William Armstrong
William Armstrong was born on the 24th of April 1839 in Allendale, Northumberland, England and died on the 15th of April 1923 at his son’s home in Johnsonville, Victoria, Australia aged 83. He was the husband of Mary Ann Bell, father of Bill Armstrong and grandfather of Alice Anderson.
William first came to Australia in 1863 when he was 24 years old, with his older brother James. They traveled to Australia aboard the SS Great Britain, and they went searching for gold at Devil’s Kitchen, near Ballarat. He frequently wrote long letters to back to his family in England, and wrote about working on mining claims at “Lucky Womans, Try Again and The Archer.”
William and James returned to England presumably richer. While in England, William married Mary Ann Bell in 1879. They lived in Durham together and William became a farmer. They also had their first two children, Joseph and William.
William and his family sailed back to Australia on the SS Gulf of Carpentaria on the 27th of May 1884. William and Mary Ann had four more children when they arrived in Australia. After Mary Ann’s death in 1890, William never married again and continued farming in Nicholson River, until he died of natural causes in 1923.
William first came to Australia in 1863 when he was 24 years old, with his older brother James. They traveled to Australia aboard the SS Great Britain, and they went searching for gold at Devil’s Kitchen, near Ballarat. He frequently wrote long letters to back to his family in England, and wrote about working on mining claims at “Lucky Womans, Try Again and The Archer.”
William and James returned to England presumably richer. While in England, William married Mary Ann Bell in 1879. They lived in Durham together and William became a farmer. They also had their first two children, Joseph and William.
William and his family sailed back to Australia on the SS Gulf of Carpentaria on the 27th of May 1884. William and Mary Ann had four more children when they arrived in Australia. After Mary Ann’s death in 1890, William never married again and continued farming in Nicholson River, until he died of natural causes in 1923.