Gilnockie Tower was open for visitors as part of Canonbie & District Residents Association's "Day of the Region" on 6 September 2016.  A local Piper climbed the Tower and played a selection of bag-pipe music from the outside walkway.  Meanwhile, a photographic drone  took aerial pictures and video of the Tower - we have a video clip on the Gilnockie Tower page courtesy of Trevor at TCH AirPhotos, 

56 people visited the Tower and the Association's Clan Room where the Association's founder, Ted Armstrong, was on hand to explain the history of the Tower and Association.  

The Tower is now closed to visitors until Easter 2016.  We are hopeful that we will then be able to provide a full season of tours in 2016.  Members can read more in Armstrong News issue 81.

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.

The Armstrong News includes more discussion of the Armstrongs ancient roots based on DNA evidence.  This article looks at what the Y-DNA evidence suggests about the Armstrongs in the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval periods.

The evidence shows that many Armstrongs carry a specific genetic marker that's found in less than 1% of the British population.  A world-leading expert in British DNA believes that this marker indicates the mainstream Armstrong ancestors may have been Picts, or an even older tribe.

Learn more about this SNP genetic marker and the Pictish tribes in Issue 80 of the Armstrong News, which is available to all members of the Armstrong Clan Association.

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.

The Armstrongs were among the early settlers in Canada.  One branch of the clan came from Cumberland England, and settled in Ontario where they owned a farm and saw-mill.  Their son, William Armstrong, was born in Ontario in 1842.  William and his brother moved west to the Rossburn district of Manitoba in 1879, where they filed for homesteads, and were later joined by others from the Armstrong clan.  

In 1920, William's daughter recalled the Armstrong's early days in Rossburn. Her story paints an interesting picture of the early settlers, and is reproduced in issue 77 of The Armstrong News for Association members. 

What happens when you combine medieval history with modern genetic testing?   You get some thought-provoking insights into the origins of the Armstrong Clan!

Medieval documents and ancient pedigree charts give one view of the Armstrongs' origins.  However, modern DNA analysis can throw new light on these historic documents, and give extra information on the clan's genetic history.  

Issue 76 of the Armstrong News explores several medieval documents with evidence from the Armstrong Y-DNA project, as part of this ongoing series.