John Henry Remington

Narrative:

     John Henry Remington was born on 7 Oct 1818 in Castleton, Vermont.^7,8,9
     He was probably one of the two males under age 10 listed in the household of his father, Zadock Remington Jr., in the 1820 Federal Census of Castleton, Rutland Co., Vermont.¹⁷ He was probably one of the two males age 10 to 15 appearing on the 1830 Federal Census of Rutland Co., Vermont, in the household of Zadock Remington, his paternal grandfather. It appears his parents were also in that household.¹⁸
     His father died on 1 Aug 1830, when John was 11 years old.^19,20
     On 6 Apr 1836 Benjamin F. Langdon, guardian of John, his brother Elkanah, and their sister Mary, was authorized by the Probate Court to sell their interest in all the real estate they had inherited from their late father. On 7 Jun 1836 he sold 68 acres, what remained of their father's farm in Castleton after small portions had been sold by the administrators to Marcus G. Langdon for $1,600. It was sold subject to their mother's dower, a one-third life interest in the property. It was also encumbered by a mortgage their father had given his father in 1818 for a $2,000 loan that apparently had not been fully repaid.²¹

His First Marriage --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John married first Betsey Mariah Stevens, daughter of Samuel Stevens and Sarah M. Ransom, on 13 Jun 1839 in West Rutland, Vermont, with Russell Fish, justice of the peace, offciating.^10,11,12
     John and Betsey lived on the Pond Farm in Castleton that she had inherited a life interest in from her maternal grandfather in 1843. After her death, when title passed to her minor children, he continued to live there with their children, and then with his second wife their daughters, and her daughters by her prior marriage.^22,23 John farmed the property, but claimed he was never able to make a living from it.^24,25,26 According to several witnesses, the farm was a poor one, and could not have earned more than $100 per year. He kept about 40 sheep and a cow, raised about 40 bushels of oats and a like amount of shelled corn each year. Many years he hired land from others, paying half the crop as rent.²⁷
     John purchased a 76-acre lot, known as the "Gill Lot," and 140 sheep from Orlin Smith on 13 Feb 1847, for $500. The lot was rocky and unsuited for tillage, and was purchased for additional pasturage for the farm. It was paid for by gifts of $300 from his wife's grandmother and uncle and John's brother, and the balance by the sale of the sheep.²⁸
     John and Betsey appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Castleton, Rutland Co., Vermont, enumerated 28 Aug 1850, reporting real estate valued at $4,000. Their children Mary, James, Sophia and Margaret were listed as living with them, as was Sally Jones, age 17, relationship unknown.²
     His wife died on 22 Mar 1852 in Castleton, Vermont.^29,30,31

A Prompt Re-Marriage --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John married second Annis Baker Clark, daughter of Fitch Clark and Laura Baker, on 10 Jun 1852 in Pawlet, Vermont, with Rev. Elijah H. Bonney officiating.^13,14,15
     John's suffered from ill health to the point that he became unable do the farm work for many years. A doctor reported that by 1860 he was suffering from affection of the lungs and weak epilepsy, and unable to perform but little manual labor, and since then had been unable to support himself by manual labor. Another reported he had suffered from asthma and stomach vertigo for many years and was incapacitated for manual labor. A daughter and a step-daughter both later recalled he also had fainting fits.³² His daughter Eveline later recalled that never in her memory was her father was never "of good health nor strong or able to do farm work and his children had to do most of it. "She said during the period 1857 through 1863 she did light farm work out of doors while her brother James took the heavy part, such as pitching on hay, holding the plough, etc, etc. She often loaded hay while he pitched it on, and drove the horses while he held the plough. After he died she had to take his place.³³
     Because John was unable to support his family friends and family contributed money, food and clothing. His brother Elkanah provided clothing and money from time to time, including paying to return the remains of his son from Virginia. He took his vacations in August and went to Vermont to help bring in the hay, and brought some of John's daughters to New York and sent them to school.³⁴
     From the age of 15 his son James was working off the family farm to earn money to give to his father to support the family. He cut wood and sold it, and by the fall of 1859 he was running a horse-powered thrashing machine, hiring Daniel T. Johnson to assist him. He hired him again the next spring to operate a horse-powered sawmill.³⁵ In Sep 1860 John posted a newspaper notice stating that he had agreed to give his son James, then 17, "his time during the remainder of his minority." He stated that he would "not claim any of his earnings nor pay any debts of his contracting." It appears this was to done to make it easier for James to engage in work off the family farm.³⁶
     John and Annis appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Castleton, Rutland Co., Vermont, enumerated 16 Jul 1860, reporting real estate valued at $5,000 and personal estate of $1,000. Their children Helen and Flora, his children by his prior marriage, Sophia, Margaret and Florence, and her daughter by her prior marriage, Julia Ann Loomis, were listed as living with them. Seymour Conger, a 16-year-old farm laborer, were also listed in the household.³⁷
     While in the army James did laundry and sold lemonade, sending most of the money to his father. He also gave his father his $100 enlistment bounty.³⁸
     John became an auctioneer in 1861, continuing to farm as well until 1867 when he let out the farm to others. Most auctions were in nearby towns in Vermont and New York, but some clients were as far away as Boston, Jersey City, New Jersey, and Baltimore. The income from his auction business in the 22 years from 1861 to 1882 totaled $1,200, ranging from $5 in 1866 to $225 in 1878, averaging about $55 per year. After his expenses for traveling, hotel bills, and the like, his net income was under $900 for the period, or on average about $40 per year.^39,40,41,42

