Armstrong Clan Association
  • Home
  • Gilnockie Tower
  • Genealogy
    • Roots Researches
    • The Armstrong Y-DNA Project
  • Join Us and Renewals
  • Clan Info
    • Clan History
    • Famous Armstrongs
    • Events
  • Member's Area
    • The Armstrong News
    • ACA Library
    • Armstrong Reiver Trail
    • Discussion Forum
  • Contact

Gilnockie Tower In Canonbie & District "Day Of The Region"

24/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Gilnockie Tower Video DroneGilnockie Tower Video Drone
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.

0 Comments

Armstrong Stories From Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Canada, Australia And The USA

1/5/2015

0 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.
0 Comments

Mr. Turner at Gilnockie

1/5/2015

0 Comments

 
You may know of J.M.W Turner as the eccentric English landscape painter, commemorated in the recent movie Mr. Turner. But did you know that among his works there are several sketches and a watercoulour painting of Gilnockie Tower?

The 1832 watercolour painting was named "Johnnie Armstrong's Tower", and an engraving was used in “The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott Volume 2”.

Issue 80 of The Armstrong News includes an article on these works, and is available to all members of the Armstrong Clan Association.
Picture
0 Comments

The Armstrongs: Pictish Warriors?

1/5/2015

0 Comments

 
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.
0 Comments

Armstrong Lumber Company of Dubuque, Iowa

1/5/2015

0 Comments

 
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.
0 Comments

The Armstrongs - Border Reivers or Seagoing Pirates?

1/11/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
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.

0 Comments

Canadian Pioneers - Armstrongs in Ontario and Manitoba

1/11/2013

1 Comment

 
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. 
1 Comment

Armstrong Origins

2/5/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
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.

0 Comments

A Real Family Tree

1/5/2013

0 Comments

 
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.

Picture
0 Comments
Forward>>

    Categories

    All
    Australia
    Canada
    Cumberland
    DNA
    England
    Gatherings
    Genealogy
    Gilnockie-tower
    Gilnockie-tower
    Ireland
    New-zealand
    Scotland
    South-africa
    Sport
    Usa

Home​
​Contact
Copyright © 2016 Armstrong Clan Association. All Rights Reserved.