Rev. J. J. Armor, deceased, was born in Mississippi. He came to Texas in young manhood, as a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and joined Greenville Presbytery. He was an active, useful preacher for about fifty years. Perhaps he was instrumental in the salvation of more souls, and organized more churches than any other man of his day, in the bounds of his territory.

He lived to be eighty-six years old. Three years before his death, his faith and loyalty to his church were tested. Greenville Presbytery met at Cumby, Tex., after the Decatur Assembly to consider whether they should adopt or reject the union scheme as adopted by a majority of the commissioners to that body. By unfair means, which was the rule, not the exception, in that ecclesiastical tragedy, the U.S.A.'s out-voted the Cumberlands. Brother Armor had traveled forty miles to get there, and his first greeting, by a U.S.A. preacher was, "Come and go with us, and we will give you $300 annually from our Ministerial Relief Board." He said, "No, no, I can't sacrifice my church, and my conscience and principles for a few dollars." When the crisis came, three preachers and four elders: Revs. J. J. Armor, G. W. Crutcher and D. J. Moore, with Elders J. M. Gandy, J. L. Odom, R. T. McCoy and Merit Branom, resorted to a Methodist Church nearby, and perpetuated Greenville Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Brother Armor being elected moderator. Three years later the writer preached the funeral of this grand old "Soldier of the cross."

"When for eternal worlds I steer,
And seas are calm and skies are clear;
And faith in lively exercise,
The distant hills of Canaan rise.
The soul for joy now spreads her wings
And loud her lovely sonnet sings:
'I'm going home.'

The nearer still she draws to land,
More eager all her powers expand,
With steady helm and free-bent sail,
Her anchor drops within the veil.
And now for joy she folds her wings,
And louder still her sonnet sings:
'I'M SAFE AT HOME.'"

[Source: Our Senior Soldiers: The Biographies and Autobiographies of Eighty Cumberland Presbyterian Preachers. Compiled by The Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication. The Assistance of Revs. J. L. Price and W. P. Kloster is Greatfully Acknowledged. Nashville, Tenn.: The Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1915, pages 79-80]

J. J. Armer
Emory, Texas
Greenville Presbytery - Texas Synod

[Source: General Assembly Minutes of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1907, page 35b]

ARMOR--Rev. J. J. Armor was born in 1821, in Giles County, Tenn. Married to Miss Sarah A. Shook, Feb. 27, 1844. To them were born five children. His wife died in 1872, and he was married again to Mrs. Hines. He professed faith in Christ when a young man, and joined the Cumberland Church. He moved to Texas, and joined Greenville Presbytery in 1861. For forty years he was an active minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in this Presbytery. Under his ministry many souls were won to Christ. He organized many congregations. I have seen him, while standing in the pulpit, water the leaves of his Bible with tears. Extraordinary influences were brought to bear upon him to renounce his church when the time for division came. He was offered the $300 pension, but it moved him not. He and two other ministers and six ruling elders perpetuated Greenville Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Blessed be the dead that die in the Lord, and whose blessed works live after them.--D. J. Moore, Mt. Vernon, Texas.

[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian Banner, March 20, 1908, page 16]

Ministers Lost By Death

J. J. Anmor [sic: Armor]
Feb. 15, 1908
Greenville Presbytery - Texas Synod

[Source: General Assembly Minutes of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1908, page 2b]

Davis W. Armor
married: 1815 - Giles County, Tennessee
wife: Elizabeth Lively

Children of Davis W. Armor and Elizabeth Lively Armor:

1. Margaret Amanda Armor

2. Newton Monroe Armor
never married

3. Polly Elizabeth Armor
married: 11 February 1841 - Tippah County, Mississippi
husband: William Rhodes

4. Joseph Jasper Armor
Cumberland Presbyterian Minister
born: 1821 - Giles County, Tennessee
died: 15 February 1908 - Texas
1st marriage: 27 February 1844 - Tippah County, Mississippi
1st wife: Sarah Adeline Shook
[daughter of ? Shook and ? ?]
born:
died: 1871 - Hopkins County, Texas

2nd marriage of Joseph Jasper Armor: 26 December 1871 - Hopkins County, Texas
2nd wife of Joseph Jasper Armor: Mary Ann Chapman
[her 1st husband: Sherod Hines; her 2nd husband: William M. Taylor]
[daughter of ? Chapman and ? ?]
born: 1828 - Hardeman County, Tennessee
died:

5. William Lively Armor

6. Mahala Jane Armor
married: 24 January 1843 - Tippah County, Mississippi
husband: William Wiley Shook
[son of Solomon Shook]

7. Nancy Isabella Armor
never married

8. James Brooks Armor
married: 30 December 1853 - Tippah County, Mississippi
wife: Louisa Jane Smith

9. John Davis Armor

10. Thomas Jefferson Armor
died in infancy

11. Marshall Blackburn Armor