David Clarke Remington

David — Katya Kallsen. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

He enlisted in the US Navy 11 Aug 1944 and was released 6 June 1946.

US Navy World War II Muster Rolls list Chester's service number as 205 78 76.

His rating was S1c (Seaman 1st class) on some of the ship USS Anacosta's muster rolls, for example: quarter ending 1 Oct 1945; month ending 1 Mar 1946, sailing from Okinawa to Pearl Harbor.

On other muster rolls of the same ship, his rating was S2c (Seaman 2nd class): 25 Feb 1945, 31 Mar 1945, and 27 Apr 1945 sailing from San Pedro, CA.

Report of changes for period ending 19 June 1946 USS Saginaw Bay: Chester P. Remington, rating at date of last report: Cox (Coxswain).

Coxswain: works with canvas and handles boats; knows signaling.

Chester married Lillian Eva Bennett 26 Apr 1958, Old South Church, Boston, MA. Lillian (daughter of John Alan Bennett and Mary Watson Nisbet) was born 13 Jun 1918, Riverside, RI; died 21 Jun 2002, Marblehead, Essex Co., MA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a photocopy of his original birth entry at Coventry, Book of Births for 1894, p. 98. His gravestone has been photographed.

Apparently Chester & Laura and family were not listed in the 1920 Federal Census, nor were their Whitford cousins who lived with them in the duplex farmhouse on Knotty Oak Rd., Coventry, RI.

However, in the 1925 Rhode Island Census they are on Hope Rd., Coventry.

This family farm, located on what is now Old Hope Lane, was called the Linden Farm in the old days, because the driveway was lined with beautiful linden trees. My grandfather kept a herd of cows and had a milk route. Their two-family farmhouse burned to the ground during the night on 27 Dec 1924, when my dad was six years old. Because the insurance had lapsed, my grandfather was not able to rebuild, so the family lived in a shanty on the property for a couple of years before moving away. This property has changed somewhat since the 1920s, but much of it remains the same -- the old stone walls, the pastures, and the lay of the land. A new house has been built in one of the pastures, the old barn has been replaced by a smaller one, and a couple of additional houses have been built along the driveway leading into the farm. It is now called Old Hope Farm.

In the 1930 Federal Census, the family is living at 365 Jackson Ave., Johnston, RI. In 1935 they were living at 1226 Plainfield St., Johnston.

In 1940 they were living at 24 Kilvert St. in Warwick, RI. Norman, Raymond, Chester, and Richard were living with their parents.

Chester married Laura Russel CHAFEE 28 Apr 1917, Coventry, Kent Co., RI. Laura (daughter of Frank Paine CHAFEE and Mary Elizabeth ANDREWS) was born 28 Apr 1899, Bristol, Bristol Co., RI; died 14 Mar 1975, Natick, Middlesex Co., MA; was buried , Woodland Cemetery, Washington & Knotty Oak Sts., Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have very happy memories of my grandmother, which is one reason why I named my older daughter after her. We would often visit her on Heath Avenue in Warwick. Once I even got to spend the night with her. The next day we walked a couple of miles to the shopping center across from Aldrich Junior High. I wanted to buy some doll clothes, but she said, "I can make those for you, Dear." And she did -- beautiful ones, for our baby dolls and grown-up dolls. She did lovely embroidery, too, which she gave as gifts in the form of pillows, table and bed linens, and framed pictures. In later years, when she moved to Ashland, MA, we would usually ride up to see her on Sunday afternoons. After I learned to drive, one summer day I borrowed my dad's car and drove up there with my cousin Barbara, and we took her to the seashore for lunch. Another time I rolled her hair up for her. In the early 1970s, Rich and I would drop in on her, and get her talking about the old days. Once she got started, the stories followed one after another. She'd get out the photographs, laugh about this or that event, and often give her opinion in no uncertain terms. More than once she said she had married too young, on her 18th birthday. But I'm glad she did, because my dad was born a little over a year later, the first of six sons. What a life! I'm sure her marriage, and her whole life, had its ups and downs. At one point their farmhouse burned down, and the family had to move into a little shanty for a while. My grandparents certainly set an example of hard work and determination for generations to follow. While I never met my grandfather, I know he was proud of his children and grandchildren. My grandmother was very much a part of our family, and I only wish she had lived to be a part of the lives of my children, too.

