A Roll of Early American Arms
Compiled by Eric Hall, Arian Collins, and Joseph McMillan
Illustrated by Eric Hall, Robert Tucker, Scott Denison, Joseph McMillan, and Chuck Glass
Personal heraldry has been used in what is now the United States since the earliest European settlements. This roll of arms borne in the present-day United States before 1825, compiled by AHS members, is intended to document the vitality of the American heraldic tradition over the years.
Note: Arms are included in this roll based on use as attributed by the sources given. Where it has been possible to validate the user's right to the arms or actual use of them, that information is provided. Names given in italics indicate that we are unaware of any contemporary evidence that the person to whom the sources attribute the arms actually used them, but this should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence of non-use of the arms.
Arms are indexed by the first letter of the armiger's last name. Names beginning with the particules "de," "von," "van," and the like are generally found under the name of the principal word in the surname. Where a person bore multiple surnames, or a surname and title, the arms appear under the name by which he or she is best known in the United States.
- ARM NAME BLAZON COMMENTS SOURCE
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Wright, Sir James, Bt (London, 1716-85)
BoltonSable on a chevron Argent between three fleurs-de-lis Or a mullet, on a chief Argent three spearheads proper, in honor point an escutcheon Argent a sinister hand couped Gules (for a baronet of the United Kingdom).
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Wright, Sir James, Bt (London, 1716-85)
Sable a chevron Argent between three fleurs-de-lis on a chief Or three spearheads proper all within a bordure wavy Ermine, a mullet for difference.
BoltonBookplate; to South Carolina, 1730; royal governor of Georgia, 1760-76/82. See variants.
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Wright, Sir James, Bt (London, 1716-85)
Sable a chevron engrailed Argent between three fleurs-de-lis, on a chief Or three spearheads proper, a mullet for difference.
1. BoltonArms on bookplate; to South Carolina, 1730; royal governor of Georgia, 1760-76/82. See variants.
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1. Wright, Robert (to Charleston, ca 1723)
2. Wright, Sir James, Bt (London, 1716-85)Sable a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis on a chief Or three spearheads proper all within bordure wavy Ermine, a mullet for difference
NEHGS #2572. Son of Robert Wright, #1; to South Carolina, 1730; royal governor of Georgia, 1760-76/82. See variants above and below.
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Wright, Sir James, Bt (London, 1716-85)
Sable a chevron engrailed between three fleurs-de-lis on a chief Or three spearheads proper all within a bordure wavy Ermine, a mullet for difference
To South Carolina, 1730; royal governor of Georgia, 1760-76/82. Arms as given in Debrett's Baronetage, 1833. See variants below.
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1. Wright, Nicholas (in Lynn, Mass, 1636)
2. Wright, Edmund (in Long Island, NY, 1670)''Sable a chevron engrailed Argent between three fleurs-de-lis, on a chief Or three spears’ heads Azure
Crozier 1 -
Wray, Capt George (Middleham, Eng, 1687-York Co, Va, 1758)
Azure on a chief Or three martlets Gules
Crozier 1, Crozier 2,BoltonOn tomb, St. John's churchyard, Hampton, Va
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Wrangel, Capt Baron Ferdinand von (Pskov, Russia, 1796-Dorpat, Livonia, 1870)
Argent a fess couped embattled of three merlons and two embrasures Sable masoned proper
Russian naval officer of Baltic German origin; chief manager of Russian North America (Alaska), 1830-35
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1. Worthington, Nicholas (d. Hatfield, Mass, 1683)
2. Worthington, William (Hartford, 1670-Colchester, Conn, 1753)Argent three dung forks palewise Sable
1. Bolton, Crozier 1, MatthewsOn silver plate in possession of descendants. Arms of Worthington of Yorkshire.
2. Crozier 1, Matthews -
Worthington, Erastus (Colchester, Conn, 1761-Brooklyn, NY, 1831)
Gules three leopards’ faces 1 and 2 Or
Bolton, Bates, Early Connecticut EngraverBookplate by Richard Brunton.
On a bookplate; to South Carolina, 1730; royal governor of Georgia, 1760-76/82. Created baronet 1772. See variants above.