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)
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