May 8, 1887 Telegram from Cousin Kate Leonard in Brooklyn to John F. Armstrong
March 26, 2018This telegram was sent to John Francis Armstrong (1845-1893) by his cousin Kate Leonard (c1849-1929) in Brooklyn, New York on 8 May 1887. She wrote that his sisters, Catherine “Kitty” Armstrong and Ann Armstrong, were leaving New York that night on the Atlantic Coast Line train.
Kate eventually ended up in Springfield, Massachusetts, where most of her siblings had settled. Her sisters, Beesy Leonard Carmody (c1852-1930) and Ellen Leonard Rooney (c1849-1932), wrote JF letters of condolence when his wife Sarah McAndrew Armstrong died on 20 January 1887.
Marie Van Sant Hudson and Patricia F. Daugherty, a descendant of JF’s uncle,Thomas Armstrong, contributed substantial research for this post.
References
“Miss Kate A. Leonard”, Springfield Republican (Springfield, MA), 27 December 1929, online archives, Genealogybank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 25 February 2018), citing original p. 4.—-Notes: Kate’s obit lists her surviving siblings: Mrs. Ann Bradley and Mrs. Beesy Carmody of Springfield, MA, Mrs. Ellen Rooney of NY City, NY, and John J. Leonard of Springfield, MA.
Also see References and attached notes at Runaway Sisters: The Story Behind the Photo of Annie and Kitty Armstrong and Their Brother John F. Armstrong.