Continental Congressman, Lawyer. He was a United States Representative from the State of Connecticut. He was born one of six children as Jedediah or Jedidiah Strong to Supply Strong (1696-1786), who was the second male child born in Lebanon, Connecticut, who had ties to Hebron, Connecticut, and who was one of the first settlers in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1823, and his wife Anne Strong (1708-1783), in Litchfield, Connecticut, on November 7, 1738. He also had four half-siblings Lois, Thankful, Abijah, and Rachel. He was educated locally and then attended and studied at the prestigious Yale College, later Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1761, and his Master of Arts in 1764. He then studied theology (the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief), and was licensed to preach by the Hartford North Association of Ministers of Hartford, Connecticut, on October 4, 1763. He then studied law and was admitted to the Hartford County, Connecticut, bar in 1764, before commencing his practice of law in his native Litchfield, Connecticut, shortly thereafter. He then entered politics and served two terms as a Member of the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1771 to 1801, and again from 1779 to 1788. He sat in as a United States Representative in over thirty regular seasons with thirteen seasons of these sessions serving as Clerk of the Lower House. During this time he was a Commissary of Supplies for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also served as one of the Selectmen of Litchfield, Connecticut, from 1770 to 1783, as Town Clerk of Litchfield, Connecticut, from 1773 to 1781, and as a County Judge for the Litchfield County, Connecticut Court from 1780 to 1791. He initially was chosen to serve as a Delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774, but he declined the offer. He did, however, serve the State of Connecticut in the Continental Congress in the United States House of Representatives from 1782 to 1784. He also served as a Delegate to the Connecticut State Convention to help ratify the United States Constitution in 1788, and during this time was an unsuccessful Candidate for one of the State of Connecticut's five At-Large Congressional seats in the United States House of Representatives election in the State of Connecticut in 1788. He lastly served as a Member of the Connecticut Council of Assistants from 1789 to 1790, and as a Judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1789 to 1791. He continued to be involved in politics and law until his death. He passed away in Litchfield, Connecticut, on August 21, 1802, at the age of 63. He was married twice, first to Ruth Patterson Strong (1739-1777), the daughter of Major John Patterson of Farmington, Connecticut, in Litchfield, Connecticut, on April 17, 1774. The couple had one child together, a daughter named Idea Strong (1775-1804). They were married until Ruth's death on October 3, 1777, in Litchfield, Connecticut, at the age of 38. Her burial location is currently unknown. He was married for the second time to Susannah Wyllys Strong (1750-1794), in Litchfield, Connecticut, on January 22, 1788, the daughter of the Honourable George Wyllys. His wife Susannah later filed for divorce after two and half years of marriage which was based on his cruel behavior towards her. The divorce was granted by the Governor's Council of which her husband was a member at the time. She passed away in New Jersey on May 23, 1794, at the age of 44, and she is buried in the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford, Connecticut. The couple had no children together. As time went on his behavior towards others including colleagues, family, and friends, became intolerable. He turned to the drink and was "cast out of all decent society having forfeited the esteem of his fellow-townsmen by his bad private character, although by hypocrisy and political intrigue, he had been able up to this date to impose upon a wider public." He became dependable on others due to his drinking which led to exhaustion, and so he was appointed a guardian, and the town felt they were obliged to help and support him until his death. He passed away in Litchfield, Connecticut, on August 21, 1802, at the age of 63, and he was buried in West Cemetery in Litchfield, Connecticut. His grave was once marked but the gravestone was removed to incorporate into the foundation of a house in Goshen, Connecticut, because of his behavior in his later years. A mile marker in Litchfield, Connecticut, to him still exists.