The Heraldic Genius of Orville Watson and the Heraldry of Kenyon College

The arms of Kenyon College (left) and its seminary Bexley Hall (right) flanking the arms of The Episcopal Church (center).  Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

I've long been fascinated with the arms of Kenyon College, a historic Episcopal Church-related institution located in Gambier, Ohio.  Initially, I was drawn to these arms during my earlier research on Pierre de Chaignon la Rose (1872-1941), suspecting that he may have designed these attractive arms.  For some background information on la Rose, please click here.  I was wrong.  The search for the designer of Kenyon's arms, however, led me down a rather deep and interesting rabbit hole, ultimately to discover the heraldic genius of The Rev. Canon Orville E. Watson (1857-1951).  

 The Rev. Canon Orville Ernest Watson (1857-1951)
at his desk in Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. 
Photograph from Lockert (1955). 

I am especially indebted to Mr. Alex J. Gilkey, a 2021 graduate of Kenyon College, for his assistance in correcting several data points and pointing me towards a new reference regarding Bexley Hall's arms.  

While it is true that American heraldry has a twisted reputation within the wider world of heraldry--we have no central granting authority, anyone can essentially do whatever they want with their personal arms, etc.  There stands one unique aspect of American scholastic heraldry that is truly a gift to the world of heraldry, something that we students of American heraldry should be rather proud to claim.  What, then, is that special gift?  The gift to the world of heraldry is what I call (in this instance) the "unifying chief."  As sometimes might be the case, this design method for showing unification in scholastic heraldry would be created out of simple necessity.     

The arms of Kenyon College as used by the college today.  This modern emblazonment eliminated the engrailed chevron and diluted both the crozier in chief as well as the crosses flory.  Image is from Kenyon College's website.

Corporate Unification

Based on my data, I can safely assert that through the arms of both Kenyon College and its subordinate theological seminary Bexley Hall, we have the first instance in US scholastic heraldry of showing clear ownership and surrogacy through a "unifying chief."  This distinctly American methodology for showing corporate allegiance to another institution by means of a unique charge, or in some cases, a unique chief, is simply the heraldic genius of Canon Watson employed in 1907-1908.  For further context on our English academic ancestors, I recommend Brooke-Little (1951) and Scott-Giles (1952) for background on the heraldic developments at Oxford and Cambridge.  I also commend Lumbley's (2021) article which updates Booke-Little's (1951).  Click on the embedded hyperlinks to read these three articles.

La Rose would, of course, create the "Chief of Yale" in the arms of Calhoun College in 1931 (Lohmann, 1948).  Theodore Sizer (1892-1967), named Yale's first Pursiviant of Arms in 1963, would later follow suit with his devisal of arms for Yale College (Sizer, 1963, notes).  The arms of Calhoun College show the first instance of la Rose employing unification with a chief in a scholastic coat.  

However, if showing unification was a design method created by la Rose (as I originally believed), then why not use the "Chief of Yale" for the arms he devised for Pierson College (Sizer, 1963)?  La Rose did not employ the chief for Pierson because la Rose created attributed arms for Abraham Pierson (1646-1707) and followed the English custom--the arms simply did not require differencing.  La Rose would continue to employ an institutional chief design in his best known work with Harvard's schools.    

The arms of Calhoun College at Yale (now retired by the university) designed by la Rose in 1931.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024. 

Perhaps the most well know application of this distinctive method of showing unification comes by way of la Rose's work for the schools of Harvard in preparation for the Tercentenary celebrations in 1936.  I recommend Janet Halley's (2022) excellent article on the rise and fall of Isaac Royall, Jr.'s (1719-1781) arms that were incorporated by la Rose into the arms of Harvard Law School.  Moreover, la Rose created the "Chief of Harvard," as I call it, based on necessity and a clear mandate from Harvard's Office of The Governing Boards of Harvard University to restrict the use of Harvard's shield as a decoration, because the shield was in fact the legal corporate mark of the university (Halley, 2022).   

The arms of Harvard Law School in use between 1936-2016.  La Rose used the undifferenced arms that Isaac Royall, Jr. purportedly used as the basis for his design, thus needing the "Chief of Harvard" as a way to difference the design.  The 1936-2016 arms of Harvard Law School are blazoned:  Azure three garbs or two and one, a chief of Harvard University.  Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Stanford Chemistry Professor, Dr. Eric Hutchinson (1920-2005) would create the "red frond" for Stanford University's heraldry in 1967 to serve as the unifying charge for all of the arms of the schools (Doty, 1996).  Click here to view Doty's (1996) article on the heraldry of Stanford.  Finally, Sewanee French Professor, Dr. James Waring McCrady (b. 1938) would create the "Sewanee Tressure" in 1981 as a unifying symbol for the arms of The University of the South and its schools (McCrady, 2009; McCrady, 1983).  Click here to view my post on Sewanee's heraldry.  Knowingly, or unknowingly, all these great designers would follow in the footsteps of Canon Watson.  

