John F. Armstrong Timeline: 1891-1893
July 8, 2018/Updated Fall 20261891
January 21, 1891, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA) “Erin Go Bragh. The Carnival Reunion in Emmet Hall Last Night. Wit, Wine, and Wisdom.”, p. 5, Genealogybank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 7 July 2018): During Augusta’s Carnival Week, on January 20, 1891, a celebration and meeting of members of the Emmet Clubs in Georgia and South Carolina was held in Emmet Hall. The main speakers were John F. Armstrong and M. P. Carroll of Augusta, S. F. Grady of Atlanta, and J. McAllister [sic] of Charleston. Due to an election in Savannah, its club was not represented. A copy of the speech United Irishman Robert Emmet gave before his execution in Dublin in 1803 was read aloud. Thirty-five club members attended from Atlanta, and twenty-five attended from Charleston.
Note: Irish nationalist Robert Emmet was a leader in the failed uprising of the United Irishmen in Ireland in 1803. He gave a moving speech before he was executed on 20 September 1803 in Dublin. In the United States, Emmet clubs were often covers for the Clan na Gael in the 19th century. John F. Armstrong served as a high-ranking member of the Clan na Gael in the 1880s.
February 18, 1891, Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), “Colonel Armstrong Will Go to Ireland.”, p. 1, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 6 July 2018): Because of an ongoing illness, senior partner John F. Armstrong had withdrawn from the dry goods business of Daly and Armstrong. He was leaving for Ireland within the next two weeks to stay with his family in Sligo for a year to recover, it was hoped, from his illness. M. E. McCaulay, a silent partner in Daly and Armstrong, had also withdrawn from the business, which was to continue under Mr. Daly.
February 20, 1891, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA), “Personal Paragraphs,” p. 5, Genealogybank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 20 September 2026): John F. Armstrong was to take the morning C. C. & A. train to New York and then sail for Ireland. He planned to stay in Ireland for a year to recover from illness.
February 21, 1891, Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA), “Going To Ireland” p. 2, Genealogybank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 20 September 2026): It was announced that John F. Armstrong’s former employee’s at Daly & Armstrong gave him a cane with a gold head to take with him to Ireland. The announcement in the Chronicle said, “Before leaving to-night for Ireland, Mr. John F. Armstrong was presented with a gold-headed cane by all the former employees of the firm of Daly & Armstrong. J. J. H.”
April 11, 1891, Tacoma Daily News (Tacoma, WA), “Parnell Invited. His Presence Wanted at Meeting of Irish National League of America.” p. 1, Genealogybank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 7 July 2018): At a meeting of the council of the Irish National League of America in Cincinnati, OH, one of the adopted resolutions stated that long-time council member John F. Armstrong of Augusta, GA was in Ireland with family in the hopes of recovering from a long-term illness. The council wished him a full and speedy recovery.
1892
February 3, 1892, Savannah Press (Savannah, GA), “Marriage This Morning. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Casey in Savannah on their Bridal Tour.” p. 1 Genealogybank.com (https://genealogybank.com : accessed 20 September 2026): While JFA was in Ireland receiving treatment for his illness, his daughter, Mary Ellen “May” Armstrong married William C. “Dick” Casey. On February 3, 1892, the Savannah Press reported that the couple were spending their wedding night at the Pulaski House in Savannah. They had married that morning at Sacred Heart Church in Augusta. Mr. Casey was the managing editor of the Augusta Evening Herald. It was noted that Miss Armstrong’s father was highly regarded in Savannah. The newlyweds were to remain in Savannah to visit friends for several days before they continued to Florida.
March 2, 1892, Savannah Press (Savannah, GA), “The Augusta Herald. Mr. James R. Randall Takes Charge of Its Editorial Page.” p. 1 Genealogybank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 20 September 2026): It was announced that the poet James Ryder Randall was the new editorial page editor at the Augusta Herald. W. C. Casey would remain the managing editor.
Central Building at the Georgia State Hospital in Milledgeville, formerly the Georgia Lunatic Asylum, 1933. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress:(https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ga0310.photos: accessed 9 July 2018).
1893
July 12, 1893, Atlanta Constitution, “Notes of A Day in Augusta.”, p. 2, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 8 July 2018): Announcement that John Armstrong of Augusta was planning to return home to Augusta, Georgia. He had been in Ireland in the hopes of recovering from a long illness, but his health had not improved.
November 10, 1893, Columbus Daily Enquirer (Columbus, GA), “Mortuary Notice – Death of a Prominent Augusta Man.”, p. 1, Genealogybank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 July 2018): Obituary for John F. Armstrong. JF died the previous day at Milledgeville, Georgia. It was noted that he had suffered from declining health for several years. His remains were taken to Augusta for burial.
John F. Armstrong’s 1893 medical record from the Georgia Lunatic Asylum. Image courtesy of Marie Van Sant Hudson who obtained it from the Georgia Department of Health.
November 13, 1893, Irish American Weekly (New York, NY), “Mortuary Notice – J.F. Armstrong Dead.”, p. 4, Genealogybank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 9 July 2018): Obituary for John F. Armstrong noted that he was an “…advanced Nationalist, and soon became prominent in Clan na Gael and Irish Land League circles.” It went on to state that JF had gone to Ireland in 1886 as a representative of Alexander Sullivan‘s faction of the Irish National League of America to intimidate Parnell into “…recognizing that junta, which was then disintegrating the League through the results of the internal war that was raging within the camps of the Clan na Gael, and which resulted in the Cronin murder.”