The Early Armstrongs In America

Chapter 3

Information from an unknown source received from Mrs. Karen Townsend (see Contributing Relatives Listing, #12) states that the Armstrongs were founded in America by Martin Armstrong, reportedly born in Scotland between 1730 and 1745. The summary further relates that Martin first arrived at Long Island with his two brothers, Eliot and John about 1750, and lived in Massachusetts prior to the Revolutionary War (see Reference Listing, #37). Another unknown source reports that he was not an immigrant, but was born in Norwich, Connecticut about 1750, and that his father's name was either Robert or Timothy (see Reference Listing, #13).

Other evidence, however, suggests a somewhat different family history. Two biographies were written about one of Martin Armstrong's great-grandsons, Jerome Bonaparte Armstrong (see Chapter 5), in 1890 and 1909 (see Reference Listing, #9 and #10). The earlier of the two relates that his great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1750 and settled in Connecticut. This version would tend to support the date and location provided by Karen Townsend as discussed above. The second biography tells a different story, however, as it states the Armstrong's were founded in America in the seventeenth century, settling first in Connecticut. Two reasons could explain the different versions and either could be right. It could be attributed to nothing more than the failing memory of a senior citizen who at that time was nearing 70 years of age. However, we have evidence that Jerome was very interested in genealogy, and it is more likely that in the years between 1890 and 1909, he came across additional evidence that caused him to change his mind and his story.

It is my belief that our ancestors were among that group of Armstrongs who fled to Ireland after our Clan was disenfranchised by James I of England in the early 1600s (see Reference Listing, #11 & 12). It is further likely that they settled in the Ulster area of Northern Ireland where numerous Armstrongs, Elliots, Nixons and other Protestant border Scots settled at the time. Neither I or any of the other Armstrong cousins researching our family history have come across any hard evidence that would substantiate that our ancestors came here directly from Scotland, or that they were founded in America in the 1750 time frame by Martin and his two brothers.

Although the history of our Armstrong line's migration to the British colonies in America has not yet been revealed to us, perhaps a better understanding of the histroy of the Scotch-Irish in Ulster will give us some clues. The reasons for the Scotch Irish exodus from Ireland were numerous and complicated. Loss of the one hundred year leases they were originally granted by the King of Ireland, high taxation, fever and sickness and, most importantly, religious persecution, combined to make their adopted homeland a less than hospitable host. The 18th century witnessed a steady migration of the Protestant inhabitants of Ulster, and by estimation a third of the population crossed the Atlantic between the years 1718 and 1758. This exodus was led in large part by several energetic and non-conformist Presbyterian ministers who maintained ongoing communications with supporters in New England from as early as the 1630s (see Reference Listing, #38). In fact, the first Armstrong I know of in America was a man named Gregory Armstrong who arrived in Plymouth in 1630. This man later married the widow of Mayflower passenger John Billington in 1638 (see Reference Listing, #39). On the map of Ireland the province of Ulster gathers into a circle nearly a quarter of the territory of the island. Its southerly boundary runs from Donegal Bay on the west to Carlingford Bay on the east. In the center of Ulster lies County Tyrone, with the counties of Donegal, Londonderry and Antrim along its northern borders to fend the sea. This is the heart of Scotch Irish country. South of County Tyrone are Fermanagh, Monaghan and Armagh, counties not so closely associated with the early Protestant migration. South of Monaghan, bordering the Roman Catholic province of Leinster, is Cavan, and to the east touching Armagh, lies County Down whose shores are less than a dozen miles from Ayrshire in Scotland (see Reference Listing, #38).

Throughout the reign of Charles II, the harshness of the law in Scotland and Ireland led to many plans for removal to America, and it is known that small settlements of immigrants from these countries were established in Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas prior to 1685. Under Queen Anne (1702 - 1714) the Presbyterians in Ireland again lost almost every advantage that had been gained, and became by the Test Act of 1704 virtually outlaws. Their marriages were declared invalid and their chapels were closed. They could not maintain schools nor hold office above that of a petty constable. During these years the Rev. Cotton Mather was in close touch with religious and political affairs in both Scotland and Ireland. At the time, he was the leading clergyman in Boston where religion was the foremost force in education, society and official life. It was his plan to settle hardy families on the frontiers in Maine and New Hampshire to protect the towns and churches of Massachusetts from the French and Indians. With the support of Mather in New England and fellow Presbyterian ministers in Ulster, interest in emigration to America began to build. By 1718, it raced through Ulster like a fever and five ships with 200 emigrants were known to have arrived in Boston harbor between July and September of that year. Cotton Mather's dream of a great migration from Protestant Ireland was coming true.

