Wesleyan's Eighth President Bradford P. Raymond "A 'safe and
unselfish First Director'...whose genial optimism and talents as
a peacemaker were assets in dealing with key constituencies." A
Civil War veteran, scholar, and pastor, Bradford P. Raymond came
to Wesleyan from Lawrence University, where he had served as
president for six years. Raymond was born on April 22, 1846, in
High Ridge, Conn., and attended local public schools until the
age of 18, when he joined the Union Army. When the war ended, he
was in poor health and was sent to Red Wing, Minn., where an
uncle and older brother lived. There, he became very religious
and decided to become a minister. He attended Hamline University
in Red Wing, Minn., but it closed during his junior year for
lack of funds (it was later reopened in St. Paul). Raymond
organized the students and faculty, collected money from the
students, and paid the faculty to continue teaching for the
year. He then went to Lawrence University for his senior year
and graduated from there