15 January 2012

Paul Raymond of Bristol versus Paul of Richmond, Massachusetts

Most compiled genealogies equate Paul Raymond of Bristol with a Paul Raymond born in Wareham but who lived most of his life and died in Richmond, Massachusetts. That the two are not the same individual is is easily shown.

  • Census records show Paul Raymond of Bristol was born between 1765 and 1770 whereas Paul Raymond of Richmond was born in 1744 in Wareham, Massachusetts. 
  • Paul of Richmond's wife is Rachel. Lincoln land records mention that Paul Raymond's wife is Rebecca.
  • The vital records of Richmond show Paul of Richmond's children to be Benjamin (1774), Merriam (1777), Melinda (1781), Lydia (1784), and Anson (1792) but no Pearis. (VRRich, p. 39.)  The same is true of Samuel Raymond's 1886 book, Genealogies of the Raymond Families of New England . Yet land records in Bristol and Lincoln strongly imply Paul 's children were Pearis, Lemuel, and Paul Jr.
  • The 1800 census shows Pearis' father Paul in Bristol, Addison, Vermont as expected. Yet several sources, including the 1800 census, show that the Paul Raymond of Richmond continued to live (and remarry) in Richmond until his death in 1828. 
  • Paul of Richmond died in 1828; Paul of Bristol/Lincoln continues to show up in census records to 1840 and property deeds to 1843.

They were not born at the same time, they died at different times, they had different spouses, they had different children, and they coexisted at two different locations. For these reasons, I conclude that the two individuals were separate and distinct.

Sources

VRRich - Vital Records of Richmond, Massachusetts to the year 1850, NEHGS, 1913. Available online .

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