As in several such great adventures, Armstrongs were very much in evidence as related in the following narrative (see Reference Listing, #38, Chapter 8): Ferguson, captain of the Robert, was in town October 7th to attend court; and this suggests that he may have lain in the outer harbor during the time intervening between his clearing from Boston and his attendance at court. With him on the voyage from Ireland came John Armstrong, his wife and five children, who were unable to convince the authorities in Boston that they were self-supporting. Captain Ferguson was ordered before the Court of General Sessions of the Peace to answer "for bringing in his vessel and landing in this Town John Armstrong, his wife and five children who cannot give Security to Indemnify the Town as the Law requires." Ferguson's explanation that three of the children were servants by indenture did not entirely satisfy the Court, and it was Ordered that the said Ferguson carry the said Armstrong wife and two youngest Children out of the Province or Indemnify the Town." Finally the Captain and William Wilson, at whose wharf they probably landed, became sureties in L100 each that the Armstrong family, would not come back upon the town for support. If this is the same John Armstrong who later in the year heads a petition from the Scotch Irish settlers at Falmouth, this is very good evidence that he, who certainly came over from Belfast in the brigantine Robert, soon after went in her to Casco Bay with the little company from the Bann Valley (Ireland)..

Later, the author goes on to say The party that left Boston for Casco Bay, arrived there late in the season, and it proving to be a very early and cold winter, the vessel was frozen in. Many of the families, not being able to find accommodations on shore, were obliged to pass the whole winter on board the ship, suffering severely from the want of food, as well as of convenience of situation. Prior to this period, the village of Falmouth, located on the site of the present city of Portland, Maine, had suffered from Indian raids, intense cold in winter, and the poverty of its fishing population.

Upon their arrival at Falmouth, John Armstrong and others at once sent a petition to the government at Boston. This John Armstrong is no doubt the indigent voyager on the Robert; in the wild life on Cape Elizabeth his ability brought him forward.

Unfortunately, his petition was denied, and the development of Falmouth languished. History and tradition have left some record of those who remained in Falmouth after the winter sojourners had gone on to Nutfield. John Armstrong, signer of the petition, with Robert Means, who had married his daughter, were certainly there, and Means settled at Stroudwater, a village near Falmouth. The descendants of Means became very prominent later in Massachusetts. Armstrong is said to have had brothers Simeon, James and Thomas, who had grants in or near Falmouth before 1721.

John Armstrong had an infant son, James, and a son Thomas, born in Falmouth in 1719. His brother, James, had Thomas, born in Ireland in 1717, as well as John, born in 1720, and James, in 1721, both in Falmouth.

As is apparent from the above, the "welcome" received by our ancestors was not always a warm one (either figuratively or literally).

Early Scotch Irish settlements were established at Worchester, MA, at Falmouth, and at nearby Merrymaker Bay, which is formed by the Androscoggin River entering the Kennebec. Several of these immigrants faced extreme hardships from weather, low provisions and unfriendly townspeople. While some took up permanent residence, several of these early settlers are believed to have moved on to places such as Londonderry in New Hampshire, Sutton, MA, Charleston, SC, and elsewhere throughout Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and North Carolina. Several Scotch Irish settled in areas where few of their countrymen lived and merged with the more English Congregationalists (see Reference Listing, #38,).

The earliest possible lead to our Armstrong line was discovered by Virginia Armstrong (see Contributing Relatives Listing, #3) who wrote: While searching for Sarah Treadway's ancestors in Sutton, MA, I found reference to the Rich family, as well as a Martin Armstrong in Sutton, MA (See History of the Town of Sutton, MA, from 1704 to 1876, page 47, by W. A. Benedict, M.M., pub. 1875, Worcester, MA). Land records I obtained re Martin's property in Sutton show that he purchased land in Sutton 23 June 1729, which he sold in 1735-6 to Robert Armstrong (relationship not mentioned, but apparently related). It was witnessed by Katherine Armstrong, possibly his wife (See Index to Grantors A-E, 1731-1839 LDS film 0842930, and Index to Grantors A-E, 1731, Worcester County, MA). Martin had a mortgage on his property which he sold to Robert Armstrong; Robert then resold it and they both disappear from the records in Sutton.

Martin Armstrong of Sutton, MA must have been well-known, since he was one of the people in Sutton chosen to sit in the meeting house. A wife was not mentioned. In the Sutton Book of Records of Strayes & Marks" Dom. 1732 (see LDS film 0858541) this Martin is listed twice in connection with some stray cattle. The markings on the cattle reported by Martin (Nov. 1733) seems to be the same as that of Martin Armstrong of Willsborough, NY (see Chapter 4). Martin's of Sutton read: Halfpeny on ye under side of ye right ear and acut of ye top of ye left ear. Martin Armstrong of Willsboro marked his cattle: Half penney on ye under side of ye right ear and a cot (cut) on ye top of ye left ear. (See Pioneer History of the Champlain Valley, An Account of the Settlement of Willsborough by Wm. Gilliland, Albany NY, J. Munsell 1860, DPL 974.7C355W).

Since these markings seem identical, it seems safe to assume that there was some family relationship between these two Martins. What is not apparent is where Martin and Robert Armstrong went after they left Sutton, MA. One census taken early in Vermont shows there were Armstrong in Washington Co. who could have been part of Martin Armstrong's family, but I have not been able to prove any connection there. There is no doubt that Martin Armstrong, our ancestor, kept moving north (see Reference Listing, #14) (Map of Massachusetts).

