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Henry Jarvis Raymond (January 24, 1820 – June 18, 1869) was an American journalist, politician, and co-founder of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', which he founded with
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assemb ...
,
Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wi ...
, Chairman of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...
, and elected to the
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
. For his contribution towards the formation of the Republican Party, Raymond has sometimes been called the "godfather of the Republican Party."


Biography


Early life and ancestors

He was born on January 24, 1820, on the family farm near
Lima, New York Lima (, the name is a shibboleth) is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,305 at the 2010 census. The town is in the northeast part of the county, south of Rochester. The village of Lima is located within ...
, a son and the eldest child of Lavinia Brockway, the daughter of Clark Brockway and Sally Wade and Jarvis Raymond, the son of Jonathan P. Raymond and Hannah Jarvis. He was an 8th generation direct lineal descendant of Captain Richard Raymond (1602–1692) and his wife, Judith. There is no evidence to suggest that he was born in
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Gr ...
, England, although Samuel Raymond's family history makes that claim, and he arrived in
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, about 1629/30, possibly with a contingent led by the Rev.
Francis Higginson Francis Higginson (1588–1630) was an early Puritan minister in Colonial New England, and the first minister of Salem, Massachusetts. Biography England The son of a minister, Francis Higginson received his B.A. degree from Jesus College, ...
. The first actual date given for Richard is on August 6, 1629, when he is on the list of the 30 founding members of the First Church (Congregational) of Salem. He was about 27 years old. He was made a Freeman of Salem in 1634 and was later a founder of
Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County and Connecticut , coordinates ...
, and an "honored forefather of Saybrook".


Education

Raymond gave early evidence of his superior intellectual skills: it is said that he could read by the age of three and deliver speeches when he was five. He enrolled at age twelve in the
Genesee Wesleyan Seminary The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York. The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary (I) was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan for it ...
at
Lima, New York Lima (, the name is a shibboleth) is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,305 at the 2010 census. The town is in the northeast part of the county, south of Rochester. The village of Lima is located within ...
, a school established by the
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
which would later grow into Syracuse University. He graduated from the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United S ...
in 1840 with high honors. Between 1841 and 1851, Raymond worked for various newspapers, including
Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, ...
's ''
New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' and
James Watson Webb General James Watson Webb (February 8, 1802 – June 7, 1884) was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties. Early life Webb was born in Claverack, New York to Catherine Louisa ...
's ''Courier'' and Enquirer, as a journalist and associate editor. He had known George Jones since their time at the ''Tribune'' and the two had often discussed the possibility of starting a newspaper themselves. In 1851, Raymond convinced Jones to become his partner and publish a new paper that would report the news in a neutral manner. In 1851, Raymond formed Raymond, Jones & Company, Inc. and founded ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. He was the newspaper's editor until his death.


Marriage and family

On October 24, 1843, in Winooski, Vermont, Raymond married Juliette Weaver (April 12, 1822 – October 13, 1914), who was a daughter of John Warren Weaver and Artemisia Munson. Henry and Juliette were the parents of seven children. Their son Henry Warren Raymond (1847–1925) was an 1869 graduate of
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
, and, in the same year, was initiated as a member of the
Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
secret society. He also graduated from
Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
in 1871. He was a reporter for ''The New York Times'' from 1869 to 1872, and he also served as private secretary to the
Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...
Benjamin F. Tracy Benjamin Franklin Tracy (April 26, 1830August 6, 1915) was a United States political figure who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1889 through 1893, during the administration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison. Biography He was born in th ...
from 1889 to 1893. He entered private law practice in 1893. Their daughter Mary Elizabeth Raymond (September 10, 1849June 13, 1897) was born in New York City and died in
Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
. She married Earl Philip Mason (August 5, 1848March 17, 1901) on April 18, 1872, in New York City. Mason was born in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts B ...
and died in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by b ...
. His father was the founder of the
Rhode Island Locomotive Works Rhode Island Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company in Providence, Rhode Island. The factory produced more than 3,400 locomotives between 1867 and 1906, when the plant's locomotive production was shut down. At its peak, the l ...
in 1865 in Providence, Rhode Island, and Mason joined the company in 1872 and remained with the company until 1895, eventually becoming vice-president. Their daughter Aimee Juliette Arteniese Raymond (1857–1903) was a physician, writer and editor. She graduated from
New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the School ...
in 1889. She was married to Dr. Henry Harmon Schroeder.


Politics


New York State politics

Raymond was a member of the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assemb ...
in
1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad " Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...
and
1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-day Columbia College, receives its charter from the Missouri General Assembly. ...
, and in the latter year was elected
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...
. A member of the Whig Party's Northern radical anti-slavery wing, his nomination over Greeley on the Whig ticket for
Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket wi ...
in 1854 led to the dissolution of the political partnership of Seward,
Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
, and Greeley. Raymond was elected lieutenant governor and served from 1855 to 1856. Raymond has sometimes been called "the godfather of the Republican Party," as Raymond had a prominent part in the formation of the Republican Party and drafted the Address to the People, adopted by the Republican organizing convention that met in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...
on February 22, 1856. In
1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...
, he was again Speaker of the New York Assembly.


