Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Coat of Arms?

I post a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!

Today's weather vane is from a very historic place in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weathervane #228?  Scroll down to find the answer

Today's weathervane is located over the entrance to the visitor center at the House of Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts.  This weathervane appears to be a coat of arms, with a tiny unicorn or horse above the escutcheon (shield).   I searched the internet for images of the Turner, Ingersoll, Hawthorne and Emmerton coats of arms, but none matched this image on the weathervane.

The House of Seven Gables was originally built in Salem, Massachusetts1668 by John Turner.  Three generations of Turners lived here before it was sold to the Ingersoll family.  Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin married into this family, which is why he was familiar with the house and used it in his famous novel The House of Seven Gables.  In the early 20th century, the house was preserved by Caroline Emmerton, and turned in to a museum to profit a settlement house in Salem. It opened to the public for tours in 1910.

My great great grandfather, Abijah Franklin Hitchings (1841 - 1910) and his family lived at 21 Hardy Street, which is now the parking lot for the House of Seven Gables. He was the deputy customs collector at the US custom house, just a few blocks away.  The visitor center with this weathervane sits at the edge of the parking area.  It is interesting to note that the museum opened the year that A. F. Hitchings died.

The House of Seven Gables website  http://www.7gables.org/    

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts! 


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Coat of Arms?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 30, 2015 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/weathervane-wednesday-coat-of-arms.html :  accessed [access date]).