The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter and is copyright 2002 by Richard W. Eastman. It is
re-published here with the permission of the author.
Information about the newsletter is available at
http://www.RootsForum.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dick Eastman is a frequent presenter at major genealogy
conferences. He has published articles in Genealogical Computing
and Family Chronicle magazines and for a number of Web sites. He
was an advisor to PBS' Ancestry series and appeared as a guest in
one of the episodes. He serves on the Advisory Board of the New
England Historic Genealogical Society and is a past Director of
GENTECH and of the New England Computer Genealogists. Dick is the
author of YOUR ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer
published by Ziff-Davis Press. He also manages three Genealogy
Forums on CompuServe. He can be reached at: richard@eastman.net.
Due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every
e-mail message received.

If you have questions or comments about the article go to
http://www.RootsForum.com and then click on "Message Board."
Post your message there. You will receive then
assistance from Dick Eastman or from a number of other people.

To obtain a subscription to Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
 go to http://www.RootsForum.com/

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Want to Buy Your Family's Coat of Arms?
 by Richard W. Eastman

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!

In many shopping malls across America, you will see pushcart
vendors selling reproductions of coats of arms, claiming to be the
"proud history and heritage of your family name" or some such
words. Similar "businesses" exist on the Web. A number of Web
sites proclaim that they can sell you "authentic" copies of your
family's coat of arms.

I have one thing to say to these con artists: "Balderdash!"
Actually, that's not my first choice of response, but that word
will have to suffice in this family newsletter.

The study of coats of arms is called heraldry. Those who control
the issuance of arms are the heralds. Typically, each country in
Western Europe as well as in England, Scotland, and Ireland has an
office of the heralds, sometimes called the Kings of Arms. The
heralds are empowered to decide who is authorized to display a
certain coat of arms. If you do not have authorization from the
heralds, you are not authorized to display any coat of arms. The
rules are a bit different in the Netherlands and in some eastern
European countries.

Most Americans seem ignorant of one very basic fact: in most of
Western Europe and in all of the British Isles, there is no such
thing as a "family coat of arms." A coat of arms is issued to one
person, not to a family. After that person is deceased, his
primary heir (normally the oldest son) may apply for the same coat
of arms. Again, when he dies, his heir may apply. The rules for
determining who is eligible to display a coat of arms are very
similar to the rules for becoming King or Queen of England.
However, even the proper heir cannot display the coat of arms
until he or she has received authorization (been confirmed) by the
heralds. At any one time, only one person may rightfully display a
coat of arms.

According to the American College of Heraldry, "While Americans
are usually fascinated by the beauty of heraldry, they are rarely
familiar with its meaning and traditions and, therefore, often
misunderstand and even abuse this rich cultural heritage. They
seldom understand that a coat of arms is usually granted,
certified, registered or otherwise recognized as belonging to one
individual alone, and that only his direct descendants with proven
lineage can be recognized as eligible to inherit the arms.
Exceptions to this rule are rare."

The American College of Heraldry also says, "It is highly
inappropriate for one to locate the arms of another person sharing
the same surname, and to simply adopt and use these arms as one's
own." My interpretation of this is that, if you are displaying an
unauthorized coat of arms, you are impersonating someone else.

The College of Arms in England (the heralds for English, Welsh,
Northern Irish, and Commonwealth families) says, "For any person
to have a right to a coat of arms, they must either have had it
granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a
person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past."

Despite these warnings, many vendors are making money by preying
on Americans' ignorance of the topic. The pushcarts you see in
shopping malls typically are franchise operations. One pushcart
owner told me that he paid $6,000 for a "franchise" to sell this
stuff. The so-called franchise did not include a protected
territory; another franchisee was free to set up business in the
same area. For the $6,000 investment, the franchisee receives a
computer with a database containing thousands of surnames and so-
called "family coats of arms," a high-quality printer, a supply of
parchment paper, and a supply of coffee cups, key chains and other
paraphernalia. These franchisees reportedly receive no training in
the study of heraldry. The ones I have talked to didn't recognize
the term "College of Arms."

The Web sites aren't much better. The ones I have looked at seem
to have carefully-worded claims. Instead of saying, "your family's
coat of arms," they will say something like "your historical
namesakes." Okay, "namesakes" has a different meaning than
"ancestors," but it still can be misleading to many people. When a
Web site proclaims, "your historical namesakes," most people will
think this means "my family." However, if argued in court, the
wording on the Web site would probably be considered correct. In
short, their statements are legally correct. I doubt if any of
these companies will ever be shut down for misrepresenting their
wares.

The next time someone offers a copy of your "family's coat of
arms," ask them for the documentation. They won't have any. If a
friend of yours is displaying a coat of arms on his stationery or
on his fireplace mantel, I suggest you simply walk away smiling.
There's no sense in upsetting a good friendship. But don't be as
gullible as your friend. And please, please do not display your
"family's coat of arms" on your genealogy Web site unless you have
been confirmed by the heralds, okay?

If you would like to learn more about the serious study of
heraldry and any rights you might have to display a coat of arms,
there are a number of Web sites devoted to the truth. Here is a
short list of some of the more reputable ones:

* The College of Arms (the official repository of the coats of
arms and pedigrees of English, Welsh, Northern Irish and
Commonwealth families and their descendants). This site is
operated by the British government:
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/

* The Augustan Society at: http://www.augustansociety.org

* The American College of Heraldry at:
http://www.americancollegeofheraldry.org

* The Baronage Press at: http://www.baronage.co.uk/

* The British Heraldic Archive at:
http://www.kwtelecom.com/heraldry/

None of the above sell printouts on parchment paper, t-shirts, or
key chains. However, some of them do sell books and magazines
devoted to the study of heraldry.

If you use a search engine, you can find many Web sites that claim
they can sell "your family's coat of arms" to you. However, you
now know that any site that purports to sell "your family coat of
arms" is a rip-off.

The End

My Comments:

Obvious from this article the "Coat of Arm" displayed on my website is nothing more than a representation
of a historical Willard coat of arms. It was designed, painted and presented to me by a personal family
friend, an artist and reputable genealogist who had studied heraldry. Although I own all rights to the painting and any copies thereof, it is not my "family's coat of arms" and I display it for interest sake only!

Charles