The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-06-21

AROuI PEDIGREES.
The DIVERS. for Example. May BE We're
de Neres In Disguise.

The DIVERS. for Example, May he We're
de Neres In Disguise.
A story in one of the magazines
about d woman named Diver. who
haunted EenealogistS and experts II
heraldry until she satisfied herself that
her family name was De We're. and i'm
mediately adopted that patriotic patro-
nymic. affords no end of amusement To
para graphers aS illustrating the height
of absurdity in the quest Of ancestry,
says the Boston Transcript. But may
not the worthy Mrs. Diver have been
justified in her action? 1t iS very prob
able that Divver il a plebeian deform-
itv of De We're. which time. custom,
catrelessness and indifference to de
scent brought about. Names suffer
lust such mutilationS and attritiou in
the course of time, and are ground
down To an indistinct sound. loSin"
edge and accent in the process. We
once. heard of a man who signed his
name Simmer without the slightest
suspicion that genralogy would have
justified him in writing il Seymour.
This very beautiful and euphonius
name il treated with barbarity by
many who bear il. who pronounce il
Seemorc, utterly obliviOus that ii comes
from IT. Maur. i'm which form il Il now
written bl the duke of Somerset. whose
heir il Lord Seymour. This family of
Seymours. 10y writing the name in its
ancient and authentic form, and con
serving its concentration aS Seymour
III one Of their titles. undoubtedly are
moved 10y the purpose of letting the
world know how they would have il
pronounced. ~ are a very old
race. associated with 1T. Maur in Nor
mandy before the tOnquerOr invaded
England. They are aS proud a. the
proudcSt. When Sir Edward Seymour
joined William of Orange at Exeter.
the latter said: Il think. Sir Edward.
that you are Of the family Of the duke
of Somerset" " Pardon me. sir. said
the ariStocrat of ari~tocrats. speaking
a. the head of the elder branch. the
duke Of Somerset i Of my family.
If d man or woman in America thinks
it worth the time and trouble to trace
descent in search Of an ancestor il i
quite possible that he or she may make
discovery gratifying To family pride.
Social lines have been much more close
IL drawn in Great Britain III the last
two centuries than they were in the
times of the Plantagenrts and the
Tudors. 1t was no uncommon thing
y
mobiles to go into trade in association
with men who had made their way
from very humble beginnings. The
sons of country knights were often
glad to be taken into the counting
houses and households Of the rich Lon
don merchants Marriages often fol
lowed that united the tradesman's fam
ily with old. historic lines. Very kind
IL relations Sprang up between the pal
aces and the citN." Even mOnarchs
did not diSdain To mate with ladies of
no higher rank than simple gentry.
Edward N. married Elizabeth Wood
Vile. who. though the daughter of a
baron. was the widow of simple
knight when the king, who was always
taken hy pretty face. met her The
mighty Queen Elizabeth had among her
near kin~fulk ON her mothers side some
od-natured everyday country people
who bore the name of Brown. and who.
when She came To- the throne. visited
London in the expectation Of nepotism.
The great queen was more Tudor
than Brown-by the way, Owen Tudor
himself was but a plain Welsh knight
who made Il lucky marriage and she
sent her country relatives back with an
intimation that court life was not their
sphere. and with no sinecure to console
them. DIR. Doran conjectured that the
slang phrase: astonishing the
Browns" long in vogue in England,
NAV have had its origin in this Incl
dent. The Browns were types. for
there was many plain coun-
try gentleman who might with genoa
logical justification call the king
his cousin" All this has changed;
caste has hedged itself in within the
last two centuries; classes do not min
gle SO much they did in the time of
the TudOrs, which Is the best period for
Americans To study when in search of
ancestors. If lady or gentleman with
a taste for ancestors wants To CRAFTY
it. it is only an embittered enemy OF
the heraldry office who will seek To
thWart the endeavOr.