I have copies of Laura's birth, marriage, and death certificates, plus a copy of the page from the 1900 Census at Bristol which shows her family when Laura was one year old. Also, her gravestone has been photographed.

The birth record at Bristol says she is the second child born to Frank & Mary Chafee.

Notes:

They were married on Laura's eighteenth birthday. Chester was 23.

Notes:

In the 1920 Federal Census, John A. Bennett is age 29 and living with his wife Mary and two young daughters, Laura & Lillian. They are residing on Bluff St. in East Providence with Mary's parents and three of her sisters.

In 1930, John A. Bennett is age 39 and divorced, a lodger on Weybosset St. in Providence, RI. He is still a lawyer.

In 1940 he is living with wife Jane and two children in Warwick, RI. He is a lawyer and son John Jr. is an apprentice lawyer.

His 1942 draft registration card identifies him as John Alan Bennett age 47; living at 37 Clearwater St., Gaspee Plateau, Warwick, RI; self-employed in the Turks Head Building, Providence; (wife?) Mrs. Jane S. Bennett.

The obituary gives his dob as 27 June 1893; his draft registration says 27 June 1894; both give birthplace as Waltham, MA. However, the birth records for Waltham don't have his birth record for either year.

He may be the John Henry Bennett born 28 June 1890 (illegitimate male) at Waltham, MA, to John Bennett & Jennie O'Connell. John Sr. was a patternmaker; both John & Jennie were born in Waltham according to the birth record. In the Federal Census of 1910, John J. & Jennie Bennett are living in Providence, RI; they have two children, John 19 and Eva 18. John Sr. is a patternmaker at a foundry. His parents and Jennie's parents were born in Ireland.

The burial record at Swan Point gives his parents as John and Mary (O'Connor) Bennett. This seems to suggest that the above-mentioned couple might be his parents. I haven't found any other couple with similar names in the Waltham birth records. Eva was born 28 Oct 1891 in Waltham to John J. Bennett and Jane M. O'Connell.

John married Mary Watson Nisbet 21 Jul 1913, Providence, RI. Mary (daughter of William Nisbet and Margaret Watson) was born Abt. May 1892, Glascow, Scotland; died Feb 1977. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary came to America with her parents and siblings in 1896.

In the 1920 Federal Census, the extended family is living at 23 Bluff St., East Providence, RI. Mary's parents -- William & Margaret -- as well as her three sisters, appear to be living together with Mary, her husband John A. Bennett, and their two young daughters, Laura & Lillian.

In the 1930 Federal Census, Mary N. Bennett is age 37, divorced, and living at 199 Washington Ave., Providence, RI, with her three children.

Notes:

I have a copy of his birth certificate from Warwick, RI (Warwick Births, 1850 - 1882, Vol. 2, p. 5); a copy of his official marriage record from the RI State Offices in Providence, as well as the original page from the Town of Coventry marriage record book, p. 89; and his death certificate from Cranston, RI.

The 1880 census lists John A. Remington as age 12 at that time. I have a copy of the page from the census showing his family.

