The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-08
HE HAS GONE TO HIS REST.
Death of John @. Armstrong IL
This City Yesterday.
The Well Known Journalist Died at the
Age of Fifty three Years-A Re
markable Man.

Inarkabie Man.
John Green Armstrong, known to
every man, woman and child, prob
ably, in La Sale county as "Beemus,"
died Thursday afternoon at his home
on Canal street. Of spinal meningitis,
at the age of fifty-three years and
eight months. He had been unwell
since the middle of January, and was
considerably worn i'm body and mind
by the serious illness Of his wife for
weeks past, who, even now, is danger
ously sick and confined to her bed.
For the past ten days he had been
confined to his house. On Tuesday
he was attacked with spinal meningi-
tbs, and soon after lapsed into a state
to revive him.
The funeral will take place from his
late residence at ! o'clock Saturday
afternoon.
John Green Armstrong was the eld-
est son of Hon. George w. and Annie
Green Armstrong, of BrOoktield. He
was born July s. 1896, in what was
then known as Hidalgo, Grundy cOun-
ty, one of the many paper towns laid
out during the land craze of the thir-
ties by Astor, of New York, and other
land Spectators from the east. 1t is
now, and has been for many years, ex-
tinct, with nothing to mark its site
save the old records of the Grundy
Office for recording land titles. He eX-
perienced all the trials and hardshipS,
pleasures and pains of boy born on
the frontier in pioneer days, but being
inclined to a scholars life he received
an academic education, and afterward
having studied law in Morris with his
uncle, we believe, was admitted to the
bar of Illinois and entered upon the
practice of the law with Mr.. New
berry. the firm name being Newherry
& Armstrong, which partnership last
ed some four or five years.
His natural Instincts, however, were
not in the direction of the dry bones"
of the law: and after -four or five years
of really promising work as IA lawyer
he gave up that profession, and going
to Dubuque, Ia, he there became what
mother nature made him fora news
paper man. He accepted an editorial
position on the Dubuque Duly Herald,
where he remained for some consider
able time, and afterwards founded the
North Io,rd Journal at Lansing, Ia,
and during five years performed the
herculean feat of successfully eStab-
fishing and putting on paying basis
a Democratic paper in an intensely
Republican district, largely populated
by Swedes. Selling out the Journal,
he went to La Crosse, Wis, and be-
came Il writer on the famous Buck
Pomeroy's Democrat, then enjoying the
midday glory of transient national
popularity.
He returned to Illinois in 1870 and
took reportOrial position on the
FREE TRADER, the first reporter"
we believe, ever employed on a La
Sale county newspaper. Up to that
time but little attention had been
paid by local papers TO local news:
The early newspaper was not printed
for the collection of local happenings:
it's purpose was the dissemination
of political information solely, with
local events as entirely secondary
OF the eighteen or
twenty columns weekly which the
FREE TRADER published of reading
matter" from May 26, 1910, up TO the
coming of John G.. Armstrong to OF
tawa, seldom more than two columns
were devoted to "home matters" The
war had. however, changed all this.
News became the demand made by
readers, and home news, as
well as that of the world at large,
came to be required in greater guam
tity and detail. 1t was Mr.. Arm
mission to meet that demand
for the FREE TRADER, and ably did
he do it. The local news" became a
feature of the FREE TRADER, which
sooner or later was adopted by all its
contemporaries. For few years, how
ever. "Beemus" occupied the field
without a rival. His brilliant wit
and exhauStless fund of humOr made
the paper more than locally famous.
His style was somewhat like that of
the famous Artemas Ward, and some
of the good things he wrote were
widely copied.
He was regularly attached to the
FREE TRADER for about three years
at that time, and since then he has
worked as reporter and special writer
on about every newspaper in this city,
as well as Chicago dailies.
He married Miss Nellie Mccain, of
Ottawa, in 1857, who survives him,
though at present she is dangerously
and, perhaps, fatally i'll at their resi-
dence. They have been childleSs. His
parents and his brothers and sisters,
VIM. Armstrong, of Pueblo, Colo:
Rev. j. c. Armstrong, Of Chicago;
Mrs. VIM. Crothy, of Burlington,
KAN: Joseph l.. Armstrong, of Brook
field: NJ. n. Armstrong, of Ottawa;
Mrs. L. b. Laughlan. of Brsdgewater,
South Dakota; J. +. Armstrong, of
Englewood, and Chas. b. Armstrong,
Chicago. survive him.
No one in Ottawa will learn of John
G.. Armstrong; death without regret.
Except himself, we cannot imagine
that he had an enemy in the world.
His use of liquor impaired his useful
ness and, as intimated above, in a
measure blasted brilliant career.
Yet he was industrious to degree;
honorable and straightforward in all
his dealings, and, to our knowledge,
land the writer has known him ever
since he came to Ottawa, he never
knowingly injured man in person or
reputation. His genial, wholesouled
manner, his eXhaustless good nature,