Selah Strong (25 December 1737 – 4 July 1815) was a captain in the New York militia and a delegate to the first three New York provincial congresses during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he became a state senator and was involved in New York politics, later moving with his children to Connecticut.
Biography[]
Selah Strong was born in Setauket, New York on 25 December 1737, and he was related to General Nathaniel Woodhull and spy Abraham Woodhull through his mother. Strong owned a tavern in Setauket and was a delegate to the New York provincial congresses on 22 May and 6 December 1775 and in May 1776, supporting the Patriots during the American Revolution. Strong became a captain in the New York militia in 1776, and he was imprisoned for getting into a scuffle with a British Army officer, Captain Charles Joyce. Strong was sent to HMS Jersey, a prison ship, in Brooklyn Harbor, but his wife Anna Strong was able to secure his release due to her connections with some Tories. Following the war's end, he served as a state senator from 1792 to 1800 and held several posts, including Judge of Suffolk County, county treasurer, President of the Board of Trustees of Brookhaven, and a member of the Council of Appointment. Later, Selah moved to Connecticut with his children, while Anna stayed on their land in Long Island; Selah died on 4 July 1815, three years after his wife.