Page 30 - Armstrong Bloodline - ebook_Neat

Since these markings seem identical, it seems safe to assume that there was some family relationship between
these two Martins. What is not apparent is where Martin and Robert Armstrong went after they left Sutton,
MA. One census taken early in Vermont shows there were Armstrong in Washington Co. who could have been
part of Martin Armstrong's family, but I have not been able to prove any connection there. There is no doubt
that Martin Armstrong, our ancestor, kept moving north.” 62

If this Martin Armstrong is a bloodline ancestor, it would tend to lend some additional credence to the claim
that our ancestors actually arrived in America in the 1600s (as indicated in Jerome Armstrong's biography).
Although we do not know when this Martin was born, we can assume that it was sometime around 1700, as he
was already an adult and landowner by 1729. He could, of course, just as easily have been one of the early
Armstrongs who migrated from Ulster around 1718. That this Martin is connected to our Martin of Willsboro is
certainly a strong possibility based on the similarity in their cattle markings. This Martin’s vicinity to the
Treadways, and Rich’s from Massachusetts also lends additional credibility that this is an area where our
bloodline ancestors may have resided.

After Kaye Powell 9, CR-7 provided Virginia 9, CR-3 with a copy of reference #21, Virginia recognized another
potential link. Her previous research of land records in the Sutton area had found that land adjoining that of
Martin Armstrong was owned by a man by the name of Daniel Elliot – an interesting coincidence and another
in the long chain of close connections with that family of the Scottish borderlands. Virginia further states that
she also found references to a Robert and John Armstrong, father of Timothy, Sr., father of Timothy Jr. (who
named one son Martin) in Sutton, MA. The names Robert and Timothy (which were common Armstrong
names in that era) are interesting to consider as we have already seen mentioned in reference 18. It is,
however, pretty unlikely that this is the same Martin of Willsboro as the age difference is too great. Indeed, it
is likely there is at least one generation missing between the two of them.

While her argument is compelling, there may well be other reasons for the similarity of the cattle markings.
We know that the Armstrongs had been raising and/or rustling cattle for centuries since their days on the
Scottish borderlands. As they lived as a family group, or clan, in Mangerton & Liddesdale, and later in Ireland, it
is possible that these same cattle markings could have been used by the Armstrongs for generations. Although
I have no proof, it is also possible that various branches of the family in Colonial America continued to use
them as well. As a result, while the direct bloodline connection between the Martin of Sutton and our Martin
in Willsboro is certainly a possibility, I do not believe it to be conclusive.

th
A final potential link 9, CR-7 concerning an 18 century settlement in southern New York known as the Beekman
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Patent, is no less intriguing. The Patent was a land grant established by Henry Beekman, a prominent New
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York landowner, in the early 18 century in what is currently Dutchess County, NY. The Patent was located in
south-eastern New York State, in an area that, until 1683, had been claimed by Connecticut. In today’s driving
miles and using the town of Pawling, NY as a destination, it would be about 75 miles north and slightly east of
Jamaica and the terminus of Long Island Sound, and 240 miles south of Willsboro.

In this publication, all residents of the Patent with the surname “Armstrong” are listed in Chapter 24 and
referred to in general, not familial terms, as “The Armstrong Family.” Two members of “this family” named
John and Martin, are said to have been early settlers in the area – John being taxed in the 1743 to 1747
timeframe, and Martin from Feb. 1757 through June 1765. This Martin’s residence in the Patent falls well short
of noteworthy, as he is shown as being sued three times between 1757 and 1763 – once by Henry Beekman
himself. He is said to have occupied a farm of about 177 acres about 1764, and in a Pawling record dated May
14, 1768 it is stated that “the family of Martin Armstrong was supported by the poor masters on the east side

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