A hundred years of exploration, of trial and error, of conquering the fear of the vast and stormy ocean followed the momentous voyage of Columbus and his three tiny ships that had charted the pathway to a new world. Whispering its way among the oppressed of the world until it swelled to a cry of hope were the magic words "Out West," "Across the Ocean," "the NEW WORLD ... .. FREEDOM." Galled by the tryanny of absolute monarchies, the chains of feudalistic customs and of religious oppression, men had been waiting for a new world. During this time the Protestants of the low countries of Europe had sought asylum in England from the horrors of St. Bartholomew's massacre. Later, the Puritans of England were to look back to Holland and Sweden briefly for the same surcease from oppression, but always there was the hope of the new world. In all ages there had been those who knew the strangeness of exile, and there had been others who had spilled over-narrow borders to colonize in new and far away places. It was in such a manner that the first people of antiquity had colonized England and had spread into Ireland and Scotland. And it was in such a move that William the Conqueror had wrested the British Isles from the Anglo-Saxon kings.
Unlike those other conquering moves, this westward movement of the early Seventeenth Century was to be made by the humble men of the earth. Men who wanted to worship as they pleased. Men who wanted freedom from the yoke of feudal servitude. Men who desired to prove themselves as men and create new empires in which they and their families could live in peace with Hope and Opportunity for companions.
Such men were the Workmans who came to the American shores to build their homes. From Holland, England, and Ireland they came. Some came for religious freedom, for the traditions they left to their families tell of participation in the Puritan movement of England and the seeking of religious asylum in the new world. Some came to better their worldly fortunes and were willing to be indentured servants for a time to pay for the chance to be free men. There were those who came with means enough to be independent. But all of those who came shared with each other the desire to be free men and were prepared to work or sacrifice in any way necessary to prove their right. The New World was the open door and these brave men and women had answered the call to Freedom.
It has long been the desire of the Workman family to record the adventures of the people who established the American heritage and to present it to their descendants, ever hopeful that this story would be an incentive for the children of today to build their lives on the same solid foundation, to make the image even taller and more bright. Wherever they have been found and in whatever age, the Workmans have been the "solid citizen" type - the sort of folks that were good to know - who built their homes and communities for durability and peace. They have never been ones to make a display or care much whether the world knew or gave them credit for what they did, being content to see the results of their living and enjoy the consequences. For that reason their trail has been a difficult one to trace and many times is obscured, but it is there. Bit by bit the glorious picture unfolds. This book will not be the end of the story of the Workmans; for more will continue to be learned of the early American heritage and the connections to the families of the Old World, just as more will be added by the new families that arise to continue the saga of the Workmans.
Looking back to the traditions that spawned this hardy people, the same story of respect for personal performance and disregard for public recognition is portrayed in the story of the coat of arms which has been carried by the members of the family for many centuries. Its origin is still lost in the mists of antiquity; but long before such things were registered in national galleries, the family earned the insignia that went to make up the emblem. Part of it is of Roman origin, part bespeaks participation in the crusades, and part declares the unswerving devotion of the family to principles that have become family traits indelibly imprinted in them all. In order to appreciate the function and importance of the coat of arms, it will be necessary to look briefly into its background.
"In the beginning" God created the earth and all that is in it - the flowers of the field, the beasts of the forest, and man. To each was given a name by which it should be known in the records of the earth. A little later, to Father Adam, God gave the responsibility of recording the affairs of men in a "Book of Remembrance" (Moses 6:5, 46; Pearl of Great Price). As people multiplied and began to fill the earth, this history of man and of the laws of God had become essential so that the families of the earth could be bound together in their knowledge of their beginnings and of each other.
