Coat of Arms or Family Crests

[Viola]

My family got this last name when they got off the boat, I believe. I've designed various crests at different times as an exercise (using the SCA rules, usually) but more as art than as a representation of past heraldic symbols connected with my family, since there aren't any. They weren't nobility in the Old Country either.

I did one up for my brother by SCA rules too and I think he still uses it for something.

 

[Zemke Fan]

SCA...

Back in college...

I was known as Fafhrd the Barbarian!

 

[MisterCairo]

I'm fairly certain that my family name does not have a crest or coat of arms. I never understood the American fascination with having these, either. I'm not sure who thinks that a printout from a mall kiosk has any connection to their family history.

You mean those printouts AREN'T factual family histories specific to my ancestry?! :eusa_doh:

 

[cptjeff]

I'm fairly certain that my family name does not have a crest or coat of arms. I never understood the American fascination with having these, either. I'm not sure who thinks that a printout from a mall kiosk has any connection to their family history.

An Uncle of mine has actually done the research to find out a lot of the family history, and both of the crests are accurate to the family line. Outside of "hey, I'm related to the guy who wrote Auld Lang Syne!", there's nothing anyone in our family has really done with it.

I think the point is it gives you a little bit of a connection to your own history, make believe or not. That kind of stuff can be powerful.

 

[jayem]

I actually rather dislike my family crest. It's a freakin' hawk tearing apart a goose...

 

[PistolPete1969]

SCA= Society of Consenting Adults

 

[billyspew]

This is mine (from Ireland)

My Uncle has traced back to the 13th Century.

 

[PADDY]

Mine.

Looks like I may have some claim to being an American?

Middleton Family History


From 1741 through the Civil War, four generations of the Middleton family successively owned Middleton Place. The list of Low Country families which Henry Middleton's children married includes Izard, Manigault, Rutledge, Drayton, Pinckney, Smith, Parker, Huger, and Blake.

In 1678, Edward Middleton emigrated from England to Barbados and from there to South Carolina, eight years after the founding of Charleston. Receiving large grants of land on Goose Creek, not far from the colonial capital, Edward settled at a plantation he named The Oaks, and served as Lords Proprietors deputy for many years. His estate passed to his son, Arthur, who also was active in public life and became president of the convention that, in 1719, overthrew the Lords Proprietors. In 1741, Arthur's son, Henry, married Mary, the only daughter and heiress of John Williams, a wealthy landowner, Justice of the Peace and member of the Assembly. Mary's dowry included the house and plantation that they named Middleton Place. Here, rather than at The Oaks, they made their home.


Henry Middleton (1717-1784)
painting by
Benjamin West Henry Middleton, an influential political leader, was Speaker of the Commons, Commissioner for Indian Affairs, and a member of the Governor's Council until he resigned his seat in 1770 to become a leader of the opposition to British policy. Henry was chosen to represent South Carolina in the First Continental Congress and on October 22, 1774, was elected its President.

By this time, Henry was among the wealthiest landholders in South Carolina with more than 50,000 acres and approximately 800 slaves. For the last twenty-three years of his life he lived at The Oaks, returning there after the death of his wife in 1761. Henry twice remarried, but his five sons and seven daughters were all children of his first wife. Middleton Place was relinquished to Arthur, his eldest son and heir.


Arthur Middleton was educated in England, at Hackney and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He studied law at the Middle Temple and traveled extensively in Europe where his taste in literature, music and art was developed and refined. In 1764 Arthur and his bride Mary Izard settled at Middleton Place. Keenly interested in Carolina politics, Arthur Middleton was a more radical thinker than his father. He was a leader of the American Party in Carolina and one of the boldest members of the Council of Safety and its Secret Committee. In 1776, Arthur was elected to succeed his father in the Continental Congress and subsequently was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Despite the time he spent in England, his attitude toward Loyalists was said to be ruthless.

During the Revolution, Arthur served in the defense of Charleston. After the city's fall to the British in 1780, he was sent as a prisoner of war to St. Augustine, Florida, until exchanged in July the following year. Arthur died on January 1, 1787 at the age of 44. He was buried in the family tomb in the Gardens at Middleton Place. The plantation then passed to Henry, his eldest son.



