Otah Lafayette Armstrong (1875 - 1937)

Born 1 Mar 1875 in Texas, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Gabbard) Armstrong — married about 1919 in , , Montana, United States

Died 3 Aug 1937 at age 62 in Billings, Yellowstone, Montana, United States

Biography

Name

Name: Otah Lafayette Armstrong

Given Name: Otah Lafayette

Surname: Armstrong^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Name: the nickname "Oat."

Given Name: the nickname "Oat."

Surname: ^[8]

Birth

Date: 1 Mar 1875

Place: Texas, United States^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Census

Date: 28 Jun 1880

Place: Anson, Jones, Texas, United States^[14]

Date: 13 Jun 1900

Place: Washita, Custer, Oklahoma Territory, United States

Note: He was an employee on his brother-in-law Dolph Pickelsimer's farm.^[15]

Date: 7 May 1910

Place: Washita, Custer, Oklahoma, United States

Note: He was a farm laborer.^[16]

Date: Jan 1920

Place: Musselshell County, Montana, United States

Note: He was a farmer.^[17]

Event

World War I

Military Draft Registration

Date: 12 Sep 1918

Place: Clara, Musselshell, Montana, United States^[18]=

Marriage

Husband: Otah Lafayette Armstrong

Wife: Catherine Gabbard

Date: Abt 1919

Place: Montana, United States^{[19][20][21][22]}

Child: Sylveta Lois Armstrong

Child: Juanita Arlene Armstrong

Death

Date: 3 Aug 1937

Place: Billings, Yellowstone, Montana, United States

Cause: Bright's Disease^[23][24]

Burial

Date: 6 Aug 1937

Place: Billings, Yellowstone, Montana, United States^[25]

Name: Old Mountain View Cemetery

Sources

1. ↑ Source:#S150 Otah Armstrong; citing World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Otah Lyfett Armstrong Registration date:12 Sep 1918 Birthdate:March 1, 1875 Employment:Stockman Address:Clara, Musselshell, Montana WWI Draft Registration Card for Otah Armstrong Date: 12 Sep 1918
2. ↑ Source:#S255 accessed 15 Dec 2010), entry for Otah Armstrong's death; citing Montana Office of Vital Statistics. Name:Otah Armstrong Age:62 Gender:M Death date:3 Aug 1937 Index number:YEL 1762
3. ↑ Source:#S404 "Death Takes Former Gardener Near Here," 4 Aug 1937, p. 5, col. 3. Otah L. Armstrong, 62, former truck gardener west of the city and resident of this area for nearly 20 years, died of Bright's disease at the county farm at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. He was born in Texas March 1, 1875, the sone of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Armstrong. he was married several years ago but had separated from his wife. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Katherine Armstrong, and two daughters in Toppenish, Wash. The body is at Settergren's funeral home.
4. ↑ Source:#S71 ED 187, p. 10, dwelling 88, family 91, Otah L. Armstrong; NARA microfilm publication T9. Enumerated 21 Jun 1880; Thomas H., 40, Stock raiser, b. TN, father b TN, mother b TN; Nancy C, 38, wife, keeping house, b AR, f TN, m MO; James W., 13, son, at home, b AR, f TN, m AR; Mary A, 11, daughter, b AR, f TN, m AR; Andrew J., 9, son, b AR, f TN, m AR; Emma A., 7, daughter, b. AR, f Tn, m AR; Otah L., 5, son, b TX, f TN, m AR; William R., 3, son, b TX, f TN, m AR; Motah M., 1, daughter, b TX, f TN, m AR; George A. Spindle, 21, stepson, stock herder, b AR, f MO, m AR; Margaret C. Spindle, 18, stepdaughter, at home, b AR, f MO, m AR 1880 Jones Co., TX U.S. Census for TH Armstrong family Date: 1880
5. ↑ Source:#S253 T623, Washita, enumeration district (ED) 40, sheet 10b, dwelling 206, family 210, Otah L. Armstrong, accessed 14 Dec 2010 Enumeration date:13 Jun 1900; Dolph Pickelsimer, head, white, b Nov 1860, 39, married 1 yr, b GA, father b NC, mother b NC, farmer, owns farm free of mortgage; Motah, wife, white, b Apr 1879, 21, married 1 yr, b TX, f TX, m Unk; Jason, father, white, Jan 1817, 83, wd, b NC, parents NC; Ote L. Armstrong, employee, white, b Mar 1875, 25, single, b TX, f TX, m Unk 1900 Custer Co., OK Terr for Otah Armstrong and Pickelsimers Date: 13 Jun 1900
6. ↑ Source:#S254 T624, Washita, enumeration district (ED) 127, sheet 8A, dwelling 139, family 141, Ota Armstrong, accessed 14 Dec 2010 Enumerated 7 May; Ota Armstrong, head, white, 34, first marriage of 4 yrs,, b AR, father b KY, mother b AR, farm laborer, rents home; Katherine, wife, white, 19, first marriage of 4 yrs, no children, none living, b KY, parents KY 1910 Custer Co., OK US Census for Pickelsimer Family and Otah Armstrongs Date: 7 May 1910
7. ↑ Source:#S180 M33, School District 17, line 71, Otah Armstrong, accessed 24 Nov 2010 Enumeration date 15 Jan 1920; Otah L. Armstrong, head, white, owns property free of mortgage, 44, b TX, father b TN, mother b U.S., farmer; Catherine, wife, white, 28, b KY, parents KY 1920 Musselshell Co., MT Date: 24 Nov 2010
8. ↑ Source:#S109 Date:May 1987 Interviewer:Jim Protz Interviewee:Walter Armstrong Jim:Tell me about your grandfather, Thomas Armstrong. Walter:My grandfather, Tommy Armstrong was married in Arkansas to a lady named Vaughan. She had been married before to a fellow named Spinnell or Spindle who never came back from the war (Civil War). She was left a widow with two kids, George and a girl. I don't remember the name. My grandfather became father to those two. George later went to Arizona and was a rancher. My grandfather's wife died while they were still in Anson (Texas). He never got over losing her. Soon after that, he came to Oklahoma to this area (Roger Mills County). I once heard that he left Anson because he had killed a man, but don't know any more about that. He later did some mining in New Mexico. He received a military pension for being in the War. He died sometime in the 20's (1920's). Jim:What do you remember about his siblings, your great aunts and uncles? Walter:Tommy's brothers Jim and Joe ran cattle down in Granite (Greer County, Oklahoma) and died there. The rest of them I don't know about. I do remember Tommy saying something about Hugh, but I don't remember any more. I do have a picture of two of his sisters taken when they were teens. He carried that picture through the War. Jim:How about your dad Andrew Jackson Armstrong? Walter:Dad went by Jack. He was born in Arkansas. When my mother, Edna Mae Woods, died, he later married Cordelia Creach. Dad was a rancher. He and his brothers used to drive cattle up north on the Chisholm Trail. One time, while driving a herd of longhorns he saw lightning jumping from one animal to the other through their horns without harming the animals. That really impressed me. Dad's brother Oat (Otah) married a lady named Katherine and went to Montana, but before that he worked a time with George Spindle in Arizona. I think Uncle Oat died in Montana. Aunt Emma married Walter Breeding. Walter had two brothers, Ben and Hubert. Ben was killed by indians near the town of Foss, Oklahoma, an incident which warranted a request for a cavalry detachment from Fort Reno. We were barracaded in our home, my mother with a rifel in hand, waiting for trouble that never came. Aunt Motah married Dolph Pickelsimer. Mary, your great grandmother, married Ed Winkler. He was a barber and a gambler. I remember visiting the Winklers in Snyder, Oklahoma as a child and playing with Claude (Ed and Mary's son) and also remember Ed cutting my dad's hair. Mary died when I was only a child, but I remember a funeral, so I'm thinking she probably died and was buried around these parts. When she died, the kids (Cora, Lora, Mary) lived with us for awhile. Then they went to live with their dad and his new wife. Cora didn't get along too well with her, so she would show up here from time to time. Jim:You know my dad's family was farming in the Texas Panhandle in the second decade of this (20th) century. Do you remember contact with them? Walter:Oh yes. They were burned out sometime just after the war (WWI) ended. Cora and the kids stayed with us for a short time until they could go north. Jim:I heard that you and your brother J.T. married sisters Walter:Yes I married Verda Luttrell and J.T. married her sister Alta Mae. They had Erma, J.W. and Warren. My son's Ramon. You know Bessie (Walter's sister) married Solen (aka Tige) Spitzer. Their kids are J.D., A.D. and Gayle. A.D. died in childhood
9. ↑ Source:#S404
10. ↑ Source:#S71
11. ↑ Source:#S253
12. ↑ Source:#S254
13. ↑ Source:#S180
14. ↑ Source:#S71
15. ↑ Source:#S253
16. ↑ Source:#S254
17. ↑ Source:#S180
18. ↑ Source:#S150
19. ↑ Source:#S109
20. ↑ Source:#S404
21. ↑ Source:#S254
22. ↑ Source:#S180
23. ↑ Source:#S404 "
24. ↑ Source:#S255
25. ↑ Source:#S404

