| Creator: | Armstrong family |
| Title: | Armstrong Family Photograph Collection |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1890-1930 |
| Abstract: | The Armstrong Family is one of South Texas' oldest and outstanding pioneer families. This collection of approximately 200 negatives and photographs cover the years from 1890 to 1930 but focus on the early Armstrong family around the 1920s and 1930s. |
| Identification: | A1985-003; A1986-043; A2002-034; A2004-017 |
| Extent: | 206 photographs and negatives |
| Language: | English |
| Container: | STAD Photo Files and Negative File |
| Repository: | South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville |
The Armstrong Family is one of South Texas' oldest pioneer families. The Armstrong Ranch history begins in 1852 when James H. Durst purchased 92,000 acres out of the La Baretta Spanish land grant from the descendants of the Balli Family. Durst, a friend of Richard King, fought in the Texas Revolution, was a Texas Ranger, served as a State Senator and prospered in his mercantile business in Rio Grande City. He died young and his wife was forced to sell the ranch. Two attorneys arranged the sale but Mary Durst never received payment. Her daughter Mollie married John B. Armstrong, III in 1878. Armstrong pursued the case, eventually taking legal action and gained clear title of the land for the Durst Family in 1904. John B. Armstrong III played a prominent role in the development of South Texas. Previously in Tennessee he arrived in Texas in 1872, purchased large tracts of land in South Texas to raise cattle in Jim Hogg, Kleberg, and Cameron Counties, Texas. Armstrong was a member of the Travis Rifles, an elite guard, and a Texas Ranger. He rode with McNelly's Rangers and earned the nickname, "McNelly's Bulldog." Earning $4000 in reward money for arresting John Wesley Hardin, a notorious bandit, Armstrong married Mollie Durst, daughter of widow Mary Durst in 1878. In 1982 the Armstrong ranch was 50,000 acres. In 1885 John, Mollie and Granny Durst moved further south on their property. Their nearest neighbors were 25 miles away on the Kenedy Ranch at La Parra. Mollie died of a rabies bite in 1897. Following generations managed the ranch including Charles Armstrong, John B. Armstrong's son, Tom Armstrong, Charles' brother, and then Charles' son, Tobin Armstrong. Tobin Armstrong married Anne Armstrong, they had five children. Tobin was active with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association serving on committees and was an advisor on the European Common Market's agricultural policies, Anne became a political force in the 1960's and 1970's organizing for the Republican Party in South Texas and became the first woman ever elected Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1971. President Nixon appointed her the first woman counselor to the president and in 1975, she became the first woman United States ambassador to Great Britain. From the History -- Armstrong Ranch http://www.armstrong-ranch.com/activities/
The negatives and photographs depict the early years at the Armstrong Ranch when Mollie and John reclaimed the property. Images from the 1930s chronicle three events: time in Venezuela while the family negotiated the buying of a petroleum processing plant; at a home in the northeast, probably the home of Henrietta and Peter Larkin; and the time spent at a camp known as Los Amigos on El Saus by the Norias division of the King Ranch in Kenedy County near Armstrong. The last group of images donated by the Armstrong family are from the early 1900s. These images concentrate on the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railroad track being laid south of Kingsville and the family on the ranch.
Arranged and numbered by family.
| Access: | Open for research |
| Rights Statment: | Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A& M University-Kingsville. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. |
Persons
Organizations
Geographical Names
Subjects
Preferred Citation
Armstrong Family Photograph Collection, A1985-003.XXXX; A1986-043.XXXX; A2002-034.XXXX; A2004-017.XXXX , South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Acquisitions
A1985-003 – Gift of Tobin Armstrong,A1986-043 – Gift of John B. Armstrong,A2002-034 – Gift of Tobin Armstrong,A2004-017 – Gift of Tobin Armstrong
Proccessing Information
A 1985-003 and A1986-043 were received and processed by Jimmie R. Picquet; A2002-034 and A2004-017 were received and processed by Cecilia Aros Hunter. Finding aid created by Lori Atkins and EAD document created by Matt Tallant in 2016.