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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at a standstill and should be withdrawn.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. |
