Page 13 - Armstrong Bloodline - ebook_Neat

5th Laird -- Thomas Armstrong called "Bell the Cat." In 1482, for unknown reasons, he gave up
the deed to Mangerton Castle.
6th Laird -- Alexander Armstrong his 7 sons are represented by the seven branches of the Oak
Tree used on the Armstrong's Shield or Coat of Arms. Father of
Johnnie of Gilnockie.
7th Laird -- Thomas Armstrong participated in the English raid on Scotland in 1548.
8th Laird -- Archibald Armstrong In 1547 captured Lord Johnstone of the West Marches for the
English.

9th Laird -- Simon Armstrong called "Simon of Tweeden." In 1583 rebuilt Mangerton Castle.
10th Laird -- Archiblan Armstrong declared a rebel in 1610, was deprived of his lands and
executed at Edinburgh in 1610.

The Scot-Irish Migration

One source -- "Notable Southern Families" by Zella Armstrong, states that "All the Armstrongs of Ireland in the
Seventeenth Century are descended from John(nie of Gilnockie) and all the American Armstrongs, who trace
through the Scotch-Irish Clan." We have seen above why many of the Armstrongs chose to leave Scotland, but
what caused their mass exodus from Ireland?

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The contributing factors for the Scot-Irish exodus from Ireland were numerous and complicated. Loss of the one
hundred year leases they were originally granted by the King of Ireland, high taxation, fever and sickness and,
most importantly, religious persecution, combined to make their adopted homeland a less than hospitable host.
The 18th century witnessed a steady migration of the Protestant inhabitants of Ulster, and by estimation a third of
the population crossed the Atlantic between the years 1718 and 1758. This exodus was led in large part by several
energetic and non-conformist Presbyterian ministers who maintained ongoing communications with supporters in
New England from as early as the 1630s. In fact, records indicate that the first Armstrong known to arrive in
America was a man named Gregory Armstrong who arrived in Plymouth in 1630. This man later married Elinor
Billington in 1638, the widow of Mayflower passenger John Billington who had been executed for committing
murder. One lesser known fact is that Gregory Armstrong 35 – chart #2 was the sixth of seven sons born to Christopher
Armstrong, the son of the famous border reiver, Johnnie of Gilnockie.

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On the map of Ireland the province of Ulster 18 & 19 gathers into a circle nearly a quarter of the territory of the
island. Its southerly boundary runs from Donegal Bay on the west to Carlingford Bay on the east. In the center of
Ulster lies County Tyrone, with the counties of Donegal, Londonderry and Antrim along its northern borders to
fend the sea. This is the heart of Scot- Irish country. South of County Tyrone are Fermanagh, Monaghan and
Armagh, counties not so closely associated with the early Protestant migration. South of Monaghan, bordering the
Roman Catholic province of Leinster, is Cavan, and to the east touching Armagh, lays County Down whose shores
are less than a dozen miles from Ayrshire in Scotland.

Throughout the reign of Charles II, the harshness of the law in Scotland and Ireland led to many plans for removal
to America, and it is known that small settlements of immigrants from these countries were established in
Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas prior to 1685. Under Queen Anne (1702 - 1714) the Presbyterians in
Ireland again lost almost every advantage that had been gained, and became by the Test Act of 1704 virtually
outlaws. Their marriages were declared invalid and their chapels were closed. They could not maintain schools nor
hold office above that of a petty constable. During these years the Rev. Cotton Mather was in close touch with
religious and political affairs in both Scotland and Ireland. At the time, he was the leading clergyman in Boston
where religion was the foremost force in education, society and official life. It was his plan to settle hardy families

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