where can i view my family coat of arms for free?

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

You can find coats of arms for your surname by googling ["Coat of arms" {surname}]. There are half a dozen on-line merchants.

Answer 2

Just to make it clear there is not right to a family Coat of Arms or even a crest outside Eastern Europe or for Cest Scottish Clans(these are all listed of Wikipedia). Other then the oldest son other could have the arm with marks to show there tries to the holder

the 2nd link deal with the rights of a Scot to wear a family crest

Answer 3

Check around on the net, but a couple of sites are listed. I'm assuming you merely want to view the coat of arms.

Answer 4

Do a search on your family name. If there is a coat of arms it will generally be displayed on one of the free sites on genealogy.

Answer 5

http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/sur/

Search for your surname here. Then, when it opens the page of links about your name, look for Coat of arms... Had mine there. Best of luck.

(P.S. If not from US, it doesn't matter at this site for coat of arms and also gives you links for worldwide from the "USA" page)