Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/760

724 Josiah. b. in Duanesburg, N. Y., 30 April, 1805 ; d. in New York city, 15 March. 1868, became an extensive wool merchant in New York city, but early retired from business to his estate in Geneva, N. Y. He returned to his former occupation for a time in 1843, but at the opening: of the civil war was in Egypt. He had been active in politics as a Democrat, but at once set out for France, where he met Gen. John C. Fremont and others, and was instrumental in the purchase of arms for the Na- tional government. On his return he made patri- otic addresses, and on 28 Sept., 1801, on the solici- tation of merchants in New York, was made a brigadier-general of volunteers. He served for some time under Fremont, and was in command at Cairo. 111., but on 20 Oct., 1863, resigned his com- mission. On his return to New York, while riding in Central park, he was thrown from his carriage, receiving injuries that paralyzed him for life, and finally caused his death.

STRONG, Paschal Neilson, clergyman, b. in Setauket, Suffolk co., N. Y., 16 Feb., 1793 : d. in St. Croix. W. I., 7 April, 1825. He was graduated at Columbia in 1810, at the head of his class, stud- ied theology under Dr. John M. Mason, and was ordained as one of the pastors of the Collegiate Hutch Reformed church, New York, 14 July, 1816. In 1824 he was seized with a pulmonary affection, which was the cause of his early death. He had received the degree of D. D., and served as a trus- tee of Columbia in 1822 '25. During his short pas- torate he obtained a reputation as a pulpit orator. Dr. Strong published " The Pestilence a Punish- ment for Public Sins: a Sermon preached after the Cessation of the Yellow Fever " (New York. 1S22), which attracted much attention. His brother, Thomas Morris, clergyman, b. in Cooperstown, N. Y., 20 April, 1797"; d. in Flatbush, Long Island, N. Y., 14 June, 1861, was graduated at Co- lumbia in 1816, studied at Princeton theological seminary, and was pastor of the Dutch Reformed church in Flatbush from 1822 till his death. He published a " History of the Town of Flatbush" (New York, 1842).

STRONG, Samuel Henry, Canadian jurist, b. m Dorsetshire, England, in 1825. He accompanied his father, the Rev. Samuel S. Strong, to Canada when a boy, and was educated at Kingston and Ottawa. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1849, and began practice in Toronto. In 1856 he was appointed a member of the commission for consolidating the public general statutes of Up- per Canada, and Canada, and labored at this work till its completion in 1859. He was elected a teacher of the Law society of Upper Canada in 1860, appointed queen's counsel in 1863, and made vice-chancellor for Ontario, 27 Dec., 1869. He was transferred to the court of error and appeal, and later was appointed chief-justice of the supreme court. In 1893 he was knighted.

STRONG, Selah, jurist, b. in Setauket, Suffolk co. v N. Y., 25 Dec., 1737 ; d. there, 4 July, 1815. He was a delegate to the Provincial congress in 1775, served as a captain in the Revolution, was a state senator in 1792-'6, and first judge of the county court of common pleas from 1783 till 1793. His grandson, Selah Brewster, jurist, b. in Setauket, 1 May, 1792; d. there, 29 Nov., 1872. was the son of Thomas S. Strong, who was first judge of the common pleas for his county in 1810-'23. Hi' was graduated at Yale in 1811, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1814, and was district attorney of Suffolk county from 1821 till 1841. He was a member of congress in 1843-'5, having been chosen as a Democrat, and in 1847-'60 was a judge of the state supreme court. In 1867 he was a member of the State constitutional convention. Judge Strong gained a high reputation by his opinions on the bench. Another grandson, Oliver Smith, philanthropist, b. in New York city, 11 Dec., 1806 ; d. in Mount Vernon. N. Y., 30 April. 1874, was the son of Benjamin Strong (1770-1851). a merchant of New York, who was president of the Dry Dock company in 1833-'7, and of the Sea- man's savings bank in 1834-'51, and for 31 years engineer of the fire department. Oliver was grad- uated at Columbia in 1825, became a merchant in New York, and from early youth was active in philanthropic measures. From 1856 till his death he was president of the Society for the reformation of juvenile delinquents, of which he had long been a director, and the prosperity of the House of ref- uge is largely due to his efforts. He was also a director of the New York institution for the deaf and dumb, made himself familiar with methods of deaf-mute instruction, and by his earnest efforts before the legislature secured many measures for their moral and mental improvement. He resided for many years in Jersey City, and in 1848 was chosen to the New Jersey legislature. Another grandson, George Templeton, lawyer, b. in New York city, 26 Feb., 1820 ; d. there, 21 July, 1875, was the son of George Washington Strong (1783- 1855), a lawyer of much repute in his day, who was successively the partner of John Wells, George Griffin, and Marshall S. Bidwell. The son was graduated at Columbia in 1838, became a lawyer, and married a daughter of Samuel B. Ruggles. During the civil war he was treasurer and one of the executive committee, of the U. S. sanitary com- mission, in which capacity he rendered valuable service. Mr. Strong was an accomplished scholar, and his library was among the finest in the city. It was sold in New York city in November, 1878.

STRONG, Theodore, mathematician, b. in South Hadley, Mass., 26 July, 1790 ; d. in New Brunswick, N. J., 1 Feb., 1869. He was gradual. -d at Yale in 1812. and became a tutor in mathematics at Hamilton. He held the professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy from 1816 until 1827, and then accepted a call to Queen's college (now Rutgers), where he filled a similar chair. He continued an active member of the faculty until 1861, when he was made professor emeritus, but in 1863 he severed his connection with the college, of which he had served also as vice-president from 1839. His original work was entirely in the line of pure mathematics, and in his knowledge of this subject it may be doubted whether he had a superior. He succeeded in solving by a direct method the irreducible case of cubic equations left by Cardan, which had baffled the best mathematicians of Europe, and he also discovered a method of extracting by a, direct process, for the first time, any root of any integral number. Tin' honorary degree of A. M. was conferred on him by Hamilton in 1815, and that of LL. D. by Rutgers in 1835. He was a member of the chief scientific societies of the United States, and was named by congress in 1863 as one of the corporate members of the National academy of sciences. His papers, about 60 in number, are devoted almost exclusively to mathematics, and appeared principally in the " American Journal of Science," and in the "Mathematical Miscellany." Among the memoirs that he read before the National acadrmy of sciences are -Notes on the Parallelogram of Forces and on Virtual Velocities" (1864) ; "On the Integration of Differential Equations of the First Order ami Ilighi'i- Derives " ( 1SH4> : A New