John Strong 
      Sex: M
Individual Information 
     Birth Date: 1605 - Taunton, Somerset, England
    Christening: 
          Death: 14 Apr 1699 - (Northampton, Hampshire Co., Ma)
         Burial: 
 Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children 
1. Margery Deane (       -       )
       Marriage: 
       Children:
                1. John Strong (Abt 1633-1698)
                2. infant Strong (Abt 1635-Abt 1635)

2. *Abigail Ford (Abt 1608 - 6 Jul 1688) 4 
       Marriage: Abt 1635 5
       Children:
                1. Thomas Strong (Abt 1636-1689)
                2. Jedediah Strong (1637-1733)
                3. Josiah Strong (Abt 1639-      )
                4. Return Strong (Abt 1641-1726)
                5. Ebenezer Strong (1643-1729)
                6. Abigail Strong (Abt 1645-1704)
                7. Elizabeth Strong (1647-1736)
                8. Experience Strong (1650-      )
                9. Samuel Strong (1652-1732)
                10. Joseph Strong (1652-      )
                11. Mary Strong (1654-1738)
                12. Sarah Strong (1656-1733)
                13. Hannah Strong (1659-1694)
                14. Hester Strong (1661-1727)
                15. Thankful Strong (1663-      )
                16. Jerijah Strong (1665-1754)
Notes
General:
A large book entitled THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ELDER JOHN STRONG OF NORTHAMPTON, MASS. by Benjamin W. Dwight was published in Albany, New York in 1871. It consists of two thick volumes with a total of 1586 pages. Volume II begins on page 769. Both volumes are available at http://books.google.com, although I had some difficulty locating Volume I. I was able to download each volume in the form of a PDF file. The following description of the life of Elder John Strong is from pages 14-17 of Volume I.

I have omitted the first two paragraphs, which in my view say more about the mentality of the nineteenth century than about the ancestors of Elder John Strong. These paragraphs speak of several family crests corresponding to Strong families in Great Britain, and they extol the noble qualities of character of the early Strongs and their devotion to the service of God.

My own suspicion is that the surname 'Strong' arose independently in many different places in Great Britain and that there are today dozens, perhaps hundreds, of genetically unrelated Strong families in the English-speaking world. A few of these early families rose into the aristocracy and had family crests; most had nothing of the sort.

These first two paragraphs are interesting reading and can be found at http://strongfamilyofamerica.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I2476&tree=strong. The information there about the early descendants of Elder John Strong appears to have been taken mostly from Benjamin W. Dwight's book. The website is useful and attractive. It may or may not be a project of the Strong Family Association. The Association has published 4 thick volumes whose purpose is to continue Dwight's work past 1871. I have seen them at the Clayton Genealogical Library in Houston, Texas.

Beginning at paragraph 3, the following is from HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ELDER JOHN STRONG OF NORTHAMPTON, MASS., Vol. I, pgs 14-17:

The Strong Family of England was originally located in the county of Shropshire. One of the family married an heiress of Griffith, of the county of Caernarvon, Wales, and went thither to reside in 1545. Richard Strong was of this branch of the family, and was born in the county of Caernarvon in 1561. In 1590 he removed to Taunton, Somersetshire, England, where he died in 1613, leaving a son John then eight years of age, and a daughter Eleanor. The name is stated in one record, on what authority the writer knows not, to have been originally McStrachan and to have gone through the following changes, McStrachan, Strachan, Strachn, Strong. John Strong was born in Taunton, Eng., in 1605, whence he removed to London and afterwards to Plymouth. Having strong Puritan sympathies he sailed from Plymouth for the new world, March 20, 1630, in company with 140 persons, and among them Rev. Messrs. John Warham and John Maverick and Messrs. John Mason and Roger Clapp, in the ship Mary and John (Capt. Squeb) and arrived at Nantasket, Mass. (Hull), about twelve miles southeast from Boston, after a passage of more than seventy days in length, on Sunday, May 30, 1630. The original destination of the vessel was Charles river; but an unfortunate misunderstanding which arose between the captain and the passengers, resulted in their being put summarily ashore by him at Nantasket. After searching for a few days, for a good place in which to settle and make homes for themselves, they decided upon the spot, which they called Dorchester, in memory of the endeared home in England which many of them had left, and especially of its revered pastor, Rev. John White, "the great patron of New England emigration," who had especially encouraged them to come hither.

The grandfather of Elder John Strong was, as tradition informs us, a Roman Catholic, and lived to a great age. The Strong Family has borne out remarkably, in its earlier generations in this country at any rate, the historical genuineness of its name, in its wide-spread characteristics of physical vigor and longevity, and the large size of very many of its numerous households . . .

