William McGillivray’s grant of arms

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William McGillivray’s grant of arms

snelson

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Sr. Member

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Posted: 26 July 2013 21:39

Hi all,

Here is a neat picture of William McGillivray’s grant of arms ca. 1823:

http://www.rootsmusic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/McGillivray-Coat-of-Arms.jpg

Born in Scotland, McGillivray (1764-1825) was a fur trader in Canada and partner in the North West Company. He was an officer during the War of 1812 and played a role in the capture of Detroit, I think.

I am struck by the similarities between his arms/crest and the arms/crest of the North West Company:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/North_West_Company_-_Coat_Of_Arms.jpg/225px-North_West_Company_-_Coat_Of_Arms.jpg

snelson

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Sr. Member

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Posted: 27 July 2013 09:36

Burke’s blazons McGillivray’s arms and crest as: Quarterly 1st, Or a cat sejant proper (tabby); 2nd ermine a glove lying fesse-wise apaumée, and tasslled of a brown or tan colour; 3rd Argent in water in base proper a fish naiant Vert finned Gules; 4th Azure a galley Or, flags and oars Gules on a chief of the second a mullet pierced between two crosses crosslet fitchée also of the second, the whole within a bordure per pale Argent and of the second on a chief of augmentation, with a representation of sky and water, a canoe with a flag at the end Gules and the character of N W in gold, six Canadians rowing, another person seated in the centre, in the naval uniform of England. Crest – On a mount Vert, by the brink of a river, a beaver in the act of gnawing a tree by the roots, represented as nearly falling, the branches entwined with an escroll, bearing the motto, Perseverance, all proper. Motto – Under the arms: Touch not the cat, but a glove.

This seems to differ slightly from the actual text of the grant (I can bearly read it). The beaver and motto Perseverance in both McGillivray’s and the North West Company’s crests also reminded me of the Regimental Colors of the Third Virginia Detachment that were taken by Tarleton at the Battle of Waxhaws in 1780 (and sold at auction in 2006):

http://vt-vexillology.webs.com/Tarlton @ Waxhaws NC-2.bmp

...albeit, with a palmetto instead. I’ve read that this and other motifs on Revolutionary War flags were taken from the new currency notes designed by Ben Franklin, who in turn derived many of these symbols from his 1702 copy of Symbolorum ac emblematum by Joachim Camerarius. It is interesting to see this beaver being used by both Canadians and Americans.

Joseph McMillan

Total Posts: 7658

Joined 08-06-2004

Sr. Member

Total Posts: 7658

Joined 08-06-2004

Posted: 27 July 2013 11:43

snelson;99960 wrote:

It is interesting to see this beaver being used by both Canadians and Americans.

Also in the arms of Albany, N.Y. adopted in the first couple of decades after Independence:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Albany_coat_of_arms.svg/500px-Albany_coat_of_arms.svg.png

Of course the beaver was introduced to North American heraldry much earlier, by the Dutch in the arms of New Netherland and as the crest of New Amsterdam. I assume that when Seb says "this beaver" he means the one in the act of felling the tree.

snelson

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Sr. Member

Total Posts: 464

Joined 03-06-2005

Posted: 27 July 2013 15:17

Quote:

I assume that when Seb says "this beaver" he means the one in the act of felling the tree.

Yup…I’m just relieved it isn’t the kind of heraldic beaver described in Rodney Dennys’ The Heraldic Imagination:
Quote:

James Bossewell, whose Workes of Armorie was printed in 1597, tells us that "he geldeth himselfe, when he perceiveth that he is pursued of the hunter, and biting off his stones, which are marveilously good in medicines, layeth them in the sight of the hunter, knowing by nature that he is hunted for the same, and so he escapeth death."

http://24.media.tumblr.com/0a7e20a49988d222545f05c7f1040bd0/tumblr_mqm02zCMrP1rq2fm7o1_250.jpg

Guy Power