Hiram STRONG (Abt 1809-1850)

Rebecca SCRIVNER (Abt 1809-After 1870)

Samuel LEGG (1776-1857)

Sarah Jane KING (Abt 1806-After 1880)

James Riley STRONG (1841-1890)

Polly Roberson LEGG (1848-1916)

James T. STRONG (1885-1943)

 

Family Links James T. STRONG 1 Born: 24 Aug 1885, Vernon County, Missouri 2 3 Died: 14 Jul 1943, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri 2 3 4 Buried: Richland/Wall Cemetery, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri 3   Death Notes: Obituary appearing in the Nevada Daily Mail on 16 Jul 1943: "DEATH OF J. T. STRONG WAS DUE TO A STROKE OF PARALYSIS James T. Strong, 57, a government lumber inspector, and a prominent resident of the Richards and Stotesbury communities, died Wednesday morning at 9:30 o'clock, at the home of his sister at Richards, says the Fort Scott Tribune. The deceased was born at Stotesbury on August 24, 1885, a son of Mr. and Mrs. James R. Strong. He was a bachelor and had lived in the Vernon county region all his life. He is survived by a sister, Mrs. V. J. Young of Richards. Also by three nephews, one niece and one grandnephew. [Said grandnephew is the author.] Mr. Strong was employed by the Harley Lumber company of Richards for 15 years. Later he was employed by the Excelsior Stove and Furnace company. His next employment was as a government lumber inspector at Eudora, Kas. Transferred to Knoxville, Tenn., three months ago, he suffered a stroke of paralysis and V. J. Young, the brother-in-law, motored to Knoxville and brought him back to Richards. He was a member of the Christian church and Odd Fellows lodge. He was known for his friendliness, integrity, dependability and knowledge of the lumber business. The funeral will probably be held Friday at 2:30 p. m. at the Richards church."   Noted events in his life were: 1. Census: 1900, Vernon County, Missouri. 5 Household of Polly R. Strong: Strong, James T.; son; white; male; born Aug 1886; age 14; single; born in Missouri; father born in Illinois; mother born in Missouri; at school; can read and write; speaks English. 2. School Report Card: 15 Sep 1903, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri. 6 Pupil's Monthly Report for James Strong, grade 10, Richards School: Received passing grades (85+) in Civil Government, History of Missouri, Algebra, Botany, English Classics, Physical Geography, Rhetoric, and Word Analysis. Absent 2 half days, tardy once. Deportment grades were in 90's. 3. Deed: 1908, Richards, Vernon County, Missouri. 7 Dated 17 Aug 1908, Filed 29 Oct 1908, Bk 118:591 W. K. Royce and wife to James T. Strong and Harry E. Strong; Lots 1 &2, Twp 49, Richards, Missouri. [I have not seen a copy of the actual deed; I suspect the legal description is incomplete.] 4. Census: 1910, Vernon County, Missouri. 8 Household of Polly R. Strong: Strong, James T.; son; male; white; age 24; single; born in Missouri; father born in Illinois; mother born in Missouri; speaks English; manager lumberyard; employee; can read and write. 5. Census: 1920, Jackson County, Missouri. 9 Kansas City Strong, James; roomer; male; white; age 34; single; born in Missouri; father and mother born in Missouri; speaks English; salesman, parts or pants co. [It is not clear this is the correct James Strong. However, it is known he left Vernon County for a time, even living in Phoenix at one point.]

1 Strong Family Bible. It would appear the Strong Family Bible may have originally belonged to Eli and Elizabeth Strong, for the births of their children appear to have been entered before the births of the children of J. R. and Polly Strong. This bible may have been the bible that was purchased in 1876 from the Estate of Eli Strong, Dec'd by Sarah Legg, mother of Elizabeth (Barry) Strong and Polly (Legg) Strong, which upon her death probably passed to Polly. Beginning with the birth of Eli and Elizabeth's daughter, Betty, in 1873 (Elizabeth died a week later), the entries appear to have been made by Polly until she died in 1916, at which time the handwriting noticeably changes and thereafter is presumed to be that of Bertha (Strong) Young, Polly's youngest daughter and the possessor of the bible, or at least the Family Record pages, at the time of her death in 1963. It thus appears that before Polly started maintaining the Family Records, the bible only contained entries for the family of Eli and Elizabeth Strong. Once Polly took over, she appears to have added the entries for the J. R. and Polly Strong family. [While Elizabeth's and Polly's handwriting is similar, there are some subtle differences. For example, the "B" in "Born" begins with a loop in the case of the entries for the family of Eli and Elizabeth, while it begins with a straight stroke for the family of J. R. and Polly. Also, the names of J. R. and Polly's children are listed separately in a column on the first page that was originally intended for deaths.] One possible exception to this scenario concerns the marriage information for Eli and Elizabeth - that may have been added by Polly at the same time she added her own marriage information. The handwriting for both marriage entries seems to be identical and it also matches the death entries for Eli and Elizabeth, which were probably made by Polly. Moreover, both marriage entries spell "married" as "maried." The Family Record pages have been removed from the bible, which appears to no longer exist. Originally, these pages immediately followed the end of the Old Testament. It is not known when or by whom the Family Record pages were removed. They may or may not have still been part of the bible when Bertha Dell Young nee Strong died in 1963. After Bertha's death, only the Family Record pages were passed on to her grand-nephew, Robert E. Strong, Jr.

2 Strong Family Bible.

3 Charles L. Bernard, Cemetery Directory of Vernon County, Missouri (Vernon County Historical Society, 1979).

4 Obituary for James T. Strong, Nevada Daily Mail, 16 Jul 1943 (copy provided by Vernon County Historical Society, Bushwhacker Museum, Nevada, Vernon County, Missouri).

5 1900 Census, Vernon County, Missouri, Richards Village in Richland Township, E. D. 126, Sheet 9A, Family 161 at Lines 41-45 (Ancestry.com image 17 of 18).

6 Pupil's Monthly Report for James Strong, Grade 10, Richards School (original in possession of Aunt Geraldine).

7 Miscellaneous Deeds, Vernon County, Missouri, Copies provided by Neoma Foreman, member Vernon County Historical Society.

8 1910 Census, Vernon County, Missouri, Richards Village in Richland Township, E. D. 145, Sheet 9B, Family 18 at Lines 64-66 (Ancestry.com image 18 of 37).

9 1920 Census, Jackson County, Missouri, Roll T625_923, E. D. 27, Sheet 1B, Line 72 (Ancestry.com image 2 of 31).