Amanda Melvina Deacon

ID # 3262, (1842-1869)
BirthAmanda Melvina Deacon was born in 1842 at Kingston, Frontenac County. 
MarriageShe married John Fellows Armstrong, son of Thomas George Armstrong and Charlotte Fellows, on 2 July 1861 at St. George's Cathedral, Kingston.
The marriage of John Fellows Armstrong and Amanda Melvina Deacon is recorded (twice) in register 2K12, page 64, and register 2K13, page 11, in the records of the Anglican Diocese of Ontario, as presented by Wayne Bower on his website bowergenealogy.ca. This record appears to cover Eastern Ontario and is an excellent resource.

 
DeathShe died on 13 September 1869 at Kingston, Frontenac County, Ontario. 
BurialShe was buried on 15 September 1869 at Section D, Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, Frontenac Co.. 
NoteShe The will of John Fellows Armstrong indicates that his wife's name was Amanda Melvina. We may now say that her maiden name was Deacon and that she was the daughter of Robert Deacon, postmaster at Kingston, and Amanda Melvina Thatcher.

The evidence:

In 1891 a Gertrude Armstrong, age 24, married a George James Harly Roberts in Pittsburgh Township of Frontenac County, near Kingston. (See notes for Gertrude.) Her parents are shown as John and Amanda Armstrong. It seemed reasonable that she was the same Gertrude Armstrong, age 15, who was with Amanda Deacon in Kingston at the time of the 1881 census. Amanda Deacon is age 64, but the 1861 census shows her with daughter 19 year old Amanda. Further research shows that Amanda Senior's full maiden name was Amanda Melvina Thatcher. It appeared that she was grandmother to young Gertrude. (The will of Amanda Melvina Thatcher Deacon has been found - see GS1 reel 1239, grant 1645. The will specifically identifies Gertrude Armstrong as her grand daughter.)

A basic search of the Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid (OCFA) turns up an index for a Melvina Armstrong being buried in Section D of Cataraqui Cemetery at Kingston. This led to the transcription for this cemetery done by the Kingston Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. This appears on microfilm MS451 reel 139. Page 13 of this publication shows Amanda M. Armstrong buried with her parents. She is identified as Amanda M. Armstrong, the daughter of Robert and Amanda Deacon who died September 13, 1869, age 27. The stone must have been in worn condition for '13' and '1869' have questions marks following, but a Cataraqui Cemetery burial book for the era, which is to be found on reel 79 makes it clear that she died on September 13, 1869.

Add to this, DigitalKingston provides us with access to numerous newspapers of the era. Page 2 of the Daily British Whig issue of 14 September, 1869, has the following death notice:

At Kingston on the 13th inst., Amanda Armstrong, widow of Captain J.F. Armstrong, Royal Canadian Rifles. The funeral will take place on Wednesday at 10 o'clock A.M., from her father's residence on King Street. etc.

Also buried with her is a son, George Thatcher Armstrong, youngest son of Capt. J.F. Armstrong (R.C. Rifles) who died Oct. 25, 1865, age 18 months. Another direct record for George has yet to be found.

Solid evidence exists for still another son. See http://bmd.stcatharines.library.on.ca/en/3058264/data

The St. Catharines Constitutional, 17 April, 1862, page 3, has a notice to the effect that Capt. J.F. Armstrong and Mrs. Armstrong had a son on 16 April, 1862. Mention is made that Capt. Armstrong is with the Royal Canadian Rifles. The image of the article has not been obtained.

We may enlarge on this. See microfilm GS1 reel 668, Lincoln Surrogate Court. This is an application for Letters of Administration in the estate of Charlotte Dickson, the wife of Walter Hamilton Dickson. One page only is an affadavit filed by John Edward Armstrong, grandson of Charlotte, to the effect that he had searched her home for a will without success. He states that he is resident in Niagara Town, and, though this is dated in 1898, he has not been found in either the 1891 or 1901 censuses in that location. Reasonably, he is the son of John Fellows Armstrong.

The one census record that we have for Amanda Deacon is the 1861 census at Kingston. She is shown as Amanda Deacon, age 19, and is with her parents and siblings in Kingston. 

Children of Amanda Melvina Deacon and John Fellows Armstrong

Last Edited17 Nov 2019