Armstrong, James
* Information provided by Rob Tindall 25/10/23
James was born on 24 June 1867 in Bellingham, the son of George and Margaret. In 1871 and 1881 he was living at 1, Hutchinson Street, Bellingham with his parents and siblings. He moved, with his parents to Bellingham Mill and in 1891 is recorded as being a woodman and married. There is no firm record of a marriage although it could have been to Jane Ridley or Annie Dodd. In the first quarter of 1911 James did marry Kate Spark in Hexham. Kate was considerably younger (18 years) than James and from a lead mining family which had moved from Alston to Haydon Bridge where Kate was born. James and Kate were visiting Kate’s uncle George in Ratcliff Road, Haydon Bridge, on census night in 1911 neither of them is given an occupation and they have been married less than a year. Marriage was short lived and Kate died in the third quarter of 1913. James was living in Smith Terrace, Haydon Bridge in 1939 where his occupation is tree feller – retired. He died in the first months of 1946 aged 78.