William Armstrong (December 23, 1782 – May 10, 1865) was an American lawyer, civil servant, politician, and businessperson. He represented Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1818 to 1820, and

Virginia's 16th congressional district Virginia's 16th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district. It was eliminated in 1843 after the 1840 U.S. Census. Its last Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted i ...

in the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1833. Armstrong was born in 1782 in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, County Antrim,

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

(in present-day Northern Ireland), and emigrated to the United States in 1792. He studied law under

Charles Magill Charles Magill (March 1, 1816 – December 1, 1898) was a member of the 1st Canadian Parliament and mayor of Hamilton in 1854–55, 1865–66 and 1882–3. He was born in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, the son of Robert Magill and Catheri ...

, became a lawyer, and settled in Hampshire County, Virginia (present-day West Virginia). Armstrong served in a number of civil service positions, including

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Paddytown (present-day Keyser); U.S. tax collector appointed by President James Madison; director of the Bank of the Valley of Virginia; member of the Virginia Board of Public Works from 1822 to 1823;

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Hampshire County from 1820 to 1852; and Hampshire County sheriff in 1843. Armstrong was chosen as a presidential elector for Virginia in the

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...

and 1824 U.S. presidential elections. He was elected to two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, two as an Adamsite Democratic-Republican and two as a National Republican. In Congress, he assisted in passing a bill to appropriate funds to construct the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828. Following his tenure in Congress, Armstrong engaged in the tavern business and operated the Armstrong House hotel in Romney. In 1862, he relocated to Keyser, where he died in 1865.

Early life and education

William Armstrong was born on December 23, 1782, in

, County Antrim, in the

(present-day Northern Ireland). Armstrong's family was Presbyterian and of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a direct descendant of James Armstrong, who participated in the rising of the

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

at the Battle of Pentland Hills. He forfeited his estate in 1666 and escaped from Annandale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, to

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. In 1792, Armstrong emigrated to the United States with his parents and the family settled in Romney, Virginia (present-day West Virginia). Following his arrival in Romney, Armstrong worked as a merchant's clerk, and then served as an assistant in the office of the Hampshire County Clerk of Court. Armstrong studied law under

in Winchester, Virginia, Winchester, became a lawyer and settled permanently in Hampshire County.

Civil service career

Armstrong served as the second

of the post office in Paddytown (present-day Keyser, West Virginia) from October 15, 1814, until April 20, 1818. President James Madison appointed him a United States tax collector in the 6th District of Virginia in 1813; he also served in this position in 1818 and 1819. In January 1818, Armstrong was unanimously elected as a director of the Bank of the Valley of Virginia's Office of Discount and Deposit in Romney. In 1822 and 1823, he served as a member of the Virginia Board of Public Works. Armstrong served as a

of Hampshire County from 1820 to 1852, and as the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff for Hampshire County in 1843.

Political career

Armstrong first ran for election as a Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican to represent Hampshire County as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1811, however, he lost to Federalist Party, Federalists Alexander King and Francis White (Virginia politician), Francis White. In 1812, he ran again for election to represent the county in the House of Delegates losing to King and White. In August 1816, Armstrong and John Jack represented Hampshire County at a convention in Staunton, Virginia, Staunton to reform the Constitution of Virginia. Armstrong was finally elected to represent the county in the House of Delegates in 1818, alongside White, and served his first term from December 7, 1818, until March 13, 1819. He was reelected with White in 1819 and served his second term from December 6, 1819, until February 25, 1820. Edward McCarty and White succeeded him in 1820. In 1816, when United States Electoral College, Virginia's presidential electors convened at his father's hotel in Romney, Armstrong became interested in national politics. He was chosen as a presidential elector for Virginia in the

and 1824 U.S. presidential elections. Armstrong ran for election as an Adamsite Democratic-Republican against Federalist Edward Colston (U.S. Representative), Edward Colston to represent

