Fleming-Edmonds Family Papers, 1762-1938
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Fleming-Edmonds Family
Title: Papers, 1762-1938 (bulk 1762-1811)
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.
Size of Collection: 1 cubic foot
Location Number: Mss./A/F597
Scope and Content Note
The Fleming-Edmonds Family Papers include extensive correspondence from eighteenth century Kentucky and Virginia. Most of the letters are either to or from Col. William Fleming, a Virginian who was an early visitor to Kentucky and a member of the state’s land court. Many of the letters discuss land acquisition but others describe Indian raids, life on the frontier, and journeys to Kentucky. Some also discuss the Revolutionary War. Three of Judge William B. Fleming’s diaries are also part of the collection. Fleming kept them while traveling Europe first in 1868 and then again in 1891. During Woodrow Wilson’s administration, Fleming served in the Department of State and the collection contains correspondence between Fleming and Wilson, including three letters from the President. Later material is mostly genealogical in nature including correspondence related to genealogy as well as family trees and printed material. The collection also includes photostats of a small series of letters from members of the Armstrong family, particularly J. N. Armstrong and William McNeil Armstrong.
Photographs of the Fleming family were transferred to the Filson’s photo collection. Some of the printed material in the collection was transferred to the Filson Library.
Another collection of William Fleming’s papers is held by the Special Collections department at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Biographical Note
The Fleming-Edmonds Family is descended from Col. William Fleming (1729-1795), who settled in Virginia ca. 1755 after emigrating from Scotland. A land speculator and soldier, Fleming served in the French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore’s War and the Revolutionary War. Col. Fleming’s papers include extensive correspondence from his parents, Leonard (ca. 1700-1775) and Margaret, who remained in Scotland, and Leonard Israel Fleming (1764-1845), who settled in Kentucky around the turn of the nineteenth century. Judge William B. Fleming (1843-1918), a grandson of Col. Fleming, was a judge and diplomat. His daughter, Mary Fleming (1880-1974), married Henry M. Edmonds (1878-1959) and moved to Alabama. This collection of papers comes from her descendants.
See genealogical materials in the collection for more information.
Folder List
Folder 1: Correspondence, 1762-1764
Folder 2: Correspondence, 1765-1767
Folder 3: Correspondence, 1768-1776
Folder 4: Correspondence, 1778-1780
Folder 5: Correspondence, 1783-1785
Folder 6: Correspondence, 1786-1792
Folder 7: Correspondence, 1793-1798
Folder 8: Correspondence, 1801-1811
Folder 9: Correspondence, undated
Folder 10: Correspondence, 1867-1927
Folder 11: Correspondence, 1928-1929
Folder 12: Correspondence, 1931-1938
Folder 13: Correspondence with Woodrow Wilson, 1917
Folder 14: Correspondence regarding the DAR
Folder 15: William B. Fleming Journal, 16 August – 13 September 1868
Folder 16: William B. Fleming Journal, ca. October 1868
Folder 17: William B. Fleming Journal, 1891
Folder 18: Genealogy
Folder 19: Genealogy – William Fleming
Folder 20: Genealogy – Miscellaneous
Folder 21: Photostats – Anderson family correspondence, 1832-1852
Folder 22: Photostats – Miscellaneous
Folder 23: Printed material
Folder 24: Scotland tour guides
Folder 25: Miscellaneous
Subject Headings
Centennial Exhibition (1876: Philadelphia, Pa.)
Dueling – Kentucky.y
Europe – Description and travely
Fleming-Edmonds family
Great Britain. Stamp Act (1765)
Indians of North America – Wars
Kentucky – Discovery and exploration
Louis Philippe, King of the French, 1773-1850
Louisville (Ky.) – Description and travel
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
Religion and culture – Kentucky
Slavery – United States
United States – History – French and Indian War, 1755-1763
United States – History – Revolution, 1775-1783
United States Naval Expedition to Japan (1852-1854)
United States. Navy
