"Oh! I Must Make Some Money!"

Throughout the 1880s, in the letters written by the Armstrong men, there is an undercurrent of anxiety as the young men in the family try to find positions that will not only support themselves but that will provide extra money necessary for the comfort of their extended families. Robert and Baker Armstrong, sons of Edward McCarty Armstrong Senior's second family, go from their half-brothers' grocery and drugstore  in Salem, Virginia, to various posts in Baltimore and Texas--looking for the best financial deal. In one letter in 1886, Baker evidently writes his father for advice about a partnership a man in Texas is offering him. At the time, Baker is working as a druggist in the drugstore owned by George W. Norrell, Bryan, Texas. In a letter dated January 12, 1886, Edward M. Armstrong writes his oldest son [I have regularized the punctuation.]:

In reply, are you at liberty to accept the 2nd proposition of Mr. Stuarts? When Mr. Norrell agreed to meet your demands for $1000 a year, did you not place yourself under obligation to continue with him? I merely ask the question, for I do not know all that passed between you. I want you to be very careful that in advancing your own interests that you do no injustice to others.

Father Edward advises his son to look closely into the character of the man offering Baker a partnership in his business. (The type of business is not identified though the word choice suggests some kind of mercantile business--maybe another drugstore.)

Are you to have any control in the business & who buys the goods? Will your name be in the business and will you become responsible for debts? Is Mr. Stuart a Christian? Is he strictly moral? Does he drink, or gamble? Is he a high flyer or extravagant?

In a later letter, dated January 26, 1886, Mother Louisa adds her advice:

My idea is that you had "set in" for the year with Mr. N. at $1000. I feel somehow that he is a safer man than the other; that he is rather close & the other a "fast liver." Of course I do not pretend to know; but judge so from your letters. Riches take to themselves wings and fly away sometimes.

The young Armstrong men's looking out not only for their own interests but for the comfort of their relatives was to be a characteristic of their behavior throughout their adult lives. Both Robert and Baker sent money home to help their mother purchase a medicine she deemed necessary for her health and to purchase clothing for their siblings. In 1886, Baker and Robert evidently helped pay for their sister Nettie's travels to visit various family members in Virginia, a trip that Mother Louisa writes about and that Nettie herself describes in a letter to her brothers, dated Jan. 6, 1886: "You can't know how much pleasure you are giving me, in this nice trip, and I certainly am grateful to you for it." I get the feeling, from reading several of the letters, that the trip was a way of getting Nettie away from the farm, with its sad reminders of sister Katie, who had died in January of 1885.

The boys were always looking out for those members of the family who needed their help, and letters first from their older half-brother William Dillon Armstrong and another from their nephew David Gibson Armstrong, Jr., illustrate how other relatives relied on Baker and Robert. By this time, William had sold his store house and was casting about for another business. He had spent quite some time in 1885 in quest of a place to open another business, but in January, 1886, he seems to be a little desperate:

Not being able to fall upon a suitable location for business during the Summer & Autumn & tired of running around & separation from my family, I concluded to replace them under the old roof for the Winter, hoping something would develop for me by the time Winter breaks......[Later in the letter, William's desperation comes through more clearly.] I am glad to hear you & Robt are both succeeding so well, in your adopted home & trust an ever faithful and kind Providence may be over you, to bless & protect--A dark & mysterious Providence has certainly been the portion of our family during the past five years & at times I am so humiliated, I feel desperate,--But I will not write about disagreeable things--

William continues the letter by asking his brothers to inquire about the whereabouts of certain Texas boys who had attended Roanoke College and who had neglected to pay their bills at his store in Salem: "...as I am at a dead outlay just now--everything going out and nothing coming in--every dollar collected helps very much--"  William's list of Texas college boys who did not pay their bills goes back to 1878.

William ends his letter by telling his younger half-brothers that he does not want to burden them with these matters, but that he thought that since they were in Bryan, they might be able to succeed in collecting some of the money and that although he was entitled to interest, he would settle for just the principal of whatever they could get.

