Until the establishment of the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 1988 any legally registered heraldic devices (aka "Coats of Arms") were granted umder the of either the authority of the College of Arms, London or The Court of The Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. For many years it was fashionable to include a coat of arms / crest / shield / banner in the family history - even though to be valid you must prove a line of descent from the person to whom the Original Grant was given. Technically the Grant of Arms belongs only to the person it was granted to ... every time that others members of the family came to use it, it was "differenced" in some way - according to the rules of "cadency". Having said all this, one of the Heralds at The Heralic Authroity of Canada should be able to help you trace the origins of the illustration that you have. This may or may not be a free service - I do not know. Cheers! J. Brian Gilchrist gilchrists@idirect.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Webmail loisann" <loisann@burgoyne.com> To: <ONTARIO@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 7:49 AM Subject: [ONTARIO] Coats of Arms > Does anyone know what the process was (if any) for granting Coats of Arms > to individuals living in Canada? I have a little book about my immigrant > ancestor Alexander McGregor, (born 1805 in Scotland, immigrated to Ontario > in 1842, immigrated to USA in 1869, died Detroit in 1888). There is a > family crest on the front page of this book and I am searching for its > history and meaning. I have searched for Coats of Arms at ScotlandsPeople, > but have yet to find a definite connection. Thanks for any suggestions > you might have. > > Lois Ann Garlitz in Utah > > *********** > Ten People All Genealogists Should Follow On Twitter: > http://www.geneabloggers.com/ten-people-genealogists-follow-twitter/ > > Search Ontario Genealogy & Resources at > http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ONTARIO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >