Martin Armstrong (abt. 1730 - aft. 1792)

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Armstrong — married about 1760 in Anson, North Carolina, United States

Died after 1792 after about age 62 in Tryon County, North Carolina [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Brandon [send private message]

Biography

Martin Armstrong was named in his likely father's will in 1760, Anson county North Carolina.^[1] He is first found in the record in a 1754 land grant in Anson county North Carolina.^[2] His grant in that year is in close geographical location to land grants to John and James Armstrong.^[3] James Armstrong is the likely father to Martin (and John as well).

Though Martin doesn't show up in the record until 1754, his father James appears in numerous records in Augusta county Virginia, which makes it possible to determine Martin likely spent much of his youth in that county. James' younger children have baptism records in that county as late as 1747. Martin has no known record of birth, and his location of birth is not definitively known. With a land grant in 1754, his date of birth would likely be in the early 1730s or mid-late 1720s, which predates the existence of Augusta county. Pennsylvania and Virginia are the most likely locations for Martin's state of birth.

Martin married Mary "formerly Kuykendall" and they had at least 2 daughters (Elizabeth and Jane)^[4] based on a 1785 Rutherford probate record that some consider to be a will. However, a Martin Armstrong is found in the 1790 Rutherford county Federal Census^[5] indicating the likelihood he lived past that date. There is also a 1792 record of marriage for Elizabeth Armstrong to Thomas Rallons, in which Martin Armstrong was bondsman.^[6] It is likely this record is also for this profile, indicating an estimated date of death of after 1792.

Previous and unlikely theory to spouse's Identity

Martin Armstrong was the husband of a woman named Mary who "formerly went by the name Kuykendall." It has been postulated in the past that Kuykendall was a married name, and that her last name at birth was "Westphael." In a 1997 query to New Netherland Connections, Belinda Kuykendall Price reported her analysis that can be interpreted to indicate that his wife Mary was Maritje Westphael, wife of Cornelis Kuykendall, and that Maritje had married Cornelis' brother Matthew Kuykendall as her second husband after the deaths of Cornelis and her sister Jannetje, who had been Matthew's first wife.^[7]

Price (who did not provide citations for her sources) described records indicating that in 1778 Martin Armstrong, his wife Mary, who "formerly went by the name Kuykendall," and Mary's son Jacob Kuykendall sold land in Tryon County, North Carolina, that had been granted in 1753 to Mary and her son Jacob. According to Price, the land grant was in Anson County, in an area that later became part of Tryon County.^[8] A long set of notes found on Ancestry.com (posted by a user in 2015) include a citation to what appears to be the same land-sale record, but with some different details. This note indicates that the transfer occurred on 25 November 1763 of land granted to Mary Kuykendall on 26 March 1755; and there is no mention of Jacob Kuykendall. ^[9]

According to Price, deeds show that lands adjacent to the tract sold by Martin Armstrong and the former Mary Kuykendall were owned by Abraham Kuykendall (who Price identifies as the son of Cornelis and Marytje Kuykendall) and James Kuykendall (who Price identifies as a son of Matthew Kuykendall, apparently Jacobus Kuykendall, born 1721, and apparently also known as Jacob, James or Cobus). ^[10]

Price also states that Matthew Kuykendall (brother of Cornelius Kuykendall), who lived in Sussex County, New Jersey, on the Delaware River from 1725 to 1731, received a land grant in 1749 from Lord Fairfax for land on the Great South Branch of the Potomac River, sold that land in 1750, and in 1751 acquired a land grant in Anson County, North Carolina, that he and his second wife Mary sold in 1754. Price did not have information on the origins of this second wife named Mary nor records for her marriage to Matthew Kuykendall, but she stated that she was not Mary Tate, wife of Surveyor General Martin Armstrong of Surry County, North Carolina.^[11]

Price stated that, based on her review of this and other evidence, "it is clear to me that Matthew's second wile, Mary, was Mary Westphael. widow of Comelis Kuykendall, Matthew's brother."^[12] Price did not directly state that this same Mary had subsequently married Martin Armstrong, but this is a logical interpretation of the analysis she presented.

However, based on the ages of Martin Armstrong and Mary Westphael, this theory looks very unlikely to be accurate. Martin's Spouse Mary seems to have still been alive in 1775/1778, when she and Martin (of Tryon county) along with Jacob Kuykendall, sold land to William Baker in 1775 and Robert Clinton in 1778.^[13] This would put her age at 90 and 93 if the theory is correct. It is also the case that if Maretie Westphael was Martin's wife, she would have been about 68 years of age at the time of her move to North Carolina, and about 45 years older than her husband Martin. Though these ages and relationships are theoretically possible, it seems quite unlikely, especially since Martin appears to have at least 2 daughters. Maretie Wesphael would have been past a plausible age to have children at the time of her marriage to Martin.

In 1801, Mary may still be living, as there is a land deed for a Mary Armstrong who sells land purchased in 1800 from Robert Armstrong in Rutherford county NC.^[14][15] Martin does not appear on either record indicating a possibility he has passed by then, or that this record is for a different Mary Armstrong. If this record is for Martin's spouse Mary, it would be virtually impossible for her identity to be Maretie Wesphael, who was born in 1685.

