Edgerton Raymond, a well-known resident of Boscawen, was born December 3, 1841, in Concord, N.H., son of Thomas P. and Permelia (Derby) Raymond, both natives of Vershire, Vt. His grandfather, Captain Liberty Raymond, of the Vermont militia, was a large land-owner and a prominent man in the latter town. Captain Raymond died at Vershire, and his wife, Mary, at Quechee, Vt. Their children were: Thomas, Lyman, and Liberty, all now deceased. The last named became a well-known builder and real estate dealer in Manchester, where he erected several large structures. He was also a pioneer of the shoe business, in which he was engaged at the time of his death.
Thomas P. Raymond was a tanner and currier, and lived in Concord till April, 1845. His wife died about that time; and he then moved to Hopkinton, N.H. By a second marriage he was united to Nancy Stone, of Canada. Later on he came to Boscawen, where he settled on a farm, and purchased a tannery. He carried on the tannery in company with his son Edgerton until 1866. His death occurred September 22, 1879, and that of his wife in 1895. There were no children by the second marriage. Those by the first, besides a child that died in infancy, were: Lucy B., Liberty George, and Edgerton. Lucy, now living in Charlestown, Mass., married Daniel Y. Bickford, an organ manufacturer of Concord and Boston, who died April 29, 1876. Liberty enlisted in 1861 in Company E of the Seventh New Hampshire Regiment, and was killed at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863. A brave soldier and a great favorite, he was the first man of his regiment to lose his life.
Edgerton Raymond received his education in the common school and in the academy at Boscawen. At the age of sixteen he went to old Salem, Mass., and worked there for a time. Then, returning to Boscawen, he finished his schooling. He next went to Manchester, and was there employed in the armory making guns during the late war. After this he worked for his uncle Liberty in his boot and shoe store in Manchester, where he remained until September, 1865. At that time he went to Syracuse, N.Y., and was in the employ of the New York Central Railroad for six months, after which he returned to Boscawen, and settled on his present farm. He and his brother-in-law were also engaged in the tannery business until fire destroyed their plant in October, 1870. He rebuilt the tannery in 1871, and afterward conducted it alone until 1885. On his farm of forty acres, which he has much improved by the erection of new buildings, he carries on general farming.
In 1869, October 20, Mr. Raymond married Ellen F. Raymond, his cousin. She came from Manchester, and was a daughter of Liberty and Almina (Smith) Raymond. Her father, who was a merchant, after the death of his first wife married Mary P. Putney, who belonged to a prominent Manchester family, and now resides in Contoocook. The children of Edgerton Raymond are: Jessie P., born August 16, 1870; Lucy May, born February 14, 1874; and George Albert, born June 14, 1878. Lucy teaches stenography, and is now Lebanon, Pa. Since his marriage Mr. Raymond has resided on the farm with the exception of one year, during which he was in Boscawen Plains. He has been a member of the School Board and the Auditor of the town, and he is now Selectman. His vote has always been thrown for the Republican party, whose principles he strongly upholds. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, Kearsarge Lodge, No. 276, of Penacook. Both he and his wife are members of the First Congregational Church, and he is a Deacon of the society. The Raymonds rank with the leading families of Boscawen.