(And my own family in particular, this being the
family of the participant in FTDNA Kit # 47876. At present I cannot get
back beyond 1772 in Steventon, [near
Separate studies are.
1. Armstrongs
of Odiham, Hampshire.
2. Armstrongs
of
3. Irish Armstrongs who came to
4. Armstrongs
of Godalming
Using Mormon (IGI) and other records it can be shown that very few
Armstrong’s moved to parts of
1. William Armstrong son of John
Armstrong (wife not named) Bapt,
2. Armestronge
Beaten married John Pagan at Monkleigh Devon On
(wife
3. Armstrong Symon
married Jane Hatton at
4. Armestronge
George married Eydeth Leseter
at Southampton St Michael in 1593.
5. Armestronge
Katheryne daughter of Joseph Armestronge
(wife not named) Bapt: 13 Feb:1602
at Shrivenham (Berks)
6. Armstronge
William married Annis (Agnes) Greene
7. Armestronge
Eridgett married Joanes Phillep at Southampton St Michael in 1618.
8. Armatronge
Aims married William Butler 30th May 1630 at Wantage
I propose to document my own family as far as I can and a few others of
interest. The object of the original
exercise was to trace my direct male line back to the Scottish Border area,
from which the family originates, and in doing so to discover which of the
famous lines we came from. It was also hoped that we might find something of
the reasons for migration this far south and to particular areas.
The story begins with the earliest ancestor traced at the time or
writing (latest update 2006) so that any future chapters of this work will be
added at the beginning rather than at the end.
Contact via the Internet, (October 2001) with [certain other
researchers has revealed] they are
descended from Alfred son of Joseph and Anne and I am descended from William A,
also a son of Joseph and Anne, and Mary Moody. They have provided a little more
The story begins (writing started in 1992) with the marriage of James
Armstrong and Linny Littleworth
at
Steventon is just a few miles from
Notes from JANE AUSTEN — A FAMILY RECORD; by WILLIAM and RICHARD ARTHUR
AUSTEN—LEIGH. Revised and enlarged by Deidre Le Faye 1989. P16. Mrs Austen
nursed her babies herself for the first, few months of life, and then “followed
a custom, not unusual in those days, though it seems strange to us “, of
putting (them) out to be nursed in a cottage in the village. The infant was
daily visited by one or both of its parents, and frequently brought them to the
parsonage, but the cottage was its home and must have remained so till it was
old enough to run about and talk, for I know that one of them, in after life,
used to speak of his foster mother as “Movie”, the name by which he had called
her all his infancy. The foster parents for the Austen’s babies were John and
Elizabeth Littleworth, (Another book says that this
John was 61 when Jane Austen was born in 1775), who probably lived at “Cheesedown Farm”, and their young daughter Bet or Betsy,
was the little Austens’ nursemaid and playfellow. The
extended Littleworth family remained devoted friends
and servants of the Austen family for nearly a century and several of them are
mentioned in Jane’s letters.
James is listed as “of Old Basing” in the marriage record and Linny as “of this parish”. If we have the right James, he
was 35 at the time and Linny 22. They had 10 children
and Linny died (aged 35), 17 days after the birth of
Timothy who himself died at the age of 5 months. I am still (in 2006) trying to find where James
[Armstrong] came from [prior to their marriage in 1772].
Their children were:
1. Ann baptised
2. James baptized
3. John baptised
4.
5. William baptised
6. Jane baptised 5 July778
7. John baptised October
1780
8. Charles baptised
9. Sarah baptised
l0. Timothy baptised
All these children were baptised at Steventon
by the Rev:George Austen.
We also know that Jane Austen had a “nanny” known as Nanny Littleworth. Her name was Anne according to Valerie Grosvenor Myer in her book “Obstinate Heart, Jane Austen a
biography”, published Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, 1997, ISBN-1-85479-213-X. She was married to the coachman of James
Austen, Jane’s brother. Further study should find his name. Work at Winchester Record Office has shown
that James and John, two Littleworth brothers, both
married a lady called Anne in the same year.
Deciding which Anne was the Nanny could prove difficult. It is further complicated by the fact that
the Austen’s also employed a “Nanny” Hilliard at the same time. “Nanny” in those days was the diminutive of
Annie, not a job description. Nanny Littleworth
was probably the cook or dairymaid according to Deidre Le Faye. .A William Littleworth
was footman to Mrs Austen. From Poor
Rate records in the late 1700’s for Old Basing a Timothy Littleworth, Linny’s brother?,
owned a house in Old Basing called Waterend
House. He paid a poor rate on that
property. The Hampshire Register of
Marriages 1559-1812, Marriages at
A point of significant curiosity and interest is to explain why all the
children were baptised in Steventon if James was “Of
Old Basing. Normally a wife would go to live in her husband’s village after
marriage, assuming that was where his job was. Steventon
would be too far to walk each day to work (about 10 miles from Old Basing). As
baptisms had (by law) to be in the Church of England at that time it may be
that if James was a Presbyterian, and did not attend the C of E in Old Basing,
that they returned to the Littleworth family church
for baptisms, marriages and funerals.
Poor Rate Records for Old Basing starting 1788 (3 years after Linny died) show that the family did live in Old Basing,
see Appendix “A” for a list of payments to them.
Family
connections with the Austen family (albeit as servants) may have encouraged
this.
Four other records survive connecting James and his family with Old
Basing.
1. Their first child, Ann, married Thomas Taphouse
in Old Basing on
2. An Elizabeth Armstrong, singlewoman, was
removed from Steventon to Old Basing in 1797. Under
the old rules of settlement, if a person fell sick or unemployed before they
had completed a year and a day in the new village, it was usual to return them
to their village of origin because they had not completed the length of service
required to become eligible for “poor relief” in the new Parish. A “Settlement
Certificate” was often taken to a new parish as proof that the old parish was
responsible for them until they had worked in the new parish for the specified
period. People unfortunate enough to become unemployed would be moved from
parish boundary to parish boundary by the parish constable until they reached
their home parish. Each parish en—route was required to provide a meal and a
bed for the night. Each parish had enough poor of its own and did not want any more.
This suggests that the family did live in Old Basing, at least after Linny died, and that
Note! Harriet Armstrong
married Edward Bailey at Steventon in 1816. See
Hampshire Marriages Index.
Check these sometime. Check the Hampshire baptismal index for this
William. The first two were the children
of
3. See Bastardy Bond 3M/70/61/31 in
Winchester Record Office William Armstrong, fifth child of James and Linny, was the father of a child borne by Martha Huse (Hughes?) of Old Basing. An order was made and William
and James (his father) were bound over in the sum of £40 to pay Martha one
shilling and sixpence a week for the upkeep of the child. A copy of the
document is available dated 1800. William was listed as a miller and James as a
labourer. There were two mills in Old Basing at the time. Martha was probably the daughter of Edward
and Hannah Huse baptised Old Basing 19 October
1777. There is a marriage record in Old
Basing for Charles Wellman and Martha Hughes married by banns on
4. A James Armstrong died in Old Basing aged 80, in 1817. It seems
reasonable to assume that he was our James. He would have been 63 in 1800 and
unlikely to move to another village at that time.
