Armstrong, George W.

Armstrong, George W. MAGA © 2000-2014
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY ILLINOIS - 1915

Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.

Page 841

ARMSTRONG, GEORGE W. - The part of Cass County which is included in the district of Chandlerville, finds a worthy and capable agricultural representative in the person of George W. Armstrong. His career has been similar to that of many others, who have followed varied pursuits for a number of years, but at length have returned to farming, finding in the tilling of the soil their comfort, their success and their proper field of endeavor. Mr. Armstrong is a native son of Cass County, born October 11, 1869, on his father's homestead in township 18, range 10, near Chandlerville, Cass County, Ill., a son of James and Anna B. (Chittick) Armstrong.

The Armstrong family has been located in Cass County since 1840, when John and Nancy (Cook) Armstrong, the grandparents of George W. Armstrong, came to this part of Illinois from County Tyrone, Ireland, the grandfather entering a large tract of land from the government, which he cleared from its native timber and developed into a productive farm. James Armstrong, the father of George W., was a child when he accompanied his parents from Erin to this country, grew up amid pioneer surroundings, and following in his father's footsteps, adopted the calling of a husbandman. He was married January 1, 1855, to Anna B. Chittick, who had come to Cass County with an elder brother, and they settled down to housekeeping on a farm adjoining the Armstrong homestead, to which the father continued to add until at one time he was the owner of 600 acres of valuable soil, the greater part of which he put under cultivation. He was known as one of the substantial citizens of his community, and an authority upon the subject of livestock. His death occurred April 10, 1907, when he had reached the age of more than seventy-five years, he having been born December 10, 1832. The mother, born March 11, 1834, passed away March 16, 1911. Their children were as follows: Elvina M., who married James E. Way, of Easton, Mason County, Ill.; John S., Robert H., Tillie V. and Gilbert, all of whom are deceased; James W., who is engaged in farming in this township; Anna E., deceased; Fannie F., who is now Mrs. Frank B. Todd, of Chicago; and George W.

George W. Armstrong attended first the district schools in the vicinity of his father's homestead, and following this was given further training in the Chandlerville High school and the Valparaiso (Indiana) Normal school. He entered upon his career as a teacher in the district schools, being thus engaged for three years, and then was made principal of the Walker Grove school, in Mason County. Two years in this capacity were followed by one year as principal of the Chandlerville school, but after his marriage, in 1898, Mr. Armstrong gave up the vocation of educator to become proprietor of the Commercial Hotel. When he sold out three years later, he was made chief of police of Chandlerville, retaining that position for four years, and then returned to the old homestead where he had been born and purchased 165 acres of land, in which the place of his birth is included. Mr. Armstrong has since carried on general farming, and has also met with decided success in the raising of Red Polled cattle and Poland-China hogs. He is known as a business man of ability, and his private interests are large, yet he has found time and inclination to serve his community, and has been a school director since 1909, and deputy assessor since 1913. His public duties have been discharged in an able and conscientious manner, and his services have been such as to add to his general popularity in the community in which he has so long made his home. Politically a Democrat, Mr. Armstrong is one of the strong and influential men of his party in his section of Cass County. His fraternal connection is with the Modern Woodmen of America, at Chandlerville.

Mr. Armstrong was married December 21, 1898, to Miss Jennie B. Taylor, who was born in Cass County, March 1, 1873, daughter of Harry L. and Matilda (Lynn) Taylor, natives of Cass County, and granddaughter of Henry and Mary P. (Hawthorne) Taylor. The grandfather of Mrs. Armstrong founded the Taylor family in Cass County in 1830, in which year he came from Nashville, Tenn., where he had been born January 24, 1814. He died February 5, 1864. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, namely: Myron G., June 11 1900; Mabel A., October 6, 1901; and Robert H., May 16, 1904.