Regarding descendants of a bearer of arms in Scotland the following is quoted from "Finding Your Roots, by Jeane Eddy Westin, copyright 1977." Scotland. According to L. G. Pine, there are at least 50,000 spurious coats of arms in use in England today. Not so in Scotland. The system of heraldry in Scotland is probably the most simple and well governed in the world. Since 1672, the Lord Lyon (the name derived from the rampant lion on the arms of the royal line of Scotland) has had full legal control of all coats of arms. The willful use of a coat of arms not granted by the Lord Lyon can bring a jail sentence or fine today, just as it did 300 years ago. A Lyon Register that now fills some fifty volumes ensures that no person may legally use arms that have not been registered in his own name. If you are a descendant of a Scottish armiger, you can petition the Lord Lyon for a grant of your ancestor's arms. If you do not have an ancestor who was granted arms in his lifetime, you must petition to obtain a grant of arms for that ancestor. Then you can apply for the reassignment of those arms to you, if you are an heir, or another version of the arms if you are descended from a younger son. Sincerely, Patricia Laird Howard