Armistead Churchill Gordon (December 20, 1855 – 1931) was a Virginia lawyer and a prolific writer of prose and poetry.

Background

Gordon was the son of George Loyall and Mary Long (Daniel) Gordon, as well as the grandson and biographer of William F. Gordon

William F. Gordon

William Fitzhugh Gordon was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia.Born at "Germanna", a plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia, Gordon attended Spring Hill Academy, later studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1808, commencing practice at Orange Court House, Virginia...

. Through his mother, he was a descendant of William Randolph

William Randolph

William Randolph was a colonist and land owner who played an important role in the history and government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He moved to Virginia sometime between 1669 and 1673, and married Mary Isham a few years later...

 and John Stith

John Stith

John Stith was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the progenitor of the Stith family, one of the first families of Virginia.Stith ancestors were likely from the area of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. Stith settled in Charles City County, Virginia sometime after coming to the colony...

.

Gordon attended the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 for two years, beginning in 1873, then taught school and studied law, joining the bar in 1879. He practiced law in Staunton, Virginia

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

, where he was mayor for two years, and served as Commonwealth's Attorney

Commonwealth's Attorney

Commonwealth's Attorney is the title given to the elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Kentucky and Virginia. Other states refer to similar prosecutors as District Attorney or State's Attorney....

. He was a member of the Boards of Visitors of the College of William & Mary and the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

, where he also served as rector, and he was the first chairman of the Virginia State Library Board. His tenure on the University of Virginia board included the aftermath of the burning of The Rotunda

The Rotunda (University of Virginia)

The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...

. He received an honorary of Doctor of Laws degree from the College of William & Mary in 1906 and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...

 in 1923. He was a president of The Virginia Bar Association

Virginia Bar Association

The Virginia Bar Association is a voluntary organization of lawyers in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia.- VBA Mission : is the independent voice of the Virginia lawyer, advancing the highest ideals of the profession through advocacy and volunteer service.- History :The VBA, , was...

, for 1920-21.

Poetry

Armistead Churchill Gordon & Thomas Nelson Page

Thomas Nelson Page

Thomas Nelson Page was a lawyer and American writer. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, including the important period of World War I.-Biography:...

, Befo' de War: Echoes in Negro Dialect (New York: Charles Scribner's, 1888) (New York: C. Scribner's, 1893)

Armistead C. Gordon, For Truth and Freedom: Poems of Commemoration (Staunton, Virginia: A. Shultz, 1898)

Armistead C. Gordon, Vitali Lampada. A Song for a Centenary Year (1901)

Armistead C. Gordon, The Ivory Gate (New York: Neale Publishing Co., 1907)

Armistead C. Gordon, The Western Front (Staunton, Virginia: Privately Printed, 1928)

Armistead C. Gordon, The Fount of Castaly (Charlottesville, Virginia, 1934)

Law Poetry Anthologies

Armistead Churchill Gordon, "Law at our Boarding-House," in Ina Russelle Warren (ed.), The Lawyer's Alcove: Poems by the Lawyer, for the Lawyer and about the Lawyer 175-176 (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1900) (Buffalo, New York: William S. Hein & Co., 1990)

Writings

Armistead C. Gordon, Congressional Currency. An Outline of the Federal Money System (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1895)

Armistead C. Gordon, The Gay Gordons: Ballads of an Ancient Scottish Clan (Staunton, Virginia: Albert Shultz, 1902)

Armistead C. Gordon, Gift of the Morning Star: A Story of Sherando (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1905)

Armistead C. Gordon, Robin Aroon, a Comedy of Manners (New York: Neale Pub. Co., 1908)

Armistead C. Gordon, William Fitzhugh Gordon. A Virginian of the Old School: His Life,Times,and Contemporaries (1787-1858)(New York: Neale Publishing Co., 1909)

Armistead C. Gordon & Edwin Alderman

Edwin Alderman

Edwin Anderson Alderman served as the President of three universities. The University of Virginia's Alderman Library is named after him, as is in Wilmington and Alderman dorm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

, J.L.M. Curry: A Biography (New York: Macmillan, 1911)

Armistead C. Gordon, Maje: A Love Story (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914)

Armistead C. Gordon, Ommirandy Plantation Life at Kingsmill (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917) (illustrated by Walter Biggs)

Armistead C. Gordon, Jefferson Davis. Figures From American History (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1918)

Armistead C. Gordon, Gordons in Virginia: With Notes on Gordons of Scotland and Ireland (Hackensack, New Jersey: W. M. Clemens, 1918) (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Antiquarian Books, Inc., 1995) (Hackensack, New Jersey: W. M. Clemens, Limited ed., 1997)

Armistead C. Gordon, Some Lawyers in Colonial Virginia (Richmond, 1921)

Armistead C. Gordon (ed.), Virginian Writers of Fugitive Verse (:New York: J. T. White & Co., 1923)

Armistead C. Gordon (ed.), Men and Events: Chapters of Virginia History (Staunton, Virginia: The McClure Co., 1923)

Armistead C. Gordon, Memories and Memorials of William Gordon McCabe (Richmond: Old Dominion Press,1925) (2 vols.)

Armistead C. Gordon, Allegra, The Story of Byron and Miss Clairmont Minton (Balch & Company, 1926)

Armistead C. Gordon, In the Picturesque Shenandoah Valley (Richmond: Garrett & Massie, Inc. 1930)