Biographical Sketches

J. Ross Raymond

J. ROSS RAYMOND, of Erie County, was born in Greenfield Township, Erie County, October 19, 1842.  The schools in the vicinity in which he lived afforded him all the education he received.  When nineteen years old his patriotic ardor swung him into the Union Army, in which he did valiant service as one of its soldiers.  He enlisted in the fall of 1861 and served three years and five months.  He participated in the battles of Charlestown and Cedar Creek, Va., after which he was taken a prisoner and kept in confinement until after the battle of Antietam in Libby and Belle Isle prisons, when he was paroled with the last squad that left Richmond in the fall of 1862.  He was captured on the Rappahannock river while attached to the provost guard under General Pope, who was then retiring from the enemy with his army.  Mr. Raymond also took part in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  Subsequently his command was transferred to the West, and he participated in the battles of Wahatchie, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge and Ringgold Gap.  He also had the distinction of taking part in Sherman's march to the sea, during which he fought at Resaca, Dallas and Peach Tree Creek, and was in all the engagements of the campaign to July 20.  At the last named place he lost a leg on July 20, 1864, and in its place he now carries a wooden one.  Since his return from the war he has been engaged in the mercantile and hotel business in addition to auctioneering for the past twenty years.  He resides at North East, Erie County, where he has filled a number of offices.  He has represented the Republican Party, of which he is a consistent and active member, at Congressional and other conventions.  In 1892 he was first elected to the House, and in 1894 his people returned him by a largely increased majority.  His father, who was born in Boston, was of French descent, and his mother was born in New York State.  Mr. Raymond served on the Committees on Appropriations, Congressional Apportionment, Military, Retrenchment and Reform and gave close attention to important bills considered and was not slow to point out defects and suggest either necessary modifications or negative action when to him it seemed that such a course was justified.

Source: Transcription from the book, Portraits and Sketches of Heads of State Departments and Members of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, compiled by Wm. Rodearmel, published in 1895; located on the website, Hathitrust Digital Library (http://www.hathitrust.org), accessed 14 January 2026.

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