It is ‘difficult to assess whether the family always lived in Old
Basing, but went to Steventon for baptisms and
marriages because of family connections, or whether they lived in ‘Steventon till Linny died and
then went back to Old Basing. It would
seem that they did live in Old Basing and certainly from 1788 when Linny died.
Other
1. Ann married Thomas Taphouse in Old Basing
1 December 1791.
2. James married Elizabeth Fidler in Steventon on
The next marriage on the same page of the register is of interest some
years later. It reads, “Thomas
Williams of the Parish of New Church upper Ryde, Isle
of Wight and Jane Cooper of the Parish of Sunning , Berkshire, were married by
Licence this eleventh day of December in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand
seven hundred and ninety two in this church by me Thomas Fowler Clerk. This marriage was solemnised between us
signed, Thomas Williams and Jane Cooper in the presence of Edward Cooper,
Cassandra Elizabeth Austen, Jane Austen.
3. John buried
4.
Check possible marriage to James Loader at Steventon,
5. William fathered illegitimate child by Martha Huse,
1800. Note that a Martha Hughes married Charles Wellman at Old Basing on
6. Jane married Joseph Wells on
7. John (The second son to bear this name) Information from Carole
Steele found May 1994 shows that he was living at Portsea
at the time of the 1851 Census and 1841 Census.
St George Ward Enumeration District 2 ——
John Armstrong 60 Labourer Yes (Born in this County)
Sarah Armstrong 40 Yes (born in
this County)
This gives his correct age. An entry in the IGI for
PORTSEA 1851 census
John Armstrong 75 born Steventon
Sarah Armstrong 56 born Hambledon
The Census records them as living, ”at the
back of
From the IGI John Armstrong married Sarah Carpenter on
Sarah daughter of Sarah Carpenter baptised
8. Charles nothing known at present
9. Sarah nothing known
for certain (check possible marriage to’ Francis Whitear,
Cheriton 1818.)
1O. Timothy buried
This chapter begins with the marriage of James Armstrong (son of James
and Linny) to Elizabeth Fidler.
They were also married by the Rev: George Austen at Steventon
on
.
They had 8 children before
1. James baptised
2. Charles born 1795 at Steventon
3. William baptised
4. Joseph baptized
5.
6. Mary Ann baptized
7. John baptised
8. David baptized
Elizabeth Fidler died in 1810.
James married again to Elizabeth Smith on
They had four children before he died in 1819 aged 48.
1. Henry baptised
PR
10 (1813—1831), Page 11, No 84.
2.
PR 10, Page 24, No
185.
3. George baptised
PR 12, Page 40, No
314.
4. Ann Baptised
PR 10, Page ———, No
After James’s
death,
1. James nothing
known at present
2. Charles Married Sarah Beems
on
buried
Living
in
Son Edward
baptised
Son William
baptised
3. William
nothing known at present.
4. Joseph we are
descended from him. His family are the subject of the next chapter.
6. Mary Ann nothing known at present
7. John nothing known at present
8. David Beer retailer in
Son John baptised
Daughter Jane
baptised
Daughter
9. Henry.
Info from
1861 census
shows Henry Armstrong, born
lO. Elizabeth Buried 29th October
1819 aged four and a half years.
ll. George married Rose Fisher see file. He was a Bricklayer
in
Baptised
a) Son George
baptised
b) Daughter Anne, baptised
c) Daughter
Elizabeth (Harmsworth) baptised
12. Ann nothing
known at present.
Note from this
that previous generations of Armstrongs had lived in
Chapter 3
Joseph Armstrong
married Ann Woolverd (Woolford)
on
Ann was born in Sherborne St John (1807)? and her
parents were John Woolford and Elizabeth Cooper. They
(her parents) were married at Sherborne St John on
Witnesses at
Joseph and Anne’s wedding were William Draper and Hannah Ballard, who were
married in
Joseph and Ann
had 11 children and lived for many years (about 40 but check) at
Joseph and Ann
appear in the Basingstoke Census records for
(1841),
(1851), (1861) and (1871).
Joseph died on 31st December 1875
aged 75 at
0.
Page
137, No 1093. Look for
burial of this one.
1. James Baptised 1826
2.
3.
4. Joseph Baptised 1831
5. Charles Baptised 1832
6. Mary Ann Baptised 1834
7. John Baptised 1836
8. William Baptised 1840
9. Louisa Baptised
10. Ellen Baptised 1846
1l. Alfred Baptised 1848 born 7 May
We are descended from William. Details of the above children collected
to date are listed on the next page.
Details of the children of Joseph and Ann
1. James nothing known at
present. See 1851 census. check birth/baptismal dates.
Aged 27 in
census.
2.
3. Elizabeth
Domestic servant in Ryde Isle of Wight. Carole Steele
found her in the 1851 Census in
the Parish of Newchurch.
a) Henry. baptised 17th August 1851 Reel M8, PR 11, Page
41, No 326. Buried
b) Margaret
baptised
c) Thomas baptised
It is
interesting that
Probably a
co-incidence but???
4. Joseph Listed
in the 1851 census as visiting George and
Mary
Glass in
Joseph was
listed as unmarried, aged 21 and a bookseller.
5. Charles buried
6. Mary Ann nothing known at present
7. John Listed in 1851 census for
He first married
Ann Mears on
Secondly he married
Jane Bunker on
Children of John
Armstrong and Jane Bunker are;
i) Jane Armstrong born 1877,
ii) Louisa Armstrong born
1879,
iii) John Armstrong born
died
This John
Armstrong married Edith Julia Miller on
Children of John
Armstrong and Edith Miller are [available from the author.]
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
8. William we are
descended from William, see next chapter. Listed in 1851 census for
9. Louisa she is recorded
as a witness on William’s marriage certificate. Listed in 1851 census for
They had the following
children.
i) William Henry Wells born
ii) Louisa Charlotte Wells born 1870
iii) Ellen Mary Wells born 1872
iv) Jane Wells born 1874
v) Ernest Wells born 1875
vi) Edith Wells born 1878
vii) Rachel Wells born 1879
10. Ellen listed in 1851
census for
11. Alfred listed in 1851
census for
Alfred born
Alfred and Julia had
the following children
i) Harriet
Amelia Armstrong born
She died 1958.
ii) Louisa Beatrice
Armstrong born
iii) Ida Elizabeth Armstrong
born
She died
iv) Alfred John Armstrong,
born
Died
v) Sidney William
Armstrong, born
vi) Josephine Agnes
Armstrong. born
vii) Elsie Eveline Armstrong, born
Manor,
Handsworth,
More
1. Harriet Amelia Armstrong married
Herbert Behague on
He was an
ironmonger by occupation.
Children of
Harriet Armstrong and Herbert Behague are
i) Hilda
Josephine Behague born
ii) Florence Louise Behague born
2. Ida Elizabeth Armstrong
married August Edward Segnitz 9 February 1901 in Parish of St Michael, Handsworth,
August Edward
Segnitz was an Electrical Engineer. He
must have been one of the early ones as Electrical Engineering was a fairly new
subject at the time.
