Abigail Ann Fleming 1816

Description

Abigail Ann was born October 27, 1799, in East Caln, Chester County Pennsylvania. Her parents were Joseph and Ann (Wells) Fleming, the fourth generation of Flemings living in the East Caln area. Abigail Ann attended one of the Quaker schools in Chester County but we are not sure which school she attended. 1816 was a terrible year for the Fleming family: in September her father Joseph died of “an illness” at age 41, and Abigail Ann died in December when she was only 17 years old. Her sampler was completed posthumously, in black. Her mother died in 1818 at age 44, and in 1822 her brother Joseph, then 27, died of typhus. All but two of her brothers’ and sisters’ initials are listed on her first sampler from 1810 (reproduced by TSL but now out of print). Some family initials also appear on this sampler. Her grandfather, John Fleming, was a member of the Constitutional Convention of July 15, 1776 along with Benjamin Franklin, and in 1778 a representative in the General Assembly. A photograph of her gravestone in the Octaraba Presbyterian churchyard near East Caln appears in the graph pack. She is buried with her great aunt. The stone is inscribed thusly:

In memory of Margaret Wife of Henry Fleming Who departed this Life June 6th AD 1767 aged 28 years 9 months and 18 days
Also Abigail A. Fleming who departed this life Dec 28th 1816 Aged 17 years