James S. T. Stranahan

James Samuel Thomas Stranahan (April 25, 1808 - September 3, 1898) was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Peterboro, Madison County, New York, he attended the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary. He founded the town of Florence in Oneida County in 1832 and engaged in the lumber business. He was postmaster of Florence and was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1838. He moved to Newark, New Jersey in 1840 and engaged in building railroads.

In 1845, Stranahan moved to Brooklyn, and was elected alderman of that city in 1848. He was elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress and held office from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress and was appointed as a member of the metropolitan police commission on January 1, 1857. He was a presidential elector on the Republican tickets in 1860 and 1888, and was a president of the board of trustees of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. He was a director of the first Brooklyn Bridge and presided at its dedication on May 28, 1884.