Our venerable subject is a native of Scotland, and was born in that country August 12, 1805, coming of sterling Scotch ancestry. His parents, James and Agnes Armstrong, were also of Scottish birth. Our subject passed his childhood, youth, and the opening years of his manhood in Dumfriesshire, the shire of his nativity, and was mostly engaged in herding sheep until he came here. His opportunities for attending school were limited, but he acquired some book-learning in spite of the disadvantages under which he labored, and by self-education has acquired a good fund of useful knowledge. In 1836, in the prime of a vigorous, healthy manhood, he left home and native land, ambitious to see if life did not hold something better for him in the large and powerful Republic across the sea, to which so many of his countrymen had wended their way. He embarked on a vessel at Liverpool, and six weeks and two days later he stepped foot on American soil, landing in the great metropolis of the country, and coming directly to this county. He was not without means, as are so many foreigners who land on these shores, but had sufficient capital to invest in quite a large tract of wild land on section 6, Millbrook Township, comprising three hundred and twenty acres mostly in timber and brush, and he purchased it from the Government, paying $1.25 an acre. He was one of the first to settle in Millbrook Township, and there were not many white men near him, but there was a tribe of four hundred Indians north of him a little way. However he was not long troubled with their presence, as the Government removed them further westward the same fall.

When he settled on his homestead, Mr. Armstrong had a large amount of pioneer work to do in clearing away the forest and preparing the land for cultivation, and also had to build a shelter for his family. He actively entered upon the hard task before him with a courageous heart and a steady determination to succeed in his undertakings. His first employment was to build a log house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, which was his dwelling the next ten years until he found time to erect a more commodious and comfortable house, with which he at length replaced his first primitive abode. In the course of years he put his land under excellent tillage, and constantly made valuable improvements until his farm came to be regarded as one of the most desirable in all Millbrook Township. He has added to his original purchase, and now has four hundred and seventy acres of land in Peoria and Knox Counties. He continued to live in Millbrook Township until the spring of 1887, when he removed with his wife to their present pleasant home near the county line in Knox County, and near Rochester.

Mr. Armstrong has been twice married. He was first wedded to Mrs. Rachel Clifford, who bore him two children, Agnes and Lena, the latter of whom is deceased. Agnes is the wife of John Kaus, of Knox County.

The maiden name of our subject’s present wife was Agnes Brown, and she is, like himself, a native of the land of the Scots, born in Ayreshire, in the month of January, 1816, a daughter of William Brown. Her mother died when she was a mere child. Her early years were passed in Scotland, and when she was thirty-three years of age, she came to America and to this county, and in due time married Mr. Armstrong, and has been to him all that is implied in the term, a true wife. Three children have been born to our subject of this union, of whom two are living, Robert, and Jane, the wife of Charles Waldon, of Knox County. The name of the child who died, was James.

The sunset of life finds our subject and his estimable wife serenely awaiting life’s great end, in freedom from the cares and labors that beset them in the heat of the day, in a home whose comforts and luxuries have been procured by the ample competence that is the fruit of their united toil when they were young. It has been said that the trials and hardships that the pioneers encountered in their struggles in building up this country, strengthened their character and better fitted them for the cares and responsibilities of after life, making them have a warmer side for their fellow-men, and creating a willingness to lend a helping hand to those who are in distress. This is eminently true of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, and their names are synonyms of love and charity, while many have cause to bless their benefactions, and are among the warm friends they have gathered around them in the long years they have lived in this State. They are true Christian people, and are devoted members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Armstrong has served as School Director, and has in various ways earnestly sought to elevate the social, moral, and educational status of the community. A man of intelligent views on all subjects, and having decided opinions of his own, he is independent in politics, and votes for the man rather than for party.

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