After the flood, when the children of Noah began to separate and go their various ways, and their descendants became numerous upon the face of the land it became more and more essential for families to have symbols oi some sort to identify the various groups in the eyes of all men. So it was that, in the blessing Jacob (or Israel) gave to his twelve sons (Genesis 49), he gave the sign by which each son and his family should be known. Judah received the strong sign of the lion (the rampant or charging lion in the armory of today); to Zebulon was given the sign of the ship; to Dan, the serpent; to Issachar, the ass bearing two burdens; to Joseph, the fruitful bough running over a wall, etc. Many of the Foyal houses of the earth today carry these same symbols indicating in this manner their descent from the houses of Israel. This is especially notable in the royal insignia of the English and Danish royalty, both of whom display the rampant lion.
Symbols such as these became the common method by which family affiliation was noted. They antedate the usage of surnames by many generations and became increasingly important during the middle and dark ages when the common man, yes even the nobility of the earth, ceased to write and read as they had been taught to do in the days of Father Adam. Writing became a trade and the making of manuscripts and documents was delegated to the scribes. Signs were, therefore, extremely important. Instead of names, places of business displayed signs that all men might know the nature of the establishment. A tavern might display a red lion and men would say, "I'll meet you at the Sign of the Red Lion." A dentist would announce his establishment with a sign of a drawn tooth. A barber, who was also the leech or doctor of the day, used a red and white striped pole. Three balls became the official insignia of the money lender. From such signs as these came the first surnames, such as Samuel Lion, William Leech, and Thomas Ball.
Such insignia was of equal importance to the feudal land barons and to the knights in armor. When a man performed an official act or went into battle, it was essential that he should be identified in the eyes of the world. Therefore, he would adopt a sign that could be painted on his shield and emblazoned on a banner which flew over his castle and from his spear. Frequently a gallant knight would ask his lady friend to give him a sleeve or some other token which he could carry into battle or to the jousting tournaments to announce his love and appreciation for her. Sometimes this token became his coat of arms. Great events in the lives of individuals or families were preserved in this manner and eventually mottos were added to declare the meaning of the arms and the desires of the bearer.
Soon after the dawn of the Thirteenth Century, because of the extensive use of the system and the quarrels that arose between families over the use of certain symbols, the English people established a College of Heralds to control the official use and bestowal of arms upon the people deemed important enough to carry them. To establish this right, Heralds, or messengers, made periodic visits to the various shires and there reviewed the claims of the people, recorded their petitions and pedigrees, and granted or denied the arms requested. These visitations provide us with some of the earliest and most valuable genealogical documents in existence. Because of the technicalities and the expense attached to the action, many coats of arms used by the commoners and even some in use by nobility were never registered with the Heralds of England, although they continued in use by the people with a rental being paid to the government for the seals to be used on legal documents and letters.
By the time of the origin of the College of Heralds: a definite language of heraldry had been developed. Coats of arms had assumed the shape of a shield, the various parts of which were named so that any reference to it would be readily understood and be specific. The shield itself was called an "escutcheon"; the top part of the ~hield was referred to as the "chief." A good example of this appears in the Washington coat of arms which was registered in the year 1250 A.D. and had a "chief" of white stars on a blue field over a "base" of red and white stripes.
Another important feature of a coat of arms was the crest which usually consisted of a helmet above the shield, resting on a wreath of colors, and topped with other significant insignia. It could, however, be some other emblem such as that of John St. John of HaInaker, whose crest is a leopard standing between two upright palm branches; or that of Ralph de Monhermer who has an eagle crest.
In these heraldic terms, we find the Workman coat of arms described: "Or (escutcheon or shield of gold), three martlets sable (swallows without feet, black) between two bars wavy gules (red, wavy lines; not straight ones); in chief (top part of the escutcheon) three Crescents (moons in the quarter phase) and in base (bottom part of the escutcheon) a portcullis (drawbridge) of the second (or second part of the base)."
The description of the crest for Workman indicates that on the helmet there would rest a crescent moon, quartered (divided into four parts in black and silver, a common symbol used to represent participation in the crusades). From the moon would rise a "lictor's fasces" which was an emblem given only during the Roman occupation of any country to indicate that the "lictor," or official, was empowered by the Roman government to act in some particular capacity. This was usually given to overseers of estates or provinces and was a badge of authority. The punishment for misuse or disobedience of the official and the severity of the penalty was determined by the strength of the fasces. The fasces in the ease of the Workmans is a bundle or rods bound together and with an axe blade protruding, indicating the importance of the ancestor who carried it.