1. Stella Rose Segnitz,
born 1902,
2. Sidney Theodore
Segnitz, born
Handsworth,
3. August Edward Segnitz
born 1906.
4. Alfred Henry Segnitz
born 1908,
5. Barbara Evelyn Segnitz,
born 1910,
6. George Healy Segnitz,
born 1911,
7. Ida B.Segnitz,
born 1914,
Alfred John
Armstrong (gem Setter/Jeweller) son of Alfred Armstrong and Julia Durant married
three times.
Firstly he
married Nellie Pittaway on
1. [One child]
2. [One child]
3. [One child]
4. [One child]
5. [One child]
Alfred married
Emma Elizabeth Abbott in the Register Office at
6. [One child]
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
William
Armstrong, baptised 1840, married Mary Ann Moody (daughter of Charles Moody and
Mary Blunden, in
1. William Charles Moody
Armstrong, born
2. Mary Louisa Armstrong
(Auntie Lou) listed on the marriage certificate as a Domestic Servant. See
66MM83 PR5, Page 24. She married Uncle Will Cooper (Henry William Cooper,
Labourer), one of my grandmothers brothers, at Deane on
They both signed
their names in the presence of Edmund. J Cooper (Uncle Ned), and
Jeannie Moody ( a relative of
Mary, Sister?). My Aunt Gertie told me that she lived
in Queen’s Road ,
We now have considerable
3. Harry Armstrong (my
grandfather) born in 1871 at
4. John Wells Armstrong born
5. Alfred Ernest
Armstrong, born
6. Thomas. Joseph
Armstrong (Tom) born at Deane 1879.
7. James Armstrong His
Birth Certificate says that he was born at Deane on
8. Charlotte May Armstrong born
Deane
9. Edith Armstrong (Auntie Edie) born
Deane.
Whilst living at
Deane, William was an Estate carpenter at Oakley Hall (now
The time at
Deane must have been a happy one. It was possibly the first home of their own
and four children were born there. Although it lasted only 8 years it was regarded
as the family home generations later.
Harry (my
grandfather) trained at Oakley Hall as a gardener. See the story he wrote about
life there. Appendix “C”. Donald George Armstrong
Smith (my father’s cousin) and eldest son of Edith Armstrong and George Smith,
painted a picture of the thatched cottage, this was in the possession of Ken
Smith his brother. Ken died a few years ago and the picture location is not
known.
We have some
details of most of their nine children.
1. William
Charles Moody Armstrong. He reported his father’s death to the registrar in
1886 (William died on
2. Mary Louisa (Auntie
Lou) she married Uncle Will ( Henry William Cooper)
one of my paternal grandmother’s brothers. They were married in
[Note: a portion of the text
has been deleted for reasons of privacy.
Interested researchers should contact the author, who is the participant
in Kit #47876.]
3. Harry
Armstrong (my grandfather) See Appendix 2 Auntie Gertie’s
appreciation of her mother.
Grandad was musical and played the
Double Bass so I am told. He was largely self—educated and I can still remember
a large set of books called xxxx’s Complete Home
Educator being on his bookshelf at 25,
It was an Air Force tradition
that if a Group Captain had been considered to be a good man during his time on
a station then the Sergeants would wear white belts and using two thick white
ropes about 8 or 10 of them would tow his car from the main gate to the
Officers Mess as a sign of high regard and respect when he was due to leave for
another station. Grandad’s
story shows that this tradition goes back a lot further because the son of the
owner of Oakley Hall, who was in the Army in
A recent “find”
at the
Grandad had a landscape gardening business for
many years before he died, no doubt using the training from Oakley Hall. Auntie
Rosalie says it was moving a heavy paving slab into the correct place, because
one of his men had not laid it precisely enough, that brought on a heart attack
from which he never fully recovered. He lived for some time afterwards.
There are two
early childhood memories of grandad that are the
earliest memories I can date approximately. One is sitting by a row of peas on
his allotment and eating them raw. They were very sweet and very good. He died
in 1937 so that must have been when I was five or younger. The other is Grandad bouncing me on his knee as though I was riding a
horse. I was probably only four at the time. I cannot date any earlier
memories. He and Grandma were much loved in the area and in the Church. ….. Wilson, whom I met at the 50th
Anniversary of the new Ashford Methodist Church in 1990, told me how much they
were both loved by all who knew them. She said that Grandad
gave her, her foundations of Christianity. Anyone who is fondly remembered 53
years after their death must have achieved a great deal. Grandad
was also Church caretaker for many years and a brass plate on the Communion
rail still records that fact. (1990). The latest
(2005)
4. Corporal John Wells Armstrong (Jack) served in the South African War
(1899—1902) in the 1st Battalion of The Middlesex Regiment and
received a Campaign Medal No 4956 for the Relief of Ladysmith with a clasp for
5. Alfred Ernest Armstrong
married-------------------and lived at 44,
6. Thomas Joseph
Armstrong (Tom) was a cripple and never married. He lived for a short time with
my grandparents in Ashford. Cousin Ken Smith says he died in a home at
Hungerford.
7. James
Armstrong joined the Militia (Territorial Army) in
Weight 118 lb
(Eight and one half stones)
Chest minimum 31
inches, maximum 33 and a half inches
Eyes grey Hair Brown
James was
attested (Signed on) for 6 years as a Militiaman in the
James was
employed by a Mr Mowlen of 21,
Was Mr Mowlen actually John Mowlem
founder of the large Construction Company of that name. That is another trail
to pursue some time.
So far (1992) 1
can account, at least in part, for all the nine children. However, efforts to
trace William Charles Moody Armstrong have so far failed. Nothing has been
found of James except his enlistment form.
Family legend
has it that one of them went to
One fascinating
clue, worth recording is that during the 1914—1918 war a Canadian soldier,
calling himself Uncle Jack, called at 25,
8.
9. Edith Armstrong (Auntie
Edie) Edie was a babe in arms when her father died aged 46. How Grandma Mary
coped we will never know. Edie had a
sparkle in her eye and a wonderful sense of humour. She was the most popular of
the three Aunts of her generation. She married Daniel George Smith in
1913. He was a toolmaker at the Thorneycroft
lorry works in
Uncle George was
paid less as a toolmaker with apprentices to train, than men doing less skilled
work on the production line who could earn a bonus. This problem has existed in
the British Engineering Industry for decades or is it centuries? I last visited
Auntie Edie at Queen’s Road when I was based at RAF Odiham
in Autumn 1955. I took her a box of chocolates, not
knowing that she was diabetic. She assured me that she would eat them when no
one was looking but not all at once. Their eldest son (Donald George Armstrong
Smith) was in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He died in
The dead were
buried near the railway line where they were working but after the war their
remains were transferred to Thanbyuzayat.
His grave is now
in the
Don married
Hilda May Povey in the September Quarter of 1940,
Basingstoke Vol:2c, Page 1117. Don and his father George Smith were
members of the Basingstoke Silver Band.
After the war Hilda remarried and went to live in
I believe some
of his personal effects were brought home for George and Edie by one of his
fellow prisoners. They gave very good reports of him. The younger son, Ken,
married Joyce Hopgood, daughter of a Basingstoke Coal
Merchant. They were married in the March Quarter of 1941
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
Harry Armstrong
(my Grandfather) married Annie Eleanor Cooper at
Harry was a
Coach Fitter at the time of his marriage so it seems that he picked up some of
his father’s trade skills as well as gardening. A study of the history of
Annie Eleanor
was a staunch evangelical Methodist as was Harry and also her parents James
Cooper and Mary Hobart. James Cooper was a Sergeant in the Royal Artillery when
he retired from the Army. He fought in the Crimean war and received a head
wound, which assisted his death but not until the age of 90. He died in 1920.
He must have been a tough one. James was born on
Sgt James Cooper Royal Artillery
His discharge document, in my possession, is dated
No 2137 Sgt James Cooper of the Royal Regiment of Artillery when
discharged at Warley (near
Age 40 years ( He was actually 39 and two months at the time.)
Height 5 feet 8 inches
Complexion Fair
Eyes Grey
Hair Fair
Trade Labourer
Intended place of
residence Holloway,
Major S. Williams Paymaster 3rd Battalion Depot Brigade RA. Twenty days subsistence at
one shilling per diem and railway fare from
No 13
These are to certify that No 2137 Sergeant James Cooper born in the
Parish of Marylebone in or near the town of London in the County of Middlesex
was enlisted at Gloucester for the Royal Artillery on 3rd November 1847 at the
age of 19 years.
That the service he is entitled to reckon is 21 years 50 days towards
the completion of his limited engagement and 21 years and 45 days towards Pay
and Pension.
That he is discharged in consequence of his having claimed it on
termination of his.
second period of limited
engagement. ( NOTE!
His birth date is given by relatives as being 1829, which would make him
18 years at this time.)
Medals
Crimean and Turkish
Dated at Warley
30th day of December 1868, Horse Guards 19th day of January
1869. Signed W.E Grant
Character and Conduct
His conduct has been very good and he was,when
promoted, in the possession of two Good Conduct badges and would, had he not
been promoted, have been now in the
possession of four GC badges. He is also in possession of the Crimean and
Turkish medals. W.E Grant
The full army career of James Cooper has been studied by
Ray Newell
tells me that James’ father was also a soldier and that his wife’s parents cut
her off because they did not approve of him. James ran the London Road Post
Office, Ashford, Middlesex, just opposite
When Annie
(Grandma) died, on
Harry and Annie
had eight children but lost four of them with Diptheria.
Ancestors Magazine, May 2004 , says, “Diptheria was a new disease of Victorian times. The first epidemic came in 1858-65 and it
was feared until a serum treatment was introduced successfully in 1894. It would seem that the treatment did not
reach Ashford (Middx) till later than that as my
grandparents lost four children to diptheria in the period 1901-1904.
1. Harry William
Hobart Armstrong (Uncle Harry) born at the London Road Post Office, Ashford, Middx, Annie’s parents home.
2. Charles
Garrett Armstrong died aged one year.
3. Cyril Armstrong died in infancy.
4. Alfred Armstrong died in infancy.
5. Rosalie Minnie
Armstrong, twin of Lillian Mary born
6. Lillian May Armstrong died in infancy
7. George Roland Armstrong ……
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for reasons
of privacy. Interested researchers
should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
8. Annie Gertrude Edith, born
This address is near the railway station
1. Harry William
Hobart Armstrong was first married to Olive E. Goddard who died of Septasemia within about a week of falling ill. They were married at Brentford in
1922. Norman Stanley A tells me that
her death was registered in Brentford in the December Quarter of 1934, aged
39. Recorded in the
Brentford Register Vol: 2c, 1934, page 223. This would make her 22 at the time of
marriage.
He later married
Mercia I.L. Paynter, an
attractive and much younger woman. They married at Brentford in 1937.
[Note:
a portion of the text has been deleted for reasons of privacy. Interested researchers should contact the
author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
Peter Davis
Friends of the
He has so far
found a William Armstrong Usher at the Holy Ghost School (Grammar School) in
Basingstoke, 1821— 23. He thinks he was a clerk in Holy Orders, i.e. a young
churchman just out of college for whom this was a first job before becoming a
Curate.
Try Winchester
Record Office for ownership of the two mills in Old Basing.
Notes from a
visit to The British Library, Newspaper Library,
Notes
from Oxford Gazette and Reading Mercury starting at No 422,
“Yesterday John
Cutler was committed to the said gaol, (
Same paper
advertised
Surgeon
of Godalming,
Major
General Bigoe Armstrong to be Colonel Commander of a
battalion in the 60th Regiment of Foot in
Reading Mercury
was published from
Further
studies.
1. See HRO 49M68
and 24M69 Map of lands in the Parish of Beaulieu belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch.
2. Look for any
other land in southern
Work on other areas
1. See Armstrongs
of Odiham a separate file.
2. See Armstrongs
of
3. See Armstrongs
from
Autobiography of the writer
of this history
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
War
memoirs of a schoolboy
1939-1945
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
When the nightly air raids started we dug a hole at the bottom of our
garden and installed an
(1.3 metres) wide and my father built a brick blast wall in front of
the doorway. It was made of three
sheets of corrugated iron on each side bolted together and had a flat
corrugated iron back and front, which contained an opening called the
doorway. It had no door apart from the
blast wall that I can remember. We used
this to house our family of 4, my aunt and grandmother who lived next door but
one and occasional family visitors. I
think up to 6 people slept in this shelter during the period 1941-42. I can remember running down the garden one
night and treading on a piece of wood with an upturned nail. I still made time to look at the only
formation of German bombers I ever saw.
It was a mixed formation of Heinkel 111’s and Dornier 17’s. They
were heading towards
At Ashford we heard many, many nights of anti-aircraft gunfire and saw
numerous searchlights. Shrapnel, (broken
pieces of shell casing) could be found in the streets in the mornings,
sometimes till warm. On one occasion a
stick of bombs fell, first a bang then a louder BANG nearer to us, then a BANG
on the other side and finally a bang further away and we knew that the stick
had missed us. On that night we slept
under the stairs because our
The headlines of one said, “Mr Hore -Belisha says he has invented his beacon and nothing more can
be done to reduce road accidents”. The
other said “Chamberlain returns from
In spite of all this we received a good education. Teachers were mainly ladies and older
men. Most of the lady teachers were
single because the husbands they might have married had been killed in World
War I. We were in many ways “their
children”
and they were very dedicated people. Even when I was 18 or 21 or more the lady
who taught me when I was 11 years old (Miss Brickendon)
could still remember my name if we met in the street and always wanted to know
how I was getting on.
We spent quie a few hours in air raid
shelters singing “Roll out the Barrel”, “It’s a long way to
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
Appendix “A”
3M-70-45 Old
Basing Parish Records
(Note Linny Armstrong, wife of James, died in
1786.)
