The British royal family on Buckingham Palace balcony after Prince William and Kate Middleton were married. Kate wears a wedding gown by Sarah Burton. Photo dated 2011-04-29 16:31 (UTC). Used with permission from the Wikipedia article.
On March 20, 1630, the ship Mary and John departed Plymouth, England. The great fleet of fourteen ships and 1500 emigrants, the “Winthrop Fleet,” were bound for New England and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The ship Mary and John, Captain Squeb, Master, landed at Nantasket, Massachusetts on May 30, 1630.
Strong family tradition, based on the account written by Governor Caleb Strong in 1777, maintains that Elder John Strong was a passenger on Mary and John in 1630. No definitive records exist, and therefore we have no contemporary proof of who was or was not aboard Mary and John in 1630.
Rev. Sydney Strong in the Hampshire Daily Gazette, April 5, 1934, Northampton, MA, has this to say:
Considering the community, the character of the people involved, their close and intimate relations, it is not possible for me to conceive how an idea like John Strong coming in 1630, with Warham, etc. could get into the mind of Gov. Strong, unless it was a fact. There were people in Northampton for 100 years who would be able to correct a story that John Strong came in 1630, with the Mary & John company, if it weren’t true.
(From Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John, Vol. 2, by Burton Spear.)
We do have the passenger list for the ship Hopewell, John Driver, Master for Massachusetts Bay of New England. Hopewell departed Weymouth, England, on May 8, 1635. The passenger list includes “Jon Stronge for himself, family, goods and food.” (Book 58B, Index of Ships and Passengers to the American Colonies, Exchequer K. R. 1618–1668 copied from Port Book E 190/876/1, Strong Family Newsletter, Jeanne Waters Strong.)
We do know that Elder John Strong lived in Hingham, MA, in 1635; Taunton, MA, in 1638; Windsor, CT, in 1646; and Northampton, MA, in 1659. John Strong, Walter Deane, and John Deane were admitted freemen of the Plymouth Colony on December 4, 1638. Elder John Strong’s wife Margerie (Deane) Strong and infant died about 1635, at Hingham, MA, or Taunton, MA. We know that Elder John Strong married about 1632 in England, Margerie Deane, daughter of William Deane.
It is therefore likely that Elder John Strong, as a youth about 20 years old, came with the Winthrop Fleet on the Mary and John in 1630. He returned to England. With his family, and the families of Walter and John Deane, he permanently emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony aboard Hopewell in 1635.
Fortunately, John Strong at about age 25 married again. He married in 1635 at Dorchester, MA, Abigail Ford, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Charde) Ford. Abigail was baptized October 8, 1619 at Bridport, Dorset, England, and died July 16, 1688 at Northampton, MA. I say “fortunately,” because if it were not for John and Abigail’s sixteen children, there might be no Lady Diana, Prince William, Prince Harry, or me!
(All of the above genealogical information is quoted from Strong Family History Update Volume I.)

The Princess of Wales at The Leonardo Prize, 1995. Photo used by permission of author on Wikipedia.
(generation #1) H. R. H. The Princess of Wales, Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961–1997) descends from two sons of Elder John Strong and Abigail (Ford) Strong as follows.
(generation #2) Thomas Strong (ca. 1635–1689), son of John and Abigail Strong, in 1671 married Rachel Holton (ca. 1650-?), daughter of William Holton. Meanwhile, Jedediah Strong (1637–1733), son of John and Abigail Strong, in 1662 married Freedom Woodward (1642–1681), daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Woodward. Jedediah was a farmer in Northampton and during the years 1677–9 was paid 18 shillings a year for blowing his trumpet on Sunday to summon people to meetings, since the town had no bell. On May 31, 1674, Martin Smith of Pocumtuck, was fined 20s for trying to kiss Freedom (Woodward) Strong on the street. She was 32 at the time and the mother of 8 children. Her father, Henry Woodward, was a physician and was licensed to sell wines and liquors and had a grist mill in Northampton.
(generation #3) Joseph Strong (1672–1763), son of Thomas and Rachel Strong, in 1694 married Sarah Allen (1672–1724), daughter of Nehemiah Allen and Sarah Woodford. Meanwhile, Preserved Strong (1680–1765), son of Jedediah and Freedom Strong, in 1701 married Tabitha Lee (ca. 1677/78–1750), daughter of John Lee and Mary Hart. Both couples married in Northampton, MA or possibly Coventry, CT.
(generation #4) Captain Joseph Strong (1701–1773), son of Joseph and Sarah Strong, in 1724 married Elizabeth Strong (1704–1792), daughter of Preserved Strong and Tabitha Lee. Captain Joseph Strong and his wife Elizabeth Strong were both great-grandchildren of Elder John Strong and Abigail Ford, and thus second cousins of each other. They married in Northampton, MA.
(generation #5) Deacon Benajah Strong (1701–1773), son of Captain Joseph and Elizabeth Strong, in 1769 married Lucy Bishop (1747–1783). They married in Coventry, CT.
(generation #6) Dr. Joseph Strong (1770–1812), son of Deacon Benajah and Lucy Strong, in 1796 married Rebecca Young (1780–1862), daughter of Captain Peter and Eleanor Young. They married in Philadelphia, PA.
(generation #7) Eleanor Strong (ca. 1802/3–1863), daughter of Dr. Joseph and Rebecca Strong, in 1823 married John Wood (1785–1848). They married in Chillicothe, Ohio.
(generation #8) Ellen Wood (1831–1877), daughter of John and Eleanor Wood, in 1857 married Frank Work (1879–1911), son of John Work and Sarah Duncan Boude. They married in New York, NY.