Acquiring Title to the Farm --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John bought her one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm from his daughter Mary on 1 Mar 1859, for $500.⁴³ On 27 Apr 1859 he mortgaged the one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm, and another two-acre parcel, to her to secure notes for $500, to be repaid with interest in annual installments on 1 Aug 1860 through 1868. The mortgage was marked paid in full 13 Apr 1864.⁴⁴
     With the death of his son in Dec 1862, John, as his only heir at law, inherited his one-fifth share in the farm.²³
     John bought her one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm that she had inherited from her mother from his daughter Adelaide and her husband on 4 Aug 1863, for $500.⁴⁵
     John bought her one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm that she had inherited from her mother from his daughter Margaret on 15 Sep 1866, for $600.⁴⁶ The same day he mortgaged the same one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm to her to secure a note for $450, to be repaid on demand with interest. The mortgage was marked paid in full 22 Jul 1871.⁴⁷
     On 13 Oct 1866 John mortgaged his four-fifths interest in the Pond Farm to Samuel P. Curtis, to secure a loan for $530, due in one year. It was noted as paid in full 2 Jul 1868.⁴⁸
     John bought her one-fifth interest in the Pond Farm that she had inherited from her mother from his daughter Florence on 29 May 1869, for $500.⁴⁹

Moving to Rutland --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John and Annis moved from the farm in Castleton to Rutland in Feb 1869.⁵⁰
     On 26 Jan 1870 John and Annis Baker Clark sold all the land they owned in Castleton to James Everson. According to the deed he paid $6,000 and assumed the $450 mortgage held by John's daughter Eveline. The parcels included the 76-acre lot he had purchased in 1847, a two-acre lot his first wife had purchased in 1850 from her uncle, Albert A. Ransom, and the Pond Farm, then occupied by Frank Williams. According to later testimony, the $6,000 figure was fictitious, and John actually received title to a 160-acre parcel in Missouri and $1,300, of which $1,000 was to repay the mortgages held by his daughters.^51,52
     For a time he also operated a livery stable, stocked with one to three horses. By his estimate he earned a net income of less than $200 from that business.⁵³
     John purchased a property on Pine St., Rutland, in May 1870, which was encumbered with three mortgages totaling $1,850 in principal and unpaid interest, which he assumed. He paid them off with $200 from the sale of horses and carriage used in his livery business, $300 from acting as agent in the purchase and sale of sheep, and with two new mortgages on both his properties in Rutland.⁵⁴ He lived on the Pine St. property until the spring of 1872, and then rented it to a series of tenants. The first lived there two years without paying rent, and the next paid $144, $100 in repairs, for two years. The following tenent paid $12 per month, and those after that $200 per year or $20 per month.⁵⁵
     John and Annis appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Rutland, Rutland Co., Vermont, enumerated 11 Jun 1870, reporting real estate valued at $4,500 and personal estate of $2,000. Their daughter Flora was listed as living with them.⁵⁶
     John sold the land in Missouri to the firm of Horan G. Clark, Brother, and Adams, in exchange for a farm in Chester, Windsor Co., Vermont, which was subject to a mortgage of $2,000.⁵⁷ In Dec 1871 John sold the farm in Chester to Luke Stearns, still subject to the mortgage. He received in exchange a house and lot on Grove St., in Rutland, which he made his residence in the spring of 1872, and stock in a bakery.⁵⁸ Shortly after this trade was made Luke Stearns became bankrupt, not having paid off the mortgage on the Chester farm, leaving John responsible for it. John made a claim against the estate, but received only $38. He mortgaged his home for a $1,500 loan, and with that and his earning paid off the Chester mortgage.⁵⁷
     John started a bakery business 15 Dec 1871, in a rented building, costing $800 including fixtures, partly financed on credit. Seven weeks later a fire destroyed fixtures and stock for a loss of $300, not covered by insurance.⁵³
     John and Annis appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Rutland, Rutland Co., Vermont, at 16 Grove St., enumerated 12 Jun 1880.⁵⁹