In most instances the arms were borne by only the chieftain of the clan, as in Scotland, or the knight or lord in England. The value of the crest lay in that ALL members of the family were entitled to use it or variations of it. This they would do to make seals and signet rings which were used in signing important docu_ Ments. The presence of seals in a family would show the connection of that family with the main or hereditary ruling branch. The Workman crest has been found in the possession of three branches of the family in England and two in Ireland, bearing out the legend t at in the beginning there were three main branches of the Workman family in England, one of which went to Ireland about the year 1642. The branches in turn have divided, each carrying the crest, but neither of them knowing anything definite about the other until this research united them.
The meanings attached to the Workman coat of arms are: the crescent moons reveal the family's hope in rising fortune - tomorrow will be a better day than today; the wavy gules represent bravery; the martlets without feet stand for charity - the right to live and let others do the same; the portcullis is for strength. Add to this the motto, in French, "Non Pas I'Ouvrage Mais l'Ouvrier" (Not the Work, but the Workman), and the entire armorial bearing becomes most significant.
While doing research in 1936, the Workman coat of arms was found by Mary E. W. Chidester Workman. It was reported in FoxDavies work entitled "Armorial Bearings" as being quartered on the MacNaghten arms of County Antrim, Ireland. Quartering meant that for some reason, usually because of marriage to a desirable or prominent family, the arms of the wife were added to those of the husband. For lack of better information, it was assumed then that Lady MacNaghten was a Workman; and the quartering of the arms gave rise to the name Workman-MacNaghten. Elated at the find, Mrs. Workman copied the information about the MacNaghten family and an artist was hired to draw the arms from the description; plates were made, and prints offered to the family for framing or other use. Much additional research was conducted to try to find the story behind the coat of arms and its connection with the MacNaghten family. It was not, however, until 1959-60 when the author was in England that an exhaustive study was made of the records of the College of Heralds to determine the origin. The presence and use of the crest and arms among the various branches of the Workman family was discovered, and it was time to know more about it. The result of the survey by the College of Heralds follows:
"The Arms and Crest depicted were apparently first registered here (in London with the College of Heralds) in 1810 pursuant to a Royal License of the 18th of November 1809 authorizing Sir Francis Workman-MacNaghten of Upper Clogher in Antrim, to bear the Arms of Workman. The Letters Patent issued on the 8th of January 1810 recites that Sir Francis was the son of Edmund MacNaghten and nephew of Bartholomew MacNaghten of Benwarden in Antrim whose daughter Mary married Meredith Workman of Mahan also in Antrim. Meredith's only child and heir was Caroline who died a spinster and the Letters patent says that Sir Francis sought and obtained the aforesaid Royal License 'out of grateful and affectionate respect to his Cousin Caroline Workman, Spinster.' The Patent further states that the Armorial Bearings used and borne by the Workman family had not been duly registered and the following Coat was therefore granted to Sir Francis and his issue.
Sir Francis Workman-MacNaghten was subsequently created a Baronet; an extensive account of his lineage, and a much more complete one, is set forth now in the current Burkes Peerage and Baronetage."
This is a record of the first official registration of the Workman coat of arms. We can be grateful to the MacNaughten family and their love for their cousin for its preservation. however, we have found this same coat of arms in use by the Workman family as far back as 1543 and an indication that its origin was actually on the European continent. Additional research has disclosed another Workman coat of arms which was awarded and registered in 1681 to John Workman, minister and nephew of the John Workman who was the Puritan preacher in England told about in the family legends of all branches of the Workman family in America. Although there is no crest, this also is a beautiful coat of arms and portrays John's affiliation with his church. There were no descendants, however, so it drops into a minor role.