John Remington Congdon

Notes:

"RI Vital Records: New Series" Vol. 6, p. 66, gives his date of birth as 6 Aug 1822. However, the RI Cemetery Database has his mother's year of death as 1820, so one of them must be wrong. He is age 30 in the 1850 Federal Census, so I am using 1820 as the year of birth. In 1850 the family is living at East Greenwich with Cynthia's mother, Lydia Sprague.

John Remington Congdon is mentioned in the will of his grandfather, Henry Remington.

John married Cynthia Anthony Sprague 6 Mar 1842. Cynthia (daughter of John Sprague, Jr. and Lydia A. Anthony) was born Abt 18 Dec 1817, East Greenwich, RI; died 25 Dec 1880, East Greenwich, RI. [Group Sheet]

1. Mary Remington Congdon was born Abt 1843; died 1916.
2. George Barrell Congdon was born Abt 1846; died 1902.

Notes:

"Peleg Congdon was born in Exeter, Rhode Island, the son of John Congdon and his third wife, Abigail Carr. Peleg married Mary Remington (1792-1820) of Warwick in 1816; she was the daughter of Henry Remington and Margaret LeValley. Besides being a sea captain, Peleg kept a hotel in the village of Apponaug, in Warwick, from 1819 to 1832; after this period, he moved to East Greenwich. He later was employed by the federal government, directing ship-building.

"Peleg and Mary

Peleg married Mary Remington 7 Jan 1816, Warwick, RI. Mary (daughter of Henry Remington and Margaret LeValley) was born 13 Apr 1792, Apponaug, RI; died 14 Nov 1820; was buried , Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary was first cousin to our ancestor Maplet.

In the Providence Gazette, Deaths, of 14 Nov 1820: "Mrs. Mary Congdon, wife of Capt. Peleg, only daughter of Hon. Henry Remington, at Warwick, in 29th year, suddenly."

Notes:

John had 9 children by his first wife, Mary; 5 by his second wife, Naomi; and 4 by his third wife, Abigail. Naomi and Abigail were first cousins.

John married Abigail Carr 8 Mar 1778, Exeter, RI. Abigail (daughter of James Carr and Abigail Cary) was born 6 Dec 1749, Jamestown, RI; died 19 Oct 1831; was buried , Historical Cemetery 43, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Henry's will mantions his wife Lucy Ann; his daughters Margaret Arnold Remington, Sarah Holden Remington, & Mary Ann Remington; sons Henry Clay Remington & Thomas Remington; grandsons Henry Remington Congdon & John Remington Congdon.

According to the book "History of Warwick," Henry was a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1808, and a fluent, energetic debater. He also served in the Revolutionary War as a Private in the Pawtuxet Rangers, 1781 (see "Rev. War -- Burial Place & Service of RI Patriots" at the Knight Library in Providence).

On 20 September 1800, a meeting of the Warwick Town Council was specially convened. Those present were Benjamin Arnold, Henry Remington, Jonathan Ellis?, and Squire Millard. Henry Remington was appointed to inspect the stage "that runs from East Greenwich to Providence through Warwick." He was "empowered to stop said stage and to examine said stage"; and the stageman was to be directed not to land any passenger or baggage in Warwick without his permission. The penalty was $100. James Rhodes was appointed to likewise inspect the stage at the Village of Pawtuxet. (record found at RI Historical Society Library, Manuscript Room)

BSR includes another son named John Pearce Remington, b. c. 1787, who had a daughter Elizabeth. (? no documentation given ?)

From the booklet "The Walking Tour of Historic Apponaug Village," published by the Warwick Economic Development Department, and originally produced in pamphlet form by The Warwick Museum in 1989 -- concerning the Henry Remington House (ca. 1800/01, with later alterations), 3376 Post Road: "This gable-roofed, center-chimney Federal dwelling with pedimented fanlight doorway was remodeled during the Victorian era when the sash was replaced and a bay window added on the south side. It is used as a storehouse for the building at the rear, which was once a favorite haunt of quahoggers and rough & tumble seamen, but is now a family restaurant. The house was built by Henry Remington, a Revolutionary War soldier and judge of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. This area became known as 'Judge's Row,' and was once the most significant part of the Village."

This is now The Remington House Inn, a very nice restaurant.

Henry married Margaret LeValley 18 Sep 1785, Warwick, RI. Margaret (daughter of Peter LeValley and Mary Haynes) was born 26 May 1762, Warwick, RI; died 19 Sep 1823, Apponaug, Warwick, RI; was buried , Brayton Cemetery, Apponaug, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mrs. Margaret Remington, wife of Hon. Henry, died at Apponaug in 62nd year. (Providence Gazette, 19 Sep 1823)

Some of the newspaper announcements of her death call her Martha.

James — Mary Vaughan. Mary was born 1713. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The will of James Carr, of Jamestown, yeoman, advanced in years, mentions sons James, Peleg, & John; and daughters Damaris, Phebe, & Abigail (Congdon).

James — Abigail Cary. Abigail (daughter of John Cary and Damaris Arnold) was born 4 Nov 1702, Bristol, RI; died Bef 29 Mar 1786. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

(If you use any portion of these notes, please give credit to me, Lois Sorensen, Remington researcher, and to other sources as noted herein.)

A Remington family Bible record says that this Thomas Remington was one of triplets, the other two of whom died young. This Bible belonged to Mrs. Mary E. Remington, wife of James D. Remington, great-grandson of Thomas. However, Fuller's "History of Warwick" says that his son Thomas was one of triplets.

