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The Pearsall Family

 

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History and Genealogy of the Pearsall Family in England and America:

 

Volume I

 

Front Cover

Inside Front Cover

The Motive

Thanks

Illustrations

Contents

 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Appendix I

 

Volume II

 

Volume III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

growth of the arms of this family and it will add to his interest in the subject in determining, if possible, the time when the insignia ceased to be the family name and became the embellishment of the individuals of our family and the indication of their rank. Recurring to the King's proclamation, it is well to remember that our ancestor, Nicholas de Peshale, fought at Agincourt.

To enforce the observance of this law heralds, visitations, or processions through the counties were instituted and continued from time to time till the reign of William and Mary. These heralds were directed to visit the counties and there find out who were bearing arms and by what right they claimed such privilege. The earliest visitation to Staffordshire was in 1528, at which time the Peshall arms were approved. In 1483 a Heralds College, or college of arms was founded by Richard III., the president of which is the Earl Marshall of England, an office hereditary in the family of Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who nominates the three kings of arms, six heralds, and four pursirvants who are members of the collegiate chapter. It is now a crime for any one within the United Kingdom of England to bear arms without a hereditary claim by descent, or a grant by competent authority. This College or Court has reduced the subject to the precision of a science. In addition there have been libraries of books written upon the subject. There also are quite a few men who devote themselves to the solution of the many problems that are constantly arising, and who therefore may be said like lawyers to practice in the Court of Heraldry.

It is stated authoritatively that the Willsbridge pedigree of Pearsall has been passed by the College of Heraldry. This does not mean that every statement therein made is guaranteed to be true, but that the arms are true as stated, and that the right by descent is allowed.

In all the visitations our ancestors were called upon to prove their right to have armorial bearings, which has resulted in a number of manuscript pedigrees, made and reported by the Master of Arms, which are on file either in the British Museum or in the office of the College of Heraldry, and these almost invariably contain drawings of the arms borne by the then living members of the family. While there may be many differences in the relationship of the intervening generations, as shown in these charts and pedigrees when compared one with the other, these conflicting statements have not resulted, and cannot result, to change but to greatly strengthen the claim of descent from the original bearer of the arms.

Because a certain physical object or a peculiar device is allowed as representing the arms of a family, does not mean that any and every such object will answer the purpose, as it must be represented as granted by the College of Arms.

In Burkes General English Armory we find the arms of Pershall or Peshall of Horsley, co. Stafford to be:

Ar. a cross pattee, flory sa.; on a canton gu. a wolf's head erased of the field.

Crest. a wolf's head sa. holding in the mouth a marigold ppr. Ar. means argeant meaning silver,-which when it is not in color is expressed by the shield being plain.

The arms of Peshall have been passed upon many times and necessarily there is considerable variation, by way of modification, growing out of claims by marriage, or of maternal descent of the individual whose arms are then under con-

 

 

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