Finding aid for the John Stoughton Strong Family Papers

Biography of the John Stoughton Strong Family

The John Stoughton Strong Family in America originated in Massachusetts and then moved to connecticut.

John Stoughton Strong (1771-1863), the founder of Strongsville, Ohio, was born in Stafford, Connecticut, the son of Captain David Strong, in 1771. At the age of twenty-two, John Strong moved to Marlboro, Vermont, where he farmed and traded in potato whiskey and cider brandy and in 1795 married Tamar Whitney, the daughter of Deacon Jonas and Tamar Houghton Whitney.

Strong became interested in Ohio through his association with the Oliver Ellsworth family, which owned much of Township 5, Range 14, in the Western Reserve, the site of Cuyahoga County. In 1816 he moved to Township 5, as the land agent of the Ellsworth family, and his family joined him in a log house north of the center of the Township in 1818. Together, they helped to organize and develop the settlement of Strongsville. As a founder of the town, John S. Strong built the first grist mill as well as a saw mill and a distillery. In addition, Strong managed a general store, was director of the Wayne, Medina and Cuyahoga Turnpike Road Company, and headed cattle drives to the East. Before his death in 1863, John Strong served as a Justice of the Peace, a township trustee, and as an officer of the Strongsville Congregational Church.

John and Tamar Strong had eleven children, three of whom aided in their father's business. Emory Strong, the eldest, was born in Marlboro, Vermont, in 1796 and joined his father in Ohio in 1816, serving as his clerk and later as manager of the family's general store. He died in 1834. Emory's son, Benjamin Olds Strong, was born in Strongsville in 1824, attended Western Reserve College, graduated in 1843, and died in Kansas in 1857.

Warner Strong (1804-1856) succeeded Emory as secretary and assistant to John Strong. Eventually he purchased his father's store and remained a merchant in Strongsville. In addition, Warner Strong served as a justice of the peace and a postmaster and an officer in the Ohio Militia. Warner and his wife, Salome Burrell, died during the typhoid epidemic in 1856 but left behind a son, Frederick Strong (1835-1919) who became a farmer and a merchant. His son, Albert (b. 1861), the great grandson of John Strong, was a merchant in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and wrote a history of the Strong Family in 1931.

Clark Ross Strong, fifth son of John Strong, was born in Marlboro, Vermont, in 1808. A farmer and a businessman in Strongsville, Clark Ross Strong also died in the typhoid epidemic in 1856.

Scope and Content

The John Stoughton Strong Family Papers, 1806-1917 and undated (1806-1856), consist of correspondence, deeds, agreements, bills, memoranda, receipts, financial accounts, and other papers (1806-1856) of members of the family of John Stoughton Strong, pertaining primarily to the sale of land and the development of the township of Strongsville, Ohio. Includes business and legal papers of Emery Strong, papers of Warner Strong, and material (1916-1917) relating to Strongsville's centennial celebration.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the early history of the Western Reserve and the city of Strongsville, Ohio. The papers of John S. Strong concern farms in Vermont, the selling and buying of undeveloped land in Cuyahoga County, and the operation of a general store and cattle business. Warner Strong's papers include references to his positions as a justice of the peace, and postmaster of Strongsville. Of special interest are the recollections of early Strongsville in the Frederick Strong papers and a reference to the 1916 Centennial of Strongsville in the Albert Strong papers. Those studying the history of business and entrepreneurship will find this collection useful.

View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Strongsville, Ohio

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Researchers should also consult PG 25 Harper Family Photograph Albums. Please note that the Massachusetts Historical Society has materials relating to Elder John Strong (1605-1699).

All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 1853 John Stoughton Strong Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Albert Strong in 1933.

Processing Information

Processed by Craig Alexis Schermer in 1978.

Other Finding Aid

A Strong Family genealogical chart is available at the Reference Desk of the Research Center of the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Detailed Description of The Collection