The Pierrepont Coat of Arms

[The below presentation was given during the 100^th reunion of the Pierpont Family Association on June 24, 2023]

As was mentioned earlier, investigation into the Pierrepont Coat of Arms began at the PFA meeting in 1926. In the 1927 and 1928 meetings, it was reported that there was a “problem with there being TWO Coats of Arms” so that “no decision had been reached as to which was authentic.” That indecision continued into the 1929 meeting.

The subject was not brought up again until the 1937 and 1938 meetings where it continued to be reported that there was “little activity” and no decisions had been made

The subject was finally brought up again in 1960 when an interesting talk was given by Kathryn Pierpont on her genealogical research of “The Pierpont-Pierpoint Families of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.” She had copies of her 1953 book as well as copies of the Pierpont Coat of Arms.

In the 1961 meeting Marion Pierpont “gave an interesting explanation of the Pierpont Coat-of-Arms” and looking at the one that had been presented the previous year.

In wasn’t until 1977 that the topic was again mentioned when a newspaper article from the Pierpont Family Reunion of 1928 was read by Marian Kraft.

I’ve already discussed the problem of the multiple crests, so I won’t reproduce that here. I’ve also blogged fairly extensively on peerage in the Pierpont/Pierrepont family – links to all of that are below and I won’t go into that here either. Rather, I just want to give an overview of what I have brought today, allow you to ask questions, and then to view these bits of our history.

 

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/07/peerage-in-pierrepont-family.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/07/pierrepont-family-crest.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/09/pierpont-family-coat-of-arms.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/09/pierpont-family-coat-of-arms-part-2.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/10/peerage-in-pierrepont-family-part-2.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-pierrepont-peers_6.html

·       https://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2022/10/elizabeth-pierrepont-bigamist.html

[Unveil the COA]

 

 

This Coat of Arms is from 1764, over 250 years ago. It was produced during the time that Evelyn Pierrepont, Baron Pierrepont of Holme-Pierrepont, Viscount Newark, Earl of Kingston, Marquis of Dorchester, and Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, was still living. While there are other copies of this in existence, the only other one in color that I am aware of is at Holme-Pierrepont in England. I purchased this on behalf of the PFA last year from a dealer in antiquities. To give a rough idea of value, the three pieces of paper alone have a value of about $400 and the archival frame is another $600. The COA is actually suspended under the glass by two small dots of archival adhesive so you can see all the edges, including the small pieces of original string from where it was bound in a folio of COAs for all the peerage of England.

Besides the inscription on the bottom, this COA contains the crest of the Duke, a Duke’s crown, the shield of the Pierrepont family, the lion supporters, and the family motto. The family motto is “Pie Repone Te” – a spelling pun on the Pierrepont name which means “You rest in piety”.

While this COA is beautiful, of more significance to the Pierpont Family Association are the genealogy charts which were printed on the two following pages in the original folio.

[Remove envelope from back and take pages out]

 

 

This extensive genealogical chart goes back to the original invasion of England by the Normans in 1066 where our ancestor was a captain in William the Conqueror’s army. It follows the blood lines of the Pierrepont family from 1066 through the time of the production of the COA in 1764, i.e., about 700 years.

Toward the bottom of the first page, you can see the creation of the first Baron Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont. Robert Pierrepont was a Lieutenant General of the army under Charles I. The peerage in the family continues on to the second page where you can see the different crowns of Viscount, Earl, Marquis, and Duke as the family were given additional titles over the years.

In the generation preceding Robert, on the right-hand side of the page, you will find the name William Pierrepont (third son). Since under the rules of English primogeniture, William did not inherit anything, he would have had to leave the family home at Holme-Pierrepont and make a living on his own. He did, becoming a merchant in a nearby town. But he also then became acquainted with the Puritans. William was the father of James and the grandfather of John and Robert who went to New England around 1640 – thus beginning the family line of the New England Pierponts of which we are a part.

There are many stories related to this part of our history – how at one time there were two Baron Pierreponts (the cause of the change in the crest), the daughtering-out of various lines, marriage to a bigamist and the salacious trial before the peerage, and others. I’ve blogged on all of these previously, and I refer you to the links on the PFA Facebook page to read those stories.

I’m going to leave the COA and these two pages here on the table for you to examine. However, I would ask that handling of the genealogy charts be kept to an absolute minimum. They have only been unfolded and handled perhaps a half-dozen times over the last 250 years and I would like them to continue in this pristine state for another couple of centuries. Feel free to take whatever pictures you like and ask any questions you may have, and I’ll do my best to answer them.