Henry Middleton (1770-1846)
from a Henry Inman painting This second Henry Middleton was born in London and educated in England. Widely traveled in Europe and his own country, he served in both houses of the State legislature and for a term as Governor of South Carolina (1810-1812). After serving in Congress (1815-1819) he was appointed America's Minister to Russia where he served during the entire decade of the 1820s.

Henry inherited his family's love of the land. According to family tradition, he added to plantings and enlarged the Gardens at Middleton Place. He was a friend of André Michaux, the famous French botanist who brought many exotic plants to America from France. In 1786 Michaux visited Middleton Place, bringing with him some of the first camellias to be planted in an American garden. The library in the Middleton Place House contains Thomas Walter's Flora Caroliniana (1788). In it Henry wrote: "NB. This was Michaux's copy." Henry left Middleton Place to his son, Williams.

Williams Middleton (1809-1883)
Painting by John Stolle Williams Middleton was in Russia with his father and served as secretary for the American legation. On his return home, he pursued the family's interest in rice culture, carried out agricultural and scientific experiments and further enhanced the Gardens with the introduction of azaleas (Azalea indica). Following the example of previous generations, Williams became active in the politics of his day. He supported the idea of "states rights" and signed the Ordinance of Secession separating South Carolina from the Union. Later he supplied the Confederate cause with laborers and materials for the defense of Charleston and Fort Sumter. Henry's and Arthur's cause was successful in achieving independence; Williams' efforts were unsuccessful and resulted in the destruction of his property.

In 1865 a detachment of the 56th New York regiment occupied Middleton Place. On February 22nd, the main house and flanker buildings were ransacked and burned, the ground strewn with books, paintings and other family treasures. At the close of the war, with financial help from his sister, Eliza Middleton Fisher of Philadelphia, and with a small income from phosphate mining, Williams managed to hold on to the family plantation. The south flanker was the least damaged and Williams eventually was able to make it the family home.

Reconstruction and the 20th Century
Williams Middleton and his wife, Susan Pringle Smith, had two children, Lilly (Elizabeth) and Hal (Henry). Williams died in 1883 at the age of 74. In 1886, an earthquake leveled what remained of the main house and the north flanker, and Williams' wife, Susan, made the necessary repairs to the south flanker. Upon Susan's death in 1900, Lilly inherited Middleton Place and spent time at the plantation each year, doing what she could to improve the property. Times were difficult and there was little money to restore the gardens and house.
Lilly died in 1915 and left no direct heirs. Her will stipulated that Middleton Place was to go to her young cousin, the Charleston lawyer, John Julius Pringle Smith (grandson of her mother's brother of the same name, but also a Middleton descendant). Soon he and his wife, Heningham, moved into the south flanker, making it their winter home for succeeding decades.

The young Pringle Smiths, trying to make the property productive, raised poultry and vegetables to take to market in Charleston. But Heningham was determined to bring the Gardens of Middleton Place back to their original splendor. It has been said that she "was down on her hands and knees to find the buried bricks that outlined the garden paths." Over a period of several years, Heningham turned back the hands of time for the historic gardens. The Gardens of Middleton Place were opened to the public in the late 1920s by the Smiths. In 1941, Middleton Place received the Garden Club of America's Bulkley Award, and was named "the most interesting and important garden in the United States."

In 1972, Middleton Place was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, as Middleton Place was the birthplace of Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Then in February 1975, after the establishment of the not-for-profit Middleton Place Foundation, the Middleton Place House was opened to the public. The Middleton family is a story of struggle, growth and triumph. Middleton Place is an integral part of this American family's story, and the Middleton Place Foundation exists to preserve and interpret this portion of American history for generations to come.

 

[Juupjuup]

Or you could just use your own design how you like. What're they going to do? Throw you in some English medieval dungeon? The worst they could do is snub you if they ever met you.

The penalty for presumptive use of arms in the UK are quite steep. While I'm not sure of the details, when i do medieval reenacting in europe we are always told to limit our heraldic displays to the event site.

The fines are extremely hefty and depending on the family name, esp Tudor, Wallace or some of the "big" names, can land you in a british prison for extended stays.

 

[Foofoogal]

Fabulous Paddy. My ancestors probably attended many a soiree with yours in Charleston back in the 1840s and 50's.
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

http://www.middletonplace.org/

what a story and place. I love, love, love Charleston. Beautiful city.

