It appears from Henry's census records (see below) that he really didn't know where he was born.  In the 1830 census, Henry's father was living in Clinton Twp., Macomb Co., MI, so that is probably where Henry was born; and that place name (i.e., Macomb) is mentioned in Henry's diary as "Nescomb/Necomb."

1.  Marriage Record:

2.  1850 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #197 of 481 — indexed "Huey Stroup" and as being on p. 48):  Diamond Springs, El Dorado Co., CA, Roll 34 (Book 1), p. 348B/694, 4/4, enumerated 31 Sep 1850 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

Robert W Rundell	25	M		Miner	500	Va
Henry Stroup	21	M		"		Unknown
Wm F Tracy	22	M		"		Ky
John E Fletcher	23	M		Carpenter		"
Geo W Miller	23	M		"		"

Henry had to have been 20 or younger, unless the 1830 census is wrong about there being only one child in his parents' household.  The fact that Henry gives younger ages in later censuses (q.v.) suggests that he was not as old as 21 in 1850, but surely he had legal reasons for asserting that he was "of age."  And keep in mind that Henry may not have been the informant, so it may have been up to one of his "roomies" to supply his age and birthplace, which would certainly account for Henry's birthplace being "unknown."  Also in El Dorado County is Henry's brother, Isaac STROUP.  They are the only STROUPs in California — making them also the first STROUPs in California. 

3a.  1860 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com):  not found, and I did an all-states search on Henry STRAUB, Henry STRAUP, Henry STROUB, and Henry STROUP.

3b.  1860 Census Images (online at Ancestry.com):  not found, and I did a page-by-page search of Diamond Springs, Diamond Springs Twp., all three Wards of Placerville, Placerville Twp., and Upper Placerville.

3c.  1860 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com, Image #13 of 18 — indexed "L. Stroup," but this enumerator's capital L's and S's were indistiguishable):  Cedarville P.O., Cosumnes Twp., El Dorado Co., CA, Roll 58 (Book 1), p. 1172, PN 410, 4361/4361, enumerated 15 Sep 1860, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1860 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

L/S Stroup	28	M		Miner	1300		NY
H Pratt	34	M		do	100		Mo

The initial is wrong and there is the usual erroneous (but near to the mark) stab at his birthplace, yet my conclusion is that this is our subject.  I do not find him back in Michigan or Indiana (and I have extracted every STROUP record from those states in the 1860 census), and there are only three STROUPs indexed in California:  this one in El Dorado Co., plus A. STROUP (æ 29, b. OH, wife "N.J." and two children) in Tehama Co. and Abraham STROUP (æ 20, b. Bavaria, unmarried) in Calaveras Co.  We need to keep in mind the "rough-and-tumble" nature of these mining camps and the fact that you never know who was the informant for the record — perhaps the Chinese cook in the neighboring tent!

4.  1870 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com, Image #32-33 of 43; online at Ancestry.com, Image #61-62 of 72):  Placerville P.O., City of Placerville, El Dorado Co., CA, Roll 72 (Book 1), pp. 122B-123A, PN 32-33, 428/335, enumerated 5 Aug 1870, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1870 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

Miles Reuben	43	M	W	Farmer	1200	200	Vermont
_____ Sarah	42	F	W	Keeping House			"
_____ Carrie I/J	12	F	W				"
_____ Kate N	9	F	W				California
_____ Florence A	7	F	W				"
_____ Ulysses G	4	M	W				"
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Stroup Henry	39	M	W	Teamster			Indiana
Lee Ah	30	C	W	Farm Laborer			China

5.  1880 Census Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #14 of 24 — in a group of images mis-labeled "Plainville," which should be "Placerville"):  Placerville Twp., El Dorado Co., CA, p. 138B, PN 14, SD 2, ED 56, enumerated in Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1880:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	13	24	25	26
178	176	Stroup Henry	W	M	50		Laber	Ohio	Ohio	Ohio
		______ Cary	W	F	23		Housekeping	Vermont	Neuham	Vermont
		______ Alice	W	F	6			Cal	Ohio	Vermont
		______ Bird	W	M	2			Cal	Ohio	Vermont
		______ Idia	W	F	2/12	Apr		Indiania	Ohio	Vermont

"Idia" has to be Bertha Ann — heaven only knows what the enumerator thought he was trying to spell.  He left most columns blank for most households.  If "Idia" was born in April in Indiana, they made a very quick trip back to California — presumably by rail — with an infant in tow.

6.  1890 Census:  the 1890 Census Population Schedules were destroyed.

7.  1900 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com, Image #5 of 53):  Placerville, Placerville Twp., El Dorado Co., CA, Roll 85, p. 154A, SN 3, SD 4, ED 28, enumerated 23-25 Jun 1900, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1900 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤

1900:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

27

50

50

Kemze? Herman

Head

W

M

Jul 1851

48

M

6

Ger

Ger

Ger

1880

20

Na

Gold Miner

2

Y

Y

Y

R

H

______ Carry

Wife

W

F

Oct 1859

40

M

6

9

9

VT

VT

NH

House Wife

Y

Y

Y

Stroup Charles W

St-Son

W

M

Mar 1883

17

S

CA

WI

VT

Common Laborer

6

Y

Y

Y

______ Fannie L

St-Dau

W

F

Sep 1884

15

S

CA

WI

VT

At School

8

Y

Y

Y

______ Geo Herman

St-Son

W

M

Oct 1890

9

S

CA

WI

VT

At School

8

Y

Y

Y

Kemza? Hazal A

Dau

W

F

Apr 1895

5

S

CA

WI

VT

Y

Y

Y

______ Gladys

Dau

W

F

Mar 1897

3

S

CA

Ger

VT

Y

Y

Y

The father of the STROUP children, our subject, was born in Michigan, and surely Hazel's father was Herman KUNZE, who was born in Germany.  It would be no surprise that Carrie would be mistaken as to her late/ex husband's birthplace, because her husband seems to have been uncertain of it, but surely the mistake with Hazel's father is enumerator error.

8.  Messages posted to the Stroup Surname Board (online at Ancestry.com/RootsWeb.com).

9.  Messages in the Stroup Family Genealogy Forum (online at GenForum.com).

10.  Emails from Darrel Carter, including:

Henry and Carrie were divorced.  Carrie married Herman Kunze and had two more children.  Marriage date April 17, 1894, El Dorado, El Dorado County, CA... Carrie Kunze died February 11, 1922 and is buried in East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento, CA.

11.  Participant in the STRAUB Y-chromosome DNA Surname Project.