Strong, Francis M., Vergennes, was born in Pittsford, Rutland county, Vt., in 1829, and settled in Vergennes, Vt., in 1852, as a practical moulder and machinist; in 1856 he invented and manufactured what is now known as the Howe scales, and in 1864 he sold his interest to the Messrs. Howe & Co., and purchased the island mill; in 1868 sold the same to N. G. Norton. He then purchased his foundry and machine shop, and engaged in the manufacture of hubs. He is also engaged with Charles E. Parker in the manufacture of a road machine known as the “Little Giant,” and doing business under the firm name of Strong & Parker, and doing business, at Vergennes, Vt. He was married in 1849 to Sarah M. Clark, of Cincinnati, 0. She died in 1881, leaving a family of three children — Herman C., Herbert W., and Frances E. Francis M. married for his second wife Ardelia Beach, in July, 1883. She was a daughter of Allen Beach. Francis M. was a son of Frederick and Sophronia (Chaffee) Strong. He was a native of Addison, Vt., and she of Brandon, Vt.