Federal politics

He was among the first to urge the adoption of a broad and liberal postwar attitude toward the people of the South and opposed the
Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...
, who wanted harsher measures against the South. In 1865, he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention and was made Chairman of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...
. He was a member of the
US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from 1865 to 1867. On December 22, 1865, he attacked
Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...
's theory of the dead states in which states that had seceded were not to be restored to their former status in the Union, and, agreeing with the President, Raymond argued that the states never left the Union since the ordinances of secession were null. Raymond authored the Address and Declaration of Principles issued by the Loyalist Convention (or National Union Convention) at
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
in August 1866. His attack on Stevens and his prominence at the Loyalist Convention caused him to lose favor with the Republican Party. He was removed from the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 1866, and in 1867, his nomination as minister to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
, which he had already refused, was rejected by the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
. He retired from public life in 1867 and devoted his time to newspaper work until his death in New York City in 1869.


Journalistic career

Raymond began his journalistic career on
Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, ...
's ''Tribune'' and gained further experience in editing
James Watson Webb General James Watson Webb (February 8, 1802 – June 7, 1884) was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties. Early life Webb was born in Claverack, New York to Catherine Louisa ...
's '' Courier and Enquirer''. Then, with the help of friends, Raymond raised $100,000 capital, a hundred times what Greeley staked on the ''Tribune'' ten years earlier, and founded ''The New York Times'' on September 18, 1851. Editorially, Raymond sought a niche between Greeley's open partisanship and Bennett's party neutrality. In the first issue of the ''Times'' Raymond announced his purpose to write in temperate and measured language and to get into a passion as rarely as possible. "There are few things in this world which it is worthwhile to get angry about; and they are just the things anger will not improve." In controversy he meant to avoid abusive language. His editorials were generally cautious, impersonal, and finished in form. President Lincoln wrote, "The Times, I believe, is always true to the Union, and therefore should be treated at least as well as any."Basler, 360 Raymond's moderation was evident during the period after Lincoln's election and before his nomination. He wrote to the Alabama secessionist William L. Yance, "We shall stand on the Constitution which our fathers made. We shall not make a new one, nor shall we permit any human power to destroy the one.... We seek no war—we shall wage no war except in defense of the constitution and against its foes. But we have a country and a constitutional government. We know its worth to us and to mankind, and in case of necessity we are ready to test its strength."Davis, 50–51 "That sentiment guided the editorial course of The Times through the turbulent winter between Lincoln's election and the attack on Fort Sumter. Raymond deprecated, as all sensible men deprecated, any hasty aggression which might provoke to violence men who could still, perhaps, be brought back to reason; but he insisted that as a last resort the union must be maintained by any means necessary. To the proposals for compromise he was favorable, on condition that they did not compromise the essential issue—that they did not nullify the election of 1860 and give back to the slave power the control of the national government which it had lost. Because no other compromise would have been acceptable the issue inevitably had to be fought out, and from Sumter to Appomattox The Times was unwavering in its support of Lincoln and its determination that the Federal union must and should be preserved."


Works

Raymond was an able public speaker; one of his best known speeches was made to greet Hungarian leader
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, polit ...
, whose cause he defended, during Kossuth's visit to New York City in December 1851. In addition to his work with ''The New York Times'', he wrote several books, including: * ''A Life of Daniel Webster'' (1853) * ''Political Lessons of the Revolution'' (1854) * ''A History of the Administration of President Lincoln'' (1864) * ''The Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln'' (1865)


Death

Raymond died in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, New York on June 18, 1869 from a heart attack, and his death became a subject of controversy.David T.Z. Mindich
Raymond, Henry Jarvis.
''American National Biography Online'', February 2000. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
He was buried in Brooklyn's
Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several ...
.


Publications

* Augustus Maverick
''Henry J. Raymond and the New York Press for Thirty Years,''
A.S. Hale & Company, 1870.


Notes


Further reading


Davis, Elmer. ''History of the New York Times, 1851–1921'' (1921)
* Dicken-Garcia, Hazel. ''Journalistic Standards in Nineteenth-Century America'' (1989)
Douglas, George H. ''The Golden Age of the Newspaper'' (1999)
* Maverick, Augustus. ''Henry J. Raymond and the New York Press, for Thirty Years: Progress of American Journalism from 1840 to 1870'' (1870), 501p
online

Sloan, W. David and James D. Startt. ''The Gilded Age Press, 1865–1900'' (2003)

Summers, Mark Wahlgren.''The Press Gang: Newspapers and Politics, 1865–1878'' (1994)
* * This article also copies fro

(1917), which is also in th


External links

*
Mr. Lincoln and New York: Henry J. Raymond
*
George Jones and Henry J. Raymond papers
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.
Henry J. Raymond papers
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Henry Jarvis 1820 births 1869 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery University of Vermont alumni Columbia Law School alumni Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) New York (state) Whigs Members of the New York State Assembly Speakers of the New York State Assembly The New York Times founders Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Lima, New York 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians