James Armstrong (Pennsylvania politician)
James Armstrong was an American judge, politician, physician, and slave owner.
Early life
Armstrong was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1748. He was a son of Brigadier General and Continental Congressman John Armstrong and Rebecca Armstrong. His older sister Rebecca Armstrong was the wife of James Turner and his younger brother was John Armstrong Jr., who became the U.S. Secretary of War and served as the Minister to France and a U.S. Senator from New York.He was educated at the Philadelphia Academy and at Nassau Hall. He studied medicine at Dr. John Morgan's School in Philadelphia before graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1769.
Career
After his graduation from medical school, he moved to Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia, where he established a medical practice.During the American Revolutionary War, he served as a medical officer and is sometimes confused with several other James Armstrongs in the war. After the war, he spent three years in England to further his medical studies before returning to Carlisle in 1788. After Carlisle, he relocated to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, where for twelve years he practiced medicine and was appointed as an associate Judge.
In 1792, he was elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to represent Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1793 until 1795, serving in the 3rd U.S. Congress. After his single term in Congress, he returned to Carlisle in 1796 and continued practicing medicine. In 1796, he was elected a trustee of Dickinson College.
On September 12, 1808, he was appointed an associate judge of the Cumberland County Court.
Personal life
In 1789, Armstrong was married to Mary Stevenson, a daughter of large land-owner and iron manufacturer George Stevenson, Esq. and sister of Dr. George Stevenson, who served with distinction at the Battle of Brandywine. Together, they were the parents of nine children, including:- John Wilkins Armstrong, a doctor who married Mary Susanna Shell in 1825.
- Alfred Armstrong, who was thrice married—first to Mary, daughter of John Rankin, in 1829, second to Ann, daughter of Esq. Thomas Carothers, in 1838, and third to Mary, daughter of William Hamill, in 1863.
He was the uncle of Mrs. William Backhouse Astor Sr.