the 1836 campaign Armstrong sought the Whig nomination for governor, but it went instead to Edward Everett in a bid for support from the Anti-Masons. Armstrong ended up running that year without party support, and came in a distant third behind Everett and perennial Democratic candidate Marcus Morton. In contrast to his defeat at the state level, Armstrong was elected Mayor of Boston in 1836. The principal act of civic improvement during his one-year administration was the construction of iron fencing around the Boston Common and the widening of the promenade along Boylston Street. Although the contracts for the work had been drawn up by the preceding administration of Theodore Lyman, Armstrong oversaw the work, and also had the task of securing the relocation of remains in the Central Burying Ground that were affected by the work. This he accomplished, despite some resistance from several families, by offering at no cost several new granite tombs to the affected parties. In 1839 Armstrong was elected to the Massachusetts Senate, where he served a single term. In 1845 he joined the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, in whose affairs he remained involved until his death. He died in 1850 in Boston, and is buried in Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery. He had married Abigail Walker of Charlestown in 1812; they had no children. See also Timeline of Boston, 1830s Notes References (five volume history of Massachusetts until the early 20th century) Further reading Governors of Massachusetts Lieutenant Governors of Massachusetts Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Mayors of Boston 1784 births 1850 deaths Bookstores in Boston Massachusetts Democratic-Republicans Massachusetts Whigs American printers American book publishers (people) 19th-century publishers (people) Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians People from Dorchester, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople