Fayette County PA Archives Biographies.....Armstrong, William C. October 14, 1835 - ????
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Marta Burns marta43@juno.com August 26, 2024, 8:10 am

Source: Gresham and Wiley, 1889: Biographical & Portrait Cyclopedia, Fayette Co, PA, pg 245
Author: John H. Gresham & Samuel T. Wiley

WILLIAM C ARMSTRONG of Bridgeport is a son of Joshua 
Armstrong and Lydia Drum Armstrong.  

    His father, Joshua Armstrong, was a native of New Jersey 
and came to Washington county, Penna, when about eighteen 
years of age.  He remained there a short time, when he 
removed to Brownsville in 1818.  He was a carpenter by 
trade, and built over one hundred houses in Brownsville and 
Bridgeport and vicinity.  He was a prominent citizen of 
Bridgeport and died in 1881 at eighty three years of age.  

    The mother of W C Armstrong was a native of Maryland, 
and came to Fayette county with her parents when twelve 
years of age, and died September 1875 at the age of seventy 
two years.  Her father came to the county in 1815 where he 
died in 1845.

    William C Armstrong was born at Bridgeport, October 14, 
1835, and where he grew to manhood.  He attended the common 
schools.  On leaving school he apprenticed himself to 
Alexander Moffit to learn carriage blacksmithing and 
remained there for four years.  In 1856 he went to the river 
to learn steamboat engineering on the steam J M Converse.  
This boat was sunk by the ice in 1857 at Ferry Island, 
Mississippi river.  Mr Armstrong was on the boat from the 
time of starting until she sank.

    He remained upon packet boats as engineer until 1861 
when he was made First Assistant Engineer on the government 
boat Marmond, and took part in all of the principal naval 
battles along the Mississippi and its tributaries.  He was 
at the fight at Vicksburg when the canal was cut across the 
strip of land in front of that city.  He served in the navy 
all through the war, and was honorably discharged at Mound 
City, Illinois, in 1866.  

    He next became engineer on a Missouri river boat plying 
from Sioux City to Fort Benton, and remained till 1873 when 
he received a position on a tow boat at Pittsburgh which he 
held until 1875.  At this time he and other built a tow boat 
called the Dauntless.  He took charge of this boat as 
captain and pilot and ran the boat until 1883.  He then left 
the river and settled at Bridgeport as manager of the large 
grocery and agricultural implement house, which he has 
successfully managed ever since and is still engaged in.

    Mr Armstrong was married in 1872 to Miss Ella Bugher, 
daughter of Captain Doyle Bugher of Brownsville who is an 
old steamboat captain.  He is now a member of the council, 
having been elected on the democratic ticket against a 
republican majority of above one hundred votes in the 
borough.

Additional Comments:
Originally submitted 2000.

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