We have a nice portrait of John Allen dressed in his best suit, with a boutonnierre pinned to his right lapel. Perhaps it was a graduation picture, or even a wedding picture, as he was married quite young the first time -- not yet nineteen. His brown hair is neatly parted in the center and combed with a slight wave to either side. He has light eyes, like his father's, and fine regular features in an oval face. I definitely see a bit of his looks in our family, especially my uncles and my dad's cousins. We never knew much about my Great-grandfather Remington; things were left unsaid. His first wife died young of consumption, after only 1 1/2 years of marriage, which must have brought him much grief. Perhaps he took up drinking to cope with the sorrow, and then couldn't get away from it, even after marrying Angeretta, with whom he had two fine sons. For some reason they separated. He died so young, only 28 years old, of some form of cancer, according to the death certificate. I guess the whole story will never be known, so we've left it in God's hands.

John married Angeretta Williams WHITFORD 10 Nov 1891, Coventry, Kent Co., RI. Angeretta (daughter of Charles Carmi WHITFORD and Harty Potter JOHNSON) was born 10 Nov 1870, West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI; died 12 Oct 1958, Warwick, Kent Co., RI; was buried , Woodland Cemetery, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a photocopy of her original birth record in the official Book of Births for 1870 in the Town of West Greenwich, p. 20; a copy of the original marriage record from the official Book of Marriages for 1891 in the Town of Coventry, p. 89; a copy of the marriage certificate from the State Offices at Providence, RI; a copy of her death certificate from the State of Rhode Island; and a copy of the newspaper obituary. Her gravestone has been photographed.

Angeretta was a midwife.

I remember occasionally going to visit my Great-grandma Remington in a house on Knotty Oak Road in Coventry, RI, where she lived with "Aunt Ollie and Uncle Allen," who were actually my great aunt -- Angeretta's sister -- and her husband, Allen Hopkins. The older folks would sit around the living room and talk, while we children would sometimes sit and listen, and sometimes amuse ourselves by walking around -- but never upstairs, as I recall. There was a square metal grate in the floor between the living room and kitchen, through which the heat would blow from the basement furnace. Being a small child, I had to take a rather large step to walk, or rather jump, over this grate, and I was somehow worried that I might fall through!

Great-grandma Remington came to stay overnight with us once, and she slept in the room next to mine. When she was in the hospital with her final illness, I was allowed to go up to her hospital room to see her one last time. I was seven years old.

Aunt Ollie lived quite a few years longer, and died when I was sixteen. I have memories of going to her funeral. But the best memories are of the three generations of family sitting around that comfortable living room, where the older folks would talk in their gentle and pleasant voices.

Notes:

Frank's birth record is on a 3 x 5 card in a file cabinet in the Bristol Town Hall.

Frank & Mary's 50th wedding anniversary celebration was at Cousin Lida's house in Graniteville. (Lida Jenckes was Mary's niece.)

In the 1900 Federal Census, Frank & Mary "Chaffee" are living in Bristol, RI. With them are children Frank, 2, and Laura, 1.

In 1910, Frank & Mary E. "Chaffe" are living at Coventry, RI. In the household are: John 13, Frank 12, Laura 11, Ruth 9, Hattie 7, & Charles 4 months (?). Who is John? I think he may have been a child who died in infancy. Also, Hattie has already died by 1910. Perhaps the census taker listed all the children, past and present, born to the family.

In 1920, Frank P. & Mary E. Chafee are living at 357 Atlantic Ave. in the Longmeadow section of Warwick, RI. In the household are Ruth A., 19, and Charles A., 10. Frank is a foreman at the freighthouse. Daughter Ruth works as a jeweler in a factory.

In 1930 the family is at 632 Heights Ave. in the Riverview section of Warwick. Son Charles, 20, is the only one of the children still at home. Frank is a brakeman on the electric railway.

According to Frank's obituary, he moved to California only two months before he died (of metastic carcinoma). Formerly he had lived at 184 Potters Ave., Providence, RI, and had been a resident of Providence for 22 years. He was employed at the Davol Rubber Co. for 20 years.

I can remember seeing off my Great-grandfather and Great-grandmother Chafee on the train when they left Providence for California. I was just four years old.

Frank died at 1506 Imperial Ave., Jacumba, CA.

