Edward Franklin Remington

Narrative:

     Edward Franklin Remington was born on 19 Feb 1855 in Kings Co., New York.^8,9,10
     His mother died on 29 Apr 1859, when Edward was 4 years old.^16,17
     He appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, in the household of his father, Rev. Elkanah Franklyn Remington.¹⁸ He appeared on the 1865 State Census of Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, in the household of his father.⁵
     He appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, in the household of his father.¹⁹ He appeared on the 1875 State Census of Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York, in the household of his father.²⁰
     Edward married between 1875 and 1880, but no record of the marriage has been found, nor is the name of his wife known.^11,12,13
     About 1875 Edward stole a $500 United States bond from his father, and offered it to a pawnbroker for $450. The bond was in the name of E. F. Remington, and Edward told the pawnbroker it was his. After signing it in the presence of an attorney, he was paid the amount he requested.²¹ Edward used the proceeds to go on what newspaper reports called "an extended debatch." At the instance of friends he was sent to the Inebriate House at Fort Hamilton, New York. As a result, his wife separated from him.^22,23
     Edward managed to escape from the facility after some time. In the meantime the pawnbroker had attempted to redeem the bond and found it actually belonged to Edward's father, and filed charges with the police. On 6 Mar 1879 Edward was arrested on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses.²²
     The case did not come to trial for an extended period, and Edward's father posted bail for him. On 26 Mar 1880 Edward took his father's pulpit robe and pawned it. When his father discovered his action he surrendered his son and cancelled his bond. A week later the father posted a new bond for $1,000 and obtained his release, so he could be sent to Vermont, where there was "a liquor law in force," and be put in the care of a temperance family.²⁴ Edward appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Rupert, Bennington Co., Vermont, enumerated 24 Jun 1880, listed as a boarder in the household of Crossman Lincoln and his wife and two young children.²⁵
     Edward stayed in Vermont about a year, then returned to Brooklyn. On 24 Jan 1883 he was called as a witness in a murder trial, to testify about events at McGrath's saloon. Under cross examination he said he had been there almost every night for the past year, but had not been drinking the night in question. He declined to say how many times he had been arrested or indicted, but said he had never been convicted of any offense. The district attorney asked if he knew whether his father had made very great effort to not have the case tried, but the question was objected to and excluded.²⁶
     In May 1886 Edward's father swore out a warrant for his arrest on a charge of habitual drunkenness. He was arrested and sent to the King County Penitentiary, in the Crow Hill, now Crown Heights, section of Brooklyn, for four months. Newspaper reports said he had been engaged in a life of crime for 10 years, and served a dozen or more terms in the Penitentiary. His father told a reporter "My boy had the advantage of a good education, and had every prospect before him of becoming a good and useful man in the world, but the saloon keepers, who hate me more than I hate the devil, got him to drink."²⁷
     Edward died on 1 Sep 1888 in Brooklyn, New York, at age 33, of delirium tremens, usually caused by withdrawal for alcohol after excessive use.^14,10 He was buried on 3 Sep 1888 in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, Kings Co., New York.^3,15