Robert Strean of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was born in May 1756. Evidence suggests that his father was John Strean of Feeny, Londonderry, Ulster Ireland, and his grandfather another John Strean originally from Echt, Aberdeen, Scotland. The Streans were apparently Protestant dissenters from the Anglican Church of England, suffering legal discrimination as Presbyterians in Ireland.  They left Ulster for economic reasons after a series of bad harvests, when English landlords racked up the rent on their land as the long-term leases expired. The family settled into western Pennsylvania and continued moving west, carving farms out of the wilderness, crossing paths with other Strain families in Highland County, OH.

Robert Strean died June 25, 1836 in Dayton, Montgomery County, OH. With his wife Elizabeth they had 4 children: a daughter Ann and 3 sons to include sons John and Joseph. Joseph Strean, born Nov. 4, 1784 eventually moved to Harrodsburg, Monroe County, IN where he died Sep. 4, 1856. Joseph’s descendents were enumerated on the census with both spellings of Strean and Strain.

Sample # 9627 was contributed by Robert Strean’s great-great-great-great-great-grandson (seven transmission events)