Frank married Mary Elizabeth ANDREWS 17 Jul 1896, Bristol, Bristol Co., RI. Mary (daughter of William ANDREWS and Eliza Jane EDWARDS) was born 13 Nov 1870, Lymansville, North Providence, RI; died 20 Mar 1959, Sunland, CA; was buried 23 Mar 1959, Mt. Hope Cemetery, 3751 Market St., San Diego, CA. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

She was "Mamie" to Great-grandpa Chafee.

Mary was born in Lymansville, North Providence, which is now part of Pawtucket. Her original birth record is at the Pawtucket City Hall.

Her address at the time of her death was 9645 Green Verdugo Rd., Sunland, CA. According to a notation on the funeral memorial, Mary's grave is in Section 1, Div. 8, Lot 116.

My dad, Norman, saved many of the letters she wrote to my family when she lived in California in the mid-1950s. In one of them she writes: "Everything seems queer to me here in the West. It's lovely up here in these mountains though -- I only wish Grandpa could have lived long enough for the Lord to heal him -- and he take a little comfort in his old age. I am quite alone here in this house -- Frankie's trailer is quite near (and they look after me and do all my errands) so I don't have to leave the place. I am lonely at times -- and wish things could have been different. But God's spirit is here and in me. Bless his name. I am trying to be contented. It's the best all around -- for not any of my children could take the burden of me like Frankie."

She tells how Frank took her with him to Arizona for a fishing trip on the Colorado River. She writes: "It was some trip (but part of it was rough) and some of it was lovely -- would like to have had all my people here to enjoy it with me. Love to you all and God's blessings on you, Grandma Chafee" [this was a couple of months after her husband died]

In another letter, she says: "Laura writes -- she must have looked like Lois when she was a little girl. (Not quite) She was very light -- with hair very sunny and fine." In another letter she says something similar: "Laura thinks she must have looked like Lois (when she was little) (not quite) she had a look like her dad (even then) where the blue eyes come from (is away back -- so Grandma Chafee says -- in the Chafee family) as Grandma Chafee was a Monrow, with brown eyes -- and Grandpa Chafee's eyes were a dark grey, like Aunt Lena's. Well that's all I can remember about it. The blue eyes didn't come from the Andrews either (my father's were a light grey -- not blue -- so it will remain a mystery I guess). Love to all of you -- God's blessings on you all. Grandma Chafee"

John — Jane M. "Jennie" O'Connell. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the 1900 Federal Census, the Nisbet family is living in Providence, RI: William 35, Marguerite 34, Marguerite B. 14, Rachael G. 10, Mary W. 8, Elsie K. 5, Lillian W. 3, and Laura B. 7 mos. William is a painter.

In 1910 the family is still at Providence. William's occupation is Interior Decorator.

In the 1920 Federal Census, William & Margaret Nesbit, ages 57 & 55, are living on Bluff St., East Providence, RI. According to the census data, they immigrated in 1896. In their household in 1920 are four daughters: Margaret B., Mary W. Bennett, Elsie G. K., & Laura B.. Mary is married to John Bennett, who is also in the household, along with their two daughters, Laura & Lillian. William is a painter, interior.

In the 1930 Federal Census, William & Margaret are aged 68 & 65. They are living on Church Ave. in Warwick, RI. Their daughter Margaret, 43, is with them, as well as a widowed sister-in-law, Mary First (?), aged 72, born in England.

William was an artist who at one time directed the interior decorating at Providence City Hall and other public buildings in the capital city.

According to relative Ian Nisbet, William and Margaret and family sailed on the SS Peruvian and arrived in Boston on 14 Oct 1896. William's occupation was listed as "house painter."

William married Margaret Watson 5 Jun 1884, Southend, Argyllshire, Scotland. Margaret (daughter of Joseph Watson and Rachel Gibson) was born Between 1864 and 1865, England; died Aft 1 Jun 1930. [Group Sheet]