Taylor County, West Virginia Biography of Webster P. FLEMING ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , May 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 149 WEBSTER P. FLEMING. Few families have testified by their good works and influence more markedly in Taylor County than the Flemings. Their original home was in Wales. Born in Wales, James Fleming came to the Ameri- can colonies a few years before the Revolution. Shortly after the close of that struggle he moved from Hampshire County to Taylor County, and took up hundreds of acres in the vicinity of what is now Flemington, and in the im- provement of this estate passed the remainder of his life. His first home occupied the site of the old West Virginia College, now the property of the Flemington School Dis- trict. His body lies in the Fleming graveyard on the land of Doctor Curry at Flemington. Toward the close of his life he married for his second wife Polly Whitehair, then only eighteen, and she survived until 1904, her home being near the old college building at Flemington. The first four permanent settlers in the Flemington locality were James Fleming, Polly Whitehair's father, Mr. Prunty and Mr. Bailey. James Fleming, the pioneer, was not a man of education, and in managing his extensive property in Taylor County he depended chiefly on his son James, who had accom- panied him hither. This James became one of the very prominent men, possessing education and strong native talents. He served as squire, was the owner of many slaves, and besides farming owned a mill on Simpson Creek and had a blacksmith shop. His home was west of and in sight of the Village of Flemington. By his marriage to Eliza- beth Welch there were eight daughters and three sons: Patrick, Minor S. and Johnson C. Johnson's daughter be- came Mrs. Curt Davidson and was the mother of the late Doctor Davidson of Parkersburg, one of the prominent medical men of the state, who inherited the home prop- erty of his grandfather but died without heirs. Patrick Fleming, who continues the line of this branch of the family, was a farmer and miller. He was born in 1800 and died December 14, 1872. He married Margaret McDonald, daughter of James McDonald. She died in 1859, the mother of eight children: Lurana, who married Lemuel E. Davidson; James, who died unmarried; William and Mary, who died in childhood; Benjamin, whose record follows Sanford B., of Ritchie County; Johnson, who died in childhood; and Elizabeth, who married Chasteen Cleven- ger and is now deceased. Patrick Fleming's second wife was Mrs. Catherine (Bartlett) Sgepler, and their children were Claude and Lucetta, the latter the wife of William Peter of Harrison County. Benjamin Fleming, who was born in the Flemington com- munity, November 2, 1834, became one of the trustworthy and honored citizens of Taylor County. Having a good rudimentary education he joined his father in farming for some years and later for himself. He continued to live at Flemington until April 9, 1865, the day that Lee surren- dered, when he moved to the farm between Webster and Pruntytown, where his son Webster now lives. He died there October 12, 1909. He was a stanch republican, had served as a home guard during the Civil war, and he and his wife were life-long members of the Flemington Church. October 6, 1857, he married Elizabeth Powell, daughter of Elijah Powell, of Flemington. She was born November 12, 1837, and died May 27, 1921. They were the parents of two sons, Hayward and Webster Patrick. Hayward Fleming, who was born July 28, 1858, attended Flemington College, then taught district school at Shelby Run, which he had attended as a boy, and then taught the Robinson School in Knottsville District. During 1882 he was a student in the Pruntytown School. After serving several years as county surveyor he taught the Webster school during the winter of 1887-88, and in the fall of 1889 entered the West Liberty Normal School, where he gradu- ated in June, 1891. For three years following he was a student in West Virginia University, specializing in civil engineering. For a portion of the years 1894-95 he did normal work for teachers at Flemington, and for one year was principal of the Grafton High School. The day after the school term closed he started for Tennessee to do some surveying for the Penn Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company. At the close of the summer's work he returned to Grafton, continuing as principal of the high school two years, and was then given the additional duties of superintendent of schools, including the east and west sides of the river. He concluded his school work in 1905, and for a time he was connected with the Grafton Banking & Trust Company, and on July 23, 1907, was appointed deputy to County Clerk Kitzmiller. In 1908 he was elected clerk of the County Court, and served a six year term. Subsequently for a time he was deputy under Sheriff Melvin Newlon, but re- signed January 7, 1918. Among other noteworthy services he was a member of the County Schoolbook Board twelve years, from 1897 to 1909; was notary public from the fall of 1885 to the fall of 1919; and was one of the appraisers of the Adolphus Armstrong estate in 1907. He became a stockholder in the Home Building & Loan Association in 1902, and was its secretary from June, 1903, to January 11, 1921. He is a charter member of the Grafton Banking & Trust Company. He is a republican and for forty-eight years was an official in the Webster Missionary Baptist Church. August 23, 1896, Hayward Fleming married Miss Lucie Newlon, who was born July 11, 1864, daughter of James B. and Margaret Jane (Sharps) Newlon, of Flem- ington, where her grandfather settled on a farm adjoining that of James Fleming, the pioneer. Webster Patrick Fleming, whose record concludes the family history, has never married and was a devoted son to his parents as long as they lived. He was born at Fleming- ton, September 17, 1859, and since he was about six years of age has lived on the old homestead near Webster. He acquired his education there, and since early manhood lias been a practical farmer, handling and growing cattle and sheep. He has lived up to the standards of progressive citizenship, is a republican, and a member of the Webster Missionary Baptist Church.