THE GUEDRY CREST
THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY
The Guédry Crest tells the
story of the Guédry family from its French origins through the
struggle of its exile and eventually its resettlement throughout
North America and Europe. It is the crest of the Guédry family
in all of its name variations.
Each item and color on the
crest has special significance. Below is an explanation of the
colors and components of the Guédry crest as they tell the story
of the Guédry family.
ESCUTCHEON – The field of the escutcheon (shield)
is divided into two parts: the chief (broad band across the top)
and the field per quarterly with simple cross charge.
CHIEF – The chief is divided into three sections
per pale (vertical lines) of blue, white and red tinctures
(colors). Blue, white and red are the colors of the Acadian
flag. These colors, the same as the Tricolor of the French
flag, signify the French origins of the Acadians and the Guédry
family.
BLUE represents the personal color of the Holy
Virgin Mary – the patron saint of the Acadians. It also
signifies loyalty and truthfulness – traits the Guédry family
exhibited throughout their lives in Acadie and during the
bleakness of deportation.
WHITE represents peace. In Acadie our Guédry
forefathers remained neutral between the English and French,
striving for peaceful lives. Even while being deported, they
maintained their peaceful demeanor.
RED represents fortitude – the strength of mind
that enabled our Guédry ancestors to endure the almost
unbearable treatment by the English and emerge a stronger
people.
The YELLOW STAR symbolizes Our Lady of the
Assumption (the Virgin Mary), the patron saint of the Acadians.
The CREEL (fish basket) symbolizes the unique
relationship between the Guédry family of Merligueche and the
Mi’kmaq nation. The Mi’kmaq taught their Guédry neighbors how
to survive the harsh Merligueche environment using the bounty of
the land and the sea.
The FIDDLE symbolizes the unique culture of the Guédry family - their music, their food, their faith, their joie
de vivre. Although their culture has evolved and changed
through the generations and where they may live, it has remained
uniquely theirs. An old musical instrument, the fiddle has
remained a constant of this culture wherever the music is
played: in old Acadie, in Louisiana, in Nova Scotia, on Prince
Edward Island, in New Brunswick or in France.
CHARGES – The four symbols in the quarterly
fields represent the evolution of the Guédry family from the
days of Old Acadie to today. The silver tincture of two fields
represents the neutrality and peace that our ancestors strove to
maintain during their two hundred years in Acadie. The blue
tincture of two fields represents loyalty and truthfulness –
qualities exhibited by our Guédry forefathers through much
adversity.
The FLEUR-DE-LIS symbolizes the French origin of
Claude Guédry, the North American forefather of our family.
The GOLD color symbolizes the generosity of our ancestors toward
others – striving for better lives for all.
The COAST-PILOT (boat) represents the early life
of the Guédry family in North America. Settled near the Mi’kmaq
at Merligueche, the Guédry’s were excellent coasting pilots –
plying the waters between Merigueche and Ile Royale. They lived
a difficult life – learning critical skills from the Mi’kmaq,
harvesting their needs from the land and sea, growing strong as
a family.
The weather-beaten OAK TREE symbolizes the
difficult days of deportation for our Guédry ancestors and their
survival through it. It represents the strength of our family
as they were uprooted and exiled, separated from mother and
father, brother and sister, cousin and friend; spread throughout
the world. They endured the hardships, the persecution and the
oppression; they survived and they spread their roots firm and
deep.
The BLACK color denotes the grief experienced during the
dark days of exile.
The GLOBE symbolizes the worldwide breadth of
our family today – throughout the United States, Canada, the
Caribbean, Europe and even the Southern Hemisphere. Because of
the firm, deep roots laid by our Guédry ancestors, we are truly
a global family today tied closely together by the strong
beliefs, characteristics and traits of our forefathers and
passed along to us – generation by generation.
GOLD CROSS – The cross quartering the field
symbolizes the strong Christian faith of our Guédry forefathers
– the faith that helped them survive the early days of Acadie,
endure the difficult years of deportation and overcome the
struggle for survival afterwards to build the strong family that
we are today. The gold tincture represents the generosity of
our forefathers throughout their lives – a cornerstone of their
faith.
MOTTO – The motto “Dieu, Famille, Acadien”
translates to “God, Family, Acadian” – the guiding lights that
have held our Guédry family together for over three hundred
years and will continue to serve us well in the future.
The Guédry crest represents all direct
descendants of Claude Guédry and Marguerite Petitpas. The
Guédry name has many variations in spelling today. All
variations are represented by the Guédry crest. These
variations include:
| Guédry |
Guildry |
Geddry |
Jeddry |
LaBean |
|
Guedry |
Guildrie |
Geddrie |
Jeddrie |
LaBeau |
|
Guedrie |
Gedry |
Jedry |
Labeau |
Gaidry |
| Gedrie |
Jedrie |
Guidry |
Gaidrie |
Lledre |
|
Guidery |
Gettry |
Labine |
Guidrey |
Gidry |
| LaBine |
Yedri |
Guidrie |
Gidrie |
Labene |
|
Guiddry |
Labeen |
Guiddery |
Guitry |
Gudiry |
SPECIAL THANKS
