Thomas STRONG ²

  Research Notes:

I've tried to accurately reflect Jim Rolff's views on the makeup of Thomas' family. Although he admits some guesswork was involved, his book nonetheless remains the best source of data and guesswork that we have. My research has contributed only modestly to the understanding of this family.

Based on census records, there appear to be several unidentified children (see Events for Thomas). Also, we do not know the identity of two of the three boys who were bound out after the death of Thomas and Milcha (see Events for Milcha). What is needed is a descendant from this line, who is willing to do more research into the records of DeKalb County.

The only potential child that I omitted was Lyman J. Strong, of Sumner County, Tennessee, who married Martha Green. I did not find the fact that Thomas had a son named Green, nor that Eliab named a son William Green, very persuasive as indicating Lyman might be connected to this family. Nor did Jim Rolff, for he stayed with his previous position that Lyman was a son of Sherwood Strong, and thus of a different line. Nonetheless, it is interesting that Lyman and William Strong, son of Samuel Strong, both lived on Cherry Street in Nashville. Perhaps further research will show that Lyman belongs somewhere in the lines of Smith/DeKalb County Strongs. ⁴

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Church Membership: 1817, Liberty, Smith County, Tennessee. ^{3 5}

Salem Baptist Church [now located in DeKalb County] membership list:

1817: Thos. Strong, Milcha Strong [Per Tommy Webb, DeKalb County Historian, both Thomas and Milcha were admitted "by experience" in Aug, 1816. He also noted they were excluded from the church in Nov 1821, at which time Milcha was identified as the wife of Thomas.]

Later entries show the following Strongs, presumably all of Thomas' family, with the possible exception of Betsy:

1819: Betsy Strong [Might Betsy, who joined the church not long after Thomas and Milcha, indicating she was of their generation, be the unidentified first wife of Thomas' brother, John Strong, who lived on Helton Creek?]
1831: John Strong [probably John L. Strong]
1832: Elisb Strong [probably Eliab Strong]
1833: Louisa Strong
1835: Nancy Strong
1847: Rachel Strong

2. Census: 1820, Smith County, Tennessee. ⁶

Family 1834
Strong, Thomas:
4 males under 10, 1 male 26-45;
1 female under 10, 1 female 26-45.

[Thomas is presumed to be the male 26-45.]

3. Census: 1830, Smith County, Tennessee. ⁷

Family 1129
Thos Strong:
3 males under 5, 2 males 5-10, 2 males 10-15, 1 male 40-50;
1 female 15-20, 1 female 40-50.

[Thomas is presumed to be the male 40-50.]

4. Tax List: 1838, Cannon County, Tennessee. ⁸

Thomas Strong, District 6, 1 white poll

Thomas married Nancy.

Thomas next married Milcha about 1816 in Smith County, Tennessee.³ (Milcha died before Jul 1839 in DeKalb County, Tennessee ³.)