Family history

armstrong

The only ancestor found in this family line is our 6^th great-grandmother Mary Armstrong. The year and place of her birth is not known although one may speculate that she was born around 1750 possibly in Pennsylvania. Sometime during the early part of the 1770’s she married John Ross. This event may have occurred in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. During this union at least eleven known off-spring were produced. Of them was our 5^th great-grandfather Joshua Ross born around 1775 in Pennsylvania. Mary may have passed away in Loudon County, Virginia but the place and year of her passing is not known at this time.

Origins of the surname

· An Introduction to the Name

· Meaning of the Name

· History of the Name

· Early Immigrants to North America With This Surname

· More About Surname Meanings & Origins

An Introduction to the Name

With the passing of generations and the movement of families moved from place to place many of the original identifying names were altered into some of the versions that we are familiar with today. Over the centuries, most of our European ancestors accepted their surname as an unchangeable part of their lives. Thus people rarely changed their surname. Variations of most surnames were usually the result of an involuntary act such as when a government official wrote a name phonetically or made an error in transcription. Research into the record of this Armstrong family line indicates that the variations, meanings and history of this surname is most likely linked to that area of Europe where the Irish, and Scottish cultures and languages are commonly found.

Meaning of the Name

Most of the modern family names throughout Europe have originated from with of the following circumstances: occupation (i.e., Carpenter, Cooper, Brewer, Mason); locational (Middleton, Sidney, or Ireland) or topographical (i.e. Hill, Brook, Forrest, Dale); nicknames (i.e., Moody Freeholder, Wise, Armstrong); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up.

The Armstrong surname is of English and is common in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It is a good example of a surname assumed from a personal attribute that being - strength of arm. It originated from a Middle English nickname for someone who was strong in the arm.

The Irish surname was adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Ó Labhradha Tréan ‘strong O’Lavery’ or Mac Thréinfhir, literally ‘son of the strong man’, both from Ulster. The Gaelic Name is Mac Ghillie-laidir.

History of the Name

There was a traditional story that the progenitor of the clan was a Fairbairn, an armour bearer of a king of Scotland who went to the assistance of his master when the king had his horse killed under him in battle. Fairbairn, grasping the king by the thigh, set him on his own horse. For this service the king granted Fairbairn lands on the Borders, and gave him the name Armstrong.

After William the First conquered England in 1066, he rewarded his followers with land grants. Amongst these followers were ones known as "Forten Bras" which literally translates as "strong in the arm", itself a rare surname, and from these people developed the Armstrangs or Armstrongs. The name was not uncommon in the north of England in the latter half of the 13th century. The clan has always been centered at Liddesdale in Cumbria, where its fierce and warlike members were enlisted by the Scottish and English kings in turn. The terms "Moss Troopers" and "Border Reivers" were applied to the clan Armstrong, the history of the clan being the history of "The Border" and the wars between England and Scotland. An act passed by the Scottish Parliament in 1587 'for the quieting and keeping in obedience of the inhabitants of the Borders, Highlands and Isles' containing a roll of 'the clans that have Captains, Chiefs and Chieftains as well on the Borders as the Highlands', proves that as long ago as the sixteenth century Border families were described as clans, and one of the most important of these families was the Armstrongs.

Early records of the name include Adam Armstrong who was pardoned at Carlisle in 1235 for causing the death of another man, and William Armestrangh served on an inquisition in the same city in 1274. Richard Harmestrang made a loan to King David at Calais in the year 1342. The Armstrongs of Gillnockie were the principal branch of the clan, and John Armstrong of Gilnockie in the early part of the 16th century was captured, through a stratagem, by King James V. and, with over thirty of his followers, was hanged at Carlingrigg.

Early Immigrants to North America

During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America. For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution. For most it was an opportunity to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents. Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of Armstrong, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries. Some of these immigrants were: Avis Armstrong, who was on record in Connecticut in 1660; Edward Armstrong, who received a land patent in Maryland in 1666; Addam Armstrong, who came to Virginia in 1691.

More About Surname Meanings & Origins

Scottish Surnames

Scottish names derive from patronymics (e.g., Robertson), occupations (Burgess), local features or places (Guthrie), and nicknames (Inglis, meaning English). Patronymic names make up a large proportion of Scottish surnames, and use of them lingered in parts of the Highlands well into the 1800s. As for occupational names, only a few spring from Gaelic origins. As for nicknames, not all "Mac" names indicate a clan affiliation, and many fewer of these remain in use today than have existed in the past. With Scottish surnames, it is worth remembering that the border with England in no way prevented names from crossing over, and that people moved constantly between Ireland and Scotland. Roots of some Scottish surnames can be traced to the followers of William the Conqueror, to Norse and Flemish origins (present-day Belgium), and to several other countries of Europe.

Irish Surnames

Most if not quite all, Irish surnames, have a nickname origin, some being extremely robust in their modern interpretation, although any sensibility in this respect seems to have passed by the original name holders. When the sparse Irish population began to increase it became necessary to broaden the base of personal identification by moving from single names to a more definite nomenclature. The prefix MAC was given to the father's Christian name, or O to that of a grandfather or even earlier ancestor. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, an influx of settlers arrived in Ireland under the patronage of Elizabeth I of England, and colonized the country beyond the 'Pale', the area around Dublin that was the only part firmly under English control. At the same time, groups of Presbyterian settlers were encouraged to migrate from Scotland to Ulster, thus establishing the distinctively Scottish surnames of Ulster. During the long centuries of English domination, Irish surnames were crudely Anglicized either phonetically or by translation. Irish surnames are now very widely dispersed, and are common in England as well as in Ireland, the United States and Australia.

Coat of arms

There are several coat of arms designs for the Armstrong family. The most common of these features a silver shield containing three blue pallets. Another version shows a red shield with three bent armour covered arms on the field. The crest figure is commonly a bent red arm from the shoulder.

The Armstrong Clan badge at the left displays the bent arm atop a blue and white torse, surrounded by a belt containing the family motto.

The most popular family motto is “Invictus maneo”, translated to mean “I remain unvanquished”. Other mottos that have been used by this family are: “Invicta labore”, translated to “Unconquered by labour”; and “Vi et armis” or “By force and arms”

A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution. Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname. A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname. Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee. The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same. The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry. Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms. The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry. Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms. At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object. The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants. As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized. Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families. Spelling variations of this family name include: Armstrong, Armstrang, Armestrang, Harmestrang, and many others.

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled. This is especially true when searching census documents. The Soundex system was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname. Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research. The Soundex Code for Armstrong is A625. Other surnames sharing this code are : AHRENS | ARENS | ARMACOST | ARMES | ARMISTEAD | ARMS | ARMSTEAD | ARMSTED | ARMSTRONG | ARNESON | ARONICA | ARRINGTON | AURINGER |.

Source: Surname Resources at ROOTSWEB

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RESOURCES WEBPAGE

Direct ancestors

Descendant Register

Generation 1

Mary Armstrong-1. She married John Ross. He was born on Abt. 1750 in Pennsylvania. He died Bef. 1804 in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Children of Mary Armstrong and John Ross are:

3. i. Joshua Ross, B: Abt. 1775 in Pennsylvania, D: 1842 in Ross County, Ohio, M: Bef. 1798 in Pennsylvania ?.

iv. Armstrong Ross, B: Pennsylvania, D: 1833 in Ross County, Ohio.

Additional information about our DIRECT ANCESTORS as well as a complete listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on the following LINK.

MMPS Surname Locator

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Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill-in the gaps in our family trees. It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group. The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the persons in the “Direct Ancestors” list (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

COUNTRY

STATE

COUNTY / SUBDIVISION

UNITED STATES

Pennsylvania

Westmoreland county ?

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ANCESTRAL LOCATIONS

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Source documents

The documents contained herein have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.

Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary. Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record. Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error. Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents. Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value. This is especially true of secondary evidence. Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

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SOURCE DOCUMENTS

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Fred
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