Barrett Oil Purchasing

 
Kenneth Mansfield
 
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Kenneth Mansfield
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17 November 2008 09:50
 

It seems - based on a quick Google search for "Barrett coat of arms" - that the Barrett Oil Purchasing company in Albany, Kentucky, looked no further than their nearest bucket shop when they developed their branding. Their trucks do look quite nice, though. I snapped this with my cell phone when I pulled up next to one a few weeks ago. I saw another this morning and remembered I had taken a picture.

Per pale and barry of ten Argent and Gules counterchanged.

 

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/2549/barrettoilcw9.jpg

 
 
David E. Cohen
 
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David E. Cohen
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17 November 2008 10:27
 

One never knows—perhaps a Barrett entitled to those arms owns the company.

 
James Dempster
 
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James Dempster
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17 November 2008 11:31
 

It would be very easy to difference them appropriately, just make it

Per pale and barry of ten Argent guttee d’huile and Gules counterchanged.

 

though I have to admit guttee de poix would probably look better - unless they’re buying good olive oil.

 

James

 
Donnchadh
 
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Donnchadh
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18 November 2008 14:41
 

As an Irish heraldry enthusiast and subscriber to the MacLysaght Principle, I do find this troubling. Clearly this does not subscribe to the MacLysaght Principle and is simply bucket-shop heraldry.

As to the rightful use of the un-differenced arms the senior line of the Barretts died out. And if I’m not mistaken the next senior line was through a female, which is rare in the Irish context, and were the Hamilton-Barrett family of Kilmanock House, Co. Wexford. But I think they also have died out, though I’m not certain and would have to dig some more.

 

So, there can be no rightful use to them other than the MacLysaght Principle, but again this violates that, so it is bad form. But, kudos to them for at least being interested in heraldry.

 
arriano
 
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arriano
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18 November 2008 16:21
 

I think we all need to recognize that the "bucket shop" has been around for at least a century, and because of that it’s very much ingrained in many Americans that all they have to do is find a coat of arms associated with their last name and, voila, they have a coat of arms. Because this has been going on for so long, I can’t fault most people for thinking that they are entitled to use arms like these.

It would be nice if more media attention could be generated, with grabbing leads such as: "Do you think that coat of arms you bought at the store or online is really your family’s coat of arms? Think again!"

 
Michael Y. Medvedev
 
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Michael Y. Medvedev
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18 November 2008 17:35
 

Dear Denny, what if this Barrett is the senior Barrett residing in the US (which is heraldically independent)? I understand your wish to see the Irish armory as a [partly] extra-territorial phenomen - but basically an Irish-residing Barrett and a US-residing Barrett may sport identical coats (it is better anyhow if they know what they do…).

 
Joseph McMillan
 
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Joseph McMillan
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18 November 2008 17:56
 

arriano;64577 wrote:

I think we all need to recognize that the "bucket shop" has been around for at least a century, and because of that it’s very much ingrained in many Americans that all they have to do is find a coat of arms associated with their last name and, voila, they have a coat of arms. Because this has been going on for so long, I can’t fault most people for thinking that they are entitled to use arms like these.


I agree with Arian here, but would simply add that Americans shouldn’t flagellate themselves excessively about this problem.  The mistaken idea that the arms of a particular family (i.e., one specific person and his descendants) are the arms of everyone of that name goes back well before the US.  Combating this idea was one of the reasons for the English visitations.  More recently the problem of Wappenschwindel (arms swindles) is a major theme in the handbook of the German heraldic society, Der Herold.  I also remember seeing it addressed by Spanish heraldic writers.  It’s an issue throughout the heraldic world.

 
Donnchadh
 
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Donnchadh
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19 November 2008 03:06
 

Michael Y. Medvedev;64582 wrote:

Dear Denny, what if this Barrett is the senior Barrett residing in the US (which is heraldically independent)? I understand your wish to see the Irish armory as a [partly] extra-territorial phenomen - but basically an Irish-residing Barrett and a US-residing Barrett may sport identical coats (it is better anyhow if they know what they do…).


Michael, it is possible, but I doubt that they are the “senior” line here in the USA, as the great house of Barrett died out. I would venture to guess that roughly 99% of Irish-Americans, be they pre-Great Hunger influx, or after, were not of an aristocratic nature. There were exceptions in the officers of Washington’s army and the navy and even in some of the “landed” families in Catholic Maryland etc. However, most of the “gentile” Irish migrated to continental Europe not the USA. You are more likely to find descendents of such Irish in Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, etc than in the USA.

 

Add to this the sad fact that there are two distinct Barrett families in Ireland with one being Norman and another Angle and both Anglicized as Barrett with slight variations. It is most probable that this line does not know which they come from unless they know what county their original ancestor came from. And only one of those great Barrett families was entitled to these arms and their descendents the same in a proprietary manner under the MacLysaght Principle.

 

As to my favoring the “extra-territorial” position of Irish heraldry, well, maybe not so much as you’d think—except that one of the big reasons MacLysaght proposed his idea of “sept” arms was because of the Irish in the Diaspora, which by and large is the USA, being so caught up with their name/“clan”. So, it is not as easily split as some would like especially when an Irish of the Diaspora use the arms in a quasi-sept manner.