He is undoubtedly the Thomas Remington who in March 1744 agreed to take over management of the estate of his brother Stephen Remington, laborer of Warwick, who was "non compos mentis." The original document is witnessed and co-signed by Stephen and Daniel Remington, probably Thomas Jr. and Stephen's uncles.

Thomas was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, along with some of his sons. Oliver Payson Fuller, in his book "The History of Warwick, RI," says four of the Remington brothers (sons of Thomas III, likely the four oldest) were in the American army during the war of the Revolution. According to the manuscript "Revolutionary War -- Burial Place & Service of RI Patriots," found at the Knight Library in Providence (now at Providence Central Public Library), Thomas was a Private in the Pawtuxet Rangers in 1778. It says he was buried in the family lot on the Remington Farm, north side of Cowesett Road near Quaker Lane (Route 2).

This historical cemetery is located behind the Stop & Shop plaza at the intersection of Cowesett Rd. and Bald Hill Rd./Quaker Lane/Rt. 2. Thomas's gravestones (headstone and footstone) have been photographed.

In the RI Genealogical Register, Vol. 17, pp. 204 & 205, there is a list of graves at or near this location. It refers to "the Remington farm now owned by George Dawley," and mentions an Arnold family burial plot northwest of his house, and another cemetery "on the Remington farm north of the house." This is where Thomas & Abigail are buried. This lot has about 15 marked burials, Remingtons and Arnolds, plus some unmarked graves.

According to early records described in "Family Notes" (formerly at Knight Library, now at Providence Central Public Library), this family's "Remington Farm" extended from Cowesett Rd. (at Quaker Lane) northward to the next road (probably the location of present-day Rt. 117) for a mile, then eastward a 1/2 mile, so that it was rectangular in shape. This was on the east side of Quaker Lane. According to Oliver Payson Fuller's "The History of Warwick, RI," it was Cowesett farm #2 on the old plat map laid out in the 1600s; it was originally owned by John Smith, and later by the heirs of Lieut. Eliza Collins, and subsequently by Samuel Barnes of Swansea, from whom it was purchased by Thomas Remington II (who died in 1723 at age 41).

Also on Cowesett Rd. but west of Quaker Lane (Rt. 2) was the "Col. Waterman Place," where our ancestors Capt. John & Mercy Waterman are buried (near the corner of Kulas & Cedar streets). This was on the south side of Cowesett Rd., roughly across from where Evelyn's Villa and the Cowesett Inn are today. Across from the Waterman place was the Arnold farm (the area where Pep Boys and the Ricci home are now located), purchased from Robert Potter's heirs by Israel Arnold of Pawtuxet in 1707.

An entry in Elder John Gorton's pastoral journal notes that he preached 23 Sept 1764 on I Peter 4:18 at Thomas Remington's [house]. Editor Cherry Fletcher Bamberg writes, "Although Thomas and Abigail Remington, who lived at Cowesett, were not official members of the church, they hosted occasional meetings and had a substantial running account with Elder Gorton in the mid-1760s. Purchases included needles of silk, thread, flour, 'Bisket,' snuff, wooden plates, and sundries" (p. 56). Gorton was a tailor by trade, but also a merchant who sold various foods, household items, and sundries.

In his will, dated 11 June 1798 proved 9 May 1808, Thomas Remington of Warwick, yeoman, gave to his [second] wife Sarah the household furniture, all she brought with her "at the time of our marriage," and all she has acquired since, a cow, heifer, etc. His son Thomas received lands in Coventry, with buildings thereon, he to pay legacies to his brothers John & Jonathan and to sisters Maplet Rice, Sarah Holden, & Mary Rice. Sons John and Jonathan were each given $10, as they already had their share [perhaps when they moved to Berkshire County, MA]. Each of his three surviving daughters was given $100 and the household furniture after the death of their [step] mother. Henry was given $240 and land; Benjamin received his father's mansion house and clock and all remaining of the homestead farm and rest of all his possessions, he to be executor.

Death notice, transcribed in Arnold's "Vital Record of RI" Vol. XIX p. 85: Providence Phenix - Deaths: "Thomas Remington d 12 Apr 1808 in his 85th year."

RI Cemetery Database: Thomas Remington, 2nd, h/o Abigael Eldrege, c.1724 - 12 Apr 1808, 85th yr

Thomas married Abigail ELDREDGE 14 Dec 1744, Warwick, RI. Abigail (daughter of Robert ELDREDGE and Hannah RATHBONE) was born Abt 1723; died 14 Apr 1766, Warwick, RI; was buried , Warwick, RI, Historical Cemetery 60 off Cowesett Rd. near Rt. 2. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The Warwick marriage record gives her maiden name as Eldred, but the gravestone says Eldredge. Capt. Samuel Tillinghast had this entry in his diary for April 15, 1766: "This Day died Thomas Remingtons Wife. Had been Long Ill with the Consumption." The entry for the 17th says: "This day Thomas Remingtons Wife buried. Elder Holden Preachd."

Death notice in the Providence Phenix: "Mrs. Abigail Remington wife of Mr. Thomas & dau of Mr. Robert & Mrs. Hannah Eldredge
d 14 Apr 1766 in her 45th year."

Abigail's gravestones (headstone and footstone) have been photographed.

Peter married Mary Haynes 11 May 1755, Warwick, RI. Mary (daughter of Josiah Haynes and Ann Low) was born 19 Dec 1734, Warwick, RI; died 24 Jul 1805; was buried , Cemetery 58, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]