John Strong Sr.

John Strong
John Strong
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives; from the Wayne County district
	In office; November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837
Personal details
Born	November 26, 1798; Wroxton, Oxfordshire, England
Died	February 23, 1881 (aged 82); Greenfield Township, Michigan
Political party	Democratic

John Strong Sr. (November 26, 1798 – February 23, 1881) was an English–American farmer and politician who served one term in the Michigan House of Representatives, and was an early settler of Greenfield Township, Michigan.

Biography

John Strong was born on November 26, 1798,^[1] in Wroxton, Oxfordshire, England.^[2] He studied for the ministry, but did not find it to his liking. After his father's death, he emigrated to the United States,^[1] arriving in the early 1820s, likely in 1825. He settled in Greenfield Township, Michigan (now within the city boundaries of Detroit) by 1826, after a year spent living near Chatham, Ontario.^[3] He was a farmer,^[4] and as one of the few educated men in the area, he assisted the Native American and French residents with business and legal matters, and he also sold many small tracts of land to incoming German colonists.^[1]

Strong was a Democrat,^[1] and was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in the first election following adoption of the state constitution in 1835, and served through 1836.^[4] He was supervisor of Greenfield Township in 1836 and 1836.^[5]

Strong died in Greenfield Township on February 23, 1881,^[1]^[6]

Family

In 1827,^[7] Strong married Isabella Campbell, who was born in Scotland on January 25, 1810. They had six children: John Jr., Ann, George, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Sarah. Isabella Strong died on October 29, 1840.^[1]

John Strong Jr. was elected to both the state house and senate,^[4] and also served as lieutenant governor of Michigan. Elizabeth's son John S. Haggerty served as Michigan Secretary of State.^[7]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Moore 1915, p. 742.
^ Moore 1915, p. 742, gives Strong's birthplace as "Roxton, England". There is a Roxton, Bedfordshire, and a Wroxton, Oxfordshire, and Burton, Stocking & Miller 1922, p. 1159, specifies that he was born in Oxfordshire.
^ The date of his arrival varies by source. Chapman Brothers 1883, p. 222, and Detroit Free Press 1881, p. 1, give 1820 and the latter adds that he spent a year in Canada. Bingham 1888, p. 619, says he arrived in Michigan in 1822. Burton, Stocking & Miller 1922, p. 1159, says he arrived in the United States in 1825 and in Greenfield Township in 1826; this latter date is also given in Farmer 1890, p. 1445. Passenger lists of the Silas Richards show a John Strong born in 1798 traveling from England to New York in 1825 (FamilySearch 2014).
^ ^a ^b ^c Bingham 1888, p. 619.
^ Farmer 1890, p. 1293.
^ Detroit Free Press 1881, p. 1.
^ ^a ^b SI. U. Collins 1914, p. 40.

References

Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-12-31
Burton, Clarence M.; Stocking, William; Miller, Gordon K., eds. (1922), The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Detroit: S. J. Clarke, p. 197, retrieved 2018-12-31
"Died: Strong", Detroit Free Press, vol. 46, no. 158, p. 1, February 26, 1881, retrieved 2018-12-31
Farmer, Silas (1890), History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan: A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present, vol. 2, Detroit: S. Farmer & Company, retrieved 2018-12-31
Michigan Manual (1877–78 ed.), Lansing: State of Michigan, 1877, retrieved 2018-12-31
Moore, Charles (1915), History of Michigan, vol. 2, Chicago: Lewis, retrieved 2018-12-31
New York, New York, Index to Passenger Lists, 1820-1846 (database), FamilySearch, May 21, 2014, retrieved 2019-01-01
Portrait and Biographical Album of the Members of the Legislature of the State of Michigan (1883) Thirty-second Session, Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1883, retrieved 2018-12-31
Successful Men of Michigan: A Compilation of Useful Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men, SI. U. Collins, 1914, retrieved 2018-12-31

[FOOTNOTEMoore1915742-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Moore 1915, p. 742.

[2] Moore 1915, p. 742, gives Strong's birthplace as "Roxton, England". There is a Roxton, Bedfordshire, and a Wroxton, Oxfordshire, and Burton, Stocking & Miller 1922, p. 1159, specifies that he was born in Oxfordshire.

[3] The date of his arrival varies by source. Chapman Brothers 1883, p. 222, and Detroit Free Press 1881, p. 1, give 1820 and the latter adds that he spent a year in Canada. Bingham 1888, p. 619, says he arrived in Michigan in 1822. Burton, Stocking & Miller 1922, p. 1159, says he arrived in the United States in 1825 and in Greenfield Township in 1826; this latter date is also given in Farmer 1890, p. 1445. Passenger lists of the Silas Richards show a John Strong born in 1798 traveling from England to New York in 1825 (FamilySearch 2014).

[FOOTNOTEBingham1888619-4] Bingham 1888, p. 619.

[FOOTNOTEFarmer18901293-5] Farmer 1890, p. 1293.

[FOOTNOTEDetroit_Free_Press18811-6] Detroit Free Press 1881, p. 1.

[FOOTNOTESI._U._Collins191440-7] SI. U. Collins 1914, p. 40.

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John Strong

Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the Wayne County district
In office November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837

Personal details
Born	(1798 -11-26)November 26, 1798 Wroxton, Oxfordshire, England
Died	February 23, 1881(1881-02-23) (aged 82) Greenfield Township, Michigan
Political party	Democratic