Additional Notes

The user notes posted on Ancestry.com in 2015 also contain the following text regarding Martin Armstrong who was associated with members of the Kuykendall family in North Carolina in the mid-1700s:^[16]

"Minnie Stowe Puett wrote a History of Gaston County, dated 1939, which gives some details of the earlier history of the area (present Gaston Co.). She wrote on p.43 "Robert Leeper was one of the first settlers near the junction of the rivers (The South Fork of the Catawba and the Catawba River), being granted 350 acres of land 3/31/1750. James Kuykendall, an associate, came about the same time and recorded a grant of 600 acres 9/28/1750 that was issued 4/1/1751. It was near the junction of the 2 rivers. For one or two years, according to the records, the families of Robert Leeper and James Kuykendall had the Point section almost entirely to themselves, except for the Indians. One grant earlier than those of Leeper and Kuykendall, issued to Thomas Robertson, was in the Point , dated 4/13/1749 and another was issued to Thomas Potts in 1750. As a protection from the Catawba, Cherokee or both, a fort and stockade were built by Robert Leeper, James Kukendall and 2 others whose names are not known at the junction of the South Fork and Catawba Rivers. The fort was rudely constructed of logs at the foot of a bluff from which a bold spring flowed. This bluff is now covered by waters of the Duke Power Development. It was on the left bank of the South Fork near a neck of land called the Point where the two rivers meet. The building was within an enclosure, triangular in shape, formed by a stockade on one side which began at the Catawba and ended at a point on the Fork. The rivers formed the other two sides of the triangle. The site of the fort was ideal and made such an appeal to Leeper, Kuykendall and the few others who saw it that it likely helped determine their place of settlement. Later many were attracted to the area by the protection it offered. Among the number was Frederick Hambright. With him were his wife and children and his wife's brothers, the Hardins.......p. 45, By 1753, many had settled in the southern part of the county (some of this would have been in what is now Allison and the Fishing Ck. area in York Co., SC) The land was rich and the Indians were comparatively quiet. Among those were the Coburns; John, Judith and Samuel. John Armstrong was the pioneer in lower Gaston. He obtained a grant dated 8/30/1753 for 350 acres on the Belmont side of Armstrong's Ford and on the same date James Armstrong was granted 229 acres on Beaverdam Ck. Martin was another Armstrong who early settled on the Fork...... On page 66, a second grant from King George to George Rutledge in 1753 was for 320 acres on Kuykendall Ck joining the lands of James Kuykendall. It was later called Dutchman's Ck because James Kuykendall was a Dutchman who had affiliated himself with the Scotch-Irish."

A family history researcher followed the above with this statement: "I think it is fairly clear that there was probably no white settlement in Gaston Co. in 1748 and certainly no organized Militia. There were enough people in 1754 for there to be organized militia. Matthew Kukendall, father of James sold his 337 acres of land in Hampshire Co., Va. 5/14/1751 to Abraham "son of Jacob Kuykendall". Matthew and his son James had applied for land grants in Anson Co., NC on 8/29/1750 which were issued on 4/1/1751. This was when I think the move was made to Anson Co., NC. I think that any of them that had children born before 1751 married in Hampshire Co., Va."

Martin is likely the individual named in the will of his attached parents, though further research could change this conclusion.

Sources

1. ↑ North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 Anson Wills, Vol 1, A-B, 1751-1848 https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9061/images/004753817_00015?pId=2129307
2. ↑ NC Secretary of State, Land Office: Land Grant Records, 1693-1959, File number 09, Call number 12.14.27.7682
3. ↑ NC Secretary of State, Land Office: Land Grant Records, 1693-1959, File numbers 185 and 186, Call numbers 12.14.27.806 and 12.14.27.187
4. ↑ 1785 Rutherford NC probate records, Martin Armstrong to daughters Elizabeth and Jane https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-LGHL-P7F?i=43&cc=1867501&cat=182814
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1790", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKB-5M7 : Fri Mar 08 00:01:59 UTC 2024), Entry for Martin Armstrong, 1790.
6. ↑ 1792 marriage record for Thomas Rallons and Elizabeth Armstrong, Martin Armstrong bondsman (Rutherford county, NC) https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3894/images/gpc_marrrutherfordcntync-0130?pId=8378
7. ↑ Price, pages 82-83
8. ↑ Price, page 82
9. ↑ Indenture dated 25 November 1763. "Pp369-370 25 Nov 1763 Martin Armstrong and wf Mary who formerly went by Kuykendall of Meck... to Andrew Hampton for L40.. land on N Side of Dutchmans Creek, 280 A granted to sd Mary Kuykendall 26 Mar 1755. Martin Armstrong (seal) Mary Armstrong (seal) Wit: Robert Walker, William Cleghorn, John Wilson." Accessed 25 April 2016 at http://mv.ancestry.com/viewer/2bae08ca-7141-4890-9dd4-cedc756765a1/43898294/26071940048 previous link broken, now found on FamilySearch: Martin and Mary Kuykendall bk. 2 pg. 369 (to Andrew Hampton) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99D6-N3Y1?i=620&cat=168633
10. ↑ Price, pages 82-83
11. ↑ Price, page 82
12. ↑ Price, page 83
13. ↑ Rutherford county deed book A-D , pg. 417 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L98Q-QKN?i=218&cat=183242 and pg. 314 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-998Q-Q83?i=166&cat=183242
14. ↑ Rutherford county, NC deed book 15-7, pg. pg. 336 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-898Q-QQ6F?i=649&cat=183242
15. ↑ Rutherford County NC deed book 12-4, pg. 237 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L98Q-QQY4?i=397&cat=183242
16. ↑ Accessed 25 April 2016 at http://mv.ancestry.com/viewer/2bae08ca-7141-4890-9dd4-cedc756765a1/43898294/26071940048

• North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 Rutherford Wills, 1782-1923 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2362468:9061?tid=&pid=&queryId=767378936bde48454886840fab26d057&_phsrc=mlr34&_phstart=successSource

• Price, Betty Kuykendall (Address: 5069 Woodrun On Tillery, Mt. Gilead, North Carolina 27306). Query in New Netherland Connections, volume 2 (1997), pages 82-83. Accessed at https://www.americanancestors.org/DB203/i/7480/82/22195581