Calob Strong

Caleb Strong 1745-1819

Strong was the son of Caleb and Phebe Strong and the great-grandson of John Strong, a 1630 immigrant to Massachusetts who was one of the founders of Northampton, and the lead elder of the church for many years. He was born on January 9, 1745 in Northampton, MA. He attended Harvard University. Strong graduated with highest honors in 1764. Like so many of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Strong chose to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1772. In 1777 Strong married Sarah Hooker, the daughter of a local pastor. They had nine children and were very active in the church.

He served on the Northampton Committee of Safety and in other local offices, but refused service in the Continental Congress. He was a delegate to the 1779 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention and was elected to the committee that drafted the state constitution, ratified in 1780. He then served on the first governor’s council and in the state senate from 1780 to 1789.

In 1781 Strong was one of the lawyers who worked on a series of legal cases surrounding Quock Walker, a former slave seeking to claim his freedom. One of the cases, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennison’s firmly established that slavery was incompatible with the new state constitution. On more than one occasion he was offered a seat on the state's Supreme Court, but declined the position because of the salary. Strong was described by a contemporary as meticulously detailed in his preparation of legal paperwork and a persuasive advocate when speaking to a jury.

In the election of 1800 Strong was nominated by the Federalists as their candidate for governor. Strong was criticized by his opponents for his lack of military service and for the fact that he was a lawyer; he responded to them by talking about his patriotism through his relationship with Joseph Hawley. His popularity in the western part of the state was very important: the wide margin by which he won there overcame the smaller advantage by which his opponent carried the East.

In 1812 Strong was swayed by Massachusetts Federalist leaders to come out of retirement to run once again for governor. War with Britain was about to happen, and the Federalists wanted a strong candidate to fight against Elbridge Gerry, who had been victorious against Christopher Gore in the last two elections. Strong was reelected by wide margins in the following war years. Strong took a stand against the War of 1812, generally refusing to assist federal government efforts to prosecute the war. Strong was part of a chorus of Massachusetts Federalists who complained that in "Mr. Madison's War" the federal government was trampling state and individual rights. He adhered to the view that states militia could not be required to serve under regular army command. When the first such requests were made by U. S. Army General Henry Dearborn, Strong, with the backing of not just the Governor's Council but also the Supreme Judicial Court, refused, arguing that there was no need to call out the militia because invasion was not imminent. Because of his stance against regular army command, the state was denied a shipment of arms that was instead diverted to frontier areas and the war theater. Strong also took no particular actions to prevent widespread smuggling along the state's frontiers with the neighboring British provinces.

With the British naval blockade tightening and threatening the state's coastal communities in early 1814, Strong authorized U. S. Brigadier General Thomas H. Cushing to command militia forces in the defenses of Boston Harbor, subject to reasonable limitations. Cushing was transferred to Connecticut, and General Dearborn again commanded the regular army forces in Massachusetts. Dearborn interpreted the agreement Strong had made with Cushing to apply statewide, and began reorganizing militia companies to conform to regular army practices. This engendered ill will among the militia, and Strong refused to place additional levies under Dearborn's command.

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Caleb Strong was named in his honor. The town of Strong, Maine, incorporated in 1801, was named for Strong and Windom Township Portage County, Ohio was originally named Strongsburg in his honor. The Strongsburg land had been allocated to Strong as part of his ownership share in the Ohio Company, and was sold by him and several minority partners in 1810.

Strong died on November 7, 1819, 2 years after the death of his wife, Sarah. He was buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery in Northampton.