I was an art teacher and had found a project one time for students to create their own coat of arms as a design. I guess that anyone could certainly make their own these days, just for a design, or to tell something, through art, about your own family. Most families are probably not going to have a coat of arms, or an official one, that is, for their ancestors. But, if there is one, way back there somewhere, that would be interesting to find. If they were well known, chances are, there is going to be more information to find about them, at least it should be easier to find. That helps the frustration level of trying to find out about ancestors, if nothing else! One thing that I try to find is pictures of homes and businesses to assosciate with each person. Of course, I also try to find pictures of the people, too. I'm trying to find one, now, of the Miles home in Lowndes county, Alabama. I know it is there as another descendant told me that they had seen it, but she died a few years back. A younger cousin went through there as they evacuated to Atlanta during Katrina. He said he stopped at the Post Office and asked, but they didn't know the family. (Of course no one would know them! They left that state just after the Civil War! He didn't know to ask at the Court house, and was only there for an afternoon. But he did find the cemetery where some of the people are buried and sent me pictures of that.) Just last night, I was helping my grandson , who is in 4th grade, do a poster as part of a research project for Social Studies. They were supposed to have done their research questions, previously, then find pictures and make a poster, then do an oral presentation in front of the class. (Of course, he waited until 30 minutes before bedtime to tell me that the poster was due today! He is a perfectionist, and he mulls things over a long time before he ever starts. He wants to have it all worked out in his head before he begins, so I have to discuss, and encourage, and work on something along side him to get him moving. Once he gets into it, the ideas flow!) He had selected George Washington for his subject. As he worked, he told me that one girl in his class said that she was related to Amelia Earhart, so that was her subject. I told him that, since he had selected George Washington, he could add that his 5th great-grandfather was at Valley Forge with George Washington. I don't have any pictures of Lewis Cookson "Old Club Axe" Davis, our ancestor, but I have a picture of his daughter and her husband. I wrote that out and printed the pictures of the couple for him. He didnt' use it, unless he added it at school. He left what I had printed at home when he took his poster this morning. Maybe he will remember and add that in his talk! I do need to organize some of these tidbits about people, somehow. Right now, I'm just writing them on bits of paper, or typing them in manuscript form on the computer, and adding pictures to go with them. I agree that there are many noble occupations that helped us all survive, and should be remembered and recognized. Those of you who have farmers in your family, or are interested in the land, and having to leave it, Google Virginia Vaughan or The Last Year on the Farm. She is a Texas artist who documented her last year on their family farm. They sold it as the city encroached. The exhibit of her paintings is on tour now, and were published in a book. She went back recently and a tv program followed her as she painted one more day on the farm. It's very poignant. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if our ancestors had documented with pictures or art work, what their daily lives were like! My great-grandfather, who was from Posen, was a cobbler. The building where he had his cobbler shop when he first came to Texas in 1867, was recently sold to a potter, and now to a man who makes chandeliers. When the potter was working on the building, they took up part of the wooden floor and, underneath, he said there was lots of leather scraps and leather shoe soles. He couldn't understand why that was under the floor, until I talked to him. How I would love to have even a piece of that leather! The potter has since bought my grandfather's dry goods store building on the corner of that block and has a pottery studio and art gallery (which we think is wonderful since we are a family of artists!) My great-grandfather's father, in Prussia, was a furniture maker. Wish I could find out more about that, and their home. I have so many pictures, with German photographers and place names on them, but I have no idea about who those people are or how they are related. I guess we will never know because they were not labeled, and I am the oldest person left in the family who can possibly identify them. (I have one older aunt left who is in a nursing home, but, after a stroke, there is a disconnect between her brain and her eyes. I'm sure that they all have interesting stories, too. I'm putting memories and art work on my blog, along with some other things too. I think that maybe I should do a separate blog on family history. Just thinking about it. (I'm one of those perfectionists, too!) I don't think that I will live long enough to ever get a book published! 8>) I did write for several newspapers, though. Cecelia in Texas >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 > > From: "Barbara" > >> 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. >> >