[1]: appendix xxii  He was an influential in the development of many civic institutions in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio.

He co-founded the Christian Standard magazine, he was an original endower of Case School of Applied Science and was a principal in the creation of the James A. Garfield Monument; the first true mausoleum created in the United States in honor of President James A. Garfield.

Born in Hamilton, Madison County, New York, on October 16, 1816,[2] Streator was a descendant of Stephen Streeter, who emigrated to Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1642,[3] whose lineage traces back to the 15th century in Kent, England.

[4] His great-grandfather, John Streator, served in the American Revolutionary War as a private in the Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Militia.

[8] Once in Cleveland and removed from the practice of medicine, Streator embarked on his second career in developing railroads.

Work continued on this and other ancillary lines of the railroad until completion in 1861, when he sold his unfinished contracts upon the death of Doolittle.

[8] Upon completion of the Corry to Brocton railroad line, Streator suspended his involvement in rails and began a third career developing coal mines on the Vermilion River in North-Central Illinois.

The Vermilion Company then made arrangements with the Fox River line for their needed rail service.

Plumb surveyed the area for the incoming Fox River Line, platted the land for the new town and commenced to build a total of eight mine shafts.

[10]: 323–324 Plumb needed laborers for his mines, but the Vermilion Coal Company was unable to afford European employment agents.

Instead, it alerted steamship offices of the new job opportunities and convinced local railroads to carry notices of Vermilion Coal's promise.

[12] The success of the local mining operations and the introduction of the new glass making industry allowed for improvements in the living conditions and personal wealth of its miners and laborers.

From a single small grocery house... the locality has grown to be a city of 6,000 prosperous and intelligent people.

Churches, school-houses, large, substantial business houses and handsome residences, with elegant grounds and surroundings, now beautify the waste of ten years ago, while the hum of machinery and thronged streets are unmistakable evidences of business importance and prosperity.

[13] Since then, growth has stagnated, but Streator remains a viable manufacturing town with a glass bottle and a heavy equipment industry in addition to retail and agriculture.

[14][15] Throughout his life Streator maintained close ties with the civic and business leaders in Cleveland and Ohio.

He was a long-time resident of a grand mansion on 240 acres (0.97 km2) on "Millionaires' Row" along Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.

Streator was one of twelve friends and colleagues who took their place alongside Garfield's funeral car to serve as pall-bearers.