James ‘of Brookboro’ Armstrong

Not the same as James ‘of Paxtang’ Armstrong, l

James Armstrong was born About 1695 in Brooksboro Parish, Fermanagh, Ulster, Ireland, and died there on 1 May 1745.

“Here lies the body of James Armstrong, son to Edward, also son to Margaret, who died Sunday, May 1745, aged 50 years.3“

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1645: In this year died James Armstrong of Brook boro. He was son of Edward from the Border and grandson of Christie's Will (see 1650). His sons Edward of Terwinney, George, William, John, and his daughter Margaret went to Pennsylvania, his son Andro and another daughter, Mrs. Graydon, re- mained in Fermanagh. He is buried in Agahvea, County Fermanagh, Ireland. The inscription on the stone could be read in 1896. (Terwinney Records. Agahvea Monument. See 1630. Letter from Ann Buchannan to General John Armstrong, dated May loth, 1809. Records of John Armstrong Herman, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.)

Armstrong, James Lewis. Chronicles of the Armstrongs (New York: The Marion Press, 1902). Page 329-330. < Archive.Org >

The following statement was made by Edward Arm- strong, the present possessor of Terwinney:

”Edward from the Border, son of Christie's Will, came from Brookboro to Terwinney about 1650 to take possession of land that was left either to him or his father for military service. After clearing the land and building the house which is standing to-day, he went to Brookboro, the place of the first homestead. His son, James of Brookboro, succeeded him in the possession of Terwinney.
James of Brookboro had the following children of whom we know:

1. Edward of Terwinney,
2. Andro,
3. a sister who married Lieutenant Graydon,
4. John, afterwards Major-General John Armstrong of Pennsylvania, [disputed]
5. William, and
6. George.

John's oldest brother, who was heir-apparent to Terwinney, died in 1744, fighting in Pennsylvania, leaving a young son in Ireland called Gentle James.

James of Brookboro, the father of Gen- eral John Armstrong, died at Terwinney in 1745, and was buried at Agahvea, where the inscription upon the monument erected to his memory may still be easily discerned. Upon this slab is the complete and correct coat-of-arms of the family.

The boy Gentle James be- came heir to Terwinney, Mrs. Graydon, his aunt, became his guardian, and she and her husband moved to Ter- winney. When Gentle James became of age he came into full possession of Terwinney, and Lieutenant and Mrs. Graydon moved away soon afterwards. They are also buried in Agahvea, where their graves and the monument with its inscription may still be seen.

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as of October 2021, there is no proof for the origins of Brig. General John Armstrong, Sr. (Continental Army).

Family

“The Family of John Armstrong, Sr. (1717-1795) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania” Journal Issue: 1991 Winter, Volume 8, Issue 2 Author: Bell, Raymond Martin.

AIthough the record of John Armstrong, Senior, is fairly complete,1 and biographies of his sons James and John are available because, like their father, they both served as Congressman,2 that of his wife and her family, his father, brothers and sisters are sketchy. This paper undertakes an examination of the family with emphasis on those members.

According to his tombstone in the Old Carlisle Cemetery, John was born in 1717 at Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, in the Ulster portion of Ireland. His father was James Armstrong; his mother's name is not known. In 1895 one James Lewis Armstrong copied a gravestone inscription in Aghavea Parish Cemetery, one mile from Brookeborough:

“Here lies the body of James Armstrong, son to Edward, also son to Margaret, who died Sunday, May 1745, aged 50 years.3“

It may well represent the grave of the father of Colonel John Armstrong of Carlisle, who seems to have had five brothers and five sisters:

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

• 1. Edward, the oldest, named for his grandfather, died in Ireland before his father, James. Some descendants came to America.4
• 2. James, who died .in Juniata County, Pennsylvania c. 1774, was a private in the militia company captained by James Patterson in 1758. Indians captured his wife and two children on 27 January 1756, but she was released a year later at Fort Augusta.5 After his death by drowning, letters of administration were issued 23 April 1774. The younger of the ten surviving children went under the guardianship of their uncle, John Lyon.
• 3. George lived in Bedford in 1769. Colonel John mentioned "my brother George" as a militia captain in 1758 and "my late brother George" in 1785. He rose to the rank of colonel in the militia.6 In 1758 he was commissioned to lay out a road to Fort Duquesne. On 2 April 1766 he received a Pennsylvania license to many Martha Turner, probably a sister of his sister Rebecca's husband. George's last years seem to have been spent in Bedford.
• 4. William was a surveyor in Mifflin County, where his home near the site of Fort Granville by 1773 was a Presbyterian preaching point. He died late in 1784. Colonel John in 1755 referred to "my brother William. " He later became a lieutenant in the militia.7 His wife was named Rebecca.
• 5. Andrew, living in Ireland in 1795, was named in Colonel John's will.8 See Andrew “Andro” Armstrong
• 6. Margaret married John Lyon in Ireland and came to Pennsylvania in 1763. They were the great-great-grandparents of James G. Blaine of Maine, an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1884.9
• 7. Ann married William Graham and lived in Juniata County.10
• 8. Rebecca married James Turner 1 November 1759 and lived in Chester County. See Rebecca Turner
• 9. _ _ _ _ _ married a Lieutenant Graydon and died in Irelancl.
• 10. _ _ _ _ _ married Thomas McCord, of Mifflin County

Lineage

Edward Terwinney Armstrong and Margret Mary Maguire - 9th
James Armstrong I and Jane Ross Beatye - 8th
James Armstrong II and Catherine Jane Campbell - 7th

Origins

Edward ‘of Terwinney’ Armstrong was born in 1604 in Gilnockie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.[1] His parents were William ‘Christie’s Will’ Armstrong and Margaret Elliot.

He married Margret ‘Mary’ Maguire, daughter of Thomas Maguire, about 1630. Together they had the following children:

Jonathan Armstrong (29 Jun 1622 - 1701),
James Armstrong (abt 1645 - 1 May 1745),
Francis Armstrong (1648 - 1726),

He died in 1650 in Ederney, Terwinney, County Fermanagh, Ireland.

References

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Armstrong-706 cites
• "Armstrong of Ballycumber" Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, Volume 1, pp. 23 ff. < GoogleBooks >
• Craig, Lillian K. Reverend John Craig, 1709-1774 : his descendants and allied families (New Orleans, LA: Accurate Letter Company, 1963), Armstrong pp. 270 - 274 < Hathitrust >
• Armstrong, James Lewis. Chronicles of the Armstrongs (New York: The Marion Press, 1902). < Archive.Org > page 320. “Christie’s Will. < Archive.Org >. Page 363. < Archive.Org > Several Border families left the vicinity of Brookboro, County Fermanagh, Ireland, and settled in Pennsylvania about the year 1721. Among these were several Arm- strongs. They preceded Major-General John Arm- strong, and in fact were his cousins. (Edward Armstrong of Terwinney.) We find these Armstrongs in the Juniata district in 1740. [Sec His/ory of Susquehanna and 'Juniata V alley ^ vol. i, pages prior to 72, in the Pennsylvania State Library. Also letters from John A. Herman of Harrisburg, Pa., to James L. Armstrong of Brooklyn, N. Y., dated March 26th, 1898, and March 30th, 1898.)
• Chronicles of the Armstrongs; Author. Armstrong, James Lewis. Page 375. Archive.Org Page 319 Archive.Org
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Armstrong_Sr._ retrIeved 7 September 2020: Armstrong was born on October 13, 1717, in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Ireland, parents not determined, who married in 1704.[1] [He was one of approximately 15 children born to his parents that included: Margaret Armstrong (1737–1817), who married Rev. George Duffield (1732–1790),[2] and Rebecca Armstrong (1738–1828), who married James Turner (1737–1803).[3][4]] In 1747, Armstrong was married to Rebecca Lyon Armstrong (1719–1797),[13] [daughter of Archibald Armstrong and Ann Armstrong.[6]] Together, they were the parents of:[14] James and John. Comment: contains errors.