STRONG ANCESTORS

John Strong was born at Taunton, Somersetshire, England in 1605. He moved to London and then to Plymouth, England. John married first, at England, in 1625 to Margery Deane of Southchard at Chard, Somersetshire. Having strong Puritan sympathies, John Strong, his wife and their two children sailed from Plymouth for New England aboard the "Mary and John". John's sister, Eleanor Strong accompanied them on their voyage to America. They first settled at Dorchester, Mass. Eleanor Strong married a tanner of Taunton, Mass.

In 1635, John Strong and his family moved to Hingham, Mass. and on 9 March 1636, he took the Freeman's oath at Boston. Margery Strong died in 1636, and about two months later their six year old child died. John Strong became a widower with a ten year old son and a baby boy who was only a year old.

On 16 December 1636, John Strong married again at Dorchester to Abigail Ford. Abigail was the daughter of Thomas Ford, who was aboard the 'Mary and John". Abigail was only 17 years old, while John Strong was 30 years old. Their first child, Thomas, was born in 1636. Jedehiah Strong was born on 7 May 1637 and was baptized at Dorchester.

Records from 4 December 1638 show John Strong as an original proprietor, as well as the constable of Taunton, Mass.. In 1638, he was made a Freeman of Plymouth Colony. In 1639, he was chosen as the first constable of Taunton. In 1639 Abigail had another baby boy, who died.

John Strong was a Deputy to the General Court, for Taunton, from 1641 to 1644. In 1641, he received a grant of land at Taunton for attending courts, laying out land and doing other work. Abigail had two more baby boys born at Taunton.

The Ford family had moved to Windsor about 1636. Their daughter, Abigail, had married John Strong in 1636. John and Abigail Strong stayed at Taunton, Mass. where John Strong was a Deputy to the General Court. Thomas Ford, and his wife, Elizabeth, lived on their acreage on the east side of the Connecticut River. Elizabeth Ford died in the spring of 1643. Thomas was once again a widow. Thomas remarried in November 1644 to Ann , the widow of Thomas Scott of Hartford.

The Strongs remained at Taunton until about 1645, when they moved to Windsor, Ct., where John Strong did much to develop that settlement. Abigail Strong had eight more children were born at Windsor between 1645 and 1659. On 5 August 1652, Abigail Strong had twin boys named Samuel and Joseph. Joseph died as a baby. Abigail Strong had two more babies after 1662. Thankful was born July 1663. Their youngest child, Jerijah, was born at Northampton on 12 December 1665. Jerijah was six month's younger than John Strong's first grand-daughter. Jerijah will marry Thankful Stebbins in 1700. Thankful is the niece of Mary Stebbins Gaylord and Walter Gaylord. NOTE-"Thankful" seems to be a common name!

In 1659 the Strongs moved from Windsor to Massachusetts. John Strong became an active founder of Nonatuck (now Northampton, Mass.), and lived there for forty years, becoming a leading man in the affairs of the town and church. Northampton was originally settled in October 1654 by Englishmen, who came from that part of England. The Indians called this area - "Nonatuck". John Strong was a tanner, husbandman, and became very prosperous in his business, eventually owning over 200 acres of land at the Northampton area. On 13 June 1663, the Northampton Church chose John Strong as the first ruling elder.

By the time Jedehiah Strong got married in 1662, at the age twenty-five, he had fourteen younger siblings .On 18 November 1662 Jedehiah Strong married Freedom Woodward. Freedom was the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Woodward from Dorchester. Henry Woodward came from Lancashire, England on the ship "James", with Richard Mether and Captain Taylor, on 16 August 1635. Henry and Elizabeth settled at Dorchester in 1639. The Woodwards had three daughters born between 1640 and 1643; first Freedom, then Experience and last Thankful. In 1659, the Woodwards moved to Northampton, where Henry was one of the founders of the first church there and became one of the "seven pillars".