Allow me to defend my thesis.  

A quick review of data for US schools, colleges, and universities bearing arms and ordered chronologically based on the institutional adoption (or creation) date for their arms, we find:*

1. Harvard University adopted in 1643
2. College of William & Mary granted in 1694
3. Yale University adopted in 1740
4. Brown University adopted in 1833
5. Princeton University adopted in 1896
6. Washington University in St. Louis adopted in 1897
7. Washington & Lee University adopted in 1901
8. Groton School adopted in 1904
9. Bryn Mawr College adopted in 1904
10. Kenyon College and Bexley Hall Seminary designed in 1907-1908, adopted in 1937

*As always, if there is an error in my data, kindly let me know and I will promptly update this post.

Let's return to Gambier, Ohio where the story picks up.

Cover of The Reveille (1909), the yearbook illustrating the new coat of arms of Kenyon College.  Note the ornate crozier in chief.  Source:  Kenyon College Archives.

Kenyon College

Founded in 1824 and located in Gambier, Ohio, Kenyon College was the dream of The Rt. Rev. Philander Chase (1775-1852), the first Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Ohio.  The college had an attached seminary, Bexley Hall, which was the name of the actual building in addition to the seminary itself.  Like many young Episcopal institutions in the US at that time, Bishop Chase sailed to England in search of funding his academical dream only to befriend the Lords Kenyon and Gambier (Smythe, 1924).

Orville Watson, an Episcopal priest and later a canon of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated Phi Betta Kappa from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1882.  Following his time at Ohio Wesleyan, Watson went on to attend seminary at Bexley Hall and graduated in 1892 (Revielle, 1909).  Interestingly enough, Watson spent his first year of theological studies at The General Theological Seminary in New York City before transferring to Bexley Hall (Spielmann, 1974).  

By 1904, Watson received an appointment at Bexley Hall to become the professor of New Testament, teaching there until he was 90 years old (Spielmann, 1974).  He was a beloved teacher and embraced by the college community, so much so that in 1955, a new residence hall would be named Canon Orville E. Watson Memorial Hall (Greenslade, 1975, 134).  The University of Michigan and Kenyon College house his archives of letters and postcards.  Watson was somewhat of amateur doodler, and Michigan's archives has several examples of his drawings and sketches.   

The coat of arms of Kenyon College.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

According to Kenyon College Archives, Watson designed the arms for both the college and seminary in approximately 1908 (A. Hafeez, personal communication, August 14, 2023).  The first published instance of the Kenyon College arms appeared in the 1909 yearbook which was in fact published in 1908 (L. Shahan, personal communication, September 22, 2014).  Given the time lag between design work and engraving, etc., it is possible that Watson designed both arms as early as 1907.  While the arms were in general use on campus, Kenyon's board of trustees did not officially adopt the arms until 1937 (Greenslade, 1975, 55).    

Watson created the unifying chief a full 23 years before la Rose would employ the same technique for the arms of Calhoun College at Yale.  However, it must be noted that both Watson and la Rose used the undifferenced arms of both Lord Kenyon and Calhoun as the basis of their designs.  No respected herald would move forward with these two designs without suitably differencing them in order to avoid infringement.  

Finally, we know the underlying reason why the unifying chief was created, it was created out of necessity for differcing arms when an otherwise undifferenced coat forms the basis of the design.  To be fair to la Rose, he may have arrived at the same conclusion as Watson all on his own. 

The arms of the Lord Kenyon blazoned: Sable, between a chevron engrailed Or as many crosses flory argent.  Watson used the undifferenced arms of Kenyon as the basis of his design for the college.  Image source Wikipedia.     

There is, however, one important data point to consider.  In 1917, The American College Catalog would publish a full-color rendering of the arms of Kenyon College, its blazon, and the design rationale:

"The Arms of Kenyon College.  Sable, a chevron engrailed or, between three crosses flory argent, on a chief purpure a pastoral crook of the second, thereon an open book proper bearing the motto 'Magnanimiter crucem sustine."

The arms of Kenyon College are derived from the arms of Lord Kenyon from whom the college takes its name.  The field with its chevron and crosses and the motto in chief come from the Lord Kenyon's arms.  The chief contains local symbols, suggesting the origin and aim of the college.  The bishop's staff commemorates the founder, Bishop Chase.  The book is a conventional collegiate charge and the motto across its open pages approximately expresses the spirit and purpose with which the college was founded" (Ward, 1917, 242).   

