Gazlay Family History
 

FamilyPhilo Remington

Parents

FatherEliphalet Remington II (28 October 1793 - 12 August 1861)
MotherAbigail Paddock (ca. 1792 - 21 August 1841)

Personal Information

Record Created: 11 January 2013; Last Edited: 3 February 2022 
Person ID4683
NamePhilo Remington
GenderMale
Born 31 October 1816 in Litchfield, Herkimer County, New York1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Married 28 December 1841 to Caroline A. Lathrop5, 6, 7
Died 4 April 1889 in Silver Springs, Ocala County, Florida1, 5
Buried in Armory Hill Cemetery, Ilion, Herkimer County, New York1

Biography

Philo was the eldest son of Eliphalet Remington II, blacksmith and inventor of the Remington rifle, and who founded the company of E. Remington & Son. Philo was born and raised in Litchfield, Herkimer County, New York, a few miles southwest of the present town of Ilion, previously known as Morgan’s Landing and as the settlement of New London. Philo was educated in the common schools, and he spent one winter in 1837 in the Seminary at Cazenovia, having become a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. On his return home, Philo started to work with his father in the mechanical department of the gun works. Around 1841, Philo became a partner in the business, and his younger brothers, Samuel and Eliphalet III became partners in the firm a few years later. Philo was a strong influence in the Remington company’s growth, eventually establishing factories in, and fostering the growth of, Ilion, in Herkimer County. The company won numerous contracts for the production of rifles and pistols, having earned a reputation for superior products. Adding to its success, the company diversified into the manufacture of agricultural tools (1856), sewing machines (1870), typewriters (1874), and other products. In 1865, the company was incorporated, with Philo as president, with his brothers Samuel as vice-president, and Eliphalet as secretary and treasurer. The company’s prosperity was brought down in the 1870s and 1880s by a combination of circumstances that led to various parts of the company being sold off.5, 8, 9

In 1871, Philo, along with an associate Philo Osgood, purchased numerous properties in and around Seattle, Washington, about 200 city lots, for more than $50,000. Their real estate investments, the first by East coast capitalists in the Seattle area, spawned a rumor that the Northern Pacific railroad might locate the railroad terminus at Seattle. The rumor ultimately proved false when Northern Pacific announced in 1873 their decision to build the terminus in Tacoma. Philo’s son-in-law, Watson C. Squire (U.S. Senator and governor of Washington Territory), who was for a time Secretary and Treasurer of the Remington company, exchanged his portion of stock in the company for Philo’s real estate in the Seattle area. Watson eventually cleared farmland and constructed buildings and houses on those properties.5, 9, 10, 11

In 1841 Philo married Caroline A. Lathrop, of Syracuse, who was born in 1825 and died 14 April 1906. They had two children, Ida R. Remington, who married Watson C. Squires; and Ella, who married Howard C. Furman, of New York City. Philo Remington died on 4 April 1889 in Silver Springs, Florida. Public and Methodist church memorial services included resolutions that attested to his noble character of modesty and unselfishness, and as an honorable Christian and a proponent of the temperance cause.9

Person/Family

Spouse 1FamilyCaroline A. Lathrop (daughter of John Hatch Lathrop and Susanna Furman)
Born 8 February 1825 in New York
Married 28 December 1841 to Philo Remington
Died 14 April 1906
  
Children of Philo Remington and Caroline A. Lathrop:
  
+1.FamilyIda Remington
Born 20 November 1842 in Ilion, Herkimer County, New York
Married 23 December 1868 to Watson Carvasso Squire
Died 28 February 1919 in Ilion, Herkimer County, New York
  
+2.FamilyCatherine Ella Remington
Born 18 June 1845 in Herkimer County, New York
Married 28 September 1865 in Ilion, Herkimer County, New York to Elijah Priest Greene
Married ca. 1884 to Howard Cogswell Furman
Died 22 December 1913 in Ilion, Herkimer County, New York
  

Sources

  1. Find a Grave (website). Armory Hill Cemetery, Ilion, Herkimer County, New York; Philo Remington: Philo / Oct. 31, 1816 / April 4, 1889 [from gravestone].
  2. U.S. Federal Census, 1860, New York, Herkimer County, German Flatts, Page No. 49, family of Philo Remmington (44, New York, gun smith); Caroline A. Remmington (35, New York); Ida Remmington (17, New York); Ella Remmington (15, New York); Eliza May (40, New York).
  3. U.S. Federal Census, 1870, New York, Herkimer County, German Flatts, Page No. 54, family of Philo Remington (53, New York, manufacturer); Caroline H. Remington (45, New York); Watson C. Squire (32, New York, agt for ER Sons); Ida R. Squire (27, New York); Philo R. Squire (3/12, New York); Ann Moran (27, Ireland, domestic servant); Sarah Steward (24, New York, house keeper).
  4. U.S. Federal Census, 1880, New York, Herkimer County, German Flatts, Enumeration District 27, Page No. 33; family of Philo Remington (64, New York, gun manufacturer); wife Caroline Remington (53, New York); son-in-law Watson C. Squire (41, New York); daughter Ida R. Squire (38, New York); grand son Philo R. Squire (10, New York); grand son Shirley Squire 8, New York); grand daughter Adine Squire (3, New York); servant Susie M. Tefft (26, New York, servant).
  5. Remington Army and Navy Revolvers, 1861-1888, by Donald L. Ware. University of New Mexico Press, 2007. The Introduction includes extensive biographical and some vital information about the Remington family.
  6. Find a Grave (website). Armory Hill Cemetery, Ilion, Herkimer County, New York; Caroline A. Lathrop Remington: Caroline / Feb. 8, 1825 / April 14, 1906 [from gravestone]; Married Philo Remington in 1841; Mother of Ida R. Squire and Ella R. Green Furman [from record].
  7. A Genealogical Memoir of the Lo-Lathrop Family in this Country, Embracing the Descendants, as far as known, of The Rev. John Lothropp, of Scituate and Barnstable, Mass., and Mark Lothrop, of Salem and Bridgewater, Mass., and the First Generation of Descendants of Other Names, by Rev. E. B. Huntington, A. M. Published at Ridgefield, Conn., by Mrs. Julia M. Huntington, 1884. Pages 132-133, 202-203, 272. A few of the vital dates (births, etc.) differ from other sources.
  8. First fifty years of Cazenovia Seminary, 1825-1875, Cazenovia, N. Y., 1875, printed by Nelson & Phillips, 805 Broadway, New York. Digitized copy available at archive.org. Biographical sketch of Philo Remington, pages 110-111.
  9. History of Herkimer County, New York, edited by George A. Hardin, assisted by Frank H. Willard, Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1893. Excerpts available at Herkimer Gen Web, Herkimer.nygenweb.net.
  10. HistoryLink.org, citing The Weekly Intelligencer, Seattle, Washington, 17 July 1871.
  11. Social Networks and Archival Context Project, research sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu. Biography of Watson C. Squire.