| Notes |
- (If you use any portion of these notes, please give credit to me -- Lois Sorensen, Remington researcher -- and/or to other sources as noted herein.)
The family of Jesse Remington is in the 1800 census at Candia, Rockingham Co., NH, and in 1810 at Chester, Rockingham Co., NH. In 1800, there appear to be five sons and one daughter; in 1810 there are seven sons and two daughters.
See the publication entitled "Historical discourse delivered at the centennial anniversary of the Congregational Church, Candia, N.H., April 5, 1871" by James H. Fitts; Exeter, N.H.: News-Letter Press, 1903. This history of the church pastored by Rev. Jesse Remington has many references to him, particularly in pp. 45 ff. The notes immediately following here are from this source.
"On the 12 of July, 1790, the town by a vote of 76 to 12, extended to Mr. Jesse Remington a Call to the work of the ministry in this Parish . . . The church also, Oct. 20, 1790, extended him a call, and received him to 'full communion' by letter from Taunton." (p. 45 - 46)
The area of Candia, Rockingham County, NH, was initially purchased and settled around 1720. The town was incorported in 1763, and a preacher was hired in 1764. Rev. Remington was the fifth minister to the town's congregants. He served in this ministry 24 years 4 months 13 days (1790 - 1815).
He was born in Abington, MA, in 1760, graduated from Harvard in 1784, and received the honarary degree of Master of Arts in 1808. (p. 48)
Rev. Jesse Remington died on 3 Mar 1815 at the age of 55, after a "long, painful, and tedious sickness" in which he was "patient, submissive, and resigned." (p. 49)
From his funeral sermon by Rev. Josiah Prentice: "He was indeed an Evangelical Preacher, sound in the Faith, remarkably clear in the doctrines of grace, a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, holding forth the faithful word . . . " (p. 49)
This historical discourse mentions a man named Jesse Remington Fitts associated with the church in the 1870s. He and his family are in the 1850 census at Candia. I don't think that he was a descendant, but he was born c1815 and was obviously named after the pastor.
There is a Latin inscription on his gravestone: "Sic transit gloria mundi" -- which means, so fades the glory of the world.
According to Boyd Scott Remington's ancestry chart, Jesse was in the Revolution (no source noted).
From the headmaster of Jesse Remington High School:
Hello Lois
Well, Mr. Remington was a most fascinating man! There is a bit known about him, but not a lot. He was a late Colonial Pastor, statesman, leader in the Candia, Chester area. He led our area in strong Christian teaching, and was a strong opponent to the new, deistic definition of Christianity.
He died in 1815, is buried here, with a wife and son. We use his home as part of our campus.
I was on the team that chose the name for our school, and we use his name as a model and example for our students.
What little is written about him is in the Candia Public Library, which goes by the name "Smyth Public Library".
One person who is more in the know about him than I would be our pastor, David, at areformer@aol.com.
Best of luck! Let me know if you find anything really great about him!
Jeff Philbrick
* * * * *
Jesse Remington was pastor from 1790 until his death in 1815. He was not the first pastor of the church but his strong evangelical theology set the church "on a firm foundation," and established the strong committed congregation that was able to receive the 265 conversions which occurred in 1822-23 during a revival. He opposed the "halfway covenant" which was the move toward liberal religion in his time - this was significant in that the President of Harvard declared his non-belief in the trinity in 1800 and the stage was being set for the Unitarian vs. Congregational split in New England. Under JR the church established a new convenant (1793) which was restored to use after the renewal here in the mid 1980s, and JR set the precedent of only baptizing the babies of "communicant members," that is, those who gave personal testimony to faith in Christ rather than simply "owning the covenant." This is still a mark of the church. In the 1790s under JR it is significant that Candia was censured by the Rockingham Assoc. for the introduction of the "new musick" via a choir and bass viol. He was a strong-minded independent person who debated with the Baptists when they arrived on his watch, and built his own house when the parsonage began falling apart (literally). After his death his empty house (recently purchased by the church and now in use) was the site of the first attempt by Fitts to create a high school that would "provide a trinitarian alternative to the Unitarian school at Exeter" (Phillips Exeter Academy). This school sputtered in and out of existence over a twenty-or-so-year period. JR is buried in the graveyard behind the church and we have some other information in various documents here if you wish to poke around. In 1871 at the Centennial of the church a prayer was offered by Fitts that a "fitting memorial" would be someday raised to JR as the spiritual father of faith in the community. We see the High School as that memorial. Hope that helps. Pastor David (Candia Congregational Church)
The Jesse Remington Farm is now the parsonage.
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1759 - 1815 (55 years)
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