The family name Trümpy is a Swiss name, originating in Schwanden, a village in Canton Glarus, one of the thirteen cantons of the Swiss Confederation in the seventeenth century.

Smuggled into the vastness of the Glarner Alpen, the rural and sparsely settled 267 square miles of Glarus is bordered by St Gallen to the north and east, Graubunden (Grisons) to the south, and in the west by two of the most ancient cantons, Uri and Schwyz.

The first record documenting the name Trümpy occurred in the early seventeenth century, a few years before the Swiss Confederation was recognized by the Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the infamous Thirty Years' War.

Heinrich Trümpy was governor of Sargans in the Rhein valley, close lo the border with Liechtenstein a disputed county which eventually became part of the canton of St Gallen.

Heinrich died in 1638 leaving a son, also named Heinrich, who was the father of Caspar Trümpy von Schwanden. Caspar, born in 1642, had the honor of being the official flag-bearer of the canton of Glarus from 1683 to 1688.

He bore the banner at the head of the Glarus militia and during important civil ceremonies, when cantonal colors were shown. He was elected to this important position at the annual Landsgemeinde, a popular assembly of all adult male citizens executing the practices of a pure, direct democracy.

Previously Caspar had been a member of the cantonal judicial review council. During this period the Trümpy coat of arms displayed a turned-down horseshoe on a blue background under an eight-point star of gold.

Atop the shield was a round crown hat with three ostrich feathers. A turned-down horseshoe is unusual in heraldry elsewhere it was believed luck would run out if not turned up. At the Battle of Trafalgar, Lord Nelson nailed a horseshoe to the main mast of his flagship with the tips pointing up.

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Most recent revision 09/12/96 13:04

Roberto Trumpy Genova