Alfred John Raymond

Alfred Raymond JP
Alfred John Raymond, 1915.
39th Mayor of Brisbane
In office 1912–1912
Preceded by	Harry Diddams
Succeeded by	Harry Doggett
Personal details
Born	Alfred John Raymond (1856-02-01)1 February 1856 Clifton, Bristol, England
Died	14 October 1935(1935-10-14) (aged 79) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Toowong Cemetery
Nationality	English Australian
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Paul (m.1878 d.1886), Jessie Catherine Shearer (m.1888 d.1933), May Evelyn Nott (née Wright) (m.1935 d.1969)
Occupation	Carpenter, Timber merchant
Religion	Congregational

Alfred John Raymond (1 February 1856 – 14 October 1935) was timber merchant and politician in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was Mayor of Brisbane in 1912.

Alfred was born in Clifton, Bristol, England to parents Henry George Raymond and Mary Ann (née Hewland), the fifth of eight children. The family lived at 16 Camden Terrace, Clifton.

Alfred like his father was a carpenter and builder by trade and was probably apprenticed to his father. Apart from this, we know little of his early life, other than that his family were staunch supporters of the Hope Chapel, a Congregational Church a few streets from their home. Alfred was a deeply devout man throughout his life and an active lay worker in the Congregational Church.

In 1878, Alfred married Elizabeth (Bessie) Paul and they had two sons, Alfred (known as Fred, born 1879) and Leslie (born 1882). Elizabeth suffered from some illness, possibly tuberculosis, and it was advised that she move to a warmer climate for her health. So the family immigrated to Queensland on the "Duke of Buckingham", arrived at Cooktown on 27 January 1884 and then continued south to Brisbane.

In 1885–86, Alfred was a carpenter and living at Morrison's cottages, Stanley Street on the south side of Brisbane beside the river. In 2009, this is around the Kurilpa Point parkland beside the William Jolly Bridge.

However, it was not a happy time for the newly arrived Raymond family. Shortly after their arrival in Brisbane, their baby son Leslie died on 4 April 1884 and then exactly two years later (4 April 1886) Bessie died. Bessie and Leslie are buried together in Toowong Cemetery. Devastated by Bessie's death, Alfred is said to have returned to England with his surviving son Alfred (known as Fred), only to decide on returning that the climate was better in Brisbane and so he came back to Brisbane. However, there is no proof that these journeys took place, but equally there are no records of Alfred in Brisbane in years immediately after Bessie's death.

What is certain is that on 20 June 1888, Alfred remarries, to a Jessie Catherine Shearer, the Brisbane-born daughter of Thomas Shearer and Jessie (née Harrower), in the Wharf Street Congregational Church, Brisbane.