Ford Strong ~ When the Two Families Merge

While researching last week's blog I discovered who I wanted to write about for this week's prompt STRENGTH.

John Strong & Abigail Ford had 14 children. John had 2 children with his first wife Marjory Deane. Of those 16 children  15 lived into adulthood.

This was rare for the time when so many children died. 

John & Abigail's oldest child was Jedediah. 
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 MAY 1637 • Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 22 MAY 1733 • Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, USA

On November 18th 1662 Jedediah married Freedom.
Freedom Woodward
BIRTH 1 JUL 1642 • Dorchester Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 MAY 1681 • Northampton.  Massachusetts, USA

Jedediah & Freedom had 13 children, 8 lived through to adulthood. Losing 5 children was typical of the time. It can't have been easy. 

Their first child, Elizabeth, lived till age 26.
At age 20 she married Ebenezer Wright. 
Elizabeth Strong
BIRTH 9 JUN 1664 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 17 FEB 1691 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their second child, Abigail, lived till age 23.
At age 17 she married Thomas King.
Abigail Strong
BIRTH 9 JUL 1666 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 24 JUL 1689 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their third child, Jedediah, lived till age 42.
At age 21 he married Abijah Ingersoll. 
Jedediah Strong
BIRTH 7 AUG 1667 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 12 OCT 1709 • Wood Creek, New York, USA

Their fourth child, Ford, lived only 2 month.
Ford Strong
BIRTH 2 SEP 1668 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1 NOV 1668 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their fifth child was born still, or died soon after birth 
Infant Strong 
BIRTH 11 OCT 1669 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 1669 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their sixth child, Hannah, lived till age 92.
At age 21 she married Benjamin Carpenter.
Hannah Strong
BIRTH 3 FEB 1670 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 20 MAR 1762 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their seventh child, Thankful, lived till age 70.
I wrote about her in last week's blog.
At age 18 she married the Deacon Thomas Root.
Thankful Strong 
BIRTH 15 APR 1672 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 APR 1742 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their eight child, John, was born still or died soon after birth.
John Strong
BIRTH 15 NOV 1673
DEATH NOV 1673 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their ninth child, Lydia, lived till age 42.
At age 19 she married David Lee (Brother to Preserved's wife Tabitha)
Lydia Strong
BIRTH 9 NOV 1675 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 JUL 1718 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their tenth child, Mary, was born still or died soon after birth.
Mary Strong
BIRTH 25 MAY 1677 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH MAY 1677 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their eleventh child, Experience, lived 29 days.
Experience Strong
BIRTH 19 AUG 1678 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 16 SEP 1678 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Their twelfth child, Preserved. lived till age 85.
At age 21 he married Tabitha Lee (sister to sister Lydia's husband David Lee).
Preserved Strong
BIRTH 29 MAR 1680 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 26 SEP 1765 • Coventry, Connecticut, USA

Their thirteenth child, John, lived till age 17.
John Strong
BIRTH 10 MAY 1681 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
DEATH 21 APR 1699 • Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

Freedom died one week after giving birth to her 13th child John. 

Jedediah outlived 10 of his 14 children.

After Freedom's death Jedediah married Abigail Bartlett in 1681. She was the widow of John Stebbins. They had one child, Mary, born in 1683. Abigail died in 1689. 

For his 3rd wife Jedediah married Mary Hart. She was the widow of John Lee, and mother-in-law to two of Jedediah's children: Lydia & Preserved.

I think I noticed Jedediah & Freedom while I was researching last week because of the name of their son Ford Strong. My connection to this family is through Ford's grandmother Abigail Ford. She was the sister of my 9th great grandmother Hepzibah Ford.  Ford is my 2nd cousin X9 removed. Once I started looking at the details of the family I decided this couple fit for strength in so many ways.

The name STRONG.

The losses the experienced, and yet they endured. 

I also thought about the Ford company slogan BUILT FORD TOUGH, and wondered if this family is connected to the Ford motor company.  

This is definitely a tale for another time.

I have included The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass. written by Benjamin W. Dwight in my sources below.

There is a lot of information about the Strong family & all of the other interconnected families like FORD and LYMAN & more.
It's the full pdf available for downloading. 

Knowing there will always be a new thread to tug in researching family!

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Sources:

Dwight, Benjamin W. The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass. Bibliolife DBA of Bibilio Bazaar II LLC, 2015. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from
https://ia600206.us.archive.org/16/items/cu31924092508682/cu31924092508682.pdf

Freedom Woodward, FindAGrave. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36163848/freedom-strong

Jebediah Strong, FindAGrave. Retrieved December 3rd 2021 from 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36163752/jedediah-strong

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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