in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives in 1825, and won. Virginia's 16th congressional district comprised Berkeley County, West Virginia, Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy County, West Virginia, Hardy, Jefferson County, West Virginia, Jefferson, and Morgan County, West Virginia, Morgan counties in the present-day Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Armstrong represented the 16th district in the 19th United States Congress, 19th Congress from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1827. He was elected for a second term as an Adamsite Democratic-Republican and served in the 20th United States Congress, 20th Congress from March 4, 1827, to March 3, 1829. Armstrong joined U.S. House representatives Michael C. Sprigg from Maryland, and Andrew Stewart (American politician, died 1872), Andrew Stewart and Chauncey Forward from Pennsylvania to assist in passing a bill to appropriate funds for the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828. Armstrong was elected for a third term as a National Republican and served in the 21st United States Congress, 21st Congress from March 4, 1829, to March 3, 1831, and for his fourth term as a National Republican and served in the 22nd United States Congress, 22nd Congress from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1833. By 1839, Armstrong was the chairperson of Hampshire County's Whig Party (United States), Whig Party.

Later life and death

Indian Mound Cemetery Romney WV 2013 07 13 57

Following his tenure in Congress, Armstrong engaged in the tavern business. The arrival of the Northwestern Turnpike (present-day U.S. Route 50) to Romney in 1830 created a greater demand for inns and hotels in the town. Armstrong and John Kirk, and Armstrong's wife, Jane, and John Baker White (clerk of court), John Baker White were issued two of at least six hotel licenses in Romney within five years after the turnpike's construction. Armstrong's hotel, known as Armstrong House, was built around 1800 on Lot 86 at East Main and North Grafton Streets. Armstrong sold his hotel to Thomas A. Keller in 1848, after which it was known as Keller House or Keller Hotel. Armstrong remained in Romney until 1862. Armstrong was a slave owner. He possessed in Romney, including Lots 81 and 91 near the intersection of present-day Antigo Place and Sioux Lane, where he reserved for an African-American cemetery. He relocated to New Creek Station (formerly Paddytown, present-day Keyser) during the American Civil War, where he resided at his son Edward McCarty Armstrong's mansion. His son Edward joined the Confederate States Army, while Armstrong remained at the mansion with his daughter-in-law and grandchildren. He died in New Creek Station on May 10, 1865. Reverend James H. Leps conducted his funeral service in Romney, and he was burial, interred at Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney.

Personal life

Armstrong was first married to Elizabeth Ann McCarty (June 1, 1786 – July 4, 1843), daughter of Edward McCarty and Elizabeth Millar, from Keyser. They had four children together: * Eliza Jane Armstrong Gibson (December 21, 1804 – February 19, 1847), married David Gibson * William James Armstrong (June 28, 1813 – June 19, 1847), married on December 14, 1836, to Susan C. White, daughter of Hampshire County Clerk of Court John Baker White (clerk of court), John Baker White and Alcinda Louisa Tapscott White * Edward McCarty Armstrong (October 18, 1816 – April 1, 1890), first married to Hannah Angeline Pancake, then married on October 23, 1856, to Louisa Tapscott White, daughter of Hampshire County Clerk of Court John Baker White and Frances Ann Streit White * James Dillon Armstrong (September 23, 1821 – September 4, 1893), married Anne Waterman Foote, daughter of Presbyterian Reverend William Henry Foote Armstrong and McCarty were married for 42 years. Following Elizabeth's death, he married his cousin Jane Baxter Armstrong (June 7, 1799 – August 30, 1874).

References

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, William 1782 births 1865 deaths 18th-century Irish people 18th-century Presbyterians 1820 United States presidential electors 1824 United States presidential electors 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Irish people 19th-century Presbyterians American corporate directors American hoteliers American justices of the peace American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American people of Scotch-Irish descent American slave owners Burials at Indian Mound Cemetery Businesspeople from Virginia Businesspeople from West Virginia Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Members of the Virginia House of Delegates National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia People from Keyser, West Virginia People from Lisburn People from Romney, West Virginia Presbyterians from West Virginia Tax collectors Virginia Democratic-Republicans Virginia lawyers Virginia postmasters Virginia sheriffs Virginia Whigs