Hezekiah Remington

Notes:

Hezekiah Remington 16 - 50 A , Res. Po, is listed for Coventry, RI, in the 1777 RI Military Census. Also there is William Remington 16 - 50 A (residence Portsmouth), possibly his father; and a Thomas Remington 16 - 50 A.

Hezekiah Remington is on the list of Freemen of Exter, dated 20 Apr 1814.

James N. Arnold's "Family Notes" has his date of birth as 22 May 1757.

I have made an assumption that he was born on Prudence Island; this, in turn, is based on the assumption that his parents are William & Freelove (and Portsmouth land evidence showing this couple on Prudence Island). Hezekiah had two children, named William & Freelove. This is a strong clue. Hezekiah lived in Exeter and North Kingstown, and it is known that William & Freelove bought a house and land there in 1775.

Hezekiah married Anne Hill 16 Sep 1787. Anne (daughter of Caleb Hill and Mercy Stafford) was born 29 Jan 1761, North Kingstown, RI; died 20 Jan 1822. [Group Sheet]

1. William Remington was born Abt 7 Sep 1788, North Kingstown, RI; died 11 Jan 1865, Providence, RI; was buried , Greenwood Cemetery, Coventry, RI.
2. Freelove Remington was born Abt 1791; died 27 Jul 1857; was buried , Old Baptist Church Yard, Cem. 39, Exeter, RI.

Notes:

I have made an assumption that William was born on Prudence Island and that he died at North Kingstown, although this is only a guess based on available evidence about his life. Also, please note that I am not sure that he was a son of William Remington and Mary Manton, although it is known that they were living on Prudence Island during the 1700s.

Portsmouth land evidence shows that a William Remington was living on Prudence Island in the mid-1700s, and according to two deeds he had a wife named Freelove. It is certainly possible that William married an Allen, because most of the land sales involving his name have one or more Allens also involved.

Therefore, it is documented that William and his wife Freelove were of Prudence Island, and furthermore that he purchased a house and land in North Kingstown from Job Tibbetts in 1775. This was the year that residents of the island evacuated because of the British raids in which they burned the dwellings and fought the colonists. It is reasonable to assume that he relocated to North Kingstown, and eventually died there. However, it appears that he was in Coventry at the time of the Military Census of 1777

The dates for William are from James N. Arnold's "Family Notes" Volume R, an unpublished manuscript located at the Knight Library in Providence. However, some online genealogies have his date of death as 1 March 1764. To be sure, that is the date of death for a William Remington -- but which one? I have used that date for the William b. c1680, who may be the father of this William; but there was still another William who died in 1768 at Cranston.

Charles Gregory Maytum's Notes on the Remington family, at Newport Historical Society, give William's date of birth as 17 Aug 1729, and his date of death as 30 Aug 1812. This differs slightly from Arnold's data.

I have not been able to determine his ancestry for sure. Other Remingtons mentioned in Portsmouth land evidence are John Remington, who had moved from Warwick to Portsmouth; Thomas Remington, who had a wife named Amy; another William whose wife was Mary; Josiah; and Jonathan; as well as my ancestor Joseph. It is possible that there was more than one William, and that one was the father or uncle of the other. Research on these families is ongoing.

1777 Military Census, Coventry - listed are William Remington, res. Po; Hezekiah Remington, res. Po; & Thomas Remington

From Portsmouth land evidence:

WR of PI, boatman, bought land for 600 pounds from William Allen of PI, prob aft. 27 Apr 1757 (no date). The land was 80 rods by 12 rods and bounded as follows: N & E by Ebenezer Allin, W by land of me, sd William Allen, S by John Allen. Mary Allin wife of William Allin surrenders rights of dower and power of thirds. William Allin's signature witnessed by Samuel Lyndon Jr & Mary Lyndon; Mary Allin's signature witnessed by Nathaniel Allin & Joseph Bates. No wife of WR mentioned. Spelling of Allin/Allen is varied in copy of deed. (Po Land Ev Bk 5 p 579 & 580)

WR of PI, boatman, sold

William married Freelove Allen 20 Sep 1752. Freelove (daughter of William Allen, III and Freelove Unknown) was born 20 May 1722, Prudence Island, Portsmouth, Newport Co., RI; died 17 Mar 1817, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Information concerning her surname came from "Family Notes," a group of unpublished manuscripts compiled by James N. Arnold, and located at the Knight Library in Providence. This gives her birthdate as 20 May 1722, while Maytum's notes at Newport Historical Society says 20 Jul 1722. Arnold gives her date of death as 17 Mar 1817, while Maytum gives it as 17 May 1817. Neither gives a source as documentation.

