Torrey Coat of Arms

Date: 6 Mar 2021 [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: Torrey

Contents 1 Description 2 An Authentic American 3 See: 1842 in The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales 4 Sources

Description

The Coat of Arms that Frederick C. Torrey mentions may not be recorded in the College of Arms, but the Torreys in America use it universally anyway and has since the early 19th century. This would make a lot of sense to anybody who knows a Torrey. Our British cousins who have an ancient functioning monarchy take their heraldry very seriously and might consider the blazon shown here a vain affectation, however as Frederick Torrey states there are a great many American Torreys that universally use the coat of arms whether or not it is considered "legal." He adds that "this is justified by both ancient and modern usage." ^[1].

An Authentic American

Once colonists, identities as well as that which becomes relevant to these identities translate differently for unique purposes. What is interesting about the symbol as used by the physician and scientist, John Torrey is reflected in the title of his article, "Torrey Coat of Arms Shielded by Circumstances." Dr. Torrey, nor a Torrey woman who became the wife of a United States diplomat and mother of a United States President did not need a heraldry to give them any more honor than they already had. That's not the point.

See: 1842 in The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales

Something's lost and something's gained with American Calvinistic roots - the absence of bells and whistles means standing on authentic hard earned personal nobility, even if only traced to the early 17th Century. This is a normal authentically Colonial way of looking at things. That banner represents a name that goes back to before the beginning of the American colonies and absolutely to many buried in the graveyard of the church of Combe St. Nicholas.

Sources

1. ↑ "On the Trail of John Torrey" The Torrey Botanical Society #11, p. 309 [1]"