The recent Armstrong reunion was steeped in early Kewanee-area history

The descendants of James and Sibella (Elliot) Armstrong gathered for a reunion at Zion Lutheran Church in Kewanee on Saturday, June 25 with 73 family members in attendance. Clan members traveled from as far away as California and South Carolina, and as near as Kewanee and Stark County. Bagpiper Bill Good provided enjoyable music as the family celebrated their Scottish heritage. Hometown Catering of Annawan served the evening’s meal, and local photographer Connie Weston of Kewanee was on hand to photograph the event.

James and Sibella Armstrong, along with their eight children, immigrated to Elmira, IL from Newcastleton, Scotland in 1855. Five of their children married and had families, and they all settled in the Elmira area. The Armstrong descendants began gathering for family reunions in 1911. In the 1930s, efforts were made to develop a family tree. Since then, various members of the family have worked to keep the family tree updated, and in recent years, reunions have been held every five years.

This year, Polly (Armstrong) Campbell was honored at the reunion as the only remaining grandchild of one of the original immigrant children. Polly grew up on her family’s farm south of Elmira and attended Jack Creek School, Toulon High School, and Monmouth College, where she earned her elementary education degree and taught for many years in the Peoria area. As a child, Polly remembers participating in the 1938 Elmira Centennial Pageant, riding her bicycle all over the country roads, and playing with her neighbor and cousin Phyllis (Armstrong) Steward, who had a really nice playhouse! Polly never knew her grandfather, George Armstrong, who was seven years old in 1855 when he and the rest of the Armstrong family boarded the clipper ship Dreadnought at Liverpool, England to set sail for the United States. An account of the journey was recorded by nineteen year-old Robert Armstrong in his diary, and details from the voyage were shared with the Armstrong clan at the reunion.

The reunion also included a history presentation featuring several members of the early family who were inventors and entrepreneurs. One of these inventors was James Armstrong, Jr. (1845-1876), who invented several farming implements, including a two-row corn planter in 1860 when he was fourteen years old. He later sold the patent for the planter to Keystone Manufacturing Company in Rock Falls, IL, because he could not keep up with the demand for production of the planters himself. The Stark County IL Historical Society in Toulon has one of his corn planters in their collection, along with a small model of the planter made by his nephew James M. Armstrong (father of Janet Williams, Elaine Tuttle, Ardis Bass, and Polly Campbell) in 1963. The historical society is currently in the process of working to open its new building, where the planter and many other local artifacts will be on display.

On Sunday, June 26th, a good number of the Armstrong clan also attended the outdoor worship service at Elmira United Presbyerian Church, which was followed by brunch and a visit to the Elmira Cemetery. Some of the Armstrongs were among the first members of the Elmira church, and several descendants and their families are still active in the church today.

Attending the reunion were members from four branches of James and Sibella’s family:

Elizabeth (Armstrong) and Andrew Oliver branch:

Mindy and Tom Jordan, Michael Jordan, Daniel Jordan, Diane (Elliott) Boston, Darwyn Boston, Bobbi (Jackson) Rapczak, Heather (Rapczak) Nelson, Miles Nelson and Violet Nelson, Mary Sue (Schroder) Kitchen, Elizabeth (Schroder) Hopkins, Bill and Denise Parker, Carolyn (Wilkinson) Conklin, Bob and Janet Wilkinson, Jean Wilkinson, Betsy Wilkinson, Karla Wilkinson, and Taylor Wilkinson

Abel and Annie (Reid) Armstrong branch: Betty Jean (Dexter) Tomsic, James and Trish Tomsic, David and Karen Tomsic, Sue (Tomsic) Brody, Don Oliver, Mark Oliver, Kathryn (Oliver) Tribler, John and Betty Oliver, Adam and Lori Oliver, Nathan Oliver, Megan Oliver, and Ashley Oliver, Ann (Oliver) and Stacey Taylor, Maddie Akers and Laney Akers, Sarah (Oliver) and Nick Anderson, Olivia Anderson, and Stewart and Becky Oliver

John and Jane (Rule) Armstrong branch:

Jane (Jackson) and Tom Gramkow, Marijane (Gramkow) and Trent Trotter, Theo Trotter, Lucy Trotter, and Monroe Trotter, Ty Gramkow, Ron and Donna Schaad, and Karen (Schaad) and John Andrew George and Mary (Murray) Armstrong branch: Ed and Tammy Jackson, Rhonda (Bass) Bubser, Kim Bubser, Kaeden Ruester, Karma (Bass) and David Ritchie, Allison Ritchie, Polly (Armstrong) Campbell, Keith Campbell, Brooks (Armstrong) and Scott Swinderman, Lizzie (Swinderman) Cartwright, Isla Cartwright, and Faye (Armstrong) Underwood

This article originally appeared on Star Courier: The recent Armstrong reunion was steeped in early Kewanee history