A daily feature from our surrounding historical societies.
While looking through the Reporter, now digitized on newspapers.com, we often come across intriguing stories that beg for further research. An April 3rd 1919 story about a widowed mother with four children in the service during WWI made me wonder about “the rest of the story”.
The mother was Annie Armstrong of West Point, widow of David Armstrong and mother of ten children. Three sons, William, John and Albert, and one daughter, Elsie, enlisted or were drafted into the American Expeditionary Forces. (Another son was training at Camp Meade when the armistice was signed). All were sent overseas, Elsie as a Red Cross nurse.
(Credit: Lansdale Historical Society)After not hearing from her son John in many months, Mrs. Armstrong was distressed to find out that he had died of wounds incurred in battle. He is buried in Lorraine, France. Hopefully, she was able to visit her son’s grave as her name shows up on a list for the WWI Mothers’ Pilgrimage of 1929. She passed away in 1930.
Returning home safely, Albert married, had four daughters, and worked as a cabinet maker. He and his wife lived in Colmar until his death in 1969.
Elsie continued her career as a nurse. She married, moved to California and died in 1974.
William Armstrong had a different story. After training at Gettysburg, he was sent to France, where he saw action in some of the most intense battles of the war. Returning home, he married Anna Burger on March 10, 1920. (Search Anna Burger on our FB page to read more about her). They lived on Blue Rock Farm while William made his living as a building contractor and carpenter. Apparently, his time in the service had a lasting effect on him, leaving him deaf and with a nervous condition, which we would call PTSD today. He took his own life in 1934.
Lansdale Historical Society was founded in 1971, and its purpose is to preserve the history of the Borough of Lansdale and the greater North Penn area, and to share its collection of material and resources with the greater community, particularly the youth. It has its headquarters in a two-building complex, located on Jenkins Avenue in the center of Lansdale, Montgomery County, PA. The buildings are owned by the Borough of Lansdale.
Volunteer for or donate to the Society here. Follow them on Facebook.
