Volney Armour, first state's attorney when that office was created in 1872, was a cousin of Philip D. Armour, the Chicago pork packer. They were of Scottish descent. He was admitted to the bar when 21 years old, moved to Mt. Carroll and formed a partnership with Judge Wilson, later with W. Thos. Miller. He married Lucinda Clock. In 1856 he was elected circuit clerk and recorder of Carroll county. In 1861 he formed a partnership with Judge James Shaw which existed until 1890. Armour was the editor of the 1879 Kett history of Carroll county and a speaker of note. He assisted in the practice of his son-in-law, George L. Hoffman, after his retirement.

As speaker at the centennial celebration July 4, 1876 in Mt. Carroll, he told of the ardent fight against the use of liquor and conditions here: "In 1845-6-7 along there, a great number of young men were in the habit of hanging around R. P. Thorp's store; he was free-hearted and generous to a fault. In his cellar were liquors in plenty. He had a grindstone in the cellar and there was a great amount of grinding to be done. Some would be down every half hour to grind; at the end of six to twelve months the liquors were all gone but the grindstone as good as new. "But the liquor had lasted long enough to create an appetite for it on the part of many of the young and middle-aged in fact, and although the sound of the grinders was low at Thorp's it ran high at the doggeries of the young town. Some seeing the evil results de­termined to break the thralldom and they or­ganized a division of 'Sons of Temperance.' This was successful for a time. But in 1851-2 the Hydraulic Company was organized on the supposition that it was to distill alcohol and that its products would not get into the market as whiskey. Everybody took stock the company, Sons of Temperance as well as others. Old members say the temperance distillery killed the order in Mount Carroll. Father Irvine was not fooled on the distillery question; he fought it with unyielding courage, a zeal worthy of success."

Armour's granddaughter, Mrs. Capitola Kentner of Savanna, clearly remembers the strong odor of souring milk on his whiskers when he kissed her as a child.

Armour's small daughter, Capitola, started her schooling at the Seminary at the tender age of three because she could be taught to read. On her graduation she joined her father on the platform speaking against liquor and its use. She was married Jan. 1, 1880 to attorney George L. Hoffman when he came to Carroll county at that time. Hoffman was born in Hesse, Darmstadt, Germany in 1847, and came to Pennsylvania in 1850 with his parents. In Mt. Carroll, he worked at his trade as shoe­maker in summer and taught school in winter, and was graduated from the Western Law School at Bloomington and admitted to the bar. He practiced with J. M. Hunter, was Mayor of Mt. Carroll six terms and alderman twenty years besides serving one term as legislator. He died suddenly of pneumonia in 1922. During his life both his wife and his wife were active in obtaining woman suffrage.

This photo taken at the time of her wedding to Mr. Hoffman.