She is also mentioned as Freelove Allen, wife of William Remington, on the back of an old photo of George Wait Remington, as his great-grandmother.

Could she be a daughter of William & Freelove (Tillinghast) Allen? They had a daughter Patience who married William Maccoone on 2 April 1738. Freelove would definitely fit into this time frame for their family group. (needs more research)

She could easily be a daughter of one of the Allen families from Prudence Island, as the land evidence from Portsmouth mentions a William Remington of Prudence Island who had a wife named Freelove (Portsmouth land evidence dated 25 Dec 1764, Bk 6 p. 123 & 126).

Son Hezekiah had a grandson named Stephen Allen Remington, so the Allen name reoccurs in the family.

Notes:

This date of death is found in the Cranston Town Council meeting notes. It belongs to "William Remington of Cranston, schoolmaster." I am not sure that it belongs to this particular William, but at this point I merely am attempting to reconstruct a possible lineage for these individuals. Research is ongoing to determine the actual relationships among these Remington family members.

The will of William Remington, of Cranston, schoolmaster, is dated 2 Apr 1768 and was proved 1 June 1768. It mentions daughters Elizabeth Remington and Anne Vial, deceased; grandson John Vial son of dtr Ann deceased. Also mentioned is Waite Abbot dtr of Mary Abbot (no relationship specified). Executor was friend Dr. William Aldrich; witnesses were Benjamin Wescot Jr., William Burton, and Nils Higinbotham.

It is known that the William Remington who married Mary Manton was a schoolmaster on Jamestown, probably Prudence Island, and possibly elsewhere. Therefore it is a reasonable assumption to construct this family as I have done.

I have estimated the date of marriage based on the will of Mary's father, which implies that she was still single in 1723.

See notes for William (Sr). It has not been determined that this (Jr) is the William Remington who married Mary and had these three children, Elizabeth, Stephen, & Abigail, born in Little Compton but registered in Providence. He may or may not be the William Remington who married Mary Manton. Research is ongoing to sort out the data on the William Remingtons of RI.

The births of Elizabeth, Stephen, & Abigail, to parents identified as William & Mary (m.n. unknown), were recorded at Providence, but there is a notation that the first two were born at Little Compton and the third at Providence (source: microfilm at RI State Archives). See previous paragraphs -- I am not sure that these three children belong to this particular William.

From Portsmouth land evidence:

WR of Po bought and sold land from/to John Allin, s/o Wm, of P.I., 6 Jan 1738/9 and 3 Feb 1738/9; this WR was a schoolmaster; he also witnessed three other deeds on 6 Jan 1738/9, along with Caleb Hill & William Havens; also witnessed three other deeds on 3 Feb 1738/9, along with Caleb Hill, John Allin, William Havens, & Giles Slocum. It appears that he bought and sold the same 50 acres, land bordered on three sides by three Allens (by John Allin - my own land, William Allin my honoured father, and my son William Allin) and on the fourth by the sea. WR bought 50 acres and a house in Jan, pd 750 pounds, witnessed by Caleb Hill & John Ingraham; and sold 50 acres in Feb., witnessed by Caleb Hill & Wm Sanford. No wives mentioned.
(Po Land Ev Bk 4 p 142 & 195)

WR witnessed deed of land sale from Ebenezer Allen to John Remington, laborer,
3 or 30 June 1744. This was JR "late of Warwick, now of P.I." He paid 400 pounds for 20 acres. No wives mentioned. (Po Land Ev Bk 4 p 359)

From Portsmouth Town Council records:

8 Aug 1743: William Remington schoolmaster ordered to depart this town (Bk 3 p 292)

8 Oct 1744: William Remington school-master (and three others) ordered to depart town with their respective families (Bk 4 p 4)

12 Oct 1744: Caleb Bennett was "served with warrant to remove William Remington, keeper of the school in the Southermost School-house belonging to this town, out of this Town" (Bk 4 p 7)

8 Dec 1746: William Remington, school-master, given certificate for himself and family to reside in Providence (Bk 4 p 19)

13 Nov 1752: William Remington served with order to draw 5 pounds old Tenor out of Town Treasury towards his support and relief; also served with certificate to reside in Town of Coventry (Bk 4 p 72)

12 Mar 1753: William Remington and family served with certificate to reside in Town of Coventry (same as above, with added words to include family); the following year on 9 Sep 1754 another schoolmaster of PI named Celly was warned out of Po, so perhaps this suggests that the family of William Remington, schoolmaster, finally left for good. (Bk 4 p 74)

From Warwick Town Council Records (courtesy of Cherry Fletcher Bamberg):

10 April 1749: William Remington and his family presented a certificate from Portsmouth and were accepted as inhabitants.

