Fleming - Homestead Family
Richfield Homestead Family: John J. Flemming (original spelling), 1808 or 1810-1889, was born in Ireland and married Bridget Claffey about 1833. John and Bridget’s oldest son, John, was born in Ireland in January 1837. These three, together with Bridget’s brother, Martin Claffey, left Ireland in the spring of 1837 on a sailing ship. They had a rough 7 week voyage from Liverpool to Montreal, coming down the St. Lawrence, and then overland from Montreal to Albany, New York. Two more children, Michael and Katherine, were born in New York State, where the family lived for five years. In the winter of 1841-42, they moved to Wisconsin and 
bought a homestead of 40 acres in Richfield for $1.25 per acre from the government. John also claimed the 40 acres just north which he bought later. He built a log house which was his pride and joy, two stories high and one of the finest houses in the entire area. The Fleming homestead was located 1¼ miles north of the former St. Columba’s church, which is located at the intersection of Hwy. Q & Hwy. 164.
John Fleming, Jr., who came from Ireland as an infant, was a railroad engineer. He married Anne Flynn, oldest daughter of Patrick Flynn and Katherine (Mary) McCartan, who had also come from Ireland as a child. He died in a train wreck, leaving his wife and their 7 children.
The second son of John Fleming Sr. and Bridget Claffey was Michael Fleming, born in New York. He married Kathryn Riley, a neighbor across the field east ½ mile away. John and Bridget’s only daughter, Katherine, married Michael Golden. They did not have a family. The youngest son of John and Bridget, Charles Sylvester Fleming, was the only child born in Wisconsin, on December 27, 1844 at Lake Five. On November 21, 1876 he married Bridget Dunn, daughter of William & Rose Anna Dunn. The 
Dunns lived next to the Flemings. Charles S. Fleming was almost 32 & Bridget Dunn was 18 when they were married. Charles and Bridget had 10 children in all, 5 boys and 5 girls. They moved to Pewaukee and then to Merrill.
On July 12, 1899 the original Fleming house caught fire from the chimney and burned to the ground.
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