James Armstrong
Family
James Armstrong was born February 17, 1788 in Milton Pennsylvania
(1)
of apparent Scotch-Irish heritage. In June 1788, New Hampshire ratified
the Constitution, as the last state of nine which was needed to put it
into effect, so the American Constitution and James Armstrong began
life
the same year.
He lived until 30 October 1876 (2),
just
months after the centennial anniversary of the American
Revolution.
He passed away in Schoolcraft Twp of Kalamazoo County Michigan. James
was
married twice; but had ten children, seven boys and three girls, with
his
first wife Elizabeth George Armstrong. Nothing has been proven
regarding
his parents, as no records have been located - but possible information
is that his was James' father was Andrew b.1745 Paxtang, Lancaster Co,
PA d/Milton, PA???? Some believe that it was Andrew's father James
Armstrong
Brooksboro, Fermanaugh Co., Ireland????? - this research needs to be
verified
. Also it appears that when James emigrated to Ohio, it was with
family,
but the large number of Armstrongs in Columbinana County - it is very
hard
to verify relationships.
James married Elizabeth George (2a)
in
March 28, 1820 in Columbiana Co, Ohio. Elizabeth was born in
Ohio,
2 May 1799. Elizabeth's father was William George, b.1771- Jamestown,
Virginia,
d. 17 Feb. 1848 - Columbiana County, Ohio; mother Malinda Hull,
b.19
Dec. 1777 - Maryland, d. 11 Sept. 1852 .
The young Armstrong couple's first child, was a son that they
named
William
Penn born in 1821 in Lancaster, Ohio. Then in 1825 they had a
daughter
named Lynney (Linny) born in Ohio, possibly Crawford Co, and their next
daughter, Elizabeth, would be born 26 July 1828 in Michigan.
Their
daughter Elizabeth may have been born in St. Joseph Co, Michigan - as
she
is not recorded as the first white child born in Schoolcraft Township -
which she would have been if her mother was living there then. It is
noted
that it appeard that many pioneers went to Park Twp St. Joseph
Co,
from Ohio, and the Armstrongs maintain connections in this area.
By 1829 James Armstrong was located on Prairie Ronde, Schoolcraft
Twp,
Kalamazoo County. The following is from History of Kalamazoo
County,
Michigan, Everts & Abbott, 1880 (3):
Settlers on Prairie Ronde. --- As to who was the first actual
settler
in what is now the township of Schoolcraft there is some uncertainty,
but
a faithful endeavor has brought to light none earlier than James
Armstrong,
who located on section 8 some time in the year 1829. Mr. Armstrong was
from the state of Ohio, and is recollected to have said that when he
came
to what is now Schoolcraft Township not another person has settled
within
its borders.
Purchase was made of land in sections 8, 9, and 17 by James in
1829,
who had to travel to the land office in Monroe to make the entry of the
claim. In 1831 the land office was moved to White Pigeon and later in
1834
the land office was removed to Bronson, [which is] now Kalamazoo. The
pioneer
family was making a new home in the wilderness, and on September 27,
1830,
a son, John Quincy Adams Armstrong was born in Schoolcraft Twp.
In his later years, long time Schoolcraft resident E. Lakin Brown
would
write his "autobiographical notes" (4)
and
mention the Armstrong's in 1832:
In the fall of 1832 I surveyed a road from Dry Prairie to Climax...
When the surveys were finished, [John] Perrine and I walked home by the
Indian trail from Climax to Gourd-Neck. There was no settlement on the
route. We got a late dinner at the cabin of James Armstrong. Mrs.
Armstrong
was a tall, muscular woman to whom the toils of pioneer life were as
nothing.
It was said that she could stand on a large log and chop it off as
quickly
as any man.
