THE SEATON FAMILY.

CHAPTER I.

THE SEATON COAT OF ARMS.

THE armorial ensign, or coat of arms, in Scotland was a token of prominence of the possessor in his country. It was regulated by the ruler of the country, and many restrictions were placed upon those who aspired to support one.

The shield upon which arms were first displayed was three or four feet long, pointed below, and eighteen inches broad. The shield was carried in battle by its owner in the left hand (unless he was left-handed or ambidextrous), by a handle attached to its reverse side, as a means of defense from his enemies' weapons, while the spear, pike, axe, or whatever weapon suited his fancy or station, was used in his right hand.

The coat of arms signifies very little to peaceful Americans, where every one who behaves himself belongs to the nobility, but it is considered invaluable to the nobility of England and Scotland. In this country we know very little and care less about heraldry, as a rule.

Robert Seton says: "There is, perhaps, no family in Scotlandthere is certainly not one in America-the heraldry of which is so ancient, so honorable, and so abundant as that of Seton."

George Seton wrote a work on "The Law and Practice of Heraldry" in which the number of colored shields of the family numbered over three hundred, and the Americans could add a dozen more; but W. Harvey McNairn, of Toronto, Canada, says there is only one coat of arms in the family, with marks of cadency, of ( 27 )

course, and that the others are those of families allied to the Setons by marriage; that there are no Seton arms given, except the well-known coat with the crescents and tressure.

Each head of a family of proper lineage in Scotland could support a coat of arms with the consent of the sovereign, and each branch of our family seems to have one to itself.

Nesbit, the famous writer on Heraldry, says Dougal de Setoun possessed the earliest recorded arms of Seton in Scotland.

The coat of arms later came to be used as a decoration in castles, on carriages, and even on stationery and business cards.

For the benefit of those who have never looked up the subject of heraldry it may be said the shields were colored any one or more colors each having a special name different from its usual designation, as "Or" for golden yellow; "Argent" for silver white; "Gules" for red; "Azure" for blue; "Sable" for black; "Vert" for green; "Purpure" for purple, etc. And on shields in black and white each color was represented by certain marks to denote the color; thus, the part of the shield that should be golden yellow was represented by points or dots ; silver white, by a plain white field; red, by perpendicular lines; blue, by horizontal lines; black, by perpendicular lines crossed by horizontal ones; green, by diagonal lines from upper left to lower right; purple, by diagonal lines from upper right to lower left; and blood-red, by lines representing green crossed by those denoting purple . So by examining a printed coat of arms the colors in which it was originally painted may be determined.

A "Charge" in heraldry is any figure or picture contained in the field of an escutcheon. That on our Seaton arms, as represented herein, is a sheaf of wheat, signifying that we as a family are bound together by mutual interests and love, and that in union. is strength, and if we scatter we lose our greatest element of strength. The birds hold a branch of holly, an emblem of the House of Avenel, from which we sprang.

"Supporters" are the pictures at the sides of the shield; ours are the same birds as in the charge, and they also hold a holly