James S. T. Stranahan

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by Thomas W. Cumming
Succeeded by George Taylor
Personal details
Born (1808-04-25)April 25, 1808
Peterboro, New York
Died September 3, 1898(1898-09-03) (aged 90)
Saratoga Springs, New York
Political party Opposition
Spouse(s) Marrianne Fitch (m. 1837–66)
Clara C. Harrison
Children Fitch J. Stranahan[1]
Mary Stranahan Croxton
Occupation Shipping, Urban Development, Investment

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan (April 25, 1808 – September 3, 1898) was a United States Representative from New York, and a municipal official of the City of Brooklyn.

Early years

Born in Peterboro, Madison County, New York to Samuel Stranahan and Lynda Josselyn,[2] he attended the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary. He founded the town of Florence in Oneida County in 1832 and engaged in the lumber business. He was postmaster of Florence and was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1838. He moved to Newark, New Jersey in 1840 and engaged in building railroads.

Politics

James S. T. Stranahan by Frederick MacMonnies, Prospect Park, Brooklyn[3]

In 1844, Stranahan moved to Brooklyn, and was elected alderman of that city in 1848. He was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress and held office from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress and was appointed as a member of the metropolitan police commission on January 1, 1857. He was a presidential elector on the Republican tickets in 1860 and 1888, and was the president of the Brooklyn Park Commission from 1860 to 1882, where he was instrumental in securing funding and political support for Brooklyn's Prospect Park.[4] For his work in this regard, he became known as the "Baron Haussman of Brooklyn," a not always complimentary reference to the man who famously altered Paris's urban fabric.[5] Stranahan was a trustee of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company, serving as its President in 1885[4] and presided at its dedication on May 24, 1883.[4] In the 1890s, Mr. Stranahan promoted the consolidation of City of Brooklyn into a Greater New York and was an active member in the Commission that framed the first charter for the City of Greater New York.[2]

Death

Stranahan died at his summer home in Saratoga Springs in 1898; interment was in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

References

  1. ↑ "F. J. Stranahan's Death". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn Eagle Inc. 1896-12-04. pp. Page 4 Column 3. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  2. 1 2 "Mr. Stranahan Dead". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn Eagle Inc. 1898-09-03. pp. Page 1 Column 1. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  3. ↑ "For A Statue in Honor of James S. T. Stranahan". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn Eagle Inc. 1890-01-15. pp. Page 6, Col. 3. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  4. 1 2 3 "Brooklyn Museum - Brooklyn Bridge 50th Anniversary Celebration".
  5. ↑ "New York city guide; a comprehensive guide to the five boroughs of the metropolis: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond". archive.org. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Thomas W. Cumming		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd congressional district
1855–1857 		Succeeded by
George Taylor

Coordinates: 40°40′21″N 73°58′10″W / 40.672412°N 73.969467°W / 40.672412; -73.969467

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