The Kalamazoo Bible Society was established in 1832 and the James
Armstrong's
were listed as patrons, (5) and in 1832
James also purchased land in Brady Twp. (6)
The following year, 1833, the family had another addition -- son
Thomas
Jefferson was born in Schoolcraft. The years were met with hard work
and
in 1837 the tax entry for James Armstrong indicated that he had
prospered
and now had to pay taxes on: 4 horses, 3 cows, 1 yoke of oxen, 4 yoke
of
cattle, and 5 hogs (7). An additional
blessing
occurred in 1837 when another son was born to James and Elizabeth, he
was
christened Jackson A. Armstrong (some places he is called A. Jackson
Armstrong
-- thought to be Andrew Jackson).
Then again in 1838, the family was blessed with twin sons, Alpheus
W.
Armstrong, and his brother, Alfred V. Armstrong August 28 in
Schoolcraft
Twp. On the 1840 Census (8) lists the
family
as having 2 males under 5 years of age, three males 5 - 10 years of
age,
two males 15-20 years of age, one male 50-60 years of age, two females
10-15 years of age, one female 15-20 years of age, and one female
between
40-50 years of age. This count gives an extra male (aged 15-20) and an
extra female, [probably Armstrong daugher Emrlin -unknown
birthdate/place,
first wife of Harvey Dolph -little is know about her] Girls10-15 or
15-20
Linney is 15 this year, depending on when the census was taken &
her
birth date where she would have been counted... The male could
have
been a farm hand?
The decade of the 1840's began with a tragedy for the Armstrong
family,
on Aug. 5, 1840 (9) they would loose to
death their son Alpheus W., one year 11 months and 7 days of age.
Alpheus
was laid to rest in the Schoolcraft Cemetery. The rest of the decade
seemed
to take on a happier outlook. The following was entered into the 1842
Kalamazoo
County records (10) by Preston J.
McCreary,
Justice of the Peace:
This may certify that Pete Everet of the town of Park, County of St.
Joseph aged thirty-two years and Linney [Lynney] Armstrong of the town
of Schoolcraft, County of Kalamazoo aged 17 years were united in
marriage
by one this second day of June 1842 at the house of James Armstrong in
the town of Schoolcraft. Two witnesses present at the said marriage
viz.
William Foster and Horace Dennison.
Then in 1844 the family was blessed with the birth of another son,
Warren Franklin was born in Schoolcraft. Some census records refer to
this
child only as Franklin, but on the 1870 census he is listed as Warren
Franklin.
When he enlists into the calvary he would only list his name as Warren.
Two more marriages would follow in this decade. Also in 1844, in
Schoolcraft, William P. Armstrong marries Laura Ann Dolph.(10a)
But some kind of error on the 1850 Kalamazoo County Census lists
William P. Armstrong with wife "Polly," who was born about 1828 in
Pennsylvania[wrong
date and place of birth for Laura Dolph] (12) and
a son named Williiam born abt. March 1850 in Michigan, living in
Schoolcraft.
This census is the only reference to Polly or William. Another
happy
family event, Elizabeth Armstrong, age 17, would marry Allen
Dolph,
age 18, on March 8, 1846
(11) in Schoolcraft.
In the 1840's there was finally settling of land claims that had
previously
been withheld from sale. Sections of Schoolcraft and Brady Twps had
previously
had Indian titles, these titles were extinguished and the Indians were
removed west of the Mississippi in 1840. With the exodus of the Indian
populations this left only white settlers, but there were several kinds
of white settlers (13):
A large part of the settlers [in Schoolcraft Twp] were from the
newer
settlements of Ohio and Pennsylvania, a few from Kentucky, and a goodly
colony from Virginia, with habits and characteristics, and to a certain
extent a dialect, quite distinct from those of the Vermonters and
emigrants
from other New England States. The doings and conversations of a
company
of these settlers at their occasional merry-makings was matter of
curious
and novel interest to a newly arrived New Englander. Every Saturday was
a gala-day at the Big Island Hotel.
The James Armstrong family from Pennsylvania and Ohio was of the first
group of settler, and this sketch makes one wonder what thoughts they
might
have expressed of the "New Englanders?" (The writer was from New
England.)
