Judge William Fleming (July 6, 1736 – February 15, 1824) was an American lawyer, jurist and political figure from Cumberland County, Virginia. He is often confused with his contemporary, Colonel William Fleming, who briefly served as Governor of Virginia during the American Revolution.
Judge Fleming was educated at The College of William & Mary, after which he started practicing law before the county courts. In 1772, he became a member of the House of Burgesses, representing Cumberland County as his father John Fleming had done before him, and remained in this position until that body was terminated by the revolution. When the new state government of Virginia was instituted, he went back to Williamsburg as a member of the first House of Delegates.
On December 10, 1778, he was elected a member of Continental Congress, but it was April 1779 before he reported there. In September, he took a leave of absence and returned to Virginia and the House of Delegates. In 1781, he was elected and began serving as a judge of the Virginia general court.[1] Governor Beverley Randolph subsequently appointed Fleming to the Supreme Court of Appeals.[2] When the court was reorganized in 1788, he was one of the five judges chosen for the new court. He became president and chief justice of the Court in 1809, a position he held until his death on February 15, 1824.
Summerville
In 1777, William Fleming moved from his plantation, Mt. Pleasant, in Cumberland County (changed to Powhatan County in that year), to neighboring Chesterfield County where he had bought another plantation called Summerville from Robert Moseley. This was to be his home for the remainder of his life. During his ownership, Summerville's land acreage increased from 528 acres to 906 acres.[3] In 1781, while Richmond was being raided by Benedict Arnold, then Governor Thomas Jefferson stayed at Summerville for a night with his college friend William Fleming. Both Jefferson and Fleming had attended the College of William & Mary. Summerville was a working plantation in Virginia and as such, it had a number of slaves attending to it. In the 1820 United States census, William Fleming is reported as having 13 slaves, 9 males and 4 females.[4] Many of these slaves died at Summerville and were buried in the burial grounds. On February 15, 1824, Judge Fleming died at his house at Summerville and was buried there as well. Summerville continued to be a prosperous plantation up until the end of the Civil War, at which point all of the slaves were emancipated. This caused the plantation to go to ruin and it appears that the Summerville house was abandoned. In the late 1980s most of the Summerville tract was built over by a housing development, including the area where the house would have stood and most likely the burial grounds of the slaves and William Fleming.
References
^"Judges of the Supreme Court of Virginia". Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
^WILLIAM FLEMING COLLECTION, 1773–1802 – Colonial Williamsburg Research Library
^Ethridge, Harrison M. (October 1988). "Summerville: A Vanished Plantation" (PDF). The Messenger (14): 5. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
^"William Fleming in "United States Census, 1820"". FamilySearch.org. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
william, fleming, judge, confused, with, william, fleming, governor, judge, william, fleming, july, 1736, february, 1824, american, lawyer, jurist, political, figure, from, cumberland, county, virginia, often, confused, with, contemporary, colonel, william, fl. Not to be confused with William Fleming governor Judge William Fleming July 6 1736 February 15 1824 was an American lawyer jurist and political figure from Cumberland County Virginia He is often confused with his contemporary Colonel William Fleming who briefly served as Governor of Virginia during the American Revolution William Fleming3rd Chief Justice of VirginiaIn office July 30 1809 February 15 1824Preceded byPeter LyonsSucceeded byFrancis T BrookeJustice of the Virginia Supreme CourtIn office June 20 1789 February 15 1824Appointed byBeverley RandolphPersonal detailsBornJuly 6 1736Cumberland County VirginiaDiedFebruary 15 1824 1824 02 15 aged 87 Summerville Plantation Chesterfield County VirginiaAlma materCollege of William and MaryProfessionLawyer judge politician Contents 1 Biography 2 Summerville 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditJudge Fleming was educated at The College of William amp Mary after which he started practicing law before the county courts In 1772 he became a member of the House of Burgesses representing Cumberland County as his father John Fleming had done before him and remained in this position until that body was terminated by the revolution When the new state government of Virginia was instituted he went back to Williamsburg as a member of the first House of Delegates On December 10 1778 he was elected a member of Continental Congress but it was April 1779 before he reported there In September he took a leave of absence and returned to Virginia and the House of Delegates In 1781 he was elected and began serving as a judge of the Virginia general court 1 Governor Beverley Randolph subsequently appointed Fleming to the Supreme Court of Appeals 2 When the court was reorganized in 1788 he was one of the five judges chosen for the new court He became president and chief justice of the Court in 1809 a position he held until his death on February 15 1824 Summerville EditIn 1777 William Fleming moved from his plantation Mt Pleasant in Cumberland County changed to Powhatan County in that year to neighboring Chesterfield County where he had bought another plantation called Summerville from Robert Moseley This was to be his home for the remainder of his life During his ownership Summerville s land acreage increased from 528 acres to 906 acres 3 In 1781 while Richmond was being raided by Benedict Arnold then Governor Thomas Jefferson stayed at Summerville for a night with his college friend William Fleming Both Jefferson and Fleming had attended the College of William amp Mary Summerville was a working plantation in Virginia and as such it had a number of slaves attending to it In the 1820 United States census William Fleming is reported as having 13 slaves 9 males and 4 females 4 Many of these slaves died at Summerville and were buried in the burial grounds On February 15 1824 Judge Fleming died at his house at Summerville and was buried there as well Summerville continued to be a prosperous plantation up until the end of the Civil War at which point all of the slaves were emancipated This caused the plantation to go to ruin and it appears that the Summerville house was abandoned In the late 1980s most of the Summerville tract was built over by a housing development including the area where the house would have stood and most likely the burial grounds of the slaves and William Fleming References Edit Judges of the Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Retrieved 5 June 2014 WILLIAM FLEMING COLLECTION 1773 1802 Colonial Williamsburg Research Library Ethridge Harrison M October 1988 Summerville A Vanished Plantation PDF The Messenger 14 5 Retrieved 24 July 2020 William Fleming in United States Census 1820 FamilySearch org Retrieved 24 July 2020 External links EditUnited States Congress William Fleming id F000196 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Fleming judge amp oldid 1102581688, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
