John Fleming (June 1, 1842 – April 19, 1918) was an

Irish-American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

lawyer and judge.

Life

Fleming was born on June 1, 1842, in

County Monaghan, Ireland County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, the son of William Fleming and Mary O'Neill. His parents died when he was five, after which he was raised and educated by his maternal uncle James O'Neill. In 1856, he immigrated to America and settled in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with his four sisters. He attended public school for two years, after which he became a clerk for Watson & Mears. He briefly attended Rev. Matthew Hunting's private school. At the encouragement of Judge Armstrong, he began to study law in the office of Armstrong & Fosdick until the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

interrupted his studies. In August 1862, Fleming enlisted as a private in Company A. of the 165th New York Infantry Regiment. In September 1862, he was promoted to corporal. In November 1862, he was promoted to sergeant. In November 1863, he was promoted to first sergeant. He was honorably discharged in September 1865. He participated in movements along the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

and was in the Battles of Cedar Creek,

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Plains Store, Ponchatoula, Sabine Cross Roads, Pleasant Hill, Cane River, Mausura Plains, and Port Hudson. He responded to General Banks' call for volunteers for the last assault on Port Hudson. After the war, Fleming returned to studying law with Armstrong & Fosdick and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He continued working in the same office until 1870, when he made a visit to Ireland. Upon his return, he opened his own law office and started a general law practice. He served as village trustee for six years. In 1883, after Governor

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

removed District Attorney Benjamin W. Downing for bribery, the governor appointed him Queens County District Attorney. A few days later, the Democratic Party nominated him as their candidate for the office and he won the election against Republican William J. Youngs. As district attorney, he prosecuted a large number of murder trials. After his first term, the Democratic Party gave their nomination to Thomas F. McGowan. McGowan won the election, but a few months later it was revealed that as town supervisor he was defaulter of $40,000, and he fled. The District Attorney position now vacant, Judge Bartlett of the court of oyer and toyer appointed Fleming to handle the criminal business of the term. Governor

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

officially appointed him as District Attorney in August 1887, and he was elected to the office in 1887 and re-election in 1890. During this term, he fought against pool selling and gambling in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

and had Mayor Gleason arrested for an assault. In response, Gleason used his influence to ensure Fleming's defeat in the 1893 election. He also prosecuted officers of the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company ch ...

for permitting its wires to be used for illegal enterprises. In 1896, he unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic candidate for the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

. In 1898, Mayor Van Wyck appointed Fleming Justice of Special Sessions for the Second District. He served as Justice until December 31, 1915, when he retired as Justice after 17 years on the bench. Fleming was an executive member of the Society of the 19th Army Corps as well as commander and charter member of the local

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

post. He was also a founder of the Jamaica Club, a prime mover in preserving King Manor, and president of the St. Patrick's Society of Queens. He was a member of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Fleming died at home from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on April 19, 1918.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, John 1842 births 1918 deaths People from County Monaghan Irish emigrants to the United States People from Jamaica, Queens Queens County (New York) district attorneys Union army officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century New York state court judges 20th-century New York state court judges New York (state) Democrats Grand Army of the Republic officials Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Catholic politicians from New York (state)