Again the dawning of a new decade would harold sorrow for the
James
Armstrong family. On February 28, 1850 child Alfred V. Armstrong dies
and
is buried at Schoolcraft Cemetery (14),
he was only eleven years and 6 months old. The 1850 census lists the
James
Armstrong family as consisting of James, 62, farmer and wife Elizabeth,
with four of their sons, John 19,
Thomas 17, Jackson A 15, and son Franklin (Warren) 6 - the three
youngest
still in school. One year later, 1851 on the 27th of September John A.
at the age of 21 would marry Eunice Dolph, age 20, at the home of
Harvey
Dolph in Schoolcraft with witnesses Harvey Dolph and Emrlin [Armstrong
- another daughter of James & Elizabeth???] Dolph. (15)
Tragedy would strike the second time this decade that would rock the
family
when Elizabeth Armstrong, wife of James dies August 14, 1853
(16),
she was 54 years, 3 months and 12 days old. She was laid to rest in the
Schoolcraft Cemetery.
And in 1855, tragedy again strikes the James Armstrong family when
daughter
Elizabeth Armstrong Dolph dies and is buried in Schoolcraft Cemetery (17)
next to her mother, at the age of 27 years, 4 months and 15 days.
Elizabeth
was a young wife and mother of three children, William b.1847, Mary
Ellen
b.1848, and Allen b.1851. Mary
Ellen Dolph would marry Reuben Bradford Wheaton in Galien, Berrien
County Michigan 2nd June 1872. Mary Ellen's grand-daughter Marjory
Wheaton
b. 3 Oct 1905 in Fountain, Mason County Michigan is the paternal
grandmother
of the writer of this family chronicle. Mary Ellen lived to the age of
72, she died in Oakland Co, Michigan and is buried in the Galien
Cemetery.
William Dolph who is listed on the 1860 Census with his father, Allen
Dolph
and his new wife Lousia in Galien Twp, Berrien County Michigan and his
step-sister Laura M. (There would be a total of three step-sisters,
Laura,
Alice b. 1861, and Cora b.1865.)(18)
William
Dolph subsequently was a Union soldier in the Civil War. Allen Dolph is
enumerated with his grandparents on the 1860 census, and he
parished
by unknown means at 15 yrs old on October 13, 1867 (19)
and is buried in the Schoolcraft cemetery next to his mother.
The 1860 census(20)indicates that
James
had already remarried. His new wife was also named Elizabeth [possibly
Lovelace], 10 years his junior at 60 yrs old, and she was born in
Vermont.
The household consisted of James and Elizabeth, his sons Jackson and
Franklin
and grandson Allen Dolph. Also a Hannah M. Lovelace, age 28 appears to
possibly to be Elizabeth's daughter born in New York, but no
relationship
indicated. The value of James' real estate was $16,800 and his personal
estate at $1,465, this seems substantial when compared to neighbors
listed
on the census. Son Jackson is listed as having the occupation of
"teacher"
and Franklin and Allen Dolph were listed as attending school.
September 14, 1861 was the date of death of Laura Ann (Dolph)
Armstrong,
b. 1822 in Indiana at the age of 39. Laura, from all indications was
William's
first wife and the mother of his two sons and three daughters, Laura b.
1853, Wilmina b. 1855, and a child that was still un-named two months
after
birth of May 1860 (21).
March 19, 1863 William P. Armstrong of Schoolcraft, age 42,
married
Hulda (Collins) Moore, of Pavillion Twp, age 37, at Huldah's house with
witnesses of Lydia Dimmock and Elizabeth Collins by E.S. Smith, Justice
of Peace.(22) Huldah b. March 3, 1826
in
Monroe County N.Y., her father was William G. Collins. She came
to
Michigan with her first husband, John Moore in 1846.(23)
Huldah and John had five children before he died in 1857, then she
married
William P. Armstrong in 1863. William and Hulda had three children
together,
Albert J. b. 1864, Benjamin T. b.1866, Gennevieve M. b.1869. Benjamin
died
of consumption of the bowels at age 23 yrs, 10 months and 15 days
(1889),(24)
he was listed as married and living in Pavillion Twp, with the
occupation
of Farmer.
William held the office of a Highway Commissioner in Pavillion
Twp,
Kalamazoo 1867, and 1868-70 as Township Clerk (25).
William & Huldah's assets are listed separately on the 1870 census
-- as Huldah had maintained the homestead from her first marriage.
William
and Huldah divorce between 1870 & 1880. In the
published
biography of 1906 about Huldah only indicate that she married William
P.
Armstrong, but does not mention a divorce. William Penn and his
daughters
Laura Ann, Emma and Wilmina move west to Chautauqua County Kansas. In
1882William
marries for a fourth time in Cedarvale, Kansas, to Margaret Garrett,
and
they have one daugher named Nora E. Armstrong. William
Penn is listed on the 1900 census in Coffeyville, Montgomery Co,
Kansas,
and passed away there on June 9, 1909 and was buired in the Cedarvale
Kansas
city cemetery.
His daughter Laura
Ann
Armstrong,
b. 22 Aug 1852 Schoolcraft Twp, Kallamzoo Co, Michigan marries
William P. Lynch 14 March 1872 in Cedarvale Kansas, and after raising
her
family of
five sons and
a daughter to maturity she died 18 Dec. 1942, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and
daughter Wilimina, also know as Mina, married W.S. Symms in Cedar Vale
Kansas and has one son named Harrison Clive Symms.
Death would visit another of the families of James Armstrong's
sons
in the 1860's and to John it must have seemed as if death angel had
come
to stay at his house. John and Eunice's son James was born in 1858 and
he would die 8 months later on 27 March 1859. Daughter Hermina would be
born and die in 1860. Two years later daughter Emma would be born and
on
the 20th of March 1862 she would pass away. And then on the 19th July
in
1862 the young mother who suffered so much tragedy would also pass
away.
Eunice and her daughters are buried in Schoolcraft Cemetary (26)
next
to her father Stephen Dolph. Only Eunice's children: daughter Malinda,
born 1853; and son John, 1857 would survive to maturity along with
their
father. Living with the family according to the 1860 census was niece
Eunice
H. Dolph, born 1851, daughter of Harvey and Emerline (Armstrong)
Dolph.
It appears that at this time John moves his family to Berrien County,
Michigan.
On February 23rd, 1863 Justice of the Peace, N.E. Landon makes the
following
document:
John Q. Armstrong, aged 31 years and Marilla Rittenhouse aged 18
years,
after a proper examination were legally married by me, a Justice of the
Peace in and for the County of Berrien, on the 23rd day of February,
1863,
in presence of Warren Nelson and Benjamin Rittenhouse, the parties and
witnesses being residents of Lake Twp, County of Berrien and State of
Michigan.
Recorded
with the County Clerk, May 20, 1863.
April 12, 1861 Fort Sumter, a U.S. Army post in South Carolina was
attacked and subsequently surrendered to the Confederate forces, and
the
Civil War began in earnest. The War between the states touched the
Armstrong
family, as it did most families of America in some way. James Armstrong
sent two sons, John A. Armstrong, Warren Franklin, and three grandsons,
Hiram J. Everet, William Dolph and Hiram's younger brother, to the war
and only four would return. Son John at age 35, enlisted in company A,
of the Twelfth Infantry, March 1, 1865 at Schoolcraft for 1 year.
His company was mustered on March 9, 1865. On Feb. 15, 1866 in Camden,
Arkansas he was mustered out(27).
