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An Armstrong Family Bible Revisited

19/6/2016

8 Comments

 
Around 15 years ago, in January 2001, the Association began a quest to reunite an Armstrong family Bible with it's rightful owners.  

The search began in response to an article in the Eskdale and Langholm Advertiser which read:
An appeal to the people of Eskdale to help solve the mystery of a family Bible has come from a Hampshire couple Kevin and Ginny Goodal. The Goodals, who live in Oakley near Basingstoke, bought the bible many years ago.
The book contains a family history on the last page and the names are Branchard (sic), Armstrong and Robson. They say these are not Hampshire names and certainly not local to their village.
A friend who works in the village comes from Scotland and told them the names were connected with the border area. Ginny said: "If these names do strike a note with any of your readers, I would be very pleased to hear from them.”  ​
We couldn't trace any living descendants at the time but, 15 years later with the benefit of current internet search aids, we have traced descendants of the family to Canada, the USA and the UK.  We've been fortunate to make contact with one living descendant of this family, but none bearing the Armstrong name so the quest continues.

​The full story is published in The Armstrong News 82, including details of the various family lines that we're researching.  Any help or information from Armstrongs in Canada, America or the UK would be appreciated.
​
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Armstrong Stories From Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Canada, Australia And The USA

1/5/2015

3 Comments

 
Issue 80 also carries a wide selection of Armstrong stories from around the world.

Starting close to the Clan's homeland of Scotland, the harsh treatment of the widow Elizabeth Armstrong of Sorbietrees by the Dukes of Buccleugh, and her eviction from the family's farm, attracted scathing critiscism.  An extract from the "Scottish Leader" dated 19 April 1894 tells her story.

Around the same time, William Henry Armstrong matriculated from Massachusetts State College.  He graduated in 1899, and went on to earn degrees from Harvard University before joining the US Army and mapping the new US teritory of Puerto Rico.  This issue tells his life story, and reveals the remarkable monument he left to his Alma Mater.

The six-pound Armstrong gun was designed by Sir William Armstrong and manufactured in England beginning in 1855.  This issue includes photographs of an Armstrong gun in New Zealand, where they were used in 1861.

This issue also tells the story of two  Armstrong pioneers.  One, Thomas Armstrong settled in Mersea, Canada in 1855, where he raised a large family.  The other, Adam Pearson Armstrong, born 1788 in Edinburgh, lost an eye fighting at the Battle of Waterloo and emigrated to Western Australia in 1829 with his 6 children.  

John Armstrong was born on the Isle of Man and died in Washington DC from wounds recieved fighting for the Union in the Civil War. Members of The Armstrong Clan Association found his records while researching their own families, and "adopted" him.  As they said, "after all, he is an Armstrong".  John Armstrong's story is told in Issue 80.

Issue 80 of the Armstrong News is available to all members of the Armstrong Clan Association.
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Armstrong Lumber Company of Dubuque, Iowa

1/5/2015

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James Armstrong was born in County Down, Ireland in 1842.  His parents emigrated to the United States when he was a child, living briefly in New York before settling in Dubuque Iowa in 1854.  His father build the county jail & jailhouse, and many of the areas bridges in the time before the Civil War.

James went on to have 12 children and found the Armstrong lumber Company in 1882.  He became an important member of the community and held civic office, including a time as Mayor of Dyersville.

​Issue 80 of the Armstrong News, available to all members of the Armstrong Clan Association, includes an account of his life.
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The Armstrongs - Border Reivers or Seagoing Pirates?

1/11/2013

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The Armstrong clan may have been famous "Border Reivers", but what about The Armstrong Pirates?  They do exist, but they don't sail the seven seas, plundering treasure to invest in a nice little pension fund.  These "Pirates" are the athletics teams of Armstrong Atlantic State University, named in memory of George F. Armstrong.

George F. Armstrong was descended from an Armstrong line that settled in Providence R.I. about 1750.  He was a successful businessman in the shipping industry, who owned Armstrong House in Savannah Georgia.  In 1935 his widow & daughter gave their former home to the city, to found the Armstrong Junior College that grew into Armstrong Atlantic State University.


Association Members can read a brief history of this learned institution in ​Issue 77 of the Armstrong News.

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A Real Family Tree

1/5/2013

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This month's Armstrong News includes a real Armstrong Family Tree, detailing the descendants of James Armstrong (1666) and Mary Yeates. This branch of the clan originated in Scotland, before migrating to Ireland and onwards to America.  There's even a footnote that links the family to Col. Edward McCarty,an officer in the Revolutionary Army under George Washington who was present at the surrender of Lord Conwallis.  

The provenance of this tree is uncertain, but parts of the tree have been verified from Parish Records.  A full transcription is included in Issue 76 of The Armstrong News, available to Association members.

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