Talented Tuesday - Professions of the Armstrong's of Cape Elizabeth, Maine

My 3rd Great Grandparents, John Armstrong and Betsey Woodbury Dyer Armstrong, together had at least 8 children:  Simon, Mary, Eben, Lucy, John B., Israel, Arthur and George.

I am interested in the professions of my ancestors and relatives.  It is fascinating to see how occupations change over time and this is what I was able to uncovered about the Armstrong sons professions.

Much of this information is extracted from the City of Portland, City Directory from 1871.

Simon Armstrong (1812-1839) - Simon was a mariner.  The only evidence of this is that he died while traveling by ship in Havana, Cuba.  If he made his living on the sea, it wasn't for long, since he died far too young at the early age of 27.

Eben Armstrong - (1818-1884) - Eben was a cooper.  The profession of cooper is not one you hear about often anymore, but it was an important profession in its day.   A cooper is the traditional occupation of making barrels out of wooden staves.  These barrels would be used to contain dry and liquid goods for storage and sale.  It should not be underestimated the skill required to make these barrels.  Coopers are still used to make barrels for specialty products such as aging wine, but wooden barrel containers have been replaced by pre-made plastic, wood and metal containers.

John B Armstrong - (1822-1900) - John B had a few professions including as a farmer, but in 1871 he was a Ferryman.  Portland, Maine and Cape Elizabeth (Now South Portland) are separated by Portland Harbor.  The most efficient way to go from Portland and Cape Elizabeth was to take the ferry.  John B. Armstrong ran the ferry business bringing people and goods between the two locations.  Eventually, their was a bridge built between the two locations which effectively ended the ferry business.

Israel Armstrong (1824-1892) - Israel is described as a mariner.  I didn't see any evidence of what type of business he conducted on the sea in 1871.  However, I did see that he was involved running the Portland-to-Cape Elizabeth Ferry in 1866.  Making a living from the sea was very popular in coastal Maine.

Arthur B Armstrong (1827-1893) - Arthur was a sparmaker.  A sparmaker is someone who works on building masts for ships.  This was during the time when most shipping was done by sailing ships and making and repairing "spars" or masts would have been a very desirable profession.  As more shipping moved to steam ships, this would have become less in demand.

George Armstrong (1832-1884) - I don't find any records of George in any profession.

Many of these professions would be considered obsolete today.  It is interesting to consider that some of the professions that we take for granted will be obsolete in 100 years.

Mystery Monday - Betsey Armstrong Probate Mystery

My great aunt has written up a short history of the Armstrong family.  One of the more interesting items was that she stated that the Armstrong's had received their original land grant in Cape Elizabeth, Maine from the King of France back in 1747.  She stated that she had seen the original land grant document, but it was destroyed by accident in a fire.

It is likely that the land grant was issued by the King of England as Maine was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1747.  This is prior to the colonies winning their independence from England, which would mean all deeds would have stated that they were grants issued in the name of the King of England.  At this time the King of England used a title which stated he was King of England, Scotland, Ireland and France.  So I could see where some confusion may have occurred.

Another mystery has been the fact that my 3rd great grandmother, Betsey Woodbury Armstrong died April 26, 1876, but the Will land division wasn't executed until 1897.  The explanation for the long period between her death and resolution of her estate was blamed on the fact that the Will needed to be probated in England for some reason.   This is what I have been told as the reason why it took over 20 years to complete probate.

I recently found Betsey's Will which was proved November 7, 1877, which appears to shed some light on this family mystery.

Betsey Armstrong's Will states the following:

First:  I give and bequeath all my property real-or-estate or personal, to my son George P. Armstrong, in order that its income may be applied by the means below named, that may be used for his subsistence and comfort which on account of his infirmities of body and mind, I fear cannot be well provided for by his own labor.

Second:  My will is that upon the death of said George, what then remains of my property shall be distributed among my own legal heirs and Mary Sawyer of Chelsea, Massachusetts, if said Mary is then living, giving said Mary a distributed share equal to that of my heirs in the nearest degree of kindred.

Thirdly:  I hereby institute and appoint Ebenezer (Eben) Armstrong of Portland and Israel Armstrong of Cape Elizabeth, who are my sons, (and in case of their non-acceptance, death, resignation or incapacity to hold and exercise the trust, then my other sons, John and Arthur or such kind and discreet persons as the Judge of Probate may appoint if said John and Arthur do not act) Executors of this my last Will and Testament and appoint them as trustee to hold, manage, or invest said property or estate, during the life of said, George, for his benefit and to apply its income for his subsistence and comfort in the manner most likely to be for his permanent advantage, and if said income is not sufficient for subsistence and comfort to spend the principal part of said property as may be prudent for his comfort and benefit.

As you can see above, Betsey Armstrong's Will is predominantly focused on providing for the support of George P Armstrong.  My research has uncovered that it appears that George had some form of mental retardation.  He must have not had the capacity to take care of himself and his mother was very concerned what would happen to him after her death.  Betsey died in 1876 and it appears that George continued to live in the family home with his brother, John B Armstrong (according to the 1880 US Census).

George P. Armstrong died September 16, 1884.  He was only 51 years old.

