Ralzemond

A friend asked me to investigate the origins of this name, which was borne by the man, a Ralzemond D. Parker, who filed patents like no. 1312572, for a “Secret-Signaling System.”

I am sorry to report that neither The Oxford Names Companion nor my expert Googling skills yielded much of anything about from whence this name might have come. Denmark? I cannot say. England? Perhaps. The Netherlands? Could very well be. I mean, “mond” means “mouth” in Dutch. (Other translations, according to Google Translate, include: opening, orifice, muzzle, kisser, aperture, embouchure, rictus, potato trap, outfall, potato box.) Let your imagination go hog-wild!

I did, though, turn up a biography of one Ralzemond A. Parker. I copy below the stuff I dug just ’cuz and put in bold those things with onomastic implications:

Ralzemond A. Parker was born in 1843, the son of Asher Bull Parker and Harriet Castle.  [...] Parker also apparently sold saws or worked with saw patents. [...] Later, he worked as Henry Ford’s patent lawyer and led the fight for automobile patent rights. [...] Parker was involved with the GAR [oh, if only this said GWAR — ed.], Oakland County Temperance Association, the Michigan State Chess Association, and the Union Veterans’ Patriotic League. Parker married Sarah Electa Drake, the daughter of Flemon Drake, M.D. [...] Some of his furniture was given to the Royal Oak Historical Society. Ralzemond is a family name which continues to be actively used among his descendants.

Things we can safely assume: 1) the “A” in Ralzemond A. Parker is “Asher”; 2) the “D” in Ralzemond D. Parker is “Drake.”

Things I amuse myself with assuming: 1) I, a Castle on my maternal grandmother’s side, am related to Ralzemond A. Parker.