Frank B. Armstrong taken on his wedding day April 2, 1891. Photo courtesy of Frank B. Armstrong III – Bulletin Texas Ornithological Society_v27n01-02, 1994
Frank Bradley Armstrong, ornithologist and taxidermist, son of Richard Sands and Janet Armstrong, was born on May 10, 1863, at St. Johns, New Brunswick, Canada. His father, who was trained as a lawyer but also an amateur naturalist died in 1868 and in 1870, Frank moved with the family to Medford, Massachusetts, and then to Boston. There he attended school, and after graduation he studied taxidermy for two years with Professor C. J. Maynard, a naturalist and ornithologist. At home in Boston, Frank wrote his first essays on ornithology, mammalogy, and oology.
In his early twenties he began a tour of the sparsely settled Southwest and subsequently spent several years doing field work in Mexico with Laredo, Texas, as a base. During that time, he collected Mexican birds and animals. In March 1890, when Armstrong traveled to Brownsville, he was so pleased with wildlife in the area that he moved his collection and taxidermy studio there. He studied subtropical bird life, and his later reputation was based chiefly on his work in tropical ornithology. The Armstrong collection of mounted birds, fishes, and animals attracted many visitors. He had assembled more than 800 different specimens from the vicinity. He also contributed thousands of specimens to museums in Europe and the United States, including the Field Museum in Chicago and the Smithsonian Institution. At one time Southern Methodist University and Southwest Texas State University had specimens of Armstrong’s work.
He married Marie Isabel Schodts of Brownsville on April 2, 1891. They had three daughters and four sons. Armstrong died on August 20, 1915 at his home, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery in Brownsville.
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/armstrong-frank-b
By: Ruby Armstrong Wooldridge
Frank is listed in the 1898 Naturalist Directory living in Brownsville, TX, interested in Ornithology, Oology, Taxidermy and Minerology.
Over 8,000 of Frank’s specimens are found in North America and European museums. He collected in both Texas & Mexico from 1885 through 1914.
Frank also had a snake farm! See image below from the The Brownsville Herald, Brownsville, Texas • Fri, Nov 16, 1906, Page 1.
There are 13 egg sets of Frank’s in the museum’s collection with 11 of those being from Bert Nichols and around 63 sets in W.J.B. Williams’ collection.
You can read more about Frank Armstrong at The Ornithological Collection of Frank B. Armstrong by Stanley D. Casto
