Crest on dutch gallery tray Utrecht 1794

[silverfan]

Hi all,
on my dutch gallery tray made by Jacob van Nieuwscasteel Utrecht 1794 there is a family ? crest with a motto "onward and upward". Does anybody know the origin?




Regards silverfan

[nobilityhouse]

Matthews' American Armoury (1907, page 56) attributes it to MORGAN, as in John Pierpont Morgan. The crest is a reindeer's head couped Or, attired Gules with the motto written in English as shown with a picture of the arms and crest. Crozier's General Armory/Registry of American Families (1904, page 94) lists similar information. New England Families, A Genealogical & Memorial Record (1915 Vol 1, page 24) lists the history of the family from Glamorganshire, Wales. Perhaps Dutch silver was easy to come by a few centuries ago in New York.

[silverfan]

Hi nobilityhouse,
Thank you very much for your detailed answer. So the reindeer's head is the crest of the Morgan family coming from Glamorganshire in Wales to New England. In the internet I read that "onward and upward" is the motto of New York !?
Best regards silverfan

[nobilityhouse]

Well, just Upward. The motto is Excelsior, which seems perfect whether upstate in the mountains or down in Manhattan with the skyscrapers.