John passed away at 85 years, Central Lake, Antrim Co, Michigan, on
March
1, 1916 and is buried next to his first wife Eunice in the Schoolcraft
Cemetery. In contrast Hiram would die at the age of 18, killed in
action
at Stone River Tennessee on Dec. 31, 1862. Hiram had enlisted from his
hometown of Three Rivers, into company E of the Eleventh Infantry on
August
24, 1861 and they were mustered the same day. His enlistment was for
three
years, but a year and four months later he would be dead(28).
Warren F. Armstrong enlisted on August 21, 1862 into company L, of the
Fifth Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, and he was mustered out on
June
23, 1865.(29) The 5th Cavalry was one
of
the units that formed the Michigan Brigade under General George
Armstrong
Custer.
James Armstrong would loose another grandchild to death before the
end
of decade of 1860. Allen Dolph, who had lived with his grandparent
since
the death of his mother, died at the age of 15 yrs on October 13, 1867
and was buried on the Schoolcraft Cemetery next to his mother(30),
Elizabeth
Armstrong Dolph.
The 1870 census for Schoolcraft Township, Kalamazoo County records
that
James Armstrong was 82, a farmer, born in Ohio with real estate valued
at $21,000. His wife Betsy is 60 and listed as born in New York.
Jackson
Armstrong is listed as a nurseryman at age 37. Son Warren F.(Franklin)
age 26, is enumerated in a separate house on his father's farm with his
wife Clara age 23, born in Wisconsin and their daughter Luella age 3.
James
Armstrong is listed as a charter member of the Pioneer Society of
Kalamazoo
County, that was organized on the 30th day of May, 1871 (31).
In the Atlas of Kalamazoo county, under Schoolcraft Township he was
listed
as "Armstrong, James, Farmer, Dist. No. 1, Oldest Settler now living in
this Town, settled here in 1829."(32)
Then on the 28th day of October, 1876 at 90 yrs old, James
Armstrong
died of pneumonia, listed on the death record as a farmer born in
Pennsylvania(33).
The Three Rivers Reporter, Saturday, November 18, 1876 published the
following:
"The veteran pioneer, Mr. James Armstrong, living two and one-half
miles
east of Schoolcraft, died recently at the age of 90 years. He was the
father
of A.J. Armstrong, Esq., who succeeds to the proprietorship of the old
homestead. This ancient gentleman had his deed for his farm direct from
General Jackson, and he was among the very first of white men to
penetrate
these, then, unknown lands. The history of his noble life will fill a
whole
book."
Sadly, this is where the reports stops, and therefore the history of
"his noble life" that would "fill a whole book" may never be completely
known.
On the 1880 census it seems that none of James Armstrong's
children
can be found in Kalamazoo County Michigan. Only Huldah Armstrong and
her
children seem to be still in Kalamazoo County, Pavillion Twp -- no
Armstrong's
in Schoolcraft Twp from indications. Peter Evert has moved to
Muskegon
County Michigan after Lynney Armstrong Evert passes away, her burial
location
is unknown. West to Kansas and north to Kent County, and Atrium County,
Michigan were poplular points for new homes for the Armstrong
clan....
Many questions to answer at both ends of the family spectrum!
Establishing
parents for James with documentation, and where does Jackson Armstrong
(aka Andrew Jackson Armstrong) end up??
ARMSTRONG
- The Armstrongs derive their surname from the following circumstance:
an ancient king of Scotland having his horse killed under him in
battle, was immediately remounted by Fairbairn his armor-bearer.
For this timely assistance the king amply rewarded him with lands on
the borders, and to perpetuate the memory of so important a service, as
well as the manner in which it was performed (for Fairbairn took the
king by the thigh and set him on his saddle), his royal master gave him
the appellation of Armstrang, and assigned him for a crest, an armed
hand and arm, in the left hand a leg and foot in armor, couped at the
thigh, all proper. The chief of the clan in the early part of the
sixteenth century was John Armstrong of Gilnockie; he was hung as a
freebooter by James V, in 1529. The
family have always been noted for their courage and daring.
In the Lay of the Last Minstrel,
the chief when about to assemble his clans, says to the heralds,
" Ye
need not go to Liddisdale,
For when they see the blazing bale
Elliots and Armstrongs never fail."