Eleanor Strong came with her brother John to this country, when he was but twenty-five years of age, and she was probably several years younger, and married Walter Deane, a tanner, of Taunton, Mass., previously of Taunton, Eng., and became the mother of four sons and one daughter. He was born about 1617, and was a prominent man in the affairs of his new home. Her descendants have been numerous and highly respectable. For various accounts of some of them see N. E. Gen. Register, published at Boston in several volumes, in various places.

In 1635, after having assisted in founding and developing the town of Dorchester, John Strong removed to Hingham, Mass., and on March 9, 1636, took the freeman's oath at Boston. His stay at Hingham was short, as on Dec. 4, 1638, he is found to have been an inhabitant and proprietor of Taunton, Mass., and to have been made in that year a freeman of Plymouth Colony. He remained at Taunton, as late at any rate as 1645, as he was a deputy thence to the General court in Plymouth, in 1641, '3, and '4. From Taunton he removed to Windsor, Ct., where he was appointed with four others, Capt. John Mason, Roger Ludlow, Israel Stoughton, and Henry Wolcott, all very leading men in the infant colony, "to superintend and bring forward the settlement of that place," which had been settled a few years before (1636) by a portion of the same colony that with him had founded Dorchester. Windsor was in fact called at first, and for several years (1636-50), Dorchester.

In 1659 he removed from Windsor to Northampton, Mass., of which he was one of the first and most active founders, as he had been previously of Dorchester, Hingham, Taunton, and Windsor. In Northampton he lived for forty years, and was a leading man in the affairs of the town and of the church. He was a tanner and very prosperous in his business. His tannery was located on what is now the southwest corner of Market and Main streets near the rail road depot. He owned at different times, as appears by records in the county clerk's office, some two hundred acres of land in and around Northampton.

How he obtained his office and title as Elder John Strong will appear by the following quotation from the church records at Northampton: "After solemn and extraordinary seeking to God for his direction and blessing, the church chose John Strong ruling Elder, and William Holton, deacon. They were ordained 13: 3 mo: '63" (or, the year beginning then in March, June 13, 1663, O. S., or N. S. June 24, 1663), "the elder by the imposition of the hands of the pastor" (Rev. Eleazer Mather) "and Mr. Russel of Hadley - the deacon, afterwards by the imposition of the hands of the pastor and elder. Mr. Russell, Mr. Goodwin, and brother Goodman were present from Hadley; Dea. Chapin and Mr. Holyoke from Springfield, who gave the right hand of fellowship to these delegates." How near to the minister himself, so greatly revered, the ruling elder stood in the thoughts of our Pilgrim fathers, is manifest from the functions of his office, as described in the following church record under date of Sept. 11, 1672: "Solomon Stoddard was ordained pastor of the church in Northampton by Mr. John Strong, ruling elder, and Mr. John Whiting, pastor of the second church in Hartford."

His first wife, whose name and family the author has not been able to ascertain, he married in England. She died on the passage or soon after landing; and in about two months afterwards her infant offspring, a second child, died also. He married in December, 1630, for a second wife, Abigail Ford of Dorchester, Mass., with whom he lived in wedlock for fifty-eight years. She died, the mother of 16 children, July 6, 1688, aged about 80; he died April 14, 1699 aged 94. He had had, up to the time of his decease, 160 descendants, viz: eighteen children, fifteen of whom had families; one hundred and fourteen grandchildren (6, John of Windsor; 16, Thomas of Northampton; 14, Jedediah; 7, Return; 10, Elder Ebenezer; 6, Abigail, Mrs. Chauncey; 12, Mrs. Joseph Parsons; 13, Mrs. Zerubbabel Filer; 8, Samuel; 11, Mary, Mrs. John Clark; 7, Hannah, Mrs. William Clark; 4, Hester, Mrs. Thomas Bissell); and thirty-three great grandchildren, at least.

He made over his lands in his life-time to his children, and took bills of those whom he had helped, beyond their share - as of Ebenezer, for land and rent £71 8s., of Samuel, for do. £49 12s. and of Jerijah, for do. £60. He owed at his death, £61 11s., chiefly to his son Ebenezer -- to which add for funeral expenses 40s., probate of will and inventory 7s. 6d., and recording of same, 5s., and he had a free estate of £140. He gave to seven daughters £40 each, with what they had previously received. Abigail had had £38 13s.; Elizabeth, £36 7s.; Sarah, £28 1s.; Hannah, £28 12s.; Hestar, £23 5s.; and Thankful £16 7s. He gave to Experience £5 and to Catharine Chauncey (dau. of Abigail) £10 and to Rachel Strong (widow of Thomas) one acre in Northampton long improved by her husband. His sons, Samuel and Jerijah, were the exectors of his will.

