+TOLERANCE IMPORTANT+ (planters are farmers) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >note: its o.k., for sure, to descend from yoeman farmers but its also o.k. to descend from >landed gentry< +A R I S T O C R A C Y+ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ >ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO PERFORM< +N O B L E + D E E D S+ >(important to chivalry)< ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +SEARCH IN GRUYERE & FRANCE+ +FOR ROOTS/SEEDS/FLOWERS+ (heraldry a valuable clue) >in 1985 i started my current search for european family roots, seeds +AND FLOWERS+ +GRUYERE, SWITZERLAND HAS IT ALL. (or almost that is) >AS DOES PARIS & THE LOIRE. >the castle, bookshop and town of gruyere is a goldmine for info. +OF OUR FAMILY HERITAGE+ >but< >TO FIND IN-DEPTH DATA ONE MUST journey to the nearby town of +B U L L E+ >where the regional library gave to me wonderful material re: +THE COUNTS deGRUYERE+ (all in french of course) +deGRUY(ERE) COATS OF ARMS+ >as part of a photo copied trove of our historical data i came away with a page of degruy(ere) related +COATS OF ARMS+ +56 COATS OF GRUY TYPE ARMS+ >there are about SEVEN coats of arms from a huge armorial book of arms (56 ON ONE PAGE) >illustrations that relate to us in +A CLOSE RELATED WAY+ +THE REST ARE PROBABLY RELATED+ +IN A TANGENT DERIVED WAY+ (over centuries of history) +EXAMPLE OF TANGENTAL ARMS+ >i gave david perrin a copy of this page of gruy related arms and you may have seen this sheet sent around. >i had circled the gruy arms with the +CRESCENT, STAR AND STRIPES+ +MOST POPULAR AS OURS+ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +BOOMERANG EFFECT+ >years later a photocopy of my own swiss found sheet came back to me with david's notation of +A GUISE FAMILY ARMS+ (he believed original gruy >derived from guise) >CASTLE W/ FLAGS, & 1/2 CRANE< (this needs to be checked) +THE GRUYERES BATTLE FLAG+ >is on this impressive arms sheet also. >THIS IS THE SILVER CRANE ON (ref: dekoven) >THE SCARLET FIELD THAT I +DESCRIBED RECENTLY+. +7 GRUYER(ES) ARMS+ >(there are 7 different coats of (CLOSE GRUY FAMILY) >arms shown for gruyer and >many others with dutch/ (DISTANT FAMILY) >belgium/austrian assoc.) >note: my photocopy is in black and white thus i can only describe the +S Y M B O L O G Y+ ^^^^^^^^^^^ >the following seven are found on a single line reflecting their +GENEALOGICAL TIES+ (french/swiss contiguous areas) 1) GRUX OR GRUY (VAUX) large light x on dark field diamond in center. 2) GRUY (ours) (CHAMPAGNE) crescent over star on right vertical stripes, left. 3) GRUYER, (LORRAINE) light inverted v on dark field w/ three small flowers 4) GRUYER, (ALSACE) same as above w/ 3 stars on inverted v, small shield w/ crane,sword, & cannons. 5) GRUYER, (BRAB,) similar to lorraine w/ 3 flowers on dark field. 6) GRUYER, (BOURG)-(bresse) light, large castle, surmounted w/ 2 small castles, dark field. 7) GRUYERES, (BERNE / VAUD) large crane/stork (grue) on dark (scarlet) field. +S U M M E R Y+ >the last is of course the flag carried BY THE deGRUYERE @ JERUSALEM) >other shields are to be found in the CASTLE OF THE GRUYERE COUNTS (similar to savoy brothers) >OVER THE COURSE OF A THOUSAND YEARS MANY GRUYERE CHILDREN SPLIT OFF TO DEVELOP ARMS EXPRESSING THEIR OWN +INDIVIDUALITY+ >as i have written marriage with SAVOY BURGUNDY CHAMPAGNE BELGIUM LOMBARDY TUSCANY and HAPSBOURG +N O B I L I T Y+ >was popular in the course of those many centuries of time. >WE MUST REMEMBER THAT THE WHITE CROSS ON THE SWISS (hapsbourg presence) >FLAG IS FROM THE HOLY +ROMAN EMPIRE+ >(great influence on the >deGRUY HISTORY) gene ray, san diego, california