7 February 1749/50: William Remington, who had come to town with his family from Portsmouth was to be notified to appear.

William married Mary Manton Abt 1726. Mary (daughter of Edward Manton and Elizabeth Thornton) was born Abt 1702; died Bef 2 Apr 1768. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Please note that I am not sure which William Remington married Mary Manton, or when he was born, or when either of them was born. I have placed Mary here with this William as a reasonable guess. I am also not sure of all the children. Please read notes for her husband William.

William and his family appear in the town records of Portsmouth frequently, but the names of the children are not specified.

I have estimated the year of their marriage based on the 1723 will of Mary's father which mentions that she is single.

Notes:

According to a genealogy at Rootsweb's Worldconnect, this William Allen married Freelove Tillinghast. He is of the right age and location to have married her, but I have not yet found any documentation. Wayne G. Tillinghast in his book "The Tillinghasts in America" disputes that, offering evidence that William's wife could not have been Freelove Tillinghast -- at least not the daughter of Joseph Tillinghast.

I suspect that Freelove Allen who married William Remington is a daughter of William & Freelove Allen.

For the time being, I have placed Freelove Allen as a daughter in this family group, pending further research to confirm. These are assumptions only, based on incomplete evidence.

According to research of Wayne G. Tillinghast, William & Freelove Allen were admitted to membership in the Second Baptist Church of Newport on 4 March 1729 ("The Tillinghasts in America, The First Four Generations," RIGS 2006 p 150).

William married Freelove Unknown Abt 1714. Freelove was born Abt 1695; died 1767. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

It has been suggested that this Freelove may have been Freelove Tillinghast. However, Wayne G. Tillinghast in his book "The Tillinghasts in America" disputes that, offering evidence that William's wife could not have been Freelove Tillinghast -- at least not the daughter of Joseph Tillinghast. See page 150, where he notes that William & Freelove Allen were admitted to membership in the Second Baptist Church at Newport on 4 March 1729.

She also is identified as Freelove Tillinghast in the RI Genealogical Register Vol. 6 No. 4 p. 241, "Descendants of John Maccoone." The compiler of this article did not note his source, which may have been DeVere Allen's work on the Allens of Prudence Island.

Notes:

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

William Rimington witnessed the will of Philip Sweet on 12 Dec 1709.

First of all, I am not at all sure that William is the father of our ancestor Joseph. At this point it is a possibility, placed here as a working model and subject to change. Research is ongoing to link together the Rhode Island Remingtons. Most of the Remingtons on this family tree are properly linked with documentation noted. However, in the case of a few families, a best-guess scenario is being used until further evidence comes to light. That is the case here.

The four names of the children have been chosen because they appear as names (not identified as siblings) in the Portsmouth town records. I am placing them here simply as a working model.

According to their father's will, William and his brother Thomas must have been at least 21 in 1710, with William receiving most of the property and designated as joint executor along with his mother; this might suggest that the two older sons were born c1687 and 1689. However, Torrey's "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" says the first child of record was born 1682, and that is the date assigned to Thomas in several reputable genealogies. Consequently, I have given William the birth year of 1682 as the oldest son. However, this means that if he is the one who married Mary Manton, he was at least 43 when they married. This opens up four possibilities: his birth year actually may be later, such as 1687; or, he married later in life; or, he married someone else first and Mary Manton was his second wife; or, he isn't the William who married Mary Manton, in which case he may have an unknown marriage c1700 and a son William Jr. who married Mary. This last idea is the one I have used here, for the time being.

William Remington of Warwick was made a freeman of the colony on 1 May 1711 (Bartlett, Records of RI, 4:114). He registered an earmark for his cattle "and other Creatures" on 1 Jan 1712/13 (Early Records of Warwick, p. 10). From this one might assume that William's birth year could not have been after 1690.

According to Oliver Payson Fuller's "The History of Warwick, RI," in 1712 William sold his share of the Remington farm, located on the northwest corner of Post Rd. & Cowesett Rd., but reserved the burying ground where his father and grandfather are interred. Portions of the Remington land were later bought by Thomas Jones Spencer & Thomas LeValley.

Where did William live after this land sale? I speculate that he may have gone to Prudence Island, where his mother's family resided, and where William himself may have been born.

I was informed of a reference to a couple named William & Abigail Remington in the East Greenwich Town Council records of Jan 1742/3 (source: Cherry Fletcher Bamberg, compiler & editor of "RI Roots" and "Gleanings.") Therefore, I have made a tentative assumption that this may be William, the son of Thomas & Mary, and that his wife is the Abigail referenced in the East Greenwich records. Abigail and her family had come to East Greenwich from Prudence Island but did not have the official permission or the financial means to stay there. Her husband William was employed for a year as a servant of Philip Arnold of Warwick, so the East Greenwich Town Council ordered that Abigail and her family be taken to the Arnold home.

