U.S. Heraldic Registry
Registration of contemporary and historical American heraldry
The Branford College, Yale University
Registration number 20060928W
This certifies that the heraldic arms of The Branford College, Yale University are registered as an original design and are described by the blazon below
Source
Yale website: http://www.yale.edu/branford/
Design rationale
The Coat of Arms of Branford College, pictured at left, features ten books to represent the ten ministers who pooled their books and resources to found the Collegiate School.
The ministers came from all over Connecticut for the purpose of founding the school. Although the building in which they met no longer stands, there is a comemorative monument at the corner of Montowese Street and South Main Street in the town of Branford, which is just a short drive from New Haven.
The town of Branford itself was originally named "Totokett" (or "Tidal River") when it was founded in 1644. Several years later, it was renamed "Branford" after the town of Brentford, Middlesex, England. There is still an area in Branford, CT, known as Totoket.
According to Thomas G. Bergin, author of Yale's Residential Colleges: The First Fifty Years:
"The design of arms recalls the meeting of 1701 at the house of the Reverend Samuel Russel in Branford, where, tradition says, ten Connecticut Congregational ministers by a gift of books founded the Collegiate School which became Yale College. The elm leaves in a chief of gold are symbolic of the permanent establishment of Yale in New Haven...."
New Haven, of course, is referred to as "The Elm City" in memory of the many elm trees that used to line the streets of the town.
The arms were designed by Master Clarence Mendell; Mr. Theodore Babbit, a fellow of Branford; and his wife.
Registered by
Michael Swanson
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