Sullivan County PA Archives Biographies.....FLEMING, John R. 1862 - living in 1899 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com June 29, 2005, 2:57 am Author: Biographical Publishing Co. JOHN R. FLEMING, who is prominently known as the proprietor of the old Rogers Woolen Mills near Forksville, Sullivan County, Pa., is also engaged in farming, owning a fine farm adjoining the mill. He is a man of great industry and his success has been due to his own efforts. He was born in Elkland township, Sullivan County, November 10, 1862, and he is a son of Daniel and Catherine M. (Osier) Fleming. Daniel Fleming, the father of our subject, was a prosperous farmer of Elkland township at the beginning of the Civil War and in 1864, when the duration of the war was uncertain and the successes of the South had cast deep gloom over the loyal states, he, like many another brave man, willed that his country should live, and he immediately offered his services. He enlisted in Company D, Heavy Artillery, leaving a happy home, a family and many friends. At the battle of the Wilderness, on June 17th, he was wounded and three days later passed into the unknown world. He was united in marriage with Catherine M. Osler, by whom he had one son, John R., our subject. She is a daughter of John H. and Jane (Myers) Osier, and her grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812, in which he was killed. After the latter's death his wife married a Mr. Bryan and settled in Sullivan County, Pa., where John H. Osler was reared. After reaching manhood he moved to Elkland township and engaged in farming; later he moved to what is now Forksville and engaged in woolen manufacturing, purchasing the mills our subject now owns. These he conducted for a period of thirty-five years. He died at the age of eighty-four years and his wife at seventy-nine. The children born to them were: Jeremiah M., of Elkland township; Sarah Jane, deceased; Catherine M., our subject's mother; John S. of Elkland township; Clay M. of Forks township; Lydia, who married Perry Benfield of Forksville; David W. of Lycoming County; and Edwin R. of Halestown, Md. The widow of Daniel Fleming formed a second alliance with Daniel T. Huckell, deceased, a record of whose life appears elsewhere in this Book of Biographies. John R. Fleming was reared on a farm and obtained a good common school education, after which he took up the occupation of a farmer and followed it until 1884. He then, in association with D. W. Osler, Esq., bought the old Rogers Woolen Mills in Forksville of J. H. Osier and purchased a tract of fifty acres adjoining. In 1887 the firm dissolved partnership, our subject retaining the farm and Mr. Osier the mill. Since then Mr. Fleming has leased the mill and is engaged in the manufacture of woolen yarns and doing general custom work. He has a full set of cards and the capacity of his factory is seventy-five pounds per day. The Rogers mills were established early in the Nineteenth Century, and are widely known throughout the county, as they were for a time the only woolen mills in that section. Mr. Fleming still owns the farm, with the exception of one lot, which he disposed of to his wife's mother, Mrs. F. B. Glidwell, on which she has erected a handsome residence. He is a man of thorough business habits, enterprising and industrious, and has led an exemplary life. Mr. Fleming was united in marriage on June 6, 1888, with Delia Glidwell, a daughter of Franklin B. and Malinda (Boyle) Glidwell, and a granddaughter of William and Mary (Little) Glidwell. James Glidwell was the earliest ancestor in this country and came from England, locating in Sullivan County, Pa., where he was among the early settlers. He married a Miss King and six children blessed their home: John; Thomas; Betsey; Sally; David; and William. William Glidwell was born in Northumberland County, Pa., where his parents stooped a short time prior to locating in Sullivan County. He grew to manhood and purchased a farm in Elkland township where he followed farming and ran a threshing machine for some years. Then, selling out, he bought the stone gristmill with Dr. Randall as a partner and was engaged in operating the mill during the remainder of his days. He married Mary Little, and their children were: Daniel; Sarah Ann: Sarah Ann; Esther: Daniel: Elizabeth; George; William K.: Franklin B.: and Salinda B. The first three named died in their infancy. Franklin B. Glidwell took up agricultural pursuits at an early age, purchasing a farm in Elkland township, but later operated a mill at Forksville for twenty years, owning it for seventeen years of that time. Having sold that, he engaged in market gardening in partnership with our subject, taking produce to Forksville and Eagles Mere, principally to the latter place. He was united in marriage to Malinda Boyle, a daughter of John Boyle of Elkland township, and they have two children: Delia; and Ivy, who died at the age of twenty-four years. Our subject and his wife have one daughter, Grace, who was born August n, 1889. Politically he is a firm Republican. He is a school director, and for the past nine years has been a member of the town council. Additional Comments: Extracted from "Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of the Seventeenth Congressional District, Pennsylvania" Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb