Hi, Barbara <toomanycrafts@verizon.net> wrote: >I love your responses Fred! Always >knowledgeable, sometimes, to me, > comical, "given a choice between a war cry and a > coat of arms proclaiming > "I'm the guy who fights on even when his bowels > are hanging out," or "I > like sausages!", I know which one strikes me as > more credible ;-)" No smile > this morning, I actually laughed out loud! I have to admit, I chuckled over that one myself. I wanted to make clear it wasn't meant to be taken too seriously -- I wasn't scolding anyone, just making a point that is worth keeping in mind. You have to remember, these nobles and their coats of arms were fairly butch. > I wonder if my family has a coat of > arms..............where can I check? Well, there is no one central clearinghouse for this kind of info. Often, though, a Google search will work if you search for the surname and add the word "herbu," which is Polish for "of coat of arms." Searching with "herb" doesn't work so well because then you get guys with that surname and the nickname "Herb," for "Herbert." But _herbu_ tends to give preference to Polish pages that mention "X herbu Y," family with surname X of coat of arms Y. So that's one option. A search for "Polskie herby," "Polish coats of arms," also brings up a lot of pages that list various coats of arms and the families that bore them. So you can go to those pages and search for a specific name. Please, while you're at it, read my comments under "Nobility & Coats of Arms" on this page of my Web site: http://www.fredhoff.com/polonicae.htm There are words of wisdom there, for those who have the sense to read and understand them.... Good luck! Fred Hoffman

Hi Fred, Thank you for the information, and for your web site, again it was very interesting. I read the article and towards the end I read " I've never understood why anyone cares whether their ancestors were noble; so I'm not going to criticize you." I thought about that for a few seconds but did a quick search for my family name, then I thought, I never thought about this before so why think of it now , so I quit. I don't need a crest or coat of arms to tell me about my family, I'm proud of them, and proud to be Polish. I have birth and marriage records back to 1760 from their tiny village, their deaths records here in the US and tons of information in between. They were poor farmers, coal miners and railroad workers.................if there could be a coat of arms for my family it would state "adventurous, loving, brave, and sacrificing", and believing that, that's good enough for me. Now to get it all my findings in order I will be happy. Thank you again ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred Hoffman" <wmfhoffman@sbcglobal.net> To: <poland-roots@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 6:43 PM Subject: Re: [POLAND] Jelita > Hi, > > Barbara <toomanycrafts@verizon.net> wrote: > >>I love your responses Fred! Always >>knowledgeable, sometimes, to me, >> comical, "given a choice between a war cry and a >> coat of arms proclaiming >> "I'm the guy who fights on even when his bowels >> are hanging out," or "I >> like sausages!", I know which one strikes me as >> more credible ;-)" No smile >> this morning, I actually laughed out loud! > > I have to admit, I chuckled over that one myself. > I wanted to make clear it wasn't meant to be taken > too seriously -- I wasn't scolding anyone, just > making a point that is worth keeping in mind. You > have to remember, these nobles and their coats of > arms were fairly butch. > >> I wonder if my family has a coat of >> arms..............where can I check? > > Well, there is no one central clearinghouse for > this kind of info. Often, though, a Google search > will work if you search for the surname and add > the word "herbu," which is Polish for "of coat of > arms." Searching with "herb" doesn't work so well > because then you get guys with that surname and > the nickname "Herb," for "Herbert." But _herbu_ > tends to give preference to Polish pages that > mention "X herbu Y," family with surname X of coat > of arms Y. So that's one option. > > A search for "Polskie herby," "Polish coats of > arms," also brings up a lot of pages that list > various coats of arms and the families that bore > them. So you can go to those pages and search for > a specific name. > > Please, while you're at it, read my comments under > "Nobility & Coats of Arms" on this page of my Web > site: > > http://www.fredhoff.com/polonicae.htm > > There are words of wisdom there, for those who > have the sense to read and understand them.... > > Good luck! > > Fred Hoffman > > ********************************* > Need to contact the list manager? Write to Marie at > Poland-Roots-admin@rootsweb.com > ---------------------------------- > Discussion of Polish food, culture, and customs are welcome on the list as > long as the discussion stays pertinent to the topic of this list: > researching our Polish roots. > ---------------------------------- > Browse the list's archives here: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=poland-roots > Search the list's archives here: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search?aop=1 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > POLAND-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I agree that it doesn't make a lot of difference. My family on both sides have been farmers for as far back as I can trace them, which I consider the "noble-est" occupation of all. <big grin> Gene Eugene M. Wiese 838 Linlawn Drive Wabash, IN 46992-3903 emwiese1@comcast.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barbara" <toomanycrafts@verizon.net> To: <poland-roots@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:08 PM Subject: Re: [POLAND] Jelita > Hi Fred, > Thank you for the information, and for your web site, again it was very > interesting. I read the article and towards the end I read " I've never > understood why anyone cares whether their ancestors were noble; so I'm not > going to criticize you." I thought about that for a few seconds but did a > quick search for my family name, then I thought, I never thought about > this > before so why think of it now , so I quit. I don't need a crest or coat > of > arms to tell me about my family, I'm proud of them, and proud to be > Polish. I have birth and marriage records back to 1760 from their tiny > village, their deaths records here in the US and tons of information in > between. They were poor farmers, coal miners and railroad > workers.................if there could be a coat of arms for my family it > would state "adventurous, loving, brave, and sacrificing", and believing > that, that's good enough for me. > Now to get it all my findings in order I will be happy. > Thank you again > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Fred Hoffman" <wmfhoffman@sbcglobal.net> > To: <poland-roots@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 6:43 PM > Subject: Re: [POLAND] Jelita > > Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 269.23.21/1456 - Release Date: 5/20/2008 6:45 AM