Jedediah Strong was a farmer at Northampton. He and Freedom Strong had thirteen children. Their first Elizabeth was born on 9 June 1664, Abigail was born on 9 July 1666. Jedediah Strong Jr was born at Northampton, Mass. on 7 August 1667. Freedom Strong had another baby, Ford, born on 2 September 1668, and died on 1 November 1668. The following year another baby was born and died as an infant.

Freedom Strong had two more children: Hannah was born on 3 February 1671, and Thankful was born on 15 April 1672. Freedom Strong had another - John was born on 15 November 1673, and died in November 1673.. . and another - Lydia was born 9 November 1675

Freedom Strong still had more . . . . Mary was born in May 1677, and died young. Experience was born on 19 August 1678, and died on 16 September 1678. Freedom Strong apparently can't say "NO" to Jedediah: Preserved was born on 29 March 1680. John was born on 10 May 1681.

Freedom Strong died of an accident on 17 May 1681. Jedediah Strong found himself a widower with nine surving children. The oldest child was 18 and the youngest was only a week old. Jedediah next married, on 28 December 1681, to Abigail Stebbins, the widow of John Stebbins. She was born on 6 September 1660 as the daughter of Robert Bartlett. Jedediah Strong and his second wife, Abigail Stebbins, became proud parents of a baby girl in 1683.

Jedediah Strong Sr. had taken the oath of allegiance on 8 February 1679. In 1683, Jedediah Strong Sr was made a Constable at Northampton, and was admitted as a Freeman in 1690. Jedediah Strong's second wife, Abigail, died on 15 July 1689, and his third marriage was, on 5 January 1691, to Mary Hart (the widow of John Lee of Farmington, Ct.). She was the daughter of Stephen Hart and died on 10 October 1710.

On 8 November 1688, Jedediah Strong Jr married at Northampton to Abiah (Abijah) Ingersoll. She was born on 24 August 1663 to Abigail Bascom, the second wife of John Ingersoll. Jedediah and Abiah Strong had eight children between 1689 and 1704. Their first child, Azariah, was born on 7 October 1689, and died on 30 October 1689.

Jedediah Strong Jr. was a farmer at Northampton until 24 August 1696, when he moved to Lebanon, Ct. At that time there were only four white families living in Lebanon. Abiah and Jedediah Strong Jr had seven children. Stephen Strong was born on 24 November 1690. David was born on 19 June 1693. Eleazer Strong was born, at Northampton, Mass., on 7 September 1695. Supply Strong was born at Lebanon on 10 October 1697. Jedediah Jr's grand father, John Strong, died at Northampton on 14 April 1699, as a large landholder who possessed considerable wealth. John Strong was ninety-four at the time of his death. Jedediah Strong's youngest brother, Jerijah, married in 1700 to Thankful Stebbins. Jedediah 3rd was born on 15 January 1700. Ezra Strong was born on 2 March 1702, and Freedom was born on 16 May 1704.

Jedediah Strong Jr. was killed by Indians, at White Creek, NY., on 12 October 1709. He was only 42. His wife, Abiah was a widow with seven children. the oldest was nineteen and the youngest was five. Eleazer Strong was fourteen when his father was killed. He and his two older brothers were left to run the farm. His older brother, David, died in 1712. [The cause of David' death is not known, but use your imagination.]

Eleazer's grandfather, Jedediah Strong, was a farmer at Northampton, Mass. until 1709. He then moved to Coventry, CT at the age of 72. He lived there until his death at the age of ninety-six. 

On 23 November 1720, Eleazer Strong married Jemima Stiles, who was born on 7 October 1700 to Robert Stiles and Ruth Bridges. The Stiles were from Boxford Mass. Jemima Stiles was born there in October 1700. Robert Stiles had purchased 200 acres of land at Lebanon, Ct in 1718; he died at Hebron in February 1720 before his daughter's marriage. Ruth Bridges was from Ipswich, Mass. where her grandfather, Edmund Bridges, had lived. Edmund Bridges was a Quaker and emigrated to Lynn, Mass about 1636, where he was a blacksmith by trade.

