Page 29 - Armstrong Bloodline - ebook_Neat

More information about Martin’s three children is provided below; however, his first two children – Lois and
Jewett – are believed to have been born in New York in 1767 and 1769. One source states that his youngest
son Elliott was born in 1772 while he was a resident of Shoreham, Vermont. 48 - page 277 I believe this to be a
publisher's error, however, as the first settlers in Shoreham arrived in 1766 and few families settled here prior
to the Revolutionary War. 54 - page 11 Per his own statement, he was also born in NY; 61 very possibly in Willsboro.
Even after the war, Shoreham was a pretty primitive setting with the first school teacher not arriving until at
60
least 1785 and no regular physician in residence until 1788 or 1789. It is interesting to note, that most of the
settlers who settled in Shoreham beginning in approximately 1786, came there primarily from Massachusetts,

Connecticut, and New York, 54 – pages 18 -34 and that the first house wasn’t actually built there untilthat same year.
As seen previously, excerpts from family histories and statements from several family researchers have made
reference to both Massachusetts and Connecticut as likely locations where they believed either Martin and/or
other members of his family had previously resided.

What is also interesting in the two references to Shoreham, VT cited above is the detail gone into to provide
the actual names of the first settlers in the area. In Rev. Josiah Goodhue's book he is well short of gracious to
the ex-soldiery who initially settled in the area, stating simply that they “had little regard to the sentiments or
piety of their fathers.” 54 – page 109 He also skipped anyone he felt did not distinguish themselves in building the
town. 54 – page 18 Nowhere in the narrative history of the town are the Armstrong's mentioned – even though
they are known to have resided in Shoreham as early as the mid 1780's and we know that Elliot died there in
1852, just nine years before Goodhue's book was published. In trying to track Martin we have learned that he
was eminently capable of moving off in directions not necessarily taken by others, was not particularly
ambitious socially, and clearly knew how to fly under the radar. Perhaps this at least partially explains why the
Armstrongs as well as the Treadways (see Chapter 6) are not mentioned (except as discussed in the next
chapter).

At this juncture, while we have lost track of Martin and his children during the American Revolution, I would
like to regress for a few paragraphs and present two final, tantalizing clues that could provide a potential
bridge between the subject matter of Chapter 3 and what we have learned about our ancestor Martin
Armstrong above.

A possible link to our Armstrong line was discovered by a family researcher who wrote: “While searching for
Sarah Treadway's (David W. Armstrong’s wife) ancestors in Sutton, MA, I found reference to the Rich family, as
well as a Martin Armstrong in Sutton, MA (See History of the Town of Sutton, MA, from 1704 to 1876, page 47,
by W. A. Benedict, M.M., pub. 1875, Worcester, MA). Land records I obtained re Martin's property in Sutton
show that he purchased land in Sutton 23 June 1729, which he sold in 1735-6 to Robert Armstrong (relationship
not mentioned, but apparently related). It was witnessed by Katherine Armstrong, possibly his wife (See Index
to Grantors A-E, 1731-1839 LDS film 0842930, and Index to Grantors A-E, 1731, Worcester County, MA). Martin
had a mortgage on his property which he sold to Robert Armstrong; Robert then resold it and they both
disappear from the records in Sutton.

Martin Armstrong of Sutton, MA must have been well-known, since he was one of the people in Sutton chosen
to sit in the meeting house. A wife was not mentioned. In the Sutton Book of Records of Strayes & Marks" Dom.
1732 (see LDS film 0858541) this Martin is listed twice in connection with some stray cattle. The markings on
the cattle reported by Martin (Nov. 1733) seems to be the same as that of Martin Armstrong of Willsborough,
NY (see above). Martin's of Sutton read: Halfpeny on ye under side of ye right ear and a cut of ye top of ye left
ear. Martin Armstrong of Willsboro marked his cattle: Half penney on ye under side of ye right ear and a cot
(cut) on ye top of ye left ear. (See Pioneer History of the Champlain Valley, An Account of the Settlement of
Willsborough by Wm. Gilliland, Albany NY, J. Munsell 1860, DPL 974.7C355W).

28