Born in New Jersey, into a family of Quakers, he was the eldest of five children. He married in 1804, to Anna Green, granddaughter of Captain Joshua Huddy, revolutionary patriot. In not marrying a Quaker, Isaiah forfeited his membership among them. He taught for ten years in Philadelphia before the establishment of the school system. Isiah and his wife converted to the Baptist faith, and records from the Second Baptist Church of Philadelphia exist showing the date as August 13, 1808. In 1812, Second Baptist licensed Stratton to preach. He was ordained in 1814, when he stopped teaching. His diary shows that on May 4, 1814, he was present at the formal organization of the Baptist Mission Society for New Jersey. At the Triennial conventions, foreign missionary work was formalized into what became the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. His diary includes a personal account of this time working with the first conventions. He corresponded with ministers and churches throughout New Jersey, gaining support for the new venture. Stratton died in 1816 at the age of 34.