The Progressive West Virginian. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1911-1913, 1912-05-30

The Great Seal OF west Virginia.
When the morning dawn Of June
20, 1863, fell silently OF the noun
tains and valleys of West Virginia,
the state had no organized govern
ment Before the shadows Of eve
ming fell a legislature had been or
ganized and the first governor and
other state officials had been inau.
gurated at Wheeling, the states first
capital 1t was day of banners
and flags, speeches and songs, parades
and huzzas.
The states natal day fell on Sat
urday, and on the following Monday,
June %, the legislature met to begin
real work There was government
then, but the new child Of the Repub-
lie had no seal or coat of arms. The
second joint resolution, therefore, to
be adopted was one authorizing the APP
pointment of q committee to devise
and report suitable devices and in
scriptions for the seals of the state"
The committee went Immediately to
work, employing j. H. Diss DeBar, of
Doddridge county, to make drawings
in compliance with their suggestions.
The design agreed upon was finally
adopted in September, 1863, and the
state was then ready to attach her
Great Seal to the numerous documents
which by law and long custom were
considered incomplete without such
insignia.
The words seal and Goat of arms"
in the United States have practically
the same meaning. When the design
is impressed upon state papers or
public documents, it is referred to as
seal, and when it is used for illus,
tratiye purposes or on flags, it is
usually called coat of arms.
The history and traditional signi-
ficance of these emblems of nations
and of states constitute one of the
most interesting subjects in the story
of civilization. We of the territory Of
the thirteen original states have no
difficulty in tracing that strain OF
heraldic reverence that causes us to
unconsciously make our state coat of
arms in some way a symbol of our
state pride and patriotism
When the Revolution was over and
Washington and his armies had gained
our independence, the American
Eagle and Shield" took the place of
England's Lion and Unicorn" The
spirit of ancient heraldry remained,
but much of its ancient glory had fed.
England, under Richard III, estab.
lished a College of Arms in 1883,
which institution exists to-day to
guard the history and traditions of
her cherished heraldry and settle all
questions relating to Coats of Arms or
her Great Seal. America has been
too busy to do anything like that, and
the seals Of many ofsthe states are,
through carelessness and inattention
of engravers and printers, changed as
the years go by.
West Virginia's beautiful emblem
did not escape this reckless law OF
variation. Year by year changes
were made until many Of the states
forms were decorated By
caricatures that bore but little re-
semblance to the original drawing OF
Mr.. Diss DeBar. II some of these
Of the diverse side of the
Great Seal of West Virginia. the sheaf
OF wheat and the Jumps Of mineral
had been omitted; the wild ivy had
been taken from the rock; the axe had
been TRANSFORMED into a maui, the
miners pick had lost it's identity and
the two human figures had assumed
CARDS the like of which never haunted
even the widest dreams OF the com.
mittee which submitted the original
design in 1863.
During the last two years tho
present Secretary of State has been
sending these burlesque engravings to
the junk pile and the new blanks and
forms are beginning to show a West
Virginia Coat of Arms which seeks to
preserve the beautiful conception OF
the fathers Of the state as expressed
nearly half century ago.
To many people the preservation
Of our Coat Of Arms, as originally
designed, would seem trivial matter.
Says noted English writer. "No
charmed life of fairy love surpasses
in wonder and incredible incidents
The life of the Great Seal 1t has
smiled at the feasts of kings and
starved in garrets. In vain have
earth, fire. and water banded together
Tor its destruction. Once hurled into
he Thames I invoked the aid Of
waterman and was restored to the
Kings House. Thieves have stolen II
and melted it down, and sold it for old
metal. 1t has been buried beneath the
ground. Orer and over again, ruffiang
armed with murderos instruments
have broken it into D.;nure pieces, but
still the Great Seal remains, entire
and fawless as eyer.fS