Benjamin Green Armstrong was born in Alabama in 1820. As a boy he became an accomplished horse racer before he was taken ill. He went north on the advice of doctors, and by the 1840s he moved to Wisconsin Territory and married an Ojibwe woman.
He became a trader, store owner, farmer, logger, and interpreter. In 1840 he went to live among the Indians in northern Wisconsin, where he learned the Chippewa language and became a well-known interpreter. In 1852 he accompanied Chippewa chief Great Buffalo to Washington DC to plead against cancellation of the Treaty of 1842. An audience with President Millard Fillmore brought a reversal of the removal order of 1849. Armstrong recorded his experiences in the book, Early Life Among the Indians, published in 1892. (From Wisconsin Historical Society.)
Controversy surrounds land he was awarded as a result of the 1854 treaty. He was a defendant in two Supreme Court cases regarding his rights to this land.
Ashland, Wis., Aug. 1. —Benjamin Armstrong, the oldest white settler on Lake Superior, died this morning of heart disease. He came to this region in 1835 and was associated in trading with the Indians in connection with the American Fur company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. He was the author of a book of early Lake Superior history.
—Wisconsin Weekly Advocate (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Thursday, August 2, 1900 (Courtesy Jamie Hayes, Contributor 48393977).
Ashland Press: Benjamin Armstrong, who died Tuesday night, was one of the early pioneers of Wisconsin. He was 83 years of age. Mr. Armstrong's life reads like a romance. He came from the south when he was a young man, having lived among the Cherokees for several years. For over fifty years he lived among the Chippewas of Northern Wisconsin. He was adopted by Chief Buffalo, who was at the head of the Chippewas, and married one of the tribe. He was an expert interpreter, a trusty guide, and a great hunter. No man living in Wisconsin has had the experience that Benjamin Armstrong had in pioneer life among the Indians. At one time he had a good claim to the larger part of what is now Duluth, this tract having been given to him by Chief Buffalo. This was transferred to Frederick Prentice, who had the case before the courts for several years. Several years ago he wrote a book, which is full of original Wisconsin history. Mr. Armstrong leaves several children and grandchildren who are respected citizens of Ashland.
—Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Saturday, August 4, 1900, p. 8
He became a trader, store owner, farmer, logger, and interpreter. In 1840 he went to live among the Indians in northern Wisconsin, where he learned the Chippewa language and became a well-known interpreter. In 1852 he accompanied Chippewa chief Great Buffalo to Washington DC to plead against cancellation of the Treaty of 1842. An audience with President Millard Fillmore brought a reversal of the removal order of 1849. Armstrong recorded his experiences in the book, Early Life Among the Indians, published in 1892. (From Wisconsin Historical Society.)
Controversy surrounds land he was awarded as a result of the 1854 treaty. He was a defendant in two Supreme Court cases regarding his rights to this land.
Ashland, Wis., Aug. 1. —Benjamin Armstrong, the oldest white settler on Lake Superior, died this morning of heart disease. He came to this region in 1835 and was associated in trading with the Indians in connection with the American Fur company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. He was the author of a book of early Lake Superior history.
—Wisconsin Weekly Advocate (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Thursday, August 2, 1900 (Courtesy Jamie Hayes, Contributor 48393977).
Ashland Press: Benjamin Armstrong, who died Tuesday night, was one of the early pioneers of Wisconsin. He was 83 years of age. Mr. Armstrong's life reads like a romance. He came from the south when he was a young man, having lived among the Cherokees for several years. For over fifty years he lived among the Chippewas of Northern Wisconsin. He was adopted by Chief Buffalo, who was at the head of the Chippewas, and married one of the tribe. He was an expert interpreter, a trusty guide, and a great hunter. No man living in Wisconsin has had the experience that Benjamin Armstrong had in pioneer life among the Indians. At one time he had a good claim to the larger part of what is now Duluth, this tract having been given to him by Chief Buffalo. This was transferred to Frederick Prentice, who had the case before the courts for several years. Several years ago he wrote a book, which is full of original Wisconsin history. Mr. Armstrong leaves several children and grandchildren who are respected citizens of Ashland.
—Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Saturday, August 4, 1900, p. 8
Benjamin Green Armstrong was born in Alabama in 1820. As a boy he became an accomplished horse racer before he was taken ill. He went north on the advice of doctors, and by the 1840s he moved to Wisconsin Territory and married an Ojibwe woman.
He became a trader, store owner, farmer, logger, and interpreter. In 1840 he went to live among the Indians in northern Wisconsin, where he learned the Chippewa language and became a well-known interpreter. In 1852 he accompanied Chippewa chief Great Buffalo to Washington DC to plead against cancellation of the Treaty of 1842. An audience with President Millard Fillmore brought a reversal of the removal order of 1849. Armstrong recorded his experiences in the book, Early Life Among the Indians, published in 1892. (From Wisconsin Historical Society.)
Controversy surrounds land he was awarded as a result of the 1854 treaty. He was a defendant in two Supreme Court cases regarding his rights to this land.
Ashland, Wis., Aug. 1. —Benjamin Armstrong, the oldest white settler on Lake Superior, died this morning of heart disease. He came to this region in 1835 and was associated in trading with the Indians in connection with the American Fur company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. He was the author of a book of early Lake Superior history.
—Wisconsin Weekly Advocate (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Thursday, August 2, 1900 (Courtesy Jamie Hayes, Contributor 48393977).
Ashland Press: Benjamin Armstrong, who died Tuesday night, was one of the early pioneers of Wisconsin. He was 83 years of age. Mr. Armstrong's life reads like a romance. He came from the south when he was a young man, having lived among the Cherokees for several years. For over fifty years he lived among the Chippewas of Northern Wisconsin. He was adopted by Chief Buffalo, who was at the head of the Chippewas, and married one of the tribe. He was an expert interpreter, a trusty guide, and a great hunter. No man living in Wisconsin has had the experience that Benjamin Armstrong had in pioneer life among the Indians. At one time he had a good claim to the larger part of what is now Duluth, this tract having been given to him by Chief Buffalo. This was transferred to Frederick Prentice, who had the case before the courts for several years. Several years ago he wrote a book, which is full of original Wisconsin history. Mr. Armstrong leaves several children and grandchildren who are respected citizens of Ashland.
—Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Saturday, August 4, 1900, p. 8
He became a trader, store owner, farmer, logger, and interpreter. In 1840 he went to live among the Indians in northern Wisconsin, where he learned the Chippewa language and became a well-known interpreter. In 1852 he accompanied Chippewa chief Great Buffalo to Washington DC to plead against cancellation of the Treaty of 1842. An audience with President Millard Fillmore brought a reversal of the removal order of 1849. Armstrong recorded his experiences in the book, Early Life Among the Indians, published in 1892. (From Wisconsin Historical Society.)
Controversy surrounds land he was awarded as a result of the 1854 treaty. He was a defendant in two Supreme Court cases regarding his rights to this land.
Ashland, Wis., Aug. 1. —Benjamin Armstrong, the oldest white settler on Lake Superior, died this morning of heart disease. He came to this region in 1835 and was associated in trading with the Indians in connection with the American Fur company, of which John Jacob Astor was the head. He was the author of a book of early Lake Superior history.
—Wisconsin Weekly Advocate (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Thursday, August 2, 1900 (Courtesy Jamie Hayes, Contributor 48393977).
Ashland Press: Benjamin Armstrong, who died Tuesday night, was one of the early pioneers of Wisconsin. He was 83 years of age. Mr. Armstrong's life reads like a romance. He came from the south when he was a young man, having lived among the Cherokees for several years. For over fifty years he lived among the Chippewas of Northern Wisconsin. He was adopted by Chief Buffalo, who was at the head of the Chippewas, and married one of the tribe. He was an expert interpreter, a trusty guide, and a great hunter. No man living in Wisconsin has had the experience that Benjamin Armstrong had in pioneer life among the Indians. At one time he had a good claim to the larger part of what is now Duluth, this tract having been given to him by Chief Buffalo. This was transferred to Frederick Prentice, who had the case before the courts for several years. Several years ago he wrote a book, which is full of original Wisconsin history. Mr. Armstrong leaves several children and grandchildren who are respected citizens of Ashland.
—Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Saturday, August 4, 1900, p. 8
Inscription
GRAND-PA
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