Jedediah Strong Sr. died at Coventry on 22 May 1733. His grandmother, Abiah (Ingersoll) Strong, died on 20 November 1732 at the age of 69. 

Eleazer and Jemima Strong had eight children between the 1729 and 1745. Eleazer Strong Jr - our ancestor was born in 1729, Jesse was born on 26 February 1730, Joel and Amos were born on 1 May 1733, Jemima was born on 27 July 1735, Irene was born on 16 April 1736, and died on 4 October 1742. Peter was born on 15 February 1742 and Deborah was born on 8 September 1745.

Eleazer Strong Jr's  father was a farmer at Hebron and at Glastenburg, CT, where he died about 1780. Eleazer Jr. was the oldest of eight children born between the 1729 and 1745. 

Eleazer Strong Jr married at Hebron, CT in 1748 to Abigail Chappell, who was born at Hebron in 1731 to Noah Chappell and Abigail Howard. Eleazer was nineteen and Abigail was only seventeen when they married. Abigail Chappell's great-uncle was Thomas Newberry, who married the "merry" widow Ann (Scott) Ford back in 1677.

As an adult Eleazer Strong Jr was a large man, weighing over 200 pounds. He had a farm at Hebron. They had eight children. Their first child, David Strong, was born on 27 July  1748. Abigail was born on 1 September 1750, but died two days later. Little Abigail was born 9 June 1754 and named the same as their deceased child after Abigail Strong. Next came Ruth was born on 16 June 1754. Phineas was born on 7 June 1756. Phebe was born on 25 August 1760, and then Sibyl and Mary.

Abigail and Eleazer Strong Jr. raised their children on the Hebron farm. They both lived to see children marry and grandchildren grow up. Little Abigail married Nehemiah Porter. [Remember David Porter was one of the first settlers of Hebron and had eight children; so there were a lot of Porters running around!] Abigail Strong died in 1806. Eleazer Strong Jr. died in 1822 at his farm.

David Strong was born at Hebron, CT 1748 and married on 3 February 1773 to Amy Carver, who died without having any children. Was David a "Minuteman" during the Revolution? There's no record of his services in the Revoultion.

David Strong married again on 29 December 1776 to Leah Bissell, who was born on 13 January 1749. Leah'a parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth Bissell lived at Hebron since before she was born. David was twenty-eight and Leah was twenty-seven when they married. David was a big man; he was over six feet tall, weighing 300 pounds. Like his father, David Strong, was a farmer at Hebron.

David and Leah Strong had seven children, all born at Hebron, grew up at Hebron and married at Hebron. Eleazer was born on 19 May 1777.  Amy was born on 20 May 1780. Lydia was born on 13 December 1782. Benjamin was born on 11 April 1784. Mary "Polly" Strong - our ancestor was born on 29 June  1787. David was born on 22 December 1787.  Wealthy was born in 1790. 

Mary "Polly" Strong and Bela Porter married at Hebron in 1805. Like Bela's sisters wedding, it was well attened by Strongs, Porters and Beaches. Lydia (Porter) and John Beach brought their three young children. Maybe Bela's five year old nephew, Nelson Beach, was ring bearer and his three year old niece was flower girl?

Mary and Bela Strong lived at Hebron and raised their six children: William, Mary, Benjamin, Cephas, Bela Jr. and Emily. Emily Porter was born in 1806.

Bela Porter died on 11 November 1818, at the age of thirty-six. Mary was a widow with six young children; Emily was twelve and the youngest must have been a baby. Mary (Strong) Porter married again at Hebron in 1823 to John S. Porter (a cousin of Bela).

Mary's father, David Strong, died in 1821; her mother died in 1830. Bela's father, Increase Porter Jr., lived until 1838.

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