Thomas George Armstrong

ID # 3248, (1809-1838)
Pedigree
BirthThomas George Armstrong was born in 1809 at England. 
MarriageHe married Charlotte Fellows, daughter of Richard Fisher Fellows and Charlotte Morson. 
DeathHe died on 31 March 1838 at Orchardleigh, Blandford Twp., Upper Canada. 
BurialHe was buried on 3 April 1838 at Old St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery, Woodstock, Brock District. 
NoteFamilysearch has the image of a New York passenger list. An index card shows the name of the ship as the John Jay, though a more reasonable interpretation of the handwriting on the image would be the John Kay, and which is dated 16 October, 1833. This shows passenger Thomas George Armstrong, age 24, Army, of England, but destined Canada.

Thomas George Armstrong died without a will. Charlotte applied for Letters of Administration for his estate (see notes under Charlotte.)

Thomas died March 31, 1838, and was buried in the cemetery at Old St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery in Woodstock, then in the Brock District, but now the county seat of Oxford County. The story of Thomas' death is to be found on page 2 of the April 14, 1838 issue of the Kingston Chronicle & Gazette. It states that he died at his residence, 'Orchardly', in West Oxford, (perhaps referring to the township) on the 31st of March, from the bite of a dog. His age is given as 28 and he is said to have been in the 66th Regiment (he was a captain). He was currently stated to be a major in the 2nd Oxford Militia. The funeral was the 3rd of April and he was escorted to his burial in the 'churchyard of Woodstock' by Col. Light and the rest of the officers of the 2nd Oxford Militia. The obituary mentions that he had an infant son, but does not mention his wife by name. (The same obituary was repeated word for word in the April 18, 1838 issue of the Bytown Gazette.)

(West Oxford is certainly a township in what was at the time the Brock District, later Oxford County. Charlotte's petition to the Lieutenant Governor locates his death in Blandford Township. Just where 'Orchardleigh' or 'Orchardly' was located remains to be found.)

Probably, there was a stone placed on Thomas' grave, but it had not survived by the time the Oxford County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society did a transcription of the cemetery in 1985. This is hardly unusual for a stone of this age.

What has survived at Old St. Paul's is a plaque which is placed in the transept of the church and was erected by Thomas' parents who resided in England. It reads:

Plaque 8
Sacred to the memory of
Thomas George Armstrong
Major in the 2nd Regt of West Oxford Militia
and late Captain in her Majesty's 66th Regt
who died at Orchardleigh farm
after a short illness on the 31st March 1838
aged 28
leaving a wife and infant children
to mourn his early loss.
His afflicted parents in England
have caused this tablet
to be placed
near the remains
of their beloved son.

(The above shows Thomas as a major in the 2nd Regiment of the West Oxford Militia. The 1839 Appendix to Journal of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, 1839, image 531, shows Thomas George Armstrong as captain of the 1st Oxford Militia. Based on both the plaque at Old St. Paul's and information found in the application for Letters of Administration for his estate, Thomas was dead by the time the Journal was published.)

With England in mind, and rather from left field, we are left to consider the following:

We may clearly document John Fellows Armstrong, 1836-1867, as the son of Thomas George Armstrong and Charlotte Fellows. We have his baptism record stating that he was baptised at the Quebec Garrison in Quebec City on 7th August, 1836. We now have some evidence that John Fellows Armstrong was baptised twice.

Familysearch has available a transcription-only from their database England Births & Christenings, 1538-1975 and it provides us with this information:

James Fellows Armstrong, Christening date 18 November, 1836, at Walcot, Somerset, England. Parents Thomas George Armstrong and Charlotte Armstrong.

The variation of the first given name aside, this looks remarkably as though Thomas and Charlotte sailed to England to see Thomas' parents and had a rerun of the baptism of their son, probably in the family church. It may well be that the name 'James' as it appears in the English baptism represents a problem transcribing the handwriting - or perhaps second thoughts. This interpretation may be wrong, but, until an image of the record is located, it remains a possibility.

With this in mind, we are left to consider the probability that Thomas and Charlotte had another child, a daughter, and that she didn't survive.

Familysearch has from the same database the following:

Charlotte Mary Armstrong Christened 5 July, 1837, at Walcot, Somerset, England.
Father Thomas George Armstrong, mother Charlotte Armstrong.

This gets beyond hypothesis with the following presented by DigitalKingston:

Kingston Chronicle & Gazette, Dec. 13, 1837, page 3, col. 2., image not available

Captain Armstrong, 66th Regiment.
His daughter Charlotte Maria Alicia Armstrong died age five months.

Given the timing of the baptism of son 'James' in England (surely John Fellows Armstrong) and then the later baptism of Charlotte Mary the following year, we must believe that the child was born in England. The Kingston Chronicle & Gazette does not inform us as to when Charlotte Maria died or where, though they are probably back in Canada.

Charlotte Laura Armstrong was born 25 September, 1838, some months after her father's death, according to her gravestone. The census of 1861 places her birth in Upper Canada; the censuses of 1871 and 1881 record her birth as being in Ontario.

We do not know how long Thomas and his wife Charlotte remained in England, but it would seem that he was still with the 66th Regiment at the time. If this is the case, then it may be that Thomas' presence in England was at least as much professional as it was personal. 

Children of Thomas George Armstrong and Charlotte Fellows
Last Edited20 Jul 2022