 

[David V]

Lets all keep in mind that heraldry was and is conferred on an individual not the individuals entire lineage.

 

[Foofoogal]

ssshhhhh....don't spoil it for some. lol

what would the shops by the castles sell?

 

[Pyroxene]

Here is a link to my blog post on the research I did on creating my Coat of Arms. It also has my meanings behind the colors and symbols on the design.


Link

 

[cptjeff]

Lets all keep in mind that heraldry was and is conferred on an individual not the individuals entire lineage.

Well, the way it works depends on the tradition. Most grant use to descendants. In some, any descent from an arms bearer entitles you to use them, in some only if you can trace through male lineage. In scottish tradition you get your own based off the base arms which is held by the head of the family, and it's based on your relationship to them. It's also based on clan, which means that pretty much everyone can claim one.

For me, I could use the Irish Burns crest if I wrote to the Irish chief of Heraldry with a family history. They recognize maternal or paternal line even for emigrants. In fact, there are ways to claim Irish citizenship as well for descendants of emigrants, though only for a generation or two.

English and scottish only go through male lineage though. I couldn't claim that one.

 

[anon`]

I think I might have some sort of claim to a crest or two, but my family has been out of countries that fuss over such things for close to two centuries now. Never really bothered to dig too deep into it, though I probably should.

In the meantime, however... I'll settle for Hrafnsmerki:

 

[Bustercat]

That's a great mark, anon.

If folks are interested in heraldry, check out this site, great bunch of enthusiasts, many who will help people in designing the perfect coat of arms.
http://americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php

Bottom line:

The coat of arms is the shield. The crest is actually the little 'statue' thingie on top of the helmet.

If you see it online, or at a kiosk at the mall, or at a mail order place, 90% chance it has nothing to do with you, and sometimes it isn't attached to the correct name.
Design your own, it will mean much, much more. You can put pretty much anything you want on it.

Colors, symbols, etc. may have traditional meanings, but in heraldry there aren't any hard rules (and many coats of arms meant nothing at all). Many arms (canting arms) are simply puns on the persons' name.

Crowns, supporters (animals holding up the shield) and other such elements aren't appropriate to use unless you're a king, an organization, or something else. Don't put medals (achievements) on them unless you're part of a knightly order that grants them.

This is America (if you are American, o' course) There is no official recognition or use of coats of arms, just as there isn't recognition of hereditary titles, monarchy, knighthood, etc.. That being said, many of the founding fathers had them. (The flag of DC is Washington's.) They are used and recognized in church orgs like the Catholic church.

Nothing can stop someone from using yours and callling them their own. But what are the chances of that?
Save your money registering with colleges of arms, unless you want a fancy parchment decoration for your wall. If you need to be in a book, there are a couple of well respected orgs that cost very little, like $20 or so.

Check out that website if interested, its a fascinating part of western semiotic history.

 

[Alexi]

"Most grant use to descendants"

in England use is only granted to male descendants if the original grant proclaimed that they were granted to descendants, and most did not.

 

[cptjeff]

"Most grant use to descendants"

in England use is only granted to male descendants if the original grant proclaimed that they were granted to descendants, and most did not.

Wrong.
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/About/09.htm

If you can prove descent through the male line, you can claim arms in england, at least according to the governing body for arms in england.

 

[MisterCairo]

Why in heaven's name would anyone in this day and age give a tinker's damn about so-called "family" coats of arms or crests, other than as an historic curiosity? There are 55 million ethnic Britons today in the UK, hundreds of millions more in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Caribbean, etc. We all come descended from some family, which may or may not have been the one creating a crest.

WHO CARES?!

 

[LordBest]

Because to a lot of people they are more than just a historic curiosity, they are a link to their family history. I view it as something akin to a national flag, to some people it is just an image on a piece of cloth, to others it is a physical embodiment of their nation and its ideals. One will often have trouble comprehending the others position.

Why in heaven's name would anyone in this day and age give a tinker's damn about so-called "family" coats of arms or crests, other than as an historic curiosity? There are 55 million ethnic Britons today in the UK, hundreds of millions more in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Caribbean, etc. We all come descended from some family, which may or may not have been the one creating a crest.

WHO CARES?!