I think I’ve been watching too many historical dramas lately because I’m really into heraldry all the sudden. I was a chump and thought the .com “here’s your ancestral coat of arms” was legit until I did some cursory looking into it. As it turns out you probably don’t have the right to the coat of arms that you think is part of your family. It may have been associated to someone with your last name, but you probably don’t have a right to it’s use. So, as the story goes, just make one yourself.

Being from the USA, we really don’t have any forms of official heraldic registry with the government, which countries like Scotland and England do. There are a couple of bodies that register coat of arms and I stumbled on the U.S. Heraldic Registry and thought I would see about registering my design and making it more “official”. Here is what I cooked up:

With any luck, the symbolism make sense. I think the religious symbols speak for themselves, being the Sacred Heart of our Lord, and the Wounded Heart of Mary. Three Maltese crosses for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Eagle is a nod to both Beth and my German surnames, but I’ve transformed it from the German black eagle to the bald eagle, being proud, born/native US citizens. The crest is a pair of gillyflowers/carnations which represent hope and joy, which sometimes feels like all you can hope for in a troubled world. The colors were chosen as: White – Peace/Purity, Blue – Loyalty/Mother of God, and Gold – Bounty.

I haven’t added a motto yet but I think I like – Fides et Opera (Faith and Works)

[c] [y] Candidly Us