James Samuel Thomas STRANAHAN, Congress, NY (1808-1898)

STRANAHAN, James Samuel Thomas, a Representative from New York; born in Peterboro, Madison County, N.Y., April 25, 1808; attended the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary; founded the town of Florence, Oneida County, N.Y., in 1832; engaged in the lumber business; postmaster of Florence; member of the state assembly in 1838; moved to Newark, N.J., in 1840; engaged in building railroads; moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1845; elected alderman of that city in 1848; elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1857); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress; appointed as a member of the metropolitan police commission on January 1, 1857; presidential elector on the Republican tickets in 1860 and 1888; president of the board of trustees of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.; director of the first Brooklyn Bridge and presided at its dedication May 28, 1884; died at his summer home at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., September 3, 1898; interment in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present