William Augustus Strong – to Ohio in 1806

William Augustus Strong came to Atwater, Ohio in 1806, just after the first roads had been built from Canfield to the adjacent town, Deerfield.  He brought his wife, Abigail, Alonzo, and Maria.  William, their first child died soon after birth.  William and Abigail acquired several pieces of property in Durham, CT., but sold them and moved to the frontier town in the newly created Connecticut Land Company territory we now know at the Western Reserve.  According to a letter written by one of his grandsons, he built the first frame house in Atwater.  

William’s Brother

William left a brother in Durham named Russell. Russell appears in several places. He was mentioned along with William as becoming Freemen in Durham (History of Durham, Connecticut). In an old notebook by Ola, who made a note, probably from her father, Edward, noted Alonzo had an uncle named Russell. Russel died in September 1914, a few months before Willliam. Abigail also died in 1814.

Life in Atwater

Maria died soon after the move to Atwater and was the first to be buried in the town cemetery.  Her grave is in one of the corner lots.  Little is known about their life in Atwater, but it must be assumed that William cleared land and farmed.  Live was hard, and land had to be cleared, wood prepared for fuel and crops planted, and animals would be tended.  The area would have had ample deer and other animals to provide some of their food.  They built the first frame house in Atwater. It was said that the settlers from Pennslyvania built a barn first, but those from Connecticutt built their houses first.

Not all went Well

Luzerne, a second son was born in Atwater.  Soon after his birth, Abigail became disenchanted with life on the frontier.  She was given some money and a horse to return to Durham.  We have not determined how she lived in Durham or how who she lived with.  According to his grandson, William made one trip back to Durham to convince her to return to Atwater, but she refused.  A newspaper advertisement has been located in the newspaper serving Durham, stating that William Strong is no longer responsible for her debts or purchases.  Abigail died in 1814 at 33 and is buried among other Strongs in the Old Durham Cemetery.

William returned to Atwater and married Maria Gully without the benefit of a divorce.  To obtain a divorce would have required him to return to Durham, which would have been a large expense.  

The skeleton in  the closet

William Augustus may not have been entirely a nice guy.  There is a grand jury action in Ravenna, the county seat, charging William A. Strong of Deerfield with Fornication with Loveey Jacobs, an unmarried woman, in Deerfield.  Luzerne was born in 1809.  According to his son’s letter, Abigail left while Luzerne was still nursing. This infidelity may have been the cause of Abigail’s departure.  She left for Durham in 1810, soon after this event. 

Military Service

William participated in two marches to Sandusky to fight the British in the opening phase of the War of 1812.  The periods of service were short, about ten days.  Then, in May of 1814, he volunteered in the regular U. S. Regular Army for the duration.  His war record shows that he was sick for most of the period between May and November, 1814, when he died.  He probably did not see any action in battle, although there were a few skirmishes in the area just outside of Buffalo. 

The Aftermath

Abigail died in Durham, CT, in September 1814, and William died in November 1014 in Black Rock.  Abigail was buried in the Old Durham Cemetery with yet another mystery.  On her tombstone is the notation that her infant son lies at her feet.  Is this William, who died before the couple left Durham for Atwater, or was there yet another baby born in Durham after the separation?  Abigail’s grave is in the Strong section of the cemetery amid the numerous Strong families of Durham.

Alonzo and Luzerne were taken east for a couple of years for education but returned to Atwater in about 1814.  They were bound out to residents as William’s 2nd wife would not or could not take care of them.  Alonzo was bound out to Joseph Hartzell in North Benton.  Joseph Hartzel operated the farm that ultimately became Albert’s in 1920.