Sir John Brooksboro Armstrong - A very messed-up profile.

I am not sure why Geni has entered me as a manager of Sir John Brooksboro Armstrong. My main interest is in the descendants of Andrew Armstrong, 1st cousin of Sir John’s father William. And here I will note that the apparent multiple parents of Sir John seem to be repetitions: it seems to be agreed that Sir John’s parents were William Armstrong (1602-1664) and Mary or Margaret Mary Maguire (1604-1650).) I think if the three Mary Maguires were merged we would get a clearer picture. I haven’t done this because there are some minor conflicts of date, and I don’t know where all the dates on these profiles come from.

I am dubious about the name Sir John Brooksboro. Middle names do not seem correct at this period. I am inclined to think he was Sir John Armstrong of Brookeborough (if he was a knight at all).

I am assuming that the discussion on Hannah Armstrong (Johnston) is irrelevant to this.

The following is a summary of my research on this branch. It doesn’t help with Sir John but it seems compatible with the picture on geni except for the absence from geni of Edward.

Registered Pedigrees (National Library of Ireland GO MS 171) has Andrew (see above) and William as sons of Christopher Armstrong Laird of Mangerton. William is described as 2nd son, settling in Fermanagh, and having at least two sons, the first being John Armstrong of Longfield near Cavan and the second being Alexander. The latter’s son was Martin Armstrong of CarricMaclyen co. Leitrim sheriff in 1737. John of Longfield’s children were:
(1) Martin of Longfield (killed in battle),
(2) Thomas, father of Isabella who married Rev. Edward Armstrong, and of Margaret who married Major Johnston),
(3) Robert (father of Robert who was father of Martin, Launcelot and others, and of Alexander who married Grissell Armstrong of Ballycumber, King’s co.),
(4) Daniel.
It is possible that this manuscript has more details that I didn’t copy.

The Pedigree of the Family of Armstrongs, compiled by John Armstrong Esq Engineer in Ordinary to His Majesty 1734 (National Library of Ireland MS 5216: but this version includes additions by others: there is a printed version of which I only have a copy of part) has Unknown and William as sons of Christopher Armstrong Laird of Mangerton, both migrating to Ireland. Unknown is the father of Andrew (see above). William of Fermanagh has 2 sons, John and Alexander, the latter being Sheriff of Leitrim in 1737 and Sheriff of Cavan in 1749. These dates seem impossible for Alexander but just about possible for Martin (see previous paragraph).

‘Chronicles of the Armstrongs’ edited by James Lewis Armstrong (online at https://archive.org/details/chroniclesofarms00arms/page/n7/mode/2up) says:
“In the reign of Charles I, when the old Border practices were not entirely discontinued, the tower of Gilnockie was occupied by William Armstrong called for distinction’s sake Christie’s Will, grandson to the famous John of Glinockie.” (p. 309)
“Tradition says that William was married to a distant relative called Margaret Elliot.” (p. 312)
“William Armstrong, son of Christopher Armstrong and grandson of the famous John of Gilnockie, left Scotland with his nephew Andrew some years after the death of Queen Elizabeth, and settled in the county of Fermanagh.” (p. 316)
“This William, son of Christopher and grandson of John of Gilnockie, was the identical Christie’s Will of ballad renown… The Armstrongs who first went to Ireland from Lanholm settled at a place now called Brookboro, near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, soon after 1630, and later were buried at Agahvea.” (p. 317)
“Upon this second slab were recorded the births and deaths of Will’s sons Edward and Alexander, and also those of three of his grandsons, - sons of Edward, - John, Francis, and James.” (p. 318)
“William Armstrong, called Christie’s Will, settled in Ireland, County Fermanagh, about 1630; slain in battle, King Charles’s army, in which he was an officer; living 1641.” (p. 320)
In this book there is a reference to “Pedigree VI: Descendants of William Armstrong, younger son of Christopher Armstrong”. (p. 321) It looks like as if these pedigrees are to be found in the Gamble MSS, which should now be in the National Library of Ireland, but I have not identified them.
“About 1650 Edward from the Border, son of Christie’s Will, went from Brookboro, Fermanagh, to a place near Ederney in the same county.” (p. 328)

Private User Thank you, I have read your response with interest and find it very helpful. It appears that the reason you have become a manager of the profile under discussion here ("Sir John Brookboro Armstrong") is due to a recent merge between a profile you created on 10/31/2015 for a "John Armstrong" who was the son of William and the father of Archibald, James, and Robert. You may review the merge here:

https://www.geni.com/merge/view?revision_id=78711586350

I am trying to figure out and prove how my 7th g-grandparents (mother's father's side) fit into the Armstrong tree. And I have a feeling I've got my work cut out for me, because so many family trees, duplicate or otherwise, within the geni world tree have been created based on hearsay and little more.

It wasn't difficult to prove my Cathey kinship. And I discovered significant Scotch-Irish influence within my maternal grandfather's ancestry. So it stands to reason the families intermarried. However, I would like to trace my bloodline as accurately as possible and learn more about them as individuals.

Margaret Armstrong

Alexander Cathey