James Dillon Armstrong

Early life and education James Dillon Armstrong was born on September 23, 1821, in Frankfort, Virginia. Armstrong's family was Presbyterian and of Scotch-Irish descent. Through his father, Armstrong was a direct descendant of James Armstrong, who participated in the rising of the Covenanters at the Battle of Pentland Hills, forfeited his estate in 1666, and escaped from Annandale, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, to County Down, Ireland. and represented Virginia's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1833. and under Judge Lucas P. Thompson at Staunton Law School in Staunton, Virginia. He was subsequently admitted to the bar in Hampshire County, and later had a law practice with Robert Wood Dailey Jr. until Armstrong took the bench in 1875.

Political career

James Armstrong was elected as Hampshire County Prosecuting Attorney in 1852, winning against A. P. White.

In 1855, John C. B. Mullin resigned his seat in the Virginia Senate representing Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan counties, and Armstrong became a Whig candidate for this seat. Armstrong served in this Virginia Senate seat from the session beginning on December 3, 1855, until the session ending on March 10, 1864. In May 1857, Armstrong was re-elected to the Senate as a Whig, and in May 1859, he was re-elected to the Senate as a Democrat. Armstrong was subsequently re-elected in 1861, and re-elected for his final term in 1863. However, on June 20, 1863, Armstrong's senate district, consisting of Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan counties,

Following the onset of the American Civil War in April 1861, Armstrong began serving on Hampshire County's committee of safety alongside Isaac Parsons and Angus William McDonald. The committee was established by a meeting of Hampshire County citizens for the purposes of ensuring the public good while the county prepared for armed conflict.

In May 1866, during the post-war Reconstruction era, Armstrong, Robert White, J. W. F. Allen, A. W. Kercheval, and Alexander W. Monroe refused to take the test oath before Hampshire County Court, and Armstrong was forbidden to practice law, On September 14, 1866, the circuit court at Romney awarded a peremptory writ of mandate requiring the board to register Armstrong without him taking the oath. The election of delegates was held on October 26, 1871, and Armstrong was elected to represent West Virginia's 10th Senate district alongside John T. Peerce. Armstrong participated in the constitutional convention, which assembled in Charleston from January 16, 1872, and lasted until April 9 that year. Armstrong and White withdrew in favor of Allen, He ran for re-election against William C. Clayton and was re-elected on November 6, 1888, with 6,203 votes, for an eight-year term starting January 1, 1889. In September 1891 in Keyser, Armstrong became ill as a result of Bright's disease, and the following April, he resigned from the bench, citing his health as the reason for his resignation in a letter dated April 4, 1892, which was published in the Hampshire Review. At that time, he was the longest-serving judge to have presided over Hampshire County. Armstrong was succeeded on the bench by Robert Wood Dailey Jr.

Personal life Presbyterian Church service

Armstrong was a Presbyterian, In May 1850, Armstrong became a ruling elder in the Romney church and held this position for over 43 years. Armstrong was later involved in the reorganization of the Church of Mount Hope in 1890. As a ruling elder, Armstrong was a member of the December 1861 General Assembly that organized the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

Educational, philanthropic, and business pursuits On May 15, 1869, Armstrong was among the members of Romney Literary Society that met to re-establish the society following the American Civil War. In January 1874, Armstrong served as a delegate to the Richmond, Virginia, convention of the Friends of Hampden Sidney College, a private Presbyterian men's college. On August 14, 1877, Armstrong was a founding member and elected president of the Bible Society of the County of Hampshire, which was auxiliary to the American Bible Society. Armstrong was an incorporator and served on the first board of directors of the Bank of Romney, which was chartered in 1888 and went into operation in 1889.

Marriage On May 1, 1849, Armstrong married Anne Waterman Foote, the daughter of William Henry Foote and Foote's wife Eliza Wilson Glasse. Anne Foote was born in Woodstock, Virginia,

Death

James Armstrong became seriously ill on August 27, 1893, Armstrong's obituary in the Hampshire Review describes him as "an able lawyer ... an enterprising, liberal citizen, and above all, a high minded Christian gentleman". she was interred with her husband in Indian Mound Cemetery on December 29, 1908.