1788 Poor Rate C. Barton charged for the Mill 14/-
Geo Tubb
charged for a Mill 19/-
Largere presumably
Wm Bargent Overseer
1789 Jan 18th Armstrong
paid 1-6d
May 4th Paid Pestle (Mr Pestell) Armstrong’s rent £2-0-0
April 4th Mr Pestell
Armstrong’s rent 4-6d
1791 July 3rd Paid Armstrong’s girl for looking
after Wm Kersley’s wife
for 3 weeks 6-0d
Nov: 22nd Paid for cloathes
for Jane Armstrong 10-6d
1792 April 2nd Paid Mr Pestell
one year’s rent for Armstrong and Kersley due Lady
Day 1792 £4-4-0
1793 May 26th Paid Armstrong 1/-
June 3rd Paid Armstrong 1/-
Nov: 6th Swearing Elizabeth Armstrong 3/-
(
because she was pregnant.
Nov: 14th Elizabeht
Armstrong towards lying in £1-1-0
1794 April13th Elizabeth Armstrong towards lying in £1-1-0
April 21st Eliz A up to Easter 7-0d
May 31st Expended for Armestrong
daughter for
examination and warrant 2-0d
Paid
Armestong garle 9)girl) 6-0d
Sep 7th Paid James Armestrong
garle 6-0d
Nov: 2nd Paid James A for his daughters child 6-0d
Nov: 30th Paid Armstrong 6-0d
1795 Feb: Armstrongs
daughter’s child 6-0d
March 22nd
“ “ 6-0d
May 9th Armstrongs gairl 6-0d
May31st “ 6-0d
June 21st Paid Armstrong £3-1-71/2
presumably
for work in his line whatever that was.
June 28 Armstrong gairl 6-0d
Aug:29 “ 6-0d
Sep:20th “ 6-0d
Oct: 18th “ 6-0d
Dec: 13th “ 8-0d
1796 Jan: 10th “ 8-0d
Feb: 7th “ 8-0d
Mar: 6th “ 8-0d
Mar 27th “ 15-0d
June 19th “ 8-0d
Timothy Littleworth paid the sixpenny poor rate 2-6d
July 17th Armstrong gairl 8-0d
Oct: 11th “ 8-0d
Nov: 29th “ 8-0d
Dec: 29th “ 8-0d
1797 Jan: 1st “ 8-0d
Jan: 29th Armstrong going to Steventon
about his daughter 1-6d
Feb: 26th Armstrong gairl 8-0d
Mar: 8th Armstrong gairl 8-0d
April 17th James Armstrong and widow Kersley’s rent £4-4-0
April Armstrong girl 6-0d
May 20th Armstrong girl lying in £1-1-0
June 10th “ £1-1-0
July 22nd “ 10-6d
Aug: 6th “ 5-6d
Sep: 3rd “ 8-0d
Oct: 2nd “ 8-0d
Oct: 29th “ 4 weeks 8-0d
Nov: 28th “ “ 8-0d
Dec: 25th “ “ 8-0d
1798 Jan:11th “ “ 8-0d
Feb: 19th “ “ 8-0d
Mar:19th “ “ 8-0d
April 16th “ “ 8-0d
James
Armstrong rent £2-2-0
girl £2-16-0d
May Armstrong girl 8-0d
Poor rate paid by Timothy Littleworth for Waterend House
June 11th Armstrong’s daughter 8-0d
July 9th “ 6-0d
Aug: 6th “ 6-0d
Sep: 3rd “ 6-0d
Nov: 26th “ 8-0d
Dec: 23rd “ 8-0d
1799 Jan: 20th “ 8-0d
Mar 6th “ 2 months 16-0d
Michaelmas
to Easter “ £1-7-6d
May “ 8-0d
Jun: 16th “ 6-0d
July 6th “ 6-0d
Oct “ £1-10-0d
Oct: “ £2-2-0d
1800 Feb: 5th Warrant to apprehend
William Armstrong 2-0d
Feb: 17th Armstrong 12-0d
Mar; 23rd Martha Huse 6-0d
(Note Bastardy Bond for William A, son of James, father of
the child of Martha Huse)
April 12th Martha Huse 6-0d
Armstrongs 2 daughters £4-14-6d
(Michaelmas
to Easter total)
May 11th “ 14-0d
June “ 14-0d
July “ 14-0d
Aug: “ 14-0d
Sep: “ 14-0d
1800 continued
April 29th Martha Huse 5-0d
May 4th “
10-0d
“ 1-9d
June 6th “ 1-6d
June 18th “ 1-9d June
24th 1-6d June
28th “ 1-9d
July 2nd “ 1-6d
July 29th “ 1-6d
Aug: 2nd “ 1-9d
Aug: 17th “ 1-9d
Oct: 15th
“ 1-6d
Oct: 22nd “ 1-9d
Oct: 25th “ 1-9d
Records continue up to 1807 to be read another day.
Appendix ----
An exciting
adventure with a bear, a true story. By Harry Armstrong (trainee gardener). My grandfather.
Written about 1920 describing events in about 1885.
On reading the title of this story the imagination of the reader may at
once lead him to picture a scene in the
The Hall stands in the centre of a lovely park, well wooded with
magnificent Beech ands Elm trees with, here and there, large plantations of
dark fir trees, and is approached by a splendid carriage drive, which beginning
at the East Lodge, sweeps round like a rainbow to the North entrance.
A large forecourt with two fine specimens of art
metal work in the gates, which are to be seen at the entrance and exit. The south front looks out onto a sunken
garden, beautifully laid out, with a fountain in the centre. Beyond are the
tennis courts and the lawn and shrubberies.
16 acres in all, and as you can imagine a
beautiful and imposing place.
Now to understand and follow my story you must come with me to the
western side of the house, where are the servant’s
quarters, the dairy and the stables. The
road approaching the stables
branches out from the carriage drive and continues past the
gardens down to the farm, where adjoining you will see the Bailiff’s
cottage. The road running past the
garden is flanked on one side by a beautifully kept yew hedge 8ft high and on
the opposite side a laurel bank. I want
you to keep this in mind, for these hedges were like a wall enclosing the road
with only two gateways one at the stable end and the other a large gate midway
opening to the gardens.
Now the owner of this estate at the time of which I am writing was
William Withers Bramstone Beach Esq. MP and sometime Father of
the House of Commons.
It was a great day in the history of the place when the eldest son, Archibald , an officer in the old 60th Rifles,
came home after a long sojourn abroad.
Oh the excitement of preparation and then the welcome home. It was indeed a great day for the family and
for all concerned. A magnificent pair of
bays were harnessed to a fine Landau ( no motor can
ever approach a horse in dignity or beauty), was sent to meet Master Archie at
the Station. When they arrived at the
lodge gates they were met by the tenants.
The horses were then taken out, ropes fixed to the carriage, and amidst
cheers and shouts of welcome they were drawn to the house.
