(August 2007)
I have worked for many years on the task of trying to extend my father’s maternal line of ancestors, ( more than, 10 years). Not an every day task, but as time permitted. My second great grandfather, James Potter Armstrong, moved extensively during the child bearing years of his marriage to Mary Catharine Taggart. He left no personal records, only public records of his comings and goings are available. Most of the information concerning him and his family has been gathered from census, probate and vital records recorded in society by officials or descendants. By leaving no personal records behind, it has been difficult to trace his ancestry.
During the time of his life spent in Ohio, apparently, he was unaware of a gospel restoration that was occurring in the vicinity of his home. There was no way for him to realize that several of his second great grandsons would accept this restored Gospel where faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost would be the means of salvation for he and his family. Further, that one of his second great grandsons, who would hold the holy priesthood of God, would be his Savior on Mount Zion nearly one hundred and thirty years after his death. Nor, did he realize that this same second great grandson would be of a stubborn nature and have the tenacity to research and find, not only his family, but many of his kindred relatives that lived near him, albeit not proven relatives with known relationships.
Direct evidence to extend the generations of James Potter Armstrong have been unsuccessful, but the process of this work has brought into the fold of God many of these relatives, most of which, were not so blessed as to have descendants that would be concerned about their eternal welfare in later generations. A simple man, directed by the spirit of Elijah and the Holy Ghost has brought to pass the salvation of many who were lost, but not forgotten. Some of these relatives will come to light shortly as this work progresses.
The Armstrong’s in Pennsylvania
The following research activity regarding our Armstrong ancestors may be significant and it may provide some clues for future research.
It is not known when the ancestors of James Potter Armstrong first came to Pennsylvania, but it may have been before the Revolutionary War and perhaps before the French Indian War. The settlers who were trying to establish homes on the western frontier of the Colonies were fraught with hardships and Indian atrocities in establishing peaceful surroundings. An early settler by the name of Robert Armstrong and his brother Alexander Armstrong lived on the edge of this frontier in 1751 where they received a warrant for 150 acres in Upper Paxtang Township of Lancaster County. (Note: The second born of James Potter Armstrong was a son named: Robert Alexander Armstrong.). The deed for this parcel was given by Thomas and John Penn, proprietors, to Robert Armstrong. The warrant of survey bears the date April 17th 1764 and the deed February 8th 1775. These Armstrong’s were the first settlers in this vicinity.
In 1755, the improvements made by the Armstrong’s were destroyed by the Indians. The Provincial Government decided to use the Armstrong tract of land to build a fort to protect the movement of settlers against the constant threat of Indians. “The fort was built in 1756 by Colonel William Clapham. The Colonel selected it as the most convenient place on the river between Harris and Shamokin for a magazine, on account of its good natural situation above the Juniata Falls. In addition to this there were plenty of pine timber on the ground and the nearness of this place to Shamokin, he therefore concluded to erect a fort at this place. According to plans furnished he had squared two hundred logs about thirty feet in length which he drew to the place in order that it could be built as quickly as possible, so the troops would not be delayed. After he had done all these things he undertook to finish it in two weeks. Under guard of an officer and thirty men, being satisfied with the progress that was made at the fort he proceeded on the march with these troops up the river in bateaux to McKee's store”
In a letter dated June 20th to Governor Morris from Col. Clapham states, "The progress already made in this fort renders it impracticable for me to comply with the Commissioner's desire to contract it at which I was surprised, as I expected every day orders to enlarge it, it being yet, in my opinion, too small. I shall leave an officer and thirty men with orders to finish it when I march from hence." In a postscript the Colonel adds, "The fort at this place is without a name till your honor is pleased to confer one." Up to this time, this place was known as Camp Armstrong.”
Philadelphia, June 25th, 1756, Governor Morris writes: "The Fort at Armstrong's, I would have it called Fort Halifax”. This fort was classed among a line of fortifications erected at different periods between 1752 and 1763, by the Provincial government, between the rivers Delaware and Potomac. Fort Halifax was built at the mouth of Armstrong creek about half a mile above the present town of Halifax. An early map of the area is shown above. “John Meetch is said to have located upon the land now owned by one of his descendants, William B. Meetch, some time in 1752, and is claimed to have been the pioneer in this section of the county. Some member of the Armstrong family must either have been here then or came shortly after, as Governor Morris in his letter to Col. Clapham, dated June 21st, 1756, in relation to the name of the fort said: "The Fort at Armstrong I would have it called Fort Halifax." From this it is evident that there was then in the vicinity some settler by the name of Armstrong from whom the fort took its temporary name. And what is more conclusive, a Moravian missionary, passing through in 1746 reported Armstrong as being here then and the only white man in the vicinity. It is probable, therefore, that Armstrong was the first settler and at the time the fort was constructed his family and that of John Meetch were the only white persons in the neighborhood. It would, consequently, seem rather strange that the Provincial government should incur the expense of erecting a fort for the protection of such a handful of people. It is more than likely however, that the primary object of the fort was to afford a safe shelter for the wagon trains which made the journey from Fort Hunter to Fort Augusta in two days. This fact is borne out also by letters written between the Provincial authorities and Col. Clapham that it was to be a place used more particularly as a base of supplies for those forts north or up the river.”
“Travelers and wagon trains passing here spent the intervening nights at the fort, in going up and down the river between Fort Hunter and Fort Augusta. Such protection was essentially necessary at that time, because the large island now owned by Albert Clemson was the home of a considerable number of Indians who would have exterminated the trains had there not been some safe place for them to pass the night. At or near this historic place, lived Simon Girty the outlaw's father of the same name, an Indian trader.” (All of the above information was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Donna Bluemink and Georgette Ochs; “Report of the Commission to Locate the Sites of the frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, vol1)
According to this record, Robert Armstrong had a neighbor to the north of his place owned by Simon Grity who probably was the father of Simon Girty of renown with Simon Kenton, the Frontiersman, scout and defender of the frontier settlers. The occasion of the meeting of these latter two men is of interest in this context as noted below:
“And now, having left Cartwright and Lock at Provance Settlement, Simon (Kenton) had arrived at Pittsburgh to find the atmosphere charged with excitement and the whole area swollen with new arrivals, most of whom immediately being sworn in as militia. At this moment his curiosity piqued by a large group of men gathered along one of the walls and he headed toward them. He was surprised to see a short, thickset man with black hair come stumbling violently backward through the edge of the crowd and fall when one of the onlookers inadvertently tripped him. His face was bloody and one eye was partially closed, but he struggled to his feet as three men in uniform closed in on him. One grasped him by the hair and hauled him to his feet, thrusting him at the other two who struck heavily at the same time, one in the face and the other in the stomach. He tumbled to the ground again but this time had more difficulty in attempting to rise.
The officer who had hauled him to his feet by the hair stepped up again and drew back his booted foot to kick him, but it never landed. Instead, he was spun around by a huge young man who gripped him by the throat in one hand and shoved him against the other two with such force that two of them fell to the ground and the third staggered. Simon leveled his rifle at the three, who remained frozen where they stopped and calmly announced he would kill the next man who laid a hand on the smaller fellow. Not a person there doubted his word. Slowly and cautiously the two fallen officers stood up. One of them, a man of about thirty and nearly Simon's size, glared at the young frontiersman and absently brushed the dust from the white bands that formed a large X on his chest. His voice was tight and his lips barely moved as he asked his assailant who he was. “Simon Butler."
There was an excited murmur from the crowd. Simon knew none of them but apparently there were few here who had not heard of him. The eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed again. "If you were in the Army” he said, ''I'd have you hung for that." He appeared on the verge of saying more but abruptly pivoted and shouldered his way through the crowd followed by his two companions.
Simon paid little attention to the muffled cheers and the calls of his name that came from the crowd. He lowered his rifle and gave the smaller man a hand to his feet. The man's good eye was a piercing black but now the corners crinkled with the effort to produce a lopsided grin. He motioned to Simon to follow him and they walked several blocks toward the east end of the fort area where there stood a cluster of cabins. Into one of these the man walked and, after a moment's hesitation, Simon joined him.
The man was pouring water from a pewter pitcher into a basin. He began mopping the blood from his cracked lips with a cloth and spoke without turning around. "So you're Simon Butler. I remember now seeing you here about three years ago. You've changed a lot since then."
Simon was embarrassed. This man remembered him but he had no recollection of ever seeing him before. The dark-haired man glanced at the youth and grinned, then winced as the cracked lip split again. He indicated a chair between the two beds with a dip of his head and Simon sat.
"Those boys were a little rough," the man said, resuming his cleanup. "Good thing you came along. I was about ready to kill one of them." He lifted his buckskin blouse and pulled out a fine knife which he flicked away with hardly a glance. The knife arrowed across the cabin and thunked heavily into the handle of a makeshift broom leaning against the wall. Broom and knife fell with a clatter. "They don't like me much," he added. "Call me an Indian lover. Say I'm spying for them on the side. I'm not, but I don't hate 'em. Hell, lived with 'em· for years. That was Dave Williamson you shoved. He's a captain, believe it or not. The other two don't matter. I'm translator here. Scout, too, among other things. Deal with the different tribes a lot. Sort of a go-between when Croghan wants to talk to the chiefs. Oh," he turned around and held his hand out to the youth, "my name's Simon, too. Simon Girty." (about 1774) (The Frontiersmen, A narrative, by Allan W. Eckert; Little, Brown and Company, Boston. Pg 85,).
Simon Kenton, sometime known as Simon Butler, was born in April of 1755 in Virginia, about the time that Robert and Alexander Armstrong established their place in Upper Paxton, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Armstrong neighbor, Simon Girty, was no doubt the father of Simon Girty noted in the incident above.
It not a good idea to jump to earlier generations or to jump over the proverbial “brick wall” to make connections to latter generations because the connecting proof is usually not there, but at times it may facilitate the research process and one may discover a lead that will open up the line of forefathers. This is the author’s rationale for presenting the above information. The names given to the first and second sons of James Potter Armstrong are probably very significant and that may be one of the reasons for jumping to this Armstrong event.
Alexander Brooks receiving a gift from Santa at the Family Christmas Party
Beau (in the background) working with his Father, David, on wall finishing at his home.
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