Selah Brewster Strong (May 1, 1792 – November 29, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, serving one term in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1843 to 1845.

Life

He was born on May 1, 1792Dwight, 623 at Brookhaven, New York, the son of Judge Thomas Sheppard Strong and Hannah Brewster. His mother was the daughter of Joseph Brewster of Setauket and Rebecca Mills. She was also a descendant of Elder William Brewster ( – April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

and a passenger on the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'', through his son Jonathan Brewster. (This lineage appeared in some genealogies of the Strong family. However, she was actually descended from Rev. Nathaniel Brewster of New Haven and his wife Sarah Ludlow. They died in the Town of Brookhaven.) She was also a descendant of Lt. Gov.

Roger Ludlow Roger Ludlow (1590–1664) was an English lawyer, magistrate, military officer, and colonist. He was active in the founding of the Colony of Connecticut, and helped draft laws for it and the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony. Under his and John M ...

. His paternal grandmother was Anna Strong, the only female member of the

Culper Ring The Culper Ring was a network of Espionage, spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British New York and New Jersey campaign, occupation of New Yo ...

, based in Setauket, NY. He was also a descendant of

Lion Gardiner Lion Gardiner (1599–1663) was an English engineer and colonist who founded the first English settlement in New York, acquiring land on eastern Long Island. He had been working in the Netherlands and was hired to construct fortifications on t ...

, an early English settler and soldier in the New World, who founded the first

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settlement in what became the state of

. His legacy includes

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, New York (state), New York, in Eastern Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiners Bay, Gardiner's Bay between the two penins ...

which remains in the family and is the largest privately owned island in the United States.Gardiner, 84Lamb, 637 He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1811.Dwight, 623 He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1814, and commenced practice in

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. On August 14, 1823, he married Cornelia Udall, who was born at

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire * Islip Manor Meadows United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York ...

on March 20, 1806, the daughter of Dr. Richard Udall and Prudence Carll, daughter of Silas Carll of Huntington, Long Island, New York.Dwight, 623 She was the sister of Richard Udall, who studied law under Strong. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

he was commissioned as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

and

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

in the 10th Regiment, Third Brigade, New York City and County Troops, and in 1815 was promoted successively to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was

master in chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of eq ...

in 1817, moved to Brookhaven in 1820, and was District Attorney of Suffolk County from 1821 to 1847, except for nine months in 1830. He was appointed

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

of the First Division of the New York State Infantry in 1825.

Congress

He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

28th United States Congress The 28th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 184 ...

, and served from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1845. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In March 1846, he was appointed judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, but did not take office. He was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

(2nd District] from 1847 to 1849 and from 1852 to 1859, and was

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

a judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

in 1849 and 1859. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1867–68.

Death

He died at Setauket in 1872; interment was on his estate.Dwight, 623

Notes

References

* *Gardiner, Curtiss C. ''Lion Gardiner, and his descendants with Illustrations 1599–1890''. St. Louis, Missouri : A.Whipple, Publisher
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 350, 355 and 382; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

New York Court of Appeals.

External links

''Lion Gardiner, and his descendants with Illustrations 1599–1890''
by Curtiss C. Gardiner, St. Louis, Missouri : A.Whipple, Publisher 1890
History of the city of New York: its origin, rise and progress, Volume 3
By Martha Joanna Lamb, New York: The A.S. Barnes Company. 1877 *
Guide to the Strong Family Papers,1747-1940
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Selah Brewster 1792 births 1872 deaths People from Brookhaven, New York Suffolk County district attorneys Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Yale College alumni New York Supreme Court justices Gardiner family Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives