The Washington herald., 1916-05-21

arms Personally think 1t Is much more
interesting to cling to motto that has
been hallowed by long family use, but
one may at will change the motto to suit
personal taste. ! am giving here only
the mottos that have been borne for long
periods by branches OF the family in Eng
land and Scotland.
In Ayr, Scotland. where the family Is
numerous and influential, the following
mottos are TO be found; "Procedamus
in pace" "spero meliora." "FIdeIlter," I"
and the English motto AN I may"
which in modern usage would be simply;
II I may"
The family, also located in Ayr. from
which the Earls OF Eglinton and Winton
are descended uses this motto: Tout
bien GU rien." The earls of Eglinton
and Winton. whose family name is
Montgomery. use as their motto; Gar
dez bien." The Earl of Mount Alex
ander. who was also a Montgomery, but
whose earldom is now extinct, and has
been since l75s, had this motto; Hon
neur sans repos," and still another is
''Patriae infslice fdelis." From among
these I feel sure that Mrs W. ]. NJ.
will be able to find one that suits her
fancy.
To ". D., who asks for information
about the Day family which, says W.
D., was probably originally o'Day and
came from England to this country
While am unable TO ind any trace
Of the tradition that the Days in this
country were originally O'Days, l fiid
that several OF the Days did come to
this country from England in the sew
enteenth century.
There was a Ralph Day who was born
in England and settled in Wedham. His
son, John, lived in Wrentham Mass
and was a soldier in King Philips war.
His descendants are found in parts of
New England as well as in Washing
ton, d. c.
A Robert Day. who was born some
where in England in 1904, came to this
country with his wife, Mary Stebbins, in
the Elizabeth" and was a pioneer in
the settlement of Hartford, Connecticut
His name is TO be found today on a
monument erected in that city in honor
Of the hrst settlers. His descendants
are TO be found in many states, one
branch being as far south as New Or
leans.
This Robert Day bore the following
coat Of arms, which is still used by his
descendants: Per Chevron, or and azure
three mullets counterchan nged. The crest
is described thus: Two hands conjoined
ter or, sinister azure, each charged with
a mullet, counterchanged. The motto
is "Stc itur ad astra"
Although it seems likely that Day Is
one OF the many names taken in honor
or the Scotch patron, Saint David. there
Is tradition that the first OF the Eng
iish family was a follower OF the Norman
conqueror who, having been assigned
large tracts Of land in Suffolk England.
settled in Eve IN "a
upon assumed the name of d Eye, which
became Deye and finally Day 1t is hard
10 tell whether this tradition Is founded
on fact or whether IL is simply one of
the many fabrications built up on the de-
sire TO appear to have had Norman
origin.
To a reader who wants to know the
Ambrose arms, with something Of the
origin OF the family
Unfortunately there is little avail
able data on this small family. That
the surname was derived from the
personal name, made popular because
or the saint so named, there is no
doubt, and it is first found in Lam
caster England. In this country a
tamlly OF Ambrose was settled some
time early In the seventeenth century
In the neighborhood of Salisbury and
Amesbury. Massachusetts,.
There are two coats OF arms given
in English armories for the Ambrose
family. One is that of the English
family seated in Lancaster. It is de-
scribed as follows: Argent three dice.
sable, each charged with mulIet of
the field. The crest is a hand holding
billet argent The Ambrose family
OF Ambrose Hall. Dublin, is even more
elaborate. 1t is described thus: Per
fess or and sable, three dice, each
charged with an amulet, all counter
changed. The crest is a pelican in
her ,piety, or charged on the breast
with shamrock. proper. The motto
Of the family is I'm Heaven is all INV
trust"
Copyright lfleD