Demas Strong (April 22, 1820 – November 9, 1893) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician.

Life

Strong was born on April 22, 1820 in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under it ...

, the son of Davis Swift Strong and Clarissa Braddock. Strong was apprenticed to a gold watch case manufacturer in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

from 1834 to 1837. He then spent several years as a clerk in a wholesale store in New York. Initially a Democrat, he joined the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery i ...

and was a member of the 1848 Free Soil National Convention. In 1849, he moved to California and established a trading post in Big Bar, then another one in Coloma, and then building a store in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. He then moved to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, where he was a merchant, erected several stores and dwellings, and bought town lots. He was a city alderman, serving as president of the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. Following the

Squatters' riot The Squatters' riot was an uprising and conflict that took place between squatting settlers and the government of Sacramento, California (then an unorganized territory annexed after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) in August 1850 concerning the la ...

, when Mayor Hardin Bigelow was shot, Strong became the city's acting mayor. In December 1850, he moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, closing up his California businesses in 1856. By that point, he became an active

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

. He studied law while working as a merchant's clerk and began working as a lawyer in Brooklyn. Strong was a member of the Williamsburgh Board of Education, and he was one of the appointed commissioners to arrange the consolidation of that city with Brooklyn. He spent five years as a member of the Brooklyn Common Council. In 1863, he was elected to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

as a Republican, representing

New York's 2nd State Senate district New York's 2nd State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. Since 2021, it has been represented by Republican Mario Mattera, who succeeded former Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. For the 2022 election, the 2n ...

(the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, and 19th wards of Brooklyn). He served in the Senate in

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster (" Oh! Susanna", " Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song ...

and

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Second Battle of Fort Fisher ...

. While in the Senate, he wrote a bill that established the New York State Institution for the Blind in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. He later became president of the Eastern District Hospital trustees. In 1841, Strong married Jane A. Leaycraft. Their children were Richard Polk, Julia, William Davis, Clarrise, Joseph Lewis, George Jesse, Grace, Jeanie, Demas Swift, Morris Braddock, and Susie. Strong died in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, where he was staying for health reasons, on November 9, 1893. He was buried in the family burial plot in Middle Haddam, Connecticut.

Footnotes

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Demas Strong
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Demas 1820 births 1893 deaths Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut New York (state) Free Soilers Businesspeople from Sacramento, California Sacramento City Council members Mayors of Sacramento, California People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Businesspeople from Brooklyn Lawyers from Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn New York (state) city council members Republican Party New York (state) state senators Burials in Connecticut 19th-century American businesspeople