By his first wife, Lillias, daughter of John, earl of Montrose, he had four sons and six daughters.
His heir, John Fleming, second Earl of Wigtown or Wigton (d. 1650), was one of the committee of estates in 1640; became a privy councillor in 1641; entered into an association framed at his house at Cumbernauld in support of Charles I, and died at Cumbernauld 7 May 1650. He married Margaret, second daughter of Alexander Livingston, second earl of Linlithgow, by whom he left issue. The earldom became extinct on the death of Charles Fleming, seventh earl, in 1747.
[Illustrations of the Reign of Mary (Maitland Club); Lord Herries's Memoirs (Abbotsford Club); Sir James Melville's Memoirs (Bannatyne Club); Diurnal of Occurrents (Bannatyne Club); History of James Sext (Bannatyne Club); Richard Bannatyne's Memorials; Labanoff's Lettres de Marie Stuart; Fénelon's Correspondance; Register of the Privy Council of Scotland; State Papers, Reign of Elizabeth; Histories of Keith, Calderwood, Buchanan, Tytler, Burton, and Froude; Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), ii. 634–5; Crawfurd's Officers of State, pp. 330–1; Hunter's Biggar and the House of Fleming, pp. 525–44.]
FLEMING, JOHN (d. 1815), botanist, was educated at Douai, took his degree of M.D. at Edinburgh, and became president of the Bengal medical service. He is stated to have been a good classic, and contributed to several journals, but the only memoir of his which can be cited is his ‘Catalogue of Indian Medicinal Plants and Drugs’ in the eleventh volume of ‘Asiatick Researches,’ which was reprinted with additions, Calcutta, 1810, 8vo, and translated into Dutch and German. He died of a paralytic stroke in London, 10 May 1815. Dr. Roxburgh dedicated the genus Flemingia to him, and his name is further commemorated by the genus of fossil plants, Flemingites.
[Gent. Mag. vol. lxxxv. pt. i. p. 568; Roxburgh's Corom. Pl. iii. 44.]
FLEMING, JOHN, D.D. (1785–1857), naturalist, son of Alexander Fleming, was born near Bathgate in Linlithgowshire 10 Jan. 1785. Moved by the strong wishes of his mother, he studied for the ministry, but he discovered at an early age an intense love of nature and natural science, which he took all opportunities, in harmony with other duties, to cultivate. Being asked by Sir John Sinclair to make a mineralogical survey of the northern isles, he became acquainted with the ministers of Shetland, and on the occurrence of a vacancy in the parish of Bressay, the right of presentation to which fell, jure devoluto, to the presbytery, he was nominated by them, with consent of the people, to the charge (licensed 22 April 1806, called 6 Aug. and ordained 22 Sept. 1808). His ‘Economical Mineralogy of the Orkney and Zetland Islands’ was published in 1807. A paper ‘On the Narwal or Sea-Unicorn’ was communicated at the same time to the Wernerian Society. In 1810 he was translated to Flisk in Fifeshire, a neighbouring parish to Kilmeny, where Dr. Chalmers was minister. Many papers on local natural history and cognate topics were written for the learned societies, and Fleming soon became known as the first zoologist in Scotland. On 16 May 1814 the degree of D.D. was conferred on him by the university of St. Andrews. In 1822 he published the ‘Philosophy of Zoology.’ To remedy certain difficulties of classification in Cuvier's method, Fleming advocated the dichotomous or binary method, a proposal which Cuvier did not approve, and for which Fleming had to fight stoutly against other antagonists. The book attracted much interest from many quarters in consequence of the attention devoted by the writer to the characters of animals. It was translated into Italian by Signor Zandrini, and was for many years a standard work among Italian savants. In 1828 the publication of ‘British Animals’ added yet more to his fame as a naturalist. The number of genera and species described was much in advance of previous catalogues. Buckland's ‘Reliquiæ Diluvianæ’ (1823) led to the publication of a pamphlet ‘On the Geological Deluge as interpreted by Baron Cuvier and Professor Buckland,’ which is said to have caused the suppression of a new edition of Buckland's work. Fleming's connection and correspondence with scientific men widened as the years went on, and he was in request for articles in the ‘Quarterly’ and a series of volumes, which, however, did not appear, for Murray's ‘Family Library.’ His total contributions to science in books, journals, &c., amounted to 129.
While zealous for science, Fleming was active and earnest in parochial duties; a proof of this was that on the occurrence of a vacancy in the neighbouring church of Auchtermuchty, a petition signed by four hundred parishioners (virtually all) was presented to the patron in his favour; but he did not receive the appointment. In 1832 he was presented by Lord Dundas to the parish of Clackmannan. In 1834 he was appointed to the chair of natural philosophy in the University and King's College, Aberdeen. A petition from 418 inhabitants of Clackmannan was presented to him asking him to remain, but he elected to go to Aberdeen.