Mr Archie the stood on the steps of the entrance hall and made a very
fine speech, in the course of which he remarked that he had brought home with
him a new tenant, which he would hand over to the care of the Bailiff. This proved to be a young bear and in time
the Bailiff became very fond of it and the bear likewise grew very attached to the bailiff and would follow him
anywhere.
The bear grew quickly and waxed mighty in spirit, so that he had to be
chained up to keep him from mischief. He
was chained to a large beech tree in the plantation at the end of the road
leading from the gardens and in front of the bailiff’s house. A large barrel made a nice house for him to
sleep in at night and affine place to dance on in the day time, which he would
do for quite a long time. He was very
amusing in many ways and would take food from your hand, turn head over heels,
throw pieces of wood about and perform many other funny little tricks.
Now my father was one of the carpenters employed on the estate and the
carpenters shop and sawmills were close by the Bailiff’s House.
I was quite a lad at the time and was employed in the gardens, starting
work at
Well, now it is time we got to this adventure. It happened one morning as I was going down
the road from the gardens to breakfast with my Dad, that
I saw in front of me a man. A very tall
man he was and thin. As I got nearer I
saw that it was the head groom, and as I realised this he got over the fence
beside the road where the bear was, for the hedges finished near there and the
plantations opened out. He went up to the
bear who immediately rose up on his hind legs and stretched out his paws as he
usually did. The groom offered the bear
an apple, and as he was about to take it, the groom snatched it away. Two or three times he did this and the bear
began to get angry. I stood a little
distance up the road and watched him.
The next time he offered the apple, the bear sprang at it, and
----. Have you ever seen the starting of
a race by the firing of a pistol. BANG- a dash forward and then on for all you
are worth. Well it was like that. As the bear sprang forward the chain, which
had so often pulled him up, snapped with a bang. The lanky long-legged groom, well built for
a race, dashed off like one possessed, with terror in his face. With one bound he was over the fence and off
up the road to the stables at such a pace that all records I am sure were
broken and there was I in the road petrified almost for a moment. “Come on boy, back to the gardens”, called
the groom and back I went as fast as I could run. Oh! Shall I ever forget it,
my legs seemed like lead, and my movements hampered with heavy boots. Nearer and nearer came the bear, I raced on
for the garden gates. Should I get there
in time? No one else was in sight to
help and that bear was quickly gaining on me.
How he seemed to hurl himself forward in a peculiar shamble and
shuffle. It was like a dreadful
nightmare. At last the gates! I threw myself upon the handles and opened
them and dashed inside, banging the gates to as the bear ran by. I was safe!
How my young legs trembled as I stood panting against the gates, leaving
the bear growling outside and then again making off after the groom who,
however, had found sanctuary in the stables.
Of course a hue and cry was raised, the Bailiff was soon on the track
of the bear, which he eventually caught and led home again quite docile. This little escapade seemed rather to please
the bear, who no doubt found life a little monotonous and I think from that
time on he lived in the hope of again distinguishing himself. As no opportunity turned up he thought it was
time to make one. So one night he again
broke his chain and after wandering about, got into the paddock where the cows
were and together they had quite an exciting time. He was again caught and a stronger chain
provided. Once again his longing for
companionship and fresh fields of adventure was crushed. But fortune in the shape of Daniel Cripps
favoured him one night. Now Daniel was a
man who lived in a village much further away, but this particular day of which
I am writing was the day of the Annual Flower Show. Daniel was a great gardener and he had
successfully exhibited that day. Now I
am sorry to have to relate that he was also at times a great tipler and such an occasion could only be celebrated in his
usual way. So that by the end of the day
Daniel did not know whether it was for potatoes or cabbage for which he got
first prize. Neither did he know when he had had enough and
he finished the day at the pub near the Park.
It was getting near
So Daniel escaped one trouble for another. Splash! into the
water he went and there he floundered trying to get out, but unable to do so,
partly because of his condition and partly because of the smooth sloping sides
of the pond. You can well imagine the
scene. His loud cry for help eventually
brought the Bailiff, who was astonished to find what had happened. So he helped out a very wet and much
bedraggled, also I trust a more sober Daniel than when he went in.
The bear was now enjoying life to the full, but time will not permit
for more stories.
Suffice it to say that he grew so strong and venturesome that it was
decided to find a more suitable place for him and he was presented to the
Zoological Gardens. It was my privilege
to see him there some two years later. I
spoke kindly to him, in fact in a most delightfully exciting manner for I was
pleased to see him. I reminded him of
our former friendship, of our great race together, but he was most indifferent
and I realised that he had quite forgotten me and that to him I was just one of
a crowd who might offer him a bun. How
sad it all seemed. I came away quite
distressed I could hardly bear it.
A country lad.
This story was written by my grandfather, Harry Armstrong, and records
events in his early working life at Oakley Hall. He probably left school at ten years of age
(in 1881) as that was the leaving age at that time. He married my grandmother in 1892 just before
he was 21. At some stage he went to work
for Joice’s timber yard in
Appendix----
Info from Evelyn Bennett nee Newell, daughter of Gertie Cooper and Harry Newell.
From her mother’s birthday book. All birth dates unless noted.
Jan: 11th 1916 Marriage Violet Robinson to F.C.
Hobart
Jan; 19th
1849 Emma Hobart
Jan: 21st 1844
Mr. A. Cooper
Jan: 30th 1881
Minnie Cooper (Auntie Minnie)
May 18th
1904 Marriage Minnie Moseley to E.J. Cooper (Uncle Ned,
Grandma Armstrong’s brother).
Sept: 12th 1820 Henry Hobart.
Sept : 16th 1876 Emmie Cooper (Auntie
Emmie).
Oct: 9th 1879 L.M.
Oct : 26th 1829
James Cooper (grandma’s
father) Sgt James Cooper.
Nov: 13th 1889
Herbert Duncan Hobart.
Aug : 9th 1878 L Cooper.
(Auntie Lily ?)
Children of James Cooper and Mary Ann Tabitha Hobart
Check 1891 census for more detail
1. Annie Eleanor Cooper my
grandmother (
2. William Henry Cooper born
3. Edmund James Cooper (Uncle Ned)
born
4. Auntie Lily (not married).
She was in the drapery trade, born
5. Auntie Gertie Cooper married Harry Newell
6. Auntie Emma Cooper,
born
Information on each of these follows
1. Annie Eleanor Cooper
married Harry Armstrong at
They had 8 children but four died in infancy. See details above in the family history.
2. William Henry Cooper
married Mary Louisa Armstrong (Harry’s sister at
Their children were:
a) James William Cooper
(1896-1970), born
He served in World War 1 (1914-1918) in
b) Estella Gertrude Cooper
1897-1960) she married Tom Winter. One daughter Rosemary who died at about 14 years. One son
Laurence living in Wood Green in 1997.
c) Alfred
Edmund Cooper1899-1927. Married
d) Evelyn Mary Cooper
1901-1986. Childrens
nurse clerical work-etc. General correspondent with relatives. Never married. I
vaguely remember meeting her. She was called Evie
Cooper in our family.
e) Ernest George Cooper
(who supplied this
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
f) Margaret Cooper
(1907-1982) she married 1. Dr Christopher
Callaghan.