Baker receives another desperate letter later in the year from his nephew David Armstrong, son of David Gibson ("Bro. Gib") and Hannah Armstrong. Brother Gib's drinking has wreaked havoc in the family. William's own troubles may have been connected to Gib's problems because the two might have been in business together in Salem. In February, Baker's sister Jane alludes to William's and Gibson's difficulties: "Brother Will expected to go last week or this to Kentucky & N. C. looking for a home and some-thing to do, but we have not heard of his going out. Last week we were at Sister Hannah's [wife of David Gibson Armstrong, Sr.]. She and Hannah both look badly, Little Hannah especially and I suppose it is owing to her Father's behavior. I suppose he has been doing all right for the last week or two--have heard nothing to the contrary."

By May, William has bought a store house in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and has begun buying goods to stock the store. Mother Louisia writes Baker that William "will get a boy & train in the business. It was hard for me to part with him, I tell you."

However, Brother Gibson's family is not doing so well, for Baker receives a letter from his nephew David, dated August 12, 1886, unfolding a sad tale of missed opportunities. Evidently, Baker's friend Gus Finley wrote a letter in David's behalf, to help secure David a position at a high school. Finley had written a letter to the principal and to David but got the letters mixed up. By the time the mix-up was rectified, the position had already been filled. Then David takes up another offer from a gentleman offering him a position at his college. However, David then discovers that the college has been in some difficulties and that "it would be next to a miracle" if he "received any pay at all," for "the college is just being re-opened after 3 yrs. suspension, & the prospects are that it will again prove a failure." David, however, feels obligated to follow through with his acceptance of the position: "Having given my word to labor there, I feel in duty bound to fulfill the engagement." However, in anticipation of being without a job soon, David adds:

So Bake, if you can get that $75.00 position for me, oh, do so, by all means.... My aim is now to make money! If I ever go to the Seminary, it will be obliged to be on the fruit of my own labor. Oh! I must make some money! After consultation with a trustworthy lawyer in town, I find that, if my mother & Bros. & sisters have a roof over them by the first of Jan., they might be exceedingly thankful. My father is still drinking--getting lower into the slough of infamy & disgrace, & what I do now, must be done quickly. Anything that pays is the only question I ask in connection with a position. So far as my personal comfort & ease is concerned, I care for them not at all. Crucify the flesh is now my shibboleth--so do not hesitate to write me about a position because it may be disagreeable or contrary to the mode of life which I have been brought up. So keep your eyes open for me, Bake, & do the best you can.

And that's what Baker and Robert did--the best they could for their extended family. As letters into the twentieth century indicate, they felt this obligation all of their lives, as they became very successful in Texas. But for now, in 1886, their meager earnings are multiplied, it seems, like the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Note on the photograph above: The young man is not identified, but the photographer is one that took photos of many of the Armstrong family. It is in the style of other photos taken during the 1880s. And there is enough family resemblance for me to conclude, very tentatively, however, that this might be a photo of one of the Armstrongs, perhaps David Gibson Armstrong's son David, Jr. The look has that same sad, contemplative look of Brother Gibson's son Edward, whom I identify in this post: "Too Many Edwards, Too Many Unidentified Faces." But no one is now alive who really knows.

1884: The Fun Back Home

At the beginning of 1884, Baker White Armstrong (later, Sr.) is still in Baltimore, Maryland, but family papers provide hints that change is in the air.  At the end of 1883, we learn that he was unable to return to Salem to be with his family for Christmas. But the family letters keep coming. Just after the New Year, Robert writes his brother a letter on January 4th (I have added paragraphs to make the letter easier to read):

Dear Old Bake,
It seems to me like a month of Sundays since I last wrote to you or heard from you. But, I have been kept very busy for the past two weeks, & really have not had time to write you. I wrote to Cousin Will a day or so ago. He sent me a copy of "Peck's Bad Boy" for Xmas & I was afraid that, if I did not write, he would think I did not appreciate it. So snatched enough time to write to him. I think the cravat you sent me is one of the prettiest I ever saw--it is such a beautiful, rich color & such handsome material-- & I assure you I appreciate it very highly. I have been wishing for a long time that I could step into some Balto house and buy a stylish cravat (since we cannot get the new styles out here) and the one you sent is just such an one as I wanted.

