Genealogy Chat

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Hi all fellow searchers and looker uppers I had a great email from a pal in the states to day, boy was he proud he had just taken delivery of his............. wait for it..............FAMILY COAT OF ARMS and he sent me a scan of it......... very nice it was too. Now we know a lot of our cousins over the pond love to find their UK ancestors and thats brill so i asked him where he got it from and the dreaded House of Names web site came to light (if you have never heard of it google and you will see what i mean) Now the reason my friend sent the scan is that he knows i have a passion for Heraldry and draw Family crests as a hobby (i know you cant use them but people like to use them as wallpaper on there computers) and he had asked me to do his family crest for him but when i looked through all my sources i couldnt find one for his family, hence what he did (House of Names web site). Now when i checked in Burks the one they sent him is a real one but belongs to a totaly different family. His last name is Penstone The one they sent belongs to the Pritchards Now how the hell do they get from Penstone to Pritchards???? Ok do i tell him the truth or not he was so pleased and proud, what do you think

Oh dear......... I probably would just be very non-committal......... Merry

Even if they had sent him the right one, it wouldn't mean anything, I suppose???? Merry

there is a phrase springing to mind here IGNORANCE IS BLISS

True Merry But its like he has done a brick wall if you know what i mean and if you knew the amount of requests i get from the states for me to draw them you would be stunned honest. But its that site and the other ones they own that pee me off you can enter any name and guess what you have a family crest its a total rip off that annoys me. Opps ranting again sorry Steve

LMAO true Jess

Steven I suppose you could say that you think they have made an error and perhaps suggest your friend goes back to them for confirmation. I just hope your friend isn't the type to 'shoot the messanger' If it was me, being a coward, I probably wouldn't say anything. Chris

They don't have one for Horsup yet! Guess as I just tried that one they'll design one pretty sharpish though. Quickly look up the census and decide it originated in Suffolk and Hey Presto..........

Lol Chris i think i am on side of the coward on this one too a mate is a mate and i dont want to burst his bubble, but i have to say its amazing how much that site makes, oh and they sell a franchise world wide for about $7000 you get all there softwear to set your own business. Janet they will have soon lol Steve

Oh thats a difficult one Steve, on the one hand, may seem hurtful to burst the bubble on the other, Id had to see someone ripped off. What if you contacted that place and said you sold someone a coat of arms that isnt correct - could you please check it out? They didnt have one for Horstead either - bet that ones on the drawing board!

Heather The people that own that site have at least 6 others, i did email them quoting Burks but guess what nowt back they dont give a damm. I wonder how many UK people have fallen for it as a test put my last name in Priestley bet you get a hit lol with all the other spellings or try smith, jones lol. I do know that my family name was granted a coat of arms but not my branch what a bugger eh i could be a duke lol Steve

Incredible how gullible people can be, isnt it?

Heather You have to belive it, its happening every day, and they boast of over 1 million names that can have a coat of arms lol yeah right, well they can as long as there softwear logs names which are entered in the search box. I have more to say but i will leave it for another day < have to get son> Have fun all tc Nite Nite

A true friend would always tell the truth, I think if you say to your friend, are you sure they sent you the correct coat of arms? only on the info i have the one they sent you is for (Pritchards) and send him the info to check for himself. If it was me although i would be p***st about it, but i would rather know the truth. real friends always tell it like it is. Roy

But even if they give him the coat of arms for his family name, it doesn't mean anything does it - if it's not to do with his branch?? Don't the heraldry people get worked up about those not entitled having headed notepaper etc??????!! Merry

Can someone tell me the background behind heraldry as I once saw a plaque many years ago with my apparent family crest on it. I think my dad owned it. How are they gained, awarded etc or had he got it made by someone who took details from him about his origins etc and made one?

Ian Coats of Arms started way back (LOL). They were intended to be worn in battle, so you knew who was who and didnt stick a javelin in a mate. I believe Royalty, Knights and Squires were entitled to them. Each Coat of Arms is specific to a PERSON, not a family. Someone from the College of Heralds can 'read' a family history from a Coat of Arms e.g, this is the Arms held by the fourth son of the Baronet Bloggs, and his mother was Mary Lady Snodgrass. I have a copy of my generic family Coat of Arms. In fact I have several copies, all of which differ slightly, according to who was entitled to bear them. I am most certainly NOT entitled to use bear or display them as they do not apply to ME, but to the people they were awarded to. The present holder of the Arms is not called Holden, and the Arms are almost completely departed from the original, having been quartered time and time again. The original, that is the oldest Coat of Arms I know about for my family, shows five Moorcocks. This is a play on the fact that the first Holden was 'Cock of the Moor' - in more ways than one!!! Yes, if it was my friend, I would certainly bring up the subject - say all puzzled that Burke's Peerage shows a different one, is he sure 'they' sent him the right one?? If he has half a brain he will quickly work out that he has been ripped off, without you rubbing his nose in it! Olde Crone

Why burst their bubble they obviously have more money than sense. These scams have been going on for years, fed by our American cousins unfortunately. Ask yourself this; would you appreciate being told you're an idiot? If the answer is no don't tell. If yes tell them in the kindest way possible with links to the relevant websites. As Old Crone says Coats of Arms are only awarded to a specific person, it does not necessarily mean anyone else of the family name have any entitlement to it.

Elisabeth, I am very happy that you are not a friend of mine, if you meen that by telling a friend the truth that you are that saying they are an idiot? Roy