"Claiborne of Virgina" - Book incorrect!
Anyone who has the book "Claiborne of Virginia" by Doorman & Smith, OR anyone attempting to track William's parents should read on...
On page 1 of the book it says:
"1 WILLIAM CLAIBORNE, second son of Thomas Clayborn (Clayborne) and his wife Sara (Smyth) James of the Parish of Crayford, County Kent, England."
I believe this information to be incorrect, and for good reason. Heres why:
1. There is no Thomas Clayborn or Thomas Clayborne listed in Crayford Kent, but rather a Thomas Cleburne. The spelling is vastly different.
2. The book CORZIER'S GENERAL ARMORY, which was compiled in the 1620's by William Crozier lists WILLIAM CLAIBORNE's coat of arms as "argent 3 chevronnels braced in base sable a chief and border of the last. Crest: a dove with an Olive branch. Motto: Pax et Copia" (pg. 74) For those who are not familiar with orders of blazon, this is a silver (or white) shield with 3 black linked chevrons, a top 1/3 that is also black and a border that is black. A popular misconception is that Coat of arms are belonging to a family, which is not exactly true. A coat of arms belongs to an individual. The coat I listed above was not in existence before william, and no one else can have it ever again. (at least not officially) they are like fingeprints. BUT, the right to a coat of arms IS hereditary, but only to male children. SO, williams male descendants COULD have (and probably did have) thier own unique coat of arms. Typically this is done by a process called Cadencing, which differs the arms slightly that you can still tell that they are related. Common types of candencing include the use of lables, or changing the border, or later on, only changing the motto and crest. What this all means: William had a Coat of arms...his parents should also have a coat of arms. Thomas Cleburne of Kent does not have a coat of arms. (at least none close to William's coat.)
3. There is a large book:
"Americans of Gentle Birth, Vol 1" by Anna D. Pittman (call #929.1P678A, most large libraries have it.) This book lists WILLIAM CLAIBORNE as bieng the 13th generation intree of Claibornes...Of Claiborne hall...that dates back to 1292. In this book it does state the William IS a second son, but of EDMOND, not THOMAS. This tree is well researched and highly believable. ALSO, included in this book is ANOTHER coat of arms of the Claiborne's which is IDENTICAL to WILLIAM's arms, save for some slight cadencing which I talked about earlier. There have been several references to a Claiborne arms quarted with those of KIRKBRIDE...this marriage is also listed in this book, which is where the quartering of arms comes from. THIS MEANS: that William, because his shield is cadenced from THIS tree, and this family is a member of them.
If anyone wishes to see a xeroxed page of the book, let me know and Ill send you a link...Im going to be scanning it on Monday and putting it up on a site.
If anyone has ANY information either supporting, or refuting this information, please post a follow-up. Id like to see what you guys think. Thanks a lot!
-Johnathan Clayborn
More Replies:
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Re: "Claiborne of Virgina" - Book incorrect!
Bevelye Riggs 2/24/04
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Re: "Claiborne of Virgina" - Book incorrect!
A Sellers 3/07/04
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Re: "Claiborne of Virgina" - Book incorrect!
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Re: "Claiborne of Virgina" - Book incorrect!
Kelli Claybourn 8/09/02