Elijah H. and Daniel B. Raymond, prominent farmers and stock-raisers, own a well-equipped farm on sections 21 and 22 in South Dixon Township, Lee County, Illinois. Elijah was born on May 11, 1821, in Steuben County, New York, and Daniel on November 2, 1833, in Lenawee County, Michigan. Descendants of early New England settlers, their father, Daniel Raymond, was a War of 1812 veteran. The brothers moved to Illinois in 1865, transforming their farm into a model estate. Daniel married Maria S. Clark in 1834, and they had three children. Both brothers are influential Republicans and active community members.
Elijah H. and Daniel B. Raymond, who are well-known and prominent citizens of this county, are conducting farming and stock-raising in partnership, owning and operating a good-sized, well-equipped farm on sections 21 and 22, South Dixon Township, that is in all respects one of the finest estates in this part of Illinois.
The Raymond brothers are scions of the sturdy pioneer stock of Southern Michigan. The elder brother, however, was born in Steuben County, N.Y., prior to the removal of the family to the primeval wilds of that section of the country in territorial days, the date of his birth being May 11, 1821. Daniel B., the youngest member of the household, was born November 2, 1833, in the primitive pioneer home of his parents in the township of Raisin, Lenawee County, shortly after they had made settlement in that region.
Our subject’s ancestors were Englishmen, of the same blood as the Pilgrim Fathers of the Mayflower, and some of them were among the colonists of New England, and made their homes in the quaint old city of Salem and in the town of Wareham, Mass., and representatives of the family may still be found in that section of the country. The first to avail himself of the privileges of religious freedom in America was John Raymond, who came hither in 1630. Following him in line of descent were William Raymond Sr., William Raymond Jr. and then in succession three of the name of Daniel, the latter of whom was the father of the gentlemen of whom we write. The grandfather of our subjects was a native of Richmond Township, Greene County, N.Y., whither his father had removed after marriage from his old Massachusetts home to found a new one in the wilderness. He and his wife were also pioneers of Steuben County and hewed out a farm in Cohocton Township, where they died. He had been a patriotic soldier during the Revolution, serving throughout the war, and lived to be nearly ninety years old. The father of our subjects was reared in his native State, and when the War of 1812 broke out he showed himself a worthy son of his sire by enlisting in the service of his country in a New York regiment, in which he held the rank of Orderly Sergeant. He was married in Steuben County to Miss Lucy A. Woodruff, who was born in Berkshire County, Mass., coming of a long line of New England ancestry, and her parents were also of Massachusetts birth.
After the birth of seven children, Daniel Raymond and his wife set out for the Territory of Michigan in the spring of 1833, traveling with an ox-team, and journeying by the lakes and overland until they had penetrated the forest wilds of Lenawee County as far as the present site of Raisin Township, where they determined to found their new home. Mr. Raymond selected a suitable location in the woods, on section 24, of said township, two and a half miles from the Raisin River, buying a part of it from the Government. He toiled hard, and had already hewed out a goodly farm when he was attacked by a malignant epidemic that then prevailed in that section, and died at the age of fifty-four years, twelve years after settling there. His community was thus deprived of one of its most highly prized citizens, who was a man of rare virtue, of force and dignity of character, and was associated with all that was good in his township. He was a Whig in politics and religiously, was a member of the Congregational Church, as was his wife, who died on the old homestead in Michigan, in 1858, at the age of sixty-five years. She was the mother of eight children, of whom six are yet living, two in Michigan, and the others in Illinois. All are married but two, Elijah H., of this notice, and Hannah. They have all lived together under one roof since they came to this State in 1865, and settled on the farm where they have since made their home, and which was purchased the year before they took possession of it. Our subjects have made of it a very fine place, bringing it to a high standard of cultivation and improvement, erecting commodious and well-fitted up buildings of the most approved modern class, and stocking its pastures with cattle, horses, and swine of superior breeds. The farm contains two hundred and forty acres of land of exceeding fertility. The brothers had previously had a good training in farming on the old homestead where they had passed their boyhood days, and they were well educated in the public schools of Adrian and Lenawee County.
Daniel B. Raymond was married at the old home in his native State to Miss Maria S. Clark, who was born in Berkshire County, Mass., January 29, 1834. Her parents were also natives of Massachusetts, and came of some of the old Colonial families of New England. Her father died in the old Bay State while yet in the prime of life. Her mother was middle-aged when she died in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond have been blessed in their pleasant wedded life by the birth of three children — Daniel E., Agnes C., and Florence M. All are accomplished and highly educated, having attended Dixon College, and the daughters have taught in the South Side public schools of Dixon. The son assists his father and uncle in the management of the farm. All the family are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Dixon. Mr. Raymond has borne a conspicuous part in the management of public affairs in township and county for several years. He was the first Clerk of the Township, holding that office for fourteen years and has represented it as a member of the County Board of Supervisors. He and his brother Elijah are representative Republicans, and are generous, public-spirited, high-minded men, whose citizenship carries weight and influence for good in the community where their lot has been cast.