Nancy, the reason is, simply, because there is no such thing as a "WHITE family crest" or a "family crest" for any other surname, for that matter. Unless you have had your heritage researched by an arms-granting institution (such as the College or Arms in the UK: http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/ or a similar institution in any one of a number of countries) you've wasted your money. The commercial sellers of such items are charlatans, plain and simple, who prey upon the uninformed. Arms are granted not to a family, but to an individual and an individual must be armigerous in order to be granted arms. If one isn't heraldically entitled, that's an end to the matter. To display "arms" to which one is not entitled is supposititious. Regards, Peter Wyant Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada nancy Richardson wrote: >Why are there so many family crests for the Whites? I paid dearly for >one many years ago and it is not the same as I see now. >Nancy White Richardson in EL Paso TX > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WHITE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

This is the most sensible reply I have seen on any board to this issue. "Wannabee" or "newbie" genealogy researchers are the usual victims of these charlatans. NEVER order a "FAMILY CREST" from ANYONE!!! If by chance your ancestor was granted a crest and you are interested in learning what it was, you are probably looking at years of personal research to confirm the information. Then you will learn that if you want a depiction to put in your family's history, you will probably need to engage an artist to portray it for you. "One size fits all" just doesn't work. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER order a "family history" of your family surname from an advertisement you receive in the mail or email. These are generic (probably fraudulent) and after researching their information you will probably find out that nothing in it can be tied to your own family line. My married surname is a very common one and I have seen lots of this junk with our name on it. None of it has been of any value at all. Then we get to another issue. Even if you think you have tracked down the "family crest" or "family manor" there's a strong probability that your ancestor who immigrated to the New World was not a member of that family but was a tenent farmer, bound servant, etc. for that family. Just as the African slaves took the surnames of their masters, European tenant farmers often took the names of their "Lords" or whatever they were called, when it became necessary for them to take a surname. Think about it. If you were wealthy enough and powerful enough to hold a title or crest in Europe, why would you move? More likely you would live out your life in your castle or manor house on your own lands. Karen Illinois From: "P. S. Wyant" <p.wyant@sasktel.net> To: <white@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 4:28 PM Subject: Re: [WHITE] family crest > Nancy, > > the reason is, simply, because there is no such thing as a "WHITE family > crest" or a "family crest" for any other surname, for that matter. > > Unless you have had your heritage researched by an arms-granting > institution (such as the College or Arms in the UK: > http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/ or a similar institution in any one > of a number of countries) you've wasted your money. The commercial > sellers of such items are charlatans, plain and simple, who prey upon > the uninformed. > > Arms are granted not to a family, but to an individual and an individual > must be armigerous in order to be granted arms. If one isn't > heraldically entitled, that's an end to the matter. To display "arms" to > which one is not entitled is supposititious. > > Regards, > > Peter Wyant > Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

I would agree with one small exception, "If you were wealthy enough and powerful enough to hold a title or crest in Europe, why would you move? More likely you would live out your life in your castle or manor house on your own lands." Primogeniture - The eldest son usually got the lot and if there were any money left over it would be used to provide dowries for his sisters. Younger brothers had a choice of the church, the army/navy or the colonies. Were not most colonist to the Americas based on commercial enterprise as well as religious beliefs? Plus you have religious and/or ethnic pursicution and just like today people make bad investments, gamble and hope that this would give them a new start. On 13/11/06, Karen <gtskjs@mvn.net> wrote: > This is the most sensible reply I have seen on any board to this issue. > "Wannabee" or "newbie" genealogy researchers are the usual victims of > these charlatans. <SNIP> > -- > Richard Spencer