Stranahan was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Caroline (née Curtis) and Farrand Stewart Stranahan (1812–1845). 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 SenatorLawrence 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]
Stranahan resigned from the service on August 28, 1864. On the afternoon of October 19, 1864, the northernmost 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 brevetLieutenant Colonel on his staff.[15]
Stranahan became paymaster of the Vermont Central Railway in 1865. In 1871 he 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]
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, aged 62, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.[25][26]
^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.
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.
