<snip for brevity>
Post by HugePost by Tim Powys-LybbePost by HugeAnyone know how I can find out to whom the crest (this may be the wrong term
and if so, apologies) belongs on the impression of a signet ring I have. It
was inherited from a grandparent and contains a slip of paper stating that
it is our family crest (and yes, I know that crests do not belong to families
but to individuals, but as the oldest son of the oldest son, it may well
be mine.)
The College of Arms kindly (and positively) responded to my enquiry (with
a manually typed letter!) but want, IIRC, £400 to look into it.
I suspect you originally attached an image to your posting.
Here you go. Bear in mind this is a contrast enhanced, black and white (the
original is bright red because it's into sealing wax), macro photo of
something that is probably 3mm across and is the result of at least a
dozen attempts to get a photo, so please don't ask for a better one!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5b403kyq4z4sb5s/AADEZx4j3YUQ1kIflKo5TrOLa?dl=0
Ass photographs of seals go, I reckon that's a good one, particularly
considering its small size. But I would be guessing if I attempted to
describe the charges on the seal. It does however look like impaled
arms, of husband and wife.
If your grandfather thought those were the arms (not crest, please) of
your forbears and you wish to know if there is any record of their
having a coat of arms and whether it might be the same as either your
image or either side of your image then the best way forward is to see
what information can be found of your grandparents.
So you will have to reveal your name and your antecedents and where you
all lived. Then those of us with the time and the odd record book can
have a look to see what heraldry might have been associated with these
families. I would reckon that six generations of the line of your
forbears would be enough to start with.
If you have already approached the College of Arms, it sounds as if your
ancestry is English. Can you confirm this as it affects where the
searches should be made?
Although it seems odd that a family should lose the knowledge of their
arms, I recently discovered that, quite unknown to him, a slightly
remote cousin was very clearly a beneficiary of a grant (more exactly
'ratified and confirmed') of arms in 1897 by the then Ulster king of
arms in Dublin. He had no idea that he had any arms let alone that he
could - should, even - display them. So it is possible that some arms
could be found for your family even if you have little idea what are the
facts.
If if no historical arms can be found of your forbears, there are people
who can help you to devise some of your own.
--
Tim Powys-Lybbe ***@powys.org
for a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org/