Farrand Stewart Stranahan

F. Stewart Stranahan

Farrand Stewart Stranahan (February 2, 1842 – July 13, 1904) was an American Civil War veteran, a railroad executive, a banker, and a U.S. politician of the Republican Party.

Early life

F. Stewart Stranahan was born in New York City, the son of Farrand Stewart Stranahan (1812-1845) and Caroline (Curtis) Stranahan. New York State Senator Farrand Stranahan (1778-1826) was his grandfather, and General Charles Stewart was his great-grandfather.^[1][2]

In 1859 Stranahan moved to Vermont. On August 6, 1862, he married Miranda Aldis Brainerd, daughter of Senator Lawrence Brainerd and Fidelia Gadcomb.^[3] The marriage tied him to two of Vermont's most prominent families, the Brainerds and the Smiths. Miranda's sister Ann was the wife of Governor and Central Vermont Railway President J. Gregory Smith. In addition, her brother Lawrence Brainerd, Jr. was married to Louisa T. B. Smith, J. Gregory Smith's sister.^[4][5]

J. Gregory Smith's father John Smith served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and a Member of the United States House of Representatives in addition to being an early organizer of the Central Vermont Railway. J. Gregory Smith was the brother of Congressman Worthington Curtis Smith and father of Governor Edward Curtis Smith.^[6][7][8]

Civil War

Stranahan enlisted on August 15, 1862, and mustered in as First Sergeant of Company L, 1st Vermont Cavalry Regiment on September 29, 1862. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on January 18, 1864, to rank from January 5, and First Lieutenant on May 5, 1864, to rank from February 28. For several months he was aide-de-camp to Brigadier General George A. Custer.^[9][10][11]

While still a First Sergeant Stranahan participated in Elon J. Farnsworth's charge at Gettysburg. He is depicted on the bronze bas-relief of the charge on the William Wells Monument between Big Round Top and Bushman's Hill.^[12][13]

Stranahan resigned from the service on August 28, 1864. On the afternoon of October 19, 1864, the northern-most land event of the Civil War occurred, the St. Albans Raid. Stranahan participated in the pursuit of the fleeing Confederates after they had robbed several banks and wounded two citizens, one mortally.^[14] The J. Gregory Smith home was a target of the raid, but the raiders bypassed the house while fleeing. For her actions in defending the Smith home and efforts to rally the people of St. Albans in pursuing the raiders, Peter T. Washburn named Mrs. Smith a brevet Lieutenant Colonel on his staff.^[15]

Postwar life

Stranahan became Paymaster of the Vermont Central Railway in 1865. In 1871 was appointed treasurer of the National Car Company, another Smith family railroad enterprise. In 1886 he became Cashier of the Welden National Bank, and he was appointed its Vice President in 1892. He was also a director of the Central Vermont Railway, Vice President of the Missisquoi Railroad, an officer of the National Dispatch Line (part of the Grand Trunk Line), and Vice President of the St. Albans Messenger.^[16][17][18]

He continued his military affiliation as commander of Company D, 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment with the rank of Captain, and was Chief of Staff for Governor Ebenezer J. Ormsbee with the rank of Colonel.^[19][20]

Stranahan's fraternal associations include the Grand Army of the Republic and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He was a Republican and served as a Trustee of the village of St. Albans and member of the Vermont House of Representatives. He later served in the Vermont State Senate, and was a Trustee of the state reform school.^[21][22]

In 1892 he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and served the one term then available under the Mountain Rule.^[23]

Death and burial

In 1904 Stranahan became ill and traveled to The Bahamas in an effort to regain his health.^[24] He died in St. Albans on July 13, 1904, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.^[25][26][27]

See also

• Vermont in the Civil War

References

1. Sons of the American Revolution, National Register, Volume 1, 1902, page 983
2. Hiram Carleton, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, Volume 1, 1903, pages 306-307
3. Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908, marriage record for Farrand Stewart Stranahan and Miranda Aldis Brainerd, retrieved December 11, 2013
4. David Dudley Field, The Genealogy of the Brainerd Family in the United States, 1857, page 151
5. The Vermonter magazine, In Memoriam: Farrand Stewart Stranahan, July 1904, pages 387-388
6. Cathryn J. Prince, Burn the Town and Sack the Banks!: Confederates Attack Vermont!, 2006, page 57
7. Rossiter Johnson, John Howard Brown, editors, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 1904
8. Prentiss Cutler Dodge, Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography, 1912, pages 49-50
9. Vermont General Assembly, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1884, page 65
10. national Park Service, Soldier Details: F. Stewart Stranahan, retrieved December 11, 2013
11. George A. Rummel, Cavalry on the Roads to Gettysburg, 2000, page 453
12. Custer, Andie, "The Wells Monument: Bas Relief of Farnsworth's Charge," Blue & Gray, Spring 2006, 23:i, p. 56.
13. dedication Committee, Dedication of the Statue to Brevet Major-General William Wells and the Officers and Men of the First Regiment Vermont Cavalry, 1914, pages 45-46
14. Hoffman, Elliott W., editor, History of the First Vermont Cavalry Volunteers in the War of the Great Rebellion, Baltimore, MD: Butternut & Blue, 2000, pp. 229-230.
15. Brainerd (Minnesota) Dispatch, Brainerd History, retrieved December 11, 2013
16. St. Albans Board of Trade, Advantages, Resources and Attractions of St. Albans, Vt., 1889, pages 10, 29, 36, 40, 47, 70, 97
17. Th raileay Age Monthly and Railway Service Magazine, Car Accountants, January 1882, page 401
18. William Hartley Jeffrey, Successful Vermonters: A Modern Gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont, 1907, pages 312-313
19. Yorktown Centennial Commission, Commission Report, 1883, page 136
20. Vermont Adjutant General, Biennial Report, 1908, page 95
21. Robert Burns Beath, History of the Grand Army of the Republic, 1889, page 400
22. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery of the State of Massachusetts, Register of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, 1906, page 218
23. Jacob G. Ullery, Men of Vermont Illustrated, 1894, pages 386-387
24. Boston Daily Globe, Ex-Lieut. Gov F. Stewart Stranahan is critically ill at Miami, Fla., March 6, 1904
25. Kennebec (Maine) Daily Journal, Death Notice for F. Stewart Stranahan, July 14, 1904
26. Vermont, Vital Records, 1720-1908, Death Certificate for Farrand Stewart Stranahan, retrieved December 11, 2013
27. Farrand Stewart Stranahan at Find a Grave, retrieved December 12, 2013

Additional sources

• Carleton, Hiram, Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1903, i:306-307.
• Custer, Andie, "The Wells Monument: Bas Relief of Farnsworth's Charge," Blue & Gray, Spring 2006, 23:i, p. 56.
• Hoffman, Elliott W., editor, History of the First Vermont Cavalry Volunteers in the War of the Great Rebellion, Baltimore, MD: Butternut & Blue, 2000.
• Jackson, Horatio Nelson. Dedication of the statue to Brevet Major-General William Wells and the officers and men of the First Regiment Vermont Cavalry, on the battlefield of Gettysburg, July 3, 1913, privately printed, 1914, p. 45.
• Peck, Theodore S., compiler, Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861-66. Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, p. 260.