James Madison Armstrong (1855 - 1935)

Born Oct 1855 in McDonald County, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Florence (Flanagan) Armstrong — married 18 Oct 1883 in Paris, Lamar, Texas, United States

Descendants

Died 24 Jun 1935 at age 79 in Granite, Greer, Oklahoma, United States

Biography

Interview

Date: May 1987
Interviewer: Jim Protz Interviewee: Walter Armstrong^[1]

Jim: Tell me about your grandfather, Thomas Armstrong.

Walter: My grandfather, Tommy Armstrong was married in Arkansas to a lady named Vaughan. She had been married before to a fellow named Spinnell or Spindle who never came back from the war (Civil War). She was left a widow with two kids, George and a girl. I don't remember the name. My grandfather became father to those two. George later went to Arizona and was a rancher. My grandfather's wife died while they were still in Anson (Texas). He never got over losing her. Soon after that, he came to Oklahoma to this area (Roger Mills County). I once heard that he left Anson because he had killed a man, but don't know any more about that. He later did some mining in New Mexico. He received a military pension for being in the War. He died sometime in the 20's (1920's).

Jim: What do you remember about his siblings, your great aunts and uncles?

Walter: Tommy's brothers Jim and Joe ran cattle down in Granite (Greer County, Oklahoma) and died there. The rest of them I don't know about. I do remember Tommy saying something about Hugh, but I don't remember any more. I do have a picture of two of his sisters taken when they were teens. He carried that picture through the War.

Jim: How about your dad Andrew Jackson Armstrong?

Walter: Dad went by Jack. He was born in Arkansas. When my mother, Edna Mae Woods, died, he later married Cordelia Creach. Dad was a rancher. He and his brothers used to drive cattle up north on the Chisholm Trail. One time, while driving a herd of longhorns he saw lightning jumping from one animal to the other through their horns without harming the animals. That really impressed me.

Dad's brother Oat (Otah) married a lady named Katherine and went to Montana, but before that he worked a time with George Spindle in Arizona. I think Uncle Oat died in Montana. William died in childhood of a rattlesnake bite.

Aunt Emma married Walter Breeding. Walter had two brothers, Ben and Hubert.

Ben was killed by indians near the town of Foss, Oklahoma, an incident which warranted a request for a cavalry detachment from Fort Reno. We were barracaded in our home, my mother with a rifel in hand, waiting for trouble that never came.

Aunt Motah married Dolph Pickelsimer. Mary, your great grandmother, married Ed Winkler. He was a barber and a gambler. I remember visiting the Winklers in Snyder, Oklahoma as a child and playing with Claude (Ed and Mary's son) and also remember Ed cutting my dad's hair.

Mary died when I was only a child, but I remember a funeral, so I'm thinking she probably died and was buried around these parts.

When she died, the kids (Cora, Lora, Mary) lived with us for awhile. Then they went to live with their dad and his new wife. Cora didn't get along too well with her, so she would show up here from time to time.

Jim: You know my dad's family was farming in the Texas Panhandle in the second decade of this (20th) century. Do you remember contact with them?

Walter: Oh yes. They were burned out sometime just after the war (WWI) ended. Cora and the kids stayed with us for a short time until they could go north.

Jim: I heard that you and your brother J.T. married sisters

Walter: Yes, I married Verda Luttrell and J.T. married her sister Alta Mae. They had Erma, J.W. and Warren. My son's Ramon. You know Bessie (Walter's sister) married Solen (aka Tige) Spitzer. Their kids are J.D., A.D. and Gayle. A.D. died in childhood.

Obituary

"J.M. Armstrong, Prominent Greer County Pioneer Dies After Lingering Illness,"
28 June 28, 1935. ^[2]

After rallying several times from sinking spells when it was thought that the end had come, James Madison Armstrong, age 70 years, pioneer citizen of Greer County, passed away at his home here Monday evening at 7 o'clock. After reviving from the coma attacks, he appeared bright and cheerful, and only a few hours before his death, smiled at his physician, Dr. Nelson and remarked "Doc, I'll outlast you yet." He had been ill for several months and little hope for his recovery had been entertained for some time.

In the spring of 1891, when Greer County was still in Texas, Mr. Armstrong set out from Paris, Texas with his wife and three small children in search of a more healthful climate for his family. The nearest railroad was at Quyannah, Tex., 60 miles from here as he turned his team into the northwest, toward Granite mountains. He staked a 160-acre farm about three miles north of the present town of Granite, built a sod house and began to grub a livelihood from the soil.

For years he was forced to make the 60-mile trek to Quannah by wagon to get supplies and clothing for his family. Children were measured for shoes by tracing patterns on cardboard. While here, a fourth child was born. Later he bought the adjoining section of land.

Mr. Armstrong is believed by many to have drilled the first oil producing well in Oklahoma. Early in the 1890's he brought in a small well on his farm that is still producing enough oil for fuel and lubrication purposes. He was a familiar figure on Granite streets since the town was founded. From years of residence, he is one of the town's oldest citizens, one of the handful remaining who saw Granite's birth upon the prairies.

