how do I find, (online) our family crest?

Question

I would like to see what our original family crest, or coat of arms looks like. Is there a site somewhere online that I can find this information without having to pay some flim-flam artist a small fortune?

Answer 1

This is a text file I copy and paste to answer questions about coats of arms. I paste because I'm a slow typist. If you asked about a family crest instead of a family coat of arms, you should know that a crest is just the top part of a coat of arms.

With a couple of rare exceptions from Eastern Europe, coats of arms were given to specific indivuals, not families. The oldest legitimate son inherits it.

Supose Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Richard Smith and Sir Harold Smith all get Coats of Arms in 1512. By 2006 there is just one legitimate eldest son of eldest son of eldest son . . . each, for a total of three men. (Unless someone died before they had a son.)

BUT - there are four million Smiths in the US, England, Canada, Australia, plus the branch of the family in Argentina started in 1912, after the trouble with the bank auditors in Philadelphia.

You are a merchant, selling plaques, coffee mugs, T-shirts and parchment-colored paper scrolls with coats of arms on them. (Everything is highest quality at lowest cost, of course.) Hmmmm. Which would get you more sales - to sell them to those three eldest sons, or to the four MILLION people with surname Smith, including some who were "Schmidt" or "Smithkowski" or "Wjoschmitz" before they came through Ellis Island?

You can see why some people would want to advertise "Family" Coats of Arms. They can sell them to every Tom, Dick and Harry in the country named Smith. To be fair to them, they are meeting a need. People want to think of their ancestors as riding down the lane in a shining coat of armor, not mucking out the kinghtly stable. If there wasn't a huge demand for "Family" coats of arms, there wouldn't be merchants vending same.

What you get with a "Family" coat of arms is a C of A that was once awarded to someone with that surname, usually. If they get an order for 50 T-shirts for a reunion and can't find a C of A that had ever been awarded to someone of that surname, you get the best guess of the guy in the graphics department, who uses a lot of lions rampant on a crimson field with verdant argules.

Wikipedia has articles on Coats of Arms and heraldry, if you are interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraldry

Answer 2

The best way is to trace your roots back to the original family name. If you can do that try seeing if there is anyone famous in your lineage sometimes you can find that crest on-line. other times it might be best to try and several of those flim-flam artists at once. If they all come up with something similar you can check your local library or bookstore for more info on that specific crest line. Often changes made to a family's crest are due to the marriages between families so don't be too surprised to find more than one version.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as a "Family Crest" the Coat of Arms was awarded to individuals as a reward for services provided. There are many Coats of Arms that are associated with particular Surnames. My own family has more that 45 associated with our surnames. What I have done is to locate the person the Coat of Arm was presented to, and the reason and, if I am part of that direct line, I include that information in the chart. In the very beginning I didn't understand about Coats of Arms/Crests and made copies of all the ones that are associated with the surnames in my family, then I made a quilt of the them. It is a beautiful quilt, but I now know that it doesn't really represent my family. My suggestion would be to have fun with the story of a Crest, but don't get to serious about it.

Answer 4

Don't.

"Family Crests" are a scam perpetrated on Americans (and other non-Europeans) who don't know any better (and often by those who don't know any better). Family Crests don't exist.

Crests, as well as the Coats of Arms they complement, are granted to individuals. That Coat may pass directly to the original holder's heir. "Heir" singular, not "heirs." Even if a family has six children, only one of them may legitmately hold the coat of arms in the next generation

There are couple very specific exceptions. One of them is Scottish clan badges. They may be worn the entire clan. However, you should not that not everyone who bears the name "McLeod" for instance, is actually a member of Clan McLeod. There are rules and you should be familar with them before claiming membership in a Scottish clan.

Sorry to disappoint you, but this is a widespread misunderstanding.

Answer 5

Good question. I researched one side of my family and found they derived from the Vikings. I received a certificate with the crest which is Pegasus but I do not believe it. The other side was researched by my aunt through the Mormons on line site, (which I have forgotten the web site address, type Mormon Church into your browser's address bar). We found that we are related to the Brothers Grimm in Germany but I do not know if they have information on family crests. It was quite expensive to verify and get everything in print but well worth it. Good Luck.

Answer 6

Families do NOT have crests. Crests are awarded to individuals. IF you are a direct descendent of said individual, then you are entitled to display his crest.

Just because someone with the same family name as you, was awarded a crest, does NOT mean you are entitled to display it as yours.

Oh yeah, and stay away from any sites connected to Swyrich Corporation and House of Names - they are SCAMS.

Answer 7

http://ancestory.com

Answer 8

You can try here.

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/