William Armstrong (Virginia politician)
American lawyer, civil servant, politician, and businessperson / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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William Armstrong (December 23, 1782 – May 10, 1865) was an American lawyer, civil servant, politician, and businessperson. He represented Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1818 to 1820, and Virginia's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1833.
Honorable William Armstrong | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 16th district | |
In office March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833 | |
Preceded by | James Stephenson |
Succeeded by | James M. H. Beale |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Hampshire County | |
In office 1818–1820 | |
Preceded by | Edward McCarty William Naylor |
Succeeded by | Edward McCarty Francis White |
Personal details | |
Born | (1782-12-23)December 23, 1782 Lisburn, County Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland |
Died | May 10, 1865(1865-05-10) (aged 82) Keyser, West Virginia, U.S.[lower-alpha 1] |
Resting place | Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, West Virginia, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic-Republican National Republican Whig |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Ann McCarty Jane Baxter Armstrong |
Children | Eliza Jane Armstrong Gibson William James Armstrong Edward McCarty Armstrong James Dillon Armstrong |
Profession |
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Armstrong was born in 1782 in Lisburn, County Antrim, Kingdom of Ireland (in present-day Northern Ireland), and emigrated to the United States in 1792. He studied law under Charles Magill, became a lawyer, and settled in Hampshire County, Virginia (present-day West Virginia). Armstrong served in a number of civil service positions, including postmaster of Paddytown (present-day Keyser);[lower-alpha 1] U.S. tax collector appointed by President James Madison; director of the Bank of the Valley of Virginia; member of the Virginia Board of Public Works from 1822 to 1823; justice of the peace for Hampshire County from 1820 to 1852; and Hampshire County sheriff in 1843. Armstrong was chosen as a presidential elector for Virginia in the 1820 and 1824 U.S. presidential elections.
He was elected to two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, two as an Adamsite Democratic-Republican and two as a National Republican. In Congress, he assisted in passing a bill to appropriate funds to construct the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828. Following his tenure in Congress, Armstrong engaged in the tavern business and operated the Armstrong House hotel in Romney. In 1862, he relocated to Keyser, where he died in 1865.