Page 20 - Armstrong Bloodline - ebook_Neat
P. 20
RN=7280: A* Martin (1750) Or possibly 1730/45 SCO? In 1775, he was in Willsboro ESSEX NY where he signed
a document with one Gilliland. In 1786, he took the Freeman’s Oath in Shoreham ADDISON VT, and he appears
there in the 1790 Census. He is said to have come from Scotland to Long Island, NY, with brothers ELIOT and
JOHN, to have gone to MA prior to the Revolutionary War, and finally settled in Shoreham, VT. Citations: USF-
2130; ABB874; Mrs. Wm. H. West of La Habra, CA.
With this information, things only get more confused. Input submitted by Mrs. West and a Phelps researcher
disagree on both when and where Martin was born – one votes for Norwich, CT and the other for Scotland. His
birth date could be anywhere between 1730 and 1745. In addition, a couple of possible names for his father
are thrown in for good measure. We are told that his wife’s first name is Abigail. Other information basically
agrees with what we looked at earlier from Mrs. West, except Martin’s father’s name has now morphed to
Timothy Robert. Another pedigree chart from the Armstrong Clan Association sent to Cherie Holodnick in
29
2007 gives information similar to the above. However, an email between her and yet another ACA researcher
by the name of Ted Armstrong provides an interesting hypothesis :
30
I went through my copies of the Scottish Registers and not a single MARTIN anywhere- only one Elliot A (note-2
lls) and that was in the 1850s.which tells me - I'm guessing here - that they were born in Ireland and came over
the Irish Channel (between Ireland & Scotland) in a boat of some kind and then boarded an emigrant sailing
(probably) ship bound for USA. That is why they are listed as "from Sco" in the list below which was compiled by
our first US Convener who jotted down genealogical "gen" as he'd retired-now dead.
There are umpteen Martins listed but the one I've picked is ' MARTIN, b. 1730/45, Sco, m. ca 17xx, Shoreham,
Addison County, Vermont; d. post 1794 same. Had resided Long Island, New York.
"Martin is said to have come with brothers ELIOT (1"l" & 1 "t") and John, from Scotland to Long Island; to have
gone to Massachusetts before the War of Independence and finally settled in Shoreham, VT".
ELIOT, immig ca 1750 with brothers Martin (1730/95) and JOHN. 884 - 211. (Don't know what these figures
are.)
JOHN, b. ca 1759, Sco. m. 1789/91, Connecticut, US, SARAH YOUNG. John had a brother (father - Ted) MARTIN,
b. 1730?
His “guess” is the first really plausible explanation I have seen that could resolve the disagreement among
family researchers as to where Martin originated. Further, the information concerning this Martin’s brother
John, marks the first time I have seen other than just a name provided for any Martin sibling. This could be a
good lead for someone to follow up on... Unfortunately, it seems that many golden nuggets like this also have
a back side of lead, as John’s birth date of 1759 must be incorrect - he clearly couldn’t have immigrated to
America in 1750 and then be born nine years later…
In November 1998, an Armstrong Clan Association (ACA) researcher I had been corresponding with sent me
31
pedigree information that he claimed linked back 15 generations to my ancestors in Ireland and Scotland .
The pedigree charts he provided linked our bloodline back to Andrew, also known as Andro, who was one of
the 59 undertakers selected by King James VI & I, for the Ulster Plantation. Around 1630 he and his Uncle
William (Christie’s Will), settled on grants of land from 1000 to 3000 acres in the counties of Armagh, Cavan,
Donegal, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone with other Undertakers, and had to bring with them sufficient
men to cultivate this property and defend it from attack by the native Irish 32 – page 316 . These men were
descendents of the famous Johnnie of Gilnockie 33 – page 354, 33, & 34 , the brother of the sixth Laird of Mangerton. It
is estimated that by 1638 there were 40,000 Scotsmen in Ulster. In the information provided, Martin’s father’s
19