I believe you said you rec'd a "bid" to the "New H" entertainment on Xmas night. Well, Bake, I tell you it was a "Soxdologer"! I was there, you can rest assured & I don't think I ever enjoyed a thing of the kind more. Nearly all the young people in town were there--[unreadable] them a great many that I never saw at Longwood [the home of the Perry Nugent family] before--for instance, Pinky Broker, Mary Smead, [unreadable name] & her sister Jennie & others that I can't now think of. We staid there until nearly 3 O clock in the morning & then went home to sleep & suffer the next day for our dissipation. I certainly wish you could have been there. Don't forget--if you have not already done so--to write to Miss McN & thank her for your "bid." By the way, John C. [Chalmers] was not there, having gone on to "wait on [unreadable name] & Mrs Ferguson did something that night--which surprised me & made me feel sorry for her. You know that the whole Chalmers family seem to be helping John do his "courting." It so happened that night that I was in a good humor & got along splendidly with Miss Mary. Well, during the evening, Mrs. Ferguson called me to her & whispered to me that I "had better make time tonight";  for John is away, you know.' & proceeded to try to convince me that I was glad of it. I declined to state what I think of this remark of hers, but will say this much--if you don't think it was execrable taste on her part (considering how matters stand & what Madame Rumor says) then you differ very very widely with me.

On New Year's night they ("New H's") gave a Leap Year Reception at Longwood, & we boys had a regular picnic. The gentlemen & ladies exchanged places "for that night only"--the ladies bestowing all the attention upon us while we sat back in our chairs & languidly received them. The ladies wrote notes to the gentlemen requesting their company. Miss Annie Terrill wrote to me & I condescended (?) to grant her the pleasure (?) of escorting me there. I like her splendidly, & am glad I was so fortunate as to secure her for my escort. There was a large crowd present & you bet we boys enjoyed the novelty of having the girls "set up" to us. Bake, it would have tickled you half to death to have seen Joe Hannah & Bob Logan trying to personate modest, timid girls. I was so much amused by the expression on Bob Logan's face that I called Miss Mary N's [Mary Nugent--Baker marries her in 1892, but as of yet they are not courting] attention to it by pointing to him & asking the name of that "handsome modest young lady (we boys were all ladies that night you know) with the long tails & black coat & rather masculine voice" and as soon as she looked at him, she fairly howled. A crowd of boys came up from Roanoke to attend the party & seemed to enjoy it very much. Joe Hannah said he "couldn't be any lady--this doggoned thing was boring him nearly to death."

Well, Bake I won't attempt a description of these parties for I am writing hurriedly tonight--& am not in a descriptive mood. On last Thursday Bob Logan stopped at the store in his buggy & asked me if I didn't want to go down to Fincastle with him. I "rolled in" & we went. We came back to Salem the next evening (Friday) at about a quarter past seven O'clock. I enjoyed the trip no little. We stayed over night at Mr. Copeland's--about half a mile from Amsterdam--& were very kindly & pleasantly entertained. When we reached Amsterdam we found the whole Copeland family at a Church Fair which was in progress there and, of course, we had to stop & bestow our smiles & dimes upon them while waiting for the Copelands to go home. Bake, that Fair was one of the richest things of the kind I ever struck & Bob Logan & myself are enjoying it yet. The girls would tackle some poor fellow & show him some bit of fancy work, then ask him to buy, then insist upon his buying, then beg & entreat & finally would try to scare him into it. They resorted to every device they could think of, & generally came out successful, I believe. If one of them should tackle a fellow, he might as well take one long, lingering look at his "sinking funds" & hand them over. However, one girl there "ran against the snag," so to express it. She tackled some poor young fellow who was standing near her & commenced trying to sell him something. He endured it as long as he could and finally, when forbearance ceased to be a virtue, turned to her & told her that "if she didn't let him alone, she would make him curse directly!" She "let him alone."

The next morning Bob & myself drove over to Fincastle. Saw all the Glasgows except Will who is at Wash. & Lee University. Did I enjoy seeing Miss Bettie? For answer, I refer you to Bob Logan.

Bob & Frank are doing very well in their professions. Bob's wife presented him with a Xmas present in the way of a small daughter which was born on Xmas morning. He has now two children--a boy & a girl.

