Carrie Watson Fleming

Caroline Margaret Watson Fleming (1844–1931) was the wife of former Governor of West Virginia Aretas B. Fleming and served as that state's First Lady from 1890 to 1893.

Carrie Watson Fleming
Born(1844-04-29)April 29, 1844
Fairmont, West Virginia
DiedJuly 19, 1931(1931-07-19) (aged 87)
Fairmont, West Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Known forFirst lady of West Virginia, 1890-1893

Biography

Fleming was born on April 29, 1844, at Fairmont, West Virginia, a daughter of Matilda Lamb and James Otis Watson, early coal operators in that region. She attended Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy at Wheeling, West Virginia.[1]

In September 1865, she married the attorney for oil and gas magnate Johnson N. Camden: Aretas B. Fleming.[2] They had one child, a daughter Ida Watson Fleming Miller (1872–1906).[3]

Her husband, Aretas Fleming, served as Governor of West Virginia from 1890-1893. After a shortened three year term as first lady, due to the controversial 1888 election, the Flemings returned to Fairmont, where she played a prominent role in Fairmont's cultural, civic, and religious activities.

In 1916, she signed a memorial from the West Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage that was sent to the legislature as they considered an amendment to the state constitution to expand the franchise to include women.[4]

Fleming died at Fairmont on July 19, 1931, at the age of 87.[1] She is buried next to her husband in the Woodlawn Cemetery.[5]

References
  1. "West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007.
  2. Osterdahl, Andy (2018-06-05). "The Strangest Names In American Political History : Aretas Brooks Fleming (1839-1923)". The Strangest Names In American Political History. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  3. "Ida M. Fleming Miller". FindAGrave.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. Effland, Anne Wallace (1983). "The Woman Suffrage Movement in West Virginia, 1867-1920". The Research Repository @ WKU. West Virginia University. p. 114. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. "Caroline Margaret Watson Fleming". FindAGrave.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Henrietta Cotton Wilson		 First Lady of West Virginia
1890 – 1893		 Succeeded by
Belle Goshorn MacCorkle
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