James Terry was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 officer of arms

Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...

 who remained faithful to the Jacobite kings of Britain

Early Modern Britain

Early modern Britain is the history of the island of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the...

 after their escape to the European continent.

Biography

After the defeat of James II of England

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

, the court went into exile in St Germain, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. James Terry had been serving as Athlone Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary at the Irish Office of Arms, and took his seal of office and his heraldic records with him to France. As James II still considered himself King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, he needed a herald

Herald

A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....

 with him to handle matters of heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 and ceremonial. In 1690, he appointed Terry to the post of Athlone Herald.

It is interesting to consider that during the exile, Terry was in communication with English and Scottish heralds when it became necessary to verify armorial records and genealogies. In spite of the dispute between the royals that employed them, the heralds still maintained a collegial working relationship. Terry continued granting arms to the members of the Irish diaspora until his death in 1725. After his passing, the Irish abroad were obliged to apply to Ulster King of Arms for grants.

Sources

• Micheál Ó Comáin. The Poolbeg Book of Irish Heraldry. Poolbeg: Dublin, 1991, 51-3.
• Stephen Slater. The Complete Book of Heraldry. Hermes House: New York, 1999, 192-195.
• Seán MacBrádaigh. James Terry's Legacy, pp.22-25, Journal of the Genealogical Society of Ireland
  Genealogical Society of Ireland
  Genealogical Society of Ireland is a voluntary non-governmental organisation promoting the study of genealogy, heraldry, vexillology and social history in Ireland and amongst the Irish Diaspora as open access educational leisure pursuits available to all...
  
  , vol. 5, # 1, Spring 2004.