Legitimate direct male heir. One of these does not apply to me- and it's not my own gender...

On the other hand, I have a number of heraldic items relating to another set of arms. They belonged to a father and son. The son was related to my grandfather a couple of different ways* and he bequeathed his entire estate to my grandfather. While I do not have their surname, either, I reckon the male line ended with the son's death in 1954. I have very little information about the father's other surnamed male relatives, but I strongly suspect the son's estate plan reflected a lack of other male heirs. I do not really believe I have a claim to those arms (either) but I did wear the ring and use them on writing paper from time to time, confident that no one will assert a superior claim. Of course, there is a good chance that the father merely adopted the arms himself. I have never seen anything to indicate a proper grant or matriculation.


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CDMQ9QEwBA




*Because of a cousin marriage, the father and my great grandfather were both first and second cousins. They in turn married half sisters, making the son and my grandfather first, second, and third cousins. When the son disappeared and was presumed lost ( this is the absolute truth) he left a will bequeathing his entire estate to my grandfather- with one exception. He noted that an article of jewelry was on deposit at Birks and that they had instructions as to how to dispose of it. My grandfather wrote to them asking about it and they replied only that they had followed his instructions. No further information was forthcoming.