A visitor a few years back asked him how long he had lived here. He pointed to the mountain and said "Son, see that mountain, when I came here that was a mud puddle." He moved off the farm in 1907 and has lived in granite since that time.

Mr. Armstrong was born in Missouri, in 1855, near the Mason-Dixon Line and lived as a boy through the bitter border fighting of the Civil War period. While still a youth, he moved with his parents to Texas. He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Mrs. A.W. Parr, Norman, Mrs. Georgia Stull, Dallas; and two sons, L.B. Armstrong, Oklahoma City and Esker Armstrong, Sweetwater, Tex. All the children and grandchildren were at his bedside at the end.

Funeral services were conducted from the Methodist church Tuesday afternoon. Interment followed in the City Cemetery, the body being accompanied to the grave by a large concourse of friends and neighbors who knew and respected this pioneer citizen for the man that he had proved himself to be in times that indeed tried men's souls during the settlement of this then wild and desolate country.

Active pall bearers were selected from among the younger businessmen and citizens of Granite who had known Mr. Armstrong since they were small boys. They were Roy Clem, DeWitt Holden, Chester Best, Henry Roberts, Arthur Bowman and J.W. Lanier. Honorary pall bearers named from among his old friends and associates were John willis, Geo. W. Briggs, A.W. Akers, S.H. Tittle, S.W. Broiles, C.E. Hill and W.D. Hockaday.

Wife Florence Flannagan's Obituary

"Mrs. Armstrong, Pioneer Granite Lady Dies In Okla. City Hospital,"
15 Feb 1945, p. 1, col. 1. ^[3]

Mrs. Florence Armstrong, age 80 years, pioneer Granite lady, died at the St. Anthony's Hospital at Oklahoma City, Sunday, February 11, following a long illness. She was admitted to the hospital January 17th, however became steadily weaker until death came peacefully last Sunday. The body was brought to Granite Tuesday for interment in the City Cemetery beside her husband, J.M. Armstrong, former well-known Granite citizen, who precedes her in death by about ten years.

Funeral services were held from the Methodist Church here with Mrs. Armstrong's pastor, Rev. W.H. Mansfield, pastor of the McFarland Memorial Church at Norman in charge. Pall bearers were H.C. Ford, O.M. Hayes, John Hahn, W.B. Austin, J.R. Clent and C.E. Hill.

Florence Flannagan was born near Paris, Texas, October 14, 1864. She grew to young womanhood there and taught school at Honey Grove, Texas for a number of years. In 1885 she was married to J.M. Armstrong.

From Paris, they moved to Greer County, Oklahoma in 1891 and homesteaded on a farm six miles north of the present town of Granite. They made their home in and near Granite until Mr. Armstrong's death in 1935. Two years later, Mrs. Armstrong moved to Norman and built a home near those of her daughter Mrs. A.W. Parr and her son, Lewis B. Armstrong. She lived in her Norman home until her death.

Mrs. Armstrong is survived by four children, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren. The children are: Mrs. A. W. Parr, Norman; L.B. Armstrong, Norman; Mrs. Georgia Stull, Dallas, Texas and E.F. Armstrong, Wheeler, Texas. All of the children were here for the last rites for their mother.

Mrs. Armstrong united with the Methodist Church when a young girl and was a faithful member. She also was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Rebekah Lodge and was active in work of Norman garden clubs.

Name

James Madison /Armstrong/

Given Name: James Madison

Surname: Armstrong^[2]

Birth

Date: Oct 1855

Place: , McDonald County, Missouri, United States^[4]

Death

Date: 24 Jun 1935

Place: Granite, Greer, Oklahoma, United States^[2][4]

Burial

Date: 25 Jun 1935

Place: Granite, Greer, Oklahoma, United States^[4]

Census

Date: 2 Jun 1860

Place: Rutledge, McDonald, Missouri, United States^[5]

Date: 30 Aug 1870

Place: Paris, Lamar, Texas, United States^[6]

Date: 28 Jun 1880

Place: , Lamar County, Texas, United States

Note: He was a farm worker.^[7]

Date: 8 Jun 1900

Place: Mangum, Greer, Oklahoma Territory, United States

Note: He was a farmer.^[8]

Date: 21 Jan 1920

Place: Granite, Greer, Oklahoma, United States^[9]

Residence

Date: 1891

Place: , Greer County, Oklahoma Territory, United States

Note: He had moved from Paris, Texas in the spring to a homestead 6 miles north of the present town of Granite. ^[2]

Marriage

Husband: James Madison Armstrong

Wife: Florence Flanagan

Marriage:

Date: 18 Oct 1883

Place: Paris, Lamar, Texas, United States^[10]

Child: Escar Flanagan Armstrong

Child: Georgia M. Armstrong

Child: Lewis Baker Armstrong

Child: Jessie Florence Armstrong

Husband: James Madison Armstrong

Wife: Celinda Baker

Marriage:

Date: 14 Jun 1838

Place: , McMinn County, Tennessee, United States^[11]

Child: Thomas Haynes Armstrong

Child: Sarah Armstrong

Child: Joseph Baker Armstrong

Child: Mary J. Armstrong

Child: Annis Armstrong

Child: Hugh L. Armstrong

Child: John E. Armstrong

Child: Ollivia A. Armstrong

Child: James Madison Armstrong

Child: Susan Elizabeth Armstrong

Child: William M. Armstrong

Notes

Case 531, Celinda Armstrong; microfilm 52 : The initiation of probate so many years after her death was evidently meant to clear up some question regarding the property she owned at the time of her death. This record is also available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (film#1906253) and the Greer County Probate Office at the County Courthouse in Mangum, Oklahoma. Data: Text: In the County Court, Greer County, State of Oklahoma. In the matter of the estate of Celinda Armstrong, deceased. Now, on June 10, 1919 comes duly and regularly on for hearing the petition of Joseph B. Armstrong for letters of administration to be issued upon the estate of Celinda Armstrong, deceased...finds that Celinda Armstrong died intestate on or about May 1, 1995, near Granite, in Greer County, Oklahoma; and at the time of her death she was a resident of said county and state...that Joseph B. Armstrong, John E. Armstrong, Oliva Armstrong, James M. Armstrong, Thomas H. Armstrong, Annie Lane, Susan E. Evans, are sons and daughters of said Celinda Armstrong, deceased, and Dosea Marshall, a daughter in law, and W.J. Mullins, a grandson, and that the above and foregoing named persons are the sole and heirs at law of said deceased, and that Celinda Armstrong left no husband surviving her...It is therefore ordered by the court that the following persons, to wit: Joseph B. Armstrong; John E. Armstrong; Oliva Armstrong Nixon, also known as Ollivia Nixon; James M. Armstrong; Thomas H. Armstrong; Annis Lane, also known as Annie Lane; Susan E. Evans; Dosea Marshall, also known as Dosia Marshall; and W.J. Mullins, are the sole and only heirs at law of Celinda Armstrong, deceased, at the time of her death. It is further ordered by the court that, there being no residue of said estate, no order of distribution is necessary. Witness, my hand and the seal of said court this, the 21st day of September, A.D. 1943.

Mat moved to Paris from McDonald County, Missouri with his parents as a youth and married Florence Flanagan there in 1883. Flo was born near Paris and was living with her mother Parmelia and step-father when she and Mat married. When Mat died in 1935, Flo moved to Norman, Oklahoma where two of their children lived.

Sources

1. ↑ Interview with Walter Armstrong Title: Armstrong, Walter. Elk City, Oklahoma. Interview by Jim Protz, abt 1990.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Oklahoma, Greer County - The Granite Enterprise Oklahoma History Center Address: Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States 28 Jun 1935, p. 1, col. 2.
3. ↑ Oklahoma, Greer County - The Granite Enterprise Oklahoma History Center Address: Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States 15 Feb 1945, p. 1, col. 1
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 May 2019), memorial page for James Madison Armstrong (1855–24 Jun 1935), Find A Grave Memorial no. 57757327, citing Granite City Cemetery, Granite, Greer County, Oklahoma, USA ; Maintained by Robert Wedgeworth (Cryptkeeper) (contributor 47313179) .
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHZY-2XB : 14 December 2017), J M Armstrong in entry for J M Armstrong, 1860.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGS-6R9 : 12 April 2016), J W Armstrong in household of J M Armstrong, Texas, United States; citing p. 55, family 429, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,093.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFN5-ZS2 : 15 July 2017), J M Armstrong in entry for J M Armstrong, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 73, sheet 26C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 1314; FHL microfilm 1,255,315.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMGX-2NY : accessed 18 May 2019), James M Armstrong, Mangum Township (north part), Greer, Oklahoma Territory, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 85, sheet 7B, family 159, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,337.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ9Z-ZSV : accessed 18 May 2019), James M Armstrong, Granite, Greer, Oklahoma, United States; citing ED 70, sheet 6B, line 72, family 50, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1465; FHL microfilm 1,821,465.
10. ↑ "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXQD-95D : 11 February 2018), James M. Armstrong and Florence Flannagan, 18 Oct 1883; citing , Lamar, Texas, , reference 2:1QCRWGD; FHL microfilm 1,293,616.
11. ↑ "Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5HF-VT7 : 4 November 2017), James Madison Armstrong and Celinda Baker, 13 Jun 1838; citing McMinn, Tennessee, United States, Marriage, p. , Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties; FHL microfilm 2,218,467.

Acknowledgments

• Armstrong-4136 was created by Jim Protz through the import of GED for WIKI.ged on Mar 14, 2014.