Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society facts for kids
The coat of arms of the Committee.
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| Founded | 1864 |
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| Type | Heraldry society |
| Location | |
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Area served
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United States |
| Services | Heraldic registration and recording |
| Fields | Heraldry |
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Chairman
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Ryan J. Woods |
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Parent organization
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New England Historic Genealogical Society |
The Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society is a special group that helps keep track of heraldry. Heraldry is the study of coats of arms and family symbols. This Committee was started way back in 1864. It is the oldest group in the world that isn't part of a government and focuses mainly on heraldry.
Contents
What Does the Committee Do?
The Committee on Heraldry was given an important job on February 3, 1864. Their main goal was to gather and protect information about heraldry. They also handle everything else related to coats of arms for the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
The Roll of Arms
The Committee on Heraldry has a special book called the Roll of Arms. This book lists and checks coats of arms that were used a long time ago. These are coats of arms that belonged to early American colonists or people who moved to the United States. They also include arms granted to people living in colonial times.
What is in the Roll of Arms?
Only historic coats of arms from before the year 1900 are put into this Roll of Arms. The committee publishes this roll in small books called parts. The first part came out in 1928. Each part also appears in a magazine called The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
When the committee publishes the Roll of Arms, they usually show only the main shield part of the coat of arms. This shield is called an escutcheon. However, the text in the Roll of Arms talks about the full design of the coat of arms. This full design is known as the full achievement.
In 2013, the Committee on Heraldry put all the Roll of Arms entries into one big book. This book included entries 1 through 741. Henry L. P. Beckwith, who was the committee's secretary, edited this book. He also added a history and notes to it.
How to Register Arms
You don't have to own a coat of arms to ask the committee to record it. Sometimes, people who study family history (genealogists) or others will ask to register arms. They do this even if the arms are not from their own family. They just want to make sure these historic arms are officially recorded with the committee.
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The first entry in the Roll of Arms. This is the coat of arms of John Washington, who was the great-grandfather of George Washington.
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The second entry in the Roll of Arms. This is the coat of arms of Samuel Appleton (1625-1696). He was an ancestor of Samuel Appleton.
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The thirtieth entry in the Roll of Arms. This is the coat of arms of Percival Lowell. He was from the famous Boston Brahmin Lowell family.
Recording Newer Coats of Arms
Since 1933, the Committee on Heraldry has also recorded coats of arms that cannot be put into the main Roll of Arms.
Assumed Arms
The committee started recording "assumed arms" in 1933. These are coats of arms that people created and used themselves. They were used in colonial times or more recently. These arms were not officially approved by a government heraldic authority.
Modern Grants
In 1972, the committee stopped putting arms granted in the 20th century into their Roll of Arms. These were arms given to Americans by foreign heraldic authorities. Now, these newer grants are recorded separately by the committee.
History of the Committee
The reports the committee made in 1899 and 1914 are very important. People consider them key documents in the history of United States Heraldry.
See also
- United States heraldry
- Heraldry societies
- The Heraldry Society
- Heraldry Society of Scotland
- Royal Heraldry Society of Canada
- Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Office
- International Register of Arms
