Biographical Sketch of Nathaniel W. Strahan, Doniphan County, KSGenWeb Digital Library

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Biographical Sketch
of
Nathaniel W. Strahan
Doniphan County, Kansas

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The following transcription is from a 750 page book titled "Genealogical and Biographical Record of North-Eastern Kansas, dated 1900. These have been diligently transcribed and generously contributed by Penny R. Harrell, please give her a very big Thank You for her hard work!

Nathaniel W. Strahan.

With the business interests of Leona Mr. Strahan is connected as a representative of the firm of Gregg Brothers, grain merchants of St. Joseph, Missouri. He is descended from one of the old colonial families, and among his ancestors were those who fought for the independence of the nation in the Revolutionary War. His great-grandfather aided in establishing the republic through the force of arms, and for many generations the Strahans have been closely allied with Union county, Pennsylvania, taking an active part in the events which have formed its history and contributed to its upbuilding.

Nathaniel Strahan, the grandfather of four subject, spent his entire life upon a farm in that county, where occurred the birth of Robert Strahan, the father of our subject, in the year 1797. Subsequently he removed to Ohio, and died in Carey, that state, in 1863. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Shields, and was a daughter of William Shields, who came to the United States from Ireland but was of Scotch birth. He was an uncle of Sir William Thompson, the noted electrician of Edinburg.

Unto Robert and Catherine Strahan were born the following children: Mary, who resides in Riverside, California, and is the wife of Daniel Bursk; Margaret, who became the wife of George Smith and died leaving a family in Troy, Kansas; Harrison, deceased; Caroline, the wife of L. Rickenbach, of Leona, Kansas; and James T., an engineer running on the Santa Fe Railroad from Fort Madison, Iowa to Chicago.

The subject of this review, N. W. Strahan, was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1844, and in his youth his time was devoted to the work of the home farm and the duties of the school room. In August 1862, he enlisted in the Union army in order to defend the nation which his ancestors had helped to establish. It was in Lewisburg, Penn., that he joined Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-first Pennsylvania Infantry, under the command of Colonel Allenbach, the regiment forming a part of the Third Division, Fifth Army Corps, or the Army of the Potomac.

Mr. Strahan entered the service for nine months, and during that time participated in the battle of Fredericksburg. Upon the expiration of his first term he re-enlisted in the signal corps of the regular army and served in the Department of the Gulf, under the command of Captain Marston at New Orleans, Louisiana. There he remained until honorably discharged, seven months later, on account of illness.

About the time the war commenced Mr. Strahan learned the carpenter's trade, and after his return from the south he followed that pursuit for some time. He came to Kansas in the 'sixties, and worked at carpentering in Highland, Troy, and in other places in Doniphan county, until 1881, when he accepted the clerkship in the service of L. Rickenbach, a merchant of Leona, since which time he has made his home in the village. Subsequently he became identified with the grain trade at this point, and for the past four years has represented Gregg Brothers, of St. Joseph, Missouri. He is a man of enterprise and keen discrimination, and these important elements in success have brought him a comfortable competence.

On the 21st of May, 1881, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Strahan and Miss Mary Cullinan, a daughter of William Cullinan, who was born in Ireland. They now have two children, Robert and Harold, aged seventeen and thirteen years, respectively. Our subject is a consistent Republican, unswerving in his support of the principles of the party, and has served as township trustee. He is
often seen as a delegate in the county conventions and does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. The qualities which made him a good soldier have made him a good citizen, and he is numbered among the representative men of the town in which he makes his home.

Last update: Friday, August 02, 2024 18:39:40

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