Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

The Myth of Family Coats of Arms

The holiday gift giving season will be here soon and what better personal gift to give than something with the recipient's family coat of arms? I'd suggest that isn't such a great gift. You'd be lying.

Lots of gullible people purchase various trinkets that display the "family coat of arms" without realizing there is no such thing. Coats of arms? Yes. But "family?" No. There is no such thing as a family coat of arms.

National Heraldic Register Proposed in Ireland

A Bill has been introduced in Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate) by Senator Alex White that aims to establish a sound legislative basis for all Grants of Arms made by the Chief Heralds of Ireland from 1943 and to provide for related matters. The National Library last year stopped the Office of the Chief Herald from making any further awards of arms due to concerns that it had no legal powers to do so. (See my earlier article at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/10/irish-coats-of-.html.)

Your Family Coat of Arms and Other Myths

Many people, mostly Americans, believe that every family was once issued a coat of arms and then everyone born with that family name automatically gets to use the same coat of arms. If you believe that, it is time to correct the myth.

NOTE: There is an exception. I am told that Samurai families in Japan do have family coats of arms although they do not resemble British or European coats of arms. In any case, if your ancestry is 100% Japanese Samurai, the rest of this article does not apply to you.

To begin with, coats of arms are never issued to families; they are issued to individuals. Coats of arms are issued by heralds and there are different heralds in each country in the United Kingdom and in Europe. A coat of arms is granted by the King of Arms in England and in Ireland, while the court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms grants that right in Scotland.

Irish Coats of Arms may be Worthless

The legality of all Irish coats of arms issued in the past 60+ years is now in doubt. In what has been described as the new 'arms crisis', the National Library has stopped the Office of the Chief Herald from making any further awards due to concerns that it had no legal powers to do so.

The Genealogical Society of Ireland said it was a very embarrassing situation which had been allowed to develop over a long period of time.

The College of Arms

On my recent trip to London, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my hotel was only a few steps from the College of Arms on Queen Victoria Street. This is the organization that grants coats of arms to individuals in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth Countries and to their descendants. I snapped a few pictures of the building, even though the place was closed on the Sunday I was there.

A Tattoo of Your Family Coat of Arms

I recently received an e-mail from someone who has the same last name as my own. She had searched the web and found that I often write about genealogy and occasionally about coats of arms and crests. She sent me an e-mail that said (in part), "I am looking for a copy of the Eastman family crest because my son would like to have one."

Confederate Coats of Arms

I have written several times about coats of arms, properly called heraldry. Many people seem to think that each family has a coat of arms issued for use by all people bearing the same last name. Of course, that's not true.

Now a new variation has appeared: Confederate Coats of Arms. An online site has a mission statement "... to advance Dixie culture through knowledge, heraldry artwork and…"

Gee, I didn't even know that the Confederacy issued coats of arms!

Want to Buy Your Family's Coat of Arms?

Many people like to purchase Christmas gifts that are "personal." What can be more personal than one's name? I bet that thousands of people will give presents this year that depict a family coat of arms printed on paper, suitable for framing. They also may give coats of arms on t-shirts, sweatshirts, golf jerseys, stationery, coffee mugs, or even key chains. There is only one problem: almost all of them are bogus!

My Least Favorite Genealogy Web Site

This week I decided to publish a "reprint" of an article that I wrote several years ago. The reason that I am publishing it again is because of all the e-mails I have been receiving lately on this topic.