Charles Armstrong

West India merchant, son of John and Margaret Armstrong, partner with his brother William Armstrong in Armstrong & Bazalgette (q.v.), awardee for enslaved persons on estates in Westmoreland as creditor of Anthony Gilbert Storer (q.v.).

1. Married Jane Man at St Pancras 16/04/1827: "Charles Armstrong of this Parish Batchelor and Jane Man of the Parish of Saint James Clerkenwell a widow, married by license", witnesses Thomas Armstrong and John O. Cobb[?].

2. Living at Calthorp Street, St Pancras, London, for the baptism of two sons in 1830 and 1831: "John son of Charles & Jane Armstrong, Calthorpe Street, merchant, said to be born 21st Aug 1827, baptised 5th Oct 1830"; "Charles son of Charles & Jane Armstrong, Calthorpe Street, merchant, born 26 Oct 1831."

3. 1841 census: 5 Calthorpe Street, St Pancras, Chas Armstrong, age 65, Mercht, not born in county; living with Jane Armstrong, age 40, not born in county, and Mary Mann, age 18, born in Middlesex. 1851 census: 4 Duncan Place, Islington, Charles Armstrong, age 75, widower, West India merchant in Drugs, born East Indies British subject; living with son Charles aged 19 (clerk to West India merchant) and daughter Mary Ann aged 23. Inferred year of birth for Mary Ann Armstrong: 1828.

4. Partner with his brother William in the West India merchants C. & W. Armstrong (q.v.) and, later, with Louis Bazalgette in the firm Armstrong and Bazalgette (q.v.). By 1809, Anthony Gilbert Storer (q.v.) was in debt to C. & W. Armstrong for £6000, the total value of his estates in Jamaica, and Charles Bazalgette claims the compensation for enslaved persons from Ann Katherine Storer (q.v.), the widow of Anthony Gilbert Storer.

5. Joseph Brown, a barrister whose descendants were key figures in the development of Linklaters well into the 20th century, began his career as a clerk with Armstrong & Co. West India merchants c. 1827-1829.

T71/871 Westmoreland claim nos. 83, 259, 272, 396, 472, 662.

1. Ancestry.com, London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database online].

2. Ancestry.com, London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 [database online].

3. 1841 census online; 1851 census online.

4. See Jean Debney 'The Letter Book of Anthony Gilbert Storer, 1809-10', Protect Purley: Newsletter October 1995 claim no. 39. Peter Fullerton, 'The Storers of Purley Park' (privately printed), reference supplied by Charles Bazalgette.

5. Bedwell, C. E. A., and Judy Slinn. "Brown, Joseph (1809–1902), barrister." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 23 Sep. 2004; Accessed 17 Jan. 2020. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-32113.

We are grateful for the assistance of Charles Bazalgette in compiling this entry.