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On
24th January 1976, Mr Campbell was appointed Sennachie to
the
Clan Campbell
Society of North America by MacCalein Mor, Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll. While
attending the Clan Campbell gathering in
Scotland in May
1983, Donald Campbell visited the Lord Lyon to discuss his
1977
petition for a grant of arms in memory of his
great-great-great-great-grandfather John Campbell which he thought was at a
standstill and should be withdrawn.
Since
MacCalein Mor had appointed him Society Sennachie, the then Lord Lyon, Sir
Malcolm Innes of Edingight, said that he could grant arms to Mr Campbell because
he held
this appointment of Sennachie. However, Mr Campbell turned down Lyon's offer.
His
Chief was not keen on this type of grant nor was Mr Campbell. He felt that if he could not
matriculate arms based on a Scottish ancestor's arms, then having personal arms
would have no meaning to him.
At that meeting
they discussed his petition in great detail. As a result, Lyon stated that Mr
Campbell's
petition basically met the criteria for granting arms for and in memory of his
great-great-great-great-grandfather John Campbell. All that was required was a
letter clarifying several aspects of Mr Campbell's original petition. In due course Lyon
formally granted arms for and in memory of Mr Campbell's Scottish ancestor John Campbell -
Gyronny of eight Or and Sable, the first charged with four ibises' heads erased
of the second now recorded in the register, volume 65, page 88, 20th
February 1984.
Mr Campbell
has traced his
family's lineage back more than seven generations to a John Campbell (b. c1775,
in the highlands of Scotland; d. 1831, Georgia) who, with his future bride Mary
Nicholson, immigrated to South Carolina from Scotland on the same ship following
the American Revolutionary War. John and Mary were residing in South Carolina
for the birth of at least three of their children: John (jr) (1800-1838), Neill
(1802-1875) and Flora (1805-18??), and in particular Marlborough District for
son Neill. John and Mary settled finally in
Appling County,
Georgia, in the late 1810's.
In designing the
arms for his ancestor John Campbell, Mr Campbell tried to think of things which were unique
about his family - where they lived and their occupation, etc. He was looking for
a simple differencing technique to use with the Gyronny of eight Or and Sable
which of course symbolized Clan Campbell. The family has lived in south Georgia
and Florida
for the past 200 years and in particular in Harmony area located in the
southwestern corner of Madison County, Florida since the 1840's. The primary
occupation of the Campbell males up though the mid 1900's has been farming.
Mr Campbell wanted an
object or objects which would define who they were, but he did not want an everyday
'commercial' object like an alligator, palm tree, flamingo, etc. Mr Campbell remembered
that the Strachur arms have a galley in the 'first'. That give him an idea. Use
an object to identify where the family lived and place it in the 'first'.
The glossy ibis (Plegadis
falcinellas) is indigenous to south Georgia and Florida which is where the
family lived. So Mr Campbell used four glossy ibises' heads erased in the 'first'. For the
crest a glossy ibis sable. And for the motto 'In Harmony'.
Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight, then Lord Lyon, thought this design made good
heraldic sense for Donald Campbell's ancestor John Campbell's arms. Thus, Lyon used
his
suggested design for the arms of his great-great-great-great-grandfather John
Campbell: Gyronny of eight Or and Sable, the first charged with four ibises'
heads erased of the second. |
