James Armstrong (1748-1828)

James Armstrong was the eldest son of General John Armstrong and was born on August 29, 1748. He studied at the Philadelphia Academy before attending the College of New Jersey, now Princeton. For four or five years, James Armstrong studied medicine under Dr. John Morgan in Philadelphia. Armstrong received his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1769.

Some sources indicate that, after a brief stay in Winchester, Virginia, Armstrong served as a surgeon during the American Revolution. However, by 1784, he traveled to London where he studied under Dr. Sydenham until 1786. Returning to Carlisle, Armstrong married May Stevenson in 1789, then moved to the Kishacoquillas Valley. From there, he was elected to Congress in 1792 from the 3rd District of Pennsylvania. He served one term in the House of Representatives from 1793 to 1795.

In 1796, Armstrong was elected a trustee of Dickinson College, a position once held by his father. He returned to Carlisle in 1801, settling his family on an estate named Richland Lawn. In 1808, Armstrong was named associate judge in Cumberland County, and was also chosen as the president of the Dickinson College Board of Trustees, a position that he held until 1824. Dr. James Armstrong died on May 6, 1828.