I am not sure who wrote this, but I think it must have been a friend or ward member of David Armstrong. Possibly written to share at his funeral or something. David Armstrong is our great great grandfather.FAMILY HISTORY
Bishop David Armstrong was born in Huttonsville, West Virginia, 2 Nov 1866. The son of Zachariah and Willie Anna Amos Armstrong.
When he was five years old his parents moved to the state of Virginia. His father died when the Bishop was nineteen leaving him the oldest of eleven children.
He was married, April 24, 1888, at the age of 21 to Virginia E. Powers, who was sixteen years old at this time and she also had had the responsibility of a large family as her mother had died when she was thirteen.
The young married couple lived with his mother working on the place and turning all the income derived from his work to his mother.
One day while his father was chopping wood, two men came into the yard and explained that they were Elders of the Latter Day Saint Church and would like to explain the Gospel to he and his family.
At this time everyone in that section was quite bitter against the Church and the Bishop’s Father was not very sympathetic to the Elders of their message. But the Bishop in his own words, (which many of you heard a number of times) always said, “I recognized it the first time I heard it. I was in full sympathy with it. It seemed as if I had heard it before.” He read and studied and tried to find something better, but in his own words again he never could find anything that satisfied him as the Gospel did.
He was baptized by Elder John S. Curtiss 4 Oct 1891 and two years later 6 April 1893, his wife was baptized into the church.
In the fall of this same year (1893) the Bishop, his wife and three small children, Joseph, Price, and Curtis, and his wife’s sister Lily (who made her home with them until she was married), left their home and traveled almost 3,000 miles westward, with Elder George A. Smith to Farmington, Utah. Their main desire in making this long journey, with winter almost upon them, was to establish a home in the Valley’s of mountains with the Saints.
They traveled by train and stayed at Brother Smith’s home part of that winter. The following spring (in April) Bishop Armstrong borrowed a wagon and team and left Farmington to find the land, and hills and homes that he had seen in a dream while he was still in Virginia. Seven days they were on the road, part of it desert, sleeping one night on the ground.
Two years ago and one year ago this spring I rode to Salt Lake City with the Bishop and some of his family. He told me about the journey from Farmington to Robin, of the friendly help of scattered settlers. Along the way, I saw some of his camping places. He told me of his recognition of the valley and hills and showed me just the place where he turned north, off the main road to his farm. In fact he made a road over and thru the sage brush and sand hills. It seemed as if he must have known the way for as he said, he recognized the mountains and hills and knew the direction to go from the things he had seen in a dream.
The first house he and his family stayed at, was Seth Glovers. A house that stood on the south side of the road under the hill by Garden Creek Bridge just north of it.
This family arrived in Robin with five dollars in their possession to begin their task of making a home. For a number of years he worked for wages, earning fifty cents a day. He peddled, bought and sold, farm produce between Robin and Pocatello for years and many were the interesting stories, he has told his family of these numerous trips.
The Indians were his friends, many a night they have given up their own nice warm bed made over a bed of coals so that Bishop Armstrong could get warm and rested before starting again in the morning. Many of us know the beautiful home with its modern convenience he made for his wife and family which numbered 15. Three of these children have all ready passed on. His grandson Afton Smith, also made this house his home. He still lives there. Bishop Armstrong and his family have all worked hard to make their home what it is. They hauled water for many years, water for everything even a garden. Before they moved to the place there home is now, he started digging a well. He didn’t tell his family anything about it until a good part of the labor was done. This well is 70 feet deep. Later he piped water for a mile from a spring, to his place for domestic use as well as for the animals and his garden.
From the time of his arrival in Robin he was active in his Church remaining so until his death. He was councilor to Bishop Henry Henderson, a member of the High Council of the Stake, a Home Missionary and Bishop of this Ward for twenty years. At one time our ward was quite heavily in debt. This house had been built and the Ward was small. But Bishop Armstrong with his good management soon had the ward out of debt. He was a good financier with his own and with the property interested to his care by the Church.
He also served as a member of the School Board of Trustees for a number of terms acting as chairman most of these years. I won't even try to tell all the things he has done for this community, but here are a few: He worked for the betterment of the community, was very instrumental in bringing the electricity to our Ward. He carried hot water to the carbite lights when we used them. I always think of him each time I come in sight of this Church yard. To him should go much of the credit of the trees we are so proud of. I have seen him, week after week, hauling water to keep them alive when they were first started. Even this summer, he was worried about them during our dry spells.
Bishop Armstrong was a very sincere man. He loved the Gospel. He wanted everyone to know it and understand it as he did. Never an opportunity did he pass to explain the Gospel to anyone who would listen, his own family, every stranger as well as his friends. He has done a wonderful amount of genealogical work in the Temple and delighted so much in doing it. We will all remember his great faith, his wonderful example that he has set before us. God help us all to benefit by his life. May God bless his family. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Picture at top I found on Ancestry.com, Story I found in the family history papers of Peggy, The newspaper obituaries I scanned also from the family history papers of Peggy.
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