• Source:S109 Armstrong, Walter. Elk City, Oklahoma. Interview by Jim Protz, abt 1990. Transcript. .
• Source:S150 "U.S. WWI Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918." Database and images. Publication: Ancestry.com :2005.
• Source:S180 1820 U.S. census, Digital images Author: Montana, Musselshell Publication: Ancestry.com:National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• Source:S253 1900 U.S. census, Digital images Author: Oklahoma Territory, Custer Publication: Ancestry.com:National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• Source:S254 1910 U.S. census, Digital images Author: Oklahoma, Custer Publication: Ancestry.com:National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
• Source:S255 "Montana Death Index, 1860-2007," database, Author: Montana State Genealogical Society Publication: (Ancestry.com :2007)
• Source:S404 Billings Gazette\ Author: Montana.
• Source:S71 1880 U.S. census Author: Texas, Jones Publication: Washington D.C.:National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

Notes

Otah reportedly worked for a time for his half-brother, George Spindle, in Cochise County, Arizona at the turn of the century. George sold his ranch in 1901, but Otah probably stayed in that region until at least 1906. By 1910, he was back in Oklahoma working on a ranch owned by his brother-in-law Dolph Pickelsimer. Otah later moved to Montana. He registered for the draft there in 1918. At the time he was living in Clara in Musselshell County and employed as a stockman. In 1920, he and his wife Catherine were still in Musselshell County. Later, he moved to Billings. He probably worked at a variety of jobs; in 1927 he was employed as a teamster, in the 30's as a "truck gardener" east of Billings. He died of Brights Disease in Billings in 1937. Otah and Catherine had been separated at least since 1935. Between 1935 and 1936, Catherine took their two daughters and moved to Toppenish, Washington. By 1940, she was in Chehalis, Washington. Otah's aunt, Mary J. Armstrong, married Lafayatte Mullins. He's likely the source of Otah's middle name.

Armstrong-4123 was created by Jim Protz through the import of GED for WIKI.ged on Mar 14, 2014.