Rossiter W. Raymond

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At his memorial, Rossiter Worthington Raymond (1840–1918) was described by the President of Lehigh University as "one of the most remarkable cases of versatility that our country has ever seen’—sailor, soldier, engineer, lawyer, orator, editor, novelist, story-teller, poet, biblical critic, theologian, teacher, chess-player—he was superior in each capacity. What he did, he always did well."

Rossiter's Early Years

Rossiter W. Raymond was of English descent. His earliest American ancestor on the paternal side, Richard Raymond, emigrated from England to this country and settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1632; On his mother’s side, he was descended from well-known New England families. His great-grandfather, Nathaniel Raymond, was an officer in the Continental Army; and his grandfather, Caleb Pratt, served in the War of 1812.

His father (born 1817, died 1888), was a native of New York City, a graduate of Union College (New York) in 1837, editor of the Syracuse ‘Free Democrat’ in 1852, and the ‘Evening Chronicle’ in 1853-4, and afterward professor of English in the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and principal of the Boston School of Oratory. His mother (born 1818, died 1891) was a native of Providence, Rhode Island. They were married at Columbus, Ohio, in 1839, and Rossiter was the eldest of a family of seven children, of whom four were sons.

He received his early education in the common schools of Syracuse, New York, where his parents participated in the underground railroad, and in 1857 entered the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, of which his uncle, John H. Raymond (afterward president of Vassar College), was then president, graduating from that institution, at the head of his class, in 1858.

Having attended college at the Royal Mining Academy, Freiberg, Saxony, the University of Heidelberg and the University of Munich, Rossiter would start his post graduate career serving as aide-de-camp, with the rank of captain, on the staff of John C. Frémont, by whom, during his Civil War campaign in the Valley of Virginia, he was officially commended for gallant and meritorious conduct .

Rossiter's Working Years

Following the Civil War, he entered private practice for several years, forming the partnership of Adelberg and Raymond in 1864. In 1868, Justus Adelberg died and Raymond dissolved the partnership to become the United States Commissioner of Mines and Mining Statistics in and West of the Rocky Mountains. In 1869, Rossiter hired Anton Eilers as Deputy Commissioner and, together, and apart, the two explored the entire intermountain west, becoming national experts on the mining industry and creating large annual reports for congress. See the published version of the 1869 report.

He was a long time supporter of Brooklyn's Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, acting, for 50 years, as the director of the Sunday school. His role in the church was so influential that he was asked to take over for Henry Ward Beecher when Henry died. He would also play an important role during the Beecher Tildon Scandal.

From 1870 to 1872, he was the professor of ore deposits at Lafayette College. He was the United States Commissioner to the Vienna Exposition. In 1885, he was the New York State Commissioner of Electrical Subways.

In 1871, he was a part of the a six member party that entered the area now know as Yellowstone National Park, running into the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871in the process. Raymond's party is officially known as the first group of visitors to enter a National Park, though it technically wasn't a national park at the time . Rossiter recorded the visit in his 1880 Book Camp and Cabin. The visit was also recorded by Calvin C. Clawson, a reporter for the New Northwest Newspaper. Pictures were taken by August F. Thrasher who, according to Mary C. H. Williams, carried negative plates and photos of the Yellowstone journey as far east as Indiana where the trail grows cold.

In 1911, during a visit to Japan as members and guests of the American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME), Dr. Raymond received from the Mikado the distinction of Chevalier of the Order of the Rising Sun, fourth class—the highest ever given to foreigners not of royal blood—’ “for eminent services to the mining industry of Japan”. These services consisted in advice and assistance rendered in America to Japanese engineers, students, and officials throughout a period of more than 25 years.

An original member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, he served as its vice-president in 1871, 1876, and 1877, president from 1872 to 1875, and secretary from 1884 to 1911. In the last capacity he edited 40 of the annual volumes of Transactions, to which he liberally contributed essays, especially pertaining to the Federal mining laws, as well as other articles of importance.

In 1945, the institute created the Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award after him, to recognize the best paper written each year by an author under 33 years of age.

Raymond the Legal Scholar

Rossiter left an enduring mark on the jurisprudence of mining law. He defined the 'law of the apex' and gave the term 'lode' a definition that not only swayed the decision in Eureka-Richmond lawsuit, but also influenced all later mining litigation. He was even invited to address the United States Supreme Court on a point of mining law, which the Court accepted based on its subsequent decision.

Most amazingly, he wasn't 'qualified' as a lawyer at that point, but in 1898 he was admitted to the bar in both the state and federal courts. In 1903, he was appointed lecturer on mining law at Columbia University. In June 1906, Lehigh University granted Rossiter the first Doctorate of Laws ever granted by the institution.

Raymond the Author

Raymond was the author of a large number of poems, stories, newspaper articles, biographies, memorials, opinions, fiction and non-fiction books. Unfortunately, most of his original work was destroyed by a fire late in his life ; however, this comprehensive list shows the enormous breadth of his writing (scroll to bottom).

Ironically, despite the large body of work he produced, the opinions he expressed, and the stories he told, he is best known, at least on the internet, for the latter half of a poem titled 'Death is Only an Horizon' that qualifies as one of his shortest works:

Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

The entire poem is: O God, who holdest all souls in life; and callest them unto thee as seemeth best: we give them back, dear God, to thee who gavest them to us. But as thou didst not lose them in the giving, so we do not lose them by their return. For not as the world giveth, givest thou, O Lord of souls: that which thou givest thou takest away: for life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only the horizon, and the horizon is nothing.

These words were later adapted into the song "Life is Eternal" by Carly Simon, and frequently appear among quotations on the subject of life, death, and sympathy.

List of Governmental Reports to Congress

1. [1st] 1868, 40th Cong., 3d sess., House ex. doc. no. 54.
2. [2d] 1869, 41st Cong., 2d sess., House ex. doc. no. 207.
3. [3d] 1870, 42d Cong., 1st sess., House ex. doc. no. 10.
4. [4th], 1871, 42d Cong., 2d sess., House ex. doc. no. 211.
5. [5th], 1872, 42d Cong., 3d sess., House ex. doc. no. 210.
6. [6th], 1873, 43d Cong., 1st sess., House ex. doc. no. 141.
7. [7th], 1874, 43d Cong., 2d sess., House ex. doc. no. 177.
8. [8th], 1875, 44th Cong., 1st sess., House ex. doc. no. 159.

A Partial List of Books

1. ‘Die Leibgarde‘ (1863), a German translation of ‘The Story of the Guard‘ by Mrs. Jessie Fremont (1863);
2. ‘The Children’s Week‘ (1871);
3. ‘Brave Hearts‘ (1873);
4. ‘The Man in the Moon and Other People’ (1874);
5. ‘The Book of Job‘ (1878);
6. ‘The Merry-go- Round‘ (1880);
7. ‘Camp and Cabin‘ (1880);
8. ‘A Glossary of Mining and Metallurgical Terms‘ (1881);
9. ‘Memorial of Alexander Mining Law’ (1883–95);
10. ‘Two Ghosts and Other Christmas Stories’ (1887);
11. ‘The Life of Peter Cooper‘ (1897);