) Elizabeth Hutchinson, (second) Sarah Miller; Mary, married Samuel, son of Andrew Fleming Sr .; Elizabeth, married Benjamin Bartlett; David, married Sarah Fox; Sarah, married Joseph, son of Nathan Fleming; Lemuel, married Hulda Tonkrey; Jean, married George Richardson; Joanna, married Nathan, son of Andrew Fleming Sr .; Margaret, married Andrew Cummins; Eliza Drexa, married George Hunsaker.
(II) Benoni, child of William and Jean (Frame) Fleming, was born February 17, 1768. He married Mary Stephenson. Children : Boaz, married Ann Wilcott; John S., see forward; Matthew, see for- ward; Fielding, married (first) Mary Hopkins, (second) Lizzie Lear; Alfred, see forward; Benjamin, see forward; Margaret, married Dr. James Davies; Rhoda, married John W. Kelley; Nancy, married Sam- uel Courtney; George; Edward; Stephenson; last three unmarried.
(II) Thomas, child of William and Ann (Hudson) Fleming, was born in 1777. He married Anna Wood. Children: Amanda, married Benjamin, son of Benoni Fleming; Malinda, married Frederick Ice; Marshall, married Catherine Ebert; John, married Angeline Sell- ers; Amelia, married Isaac, son of William Fleming.
(III) William (2), son of Nathan and Lydia ( Russom) Fleming, was born April 24, 1775. He married Ann, daughter of Matthew Fleming. Children: Lydia, married Ferrell Dunn; Isaac, married
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Amelia Fleming; Amelia, married (first) G. W. Price, (second) W. B. Halbert; Joseph, married Nancy Bigler; Benjamin F., see forward; Mary Ann, married Albert Shore; Solomon S., see forward; Franklin J., see forward.
(III) Thomas, son of Nathan and Lydia (Russom) Fleming, married (first) Ann Martin, (second) Mary Lothan. Children : John M., married Delilia Hammers; Elizabeth, married Octavius Haymond; Allison, see forward; Eliza, twin of Allison, married Matthew, son of Benoni Fleming; James; Stephen, married Mary Harold.
(III) Archibald, son of Nathan and Lydia (Russom) Fleming, married Eliza Gamble. Children: Perry; Joseph; Maria, married Festus C. Pitzer; Harrison, see forward; Nathan.
(III) John S., second child of Benoni and Mary (Stephenson) Fleming, married Ann, daughter of Alexander Fleming Sr. Children : Julius, deceased; James Riley, see forward; Benjamin D., see forward; Joseph M .; Edgar W., deceased, married Jeenie Meyers; Eunice, mar- ried James W. Boggess; Lexina, married John W. Everhart; Joseph Minor, see forward; Edgar W., married Mary Thomas. The father was a Presbyterian, first, and later a Methodist Episcopalian in church faith. Politically he was an old line Whig and stood high in his county for integrity.
(III) Matthew, son of Benoni and Mary (Stephenson) Fleming, married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Fleming Jr. Children : Thomas A., married Clarissa Lott; Ann Elizabeth, married Dr. J. H. Brown- field; Benjamin Alvin, see forward; Henry Thornton, married Jennie Irwin; Mary E., married John B. Crane; George I., married Agnes Wells; Lydia Jane, married Sylvanus Watson.
(III) Alfred, was a son of Benoni and Mary (Stephenson) Fleming, was born on the homestead, October 15, 1804. He was reared on the farm, and received the limited education of that day. He followed the occupation of farming, and the product of his labor was disposed of in the neighboring markets. He was an active factor in the development of the section wherein he resided, and was chosen to serve as a director of the First National Bank of Fairmont. He was a consistent member of the Methodist church, and his political affiliations was with the old line Whigs and later with the Republican party. He married Marjory Vandervort, born March 15, 1813, daughter of Paul Vandervort.
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Children : John Coleman, see forward; Fielding Marshall, who died while serving in the union army during the civil war; Mary Ellen, be- came the wife of George Mayers, a business man of Fairmont; Martin Luther, a prosperous farmer, residing near Fairmont; Martha A. The father of these children died September 29, 1883, and the mother Au- gust 29, 1887.
(III) Benjamin, son of Benoni and Mary (Stephenson) Fleming, was born in Middletown (now Fairmont), West Virginia, September 17, 1806. When fifteen years old he went to Zanesville, Ohio, to learn the hatter's trade and completed it at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Chang- ing his plans, somewhat, he took passage on a flatboat down to New Orleans and thence up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, engaging in hunting and trapping with the famous scout, "Kit" Carson. He re- turned to Marion county, West Virginia, however, in 1828, and De- cember II of that year married Amanda Fleming, born January 28, 1806, after which he settled down and erected the building on the cor- ner of Main and Jefferson streets, where he engaged in the manufacture of hats, continuing the remainder of his days. He also engaged in store boats down the river Ohio to the ocean. During the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad he supplied meats for the laborers, fre- quently killing six hundred hogs at one time. He was a member of the legislature of West Virginia, in 1867-68, and served as the first justice of the peace under the new state organization. He was president of the board of trustees in Fairmont, when known as Middletown. Politically he was first a Whig, then a Republican. He died February 12, 1891. His wife died December 12, 1900. Children: Mary Matilda, born February 14, 1833, died August 14, 1839; Frederick H., married Rachel Manear, was sergeant of Company A, Sixth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry in the union army, died April 27, 1882; Edward S., died December 3, 1873; Thurston Worth, see forward.
(IV) Benjamin F., son of William (2) and Ann (Fleming) Flem- ing, was born in 1810, died October 28, 1876. He was a prosperous farmer and a leading citizen of Marion county, West Virginia. He married Rhoda Brooks, of Puritan ancestry, daughter of Rev. Asa Brooks, a Presbyterian minister, who came to the old Redstone presby- tery, including western Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia as a missionary from the Society of Home Missions in Massachusetts about
Benjamin Fleming
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1818. He became a noted figure in the early religious history of the Monongahela Valley, and was an earnest and eloquent preacher, dying as its pastor about the time of the completion of the old Presbyterian church at Clarksburg, and is buried under its pulpit leaving a good name as the inheritance of his children and their descendants. Chil- dren of Benjamin and Rhoda (Brooks) Fleming : Aretas Brooks, whose sketch proceeds this article; Robert F., of Gilmer, judge of the Jackson circuit; George M., a prominent attorney of Buckhannon, West Vir- ginia; Lucy, who was a prominent teacher in the State Normal School at Fairmont, from 1873 to 1882, married in the latter noted year Frank E. Stewart, and had one child, Nannie, who with her mother died in 1903, in Montana, where they resided.
(IV) Solomon S., son of William (2) and Ann (Fleming) Flem- ing, born October 19, 1812, near Fairmont, West Virginia. He spent his life mostly at Shinnston, where he located in 1840. Politically he was an old line Whig; belonged to the Presbyterian church. He was public-spirited and held many positions of responsibility and trust. He was a delegate to the convention at Clarksburg, April 22, 1861, and the Wheeling constitutional conventions in 1862 and 1863. He was a mem- ber of the state legislature and helped divide the old state in 1863 when the western portion became West Virginia. He served six years in the legislature, being the speaker in 1869. He was also mayor of Shinnston and conducted a general store there from 1841 to 1872. His store was robbed by rebel raiders under General Jones in 1863 in April, and again that year by other lawless characters. He married, July 2, 1835, Eliza- beth, daughter of Henry and Amelia (Tice) Ebert. Children : Ann Re- becca, Isabel Sophia, Mary Ann, Louise Lowry, William Henry, see for- ward; Florence A., John A., see forward; Robert Bruce. The father, Solomon Fleming, had been adjutant in the militia of Virginia, a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Regiment, and his father, Will- iam Fleming, was commissioned captain in the war of 1812, although the war ended before he got to the scene of action. The family have thus shown their patriotism in all the wars of the country, in the various generations. Solomon S. Fleming died March 2, 1901, and his wife De- cember 6, 1899.
(IV) Franklin J., son of William (2) and Ann (Fleming) Flem- ing, was born on Cheat river. He served an apprenticeship to the mill-
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wright's trade, which he followed during his active years. It was he who built the mill on Decker's Creek in Morgantown, known as Rod- gers Mills; the old Palatine Mill (now in first ward, Fairmont) ; the Jackson Mills at Fairmont; the Jackson mill at Burton; another at Cameron, also at Wheeling. Later in life he engaged in the mercantile business, and in all his undertakings he succeeded remarkably well. He was first a Whig, later a Republican; he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Loretta, daughter of Samuel Jackson. Children : Anna Bell, Henry, Isabell, Louisa, Oliver J., see forward; Roger, Charles F., Jennie, and one that died in infancy.
(IV) Allison, son of Thomas Fleming, was born on the west bank of Taggart's Valley Run, three miles above the present city of Fair- mont, West Virginia, July 25, 1814. He remained on the old home farm until ten years of age, then moved with the family to Middletown (now Fairmont) and learned the marble worker's trade; early in life he conducted a large shop which supplied a large territory in West Vir- ginia. He followed his father to Indiana, but after a year or so return- ed to Fairmont to resume the marble work business. He was county treasurer of Marion county in 1867-68. During the civil war he was a staunch supporter of the union cause. He was mayor of his town for a number of years, taking a deep interest in local politics. He was a leader in the Methodist Protestant church, trustee, class leader and superintendent of the Sunday school many years. He married (first), January 19, 1837, Mary Vandervort. Children: 1. Louisana, born May 19, 1838, died in infancy. 2. Celinda, born June 15, 1840, mar- ried E. R. Hall, October 27, 1859. 3. John E., born November 15, 1842; was a soldier in Company A, Sixth West Virginia Infantry, served three years, reënlisted in the Seventh Regiment of Virginia and took part in the great engagement before Richmond, when that city fell. By trade he was a marble cutter, and died several years since. Mrs. Fleming, the mother of the above family, died November 2, 1842. Allison Fleming married (second), April 11, 1844, Martha Louchery, born July 30, 1822, daughter of James and Margaret (Keefore) Louchery. Children : 4. Emily B., born January 25, 1845; married Nathaniel C. Cochran; died November 16, 1903. 5. Thomas Walter, see forward. 6. James L., born February 1, 1849, died in childhood. 7. Margaret Ann, born June 22, 1851 ; married Charles M. Shinn, city
J. R Flowing
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editor of the Washington (D. C.) Star. 8. Mary Martha, born Feb- ruary 17, 1854, died in infancy. 9. Curtis B., born November 17, 1857; married R. Belle Howell. 10. Allison Howard, born August I, 1859; married Carrie E. Barnes, March 15, 1883. II. Lawrence Sands, born June 17, 1862; married a Miss Hough. 12. Frederick Chisler, born April 5, 1865. Allison Fleming, father, died July I, 1871, and his second wife April 17, 1911.
(IV) Harrison, son of Archibald and Eliza (Gamble) Fleming, was born on the old Fleming homestead, now within Marion county, West Virginia, in February, 1826, died December 29, 1891. He was reared on his father's farm, attended the common schools of his time, and voted the Democratic ticket. He was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. For many years he was president of the First National Bank of Fairmont. He married, October, 1871, Rehuma Criss, born February 21, 1843, died April 9, 1907, daughter of Lewis Criss. Children : Helen V., born August 5, 1872, wife of Dr. Albinas Poole, and they have one child, Helen Fleming, born July 11, 1901; Belle, born November 12, 1873, wife of H. C. Fetty; Arch, see for- ward; Lawrence, born December 2, 1876.
(IV) James Riley, son of John S. and Ann (Fleming) Fleming, was born just above Fairmont, on the Monongahela river, in Marion county, West Virginia (then in Virginia), November 6, 1824, died April 1, 1912. He obtained his education at the typical old-time log school house, and in order to avail himself of even this limited educa- tional privilege, he had to walk three miles morning and evening. Early in youth he left school to learn the trade of a hatter with his uncle, Benjamin Fleming, of Fairmont. After following this ten years he became a partner of his uncle. In 1850 he was married and engaged in general merchandising, in company with his brother-in-law, James S. Barnes. They also operated a grist mill and saw mill at that point, the mill having been erected by Thomas Barnes. In a few years they sold a half interest in the saw and grist mill to John S. Barnes and E. Hamil- ton, with whom they also formed a partnership to erect the Barnesville woolen mills which were operated many years by them. It was twice burned, but each time rebuilt, first in 1886 and last in 1892. In this factory were manufactured flannels, skirts and jeans. Mr. Fleming also engaged in general merchandising at Fairmont, continuing for eight
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years. When the above-named mills were first erected the county was new and the first postoffice was located at Barnesville. Politically Mr. Fleming is a supporter of the Republican party, and is a member of the Methodist Protestant church. He is a member of the Odd Fellows order and is the oldest member of the fraternity in the county. He married, March, 1850, Caroline M., daughter of Thomas and Eliza- beth Barnes. Children : James H., died aged nine years; Clara R., died aged five years; Margaret Virginia, married (first) George Watson, (second) Clarence L. Smith, whose children are : Earl H., Clarence Ed- mond, Elizabeth, deceased, Caroline, deceased.
