William Armstrong: "He Came to This Country when a Boy"

The life of William Armstrong, immigrant from Ireland in 1790 (or 1792--records disagree), illustrates how quickly America could absorb its foreign-born citizens. William Armstrong was ten years old when he came to the United States, and by the time of his death in 1865, he had risen to the United States Congress, representing Virginia. A brief biography of the great-great-great grandfather of my husband, Thomas Alexander Greene, and his sister, Linda Katharine Greene Bolano, can be found here: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress." He is buried at Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, West Virginia, and a photograph of his grave marker can be found on the Find-A-Grave website here.

Records indicate that William Armstrong kept a tavern in Romney, in what is now West Virginia. In the family photographs and papers, I came across a photo purported to be of Main Street in Romney; one of the buildings is the Armstrong tavern. The smeared print on the bottom front of the photograph reads: "Main St., Romney, W. Va. Armstrong Hotel, subsequently Keller Hotel, on the right." The rest of the handwriting is unreadable to me, though the writer seems to be identifying a building opposite the Armstrong hotel. The back of the photograph has information written in two hands--in pencil at the top: "Present from Lyde Wilson, Black Mountain, N. C." In another hand, which I identify as either Mimi's (Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong, daughter of Baker White Armstrong, Sr.) or Katharine Armstrong Robb (oldest daughter of Baker White Armstrong, Sr.), is written the following: "Armstrong Hotel--Romney, W. Va. Grandfather or great-grandfather E. M. Armstrong.... William Armstrong." (In time, I will be able to identify just which sister wrote these notes, as I become more familiar with the family material.) That photograph is below.

In consulting the Armstrong Family Tree, one can see that William Armstrong married Elizabeth McCarty, and they had six children:

• James Dillon Armstrong (married Anne Waterman Foote)
• Sarah Rebecca Armstrong
• Charles McGill Armstrong
• Edward McCarty Armstrong (1st wife, Hannah Pancake, with whom he fathered seven children; 2nd wife, Louisa Tapscott White, with whom he fathered seven children)
• William J. Armstrong (married Susan C. White)
• Eliza Jane Armstrong (married David Gibson)

What do we know of William Armstrong besides what is contained in brief Congressional biographies, tombstone photographs, or a list of his descendants? We have a discourse prepared for William Armstrong's funeral, and below I have included pages from the discourse that focus on the life of William Armstrong. The photo of the cover of the booklet is at the top of this post.

 

Click on the images to increase to readable size.

Note: Julian Armstrong, descendant of John Armstrong, who was an uncle to William Armstrong, writes that he can decipher the rest of the handwritten note on the photo of Main Street in Romney, West Virginia. In an e-mail, 25 October 2009, Julian writes: " “Main Street Romney W. Va Armstrong Hotel subsequently Keller Hotel on the right. Gilkerson Street opposite & the Heiskel corner”. I know this is a bit of a guess but the Gilkerson and Heiskel families were contemporary neighbours in Romney and there is just enough legible to be able to interpret the inscription accordingly." Julian has been researching the Armstrong family for years and has gathered quite a lot of information on his American cousins. Thank you, Julian.