Preface - Genealogies of the Raymond Families of New England

Genealogies of the Raymond Families of New England
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PREFACE.

Samuel Raymond. Page 196.


AT the commencement of my researches into the genealogy of the Raymond family, some four or five years ago, it was not my intention to go any farther into the matter than to trace my own lineage to my earliest ancestor in this country. I had always been told he lived at Beverly; his name I had never heard. For a year or two but little satisfactory progress was made. Meanwhile all published history of Essex County was examined, and notes made of such items as would possibly be of use. These investigations show that several families of our surname lived at an early date at Beverly, and one or two at Salem, but nothing of their relationship to each other by birth or marriage. It now became evident that town records must be resorted to, and the pedigree of all on such records must be followed until I attained the end in view; how far that might be was uncertain. As I went on with increasing interest and some curiosity to know the descent of others as well as myself, who inherited our surname, and with plenty of time at my disposal, I came to the conclusion of following the descendants of all of the name found at Salem and Beverly, as well as my own, down to the present time. For about one hundred and forty years, or about the time of the Revolution, our forefathers confined themselves almost exclusively within the State of Massachusetts, mainly in the neighborhood of their paternal homestead. The most notable migration was that of Richard, who in 1662 removed to Norwalk, Conn., leaving in Massachusetts no male descendant. He, and his descendants in like manner, restricted themselves to Norwalk, its vicinity and Connecticut almost exclusively. For about sixty years after the Revolution, or to the time of opening the West for settlement by the introduction of railroads, the descendants of Richard were hardly farther away than the banks of the Hudson and the interior of the State of New York, while John and William's descendants kept themselves mainly in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

To make my work as full and accurate as possible, directories of all cities and towns within my reach were examined, all of our surname [page iv] with their address copied, and requests made to them for information. A large number of extracts from town records were obtained, as well as extracts from town and county histories; no source of information was neglected; last, and the most laborious, was a most extensive correspondence. If, after all my persistent labor, should some branches appear not as full and perfect as they could have been made, the blame is their own, in neglecting through indifference to furnish the necessary information which has been urgently requested of them.

After having undertaken to trace these lines of ancestry through more than two hundred and fifty years of imperfect and partially unwritten history, I am fully conscious of its many deficiencies and probable inaccuracies, yet, while the statistics * show that much has been accomplished, there still remains much to be done. As the heads of these genealogies were the progenitors of all the race found in New England for more than a century, and for the reason that their offspring gave their aid in laying the foundation of the nation, it becomes our duty to make this record more complete by endeavoring to find the "missing links," correct my inaccuracies, and make such additions as may be found. For these purposes I have had a copy of the book specially prepared, in which to note further information that may be furnished me. At my decease, it will be found in the Library of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society at Boston.

With regard to that portion of the book under the head of "The Raymonds in History," there is only to be said that it is a compilation from the several authors whose works are named below, and while they substantially agree in statements of fact, in their opinions of individual character they are as divergent and contradictory as it is possible to be. 


* Richard's families, 556.    Intermarriages, 1,351.    Children named, 2,751.
John and William's families, 562. 1,356. 2,732.



Totals, 1,118. 2,707. 5,483.

LIST OF AUTHORS.

FERGUSON. Teutonic Name System. 1864. 

LOWER. Patronymica Britannica, a Dictionary of. 
      "         Family Names in the United Kingdom. 1860. 

WOODWARD and CATES. Encyclopedia of Chronology, Historical and Biographical. London, 1872. 

[page v]SAINT-AMANS. Le Nobilliare Universel de France. 

BOUILLET. Dictionnaire Universel D'Histoire et Geographie. Paris, 1884. 

MICHAUD. History of the Crusades. London, 1852. 

BUSK. Mediæval Popes and Crusaders. London, 1854. 

EDGAR. Crusades and Crusaders. 1860. 
     "         Chronicles of the Crusades. London, 1854. 

MILLS. History of the Crusades. London, 1828. 

PORTER. History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. London, 1858. 

TONNA. War with the Saints. New York, 1852. 

BLUNT. Dictionary of Sects, Heresies, Ecclesiastical Parties, etc. London, 1874. 

THIERRY. Conquest of England. London, 1856. 

BURKE. Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. London, 1868. 

WALFORD. County Families of Great Britain and Ireland. London, 1871. 

MORANT. History of Essex (County), England. 

WRIGHT.        "       "     "                          " 

HALL. Encyclopædia Britannica. New York, 1878. 

PHILLIPS. Dictionary of Biographical Reference. New York, 1871. 

LIPPINCOTT. Pronouncing Biographical Dictionary. Phila., 1886. 

In conclusion, I desire to express my thanks to those who have kindly aided me in my laborious work; and to those who by their generous subscriptions, far exceeding my expectations, have rendered the publication of this work possible, I am especially indebted.

SAMUEL RAYMOND.
BROOKLYN, N. Y., December, 1886.

Presented to Essex Institute. Samuel Raymond. Brooklyn. N Y June 4 1889.


PREFACE FOR THIS ELECTRONIC EDITION.

I wish to acknowledge Dale West who first republished Genealogies of the Raymond Families on his website at www.westfamilygenealogy.com. And I wish to acknowledge the Peabody Museum of Salem, Massachusetts. The images reproduced in this edition are courtesy their copy of Genealogies of the Raymond Familes, which the Essex Institute received from Samuel himself in 1889.

In this edition, additions to the original text are bracketed by square brackets, [like this]. Page breaks are indicated by the page number in brackets, as [236], and are shown at the beginning of the first line of the page, at the end of the last line of the page, or mid-sentence, depending on aesthetics. When a word in the original text was hyphenated across a page break, the break is indicated in this edition after the word. In the genealogies, original line breaks are indicated by a dot: ( · ). I originally thought it would be nice to know where the original line breaks were. In practice I find the dots annoying and seem to serve no useful purpose. I may remove them. One thing I haven't had the chance to do is list all individuals in bold. Maybe someday I will have time to fix this.

My understanding of copyright law is that the original text and images of the print edition are now in the public domain, since it was published in 1886. "The U. S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior to January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States." (U.S. Copyright Office Circular 22). Derivative works are independently copyrightable, but one cannot extend the length of protection for a copyrighted work by creating a derivative work. A work that has fallen into the public domain, that is, which is no longer protected by copyright, may be used for a derivative work, but the copyright in the derivative work will not restore the copyright of the public domain material. Neither will it prevent anyone else from using the same public domain work for another derivative work. (Circular 14). Thus, a derivative work of Genealogies of the Raymond Families such as this one may be copyrightable, but the portions that have already passed into the public domain (the text and images), remain in the public domain. (Circular 22). More information about copyrights can be found at the United States Copyright office website.

Robert Scott Raymond
Orem, Utah, May 2000

Genealogies of the Raymond Families of New England
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