Bogus commercial heraldry....

[sirdaniel1975]

from JerseyLawyer This sort of "bucket shop" heraldry has been around for a long time. I always roll my eyes when I see the same booth at games and festivals.

I roll my eyes as well. The thing that bothers me most at times, is when they have the longest line.

from JerseyLawyer As for why they differ, I would suspect either bad renderings, or choosing a different Williams, since all they really do is look for the last person with that surname to get arms, then slap it into their book.

I have suspected the same thing as well. If they are not using someones personal arms, they are merely altering them or fabricating their own.

I believe it is one of the "Rick Steves goes to Europe episodes: Scotland" on PBS, while in Scotland and I believe Glasgow he attends a Burns supper.
It happens to be a Williamson Manor, one of the young men wears a Gunn tartan feileadh-mor during the celebration. Perhaps one of the very few Williamson's who actually has a Coat of Arms. And I'm not referring to the young man in the belted plaid. I'm referring to his father.

from Finn I checked several of the above sites. One has the name, but with a false history (I know through family research) & completely different crest. Another has the same crest but a different name (though similiar).
Thanks, SirDaniel.

Your Welcome. I'm glad you only spent $20. Some dish out a whole lot more.

[Panache]

A very good thread. I know that this topic has come on XMTS a few times* in the years I have been here. Thanks for giving a clear example of how much trust one should put in these places.

Let the buyer beware.

Cheers

Jamie



* Everytime It makes me think of the "Knightly Murders" episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker where Kolchak visits a bucket shop.

[Arlen]

One of the big problems is that they don't seem to differentiate between things like Heraldic arms and Clan crests let alone explain mottos, war cries or bucklers. It's all just 'The picture your family uses!'
A lot of people are getting spoon-fed nonsense, but they are happy to have it and display it.

[ccga3359]

The Harmsworth has what is described a wolf cub, bear cup or a leopard on the family crest. Looks like just some big black blob that never really looked like any of the above animals. Don't know my history back further than my Grandparents, sometimes I'm curious but it won't keep me up at night.

[Finn]

Yep. I learned my lesson with the mall experience.
I know that my family were religious dissidents and came to the Colonies ca. 1720-25. That has been enough.

[george7]

Most of those websites forget to take into account different sects with the same name. The English, Scots, and Irish all had different groups that appeared throughout time with the same surname, but no relation.

[Scotus]

Most of those websites forget to take into account different sects with the same name.

It's not just that, it's the fact that there is no such thing as a "family coat of arms" as presented by these bucket shops. Arms belong to individuals, not to someone simply because they happen to bear the same name as someone who bore a coat of arms in the past.

[Nighthawk]

Most of those websites forget to take into account different sects with the same name. The English, Scots, and Irish all had different groups that appeared throughout time with the same surname, but no relation.

Exactly! Like mine- Wolfe. There is Wolff (Irish, as in Harlan & Wolff, the ship builders of Titanic), and there is the Scottish lowland/border family (my great grandfather) and the English family (as in Colonel James of Culoden 1745 distinction- only British officer who refused direct orders to shoot wounded Jacobites.) We all come from the Saxon Wuffinga tribe, but the three really aren't directly related as far as I know. However, the English Wolfe coat of arms had some really nice elements in it, so as a graphic designer myself, I took one of those elements and adapted it to a design suitable for a (very beautiful!!) A_Hay leather sporran. And I have a traditional coat of arms- as in one that is mine and mine alone.

[Coemgen]

Caveat emptor!

[H.M. Murdock]

So... if these crests are bogus, how does one go about finding one's true family crest? Much less when one's Scottish heritage is "Stewart"?