The results are in from our Bavarian Babb Family member and unsurprisingly no match was found to any of the existing 10 established lines of Babbs throughout the US and England. These early Babb immigrants settled in Pennsylvania when they came to America like so many others from their country.
As is our tradition I started my research on the local imagery so as to find a
I located a nice Overview of German Settlement in Pennsylvania which I have posted below. It was a very short search in this case because I found that formal Coat of Arms existed already for the German State of Bavaria. It was better than anything I could come up with and since I couldn’t beat them, I joined them and adopted it as a symbol for this DNA Proven lineage.
Overview Source: https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/germanstudentreading.pdf
My predecessor Jean A. Sargent didn’t spend a great amount of time on this line for the same reason I haven’t. The line had roots back to the particular place in Bavaria that the family came from. Additionally, I had never spoken with anyone in this tree for the 20 years that I’ve been working on this.. That just changed and as I scanned through the tree Jean left for me I see that the tree is actually a collection of various Babbs who traveled from Rotterdam to Pennsylvania. Other than that there is no known association for them. This is the same approach used in the North Carolina Babbs where the exact association is unavailable, but they are all clearly related to each other as DNA evidence has shown.
I did a quick scan of available records in Germany and found the name dating back to the 1500s in the neighboring state of Wuerttemberg. So, there is definitely some work to do there, but before I kick that off, I need to finish my work on Cornwall and Devon. Oh, and there is a ton of work in Barbados that also needs to be done. So, what I’m saying is that this is going to take a while. In the meantime, I’ve included a current copy of the tree below.
Henceforth the 443 known descendants of this lineage will officially be known as the Blue Panther’s of Bavaria which dates to 1776. This is subject to change as we learn more about this region and the various roots of its members. I feature that I’ll separate them as I start working on them for clarity sake and new names will need to be identified as they come into focus.
Why the Blue Panther? It is the part of the Coat of Arms that drew my attention. here is a full rundown of what each item in the Arms refers to.
Great Bavarian State Emblem
The Great Bavarian State Emblem has a long historyand tradition. It was established by law in 5 June 1950. The symbols shown by the emblem are deeply rooted in the Bavarian history. The heraldic elements of the “Great Bavarian State Emblem” each have a particular meaning:
The Golden Lion: In the black quarter is the golden lion in a black field. It was originally the symbol of the count Palatine of the Rhine. Following the investiture of Ludwig, Duke of Bavaria had been with the Palatinate in 1214, it served as the common symbol of the old Bavarian and Palatine House of Wittelsbach for centuries. Today, the golden Palatinate lion edged in red and rampant in the top left square stands for the Upper Palatinate administrative district.
The “Franconian Rake”: The second quarter is halved by red and white (silver) areas, with three white triangles pointing upwards. This “rake” appeared around 1350 as the coat of arms of some towns of the Bishopric of Würzburg and has also been depicted in the seals of the prince-bishops since 1410. Today, the Franconian rake stands for the administrative districts of Upper Franconia, Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia.
The Blue Panther: The third quarter, bottom left, shows a blue panther rampant, edged in gold on a white (silver) background. Originally it was depicted in the coat of arms of the Palatines of Ortenburg based in Lower Bavaria. Later it was adopted by the House of Wittelsbach. Today, the blue panther represents the old Bavarian administrative districts of Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria.
The Three Black Lions: The fourth quarter depicts three black lions couchant, edged in red one above the other, on a gold background. Their heads are turned towards the observer. They are taken from the old coat of arms of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, former dukes of Swabia. In the Bavarian state coat of arms, these three lions represent the administrative district of Swabia.
The White and Blue Central Shield: The central shield features white (silver) and blue rhombuses slanting to the right. Formerly the coat of arms of the Counts of Bogen, it was adopted as the coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach in 1242. The white and blue rhombuses are regarded as a symbol of Bavaria and symbol Bavaria as a whole. With the people’s crown they are also officially used as the “small Bavarian state coat of arms”.
The People’s Crown (..Volkskrone”): On the four-squared shield with the central shield is the people’s crown („Volkskrone“). It consists of a golden rim decorated with stones and beset with five ornamental leaves. The people’s crown, which first appeared in the coat of arms of 1923, symbolizes the sovereignty of the people after the abolition of the royal crown.
The Lions Holding a Shield: The heraldic lions holding a shield continue a tradition from the 14th Century.