My Genealogy Hound

JAMES ARMSTRONG, farmer; P. O. New Carlisle, Clark Co.; was born in Bethel Township, Miami Co., Ohio, Sept. 12, 1839; his father, James Armstrong, was a native of Virginia, but came to Ohio at a very early day, traveling in wagons; he stopped for a while on Mad River and worked on a farm; in those days, when men had but a small patch of cleared land, they were unable to provide provender for their horses and cattle, and, early in the spring, they would cut elm and linn saplings for the cattle to browse; while working at this place, he tended 28 acres of corn, without any grain to feed, after the breaking was done; by some means, he managed to get 80 acres of land in Lost Creek Township, which was subsequently disposed of, and he purchased 360 acres in Elizabeth Township, north east of Miami City, and, in about three years, 151 acres more, southwest of Miami City; some time afterward, he bought his father-in-law’s farm; he was a brickmason by trade, and, shortly after coming to this county, built a brick house for Philip Saylor, whose daughter, Hannah, he married; at the time of his death, he owned 1,300 acres of land. Philip Saylor was one of the very early settlers; before the war of 1812, he had erected a two-story hewed-log house, in which he kept a tavern; it also served as a retreat for the women and children of the neighborhood in times of trouble; in this house our subject was born; his occupation has always been tilling the soil, and he now owns 174 acres of good land, on which he has erected good buildings and is doing a thriving business. Feb. 7, 1856, he married Frances Edmonds, a native of Maryland, born July 20, 1838; the fruits of this marriage are eight children— Jennie, William Martin, Noah B., Ida May, Aurie E., Esom E., Albertus C. and Horace L. (deceased).