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Fleming

Origin of the Fleming surname

The surname Fleming is of Norman origin from Old French Flamanc meaning 'a native of Flanders'. The people of Flanders have, for centuries, been referred to as "Flemings" or as "the Flemish people". Flanders comprises the northern half of Belgium (where Dutch is the only official language) as well as Frans-Vlaanderen (in present-day France, mainly in the département of Nord) and the southern part of the Dutch province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Today, the Flanders region includes part of Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

In the the 9th century, strong local lords with castles and knights on horseback were the only protection for the people of this area from Norman raids. These local lords and knights eventually united behind the Count of Flanders. Flanders prospered as craftsmen in its towns built up a Europe-wide trade and reputation in fine woollen and linen cloth. In time, the Flemings became a trading nation that established colonies outside Flanders, including in Scotland.

My Fleming ancestors originated in Scotland. There are now two separate theories about Fleming surname history in Scotland.

The older theory was proposed by genealogists in the nineteenth century and had, until recently, been generally accepted. This theory recognises that a number of families migrated to Scotland from Flanders over several centuries and proposes that many of these Flemish families adopted "Fleming" as their surname when people in the British Isles first started to use surnames (generally during the fourteenth century ). The implication of this theory is that the Fleming surname was adopted by a group of families that were not directly related to one another, albeit that they all derived from Flanders. That is, while they had a common background and culture, they did not have a common heritage.

Genalogist and medieval historian F Lawrence Fleming has proposed a new theory based on his extensive research into medieval documents in Britain and France. He has concluded that "practically all of the Flemings of the British Isles in medieval times were members of a single extended family" that descended from Erchenbald Flandrensis. Erchenbald had Flemish-Norman ancestry and had come to Britain in 1066 as part of the Norman aristocracy. His descendants adopted Fleming as their surname during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. More specifically for Flemings of Scottish descent, he writes "I believe ... that practically every Fleming living in Scotland in 1841 was descended from one man who came to Scotland in 1147: Baldwin Flamingus, grandson of Erchenbald Flandrensis, a companion of the Conqueror." However, some may have descended from Jordan Flamingus who was probably also a grandson of Erchenbald (and first cousin to Baldwin). The point is that there was a single family; not a group of unrelated families.

F Lawrence Fleming has collected a range of genealogical, cultural and statistical evidence in support of his new theory. He has also examined the older theory and provided reasons why he thinks it is incorrect.

If we accept F Lawrence Fleming's theory, then Fleming families of Scottish descent are all descended from Baldwin and/or Jordan Flamingus, and thence from their grandfather Erchenbald Flandrensis. These men were all part of the Anglo-Norman nobility that administered the British Isles after the successful invasion by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066 (i.e. William the Conqueror).

In my opinion, F Lawrence Fleming has put together a compelling case in support of his theory. If it is correct, it means that Erchenbald Flandrensis is my ancestor.

Fleming migration to Australia

Charles Fleming and his family emigrated from Scotland to Australia on the Eastern Monarch in 1883, soon after the death of his parents Angus and Elizabeth Fleming. They settled in the Sydney suburb of Balmain where they lived until about 1902. Then Charles and his family emigrated again, this time to New Zealand. However, his eldest son (my great-grandfather Charles Taylor Fleming) decided to stay in Australia with his wife and children.

Fleming pedigree

Our Fleming ancestors include the following people. Click on any name to access a computer-generated page of information about that person and a list of the information sources.

Charles Fleming (b. 17 Feb 1854, d. 17 Aug 1928)
- Angus Fleming (b. 11 Jul 1831, d. bef 18 Jul 1884)
  - Angus Fleming (b. 14 Jun 1800, d. 30 Apr 1837)
    - James Fleming (b. 5 Jan 1761)
      - Robert Fleming (b. ca. 1730)
        John Fleming (b. 1685)
        Mary Millar (b. ca. 1690, d. ca. 1740)
      - Janet Hamilton (b. ca. 1730)
    - Mary Sinclair (b. 24 Feb 1764)
      - Angus Sinclair (b. ca. 1730)
      - Janet, wife of Angus Sinclair (b. ca. 1731)
  - Margaret Lawson (b. 8 Feb 1799)
    - William Lawson (b. ca. 1770)
    - Jean Alexander (b. ca. 1771)
- Elizabeth Taylor (b. abt 1831, d. 12 Feb 1881)
  - Charles Taylor (b. 29 Jun 1809, d. 7 May 1877)
    - Alexander Taylor (b. 20 Dec 1780, d. 21 May 1859)
      - Charles Taylor (b. ca. 1740)
      - Mary Reid (b. ca. 1741)
    - Isabella ("Elizabeth") Burns (b. ca. 1778, d. bet 6 Jun 1841 and 7 May 1877)
  - Jane Robertson (b. ca. 1813, d. 1 Jan 1896)
    - Matthew Robertson (b. ca. 1780)
    - Elizabeth Dale (b. ca. 1782)

Notable Fleming ancestors

Click on the name of any of the notable ancestors listed below to read a short biography that I have written about them.

Fleming family memorials

For centuries families have created memorials to honour their forebears, including headstones, church monuments, memorial cards, obituaries and much more. This website is, in a way, just another innovation in this regard. Each of the links below takes you to a memorial page that is dedicated to that particular deceased ancestor.

Fleming DNA analysis

During 2019 I started to analyse DNA links to see what light they could shed on my paternal ancestry – the Fleming line. Towards that end, the research report (below) documents my family’s DNA matches, my associated research and the conclusions I have drawn. It also outlines what further work could be done.

Fleming ancestry DNA analysis – I analysed our DNA matches in an effort to shed some light on our Fleming ancestry.

Earlier DNA analysis

My 2019 analysis of Fleming DNA built on work that was done several years ago by Relative Genetics based on yDNA. Part of the Y chromosome information is passed largely unchanged from father to son. This inheritance pattern follows the passing of the surname, common to many cultures. Therefore, it is useful in discovering clues along one’s paternal line. The paternal line analysis is used to establish the genetic profile (haplotype) of deceased ancestors along one's direct paternal line. The results of the analysis of this Fleming family's DNA were compared to other results on file. A 100% match was found with William Robert (Bill) Fleming of Missouri USA (born in Kansas). Click the link below to read a report on that analysis and to see details of Bill's paternal line.

Earlier yDNA analysis

Fleming stories

The following Fleming family stories are published on this website.

1854 - Looks like hopelessness – Croker Prize essay about Charles Fleming (1854-1928).
1883 - Townsville or hell! – Charles Fleming's diary written aboard the emigrant ship Eastern Monarch in 1883.
1929 - The early years – Bruce Fleming's memoirs about his early life.
1940 - The cadets – Bruce Fleming's memoir about mates on Maroubra Beach.

Fleming Research Reports

The following Fleming research reports are published on this website.

Angus Flemings origins – Jim Fleming identified the baptism record that relates to his 4G grandfather, Angus Fleming.
1892 - Charles Fleming and the Captain Cook II – About the Sydney Harbour pilot vessel Captain Cook II and its figurehead that was made by Charles Fleming.