If this Martin Armstrong is a bloodline ancestor, it would tend to lend some additional credence to the claim that our ancestors actually arrived in America in the 1600s (as indicated in Jerome Armstrong's biography). Although we do not know when this Martin was born, we can assume that it was some time around 1700, as he was already an adult and landowner by 1729. He could, of course, just as easily have been one of the early Armstrongs that migrated from Ulster around 1718. That this Martin is connected to the Martin we will be introduced to in more detail in Chapter 4, is certainly a strong possibility based on Virginia's observations relative to the similarity in their cattle markings. After Kaye Powell (see Contributing Relatives Listing, #7) provided Virginia with a copy of reference #11, Virginia recognized another potential link. Her previous research of land records in the Sutton area had found that land adjoining that of Martin Armstrong was owned by a man by the name of Daniel Elliot (see Reference Listing, #16). Kaye's reference, which is a brief history of our Armstrong bloodline, states that Elliot Armstrong (who we will meet in Chapter 5) was named after his mother's kin. Are Martin's Sutton neighbors the Scottish Elliots being referred to? Virginia further states that she also found references to a Robert and John Armstrong, father of Timothy, Sr., father of Timothy Jr. (who named one son Martin) in Sutton, MA. The names Robert and Timothy (which were common Armstrong names in that era) are interesting coincidences as we have already seen them mentioned in Reference #13 above.

Both Wilma DeCourcey (see Contributing Relatives Listing, #8) and Virginia Armstrong have come across records that show a Martin Armstrong resided in Orange County, NY, in the latter years of the 18th century. Wilma tends to believe that this Martin is the same person as our ancestor who appears in Shoreham VT a few years later (see Reference Listing, #17). She subsequently told me that she believed that Martin Armstrong's wife was named Elizabeth, and that she (Wilma) believes that his wife died in Haverstraw, NY before Martin moved his family to Vermont in the middle 1780s (see Reference Listing, #25). Virginia has also researched this Martin Armstrong, but does not believe that he is the same person as our Martin of Shoreham, VT. She found a Martin Armstrong in Haverskill(?) New York in the 1790 census. She further believes that this is the same Martin Armstrong who married Elizabeth Coe on April 8, 1746, and who had a family of 10 children including one named Martin. She also believes that this is the same man who drowned in the Hudson River on February 6, 1817. She cites her source as being Robert Coe, Puritan (see Reference Listing, #15).

Kay Powell also found a Martin Armstrong in the Colonial Index who shows up intermittently in Bedminster, Somerset County, New Jersey from 1775 through 1789 (her great-uncle, Ransom Sidney Armstrong of Chelsea, MI believed that the Armstrongs first immigrated to New Jersey instead of Long Island, NY).

The question still to be answered is what, if any, relationship exits between the Martin Armstrongs discussed above? It does not seem likely that the Martin of Sutton, MA could be the same person as the Martin Armstrong of Orange County, NY, as it is a bit of a stretch to believe that a person (who was born around 1700) would marry in his 40s, father 10 children, and drown while taking a dip in the Hudson River at the ripe old age of nearly 120. It is more probable that he is at least one generation older than the Martin Armstrong of Orange County, NY. It is possible, however, that he is a relative, or even the father of this man. The next question is whether the Martin Armstrong of Orange County, NY, was related somehow to our Martin Armstrong of Willsboro and Shoreham, VT. It appears that he was a generation older than our ancestor and, as he is said to have married about 1746. This date would match up about right if our Martin was born in the 1750 time frame. It does not seem likely that the Martin Armstrong in New Jersey could be our ancestor, as he lived there during the same period that our Martin was known to be in Willsboro and Shoreham. More research needs to be done, however, before a bloodline link can be established between any of these men (Map of New York).

The population of the 13 original colonies was relatively small; yet by 1790 there were about 350 Armstrongs listed (Reference Listing, #14). That several of these were related to our Martin is almost a certainty as we continue to sift through those records that occasionally come to our attention. For example, in the 20-year span from 1761 to 1781, the following marriage licenses were issued in the Province of New York (Reference Listing, #30:

Dec 22, 1761 - James Armstrong and Catherine Cortney
Mar 30, 1762 - Alice Armstrong and Thomas Hill
Apr 08, 1762 - Ann Armstrong and William Robinson
Oct 18, 1762 - Mary Armstrong and William Hughes
Feb 21, 1763 - Reginal Armstrong and Mary Dobson
Aug 31, 1763 - Margaret Armstrong and John Beek
Nov 13, 1771 - Mary Armstrong and James Ireland
Nov 18, 1775 - Catharine Armstrong and Hugh Welsh
Apr 27, 1779 - Francis Armstrong and Sarah Leyster
Dec 22, 1781 - Jesse Armstrong and Hannah Crocker

Is there a link hidden in any of the above marriages? The task of making that iron clad connection to our Irish and Scottish ancestors still awaits us. I think we are close, as we will see in the next chapter.