An Arduous Pension Application Process --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     John applied for a pension on 7 Jan 1880, based on the service of his son James in the Civil War. The application states that he was partly dependent on his son, but the form asked for no details. He gave is address as 16 Grove St., Rutland, Vermont.⁶⁰ Other than a report from the War Department verifying his son's service in Oct 1880, the file reflects no activity on the claim until a Surgeon's Certificate dated 26 Apr 1882 reported John was unable to do manual labor. A series of affidavits were submitted in the following months, apparently addressing questions from the Pension office. They supported the claims of John's disability, that the soldier's mother had died, that he had never married and had no children, his support of his father, and reported records of John's property in Castleton and Rutland. Two by John detailed his marriages, his children, and property he had owned. One by his daughter Eveline reported he had been unable to do farm work and the children had to do most if it.⁶¹
     Seven more affidavits were filed in the first half of 1883, documenting the value of John's property and establishing James' birth. One by his step-daughter Julia detailed his ill health, continuous indebtedness, and support by family. In Jun 1883 John filed a nine-page affidavit detailing his earnings from 1861 to date, and all his financial transactions. He said he then owned only furniture and personal estate worth less than $250, and the two properties in Rutland. They were encumbered by mortgages of $2,400, with three years unpaid interest, came to $2,862, about equal to their value.⁶²
     In Jan and Feb 1884 copies of the deed for John's purchase of the "Gill Lot" in 1847, and will of his first wife's grandfather were filed. Two affidavits by neighbors supporting his claim of poverty while operating the farm and the poor nature of the farm were filed, and one by a doctor describing his poor health. John filed an affidavit clarifying that he had no ownership interest in the farm after his wife died because she held only a life tenancy, and ownership passed to her children, the eldest 12 years old, at her death.⁶³ In Aug and Sep 1884 five more affidavits by neighbors were filed, all stating that he had been unable to support his large family from the poor farm and had received money, clothing, and other support from his brother, his late wife's brother, and others, including boarding some of his daughters in Castleton village so they could attend school.⁶⁴
     No further action on the case is found in the file until the fall of 1885, by which time John's situation seems to have become more dire. On 4 Oct 1885 he filed a request that the case be made "special" on the basis of extreme "want and destitution." He said he was unable to perform any manual labor, his home was heavily mortgaged and overdue, and he was dependent on the kindness of friends for the necessities of life. Ten other affidavits were filed that fall, mostly describing his poverty at the time of his son's death and every since. Several said he was receiving support from a son-in-law but do not say which one. One by the Castleton town clerk reported he had $200 in personal property in 1860, $105 in 1861, $100 in 1862, and nothing in any other year until he moved from the town. One byt the Rutland town clerk reported he had no personal property recorded in that town except for $100 in 1879, which was abated by the board because he owed more debts than the value of the personal property.⁶⁵
     The case was made "Special" by the Commissioner of Pensions, and a "Special Examiner" was appointed to review John's application, He came to Rutland on 11 Jan 1886 to determine the merits of the claim. He remained until 20 Jan, taking depositions from John and 22 other witnesses, reviewing their prior affidavits, and collecting copies of deeds and mortgages. He filed an eight-page report 21 Jan, stating his opinion that the claim was "meritorious." He recommended only that John Henry Remington's brother in Brooklyn be interviewed, as John had requested, as to his "physical condition, value of property, and amount of means." Another examiner filed a report 26 Jan of his deposition of Elkanah, and also reported his opinion that the claim was meritorious and recommended admission.⁶⁶
     The claim was approved 3 Feb 1886, for $8 per month, effective 25 Dec 1861, the day after his son's death. He received $2,304 in back payment.^67,68
     His second wife died on 15 Jun 1891 in Castleton, Rutland Co., Vermont.^69,70
     John died on 14 Aug 1892 in Pittsfield, Vermont, where his daughter Helen and her husband were living, at age 73.^4,9 He was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Castleton, Rutland Co., Vermont.¹⁶