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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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PHELPS HISTORY
MR.& MRS. GEORGE RAYMOND CELEBRATE 50 YEARS
(Article copied from the CS Press of Feb. 1905 by Fred Gifford)
"Mr. & Mrs. George Raymond celebrated their fiftieth anniversary of their marriage on Friday afternoon and evening of last week at their home on LaDu Avenue. A reception was given to their many friends and neighbors from two until five o'clock in the afternoon, during which time light refreshments were served. In the evening, Gordon Granger Post, G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) and the Woman's Relief Corps, of which Mr. & Mrs. Raymond are active and honored members, together with relatives, were present. During the evening an elaborate supper was served. Lindner's orchestra furnished music on both occasions. The house was handsomely decorated with an abundance of flags, yellow bunting and ribbon, yellow roses, tulips and daffodils.
The bride and groom of fifty years ago were very tastefully dressed, especially the bride, who wore a dress of yellow material, which was made and presented to her by her daughter, Miss Hattie Raymond of New York City. Mrs. Lucinda Harning of Meridian, Mich., a sister of Mrs. Raymond, came all the way alone to attend the anniversary. Mrs. Harning is eighty-seven years old. She was present at the marriage fifty years ago and with the exception of one other person, is the only living witness to the ceremony.
A very large number of useful and appropriate presents were received including nearly sixty-five dollars in gold.
Mr. Raymond who is nearly seventy-five years old, was born in Geneva and Mrs. Raymond, who is sixty-eight was born in Ovid. They were married in a log house at Macon, Mich. February 3, 1855. Three children were born to Mr. & Mrs. Raymond, as follows: Mrs. Edward J. Knauss, of this village, Miss Hattie Raymond, of New York City, who were present at the anniversary and Leman Raymond who died about twelve years ago.
During the Civil War, Mr. Raymond enlisted August 10, 1862 in the Forty-fourth Regiment of New York State Volunteers and saw three years of active service. (The 44th Infantry Regiment was an unusual one. In 1861 a plan was developed to select one man from each town and ward in the State of New York, to be chosen by the people of such town or ward. The circular of the time provided that the candidate must be of an able-bodied man, unmarried, temperate, at least five feet eight inches in height, of good moral character, bring credentials that he represented some town or ward in the State, and pay in to the regimental fund the sum of $20. At the battle of Second Bull Run, the regiment lost in killed and wounded 71 of the 160 officers and men engaged. About the 1st of October, 1862, the numbers of the regiment were augmented by the addition of two new companies. This would be about the time that Mr. Raymond would have joined the regiment. It would seem that the original rule of being unmarried had been eliminated as the Raymonds were married in 1855, seven years before his enlistment.)
George was wounded on the head at the battle of Fredericksburg and in the leg at the battle of Chancellorsville. He also served in the following famous battles: Antietam, Gettysburg, Rappahannock, Spottsylvania, Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. He was captured by the Confederates five days before the end of the war, and was discharged at Annapolis as a paroled prisoner. Of four men who clung together during the war, Mr. Raymond was the only one to return. These men had all enlisted at Italy Hill, in Yates County.
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond moved to Clifton Springs in 1873, where he engaged in carpenter work. He built the first two houses on Pleasant Street, one for W. D. Archley and the other for D. M. Wells. For several years previous to 1900, he was janitor at the schoolhouse. Since which time he and Mrs. Raymond have been very successful florists. Quite a few friends who were unable to be present on Friday, called on Saturday and in the evening about fifty nurses from the Sanitarium made a friendly visit.
The members of the Women's Relief Corp. handed the Raymonds the following poem: No doubt the time has quickly fled
To those who so long ago were wed
To night we meet within this room\
To congratulate the bride and groom
And trust, in their declining years
There will be no cause for tears
That no cloud will come their lives to blot
But joy and happiness will be their lot."
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