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THE FAMILY COATS OF ARMS.
The system of Heraldry can be traced to the beginning of the thir- teenth century. The first assumer or grantee of a coat of arms took that as his own distinguishing mark. It became hereditary in his own fjimUy, and whoever afterward uses it proclaims himself a lineal descendant from the person who first assumed it.
In the middle of the reign of Queen Elizabeth [1558-1603] the only arms for the family are reported as those used by a family of the name "Dogget" or "Doggett;" also spelled "Dogate" and "Doget."
"It is a maxim with the heralds that the more simple a coat of arms, the more ancient it is," and it is a maxim that eminently applies to the arms of Doggett.
1. Dogate — Erm. on a bend sa. — three leopards' heads, ar-
gent.
2. Doget [Kent] — Erm. — on a bend sa. — three talbots' heads,
erased or [another ar.]. Crest — on a chapeau a bull collared and thereto a bell pendant, proper.
3. Doget [John Doget, merchant, Loudon] — Two greyhounds
combatant, or, collared ar., bell pendant. Crest — Unicorn's head, or. •t. Dogget [Honing, Serborue, and "Wronger — Co. Norfolk] — Gu — two greyhounds salient, combatant, or — collared sa. Crest — a lion's head gorged with a mural coronet, sable. 6. Doggett [Norfolk] — Gules — two greyhounds combatant, ar- gent, collared or.
6. DoGGETT — Sable — two greyhounds combatant, or.
7. DoGGETT — Same as Doget, first named.
8. Daggett — Ar. — two greyhounds in full course, gules, col-
lared, or.
9. Daggett — Or — on a chief azure, three crescents of the first.
Crest — an eagle displayed charged with a bezant, gules.
10. Daggett [Roxby & Pickhill — Yorkshire] — Or — on a chief
aziu'e, three crescents.
1 1 . Daggett [Edinburgh] — Same as last.
Crest — a demi-talbot, sable-collared.
The " Duckett " coat of arms and crests are all entu-ely different from that of Doggett of Norfolk or Kent.
The greyhound which figures so prominently on the arms of ' ' Dog- gett " is an animal which was not allowed to be possessed by any save the princes and nobles until only within a few years, comparatively speaking. Upon the smooth surface of the monuments that adorn the broad plains of Egypt, erected 1200 B.C., we find chiselled by the side of his royal master the form of the greyhound, which from that time to this the sportsmen of the world have associated with them in the pursuit of game. The term "greyhound" is a corruption of the word "gazehound," signifying that it pm-sues its game by sight and not by scent. In ancient Greece and Rome he was the companion of the nobles, and no household was considered complete in all its appointments without him.
In such high esteem was this dog held by the nobles that the kill- ing or even maiming of one was felony punishable with death.
The use of the greyhound is coursing. The great event in cours- ing circles in England is the "Waterloo Cup," valued at £500, which is run for at Altcar, near Liverpool, annually.
Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, in Queen Elizabeth's reign, was the first to compUe a set of rules governing coursing, whereby points of merit earned in the race could be properly awarded. Coursing has made the greyhound <7te dog of the "British Isles." The greyhound signi- fies swiftness, vigilance, fidelity.
A talbot is a kind of hound with a large snout and large, thick, hanging ears.
The crescent is frequently used to distinguish the coat armor of a second brother or junior family from that of the principal branch.