Fleming was born on April 29, 1844, at Fairmont, West Virginia, a daughter of Matilda Lamb and James Otis Watson, early coal operators in that region.

She attended Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy at Wheeling, West Virginia.

[1] In September 1865, she married the attorney for oil and gas magnate Johnson N. Camden: Aretas B.

After a shortened three year term as first lady, due to the controversial 1888 election, the Flemings returned to Fairmont, where she played a prominent role in Fairmont's cultural, civic, and religious activities.

In 1916, she signed a memorial from the West Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage that was sent to the legislature as they considered an amendment to the state constitution to expand the franchise to include women.