Armstrong, Martin V.
Born 1835 in Missouri; Died 1880
Franklin County Land Atlas 1865 (62) 17-21-16
1877 Franklin County Township History - Cutler - 21
Western Home Journal - 1868 (3)
1885 Atlas Cutler S-22
Miami County Family History - 189 (Grauel)
Franklin County Family File
Probate Court File - A-28
Buried: Howard Cemetery (Civil War Veteran - Company D 12th Regiment)
Census: 1859 Peoria - p4; 1860 Peoria - 2980; 1870 Peoria - 157; 1875
Cutler - p8
You can these days research with ease all the well known and published articles in reference to the activities of the 12th Kansas Volunteer Infantry.
What you can not do is look up the stories relayed to me by my grandmother.
Her husband was Arvin F. Armstrong, the grandson of Martin Van Buren Armstrong.
Martin Van Buren Armstrong (MVBA) is first found in the Kansas census of 1859 (irregular yes... but think about the times, Bloody Kansas) with his "first" family -- I looked up the microfilm (yes microfilm) back in the mid 1990's at the library in Ottowa KS. I forget the names but he lived in a homestead near Rantoul with his wife, father, child(ren) and a servant (indentured female) surname Merchant. The same listing in the 1860 census, I found on microfilm at the library. This is Franklin County KS. "First" family? yeah. I'll get to that.
Death records indicated he was buried in Howard Cemetery. I found his headstone. Grandma told me at the time that I was the first Armstrong she knew of to look at it since she and my grandfather had been there in the early 1930's. The cemetery is on private property, and twenty-some years ago it was in timber. MVBA's headstone is (was?) a grand sight to see. The inscriptions were well weathered but still legible. On the side if I recall correctly facing the West, "Civil war Veteran -Company D 12th Regiment".
12th Kansas Volunteer Infantry mustered in 1862 September. Organized in Paola KS under command of Col. Charles W. Adams. D Company was comprised entirely of residents from Frnaklin County KS. MVBA listed his residence as Stanton, a town just across the river (Marais Des Cygnes) from his homestead place near smaller rural Rantoul KS.
<<below, is snip cut and paste from Wiki, a synopsis of 12th KS Vol INF activities from muster-in to muster-out>>
"The regiment was assigned to duty by detachments on line between Kansas and Missouri until November 1863. At Olathe, Paola, Wyandotte, Mound City, Shawnee Trading Post, Fort Scott, Leavenworth and Fort Riley, Kan. Company H at Fort Larned until January 1864, then rejoined regiment at Fort Smith, Ark., also occupy Kansas City, Westport, and Hickman's Mills, Mo., guarding trains and operating against guerrillas. Operations in Jackson County against Quantrill November 2–5, 1862 (Company A). Baxter Springs October 6, 1863 (detachment). Companies B, E, and F escort train to Fort Smith, Ark., October 28-November 17, 1863. Companies A, C, D, G, I, and K concentrated at Fort Scott November 1863, and march to Fort Smith, Ark., December 13–28, 1863. Duty there until March 1864. Steele's Expedition to Camden March 23-May 3, 1864. Prairie D'Ann April 9–13. Jenkins' Ferry, Saline River, April 29–30. Return to Fort Smith May 3–16, and duty there until February 1865. Fort Smith September 1864. Moved to Little Rock February 24, 1865 and duty there until June."
<<end snip from cut-n-paste>>
(I recieve no credit nor is none asked for compiling any of the original research regarding the details described above. Nevertheless, I had a hand in it.)
MVBA for his part, stomped around Eastern Kansas for three years with his unit ultimately mustering out of service at Little Rock in June of 1865.
here's the neat part of the story.
Martin (MVBA) came back to his homestead on the banks of the Marais Des Cygnes near Rantoul and Stanton KS (it's on a bend in the river)... to find it taken over by his neighbor because while he was off being a soldier, all his family had died. They had all been buried over in Howard Cemetery. The neighbor we assume did not resist to surrender the homestead place back to Martin, because between then and the 1870 census I've found no records contesting MVBA's ownership. We do however find MVBA in the census with a new wife. And daughter. And a little later, with his new wife, daughter, another daughter, and a son.
Martin had come home to find his family gone. His homestead place was returned to him by his neighbor, gladly. Martin the widower married his new young wife Elizabeth Gragg (sometimes found spelled Gregg) from near the Barton/Vernon MO county line. This union produced first two daughters then one son. The youngest, the son, was named John Franklin Armstrong.
That very John Franklin Armstrong is my grandfathter's father. Martha Olene (Phipps) Armstrong married Arvin Franklin Armstrong, and she is my oral source for most of these stories, as relayed to her by "Dad Armstrong" (as she referred to her father-in-law) and his older sister Mary (Armstrong) Grauel.
An interesting note here is that my Grandma Martha's own maternal grandmother was Judith (Longacre) Phipps. Wife of John Phipps. Sheldon, MO.
Study reveals, like it or not, that Longacre is a name known as Bushwhacker "Royalty".
Judith's father was David M. Longacre, PVT, E Co 10th MO Cav CSA. Her oldest brother was Martin V. Longacre, PVT, H Co 3rd MO Cav CSA. These would be Martin David my GGG Grandfather, and my GG Grand-uncle Martin.
(the history of those units these days is easy to 'google')
David M. Longacre - Civil War history.... Served with Missouri 10th Cav., Co. E he's the father of my Grandma's Grandma.
<<"The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865", Vol. X, page 26
According to the Missouri State Archives papers on file, David M. Longacre belonged to McDonalds Reg. Cav. Captured 1 Jan 1863. Exchanged, assigned to duty with Co. H, 3rd MO. Cav. on 1 Aug 1863. Battles: Carthage, Wilson Creek, Lexington, and Springfield. He was born in Roane County, TN Resided in Clinton, MO.
his son, Grandma's Grandma's eldest brother... Pvt Martin V. Longacre Co. E 10th MO Cav (CSA) born 1843 in Missouri died 29 APR 1863, Williamsburg VA (disease).>>
As if that were not enough, now we return to the first Martin in the story, MVBA. That second wife he took, Elizabeth Gragg, was the grand-daughter of George Henry Norvell. The same Geroge Henry Norvell ("Hank" as related to me in stories told to my by my Grandma Martha) who was a member of C Co, 2nd MO Cav CSA.
"Hank" Norvell, if you look up my tree, is another of my GG Grandfathers then.
there's plenty of gray and a sliver of blue, but they all bled red blood from West Central Missouri and Eastern Kansas.
Chapter Two...
But now here remember our original hero in this story, Martin Van Buren Armstrong. That first oddball census of 1859 in Kansas listed his father John living in his household. Further research revelead that John was a veteran of service under Jackson. No, not "Stonewall", but ... Andrew. Yes, in the "War of 1812" there was an affair reffered to as the Red Stick Mess. For his part, he was warrented a parcel in what is now Henry County MO. I've seen the document. John mustered out before the famous Battle of New Orleans, but did indeed participate in the Red Stick affair. That parcel is now mostly or completely underwater near Deepwater MO. Truman Lake.
Genealogy research linked John to another US Army veteran and another land warrant granted to his own father. John's father would be my own ... let us now count the "G's" ...
Great great Grandfather, Martin Van Buren Armstrong. Co D 12th KS Vol INF... Youngest son of...
Great great great Grandfather, John Armstrong... warrented a parcel in what is now Henry Co MO for his service in Red Stick affair War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson...
John was the son of ...
Great great great great Grandfather Armstrong, warrented a parcel in the Ohio River Valley for his service which includes a time as a company commander in Light Horse Harry Lee's cavalry Brigade, where he was wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
-- William Joseph (Billy) Armstrong,
born 25 Feb 1965 in Fort Scott KS
to this day resides in Smithville MO... Untied States Navy from 1984 to 1993, submarine service... SSN-680 USS William H. Bates
and daughter AT2 Jazmyne E. Armstrong HSC-12 World Famous Golden Falcons
recently Honorably Discharged USN 2008-2014
forward deployed attached to NAF Atsugi
attached as Air Wing to both USS George Washington and USS Abraham Lincoln
In this house, we observe Veteran's Day.