Diamonds, Ermine(s) and Arms

Well, I tried all day to find a good online picture, or any picture at all, of the Stickney Coat of Arms. I finally settled for taking a one of the black and white picture in the genealogy book. It's been sitting under a news clipping for many decades now. I wondered if it had some color, and I did not understand the strange description that Matthew Adams Stickney gave it in the text. No problem. Goto wikipedia "Ermine (heraldry) and all will become clear. Matthew would love the internet.
I found many little details today. Some of the early American Stickney men had the distinction of serving on 'Committees of Safety' and this confused me. It seemed very British. This practice was part of British life, for them and for us. When there was a period of instability, the people could summon 2 delegates from each community, gather in a council, and assume a temporary Marshall law. This was being done in Britain, and became more common here after the French and Indian War. I took some notes. It's one for another day. But thanks to this curiosity, I found that the also French allowed Vikings to settle in Normandy around the 800's and that they assimilated well. I looked in Domesday online and found an Odo in the 'Stichenai', Lincolnshire area. The root 'stich' means prick, stab, sew, and a few other related things in German, but not Norwegian or Norse. The Galts migrated to ancient Normandy, Brittany, and the nearby area called Maine. Odo came from Brittany, and in 1066, he was linked to William, the Conqueror, and vice versa, in ways that a soap opera writer would salivate over. The Coat of Arms ended up being plainly from Bretagne. Even the black and white colors. The Dutchy of Brittany's shield was a white background. The Stickney shield has a sable background for reasons of class and propriety. It's called counter-_____. Check out that article. The nuances of these symbols is deep. Even the fleur-de-lis has an ancient but simple meaning. It's often yellow, like the iris's on the banks of the river Lutz, and literally means flower of the lis (river).
Although the author of the book is convinced that the Stickney's came from Normandy, I respectfully have to disagree. So I'll skip ahead in MA Stickney's narrative about 400 years after 1066:
"In 1422 I find with the Arms of "Styckney," ... "Ermines, three lozenges ermine," ...
Say what? Ermines.... ermine? What are lozenges? But... it came clear. Lozenge translated into French is losange. Diamond translated into French is also losange. Heraldic ermines can be straight or curvy ended. If I understood correctly, Brittany adopted the curvy kind at some point prior to 1066. Ermine is black design on white, and ermines are white on black. It's that counter thing that you really need to see the article for. There are colors that mean certain things, also cadency, stain, background color, pattern and so much more. Interesting, but save it for a rainy day. So... the picture below holds three diamond shapes. The Ermines are white on black. The ermine (inside the light diamond shapes) are black. Simple. (Check out that article...)

1904 Olympic Golf & a Crater on Phoebos

Well, while the 77th Master's starts in the other room, I have been poking around and finding more than I begin to tell you. So I'll start with the golfers and the lady who has a crater named for her.
There is a small clipping from the Boston Herald in the book, with the headline "Stickney Leads Field". I didn't pay it much mind, obsessed with Sarah Stickney Ellis (who was English, but worth knowing about).
According to Wikipedia, two Stickney's played on the 1904 American Olympic Golf team. The team won silver. Stuart Grosvenor Stickney (9 Mar 1877 - 24 Sept 1932) finished 15th in standings. He finished first in individual competition but was eliminated in the 2nd round of match play. He won the Trans-Mississippi  Amateur in 1913. (Article: Stuart Stickney). Also on the 1904 team was William Arthur Stickney (25 May 1879 - 12 Sept 1944). He attained a 17th standing, and finished 4th in individual, also to be eliminated in 2nd round match play.
The clipping reads:

"STICKNEY LEADS FIELD

[Special Dispatch to the Boston Herald]

       Springfield, June 27, 1906. The Springfield County Country Club's open golf tournament opened today. Ninety-eight players started in the qualifying rounds for the Springfield cup, the Country Club cup, the Governor's cup, and the Bunker cup, 16 to qualify for each. The first round will be played tomorrow morning, the second in the afternoon, the semi-finals on Friday and the finals Saturday. S.N. Stickney of the Springfield Country Club today broke the amateur record for the course, doing the 18 holes in 68, in the first round and leading the field in the day's total with 142."

I will have to look up S.N. to see if he was a younger brother or cousin, or. maybe a misprint, assuming wikipedia is correct, which is another question. I'll update later...
Update: > That clipping was a second one, not the one I found first, upping the golfer tally to 3, which states:
"Samuel W. Stickney of Springfield, who is at the Mt. Pleasant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Stickney, and Miss Isabel Stickney, broke the record of the Bretton Woods golf course on Wednesday, doing the 18 holes in 71. This is several holes better than the record of Brice S. Evans, who won the recent tournament, and who is entered in the tournament at Deal Beach, N.J., this week." (There is no reference to the newspaper. It looks like a society column entry to me. A handwritten date of either 1907 or 1917 is noted. "Miss Isabel" was my great-aunt, with quite a story of her own. Another research project....).

