Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-05
Overrun With Americans Who Are
Looking for Crests.
FOR NOTE PAPER AND CARRIAGES
A Quaint Old Building and Gu
rious Business.
THE STUDY OF ANCESTRY
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.


States must be displaying by this time
some outward and visible sign of descent
from an English ancestor who was en-
titled to 'bear arms"
vi course any man whose wife concludes
that her note paper would look better with
a crest on 1t has only to go to the stationer
and order some nice little thing in that
line. have it stamped-and there he Is. But
II appears that there is extraordinary
number of citizens who believe they had
real ancestors in England who sported
| real coats of arms, and the descendants
want the official authority of England
signed, sealed and delivered to them to
show they have a right to use these to-
kens of aristocratic blood Although the
College of Heralds is a quiet institution
| which not one person in 10000, even in
| London could find without consulting a
directory, our ambitious fellow citizens
| have discovered it somehow, and their
| correspondence has increased until today
| the United States.
Usually the preliminary step for the
American who believes his ancestors are
especially worth cultivating is to consult
Burke's Peerage and it seemed likely that
| information on the American rush for
| noble grandfathers could be had at the
London offices of this solemn book Of ref
| erence One might suppose that the actual
Burke belonged to some generation of
| long ago, and 1t was rather a surprise to
| find real fesh-andblood Burke-A. ].
| Burke-sitting in the sanctum in Pail Mall.
Burke Busy With Applicants.
| II am acting all the time he said, Sin
| behalf of people in America who wish per-
| mission to use family arms, and 1 know
that the College of Arms is constantly in
| vestigatng the representations of many
more and that the number of applications
| is increasing to a really surprising extent
At first l always felt more or less chary
| of these cases. but it has become a rare
| thing when one of my correspondents has
not solid foundation for his claims. OF
course nearly all our applicants are per-
sons of means-one doesn't look up arms
| for his carriage door If he hasn't any car
| rlage-and naturally most of the clients
| are southerners.'
| Just what entities an American citizen
to use the arms of an English famiy?'
| ''Well, of course. an American citizen. be-
| Ing an alien, could receive what we call an
original grant of arms, that Is, have a
| crest got up for his as is done when an
Englishman receives a title or certain rank.
| but heraldry Is international, and any
American who can trace his male descent
| from family possessing coat of arms
| will receive permission to use 1t if he
makes formal application. To show you
| how many are doing SO, l will simply say
that I am now receiving more applications
| from the United States than from England.
| And to use arms. it is not always essential
| that the family from which one is descend
| ed be a noble one, for many Of the oldest
families in England had no title whatever.
| Coats Of arms were originally used simply
| to distinguish their owner when in armor
| on the battlefield"
A Quaint Old Building.
| A visit to the College Of Arms down in
Queen Victoria street. not far from the
Bank of England, proved well worth while
| in this connection. The college" is a sort
| of honorable committee which dates back
almost to William the Conqueror. and in
whose hands is the power of granting per-
| mission for the use Of coats Of arms and
| other insignia of lineage.
| The building itself is an especially inter-
| esting old place. One comes upon it unex-
pectedly, for the old building, which dates
| back to 1852, stands in the middle Of Il
block of especially modern structures. most
of them the London offices of manufacture
ing houses. You go back 200 years you
enter the paved courtyard and look up at
the windows Of the place, each bearing a
| coat Of arms.
| Mounting the steps you can look through
the window into the court room, the oldest
| and most interesting apartment in the
| whole building. This is the old court of
| honor, where cases involving questions of
| heraldry were formerly tried The queer
est thing about it is that it has not been
| used for $50 years-yet is swept, busted and
| put III OrOer every just as IL the
earl marshal were sitting there daily to
hear the cases Of aggrieved knights and
earls and barons. The furniture of the
| court consists Of long oaken benches and a
| great throne Of state. From the walls hang
| banners that were used at the coronation
| Of King George w. There many oil
paintings, as well as coats of arms, among
them those Of Charles II, and some an
tique helmets.
One reason for the care that is taken OF
this now deserted chamber is that some
day suddenly it will be used again. That
will be when Queen Vietoria's successor
mounts the throne Many leaseholds will
| be quashed by that event and all the bust
ness Of settling them will have to be done
| in this long unused room.
Lives on It's Fees.
The rest Of this building is given up to
| offices in which the tracings of ancestries
and other matters are carried on in bust
nessike way. All the officials retain their
historic titles and have the richest sort of
robes of Office to wear on great occasions,
such as a coronation or a royal funeral.
These officials are not on salary, but divide
the fees of the college between them after
turning a certain portion over to the crown.
| No public statement of the affairs of the
college is ever made. Its official head is the
Duke Of Norfolk. who holds the rank OF
Earl Marshal and has the oldest title of
any English duke.
The college stands on the ancient site of
the house of the Earl or Derby, who was
disgraced In Queen Marys reign. The first
| college was destroyed by the great fire,
which could be seen approaching for fort
night before it reached the building. At
| this time a chain Of men was formed from
the college to st. Paufs CathedraHabout a
quarter. Of a mile-and the priceless records
| Of the English nobility passed from hand
to hand until finally they were deposited
in the old crypt Of the cathedral without
one being lost.
How to Get an Omcial Crest.
| According to one Of the "pursuivants" at
| the college, the American who feels pretty
sure of his family tree and Of his title to
a crest on his notepaper, and arms on his
carriage door and his silver, can get the
official permission without much difficulty.
He should write to the college. whose adj
dress Is simply Queen Victoria street, Lon
DON" He should address one of the Off
GERS, of whom there are thirteen, three
| kings of arms, six heralds and four ''pur-
suivants,' any one Of which reverend COM
| pany will take the matter up. If possible
| the applicant should tell what arms he be-
lieves himself entitled to use. but, at any
rate he should state who founded his fam
| lily on American soil, and give as much of
| his subsequent pedigree as he can. Usually
he can give good deal, for general
thing the scions of the old English stock in
America have their ancestors well In hand.
In reply to his letter. the American appli-