I came across this pleasant little letter from Mary Fleming
to her sister when I was searching the Journal Book of Mary Brown Williams
Dunbar, at the Mississippi Archives in Jackson Mississippi. The letter was dated 24 Feb 1792, and was in
very good condition. It was written by
Mary Fleming, daughter of Judge William Fleming of Virginia, when she was about
fourteen years old. It is not certain to
which of her three sisters it was written.
It was probably passed down to Mary Williams Dunbar by her grandmother,
Lucy Fleming Markham. Pamela Hutchison
Garrett, 2018.
Dear Sister,
My Dear Papa handed me
your letter which gave me great pleasure as it informed me the Health of you
and my other friends. I flattered my
self with the pleasure of seeing sister Lucy when Papa came down, but the weather
was too cold, though I hope he will bring her in the Spring. I was at a very agreeable Ball the other
evening, given by the Students, and had a very good partner.
Give my love to my
sisters, and all my friends, and write often to your affectionate sister.
Mary Boling Fleming
24 Feb 1792
A little perspective:
Mary Bolling Fleming was born about 1779, the youngest child
of William Fleming and Betty Champe of “Summerville” in Goochland (later
Powhatan) county Virginia. Betty Champe
Fleming died sometime between 1780 and 1790, leaving William Fleming with four
little daughters to care for. The
Fleming girls were raised with great devotion by their father who “always had
some female relation living with him to help care for them. He was both father and mother to them. He had them educated at home. Their teachers were from England, a Mrs
Dudley and a Mrs Livingston” (letter of Martha Markham).
It is unknown where Mary Fleming was writing from. Her mention of “Students” might suggest that
she was at school, but the year 1792 was an early date for the female academies
of Virginia. It seems more likely that she was visiting friends. In 1792 her father was serving as a Justice
of the Virginia Supreme Court which met in Richmond each spring. Richmond being about fifteen miles from their
home, perhaps Mary Fleming was visiting or schooling there.
The “sister Lucy” mentioned in the letter was Mary’s next
older sister, Lucy Champe Fleming. She
is my own 4xgreat-grandmother. Lucy
Champe Fleming married John Markham in 1794, and Mary Bolling Fleming married
Beverly Chew Stanard in 1798.
For more details on Mary Bolling Fleming, visit his page at the Markham of Chesterfield website.
About the Photo:
“The Gavotte”; a postcard drawing by Florence Hardy, about
1910.
Mary Bolling Fleming is my 4th
great-grandaunt. Lucy Champ Fleming is
my 4th great-grandmother.
