I have been doing genealogical research as a hobby for several years. It's a hobby that I only dabble in from time to time, I'm not *that* good at it, but I enjoy learning about history. With that said, I have been stuck at this guy for a long time, I can't seem to find any info about his parents or further up the line from him. He is my 3xGreat Grandfather; Andrew Armstrong.
Andrew was born in 1806 in Pennsylvania, seemingly in Franklin County. He married Mary Borland, who was born in 1811 (supposedly in Pennsylvania as well). They lived in Franklin County for the entirety of their marriage, and are buried together in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Mary passed in 1893, while Andrew passed in 1896.
Andrew & Mary had six children, their first child, a daughter, named Sarah F. (Frederica?) was born in 1837 and later married George Schofield(?). A second child, Hannah, born in 1839; and the third child, also a girl, Anna Margaret, was born in 1845. The next three children were all boys: Joseph Kennedy Armstrong, born in 1846, James A. born in 1849, and finally Andrew Jackson Armstrong, born in 1854. In 1847, the church records show two of the six children as getting baptized. That is the only record I could find in the church town records.
The majority of the information I have has been gathered from the US Census records on Ancestry.com. According to most historians, the 1850 census was the first to list all of the members of the family, their occupations, ages, and birth places, etc. In 1850, Andrew Armstrong was a Lime Burner. After googling the phrase "Lime Burner Occupation in 1850", I learned that burned lime (a powder) was the chief component of plaster and used in the building industry. However, in the 1860 Census, he is listed as a Farmer.
In both 1850 and 1860, there is a number value listed for "real estate owned" for Andrew. I am not sure, but I think that means he was doing pretty good in his life. Owned land, had a wife, six kids.... and he went to church apparently.
Between 1846 and 1880, Andrew is shown as attending classes at St. Paul Methodist Church's Town Records. It says, "Class No.3 - Meets at Wm. Davis; Sunday morning at 8 1/2 o' clock". James Boreland is a name also listed in this class, could he be possibly related to Andrew's wife Mary?
When the Civil War started, Andrew would have been 55 years old. Does anyone know if men in their 50's would have been soldiers in the Union in the Civil War? The three sons would have been 15, 12, and 7. So only the oldest two could have possibly been soldiers.... right? There were only 6 men listed as soldiers in PA in the Union with the name Andrew Armstrong. I cannot find much more information from there.
So, as I said, I don't know much about Andrew Armstrong. But I want to know him... Is there anyone reading this that has any information you could share? Insights, opinions, etc... Comment below!!
