Capt. William ‘of Hightower’ Armstrong

Called 'Hightower' Source-Chart of the Ten Lords of Mangerton Castle. Compiled by W.L.A.(Az.)

Web trees claim that William died at Ederney in 1664. His children, according to the Armstrong pedigree, were:

• John of Longfield (location unclear today, but may be near Five Mile Town)
• Alexander

(Please be sure to see note below)

William fought in King Charles I's army in 1641 and was an officer then, believed to be a Captain.

Comments on the Armstrong pedigree

There is a seven-page pedigree for Armstrongs that includes the Fermanagh Armstrongs attached to this profile as a reference. Unfortunately, the pedigree is incomplete and the relationships have severe date problems as written. Nevertheless, it does describe the individuals well. Likely it was constructed after-the-fact, and the biographies of the individuals were recorded accurately but their precise ancestry was not, and as such there is generational confusion in this document and it cannot be trusted on that score.

It also does not provide sources for numerous Armstrong marriages described between 1702 and 1730 in the Clogher Diocese marriage license records. This underscores the fact that it isn't really a pedigree but a family biography. This is the reason for children that are undescribed by the pedigree.

Names in families of Scottish/Irish origin of this era repeat, in part because of a tradition that was practiced very strongly in Ireland for at least three hundred years: the first born son is named after the son's paternal grandfather, and the second after the maternal grandfather, the third after the father, and the fourth after the eldest brother.

The Clogher records likely describe Armstrongs that lived substantially to the south-east of Ederney. Some of Williams' children undoubtedly moved that way, e.g. John of Brookeborough. The fate of others is unknown.

Early Armstrong names that appear repeatedly in the Clogher records are:

• William
• Thomas
• Francis
• Robert
• Joseph

These likely represent children of William of Hightower that have gone unnoted. I am adding these in a manner consistent with Scottish/Irish naming traditions, but of course these will not be 100% accurate.

References

• The Clogher marriage license records have a large section for Armstrongs beginning around Page 10, but you need an Ancestry subscription to see them
• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Feb 5 2018, 15:14:09 UTC
• AncestryTree claims “DNA Connection”
• General history of the Armstrongs and when they first arrived in Ireland