The information presented has been taken from the following sources:

• Stephen L. Sewell, Letter posted at Genealogy.com, 2002.  At a cost of £150, Mr. Sewell had a written report prepared by Mr. Patric L. Dickinson, Richmond Herald of the Royal College of Arms.  This report is dated August 31, 2000.  Many thanks to Mr. Stephen L. Sewell of Aberdeen, Maryland for sharing this information.
• A.C. Fox-Davies & J.P. Brooke-Little: A Complete Guide to Heraldry, London 1985
• Sir Hector Livingston Duff: The Sewells in the New World, Exeter 1924
• {Professor} Edward Elbridge Salisbury: Family Memorials, privately printed in 1885
• {Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell (1806 - 1886): Letters, unpublished.
• Richard Thomson, An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John, London 1829

Bees in Heraldry

"The insect which is most usually met with in heraldry is undoubtedly the bee.  Being considered, as it is, the symbol of industry, small wonder that it has been so frequently adopted. . . .  "It occurs in the arms of . . . Sewell . . .." ....Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry, page 195 The earliest mention that I could find of bees in heraldry is in the arms of Thomas Muschamp (Azure, 3 bees, 2 and 1, Or) on page 274 of Richard Thomson's An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John. Thomas Muschamp is described as a "baron of the reigns of John, Henry III and Edward I"; i.e., during the 13th century.

• According to the Dictionary of British Arms - Mediæval Ordinary Volume Two these arms are listed as registered to Henry Sewelle in 1405 and listed in 1415.  Unfortunately in 1415 — the second time we see the arms of Henry Sewelle appear — a dictum was sent out by Henry V that only the "arms which were borne at Agincourt" would be registered by the heralds, unless the bearer could show a long and valid right to those arms.  It appears that Henry did not persue the matter, and the arms were not patented by the Heralds of the College of Arms (2).

• Fuller, in his Worthies of England (vol i, p. 533), mentions John Sewell, Sheriff of Essex, in 1382, gives his arms as "Sable, a chevron between three gadde-bees, argent."(3).

• Fuller, in his List of Sherriffs, mentions John Seawale Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, 4th Richard A.D. 1380 whose arms he describes as "Sable à Cheveron betwixt 3 Gadd Bees Argent"(4).

• Lysons, in his History of Bedfordshire (p. 107) states there is an ancient monument in the church of Houghton Regis, near Dunstan, Bedfordshire with the effigies of a man in armour under a rich Gothic arch which had the arms of Sewell — a Cheveron between 3 butterflies. This monument has been personally inspected by my greatX2 grandfather, {Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell of Headcorn, Kent, who states that Lysons evidently mistook the bees for butterflies as the monument had been "strongly defaced with whitewash and mutilated".(5)

• Our earliest Sewell ancestor who can be traced with certainty is William Shewell of Warwickshire who married Matilda Horne in 1540. Some claim he was a lineal descendant of the knights and gentlemen of his name who bore the silver bees and chevron on the black shield, and it may be that he was; but sufficient evidence is lacking.

• The Sewells could have, and should have, protested the patenting of these arms by Nicholas Girlington in 1563; but did not. However, in 1638, John Gwillim, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, in a heraldic treatise, makes this explicit statement:  "SEWELL:  He beareth three bees volant."(6)

   The earliest reference I have been able to find to this coat (with the gold chevron) is in Professor Salisbury's Family Memorials(8).  Quoting correspondence with Mrs. Philip Durnford of Montreal (née Augusta Sewell, my greatX2 grandfather's cousin), Professor Salisbury writes:

"According to this lady's description of the arms, the chevron is Or, there is a crest consisting of a wreath surrounding a bee volant (see Burke's General Armory, ed. 1878, p. 914), and there are roses depicted at the lower corners of the shield which are said to have been permitted to be worn as a reward for some deed of valour, performed by an ancestor fighting on the side of Lancaster during the War of the Roses" (9)

 ". . . the indisputable fact that certain arms — namely: Sa. a chevr. betw. three bees volant Arg., have been handed down by painting, tradition or otherwise, among the Sewalls now known to reside in New England and Lower Canada . . .." (10)

The arms claimed and borne for centuries  by the Sewells of New England, and by  their ancestors in the United Kingdom, are:  Sable, a chevron between  three bees volant, Argent	According to the Edward Elbridge Salisbury,  the arms associated with the Sewells  of Coventry and New England are:  Sable, a chevron Or between  three gadbees volant Argent.

In Memory of Roy Brown Sewell, Sr. of Georgia and Alabama This beautiful Coat of Arms, described as: "Sable, a chevron between three bees volant argent. Crest — A dexter arm embowed in armour proper garnished or, holding an acorn gold"  has been shared through the courtesy of  Mr. C. M. Wright of Oklahoma. Click to send an email to Mr. C. M. Wright

John Rees sent the image of this crest along with the note:  "This little crest came to light amongst some things of my mother's." John Rees is my father's second cousin, our common ancestor being {Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell.  Click on John Rees for details.

Robert Sewell of Essex, 1667 Argent, on a bend gules  three martlets of the field	John Goulding Sewell, 1843 Ermine on a bend engrailed between  two lions rampant Gules three martlets Argent

• Thomas Davies Sewell of Westminster, London (with whom I cannot establish a relationship) who patented the arms "Gules, a pale Argent surmounted by a chevron invected counter-changed between in chief two escutcheons of the second and in the base one of the first each charged with a bee volant proper" in October 1867 or 1897(13).

• Frederick Robertson Sewell of Brandlingill, Brigham, Cumberland (also with whom I cannot establish a relationship) who patented the arms "Gules, a chevron between two bees volant proper and a chaplet of roses in base, Argent" in July 1899(14).

Thomas Davies Sewell Gules, a pale Argent surmounted by a chevron invected counter-changed between in chief two escutcheons of the second and in the base one of the first each charged with a bee volant proper	Frederick Robertson Sewell Gules, a chevron between  two bees volant proper and  a chaplet of roses in base, Argent

• Percy Ambrose Sewell Hickey (my grandfather's second cousin) of Westminster, London, who was a son of Emily Sewell and Mr. Hickey (described by our cousin W. Darcy McKeough as "a barrister"), patented the arms "Per chevron Sable and Vair; three bees volant, Or." in August 1912(15).

• Horace Somerville Sewell of Tysoe Manor, Warwickshire (with whom I cannot establish a relationship) who patented arms "Azure, a chevron engrailed Argent in chief two bees volant proper" in January 1940.(16)

Percy Ambrose Sewell Hickey Per chevron Sable and Vair;  three bees volant, Or	Horace Somerville Sewell Azure, a chevron engrailed Argent  in chief two bees volant proper

Sir Hector Livingston Duff, K.B.E., C.M.G Knight Commander of the Most Excellent  Order of the British Empire  and  Companion of the Most Distinguished  Order of St. Michael and St. George.  All records indicate that Sir Hector was a "good chap." Sir Hector Livingston Duff, son of Alice Sewell (afterwards Lady Russell) and John Pope Duff of Edderton, Rosshire had title to the Arms of Duff of Clydebank surmounted by a badge showing the bee of Sewell charged upon the cinquefoil of Livingston(17). Sir Hector recorded much of our family history in his book The Sewells in the New World, Exeter 1924.  This book, along with many others, is available as a reprint from Higginson Books of Salem, Massachusetts. Sir Hector was my grandfather's second cousin; their common ancestor being {Chief Justice} Jonathan Sewell.

Photo from The Sewells in the New World Exeter, 1924

Sir Hector was Chief Secretary to the Governor of Nyasaland.  This made him "Number 2" and he would effectively run the country if the Governor was on leave. He wrote an unpublished book Nyasaland in the World War 1914-18 which is held by the Imperial War Museum in London.      Sir Hector spoke fluent German and as a result he accompanied the Nyasaland Field Force at the northern border and fought at the battle of Kasoa in Nyasaland.  After the British invaded German East Africa (Tanganyika) he was made Chief Political Officer and effectively ran the Govt. of the Occupied Country.  He was awarded his Knighthood for these services. He then suffered some sort of a breakdown. Colonel Barton speaks highly of him in his unpublished diaries. . . . thanks to Peter Charlton who is writing The Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve.

    The 2002 cost of patenting a coat of arms is £2895, or $4560 American as of November 2002. This is a whopping $7200 Canadian!  Fortunately, heraldry is now considered little more than a hobby, and Robert Sewell intends to use the arms pictured to the right without bothering to patent them.  (At $7200??  I'm glad I was seated when I figured that one out!)  Thanks to Mark Sewell of Liverpool for the suggestion with regard to "gold bees"; I think they look better than silver bees.

    Thanks to Darren S. A. George of British Columbia for suggesting that ". . . we have our own heraldic authority in Canada.  This is part of the Governor General's office . . .."  Please visit The Canadian Heraldic Authority which has a number of options and states that as of 2005 ". . . the minimum cost of a grant of a coat of arms (shield, crest, helmet, mantling, and motto) is likely to be around $1,900 . . .." It appears that various options could double this amount.  Be sure to visit Darren's website which is devoted primarily to Heraldry in Canada: "The Mad Alchemist's Heraldry"

    For further information on drawing your own arms, check the following links.  Remember not to take any of this too seriously; but please show respect for those who choose to do so:

• Heraldry on the Internet — lots of heraldry stuff

• Hall of Names — descriptions of coats of arms

• Shields, Knights and Heraldry — a free download on heraldry "for children" of all ages

• Wittsend Library — check out the heraldry links

• The College of Arms — the official web site

Click to contact Robert Sewell

Footnotes  Click on the Footnote Number to return to your place on the page above.

(1) Sir Hector Livingston Duff: The Sewells in the New World, Exeter 1924, page 97
(2) Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002
(3) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 99
(4) {Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell, letter, February 3, 1858
(5) {Rev} Henry Doyle Sewell, letter, February 3, 1858
(6) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 99
(7) Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002
(8) Edward Elbridge Salisbury: Family Memorials, 1885, pages 145 & 165, and pedigree chart.
(9) Edward Elbridge Salisbury, page 166, footnote.
(10) Edward Elbridge Salisbury, page 165
(11) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 101
(12) Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002
(13) Stephen L. Sewell states "October 1897" and Sir Hector Livingston Duff states "October 1867".
(14) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 102; Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002.
(15) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 102 & 103; Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002.
(16) Stephen L. Sewell, letter, November 2002
(17) Sir Hector Livingston Duff, page 102 & 103