THE COAT OF ARMS.

ARMS: Sable; a fesse humettée, argent.

CREST: On the stump of a tree, eradicated, argent; a bear's head, erased, sable, muzzled, or.

MOTTO: Semper Presto Servire.

"Always ready to serve."

The field, shield or escutcheon is black (sable). In Bary's "Plates of Coat Armor" the "Bostock Arms" are given with two different shields, but the shape is not material.

A "fesse", (French fascé), is one of the nine ordinaries of Heraldry, and is formed by two horizontal lines drawn across the field, and, according to the opinion of most writers, should contain one-third part of the escutcheon.

The fesse is supposed to represent the military belt; by some termed the "Cingulam Honoris", or "girdle of honor".

A "fesse humet" or "humettée", is a fesse whose ends do not reach to the side extremities of the escutcheon, but a "fesse humettée" should also show the thickness.

Guillim, one of the authorities of Heraldry, is of the opinion that a "fesse humettée" is more properly called a "table"; others call it a "gravestone". All "charges", in coat-armor, have some significance; either representing trade or profession, some incident or accident.

The word "eradicated", in heraldry, means "torn up by the roots", and "erased" means "torn off leaving jagged edges".

The generally believed opinion is that the Crusades were coeval with, if indeed they were not the true cause of the birth of Heraldry, its laws and emblems.

The right to bear arms and to use Coat Armor was granted for many reasons. Undoubtedly heraldic devices were first used by military lords and chiefs, on their own part, to distinguish their own bodies of retainers and men-at-arms, and they, in their turn, bestowed upon their brave and deserving followers, those insignia and marks which became the Coat-Armor of the owners.

In the course of time, these various insignia naturally began to multiply and increase in numbers, and, in order to prevent any confusion

arising in regard to the proper ownership, it became necessary, in the fourteenth century, to establish a record of all coat-armor, and the "Heralds' College" was instituted, probably during the reign of Henry V., but the "College of Arms" was not established until during the reign of Richard III., in 1484.

Messengers, known as "Heralds", were sent into the various counties and shires, and all persons were practically compelled to register their pedigrees and coat-armor, and the results of these searches are known as the "Heralds' Visitations", and are on record in the British Museum. Coat-Armor, in many cases, has a special significance and history. It was granted often for special acts of bravery, great loyalty, or for some high office held, and the Arms were intended to commemorate.

BOSTOCK ARMS.

QUARTERLY OF 15.

1. Sable, a fesse humettée, argent.

2. Or, a bend, azure, (Vernon)

3. Quarterly, or and gules, a bend sable, (Malbank)

4. Azure, three garbs, or, (Blundeville)

5. Azure, a wolf's head, erased, argent, (Hugh Lupus)

6. Azure, 6 garbs, 3, 2 and 1, or, (Keveliock)

7. Argent, an orle within eight martlets, in orle, sable, (Winnington)

8. Vert, a cross engrailed, ermine, (Wettenhall)

9. Vert, a bend, ermine, (Wettenhall)

10. Argent, a fesse between three crosslets fitchée, sable, (Lawton)

11. Gules, 3 pheons, argent, (Malpas)

12. Argent, a cross flory, azure, (Malpas)

13. Gules, two lions passant, guardant, or, a label of five points,

azure, (Strange)

14. Azure, 2 bars argent, (Venables)

15. Or, on a fesse, azure, three garbs of the field, (Vernon)

*THE FAMILY NAME.

"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." -Proverbs XXII, 1.

The surname of Bostwick is of Saxon origin and is traceable to the time of Edward the Confessor, who preceeded Harold, the last of the Saxon Kings, upon the throne of England. Like all ancient names, it has undergone some mutations in over seven centuries, and has even been materially changed since the time when Arthur Bostock first transplanted it into the wilderness of America. Why names are changed will be left to antiquarians to discuss.

That the name was Bostock at the time of the emigation to America there is proof in the fact that it is so written on the town records of Stratford, Ct., in deeds and documents pertaining to the first generations, and from the early records of the town of Southampton, L. I., (N. Y.), as early as 1643.

It is true these writings are but copies, written by clerks, who were not, in all instances, best qualified for the position they held, but it is probable that the signatures of persons were copied as they were written by the individuals themselves. It is also positively known that the family came from Cheshire County, England, where the name of Bostock has existed for centuries, but there is no Bostwick to be found there. In the second generation in this country the name is usually written Bostick, or Bosticke, and it is not until the third generation that the full fledged Bostwick is found.

It is very easy to imagine how Bostick took the place of Bostock, in an age when very little attention was paid to orthography, and names were usually spelled as they were pronounced; but it is more difficult to conceive how the W finally crept in, and became so firmly rooted as to be unanimously acknowledged and adopted by all branches of the family.

Among some of the older members of the family, the name is still pronounced Bostick, although spelled Bostwick. There are a number of persons throughout the United States who bear the name of Bostic and Bostick, but their descent cannot be traced back to Arthur Bostock, of Stratford.

*Contributed by John D. Champlin, No. 3580.