Edmond STRAWN ^{2 3 4}

   Another name for Edmond was Edmund STRONG.¹

  Research Notes:

I am increasingly skeptical Edmond/Edmund was a son of John. His enumeration as a Strong near the remaining family of John Strong in the 1850 census suggests so, but there are other factors that suggest otherwise. First, in the tax lists he was consistently recorded as Strawn, even in 1849, when he apparently lived next door to John Strong. That suggests the enumerator's rendition of his name in the 1850 census may have been influenced by having just visited the household of Sarah Strong. Note that in the 1860 census his name was rendered Stron, which phonetically seems closer to Strawn. He was Strawn in the 1870 census for Franklin County, Tennessee. Second, although the 1840 household for John Strong suggests a multifamily household, the other family or families could have been James' or Samuel Little's. Third, there was a Strawn family who resided in neighboring Franklin County, Tennessee in 1850. Of particular interest in this 1850 household is Patton S. Strawn, age 62, born in Georgia. It appears that Edmond Strawn's son oldest son was named John Patton Strawn, which suggests Patton Strawn may have been Edmond's father.

On the other hand, it might still be the case that this is an instance where the Strong name morphed into the Strawn name. It would seem to be more than a coincidence that Edmond/Edumund moved from another district of Lincoln County to right next door to the Strong family about the time John Strong died. That seems consistent with what the oldest son in the vicinity might do when his father died. His subsequent departure is also consistent with what a son might do when he discovered he had been omitted from his father's will. Finally, he did name his first son John, which follows the conventional naming pattern for the first son. Note also, that his first daughter was named Elizabeth, whom I've speculated was the first wife of John Strong, and that his second son was named James, whom I've tentatively identified as the eldest son of John Strong. There is also room for him in the 1820 and 1830 households of John Strong.

It does not trouble me that Edmond/Edmund was not mentioned in his putative father's will, because John's will was clearly meant to make provision only for his surviving spouse and his unmarried children still living at home at the time the will was written. More troublesome is his omission from the list of heirs receiving distributions from the Estate of Mary Strong (see Estate Administration Event for Mary Strong for details), but he is not alone in that respect.

If he is a Strong, his listing as a child by John's unknown first wife is less arbitrary than in the case of the later children, since he appears to have been born by 1820, at which time John's first wife was still living.

Notwithstanding my reservations, I am tentatively including Edmond/Edmund as a member of the John Strong family for two reasons. First, others are going to think he is a member of the Strong family based upon the 1850 census and I want to present the countervailing evidence. Second, I'm hoping some descendant of Edmond/Edmund will stumble upon my website and be able to definitively resolve the issue.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Tax List: 1846-1850, Lincoln County, Tennessee. ²

1846, District 18: No. 54, Strawn, Edmond; 1 poll; $0.30 tax.

1847, District 24: No. 59, Strawn, Edmond; 266 acres, value $50; 1 poll; $0.4425 tax.

1848: Missing

1849, District 4: No. 108, Strawn, Edward; 1 poll; $0.35 tax.
[At No. 107 was John Strong.]

1850, District 23: No. 101, Strawn, Edward; 1 poll; $.35 tax.

2. Census: 1850, Lincoln County, Tennessee. ¹

Dwelling 704, Family 704, 2nd Subdivision
Edmund Strong, age 30, male, Laborer, born in Tenn, cannot read or write.
Mary Strong, age 25, female, born in Ala, cannot read or write.
John Strong, age 12, male, born in Tenn.
Elizabeth Strong, age 9, female, born in Tenn.
James Strong, age 8, male, born in Tenn.
Jacob Strong, age 6, male, born in Tenn.
Thomas P. Strong, age 4, born in Tenn.
Colsey(?) A. Strong, age 1, female, born in Tenn.
Joseph Timms, age 17, male, far(mer?), born in Tenn.
Martha Timms, age 14, female, born in Tenn.
James Timms, age 12, male, born in Tenn.
Miram Timms, age 8, female, born in Tenn.

3. Census: 1860, Lincoln County, Tennessee. ³

Dwelling 645, Family 626, District No. 2
Edmond Stron, age 45, male, farming, $200 personal property, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Polly, age 38, female, sewing, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
John, age 21, male, farming, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Elizabeth, age 19, female, sewing, born in Tennessee
James, age 17, male, farming, born in Tennessee
Jacob, age 16, male, farming, born in Tennessee
Thomas, age 13, male, farming, born in Tennessee
Cassiann, age 12, female, born in Tennessee
Julia, age 10, female, born in Tennessee
Nancy, age 6, female, born in Tennessee
Allen, age 2, male, born in Tennessee

["Stron" is the way the name appears in the census. The family profile tracks the Edmund Strong family of the 1850 census.]

4. Census: 1870, Franklin County, Tennessee. ⁴

Dwelling 119, Family 128, District 2
Strawn, Edmon, age 59, male, white, labror, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Mary, age 47, female, white, keeping house, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Francis, age 16, female, white, labr in factory, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Nancy, age 14, female, white, labr in factory, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Alen, age 12, male, white, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Jef Davis, age 10, male, white, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Carolin, age 27, female, white, labr in factory, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write
Strawn, Ann, age 21, female, white, born in Tennessee, cannot read or write.

[Although problematical in some respects, this census seems to track the Edmond Strong/Strawn family of earlier censuses.]

Edmond married Mary.¹ (Mary was born in 1822-1825 ^{1 3}.)