A PRESENTATION OF THE “KEY” TO OUR CODY FAMILY SEAL

       By the family seal here presented, a beloved member of our family, the late Charles Paxton Cody, 1854-1936, 5th. gen. branch of Charles Grandison Cody, sought to express symbolically what is known of our first American ancestor, Philip. The symbolism so designed and interpreted by him is as follows: Our revered ancestor, true to his apostolic namesake, adopted the “Shield of Faith” with which to ward off the “Wolf of Avarice”, depicted above the shield; by the fleur-de-lis is represented his native France from which as a Huguenot he fled in his youth to escape persecution ever increasing at that time; that he found refuge in the English colonies of New England is represented by the “Lion Passant-Guardant”; that in the new world he found opportunity is represented by the “Eagle of Freedom”; that he made his way to the new world by serving as a seaman, and for a time followed this as a calling, is represented by the ship in full sail; by the shuttle is indicated not alone the fact that he was for a time a weaver, but more especially it represents the industrious purpose of his life by which he established a prosperous family. Thus the shield as a whole represents a web of life well woven in a warp of loyal service under the lasting guidance of the “Sword of the Spirit”, which is the Word of God. Altogether there is here presented for the present generations of his descendants a pattern which may briefly be expressed in the words of our family motto “Loyalty to Principle”, as our ancestor taught and lived it.