(IV) Benjamin D., son of John S. and Ann (Fleming) Fleming, was born two miles above Fairmont, West Virginia, on the old Benoni Fleming homestead, September 28, 1827. He was reared a farmer's son and attended the schools common in that early day in West Virginia. In business life he first turned his attention to lumbering, continuing actively in that for thirty years. Leaving the river and forest life, he engaged in the fruit culture with farming. Later he became a scientific dairyman in Marion county, and in April, 1893, organized the Marion County Creamery Company. He was accounted an excellent business man and was made a director in the First National Bank of Fairmont, which position he held for thirty-six years. He has been first vice-presi- dent of the same banking house for many years. Served as school com- missioner and road surveyor; president of the board of trustees in the Methodist Protestant church for twenty years, and is a member of Lodge No. 9, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Fairmont. He married, November 7, 1865, Jennie R., daughter of John Mayers. They have one son, Horace Glen, born October 5, 1866, a graduate of Michigan University; he married Hattie Trumble.
(IV) Joseph Minor, son of John S. and Ann (Fleming) Fleming, was born on the farm where he now resides, near the limits of Fairmont, Marion county, West Virginia, June 25, 1832. He attended the old log subscription school house, obtaining a practical education which thoroughly equipped him for the active pursuits of life. Possessing little inclination for the occupation of farming, he turned his attention to the details of a saw mill, and continued along that line until 1856, during which time he made a good living. Being of an adventurous turn of mind, he determined to join the large army who went to Cali-
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fornia in quest of fortune by means of seeking for gold, and choosing the Panama route, after twenty-six days of wearisome travel, he arrived in California, in which state he remained seven years, serving as a miner, during which time he witnessed the wonderful development of gold mining. In 1863, upon his return to his native county, he erected an extensive saw and planing mill at Fairmont, which was in successful operation for more than two decades. In the meantime he became identified with the Barnesville Manufacturing Company, a leading industry of that section, in which he is still serving as a member and director. He is the owner of a fine farm, a portion of which lies within the present limits of the city of Fairmont, and this is in a high state of cultivation, producing a large line of general produce. He is an active and consistent member of the Methodist church, contributing of his time and money towards the furtherance of its usefulness, and his polit- ical party choice is the Republican organization. He has never sought or held public office, with the exception of serving as member of the board of education of Fairmont. He has been an active factor in the development of the community, his personal exertions contributing towards its material and commercial prosperity and no man is more worthy of the respect of his fellowmen than Mr. Fleming.
Mr. Fleming married, January 18, 1866, Pleasant, daughter of Josephus Eakin. Children : 1. Lovie H., born March 28, 1869, died March, 1891; she was the wife of Frank Shore. 2. Harold S., born April 17, 1871; married, August 27, 1891, Annie Brown; children : Harold Edwin, died aged seven years; Douglas Riley, born December 27, 1894; Helen Loretta, born May 31, 1897; Lillian Martha, born May 11, 1900, died September 17, 1905; Paul Wade, born March 7, 1902; William Franklin, born December 17, 1906. 3. John W., see forward. 4. Forest H., born November 21, 1875; married Ora Fort- ney; child, Mary. 5. Achsah Maud, born April 26, 1877; married Archibald Fleming; one son, Joseph Archibald. 6. Chauncey Brooks, born February 17, 1880; a farmer; married Iona Burton, 1901 ; chil- dren : Edwin Forest, born 1902; Madeline, 1904; Lillian Pleasant, 1911. 7. Eva L., born June 3, 1881 ; married Emery Jackson Snyder. 8. Joseph Coleman, born August 9, 1884.
(IV) Benjamin Alvin, son of Matthew and Eliza (Fleming) 2-2M
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Fleming, was born in Monongahela county, Virginia, now Marion county, West Virginia, June 20, 1836. He was reared in Fairmont and educated in the common schools. In early life he engaged in the mercantile business which he successfully followed for a period of fifty- six years, and being scrupulously honorable in all his dealings with man- kind, he bore a reputation for public and private integrity second to no man in this section of the state. At the opening of the civil war, while riding through the country, he was shot by a sharpshooter, the ball pass- ing through his hip into the saddle, and he was compelled to ride to Fairmont, a distance of nine miles, before he received medical assist- ance. This incapacitated him for further active service. Mr. Fleming attended the Presbyterian church, cast his vote with the Republican party, and was a member of the National Union and the Knights of Honor. He married, November 19, 1863, Mary Frances, born July 22, 1843, daughter of Francis C. and Bridget (Carney) Christie. One son by this union, William Moore, see forward. Mr. Fleming died June 10, 1903, and his wife died July 4, 1911.