(generation #9) Frances Eleanor Work (1857–1947), daughter of Frank and Ellen Work, in 1880 married The Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy (1851–1920). They married in New York, NY.
(generation #10) Edmund Maurice Burke Roche (1885–1955), son of James and Frances Burke Roche, in 1931 married Ruth Sylvia Gill (b. 1908). They married in Bieldside, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(generation #11) The Hon. Frances Ruth Burke Roche (b. 1936), daughter of Edmund and Ruth Burke Roche, in 1954 married Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, 8th Earl Spencer (b. 1924). They were married in Westminster Abbey, London, England.

All Smiles: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waving to the crowd at The Mall shortly after the wedding. Photo courtesy of Robbie Dale on Wikipedia. Used with permission.
(generation #12) Lady Diana Frances Spencer (1961–1997), daughter of Edward and Frances Spencer, in 1981 married H. R. H. Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales (b. 1948), son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They were married in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England.
(generation #13) Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge (b. 1982), son of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, in 2011 married Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge (b. 1982), daughter of Michael and Carole (Goldsmith) Middleton. They married in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
I love your site!!!
fb as Sharon Kay Butler-Kennedy
Here’s my relation to John Strong & Abigail Ford
John Strong (1610 — 1699) m. Abigail Ford (1619 — 1688)are my 7th great grandparents
Hester Ester Strong (1661 — 1726)
Daughter of John
Thomas Bissell (1683 — 1771)
Son of Hester Ester
Jerijah Bissell (1714 — 1806)
Son of Thomas
Jerijah Bissell (1751 — 1825)
Son of Jerijah
Alfred Bissell (1793 — 1870)
Son of Jerijah
Henry Bissell (1838 — 1902)
Son of Alfred
Sarah Elizabeth Bissell (1875 — 1963)
Daughter of Henry
Flossie Francis Nowell (1911 — 2002)
Daughter of Sarah Elizabeth
Sharon Kay Butler
You are the daughter of Flossie Francis
What about the Roger Clap Memoirs that list Elder John Strong on the Mary and John?
Pingback: Our Royal Cousins | Gran's Family History
Here’s my lineage from Elder John Strong.
Thomas Strong Sr / Mary Hewitt →
Thomas Strong Jr / Mary Stebbins →
Damaris Strong / Lt. John Camp →
Abiathar Camp / Rebecca Cook →
Abiathar Camp / Mary Chidester →
Abiathar Camp / Elizabeth C Burlock →
Charles Marcus Camp / Margaret Emily Sharp →
Charles Wesley Camp / Hannah Sophia Vincent →
Amanda Prudence Camp / Tillotsen Libby Dykeman →
Orland Stanley Dykeman / Iva Myrtle Orchard →
Evelyn Irene Dykeman / James Howard Anthony Sr →
My parents
Me
Can anyone confirm the lineage I posted above because I am having a problem with ’ DAMARIS STRONG’. I cannot find any info on her that is PROOF she is Mary Stebbins and Thomas Strong’s daughter.
Just this
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Camp&GSfn=Damaris&GSby=1702&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1737&GSdyrel=in&GSst=8&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=9179224&df=all&
However THIS…does not show a child named DAMARIS
http://books.google.com/books?id=MGRmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=Children+of+Thomas+Strong+Jr+and+Mary+Stebbins&source=bl&ots=tp9WSt0fAQ&sig=ekodGpZYDEuR5PZR83M_6Eqy9oA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GzMpU-SgI6mEyAH4y4EY&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Children%20of%20Thomas%20Strong%20Jr%20and%20Mary%20Stebbins&f=false
July 21, 2014 @ 10:36 p.m.
for Sharon Marie Anthony Connors
You can get details from going to main page of SFAA website. On left side of page click on Elder John Strong it will bring up his children if you click on their name of your ancestor and it will bring up their history. Just follow through the lines and you will come to the person you are searching for, you can then print out each page if you like and keep for reference. I did this for my binder and have complete info for whomever I need. Great tool.
July 21, 2014 @ 10:44 p.m.
for Sharon Marie Anthony Connors
Check for Damaris b: 1674 d: 1751
Her father was Lt. Return Strong and her mother was: Sarah (Warham) Strong.
Is this what you are searching for?
I hope it helps you. I know it isn’t easy due to the usage of same names in each generation; Damaris doesn’t show up very often. I was trying to find my line of decendency through Samuel and it was really through Jedediah, Elder
John’s son. Let me know. Elder John was my 8th great grandfather !
Here is my genealogical line from Elder John Strong…
Elder John Strong and Abigail Ford
Jedediah Strong and Freedom Woodward
Preserved Strong and Tabitha Lee
Noah Strong and Deborah Gleason
Elisha Strong Sr and Desire Williams
Elisha Strong Jr and Phebe Vail
Elisha Williams Strong and Maria Peterson
Lewis L Strong and Catherine Jane Wimer
James Franklin Strong and Sarah Lucretia Burns
Ruth Caroline Strong and Wilford Evan Johnson
Dorothy Mae Johnson and Vernon Nibley Stoddard
Merrell David Stoddard and Carla Evans
Camilla Stoddard (me) and Taylor Scott
My lineage from Elder John Strong
Elder John Strong and Abigail Ford
Thomas Strong & Rachel Holton
Justice Joseph Strong & Sarah Allen
Deacon Phineas Strong Sr. & Mary Parker
Phineas Strong Jr. & Tabitha Brewster
Abel Strong & Elizabeth Wakeman
Daniel Strong & Wealthy Loomis
John Strong & Catherine Danner
Harry Strong Sr. & Mary Daughty
Harry Strong Jr. & Lottie Curtis
Ruth Strong Uhl & Thurman Uhl
Richard Strong Uhl & Janet Mason
Susan Uhl Syron