Samuel P. Strahan was probably born on August 2, 1841, in Fleming County, Kentucky, to Malinda Strahan. The family moved to Nettle Creek, Indiana, in the 1840s, and his father probably died sometime before 1850. His mother got remarried to Nathan Garrett on December 24, 1850. By the early 1860s, he was working as a printer.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on April 20, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company E of the 8^th Indiana Infantry. He mustered out on August 6, 1861, when his term of enlistment expired. He returned to the Union army soon afterward, receiving a commission as a 1^st lieutenant in Company I of the 54^th Indiana Infantry in November 1862. The regiment took part in the Vicksburg campaign, and he mustered out on December 8, 1863.

 

He enlisted again on September 5, 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Battery F of the 1^st Indiana Heavy Artillery. He eventually earned a promotion to corporal. He mustered out on July 27, 1865.

 

He returned to Nettle Creek after the war, and he married Mary Hendricks on July 5, 1866. They had six children, including: Hendricks, born around 1867; Lorren, born around 1869; Lulu, born around 1873; and Verne, born around 1886. Their other two children died in infancy. Strahan worked as a farmer, and by 1870, he owned $3,500 of real estate and $150 of personal property.

 

They moved to Caney, Kansas, in the 1870s, and then to Perry, Oklahoma, in the late 1800s. By 1900, he was working as a probate clerk. Mary died on July 3, 1902. He married Emma Pomeroy around 1904. According to a local writer, he was “active in [the] civic and political life of the city and county” and “active in the G.A.R. [Grand Army of the Republic] locally and throughout he state.” In 1904, he became commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of Oklahoma. He fell ill with the flu in November 1925, and he died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on January 22, 1926.

 

Image: Samuel P. Strahan (courtesy of the Indiana State Library)

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