Through this national publication, I believe, it is likely that la Rose would have been alerted to these arms and possibly see how Watson differenced an established coat of arms through a chief.  Again, I cannot speak for the dead, and I know only what the data suggests.  Yet, we know la Rose was deeply interested in these matters.  

In a letter dated July 23, 1930 from la Rose to the President of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, la Rose writes, "only a week ago I was looking over the catalogues of eight Jesuit Colleges.  Each had on its cover what purported to be the arms of St. Ignatius Loyola: all eight were different" (La Rose, 1930).  La Rose would later design the arms for the University of Notre Dame in 1930.  

The arms appearing for the first time on Kenyon College's academic catalogue for the 1916-1917 academic year.  It appears that by 1917, the arms were in popular use.  The lag time of nearly eight years feels appropriate within higher education, where nothing moves quickly.  Source:  Kenyon College Archives.

It is clear that Watson followed the English custom of incorporating elements from either a founder or namesake into new corporate arms.  Everything below the chief in Kenyon College's arms is taken directly from Lord Kenyon's arms, and only differenced by means of the unifying chief.  Furthermore, Watson adhered to one of John Guillim's (c.1565-1621) maxims for heraldry, simplicitas formae antiquitatis nota.  In other words, keep the designs for arms simple and clear.

One final point on Kenyon's arms.  Bishop Chase did, apparently, use the "Chase" arms which prominently features the cross flory, or at least his granddaughter thought the arms made the title page look more attractive, see below.

     Title page from Smith (1903) illustrating the "Chase" arms.    

With a sufficient description for the design rationale of Kenyon's arms, let's turn to those of Bexley Hall.  This coat is where we encounter Watson's unifying chief.  For these arms, Watson pulled together elements from the Lord Bexley's arms to create something meaningful for the young institution.  

Bexley Hall Seminary

The coat of arms of Bexley Hall Seminary designed by Canon Watson.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

Both the seminary building and the school itself was named for the Lord Bexley by The Rt. Rev. Charles P. McIlvane (1799-1873), the second Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, because, "Lord Bexley has been an hospitable and munificent benefactor, first for Chase and especially for McIlvane" (Spielmann, 1974, 21).  

The first published illustration of the arms of Bexley Hall Seminary, appearing in The Reveille (1925), page 13.  This emblazonment is very likely Watson's original design for the seminary's arms.  Source:  Kenyon College Archives.

Because Bexley Hall's arms are extremely difficult to find, save the odd tippet seal of the arms sewn onto black preaching scarves of the Episcopal clergy who graduated from there, I believe these arms were not widely known when compared to those of the college.  For it is only in the arms of Bexley Hall that we see the heraldic genius of Watson.  Case in point:  while Bexley Hall's arms appear on the cover of Spielmann's (1974) history of the seminary, there is no mention of the seminary's arms within.  Moreover, it is clear that the arms of Bexley Hall Seminary evolved over time.

Based on the 1925 emblazonment above, the blazon for Watson's initial design: Ermine, an eagle displayed argent, on a chief gules a crozier Or in fess behind an open book proper with two clasps inscribed "Magnanimiter crucem sustine."  

As a reference, the Lord Bexley's arms are blazoned: Ermine, an eagle displayed sable, on a chief gules a ducal coronet or between two crosses patée argent.  Note that in the blazon "ermine," which is emblazoned as a white field with black ermine spots.

Armorial flag or banner of arms of Bexley Hall Seminary designed by Watson.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

In the 1925 emblazonment above, we see Watson using the same methodology for the undergraduate college's arms, albeit with a twist.  For the seminary's coat, Watson undoubtedly turned to the Lord Bexley's arms for the "emine" (white field with black spots) and displayed eagle in base, along with using gules (red) for the "Chief of Kenyon College."  Here's the twist:  while Watson used the undifferenced coat of the Lord Kenyon for the college, he made one differencing element with the seminary's arms--changing the displayed eagle from black to be rendered in silver/white.  Why?  We simply do not have enough data.  

To difference the seminary's arms by switching the coloring of the displayed eagle from black to silver/white is loosely suitable enough in the tradition of heraldry to difference the arms of the seminary from those of Lord Bexley.  The addition of the "Chief of Kenyon College," was therefore a necessity to render the seminary's arms in accordance with the canons of heraldry.  Employing the color gules (red) is also a nice play on the faculty color for divinity (scarlet) which lines the trim of the academic hood for US colleges and universities. Nonetheless, the unifying, "Chief of Kenyon College," remains.

