Fleming, Roy F. (Roy Franklin), 1878-1958 : Roy Franklin Fleming (1878-1958) was an artist, teacher, and historian; he was for many years the Drawing Master at the Ottawa Normal School (Teacher's College). Born in Derby Township, near Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1878, Fleming studied to become a teacher and in 1895 passed his provincial examinations. He taught at various schools in Ontario before enrolling in the Toronto Normal School for the 1901-1902 year. While serving as a teacher and principal in Kingston between 1902 and 1904, he also attended night courses for seven months at the Kingston Art School.
Fleming left Ontario in 1905 to study art at the New York School of Art, where his instructors included William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and Frank Alvah Parsons. He also attended classes at the DeWitt Clinton Night Technical School. Fleming earned a certificate in Normal Art Training from the New York School of Art in June 1907. He returned to Ontario to take up a position as Drawing Master at the Ottawa Model School, later the Ottawa Normal School, where he taught until his retirement in 1940. During these years, he also lectured at the University of Toronto and other schools. The Ontario Government appointed him to a special commission in 1922 to prepare new art textbooks for the province.
Fleming contributed many articles on history and art to Ottawa newspapers and publications like Inland Seas, including a series titled "Visits to the Studios of Canadian artists" for the Ottawa Journal. In 1912, he and Irene Monkman wrote and illustrated a book titled "Oliphant and the Fishing Islands", a guide to the history and folklore of the islands that stretch along the west coast of the Bruce Peninsula in Lake Huron. His research interests took him to Manitoulin Island in 1930 and 1931 on behalf of the federal Department of Public Works to investigate a shipwreck to determine if it was the "Griffon"-La Salle's ship that was lost in 1679. He spoke to local residents about oral traditions and recovered archeological evidence of the ship's loss. He also tested the type of wood used in the shipwreck, which suggested it was not the "Griffon". The Griffon would be the subject of a number of his articles and unpublished manuscripts.
Roy F. Fleming married Bertha Hawley in 1917. He died in 1958, at Ottawa.