From Portsmouth Town Council records:

1729: William Remington of PI & family warned out of town of Po (Bk 3 pp 17 & 21)

1737: William Remington & family given certificate from Po to relocate to East Greenwich (Bk 3 p 260)

14 Feb 1742: William Remington of PI qualified with certificate for himself, wife, and children to reside in Warwick for 4-year term if Town Council there accept him (Bk 3 p 289)

20 Jun 1743: William Remington of PI qualified with certificate to reside at Providence with wife and children for 7-yr-term if Town Council there accept them (Bk 3 p 291)

Some or all of the above notes from the town records could refer to his (possible) son William who married Mary Manton.

SK land evidence, Jan 1722: William Remington witnessed documents of Ebenezer & Mary Smith, regarding bequeathing two negro children named Primus & Dinah. Could this William be the son of Thomas & Mary (Allen) Remington, of Warwick? It is in the correct time frame. However, he might be the individual mentioned in the last paragraph below, who was "of Jamestown" in 1733 (h/o Mary Manton). (I have placed that other William, schoolmaster, as possible son of this William.)

At the funeral of a William Remington on 3 March 1764, Elder John Gorton preached on the text John 5:25. I am not sure if that was this particular William Remington, but for the time being I am using that date here, pending further research. (source: Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher. Elder John Gorton and the Six-Principle Baptist Church of East Greenwich, RI. Greenville, RI: RI Genealogical Society, 2001; p. 53)

In addition, there was a William Remington, of Jamestown, who was a schoolmaster in 1733. He was most likely the same William Remington who was a schoolmaster at Prudence Island. He married (after 7 Aug 1723) Mary Manton, of Edward, and had several children, including Elizabeth & Anne (m. Vial, had a son John). He is possibly the William Remington who died at Cranston 21 Apr 1768. These two Williams could easily be confused, since apparently they lived during the same time. Could they be father and son? That is my assumption here for the purpose of linking them to the family tree. (needs more research to determine and confirm relationships)

William married Abigail UNKNOWN Abt 1703, RI. Abigail was born Abt 1685; died Aft Jan 1742/43. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Her name may have been Abigail; this is an idea deduced from observing the reoccurrence of this name among the descendants.

Some time after entering the above note, I was informed of a reference to William & Abigail Remington in the East Greenwich Town Council records of Jan 1742/3 (source: Cherry Fletcher Bamberg, compiler & editor of "RI Roots" and "Gleanings.") Therefore, I have made a tentative assumption that this may be William, the son of Thomas & Mary, and that his wife is the Abigail referenced in the East Greenwich records.

Notes:

The will of Edward Manton of Providence, yeoman, was dated 7 Aug 1723 and proved 22 Oct 1723; he died 14 Aug 1723. The will mentions his wife Elizabeth; three sons Shadrach, Edward, and John; and daughters Ann Trip who has unnamed children, Kathron (single), Mary (single), and Elizabeth and Sarah Manton. Instructions are given to the three sons and to daughters Kathron and Mary "that they take Care and Provide attendance and all things necessary for there two poore helpless sisters: my daughters Elizabeth Manton and Sarah Manton dureing the full term of the naturall Life of Each of them . . ." (source: RI Genealogical Register, Vol, 12, p. 163).

The Edward Manton house was erected c1683 in Johnston, on "the east side of the road that leads to Killingly" and by the Woonasquatucket River, and near the Assapumpset Brook. The area, originally called the Secesakut Lands, became known as Manton.

Edward married Elizabeth Thornton 9 Dec 1680. Elizabeth (daughter of John Thornton and Sarah Unknown) was born Abt 1662; died Aft 1723. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

William's will is dated 10 Jan 1735/36, and proved 14 Jul 1740. It mentions his wife, Martha; and children William, John, Ebenezer, & Margaret, wife of Thomas Lawton of Bristol; grandson William, son of John; and grandson James. William Allin/Allen, Jr., reportedly resided at Portsmouth.

Portsmouth land evidence has numerous deeds involving the Allen family and land on Prudence Island.

He may be the William Allin that was admitted a freeman of Portsmouth on 6 June 1692, along with Thomas Remington.

William Allen is mentioned as a son-in-law in the 1718 will of James Sweet of Portsmouth, RI.

William married Martha Sweet Abt 1690. Martha (daughter of James Sweet and Hannah Unknown) was born Abt 1670. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Martha Sweet is identified as the wife of William Allen in The American Genealogist by Donald Lines Jacobus; Vol 48 p 224.