BIRTH PLACES and DATES:

Benjamin W. Dwight explicitly gives the birth place of only 5 of the children: Windsor, Connecticut for Elizabeth, Experience, Mary and Sarah and Northampton, Massachusetts for Hester. The strongfamilyofamerica website gives birth places for all but one of the children. In the case of the children of Abigail Ford, the first two (Thomas, Jedediah) were born in Hingham, New Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts; Josiah died young, birthplace not specified; the next 3 (Return, Ebenezer, Abigail) were born in Taunton, Massachusetts; the next 7 were born in Windsor, Connecticut; and the last 3 were born in Northampton, Massachusetts. The information in Dwight about the movements of Elder John Strong can be used to deduce where most of the children were probably born.

Dwight provides many specific birth dates. I do not know what the source of those dates is. The early vital records website for Massachusetts towns (http://ma-vitalrecords.org/Towns.shtml) states, "The Taunton fire of 1838 destroyed the original town records. To replace them a copy of the early records of births, marriages, and deaths was made, under the direction of the town officials, from all original sources available, and this compilation has been used as the basis of the present printed volume." I do not see any births for 'Strong', or in general any birth dates in the 17th century. Northampton records are not yet available at that website. The Barbour Collection (All Town Connecticut Birth Records) does not seem to have birth records for Windsor.

In the case of 10 specific birth dates given by Dwight, there are 4 discrepancies between his dates and those of the website. The differences are minor (e.g., Dec 13/Dec 12, 20 May 1657/30 May 1659). Even though old handwritten records are sometimes difficult to read, it seems to me that 40% is very high.

ARRIVAL:

The European settlers who founded the town of Dorchester arrived May 30, 1630 after a voyage of 70 days in a ship named the Mary and John which left Plymouth in Devon on March 20. About 140 passengers from the West Country (Devon, Somerset, Dorset) were aboard. Despite diligent effort no one has ever found a passenger list. The Mary and John Clearing House (http://www.maryandjohn1630.com/clearinghouse.html) has three lists: 1) certain or highly probable passengers on the Mary and John, 2) probable passengers, and 3) possible passengers. See this website and http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=53 for more information.

Elder John Strong is on the list of probable passengers. One reason for believing that he arrived on the Mary and John is that in 1777 Gov. Caleb Strong, a descendant, stated that he did in a brief sketch of the early history of the Strong family in America prepared at the request of Rev. Joseph Strong and sent to him. That sketch is on pages xxv-xxvii of THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ELDER JOHN STRONG OF NORTHAMPTON, MASS., Vol 2.

John Strong's name is on the passenger list of another ship, the Hopewell, which sailed from Weymouth in Dorset May 8, 1635 with John Driver as master. That ship's passenger list names 18 men, but does not list their wives, children or servants. One entry is "Jon Stronge and family". Burton Spear of the Mary and John Clearing House, in volume 20 of the series "Search for the Passengers of the Mary and John 1630", lists the 18 passengers, with wives and children known to be alive in 1635. His entry for John Strong is:

John Strong of Chard, Somerset and/or Chardstock, Devon, age 26, who settled at Hingham, MA. Family members: Margery Deane, wife; John Jr., 2, and an infant; also John's sister, Eleanor, 22.

For complete lists see http://www.geni.com/projects/Great-Migration-Passengers-of-the-Hopewell-1635/1995.

The Winthrop Society (http://www.winthropsociety.com/ships.php) mentions two voyages of the Hopewell in 1635, one in the spring and one in the fall. The master of the spring voyage was William Bundocke. Since a voyage took two months or more, a given ship could not make three voyages in one year. Were there two ships with the same name? The website http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/ships/hopewell.htm refers to Bundocke's ship as the Hopewell of London.

The fact that John Strong arrived in 1635 does not prove that he did not arrive in 1630 on the Mary and John. He might have returned to England after 1630 and then returned to Massachusetts in 1635. I regard that as possible though unlikely, especially since Dwight does not provide any evidence of his being in Dorchester prior to his alleged move to Hingham in 1635.
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Sources

1 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 15-17. Repository: http://books.google.com.

2 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 19, 20. Repository: http://books.google.com.

3 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 19. Repository: http://books.google.com.

4 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 17. Repository: http://books.google.com.

5 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, Vol 1, pg xxvi. Repository: http://books.google.com.

6 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 19, 228. Repository: http://books.google.com.

7 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1076. Repository: http://books.google.com.

8 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1120. Repository: http://books.google.com.

9 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 1279-80. Repository: http://books.google.com.

10 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1291. Repository: http://books.google.com.

11 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 19, 1305. Repository: http://books.google.com.

12 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1311. Repository: http://books.google.com.

13 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1439. Repository: http://books.google.com.

14 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1465. Repository: http://books.google.com.

15 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1468. Repository: http://books.google.com.

16 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pgs 19, 1473. Repository: http://books.google.com.

17 Benjamin W. Dwight, History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong of Northampton, Mass, 1871, pg 1475. Repository: http://books.google.com.

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