Armstrong, John Franklin (1819–1887)

John Franklin Armstrong, schoolteacher, city employee, and state representative, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on November 14, 1819, the son of William and Mary W. I. Armstrong. Armstrong immigrated with his family to Texas in November 1855, settling in Coryell County near Gatesville. Here Armstrong established himself as a schoolteacher, public servant, and politician. In the late 1850s he married Margaret S. McCollum in Coryell County. This couple had at least one child, a son. During the Civil War Armstrong served as county tax assessor. In 1866 Armstrong won election as representative for Coryell County to the Eleventh Texas Legislature which sat during that year. In August 1870 following the decision of the state legislature to establish free public schools, Armstrong was appointed school trustee for Precinct One, Second Sub-district representing Rainey's Creek. His final public appointment occurring in 1871 was to the position of county surveyor. An active Mason, Armstrong was a charter member of Gatesville Masonic Lodge No. 197, established in January 1857. Armstrong died in Coryell County on April 28, 1887.