One of the many treasures owned by my family is a ring. Family history tells a romantic tale of a heroic knight. I would like to prove this story, and am looking for help.   Ancestry 1   William Busshenell, b. 1466 John Bushenell, b. 1492 Nicholas Bushnell, b. 1524 Francis I. Bushnell, b. 1550 Francis B. Bushnell, b. 1580 William Bushnell, b. 3 Feb 1610 William Bushnell Jr., b. 15 Feb 1648 William Bushnell III, b. 3 Apr 1680 Gideon Bushnell, b. 1720 Gideon Bushnell Jr., b. 1 Nov 1756 Campbell Bushnell, b. 17 Jun 1792 William Henry Bushnell, b. 8 Jun 1823 Campbell William Bushnell, b. 19 Jun 1856 Blanche Ida Bushnell Evans, b. 29 Dec. 1899

The ring is composed of iron or steel consisting of a tablet in which is countersunk the family crest or motto. The crest or coat of arms, is a winged dragon (wyvern) hovering over a crown. This family crest is much more ancient in itself than the motto underneath which dates about the time of the battle of Ivry, 1590.
 
The family tradition is that the Le Bourchenelles were the protectors and standard bearers of the kingdom of Navarre, and as such, one of my ancestors had charge of the standard of Henry, King of Navarre, at the battle of Ivry. The king, riding back after the defeat of the enemy, saw a standard flying, but apparently the knight had left it unprotected and unguarded. His temper flashed like fire, but when he reached the standard, his attitude changed to admiring pity, for the standard bearer, surrounded by a circle of dead foes, and driven the flag pike into the ground, fallen beside it his mailed hand supporting the flag in an upright position, where upon the king said, "Loyal a mort." The knight's epitaph, uttered by the kind of Navarre, became from that time the family motto. So we know that the knight's ring was made shortly after 1590.
 
As a result of the religious wars in France and the Huguenot persecution, the Le Bourchenelles emigrated to England, where the name became Anglicanized into Bushnell, the E having the sound of the French e'. The Bushnells gained certain prominence in military affairs in England, and one of the ancestors became an admiral of the British navy and an Artic explorer. The British admiralty chats show an island in the Artic named in honor of this ancestor, but the name is "Bushnall" Because of the sound of the French e', I presume.
 
The ring came to America shortly after the Pilgrim emigration in 1620, and the family settled in Saybrook, Connecticut. The ring is handed whenever possible, by the dying father to his eldest son shortly before life departs; but the family tradition has been taught the child through his entire life and he is urged to live worthy of his ancestry.
 
My grandfather was Campbell Bushnell. My Father saw his Grandfather, Gideon Bushnell, give the ring to Campbell Bushnell; and my father William Henry Bushnell gave it to me in March, 1889 and it has been in my possession ever since.
 
The ring shows that it was probably made by an armorer, but the die sinking was evidently the work of a finished artist. The ring itself was apparently made separately from the tablet as the two are riveted together.
 
The ring was worn on the signet finger of the left hand and it the only genuine knight's ring I have ever seen with the exception of one owned by the Hope family of England. In our family there were several other signet rings bearing the crest, some of them quite valuable' but there is no question but that I have the original ring and that it is a very rare heirloom.
 

Image taken from the ring

The Griffin sets forth the property of a valorous soldier whose magnanimity is such that he will dare all dangers, and even death itself, rather than become captive.³

Francis I. Bushnell, died in 1625
 
His sons:
Francis, came to the new world in 1635
Ralph, born in 1578 which would make him 12 in 1590
Nicholas, died in Thatchem England
 
His Brothers are:
Roger, died in 1623
Richard, died in 1639
John, died in 1631
Thomas, died in Thatchem England
William, died in 1610

Please e-mail me if you have any information that might be helpful.   The Bushnell Genealogy CD History on King Henry IV Written by King Henry after the Battle of Ivry Other Historical Information Sculpture of Battle

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