Among the first Portland settlers were James Armstrong, Mary, his wife, and their infant son Thomas. Also John Armstrong, his wife and their infant son, James. The shield of the Portland Armstrongs, probably as old a branch of an American family as any, was a field argent with three arms in armor rebraced (embraced).(Perhaps this is the Irish Armstrong crest? WHA) (Also known Armstrong crest is in a Scottish Bible dated 1750 which shows an arm and hand holding an “Oak Eradicated”. It is in the possession of Frederick Perley Armstrong.) Other Armstrong’s were known to have reached America in 1750 and settled in New Hampshire.
It is not known when descendents of these early settlers came to Nova Scotia but one of them whose name figures prominently in the early history of Kempt Shore, was Squire George Armstrong, who moved to Kempt Shore soon after his marriage in 1816 to Matilda Mosher of Newport Township. Matilda was one of the 12 children of Jehu Mosher and his first wife Hannah Greeno. Jehu had another 10 children with his second wife Eleanor Foley. Jehu was born in England in 1755 and died March 7, 1851 at Avondale/Newport Landing. Hannah was born in 1760 and died March 31, 1804. Her father was Daniel Greeno, a Grantee of Falmouth Township. The parents of Jehu Mosher were James Mosher, born July 12, 1725 in Tiverton, Rhode Island, died in 1822 at Avondale/Newport Landing and Lydia Allen born June 18, 1729 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. They married on October 28, 1748 in Dartmouth. She was the daughter of Increase and Lydia Allen, the original Grantees of Newport Township.
Squire George was born in 1792 in Newport, Hants the son of Thomas Armstrong and Elizabeth Cochran. His parents probably emigrated from Rhode Island along with the Moshers who settled and named the village of Newport Landing (Avondale) around 1760. They were among the first proprietors of that township. Thomas and Elizabeth are buried in Newport Landing/Avondale (Old Section). Squire George lived in Newport until his move to Kempt Shore in 1816.
Squire George was one of five children, four brothers and a sister. His brother John married Sarah Mosher and settled first in Cheverie, later moving to Ontario with his family. William moved across to the Minas Basin Adverate. James went to New York. Brian (or Blair?) went to Massachusetts. Of Priscilla, the only girl, little is known.
The Squire himself, settled on land bought from Judge Haliburton at Kempt and proceeded to raise a large family. His children were;
Fish Armstrong, the third son and fifth child of Squire George, was one of them. Fish, in keeping with his somewhat unusual name, spent much of his life following the sea. According to a story handed down among the Armstrongs, Fish was often away from home for months at a time and during one of his long absences, the family acquired a watchdog. The dog took his duties seriously and spent the summer nights patrolling the family estate near the shore. And on one of these dark nights, Fish came home unexpectedly. Fish had never seen the dog. The dog had never seen Fish. And moreover the dog took a pretty dim view of this stranger’s approach to the house that he was guarding. In fact, he kept Fish out in the orchard, dodging about among the apple trees for hours. At last, the young sailor’s patience gave out and he made a run for it but, the dog headed him off and showed a mouthful of teeth. Again Fish made a dash for his father’s door and again, the dog sprang at him.
Fish was desperate now. He lashed out with that traditionally strong arm and caught the dog with such a wallop between the eyes that “the animal’s skull split and is eyes popped from his head. He died instantly.” Whether the Squire’s joy over meeting his son overcame the anger of the untimely death of his watchdog in not included in the record.
Squire George was remembered as a kind man, full of good spirits and neighborly friendliness. For many years his family had in their employ a good natured old black woman, known affectionately throughout the district as “Black Nancy”. Where Nancy came from is not known but, Captain John Grant of Loyal Hill, Summerville, had in his employ, several black people whom he had brought from Carolina, some of whom had been slaves. And in the Grant family records, is a list of these black servants and their children. One family had a little girl of five with the name of “Nance”. In all probabilities, Squire George’s Nancy is the same person, and doubtless a relative of the locally famous “Black Peter” the loyal servant of Michael Grant.
The Squire’s property was divided as his sons came of age. And ancient map or sketch still in possession of the family shows the location of the different farms along the Avon River shore and the division of the original estate along with large estate of Charles Card who owned land near that of Squire George. One of Charles Card’s descendents, Captain Thomas A. Card of Riverside California, has kindly provided history of the Card and Armstrong families. Squire George himself, and many of his descendents are buried in the cemetery surrounding the Presbyterian (now United) church near the Avon River.
to return home.