Bake, I suppose you enjoyed your trip to Martinsburg? You must have been most agreeably surprised at the sight of John A. Metcalf. He is still here though I do not know how soon he may leave. As I sit here writing of him, my thoughts are going back to the time when you, Clive & Fritz & the other boys used to have so much fun & it makes me feel "kind'er" sad to think of it.

I went into the Drug Store tonight & the same old crowd continues to loaf there. The checker board was in full blast. I think Sam Parrish & Phil Reed were playing while I was there. Wouldn't you like to tackle them again? But, I don't want to make you "homesick" so will stop this kind of talk. Hannah left here yesterday morning for Lynchburg to resume her school duties. You just bet your boots we all enjoyed her visit home. I expect I enjoyed her holiday as much as she did. I think she is one of the dearest little girls I ever saw & it would do you good to see into what a noble woman she bids fair to develop.

I am kept very busy now at the store with my January work--drawing off [accounts?]. Have been writing a great deal during the past few days & you can well imagine that I am ready to stop. Well, Bake, I don't feel as if I have said anything in this letter when I think of all I would like to tell you; but, it is getting late & I must close. The Dictionary & candy you sent home were about the most acceptable things you could have sent. Sister H. says she appreciates the Kiss you sent her more than anything else you could have selected. She is certainly a noble woman. When you can find time, write her a short letter--I know she would appreciate very highly. Well, good night.
Yr Aff Bro.
R. A.

As this letter suggests, Robert and Baker Armstrong were very close. Eventually, they would both move to Texas, but when this letter was written, Robert was evidently still in Salem, Virginia, working at the family drugstore. The other letters we have that Robert wrote his brother this year are just as familiar, descriptive, and breezy. Their mother, Louisa, realized just how close her two oldest boys were and encouraged that brotherly connection. Later that same month, on January 29th, she writes Baker that Robert visited the family often:

He is a noble boy, has such firm, decided principles, has his trials, too. I do wish so much you could be together. You must settle in life together.

She also provides news of family members: "Some of Hannah's children have the whooping cough" but William's children are well.

Your Father is well and sends his love. He sits in the dining room, by the side of his nice wood fire, during the winter weather, reading the papers (when he has them) and other things.

 Baker's sister Kate writes in March that she hopes that the rock someone found on "our big hill the other day" would turn out to be iron ore. Robert had taken the rock to town to Mr. Chapman to get him to examine it. "Don't you wish our hill could prove to be full of iron ore?" Katie exclaims "and then our fortunes would be made." Kate's comment is a reminder of how iron ore mining, as well as coal mining, became big business in the South just before and after the Civil War.

In March, Robert writes that the river had been so high that he couldn't get one of Baker's letters to the family outside Salem in time for Baker's request for advice from their father. Baker evidently had a plan for a move to improve his prospects. And then Robert adds details that provide insight into the family:

Am glad you did not allow Uncle to think you wanted any of his money to operate on. He has not treated father as a brother should and I would see his money rot before I would consent to borrow one cent from him, as matters now stand. Bro. G. has not recommenced drinking, but is still leading a perfectly sober life & I sincerely trust will continue to do so. If he continues himself to attend to his business, I think probably he can manage to extricate himself from the very awkward predicament into which I think he has allowed himself to be placed. But, should he again commence his drinking & keep it up, I fear he will "go under." Now, Bake, this is Sub Rosa of course & I hope you will immediately destroy this letter that no other eyes than yours may possibly see what I have written.

Obviously, Baker did not destroy this letter, and here I am, revealing online Robert Armstrong's confidences to his brother. It does make me a little queasy even though over a hundred years have passed since the Armstrongs put pen to paper to write their beloved brother and son of all he was missing in his absence from "Edgewood," the family home,  in 1884.

The day after Christmas, December 26, 1884, Edward McCarty Armstrong and his wife write Baker of the holiday activities he had missed since he was then in Bryan, Texas.  "The only regret," Edward muses, "was that you could not be present with us to enjoy Xmas. This is the first Xmas that you & Robt were both absent."

Little did the family know how the next year was going to present a much more sorrowful regret than the absence of two sons from the family home during a holiday.

The second page of Edward M. Armstrong's letter to his son Baker, December 26, 1884.