Whats my coat of arms or family crest?

Question

Hello, my last name is Winters. i have been looking for a long time for my family crest or coat of arms but have been unsuccessful. the sites that have showed me A crest seem fake. the 3 sites that have shown me a crest, all of them are different. some of the things they have in common are a gold and black chess board, and a deer on top. everything else are different colors. the first two sites have the same rosery but with dif colors. The third site, i looked at different familys coat of arms and all the family have the same design except different colors so i think these are rip offs.
http://www.4crests.com/wicoofarwifa11.html
www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.c/qx/winter-coat-arms.htm
http://www.irishfamilycoatsofarms.com/wcoatsofarms.html

Answer 1

Coats of Arms

Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a catch-all "coat of arms" for a surname. BUT, you will find literally hundreds of web sites on the Internet that will tell you otherwise. In actuality, "coats of arms" are usually granted only to a single person ... and NOT to an entire family or to a particular surname. Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee. So, you will know if you inherited a "coat of arms" ... because if you did, you'll already have it! The caveat to this paragraph is that "rules" and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. So, be certain to research the heraldry traditions of your ancestor's home country.



There are many links to articles about Coats of Arms and heraldry, at Kimberly Powell's About.com genealogy site.



A newsgroup devoted to heraldry has posted some very good explanations regarding a coat of arms and family crests. It explains what they can mean, and it even discusses software available for heraldic studies.



Legitimate Arms

If you'd like to read more about true coats of arms then these websites are good places to start:

• The Baronage Press

• American College Of Heraldry

• Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies



Arms for Entertainment or Decoration

If, for the sole purpose of fun and entertainment, you still want to see some coats of arms associated (loosely) with your surname, then you can read through the below linked websites. Some of them have free "coats of arms" images. Bear in mind, though, that for most all of us, viewing these coats of arms, or buying mugs, t-shirts or plaques bearing these images is really just for fun or decoration.

• Free Coat of Arms

• Free Coat of Arms Search (Extensive Site!)

• Coats of Arms Designs of Wonder

• Coats of Arms on the Internet

• Fleur-de-Lis Designs

http://www.progenealogists.com/coatofarms.html



The family crest is typically a figure and generally a beast of some kind. It can be found "atop the helmet placed above the shield." Traditionally the crest has been used primarily by men. However, some queens of England of Britain have been treated with crests. In the early history of the family crest, its issuance was usually confined to people of rank, but later the crest was included in nearly every grant of arms.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as a “Family Crest”. The coat of arms which the crest is part of is presented to an individual for services rendered to the monarch. When one was knighted they were awarded a coat of arms, a title and rewarded with land and financial reward. In most cases, the title, and the coat of arms attached to and can only be passed to the oldest living son or in some cases Grandson. Also the monarch could revoke a title and take back all that went with it at any time. Take a look at King Henry VIII and what he did to titled families. Daniel Boone didn't have a Crest, he was never knighted.

Answer 3

There's no such thing as a coat of arms or family crest for a certain last name (surname). Anyone who is trying to sell you them is trying to make a quick buck of you...When people used to adopt family crests in the past, it would not be uncommon for brothers to have different family crests. There is no set rule or anything like that...If you research your genealogy and you find out that your great great great great great Paul Winters was an aristocratic noble in Manchester, England, there is a place where you can go to see IF he adopted a family crest...If you find the family crest that he "claimed" back in his time and YOU can prove that you are a direct descendant of the man, then that would be YOUR family crest. Different countries had different regulations for family crests and coats of arms, but I would consider an ancestor's family crest my own if I was able to locate one.

Answer 4

*All* sites promising to find "your coat of arms/crest" are fakes. Anybody here who sends you a link or email about "your coat of arms" is also a fake.



The only way to find out whether you are entitled to a coat of arms (and the odds are that you aren't) is to research your ancestry until you find someone who was granted one, and prove that you are the senior legitimate male descendant of that person. If you can't do that, you have no coat of arms.

Answer 5

there is NO such thing as a family coat of arms - if the House of Names tells you there is - then the House of Names is a LIAR



you can only have a family coat of arms of a direct ancestor of yours (and you have proof of direct descent) was granted a crest and coat of arms -



Apprently and you can only claim an ancestors coat of arms if you are direct MALE descent - with no female interruption.



there can be 5 coats of arms granted to 5 members of the same family and their (male) ancestors can only claim the arms that belongs to their direct ancestor.

Answer 6

The surname product business is a scam. There has been an ad running now and then on TV for a company selling framed surname histories which is somewhat shady as not everyone with the same surname will have the same family history. When surnames were assigned or taken in Europe during the last millennium, it wasn't impossible for legitimate sons of the same man to wind up with a different surname and still each could have shared his surname with others with no known relationship. The man in the ad states "a" coat of arms will be on it, not "your" coat of arms. You see on TV the FCC can slap a company hard for fraudulent advertising. The FCC has no control over the internet or some merchant in an airport or your local shopping mall.



In British countries they are granted by a specific heraldry authority. In continental countries they are assumed by individuals. Actually there is no such thing as a family crest. A crest is part of a coat of arms. Coats of arms usually belong to individuals only not families.



The term family crest no doubt came into being when a man was granted or he assumed or inherited a coat of arms, he frequently put the crest portion of his coat of arms on the family's silver and napkins. Still in the long run the coat of arms was his not his family's.



Frequently more than one man with the same surname, not all necessarily related, were each granted their own coat of arms, all different. No one peddler who sells them will have all of them. They don't need to in order to sell to suckers. The only time they will have more than one associated with the same surname is if more than one man with the same surname from different national origins were granted a coat of arms. Then they will have one of each and there might have been 50 others. Still most men with that same surname are not entitled to a coat of arms at all as they do not have any direct male line descendant that was ever granted or assumed a coat of arms.



In the U.S. we have no laws regarding heraldry and a person is free to display any coat of arms they wish, but to do so without documented proof that they are entitled to it is considered usurpation of another's identity. A person with pride in themselves will not want to take on another's identity.



Whenever you go into someone's home and see one of those walnut plaques with a coat of arms mounted on it over their fireplace or on their den wall, just smile to yourself. Very likely they really think it belongs to them and it would be rude to laugh at people in their own homes about things like that.



In England when a man was/is granted a coat of arms all sons obtained one with some differences called cadence marks. Only the oldest son inherits his father's upon his father's death.



In Scotland a person can have criminal charges filed against them for displaying a coat of arms without documented proof that it belongs to them.



This is what Ancestry.Com states about the name Winters



English and German: patronymic from Winter.



Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4



If your Winters is German, we have had one poster on this board states you have a good chance of having an ancestor that assumed a coat of arms. She stated a man who was a craftsman or tradesman usually had his own designed and made as a way to identify his business. However, you would have to trace your ancestry back to the the man that assumed one.

Answer 7

Try this free website.



http://www.cyndislist.com