a fine shoot, and a palatial house in London, at Cleveland
Square, St James's. Finding these things empty and vain, he turned to politics
and wormed his way into the good graces of the then Prime Minister, Mr
Gladstone, for whom he paid on many continental tours. He was returned
liberal MP for Dundee in April 1880, and had his portrait painted. It is
now in the permanent collection of the Dundee Art Gallery. After giving
£5,000 to the Prince of Wales Hospital Fund he was created (July
1906) Baron Armitstead of the city of Dundee, and bequeathed money for
a chair of Philosophy at the university and a ward in the hospital. He
died without benefit of clergy and lacking relation or friend to mourn
him, at 4 Cleveland Square on Dec 15th 1915, when his baronybecame extinct.

"As the flower of the field, so he flourished, but as soon as the wind
passed over it, it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more".

In fact his nephew Henry Alfred Armitstead was present at the death.

The American Armisteads

The great family of Percy were the chief landowners in the area in the
middle ages. The Armitsteads were numbered among their retainers, which
is why several members of the family are to be found in the Kirk Deighton
area, another Percy stronghold, from the fifteenth century. It was a member
of this branch, who spell their name Armistead, and lived at Wetherby Grange,
who emigrated to America in 1635, settling in Virginia. Many of his descendants
had distinguished military careers in USA, and Colonel George Armistead
was in charge of the force