Martin Armstrong, Revolutionary War soldier, surveyor, and
politician, was born in Augusta County, Va., the fourth son of
James and Jean Armstrong, previously of Lancaster County, Pa.
About 1750, the Armstrongs moved from Virginia to Anson County,
N.C., and settled on the banks of the Catawba River. In time,
the family spread south, but Martin Armstrong settled in Surry
County, where more than fifty land patents were issued in his
name. Land speculation, furthered by his craft as a surveyor,
seems to have been his main activity. In 1770 he was appointed
commissioner to run the dividing line between Rowan and the new
county of Surry and to lay out and sell lots for building the
town of Richmond. Rival factions had struggled over the location
of the county seat; the Armstrong brothers, Martin and John,
eventually won through unscrupulous maneuvers. Later, when the
town of Clarksville in Davidson County was formed, Martin
Armstrong was appointed to lay it out. Both towns were situated
on land owned by either Mar