Union College - Garnet Yearbook (Schenectady, NY)

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on the Commencement stage. We are all young still, and he is the youngest among us, at least in vigor of intellect and buoyancy of spirits. These, indeed, were his characteristics in college. He was everyone's friend. He was familiarly known as Andy Raymond.- He was hearty and goodrnatured, and while he always took high rank in his classes no one ever thought of him as a mere grind He had not the academical appearance. His fondness for athletic sports put a dif- ferent stamp on him. He entered heartily into all legitimate college fun and college work. The time-honored Adelphic Society received a fresh impetus through his efforts and the efforts of a few others who were like-minded with him. The small but congenial company of men who had rather more than the average of literary taste and scholarly ambition and philosophical aspiration, numbered him among its fellows. The writer of this article remembers with pleasure a certain entertain- ment given by students, mostly of the Class of ,75, in Union I-Iall, on the evening of December 18th, 1874g in which entertainment the present president of Union College appeared as Cafcxby in a scene from .Rich- ard Ill. playing to il. G. Lansing's A'1'fh1n'zL J. W. Abbey's A,lr'h7l10llll', C. B. King's 0xf1n1', and S. D. ,lewell's Mzzfzlk. Later in the pro- grannne he also appeared as Dm'm.vc ljaafilllc in the roaring farce, entitled The l reedom of the Press. , The writer also recalls the occasion of the anniversary exercises of the Adelphic Society held in the college chapel on the evening of june 16th, 1874, when he was valedictorian and Raymond was respondent. The respondent's subject was Overshots fav. Unclershots, or a Trtte Aim. That some of these shots took effect was apparent from the nature of the criticism, which ranged from sharp and caustic to lauda- tory in the extreme. The young man was already beginning to strike out on original and independent lines. Another occasion on which both the writer and Mr. Raymond figured in a literary way was the celebration of the completion of the college chapel, held by the students on the evening of October z3rcl, 1874. Raymond was the orator on that occasion, and, as a daily paper put it, his address was full of wit and eloquence. One other incident comes back distinctly to memory, the class day exercises of the Class of '75, held in the college grove east of South Col- lege. Raymond delivered the address. He also wrote the Smoking Song, which appeared in full on the last page of the programme and was 9

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Andrew V. V. Raymond, D.D., LL. D. President of Union College. t 'f HICN Providence creates a situation calling for a man of certain qualities and characteristics, Providence also usually provides the man to fill it. In the year 1894 Union College had need of a president who should be young yet experienced, enthausiastic yet wise, learned yet simple, re- ligious yet liberal, admired for his large intellect yet loved for his warm heart. Providence promptly provided Andrew Van Vranken Raymond. And since Providence is not usually credited with making mistakes it may be instructive briefly to review Doctor Raymond's career in order better to understand why he of all others was the man for the place. He was born August 8th, 1854, at Visscher's Ferry, Saratoga County, N. Y. He is therefore a little more than forty years of age: young enough to understand the temptations and sympathize with the ambitions of young men, old enough to counsel and control them. His father was Rev. Henry A. Raymond, and his mother was Catharine M. Miller. As a boy he enjoyed all the pleasures and experienced all the privations of a life in the family of a country pastor. But his training was robust and thorough. From the beginning his bent was towards the ministry. He prepared for college in the Troy High School, and in order that his preparation might be more thorough, a private tutor was also employed. He was thus enabled, in 1872, to enter the Sophomore class at Union -the Class of ,75. He at once took rank among the leaders as a stu- dent, and soon acquired a popularity among college men which has never left him. It is hard to believe, especially for those of us who were with him in college, that it is twenty years since he stood as a Senior 8

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sung witl1 vim by the assembled class. Whether this was his tirst, last, and only appearance as a cotnposer of songs tI1e writer hereof is un- able to state. It goes without saying that he graduated with honors and that his successes aroused no CllVy in any quarter. Then began his special work of preparation for the lTlllllSll'y. He studied theology in tl1e setn- inary of the Reformed Qljutchj Church at New Brunswick, N. j., gradu- ating i11 1878. The same year he was ordained and entered upon his ministerial career as pastor of the First Reformed Church of Paterson, N. J. In 1881 l1e assumed pastoral charge of the Trinity Reformed Church in Plainfield, N. J. Here he remained for sixyears. Tl1e people of l1is denomination felt that he was growing. He was coming out from Z1lll0llf,ff the masses of the clergy and taking ra11k among the leaders. In ISSO he was sent as a delegate to the General Synod of tl1e Reformed Cl111rcl1. He was sent again ill 1883 and again i11 1886. His pas- torate i11 l'l:tintield was a happy and successful one, but that mysterious influence which draws a man unconsciously back toward the home of his boyhood and toward the scenes of his youth was working on l1i1n. lt is a law as fixed and definite as the law of gravitation. And when the time was ripe he accepted a call from the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany to become its pastor. This was ill 1887. lt was a long step forward. Great and good men l1ad occupied this pulpit before him. The place was fairly redolent witl1 traditions of eloqnence,of goodness and ability, But if there was any doubt in the lllllld of anyone of his fitness for this position it was soon dispelled. He not only won the l1earts of his con- gregation and held the CllllI'Cll up to herlevel, but he at once took a lead- ing place among the pastors of the city of Albany and of the preachers ofthe State of New York. He -was sent as a commissioner totl1e General Assembly of his church in 1888, i11 1891, Zlllfl in 1893. In ISQO l1e was elected moderator of the Synod of New York. ln 1887 he received the degree of IJ. ll. from his Alma Mater, and in 1894 the degree of LL. D. from Willia111s College. lt was in 1894 that he was called to the presidency of Union College, The inevitable had cotne. The choice of the trustees was a perfectly natural one. As a resident of Albany and as President of the Alutnni Association he was thoroughly conversant with the affairs of tl1e college, IO