(IV) John Coleman, son of Alfred and Marjory (Vandervort) Fleming, was born on the old homestead in Monongahela county, Vir- ginia, now Marion county, West Virginia, the home of his grandfather, Benoni Fleming, September 23, 1832. He was reared on the old home- stead, which is located in the center of the residential section of Fair- mont, and he has in his possession at the present time ( 1911) six acres of the original tract. He attended the old subscription schools, and the knowledge thus obtained was increased considerably in later years by observation and reading. Being inured to the labor of the farm, he turned his attention to that line of work upon arriving at suitable age to engage upon an active career, and by perseverance and untiring activ- ity became the owner of one hundred acres, which he cultivated to a high degree of perfection, and which he later disposed of, with the exception of the aforementioned six acres, to the Fairmont Develop- ment Company, and streets and dwellings, both for business and resi- dential purposes, soon replaced the fields and meadows. Mr. Fleming purchased another farm, located near Farmington, which he improved and cultivated, and which is now a fair source of income, being operated on business principles and along progressive lines. As a citizen he is
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universally esteemed, always sustaining the character of a true man, being generous in his feelings and conduct towards all. He holds mem- bership in the Methodist church, to which he contributes of his time and money, and is a staunch adherent of the Republican party.
Mr. Fleming married, April 24, 1879, Fannie Conway, born May 8, 1859, daughter of George and Christina (Fortner) Conway, who resides near Fairmont. Children: Fred A .; Joseph M., deceased; Nellie, deceased, was the wife of Dr. Lee Boyer; William Coleman; Frank Odell.
(IV) Thurston Worth, son of Benjamin and Amanda Fleming, was born October 8, 1846, at Fairmont, now West Virginia, on the block where he still resides. He was educated at the old-fashioned sub- scription schools and finished at the Monongahela Academy, now the University of West Virginia; later attended select school in New York. He remained with his father one year after finishing his studies, then in 1868 went to California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, sailing from New York City. He was twenty-seven days in reaching San Fran- cisco. There he worked in a hat store and at various things for a short time, but soon found his way to a ranch. Later he went to mining, fol- lowing this and other occupations until the fall of 1875, when he re- turned to the city of his nativity. He is vice-president of the Monta Rico Copper Company and of El Progreso Banana Company of Hon- duras. He is now engaged in looking after his real estate interests. He is a Presbyterian in religion and a Republican in politics. He mar- ried, November 4, 1875, Florence C., daughter of Melton and Cynthia (Long) Bliss. Melton Bliss was born in Salem, Massachusetts, son of Obediah Bliss. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Fleming : Florence Thurs- ton and Laurie McDonald.
(V) William Henry, son of Solomon S. and Elizabeth (Ebert) Fleming, was born October 23, 1842, at Shinnston, West Virginia (then Virginia). He commenced merchandising when quite young, but after his marriage his health failed and he went to a farm a mile to the south of Shinnston, Marion county, and remained there until 1907 when he retired to the town of Shinnston, where he still resides. Politically Mr. Fleming is a Republican, and in church connection is of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and is now trustee of this church at Shinnston.
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During the civil war he was a member of the Third West Virginia Regimental Band, serving seven months. He married Mary Columbia, born February 9, 1851, in the Simpson Creek district, Harrison county, now West Virginia, daughter of Isaac and Margaret (Jarvis) Morris. Children : 1. Mabel, born September 19, 1870; married Claude S. Ran- dall, a farmer; they have two children: George Fleming and Estelle. 2. Estelle, born July 25, 1872 ; married Lawrence E. Hawkins, cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Shinnston; they have one child, Lawrence F., born February 19, 1909. 3. Donald H., see forward.
(V) John A., son of Solomon S. and Elizabeth (Ebert) Fleming, was born in Harrison county, Virginia, June 22, 1850, at the town of Shinnston, where he still resides. He obtained his education at the com- mon schools of his native place and later attended the State Normal School at Fairmont, graduating with the class of 1873. He then en- gaged in farming and stock raising which he has since followed success- fully. He was elected sheriff of his county in 1900, served four years with credit to himself and the citizens of Harrison county. Politically he is a staunch Republican. He is a member of the Odd Fellows fra- ternity at Shinnston. He was connected with the organizing of the First National Bank of Shinnston and was its first president. He is an excellent business man and has sustained well the high reputation of the Fleming families, of whom there are so many in this section of West Virginia. He married, June 21, 1877, in Harrison county, West Vir- ginia, Sallie Gallahu, of the same county, born June 19, 1858, daughter of William H. Gallahu, a farmer, who died in 1888. His wife was Maria Righter, still living in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Children: Alice, born July 3, 1878; Frederick H., December 12, 1879; Henry L., February 7, 1882; Boyd S .. , February 25, 1885.
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