[Note: a portion of the text has been deleted for
reasons of privacy. Interested
researchers should contact the author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
3. Edmund James Cooper
(Uncle Ned). He married Minnie Moseley on
4. Auntie Lily never
married and was involved in the drapery trade in
She visited Grandma in Ashford several times and I remember her as
being tall and slim and slightly stern in appearance.
5. Auntie Gertie Cooper married Harry Newell [Note:
a portion of the text has been deleted for reasons of privacy. Interested researchers should contact the
author, who is the participant in Kit #47876.]
.
6. Emma Cooper married
John Thomas Hall. He ran the Staines
Outfall Works at Bedfont. (where
the Esso Fuel store is today ) where sewage was
treated until that part of the work was transferred to Mogden
Sewage Works at Isleworth. For many years the Outfall Works continued to
run two
Appendix---
James Cooper Army Record
Prepared from the Great Crimean War Index by Major (retd)
Brian J. Oldham, MBE, BSc.
James Cooper was enlisted, along with seven other recruits, by Captain Saville at
No 1 Battalion 9 Company was formed by
augmentation in August 1848. It was then
renumbered No 11 Battalion 1 Company.
The entry for James in the October muster is annotated “Queens
Works”. The company left Woolwich in
January 1849 and took up residence in the Landguard
Fort. Nothing is noted against James’
name whilst he was there except that he was on guard duty for the February 1849
muster. In August 1850 the company
moved back to Woolwich. James was in
hospital for the October muster of 1850 and was cook for the following one and
for January 1851. Between April and June
1852 he was recruiting at Sevenoaks.
On 4th of November 1852 James became entitled to his first
Good Conduct Badge and an increase of 1d per day I his pay. The following March he was appointed Acting
Bombardier and also took leave between the 1st and 10th
of the month. By the muster at the end
of that month he was again in hospital.
He was also in hospital for the musters of April, May and June, which
might well mean that he had a lengthy illness.
The company moved to the
On the 7th and 8th August 1853 he was absent
without leave and as a result lost his acting rank, Good Conduct Badge and 3d
per day from pay. From November Captain
Harrison was away on recruiting duty in
I March 1854
The heat took its toll, cholera arrived and the death toll
mounted. Eventually the politicians
decided that the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at
The landing took longer than expected with the cavalry and artillery
horses being a problem. Eventually, on
the 19th of September, the combined armies moved off heading for
After the battle was a period of regrouping before the armies moved off
again. It had been decided that
As a field battery James’ company has no role in the artillery
bombardments of the siege. It was
detached from the Third Division to form part of the defences of the
On the 25th of October the Russian field army carried out an
attack designed to cut the British troops on the heights above
“Sir Colin Campbell’s force was standing under arms at Kadikoi when the sound of the firing reached him. He immediately ordered W Battery to proceed
to No 3 redoubt; but when Captain G.R Barker reached the position where 1 Troop
was in action, he perceived that there was no suitable place for his guns on
the right of the redoubt, and he was obliged to come into action on its left,
where he could not bring fire to bear on the Russians attacking Nos 1 and 2 Redoubts.
Scudery’s troops, however, were visible toward
the Fedouikine Hills and Barker at once opened fire upon
them.
The wagons of 1 Troop, under Second-Captain J.D. Shakespear,
had been sent as usual before daylight, to assist in the transport of shot and
shell to the trenches.
Captain Maude therefore had only the limber ammunition with the guns,
and this was nearly expended when he himself was severely wounded. The troop
lost many horses, and the gun carriages were abundantly marked by bullets, but
there had been no casualties among the men when a shell, striking Maude’s horse
on the shoulder, burst on impact and brought the rider to the ground,
grievously hurt. Lieutenant H.W. J. Dashwood was now the senior officer with the troop, and he
rode up to Captain Barker and reported that his ammunition was nearly
expended. Barker, by Sir Colin Campbells’ direction, sent Lieutenant P. Dickson with the
right division of
Capture of the Redoubts by
the Russians- Against the advancing enemy little
could be effected. The Heavy Cavalry
Brigade’s action was restricted to demonstrations, for the Russian infantry were
supported by overwhelming artillery.
Although the garrison of No1 Redoubt, numbering between 500 and 600 men,
fought with the most determined gallantry, five battalions, launched against
them by Semiakine, drove them from the work after 170
of them had been killed. The Turks in
other Redoubts, seeing the retreat of their comrades, the great superiority of
numbers arrayed against them, the preponderance of Russian guns, and the
helplessness of our
cavalry, broke without waiting for an assault and streamed away in a long
fugitive column towards
Dashwood had two horses shot under
him, and one gunner and more than third of the gun teams had been killed, before
No 1 Troop, with the Greys as escort, descended from the position they had
occupied in action. The main body of our
cavalry, who had protected the retreat of the Turks, were themselves retiring;
and the Greys, falling back by alternate squadrons, and the guns by
half-troops, covered the movement. Near
Kadikoi, 1 Troop was met by Captain Shakespear with the wagons.
This officer took over the command, and after making good the casualties
and replenishing the limbers, he followed the Cavalry Division.
Meanwhile, Dickson remained in action with the two guns; and seeing
there was no infantry support, and that the Russians were approaching, Sir
Colin Campbell ordered the withdrawal of
Lord Raglan’s Orders-- It was now about
Sir Colin Campbell ay Kadikoi-- Sir Colin Campbell’s 550
Highlanders were at this moment drawn up on a small hill in front of Kadikoi. There they
were joined by about 100 invalids who had been sent down to Balaklava, and two
Battalions of Turks, collected from the debris of the Ottoman Force, were
formed up behind the 93rd. Barker was
ordered to bring his guns into action on the left of the line. The hill obstructed his view to the right
front, but though Barker drew attention to the fact no change was made in the
dispositions.
Lord Raglan, however, did not trust the Turkish troops, and shortly
before Ryjoff’s advance his lordship gave orders for
the Heavy Cavalry, under Scarlett, to be sent in
support of Sir Colin Campbell. The
brigade accordingly moved off in several columns towards Kadikoi. Captain E. D’A Hunt, with a squadron of the Iniskillings, was in advance on the right, and Scarlett followed with the main body consisting of one
squadron of the Iniskillings and two of the Greys, in
all 300 sabres. The 5th
Dragoon Guards, the Royals, and the 1st dragoon Guards marched in
rear, while the Light Brigade with 1 Troop RHA, remained halted.
Russian Cavalry Advance—Meanwhile,
general Ryjoff continued his movement up the
During the advance a small body of Russians detached itself from the
main force and became visible on the ridge between Redoubts Nos
3 and 4. It proved to be a weak
detachment, masking guns, which suddenly opened upon
At this point the Russians may have imagined that
James remained with his battery “entrenched” near Kadikoi. He would not have seen any part of the
Battle of Inkerman fought on the 5th
November. After that he would have been
in a better position than the forward troops in the trenches to survive the
rigours of a Crimean winter.
