The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: PA
Qualifying Service: Not a Patriot
Too young to have served in the military (age based on 1840 and 1850 census)
Additional References:
Grave Registry form. National Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR)
Spouse: Rosanna McGowan Children: Martha; Thomas; Robert;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
photo used with permission of Michael B. Gunn, 185230, Cincinnati Chapter, OHSSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Dr. Michael Bernard Gunn
This biography was augmented by PRS staff.
Robert Armstrong was born about 1770 in Ireland.
What we know about his alleged service comes from a 1932 SAR Application of Dr. Russel Means of the Ohio Society. [The record of State Library—Harrisburg, Pa. says, “The name of Robert Armstrong appears as having served in the Revolutionary War, in the Militia of York, Cumberland, and Lancaster Counties, and, also in Continental Line”]. Cumberland and Lancaster both adjoined York County. However, it’s unclear if one man did these services or multiple men. Additionally, how do we attribute any of this service to Robert Armstrong in Ohio? We know our Robert lived in 1850, so this is problematic, as he would have been too young to have served during the Revolution.
Who is Robert Armstrong, who died in 1818 in Belmont County? His Last Will and Testament list a son named Robert.
It’s thought that he married Rosanna McGowan. In fact, there is a deed in Belmont County from 1836, where Robert Armstrong and Rosanna, his wife, sell land to Robert Armstrong Jr. The death record of 1874 of their son, Thomas, lists his parents as Robt Armstrong and Rosanah Mccann. Thomas was 62 years old [about 1813] and born in Pennsylvania.
The 1850 census for Wheeling Township, Belmont County, has a household headed by Robert Armstrong, born about 1770 in Ireland. The 1840 census for the same place lists Robert as being between the ages of 60 and under 70 [1771-1780].
Robert died in 1851 and was buried at Old Uniontown Cemetery, Wheeling Township, Belmont County, Ohio.
Sources
Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Vol. VI, pp. 637, 647.
Mrs. Orville Dailey, Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio, Roster #3, p. 19.
Veterans Grave Registration Belmont County, Ohio (Washington DC, Works Progress Administration.).
New VA Stone at Taggart Cemetery, Lafferty, OH.
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.
