The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-09-20
A CORNER IN ANCESTORS.
FRANCES COwLEs.

| Ireland. The coat of arms for the
family Is, Argent a chief indented sable.
A family of the name was established in
Virginia in colonial times. One OF the
family, George Power, born in Fayette
County. KY. spent some time in North
Carolina and settled in Illinois. He
married Nancy WilcOckson. Another line
of the family was established by John
Power and Nicholas. his brother. who
came from Liverpool to Providence,
r. l., in late colonial days. John Power
married Elizabeth Westcott Their de-
scendants are to be found in New Eng
land and New York State
To L. J.. who asks for information
about the Lyons family:
The Lyons family is Of ancient Norman
origin. having been established in Eng
quest. The name is not derived from
Lyons. as is sometimes supposed, but
from LiOns-la-Foret, on the Fuse in Nor
mandy. The coat Of arms of the Lyons
family Is as follows: Per fess or and
gules, a lion rampant. within a treasure
tlory cOunterchanged holding in the paws
an amulet azure and in chief two trefoils
vert. The Lyons family were established
in Eastern Virginia in colonial times.
To- Mrs f J, K, who asks for infor-
nation about the Metcalf(e) family:
following coat of arms: Argent, three
calves PEASANT sable The crest is a
talbot sejant proper. dexter paw grasp
ing a golden target This MetcaIf fam
lily was represented in the early eight
zenith century by Richard Metcalf who
had a plantation on the Rappahannock
River. in Virginia. He was the son of
Gilbert Metcalf. a merchant of London,
who traced descent from Richard Met
calfe, of North AlIerton, County York
shire. England.
The MetcalfCe) family in England was
Of Yorkshire origin. but the origin of the
ries advanced by psychologists that the
first Metcalf met a calf" and was I'M
daunted, are of course absurd. The pres
ence OF the calves in the coat of arms
Is simply an evidence of the propensity
for punning on the part of the men who
choice the devices for coats of arms. 1t
IL said that in the early seventeenth CEN
fury the Metcalf family of York was the
most numerous family in all England
During the wars of the reign of Queen
Mary 1t is said that Sir Christopher Met
calfe met the Judges of the queen at
York. with three hundred horsemen, all
his kinsmen. and all named Metcalf.
The New England Metcalf family
traces its origin TO Leonard Metcalfe, who
was born in 1876 He was rector OF the
parish of Tatterford. county Norwich,
England. His son Michael, born in Tat
terford in 1856, came to America on the
John and Dorothy in 1881 By his wife,
Sarah Waynham, he had eight children,
thus establishing one of the old colonial
families of Massachusetts
To Mrs. w. F. B. who asks for infor-
nation about the Hanks family in Amer
lea:
The name Hanks is of English origin
but have not been able to find that any
of the name in England ever bore a coat
OF arms. 1t is a variation of the name
Hankis, which is a nickname, in Cheshire
County, England, for the first name
Randolph. The family name Hanks
therefore belongs to the class of surnames
derived from first names. Very little in
formation has been got together about
the Hanks family in America. In Hitch
cocks book on Nancy Hanks the moth
er of Abraham Lincoln. there is a little
family history and a little more Is to be
found in HOLSTERS history of Pawlet
v. Either Of these books can be con-
suited at large library.