His place was taken by Captain T.W. Milward,
who joined from 3rd Battalion.
The war continued until the final assault on 8th September.
Although the British failed to take the Redan, the
French took the Malakov, which was the key to the
defences of
or F Field Battery as it was known in the
For all his services James was awarded the Crimean War Medal with
clasps for the battles of the
From Woolwich James’ company moved to
( Comment Dates can be
interesting. The final assault in the
We now reach the point where the old system of battalions was replaced
by one of brigades. The Pay Lists and
Muster Rolls become very confused, or do not exist, and it is impossible to
follow a soldier with certainty until 1862.
Even using Monthly Returns and the volumes of Laws Battery Records, it
is not possible to trace what happened to James. It was also at this point that his number
was changed to 2137. I should also point
out that Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls are not the easiest to use
as they rarely include a soldier’s number!
The Monthly Return for 3 Company of 11 Battalion includes under
“Alterations”
Bombardier James Cooper with the comment “Gone”. It is dated
James remained at Warley for the rest of his career. There are few
comments in the Pay Lists to show his activities. He was on leave between the 1st
and 31st December 1863 and again between
The earliest Marriage Roll is that for the June Muster 1868 when he is
shown as having a child aged 1 year and 7 months. (my grandmother
Annie Eleanor). In the quarter January to March 1869 he was paid for 19 days at
the rate of 3s 1d per day whilst he was on leave (from
He is shown in the Marriage Roll for that quarter as having a wife
named Mary Ann Tabitha and one child aged 2 years and 4 months. He had apparently been on the Marriage Roll
from
The Chelsea Hospital Admission Book records his details under entry
number 91076 dated
…. Oldham
October 2005.
Sources consulted:
XX Crimean War Medal Roll, TNA PRO WO 100/33 ff, 220 and 311.
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 3 Bn Adjt’s Det,
TNA PRO WO 10/1848, 1972, 1978.
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 1Bn 9 Coy, TNA PRO WO
10/1977.
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 11Bn 1 Coy, TNA PRO WO 10/2008, 2014, 2033, 2038,
2057, 2064, 2087, 2094, 2120, 2127, 2151, 2172, 2204, 2210.
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 11Bn, 3
Coy, TNA PRO WO 10.2249, 2264, 2277, 2308, 2323, 2491, 2493.
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 4 Brigade, TNA PRO WO
1-/2491/1
Royal Artillery Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 3 Division Depot, TNA PRO WO
10/2794-2801.
Monthly Returns Royal Artillery TNA PRO WO
17/2622-3.
“Soldiers Documents” TNA PRO WO 97/1315/
Jocelyn, R.J. 1911, The History of the Royal
Artillery Crimean Period.
Reilly , W.E.M. 1859 An account of the Artillery Operations—before
Laws, M.E.S. 1952,
Laws, M.E.S. 1970,
Further actions
2. His marriage certificate
to Mary Hobart says he was a widower.
Quite possible as he
married her in 1865 when he would have been 35.
3. He probably married the
first time after his
time in the
Notes . There seems
to be a blank in his records from 1858 to 1863 during the changeover to the
Brigade system. He could have married
the first time in this period.
The Armstrong Family in
A useful booklet of some one centimetre in thickness was written in
1775 by a John Armstrong and is in my files.
He gives a great deal of Armstrong history and seeks to claim descent
from the Mangerton line as a possible Chief of the
Armstrong Clan. If we think that Ireland has problems today we should try
reading this to see how far back they go!!
It is generally accepted that at the
This book by John Armstrong mentions various families who lived in
See Pages 30- 31 of John’s book.
A family tree needs to be drawn from this book.
These pages detail the line of William who went to Petworth
and trace him back to
George of Whitley Bay has been consulted and his reply is awaited.
Page 39 says, “The 2nd William, who was Grandson of
Archibald by Rebecca, daughter of Bigoe Henzell Esq, had issue by Mary,
daughter of William Hunt Esq of Petworth
in the County if Sussex, four daughters, Frances, Charlotte-Anne, Rebecca,
Mary.
Frances , eldest daughter
of William, was born
Charlotte-Anne, 2nd
daughter of William, was born
Rebecca, 3rd
daughter of William , was born on
Mary, 4th
daughter of William Armstrong of Petworth, born
To continue the connections with
Edmund , 3rd son of
Andrew Armstrong of Athlone, was born at Rushinagh in
The consequence was that the quarrel upstairs terminated in angry
words, and Edmund was the only evidence that could appear on a trial for murder
in the very place he had taken shelter against a circumstance so painful. Edmund served the Office of Sheriff for
King’s County, with his friend Sir William Parsons, when I have heard say their
joint ages of the two did not exceed 35 years?
Edmund took to his first wife Jane, daughter of Robert Mack, Esq., the
younger, of Fewing? Water in the
Shortening the notes in his book I quote parts from John who
says,” I was born in Marylebone, and
in the house of my grandfather William Armstrong, on
His children were.
1797 Harriet Frances born May 1797, married Charels Morris Esq.
1798 Edmund John Aug 15th
1799 Charlotte Selina Oct 10th died in infancy.
1801 Charlotte Mary 23rd May, died in infancy.
1803 Avorilla
Aphia 3rd Feb:
1804 Henry William Gleid, Nov 29th
1806 George Craven April 23rd
1808 Helen Marianne Monk Feb:
18th.
1810 Augustus March 13th
1814 Charles Frederick Dec: 6th
1818 Fanny Elizabeth Raikes Jan 1st
1819 Julia Hassell Oct 18th
The IGI and existing records should allow this family to be followed.
Bishop’s Waltham,
Hants. Charles Armstrong, who married
Martha Hampton as his second wife, died in a duel at Birr in
1. James Armstrong, a Lieutenant in Marines, who died on the
expedition to the
2. William Armstrong , killed in
3. Mary who died young.
Ampthill, near
1. John born 1706 died
unmarried.
2. Martha born in 1707
died in the 10th year of her age.
3. Philip born in 1708
died in his infancy.
4. Charles born in 1712
now living. i.e.
in 1775.
5. Frances Mary born in 1714 married in 1734 to the Rev: Mr Decimo Reynolds, son of Richard Lord Bishop of
6. Althamia born in 1716 died
unmarried.
Charles the third son of
Thomas and the only surviving of that fruitful marriage has had two wives who
are both now dead. .The first was
See Page 29 of John’s
book. “John the second son of Michael
was born at High Wycombe , Bucks, on 19th July 1719 and was put,
while very young, on board one of His Majesty’s Ships of War. On 23rd August 1742 he was made a
Lieutenant in the Navy and going afterwards to the West Indies with strong
recommendation to Admiral Boscawen, he was received by that gentleman on board
his ship the Namur as his 4th Lieutenant,
but was unfortunately drowned with all the ships company that were on board at
the time; for the Admiral and many others were on shore at Fort St David’s,
either sick themselves or attending on the sick. The Hurricane in which the
A little more work has been
done on this now kept as separate document.