Eliphalet Remington

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Eliphalet Remington
Daguerreotype of Remington (c. 1845)
Born(1793-10-28)October 28, 1793
DiedAugust 12, 1861(1861-08-12) (aged 67)
OccupationEngineer
SpouseAbigail Paddock
Children5, including Philo
Parent(s)Eliphalet Remington, Elizabeth Kilbourn
Engineering career
ProjectsRemington rifle
Signature

Eliphalet Remington (October 28, 1793 – August 12, 1861) was an American engineer who founded what would become known as Remington Arms. Originally the company was known as E. Remington followed by E. Remington & Son and then E. Remington and Sons.

Early years[edit]

Sketch of Remington

Eliphalet Remington II was born in 1793 in the town of Suffield, Connecticut. He was the second child of four surviving children (but the only son) of Elizabeth (née Kilbourn) and Eliphalet Remington, whose family origins lay in Yorkshire, England.[1]

Eliphalet II followed in his father's footsteps and entered the blacksmith trade at the family's rural forge in Herkimer County, New York. The original family home at Kinne Corners, New York, built about 1810 and known as Remington House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[2]

Remington Company co-founder[edit]

The younger Remington worked with his father in the forge, and at 23 he hand-made a flintlock rifle using a firing mechanism bought from a gunsmith, but constructing the barrel himself.[3]

The rifle received such a response that Remington decided to manufacture it in quantity. By 1840, when his three sons began to take a more active role in the family business, he formed the firm of E. Remington and Sons, which he headed until his death in 1861.[4]

The company continued to grow and to develop its product and gradually began the manufacture of other sporting goods, such as bicycles. The company operated as Remington Arms until its bankruptcy in 2020.[5]

Personal life[edit]

Remington married Abigail Paddock (1790–1841), and together they had five children: Philo Remington, Eliphalet Remington III, Samuel Remington, Mary Ann Remington and Naria Remington.[1][6] He donated substantial sums of money to then newly established Syracuse University.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ware, Donald L. (2007). Remington Army and Navy Revolvers, 1861–1888. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. pp. 28–33. ISBN 978-0-8263-4280-5.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ Marcot, Roy M. (2005). The History of Remington Firearms. Lyons Press. pp. 8–10. ISBN 978-1-59228-690-4.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Norton, Charles (1880). American Inventions and Improvements in Breech-loading Small Arms, Heavy Ordnance, Machine Guns, Magazine Arms, Fixed Ammunition, Pistols, Projectiles, Explosives, and Other Munitions of War: Including a Chapter on Sporting Arms. London: Chapin & Gould. p. 115.
  5. ^ "Vista Outdoor to buy bankrupt gunmaker Remington's ammunition business". Reuters. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Romantic History of Remington Arms Industry Told at Unveiling of Tablet". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, KY. p. 25. Retrieved July 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Eliphalet Remington Syracuse University Endowment". Bangor Daily Whig and Courier. Bangor, Maine. June 21, 1871. p. 1. Retrieved November 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

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