I have to say from reading the Betsey's Will it isn't entirely clear how her estate should be distributed.  It seems reasonable to imply that there should be an equal distribution of the assets to all of her children, plus an equal share to Mary Sawyer (Israel Armstrong's wife).  So there may have been some questions about how it should be executed.   This would be something the named executors would need to work out.  Eben and Israel were named executors.  However, Eben died March 18, 1884 and Israel had moved with his family to Salem, NH.  Salem is about 90 miles from Portland, Maine.  What today is only an 1 hour and 30 minute drive probably would have taken at least a whole days travel in the 1880s.  At that time there were no cars and no highways.  This may have impacted his ability to act as  executor.   His wife, Mary Sawyer Armstrong, had passed away in 1875.  

My 2nd great grandfather, John B Armstrong, became the executor of the estate.

It is important to note that Betsey Woodbury Armstrong had been married prior to her marriage to John Armstrong.  She had been married to William Dyer.  Together they had at least three children:  Woodbury Dryer, Benjamin and William.  Only Benjamin was still alive in 1884.  Benjamin is not mentioned in the Will, but he is one of Betsey's sons and may have contested the Will if the executors may have been reluctant to provide him an equal share.  Also, the land that Betsey references has been in the Armstrong family for over 100 years and none of the land was from the Dyer family. It is almost certain had Betsey's husband, John Armstrong, outlived her, that none of the Dyer children would have been included in distribution of the family lands.

The theory of a contested Will seems to be the most likely reason for the delay in the final distribution of the estate.  The final property distribution took place in 1897 and is the subject of my post "Armstrong Family Land Division - 1897".  

Check out that post for the final details.

When conducting this research around land records and probate records on the Armstrong family, I found an invaluable online resource, the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds Online.  They have records from 1855 to present day, with original records available for viewing online by clicking on the "view images" tab.  If you have relatives who lived in Cumberland County, Maine this is a great source for more information about them and their land transactions and possibly find a copy of their Wills.

Sympathy Saturday - Disease Ravages The Armstrong Family of Salem, NH

Don't you love modern medicine!  

If you don't, you should.  Most of us don't know what it was like back before modern medicine, when diseases such as scarlet fever, typhoid, cholera and polio were common place and often fatal.  It wasn't unusual that most family's had at least one child die from an infectious disease.

1920's Poster

One of the most fatal diseases in the 1800's was tuberculosis.  At the time, it was commonly known as "consumption".  It was nicknamed consumption, because it wasted the person away over time, until they were emaciated and finally died.  At this time, tuberculosis was responsible for the deaths of one out of every 7 people.  Tuberculosis is a respiratory disease and can lay dormant in the human body for years until the immune system is weakened.  At the time, tuberculosis was seen as an "orderly" disease, meaning it gave you plenty of time to get your affairs in order before it killed you, but it almost inevitably did.  People often lived with the disease for years.

Between 1875 and 1880, Israel Armstrong moved his family to Salem, NH.  Israel was my 2nd great grand uncle.  He was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine on December 26, 1824.  He married Mary E Sawyer in 1851 and together they had at least 8 children:  Joseph, Mary, Israel Jr, John, William, Walter, Edith and Alice.

The 1880 US Census identifies Israel living with all his kids and his mother-in-law (also named Mary Sawyer) in Salem, NH.  He was a widow as his wife had died in 1875.  His occupation is given as a Farmer.  However, the details aren't clear, but Isreal tried a number of different occupations and moved around a lot for the time.  Perhaps, he was looking for the right opportunity which would support his family.  In the late 1850's he was a "Trader" in Portland, Maine, in the late 1860's he ran a small private school called the "Armstrong School" in Everett, Massachusetts, before finally settling in Salem, New Hampshire as a farmer.

Sadly, Salem, NH would not be a happy home for the Armstrong family.

One by one, all of Israel's children succumbed to tuberculosis.  Only, Israel's oldest son, Joseph W Armstrong escaped.

• Israel Jr.  was the first to die in Oct 1879.  He was only 20 years old.
• Walter Armstrong died May 1884.  He was 17 years old.
• John Armstrong died Jan 1885.  He was 23 years old.
• Edith Armstrong died Dec 1885.  She was 15 years old.
• Alice Armstrong died Dec 1888.  She was 13 years old.
• William Armstrong died May 1894.  He was 30 years old.  He was married, but I haven't found record of the marriage, his wife or if he had any children.

I can't find any record of Israel's daughter, Mary.  Perhaps she survived and married.
Amazingly, these were not small children being struck down by this illness, but strong young people some of them just entering the prime of their lives.  

Israel's mother-in-law, Mary Sawyer, lived with them during the tuberculosis outbreak.  She did not die from this disease.  She died Jan 1882, she was 76 and the death certificate lists cause of death as "old age".

Finally, Israel Armstrong succumbed to the disease and died Nov 1892 at 67.

How did Joseph W Armstrong, escape death when the rest of his siblings didn't?  We will probably never know.  

We do know that Joseph Armstrong lived in Salem, NH throughout at least the 1880's, but he did move with his family to Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  It is likely he moved back around the time his grandmother's will granted him land in 1897.  See my post on the "Armstrong Family Land Division - 1897" for more details.

Joseph W Armstrong died in 1916 at the age of 64.

He died from pneumonia.

Family stories like this definitely make me more appreciative of the benefits of modern medicine.