John may be the s/o Robert Armstrong of Leehole Tail, Lanercost parish, Cumberland christened on Feb 28, 1722.
Mary Wilkinson may have been five months pregnant when he married her at St Mary's, Carlisle, on 13th of July 1746.
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
In 1745 the impossible happened: a Highland army had overrun the British at Prestopans and was advancing South to reclaim the throne of Great Britain. On November 9th their advance colums were sighted near Carlisle. There were only 80 invalided soldiers and 570 local militia to hold them back! Exagerating his numbers so as to depress any who might resist him, young prince Charles Edward Stuart send word to the mayor that he would need quarters for 13,000 foot and 3,000 cavalry. His army was actually a third that number, but the ruse worked. The Cumberland militia declared they would not fight, and on November 15th Carlisle surrendered.
There was dissension in the ranks of the conquering army. George Murray, the Jacobin Lt General, frequently irritated his young prince with with his curt mannerisms and cautious approach to military matters. So Bonnie Prince Charlie left his general. Murray responded to the insult by resigning his commission. Only after the other officers pleaded, and the Duke of Perth went so far as to offer his resignation as well, did the Stuart prince press Murray to stay. The tension between these two would continue until their deaths, but there was also trouble in the ranks.
Few Highlanders had any interest in conquering England. As they marched southwards, 800 deserted. The Stuart prince was insistent: he had returned to the British isles to set his father back on the throne of a United Kingdom. He received unexpected support, as Murray voiced his opinion. Thus the bulk of the Jacobin army marched south only five days after taking the town.
Bonnie Prince Charlie had left 400 of his English supporters to hold Carlisle. They did not hold out long after the Duke of Cumberland began battering the walls with his 18 pounders.
FAMILY
John and Mary Armstrong took up residence in Commersdale, a southern suburb of Carlisle. This was largely an agricultural township, with a cluster of water-powered mills on River Caldew. This was where the city of Carlisle's flour had been milled since 1268.