Researching the Childhood of John Francis Armstrong (1845-1893) In County Sligo, Barony of Leyny, Civil Parish of Achonry
August 2, 2016
At the Foot of the Ox Mountains near Cloonacool in County Sligo, 2016. Image used with permission of Val Robus at magnumlady.com.
Six years after Marie started researching our great-great grandfather, John Francis Armstrong, we continue to find new sources of information about him.
But although we’ve located a lot of information on JF’s life in the United States, we haven’t found any official record of him in Ireland before he left in 1865 at the age of nineteen.
This isn’t surprising since there are no extant 19th-century Irish census records for County Sligo. Also, civil registrations for births, marriages, and deaths weren’t required until 1864, and baptisms and marriages weren’t recorded at the Catholic Parish at Cloonacool until October of 1859.
JF’s Obituary
JF’s obituary, published on November 10th, 1893 in the Augusta Chronicle in Augusta, Georgia, offers a few details about his life in Ireland:
John Francis Armstrong was born in Tubbercurry, County Sligo, Ireland in September 1845, where his mother and father now live. He was educated at home and at the age of 19 he came to America and shortly after his arrival in New York, he came to Augusta where he had an uncle, Mr. Thos. Armstrong living.
Mad River near Cloonacool in County Sligo, 2016, Image used with permission from Val Robus at magnumlady.com
After researching JF’s family in Irish land, parish, and prison records, we know that his parents, Francis and Anne Leonard Armstrong, were Catholic tenant farmers in County Sligo. JF was probably born on his parents’ leased farm at the foot of the Ox Mountains in Kilcummin Townland.
Francis and Anne lived about a mile from the village of Cloonacool, several miles from Tubbercurry, and appoximately twelve miles from Sligo Town. In administrative terms, Francis and Anne lived in County Sligo, Barony of Leyny, Civil Parish of Achonry, Townland of Kilcummin. They were members of Cloonacool Parish, a small Roman Catholic church.
Francis and Anne also rented land in the adjacent Townland of Derreens, where they later lived. In the 1870s, they moved to the nearby Townland of Tullyvellia. It appears that they lost their leases in Derreens in 1876 after the owner died. We do not know how long they had leases in Kilcummin.
In the 1901 and 1911 census returns, JF’s parents and some of his siblings reported that they spoke both English and Irish. That makes it quite likely that he did too, at least before he left Ireland in 1865.
An Old Family Story
There is an old family story that JF got involved in anti-British activities in County Sligo and had to leave Ireland quickly in 1865.
So far, we haven’t been able to confirm this, although the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) did plan a rising in 1865. The plot was discovered, however, and arrests were begun in September of that year. Although we don’t know for sure, it’s possible that JF was involved in the IRB and left Ireland to escape arrest, which would fit with the family story.
Interestingly, John Devoy (1842-1928), a high-ranking IRB member, was arrested in February of 1866 and released in 1870 on the condition that he leave the country. Devoy ended up in the United States and became a leading member of the Clan na Gael, the IRB’s American counterpart.
Marie has found a letter JF wrote to Devoy in 1883 and a reference to “Armstrong of Georgia” in Devoy’s memoirs in the Devoy Collection at the National Library of Ireland.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to investigate the Devoy Collection further to find out if there are any more references to JF?
References
Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI. (2015, July). Retrieved July 12, 2016, from National Library of Ireland: http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0127
Donovan, B. (2016, March 26). Searching the Irish Records: Your top 8 questions, and our expert’s answers. Retrieved July 2016, from findmypast.com: https://blog.findmypast.com/irish-webinar-faqs-brian-donovan-answers-your-questions-1677147007.html
Fitzsimmons, F. (2016, March 3). An Expert’s Guide to Griffith’s Valuation. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: https://blog.findmypast.com/an-expert-guide-to-the-griffiths-valuation-1639727438.html
Golway, T. (1998). Irish Rebel: John Devoy and America’s Fight for Ireland’s Freedom. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Griffith’s Valuation 1847-1864. (2003). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
History of Irish Census Records. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2016, from http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/history.html
Landed Estates Court Rentals 1850-1885. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com
Mr. JNO F. Armstrong: A Prominent Citizen Passes To His Last Rest. (1893, November 10). The Augusta Chronicle. Augusta, Georgia, USA.
National Archives of Ireland. (n.d.). About pre-1901 Census fragments and History of 1831 – 1851 census. Retrieved 2014, 2015, 2016, from National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/pre1901.html
National Archives of Ireland. (n.d.). About the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Retrieved 2014, 2015, 2016, from National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/about19011911census.html
National Archives of Ireland. (n.d.). History of Irish Census Records. Retrieved 2014, 2015, 2016, from http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/history.html
“Sligo Prison General Register: 1875-1879”. Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com
“Sligo Prison General Register: 1883-1890”. Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com