1854-1936
Charles Paxton Cody 256/6, was the originator-designer of the Cody Family "Seal" which was unaminously adopted by the Association and appears on its letterhead. Lydia S. 148/22 wrote up the Key that explains it's symbology. A petition for trademark protection was filed on behalf of the ICFA in 2013.
Born in Dereham Turnpike, Oxford Co. ON and long a resident of Erie PA, Paxton was an architect by profession and for three years served as president of the State Association of Architects. He was on the Chamber of Commerce, a deacon at the First Baptist church, a Rotarian, a Mason and a member of the Royal Acanum. Ella EstherHe had an abiding interest in the Cody Family Association and served as president in 1930. His grandfather Elijah 89 immigrated to Ontario with his family as United Empire Loyalists in 1820. His father, Charles Grandison 256 trekked alone back home to Marcellus NY in 1837, visited his aunts Martha 83 and Rhoda 92, learned some Cody lore, and enjoyed a Cody Family Reunion!
A PRESENTATION OF THE “KEY” TO OUR CODY FAMILY SEAL
By the family seal here presented, a beloved member of our family, the
late Charles Paxton Cody, 1854-1936, 5th. gen. branch of Charles Grandison
Cody, sought to express symbolically what is known of our first American
ancestor, Philip. The symbolism so designed and interpreted by him is as
follows: Our revered ancestor, true to his apostolic namesake, adopted the
“Shield of Faith” with which to ward off the “Wolf of Avarice”, depicted above
the shield; by the fleur-de-lis is represented his native France from which as
a Huguenot he fled in his youth to escape persecution ever increasing at that
time; that he found refuge in the English colonies of New England is represented
by the “Lion Passant-Guardant”; that in the new world he found
opportunity is represented by the “Eagle of Freedom”; that he made his way
to the new world by serving as a seaman, and for a time followed this as a
calling, is represented by the ship in full sail; by the shuttle is indicated not
alone the fact that he was for a time a weaver, but more especially it represents
the industrious purpose of his life by which he established a prosperous
family. Thus the shield as a whole represents a web of life well woven in a
warp of loyal service under the lasting guidance of the “Sword of the Spirit”,
which is the Word of God. Altogether there is here presented for the present
generations of his descendants a pattern which may briefly be expressed in
the words of our family motto “Loyalty to Principle”, as our ancestor taught
and lived it. —L. S. C.
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