In honor of my favorite ISS Commander, I have to mention Chloe Angelina Stickney Hall, the astronomer's wife, of whom the largest crater on the Martian moon Phoebos is named. Her biography was written, excellently, by her third son, Angelo Hall. It's public domain, and it's a gem. Her story, as well as the family story in the book, is really special. I'll bring more of that story later, too... Along the way I found a poem by Augustus Snowe (no relation) entitled "There are Hundreds of Them" and had to laugh, stop, and read, thinking the same thing about Stickney descendants. At first glance, I thought he spoke of stars, but it ended up being poets writing under them. My first thought was right, after all. P.S. The Master's is airing very early on the Golf Channel, then on ESPN from 3-7:30 EDT.

From a Distance: Genealogy via Satellite

From the beginning of the book [Picture in "Meet William" post]:
"William Stickney was the ancestor of nearly all who have since borne that name in America. It is inferred from records procured in England for the author, by Horatio G. Somerby, Esq., that he was the William who is mentioned as baptized in St. Mary's Church, Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, September 6, 1592, and the son of William Stickney of Frampton, who was baptized December 30, 1558, and married, June 16, 1585, Margaret Peirson, and grandson of Robert Stickney of Frampton, who made his will October 3, and was buried October 18, 1582."

Clearly put: Grandpa Robert died October In Frampton, 1582. His son William married Margaret Peirson on June 16, 1585. He had been baptized 30 Dec 1558. Wm & Margaret's son, also named William, was baptized 6 Sept 1592, at St. Mary's Church in Frampton, Lincolnshire, England, PE20. It was this Wm who emigrated to America. (PE 20 is the current postal code. Stickney is also in Lincolnshire, in PE22. I have the link to that site, but I've forgotten which one.)

This blog came about because I got totally drawn into looking at the coast of Ireland on Google Earth thanks to my favorite Canadian, Commander Hadfield, who has been tweeting fabulous pictures and descriptions of Earth from the International Space Station. He had posted a picture of an island at the southern tip of Ireland. The name was Thunder-(something). I never did determine which island he was referring to, but I ended up spending the morning following it around, then crossed the strait to Liverpool, and had trouble locating the Scottish border.
Years ago, family lore and the existence of this book, had sent me searching with a magnifying glass into my oversized book atlas, where I found a town named Stickney. I felt pretty sure there was a connection, but had trouble finding it later on a computer atlas program, and quit trying. But as I wandered around the interesting celtic islands and coast of the UK ... there it was, Stickney! Located in Lincolnshire, near or sometimes in marsh land, depending on the century. (There is a protected area project happening there now, but that's another story.) The first Stickney came to England from France with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Norman invasion. Apparently the last Stickney for whom the town is named had a daughter. She inherited it, but married a Craycrofte, and the property became part of that family name. There are so many John's, Jonathan's, Daniel's, Samuel's and William's that it's hard to tell who's who. The women, although they are largely ignored, are an integral part of the search, be they wives or daughters.
People of past centuries weren't always baptized at birth, so don't assume they are actual birthdays. There is mention of a man who was baptized with his infant son. It's unwise to assume anything when it comes to genealogical searches. There is information in the preface of this book that describes the calendar year of that time beginning in March, not January.
Even though the town of Stickney is ancestral, the American line, (which also stretches to South America), traces back to the William Stickney, of Frampton, mentioned above. There are a couple of English towns with Frampton in the name. This one is just south of Boston (yes, Boston, England). Stickney is north of Boston on the A16 road.

About Me: the Profile Photo

The 'About Me' photo is of the drawing of William Stickney's Memorial. It sits behind opaque paper, commonly placed over illustrations in books of that era.
The caption reads: "The Monument erected at Rowley over the remains of William Stickney, the emigrant ancestor. See page 11." By Rowley, I assumed he meant Massachusetts, and indeed it was.

More of their story will come soon. I need to wade through this tale of 6 children, but only 3 baptized in America. He bought and sold land. His will starts on page 7, ("I, William Stickney, of  Rowley in the county of Essex in New England, being weake [sic] of body,...."), and is dated 21 January 1664. This is followed by "An Inventory of the Estate of William Stickney", on p9, that includes his boots and red waistcoat, among the sheep, horses, cow and steers... And all that, before page 11. I'll try to make it fun.... Later.

Meet William