The Origin and Signification of
Scottish Surnames with a Vocabulary of Christian Names,
Clifford
Stanley Sims, J. Munsell, Albany NY, 1862.
1. . Coller Collection; Western Michigan
University
Archives.
2. . Coller Collection; Western Michigan
University
Archives.
2a. Death certificate from Antrim Co,
Michigan
County Clerk, for John A. Armstrong.
3. History of Kalamazoo County Michigan,
Everts
& Abbott, 1880; p. 504.
4. . Historical Collections, Collections and
researches
made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society; Vol. XXX,
1906.
5. . History of Kalamazoo County, Everts
&
Abbot, 1880. p. 136
6. . History of Kalamazoo county,
Michigan,
Everts & Abbott, Philadelphia, 1880. p.304
7. History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan,
Everts & Abbott, Philadelphia, 1880. p.305
8. . Kalamazoo Co 1840 Census, Brady Twp.
9. Tombstone Inscriptions in Kalamazoo County
Michigan, Volume II; Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society; nd.
10. Marriage records, Kalamazoo County
Clerks
Office, Book 1, page 102, record number 389.
10a. Cedar Vale News, Kansas,
obituary
for William P. Armstrong, June 11, 1909.
11. Marriage records, Kalamazoo County Clerk,
Volume 1, page 172, record number 605.
12. 1850 Kalamazoo County Census,
Schoolcraft.
13. Kalamazoo County Directory with a
history
of the County..., James M. Thomas, 1869 and 1870. p. 81
14. Tombstone Inscriptions in Kalamazoo
County
Michigan, Vol. II, Kalamazoo Valley Genealogical Society, nd. p.
457.
15. Marriage records, Kalamazoo County Clerk,
Book 2, page 1, record number 4.
16. History of Kalamazoo county,
Michigan,
Everts & Abbott, Philadelphia, 1880. p.467
17. Tombstone Inscriptions..., Vol. II,
Kalamazoo
Valley Genealogical Society, p. 467.
18. 1870 Berrien County Census, Galien
Twp.
19. Records for the Schoolcraft Cemetary,
Schoolcraft
Township Clerk's office, letter dated March 6, 1997, Kathleen Cook,
Clerk.
20. 1860 Kalamazoo County Michigan,
Schoolcraft
Township Census
21. 1860 Kalamazoo County, Schoolcraft
Twp
Census.
22. Marriage Records, Kalamazoo County
Clerk's
Office, Book 3, record number 90, page 37.
23. Compendium of history and biography of
Kalamazoo
county, Mich, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, 1906.
24. Kalamazoo County Clerk's Death records.
25. History of Kalamazoo county,
Michigan,
Everts & Abbott, Philadelphia, 1880.
26. Records for the Schoolcraft Cemetary,
Schoolcraft Township Clerk's office.
27. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers
in the Civil War, 1861-1865, Twelfth Infantry, nd.
28. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteer
in
the Civil War 1861-1865, Eleventh Infantry, nd.
29. History of Kalamazoo County Michigan.
Everts & Abbott, Philadelphia, 1880. p. 183.
30. Records for the Schoolcraft Cemetary,
Schoolcraft Township Clerk's office.
31. History of Kalamazoo County Michigan,
Everts & Abbott, Philidelphia, 1880. p. 139.
32. Atlas of Kalamazoo Michigan, F.W.
Beers,
New York, 1873. p. 90, map on page 87.
33. Death Records of Kalamazoo County,
Kalamazoo
County Clerk's office, book 1, page 139.
James Armstrong was my paternal grandmother's (Marjorie
Wheaton Cameron) grandmother's (Mary Ellen Dolph Wheaton)
grandfather,
compiled by Dorothy Paul. Information and photos
of
the William Penn Armstrong family were contributed by John Lindberg of
Kansas, his great-grandmother was Laura Ann Armstrong.
