Stephen Strong (October 11, 1791 – April 15, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician and one term as a

U.S. Representative 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

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 * ...

from 1845 to 1847.

Early life

Strong was born in

Lebanon, Connecticut Lebanon ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly sou ...

, and later moved to New York. He was the son of Adonijah Strong (1760–1815) and Hepzibah (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Bliss) Strong. Among his siblings was Bela William Strong (a lawyer who died in a duel in 1815), Lucy Strong, Abigail Strong (his twin who died in infancy), and Abigail Strong, who married Daniel C. Shearman. His father was a farmer who fought in the Revolutionary War and was at the

Battle of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Mar ...

. He attended Oneida Academy, today known as

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

Clinton, New York Clinton, New York may refer to: *Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Dutchess County, New York *Clinton, Oneida County, New York * Clinton, Manhattan, or Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood in New York City *East Greenb ...

Career

After studying the law, he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1822 and began to practice.

"He was an eminent advocate, famous not for his technical legal knowledge, but for his great tact and ingenuity, and wonderful resources of his own in the management of cases, and for his inspiring and magnetic powers of eloquent speech which was always more powerful than polished."

From 1836 to 1838, and again from 1844 to 1847, he served as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

of Tioga County. In between his service as district attorney, he served as judge of Tioga County from 1838 to 1843.

Congress

Strong 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 Twenty-ninth Congress serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. During his time in the House, he served as chairman of the

Committee on Expenditures in the Department of State The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful pan ...

. After

Ausburn Birdsall Ausburn Birdsall (November 13, 1814 – July 10, 1903) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1847 to 1849. Biography Born in Otego, New York, Birdsall was the son of Michael and Wea ...

succeeded him in the House, Strong resumed the practice of law in

Owego, New York Owego is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Tioga County, New York, Tioga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 18,728 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the Iroquoian languages, Iro ...

. He again served as judge of Tioga County from 1855 to 1859. In 1861, he moved to

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, and practiced law there.

Personal life

On July 10, 1838, Strong was married to Abigail (née Whittlesey) Camp (1777–1858), the widow of William Camp, Strong's law partner, and daughter of Capt. Asaph Whittlesey, who was killed in the

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...

and was a descendant of Gov.

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

. After her death in 1858, he remarried to Roxanna Bush (1789–1883), the widow of Norris M. Woodruff, a hardware merchant, and the eldest child of Eli Bush and Roxanna (née Terry) Bush, on June 19, 1861. He did not have any children of his own, but was revered by the children of both of his wives.

Death

He died in

, on April 15, 1866, and was buried at Brookside Cemetery in Watertown.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Stephen 1791 births 1866 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives