John de Havilland (officer of arms)

John von Sonntag de Havilland, FSA (17 October 1826 – 18 September 1886) was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London during the 19th century. He is notable for being one of only two English officers of arms to have been born in the United States of America (Blanche Lyon Pursuivant Extraordinary Alexander Ochterlony, appointed in 1784, was the other).

John de Havilland was born on 17 October 1826, probably near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, John Haviland, was born in Somerset, England, and practiced as an architect and an engineer; in Russia, John Haviland met John Quincy Adams, who encouraged him to come to the United States, which he did in 1816. John de Havilland's mother, Mary (née Wright), was the daughter of Captain W. L. von Sonntag of the French army and the sister and heiress of General Sir George von Sonntag, Governor of South Russia.

John de Havilland served as an adjutant lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment of United States Dragoons in the army of General William J. Worth during the Mexican War (1846-1848). He later became a barrister at the Inner Temple in London as well as a Professed Knight of Justice of the Order of Malta. See images (1-3) below...

...
Wikipedia