Definition of "strove"

They have not been content with the Simplicity of the Goſpel, which is a plain Rule of living wel, but have ſtrove to out-wit one another in finding out hidden Miſterys; […]

1687, Andrew Sowle, A Rational Catechiſm, or An inſtructive Conference between a Father and Son‎, page 23

[…] while, I fear, there will be some white ones, unable to forget that, with malignant heart, and deceitful speech, they have strove to hinder it.

1863 August 26, Abraham Lincoln, Letter to James Conkling‎, page 7

Japanese retail stores have strove to, and have succeeded in, fulfilling these severe demands, and in doing so, have constantly had to innovate both technologically and institutionally in order to keep up with the competition.

2013 February 6, Hideo Otake, “Revising the Interpretation of the Japanese Economy”, in Michio Muramatsu, Frieder Naschold, editors, State and Administration in Japan and Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Continuity and Change‎, page 319