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To some men who
have been blessed with strong constitutions and who respect the laws of nature
it is given to enjoy an old age that is vigorous and active and such a man is
Charles F. Fleming, who, although he is eighty-six years of age, still
personally manages his extensive business interests, as he owns several thousand
acres of land in this and other states. He has led an eventful life, having been
sailor, miner, miller, farmer and capitalist. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden,
on the 3d of June, 1828, a son of Andrew M. and Anna (Nordenshuld) Fleming, both
of whom passed away in Sweden.
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In April, 1840, at
the age of eleven years, Charles F. Fleming left home
and shipped upon a boat bound for South America and for
a number of years followed the sea. At odd times he
attended school at Kingston, Massachusetts. He quickly
mastered the principles of seamanship and navigation and
when but a boy of sixteen was second mate of a ship in
the American registry and this necessitated his becoming
a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was at
the time the only person in this country who had taken
out his naturalization papers at so early an age. In
1849, when a young man of twenty years, he went to
California, by way of Isthmus of Panama, and there
remained for six prosperous years, but in 1855 he
returned to Massachusetts and was there married. In 1857
he came west and located in Delaware county, Iowa, and
his family followed him in 1858. He purchased land and
built a gristmill, which he ran successfully for a time,
but in 1861 he turned his attention to sawmilling,
erecting a mill upon the Maquoketa river. He
successfully conducted this enterprise until 1894, when
he sold, and the was in use for a number of years after
that.
Throughout his life he has displayed great business
ability and as the greater part of his capital has been
invested in land, he now owns eleven hundred and forty
acres in Iowa, seventy six hundred acres, comprising six
plantations, in the "black" belt of Mississippi and
Alabama, and two hundred and forty in |
Missouri. He and six
other men, namely: Judge F. B. Doolittle, Benjamin Thorpe, Sr., Judge John M. Brayton, Rensselaer Eddy, A. E. Martin, and R. Boon, built through Delaware
county the railroad first known as the Davenport & St. Paul, but which has since
become a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. He is the only one
living of the seven founders of the road. Although he has lived much longer than
the three score years and ten allotted to man, his mind is yet clear and
decisive and his physical health is good. In the conduct of his business, which
is extensive, he manifests those qualities which we expect to find only in men
many years his junior, as he is able to quickly grasp the salient points in a
given situation, prompt in coming to a decision and resolute in the execution of
his plans.
On September 13, 1855, at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, Mr. Fleming was married to Miss Mary S. Holmes, a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. David Holmes, both of Mayflower stock and natives of Massachusetts,
They both passed away many years ago and are buried in Plymouth. Mrs. Fleming
died April 11, 1911, at the age of seventy six years. Mr. and Mrs. Fleming
became the parents of six children: Charles F., who died in Delhi in 1880; David
A., who passed away in Scooba, Mississippi, in 1894; Elsie Caroline, who died in
1887; Andrew M., a resident of Mississippi; E. H., the postmaster of Delhi; and
Mary L., the wife of George H. Barr, who lives in Manchester.
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