The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-12-04
AMERICAN sNoBBEKx. lsg
rho Crestcs, and Noticed ArIstoc.
racy Among the 2Parvemucs Of
me wv Y Orlk. s.,iI In-5agVG aEatst

Tho Crested and Noticed Ar1stOc
racy Among the Parvemucs Q
, bnNeW York. a,iI Ia-iAqTG aEotsi 90.
2 New York staf.n,h ,TF2i-- dIAaT -,
, There is an old signboardin William
, street, ,,near Frankfort, containing. thu
curious announcement, Arms found
! and engraved ,ne- -.5 srse- -.2.
0' May inquire the meaning of youl
signboard ?, asked q reporter of the
Star. as he entered the store. sc b.
- The meanipg2 lam professor OF
heraldry-hunting up family crests for
people--and also do the engraving
on carriages and silver plate.' 5rr
But haye you not found tho wrong
continent for business of that sort p
'Oh, no; my trade is quite lucrative
here in New. York. began in Eng
land, studying heraldry there for
many years. had a dozen competi-
| tors there, but not solitary one here.
You. see there, sprang up a craze
among American families some time
ago for aristocratic distinction in the
way of old family arms and crests,
dating from their European ancestors.
took advantage of that event, and
have had my hands full to satisfy my
new found aristocrats ever since. 8
'Have you found many Now York
ers entitled to bear arms?"
"A surprising number. There are
gentlemen in this city entitled to wear
ducal coronets. The oldest child in a
knighted family is just as much enti-
tied to wear the arms abroad as at
home. The younger children can not
legally do so. Here are some heraldic
emblems that do credit to any family
in the wearing.
A showcase full of queer designs
was thrown open by the proprietor for
inspection. 1t contained metallic du-
plicates of the crests of several royal
families, including those of Guelph
Queen Victoria), Stuart, and Bona
parte. The designs are fashioned
from wool, silk, gold, silver and
bronze. Those of high degree are or
namented with supporters or male
figures on either side of the grouping.
Next in importance come arms of pat
ronage, of succession, and of adop-
ton. The three last date back to con-
quests of the Crusaders in the Holy
Land and wars among the clans of
Scotland.
sHow do you go to work to establish
a persons right to heraldic honors2
was next asked. .....,..f ,,-i
First by getting out the genealog-
ical tree,' Then I send orders to my
agents in London, Paris or Vienna to
search parish registers for aristocratic
tracings. You know nobleman in
tye olden time' always displayed his
arms, provided they were honorable,
on his houses, coaches and even pews
aud church books. In cases where H.
legitimacy ever stained noble family
as bar had to be worn diagonally
across every shield and crest. AS this
frequently happened, and it became
policy for the heirs to conceal the fam
lily emblems, we sometimes get baf-
fled in our search. But sometimes a
stray letter, teaspoon hidden away
in closet, or piece of buried a-mor
will fill up the gap and guide me to
correct delineation of New York
gentleman's arms. I~-...fi -.f1
'Can you name any one who has
thus been distinguished? p
There is Charles Walter Ogden, the
iron merchant, of No. 81 Elm street.
He is full-fiedged herald, thanks to
our efforts in looking up his pedigree.
He didn't know his family had baron
ial arms until it was proved by refer
ence to history and to two-line par
agraph in an old edition of 'Burke's
Peerage.' The arms consist of shield
of blue and white triangular spaces,
surrounded by a lion supporting an
oak tree. There is the following in
scription on the transverse: 'Etsi
ostendo coyacte.' Then there are the
Parishes, of Murray Hill. The eld-
est son (William), who married Miss.
Delafield in July, was a knight by
right of descent. When he married
he hired me to consolidate his wife's
and his own crests. So by heraldic
usage 1 constructed shield-shaped |
badge, dividing it into two parts by a
line. The right or
dexter side became Mr.. Parrish's !;
the LETT or sinister the lady's. On
the dexter side I emblazoned three |
lions heads across the blue surface.
The devices OF the lady's contribution
to the badge are very ancient, dating
back to 1888. DR.. Delafield, her father,
is particularly proud of some old
claret jugs and bits of silver plate
with his family arms engraved there
on
do you find many gentlemen in
different to their privileges
Indeed, 1 do this is very demo-
cratic place, as have discovered many
times. Why, there are two sons of
the Duke of Argyle actually working
for living in this city. They would
not give fig for what they call this
nonsense. The Walters,
who have brilliant family history,
with title or two, and Lor' knows
how many acres of land thrown in,
wouldn't turn over finger to prove
their heirships. On the other hand,
we occasionally meet men like Rev.
Bishop John Faulkner, of Philadel-
phia. He ran across an old book
plate several years ago which con-
tained falcon in the act of leaving
the hand of trainer. The superscrip-
tion read Sir Falconer,' and this set