Charles Howard Remington

Notes:

I am making an assumption that Charles H. Remington (b.c.1873 in the 1880 Federal Census at Brooklyn, New York City) is the same individual as Charles Howard Remington (b.Dec 1872) in the RI Cemetery Database. This is a reasonable assumption since his mother's maiden name (in the census) is Howard, and his father James (in the census) was from RI.

In the Federal Census of 1900, Charles H. Remington is age 27, living at Brooklyn, NY, with Charles & Mary Howard. He is their nephew. Also in the household are Pearl Remington (Charles's wife) 25 & Charlotte Remington 24 (Charles's sister). Charles is a produce merchant.

The death record at the RI State Archives identifies his parents as James H. & Ellen. The date of death given by the RI Cemetery Database is 17 Mar 1931.

Charles married Pearl M. Tillinghast 7 Sep 1900, Kings Co., NY. Pearl (daughter of Ozias D. Tillinghast and Josephine Unknown) was born 14 May 1875, RI; died 30 Mar 1943; was buried , North Burial Ground, Providence, RI. [Group Sheet]

1. Mary H. Remington was born 25 Feb 1901; died 16 Jul 1980; was buried , North Burial Ground, Providence, RI.

Notes:

James attended East Greenwich Academy, then Brown University, where he was valedictorian in 1862. His oration, which was on the "Scholar's Relations to Humanity," was delivered in the uniform of a captain of infantry beneath the traditional scholastic gown. In September 1862, he was mustered into the army as captain of Company H, 7th Regiment, RI Infantry. He was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA, on 13 December 1862, sustaining a hit from a musket ball which shattered his lower jaw. It was a compound fracture in which the bone was "badly shattered and imperfectly united." After a period of recuperation at a hospital in New Haven, CT, he was officially discharged due to disability on 2 May 1863. Having returned to Rhode Island in April 1863, he was elected to the RI House of Representatives from Warwick, but soon resigned this political position to return to military service with a group known as the Invalid Corps, renamed Veterans Reserve Corps. He accepted a captain's commission and served in several different units, including one which guarded rebel prisoners at Camp Chemung in Elmira, NY, from November 1864 to June 1865.

While stationed at Elmira, James studied law in his spare time, and was appointed to serve as Judge Advocate of a General Court Martial in Albany, NY, from May to December 1865. He was later assigned to serve from January 1866 to November 1868 as an officer in Virginia for the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. In this agency his job was to help people transition from wartime to a peacetime economy, and to assist and protect newly freed African-Americans. The organization established schools and distributed food, clothing, and firewood to the needy. James also used his legal expertise to aid individuals in the courts.

During his convalescence at New Haven, CT, James had met a young woman named Ellen "Nellie" F. Howard, with whom he established a lasting friendship and carried on a correspondence. They were married in Brooklyn, NY, in 1868. Shortly after this he entered into law practice in Portsmouth, VA. In 1872 they moved to Brooklyn, where he practiced law in New York City for the remainder of his life. His business focused on tax, patent, and real estate law. James H. Remington was one of the earliest members of the NY State Bar Association, and president of the US Law Association from 1881 to 1899.

In the 1870 Federal Census, James H. Remington is age 31, b RI, a lawyer, living in a hotel at Portsmouth, VA. His wife's name is not listed, although she may very well have been living there with him.

In the 1880 Federal Census, James & Ellen are living in Brooklyn with their two children, as well as Ellen's mother and brother.

James H. Remington was Paymaster of the Kentish Guards c1860 (source: Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Passed at the May Session, 1858).

The additional following information on James H. Remington is found in a biographical sketch in "The Seventh Regiment of RI Volunteers in the Civil War, 1862 - 1865," by William P. Hopkins; Providence, RI: Snow & Farmham Printers, 1903; Personal Sketches, pp. 352 - 354:

"Captain James Henry Remington, son of Benjamin F., was born at Warwick, R.I., Nov. 9, 1838, on the old homestead, which, up to 1892, at least, had been in the Remington family since it was purchased from the Narragansett Indians. The father was a member of the Rhode Island legislature . . .

"Dec. 30, 1865, General Hooker, by order of the secretary of war, appointed Captain Remington judge advocate of the court of inquiry convened at Rochester, N.Y., to investigate certain charges against Col. E. G. Marshall, a graduate of West Point, attached to the Fifth United States Infantry, who had previously distinguished himself as the commander of the Thirteenth New York Volunteers. The case was hotly contested for several weeks, but resulted in the exoneration of the colonel. In this famous trial he clearly exhibited the ability, learning, and tact that afterward distinguished him at the bar. Subsequently he served at Winchester, Wytheville, and Norfolk, Va., as military commissioner, assisting in the reconstruction of the state and gaining the respect of all parties for his firmness and impartiality. He resigned in September, 1868, having been commissioned major by brevet for gallantry and good conduct to date, from March 13, 1865, and henceforth devoted his attention exclusively to the law.

"Dec. 8, 1868, Mr. Remington was admitted to the bar at Norfolk, and immediately commenced practice in the courts of Virginia. Pending reconstruction he was appointed by General Canby, who commanded the first military district of Virginia, attorney for Norfolk, Princess Anne, Nansemond, South Hampton, and Isle of Wight counties. So satisfactorily did he discharge his duties that when the state had become reconstructed, he was at once elected by the people attorney for Norfolk County and the City of Portsmouth. When the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic commenced he became one of its leaders, and it was largely through his personal influence that the Department of Virginia was established. In December, 1870, he was appointed its commander by Gen. John A. Logan, then commander-in-chief of the order, but previously had been chosen commander of the Farragut Post at Portsmouth . . .

"Mr. Remington was a member of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, and for many years a warm friend and admirer of Henry Ward Beecher . . . He was also a supporter of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences."

From website of Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY: REMINGTON JAMES H. Burial date 1899-02-11 Lot 26526 Section139

James married Ellen "Nellie" F. Howard 14 Oct 1868, Brooklyn, Kings Co., NY. Ellen (daughter of Warner Howard and Juliaette Allen) was born Abt 1848, CT; died May 1898, Brooklyn, NY; was buried 26 May 1893, Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings Co., NY. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

From website of Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY: REMINGTON ELLEN F. Burial date 1893-05-26 Lot 26526 Section139

Notes:

Benjamin took over the Remington farm on Cowesett Rd., which had been inherited from his father and forebears.

On 16 November 1832, at Warwick, RI, Benjamin F. Remington & Jonathan Remington, both yeomen of Warwick, signed a deed which acknowledged receipt of $600 from John B. Arnold, yeoman of Warwick, for "land with dwelling thereon situated in Warwick, in the village of Centerville." Also signing the deed were Mary Ann A. Remington, wife of Jonathan, and Sarah A. Remington, wife of Benjamin.

Martha A. Benns has transcribed records with Benjamin's date of death as 15 Jan 1877; however, the official death entry at Warwick Town Hall appears to say 15 Jan 1879, which is probably correct since he died at age 72.

The gravestone has his date of death as 5 Jan 1879. It has the quotation "Charity suffereth long and is kind."

Benjamin married Sarah A. Tillinghast 1831. Sarah (daughter of Samuel Tillinghast and Mary Unknown) was born 1 Mar 1809; died 16 Oct 1896; was buried , Remington-Arnold Lot, Cem. #60, Corner of Cowesett Rd. and Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

According to notes in the Mary E. Rice Collection, Sarah's Tillinghast ancestry was like this, starting from the earliest American ancestor: Pardon, Philip, John, Pardon, Stukely, Stephen, Samuel, Sarah. This needs to be confirmed.

Warner — Juliaette Allen. Juliaette was born Abt 1817, CT. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the 1850 Federal Census, Thomas & Elizabeth are living at Warwick, Kent, RI. With them are sons Albert G. & John H. C.

The death entry at Warwick City Hall says he died on 15 Nov 1853.

The graves of Thomas & Elizabeth are in the Remington-Arnold Lot, behind the Stop & Shop at Cowesett Corners. This whole area was part of the original Remington farm, but now is mostly residential and commercial. There is a section of woods behind the shopping center, and that is the location of the family cemetery.

Thomas married Elizabeth "Betsey" Remington 3 Jan 1803, Warwick, RI. Elizabeth (daughter of Jonathan REMINGTON and Phebe UNKNOWN) was born 24 Dec 1785, Berkshire Co., MA; died 7 Oct 1870, Apponaug, Warwick, RI; was buried , Warwick, RI Historical Cemetery 60, off Cowesett Rd. at Bald Hill. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have made an assumption that Betsey, Maplet's sister, is the Elizabeth Remington b. c1783, "daughter of Jonathan," who married Thomas Remington b. c1780, son of Benjamin & Phebe (Manchester) Remington. They were first cousins.

In 1860 Elizabeth Remington, age 77, is living at Warwick, RI, next to Ferdinand & Abby Remington. In 1870 she is age 86 and still at Warwick (Apponaug Post Office); she is living with Levi & Elizabeth Baker. Apparently she died not long after this census was taken.

The death record says "daughter of Jonathan," b. c1783. The RI Cemetery Database says c1784. Maplet's sister was born in December 1785, so assuming that the date of death is correct, and that the date of birth is correct in the family Bible, Elizabeth would have died just short of 85 years old. (There was another Jonathan Remington born in Scituate in 1743, but I have not yet discovered data on any family he may have had, such as a daughter named Elizabeth/Betsey.)

Additional evidence is found in the will of Thomas's brother, Jonathan d. 1866, who mentions Betsey Remington, widow of Thomas Remington, deceased. This probably would have been Elizabeth, his sister-in-law; her husband had died in 1853. So Betsey was her nickname. Betsey is also the name written in the family Bible as one of Maplet's sisters.

Elizabeth's birthplace as MA came from the papers of Mary E. Rice late of East Greenwich, RI, now deceased. This agrees with the data in the 1860 & 1870 Federal Censuses, which both have Massachusetts as Elizabeth's birthplace, and thus are additional support for her being Maplet's sister.

Notes:

The names of Samuel & Mary are found in the death record of their daughter Mary Remington, in the RI Death Index.

Samuel — Mary Unknown. [Group Sheet]