By the time these arms were officially adopted in 1937, I wonder if Watson was pressured to change the seminary's arms--replacing the displayed eagle with the celtic cross, and change the ermine to ermines--for a more straightforward reference to the school's theological mission.  At best, it's an educated guess. 

The arms of Bexley Hall Seminary as presently known today.  Image is from the Kenyon College Archives.

A description of Bexley Hall's arms as found on the program for "An Order for Installation of the Eleventh Dean of Bexley Hall" on September 13, 1984.  Program leaflet from Kenyon College Archives.  

The arms clearly evolved over time and the base was completely changed--the displayed eagle along with the emine (white with black spots) were removed.  The version of Bexley Hall's arms as we know them today are blazoned:  Emines, a celtic cross argent, on a chief gules a crozier Or in fess behind an open book proper with two clasps inscribed "Magnanimiter crucem sustine" (DeKay, 1993).   

The celtic cross in base, which replaced the displayed eagle, is most likely a clear reference to the large marble celtic cross given by the Class of 1902 to honor the place where Bishop Chase held the first worship service in Gambier in 1826 (Spielmann, 1974).  A photo of the cross is below.    

According to Smythe (1924), the senior class of seminarians from Bexley Hall erected the celtic prayer cross to commemorate the spot at Kenyon where Bishop Chase held his first liturgy (page 259).

The other change made to Bexley Hall's arms was to invert the emine to ermines, or black with white spots.  This change highlights the celtic cross in base, giving a clearer reference to the seminary's mission and focus on priestly formation.  

From Kenyon College Archives.

Bexley Hall separated from Kenyon College and moved to Rochester, New York during the summer of 1968 to join forces with The Colgate Rochester Divinity School (Spielmann, 1974).  

I began writing this post during the pandemic, and frankly, it was killing me to not share the story of Watson's heraldic work at Kenyon.  I am so thankful that I went down this rabbit-hole to learn about Watson and how he created a "unifying chief," out of necessity.   We students of US heraldry need to share Watson's work more widely, showing unification through unique heraldic charges, tinctures/metals, and/or through a institutional chief was truly a gift to world of heraldry.  

I want to close this post with a quotation from one of Watson's sermons, entitled, "The Holiness of Beauty:"

"Therefore, since it is in the nature of man to respond to some appeal of beauty as naturally he breaths, it is the supreme effort of any life which endeavors nobly at all, to get some satisfying order and comeliness and grace into its material environment" (Lockert, 1955, 99).

Thank you Canon Watson for the gift of beauty and order in heraldry.  Rest well, good and faithful servant.  

Epilogue

The official flag of Kenyon College.  Source: Kenyon Collegian.

I remain fascinated by flying heraldry, and in recent years, the arms of the college have become the source of discussion concerning a new flag.  According to an article in the Kenyon Collegian, the student newspaper of Kenyon College, a new design was drawn and proposed in 2019 by Alex J. Gilkey, then a current student.  Click here to read the article from the Kenyon Collegian. 

Here, Gilkey used his knowledge and love of vexillology to create a unique design and shared this with me recently:

"I’ve been interested in the design of the arms since I was accepted to Kenyon and have been making headway with my flag redesign efforts since my sophomore year.  In high school, I joined the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), an organization dedicated to flag studies, which fueled my love of the topic and ultimately the inspiration for my project. Over the years, I’ve spoken with teachers, administrators, and my fellow students about the importance of our communal pride through flag design. I believe this is especially the case for Kenyon, where community is a profoundly important aspect of college life. 

"I was inspired to undertake my project because I believe flags are a natural way of bringing people together. I think Kenyon is uniquely positioned for this because of the degree it considers the design and placing a strong emphasis on maintaining traditions" (A. Gilkey, personal communication, September 5, 2023).  

Mistakenly, I thought the intention was to render the college's arms as an armorial banner.  I readily admit to misunderstanding Gilkey's intentions for the flag design.  In fact, I would go so far to say that Gilkey's design is a clever play on Kenyon College's arms.  In other words, he created a symbol based on abstraction (the college's arms) as way to bring together the college community.    

The new flag design by Alex J. Gilkey, Kenyon College graduate of the Class of 2021.

Moreover, I believe that both Gilkey's flag as well as an armorial banner can work together in harmony--this is the beauty of how heraldry as a decoration can inspire dignity while giving students and alumni a treasured symbol (or symbols) to hold near and dear.  Thank you Alex for sharing this with me.  Bravo!  

The arms of Kenyon College, however, have clearly changed over the years, dropping the engrailed chevron, and muddling both the crosses flory and the crozier (the crozier looks more like a strange key as compared to the rather ornate crozier used on the cover of the 1909 Reveille).  These changes are likely the result of branding exercises aimed at modernizing the College's brand.  Marketing firms in the US that specialize in college admissions work closely with those offices in order to appeal to the widest audience of prospective students and families within a given market.  Why?  Simply because tuition remains the largest source of revenue for most US colleges and universities, especially private ones.  Therefore, admissions materials, the institutional "look and feel" has to match the market to attract "buyers." 

I would not expect any creative designer working within those firms to know or understand the arcane language of heraldry and blazonry.  Yet, these modern changes found within Kenyon College's arms underscore the importance of following its heraldic blazon in order to keep the image of those treasured arms consistent throughout the institution's history.  Blazons are the Anglo-Norman descriptors, weirdly a language of its own, guiding artists with the armorial design composition, tinctures (colors) and metals, and its arrangement.    

Heraldry was never intended to serve as a brand, as the business literature defines such a term.  When heraldry is done right, such as Watson's designs for Kenyon College and Bexley Hall, the shield becomes a true and lasting expression of that brand, illustrating through abstraction institutional identity, values, and ultimately, its mission.

When the image of an established coat of arms changes, in other words, there is a risk in diminishing the human experiences of those alumni who heaped their memories onto that shield.  While this phenomenon is not unique to heraldry, for it was never intended to bear such weight, an institution's shield serves as a symbol of pride for generations of alumni--alumni who are also most likely donors to the institution.     

The armorial flag or banner of arms for Kenyon College.
Rendered by Chad Krouse, 2024.

By dropping the engrailed chevron and muddling the crosses flory, the arms no longer reflect the clear allusion to the Lord Kenyon (and even Chase)--a critical component of the arms Watson so cleverly designed.  In my line drawing seen above, I've arranged the arms of Kenyon College based on the blazon as published in Ward (1917).  Along with Mr. Gilkey's new flag, these two flying symbols would simply look stunning at any academic ceremony.   

To my friends at Kenyon College, I say courageously bear these beautiful arms designed by Watson, but let the blazon guide you.  

Works Cited

Brooke-Little, J.P. (1951).  Oxford University and its colleges. The Coat of Arms, 5-7(January-July).

DeKay, Eckford. (1993).  Heraldry in the Episcopal Church.  Acorn Press.

Doty, A. (1996).  Hutchinson's heraldry:  Bringing color to commencement.  Sandstone & Tile, vol. 20(2-3), pages 2-9.

Greenslade, Thomas B. (1975).  Kenyon College: Its third half century.  KNA Press.  

Halley, Janet (2022).  When brands go bad: The rise and fall, and re-rise and re-fall, of Isaac Royall, Jr. In M. Biagiola & M. Sunder (Eds.), Academic brands: Distinction in global education.  Cambridge University Press, pp. 160-219.

La Rose, Pierre de C. (1930 July 23).  Letter from Pierre de Chaignon la Rose to the Very Reverend President of the University of Notre Dame.  Unpublished letter.  Archives of Notre Dame, UPCO 5/88.

Lockert, Lacy (ed.). (1955).  Selected sermons of Canon Orville E. Watson.  Parthenon Press.  

Lohmann, Carl A. (1948).  The arms of Yale University and its colleges at New Haven.  Yale University Press.

Lumbley, L. (2021).  Oxford College arms.  The Coat of Arms, 4 (no. 238), 57–74.

McCrady, J.W. (2009).  Evolution of the university’s arms. In G.L. Smith & S.R. Williamson (Eds.),  Sewanee Perspectives: On the history of the University of the South.  The University of the South.

McCrady, J. W. (1983).  After 125 years completing the university's heraldry. Sewanee News, vol 49(1), March.  

Reveille (1909).  The Kenyon Reveille. Vol 97.  Kenyon College.

Scott-Giles, C.W. (1952).  Cambridge University and its colleges.  The Coat of Arms, 11-12(July-October). 

Sizer, Theodore (1963).  The arms of Yale University and its colleges at New Haven.  Yale University Press.  Revised edition.

Smith, Laura C. (1903).  The life of Philander Chase.  E.P. Dutton & Company.

Smythe, G.F. (1924).  Kenyon College: It's first century.  Yale University Press.  

Spielmann, Richard M. (1974).  Bexley Hall: 150 years a brief history.  Colgate Rochester Divinity School.

Ward, Henry P. (1917).  The American college catalog: A book of information, with suggestions for the improvement of catalogs and other publications of colleges and schools.  Champlin Press.