I know a number of people on this forum have recorded their arms with the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
I sent my application to have my arms recorded in the fall of last year, and received a very kind email in response from Mr. Beckwith, the Committee’s secretary. He informed me that the Committee would be meeting in June of this year (I believe that was what he wrote, I’ve been hard pressed to dig up the email; in any case, the meeting was was no later than June of this year). I emailed Mr. Beckwith more than a month ago to inquire if my arms had indeed been recorded, but have received no response.
My question is this: is this how the Committee operates? Have those of you who have recorded your arms with them received any confirmation? Would a letter get me further than an email, or should I just be patient?
Thank you in advance for any information you can provide!
The same thing happened to me, about three years ago. If Mr. Beckwith told you your arms would be recorded at the June meeting, you can confidently assume that they were. I got nothing in writing until a belated e-mail in response to my query confirming the fact. I think Mr. Beckwith is rather elderly and doesn’t always keep up with the correspondence, but does seem to get the substantive work done very reliably. You could also give him a telephone call if you have the number. (I did, but have no idea where I put it.)
My experience was about the same. I think you should just trust that they will take care of it. My arms were recorded by them around this time last year, so you may get an email notification from Mr. Beckwith any time now, but that is all it will be. The only thing I got from the NEHGS on paper was a thank-you for my $25 "donation" to the general Society (triggered by the recording fee, which must have been deposited into their unrestricted fund). I’m pretty sure that all the recording amounts to is creating a manila folder for your application and any emblazonments you might send them. No letters patent, alas!
A couple of other times, I’ve written Mr. Beckwith for an opinion on this or that heraldic question, and he has never replied any sooner than four weeks later. Lineage societies are the same way—any sense of urgency is anathema to them, basically. I find it endearingly old-fashioned.
P.S.—I forget just how this emerged, but some language in Mr. Beckwith’s first email to me indicated that, because the NEHGSCOH is mainly a repository for data on the use of arms by Americans (rather than a granting authority), you could change your arms by filling out a new application for recording, and they would simply add the new blazon to your file with a note to the effect that the earlier design had been nullified. Not that anyone here would ever want to do that, but I found the COH’s attitude/policy refreshingly . . . American, I guess.
The phone number is at this link. But please remember the difference between a nonprofit archive and a commercial enterprise. There really is not reason to call them, since all they do is place your arms in a file cabinet. If they reject your arms, then you’ll get your check back or you’ll eventually hear something. Think in terms of months, not days.
Thanks to all for the advice and comments.
Hello All,
I am a new forum participant here.
For those of you having experience with the NEHGS’s recording of your arms, does anyone know if this organization checks arms against any pre-existing outside of their own recorded files?
In other words, does submitting an original blazon following proper rules get rejected on the basis of conflict with existing arms they have not recorded themselves?
And, should an individual seeking to record their arms with this organization instead pursue a different entity to have legitimacy and originality checked for first?
Thankyou.
- Jeff
(Please forgive my ignorance, I am rather new to the idea of actually possessing my own coat of arms as a U.S. citizen).
You guys are lucky. I never received any acknowledgement of my application to register my arms with NEHGS. All subsequent emails have gone unanswered. I sent my application in about 3 years ago!
eploy;67324 wrote:
You guys are lucky. I never received any acknowledgement of my application to register my arms with NEHGS. All subsequent emails have gone unanswered. I sent my application in about 3 years ago!
I sent mine back in September ‘08. Hopefully I’ll hear back from them before I die
It seems from all posts before, and the most recent two just tonight, that registering arms with this organization would not be the most expeditious way to go about registering arms as a first step?
Perhaps the value with this organization would be gained from having arms occur on their roll due to their prestigiousness, however, getting confirmation that your arms don’t duplicate another "high profile" individual’s or entity’s arms doesn’t seem to be a service that you can depend on quickly enough to decide whether or not you may feel justified in adopting your intended composition.
I think I’ll just start with the US Registry site (since it’s free and states on their site that arms are checked against others) for now?
- Jeff
Hey, Jeff! Welcome to our humble forum! :D You’re right to check out the USHR website. Registration is free, and documentation is easily affordable. It may not be quite as prestigeous as the NEHGS—yet—but you’ll get a much quicker response and quality prints. The best part is that it’s run by our very own Michael Swanson! :cool:
JBGarrison;67327 wrote:
I think I’ll just start with the US Registry site (since it’s free and states on their site that arms are checked against others) for now?
Here, here!!! :D
I have been hesitant to register my arms with the NEHGS because of the lack of response that I have heard reported. In addition, since their roll is not readily searchable, it seems to defeat the purpose of registering in the first place.
It has been several years since I registered my arms with the NEHGS Committee on Heraldry. If I recall correctly, in general they do not reply in any form to a registration nor are your arms recorded on a roll. Your arms are just filed away in their archives. The roll they publish contains arms used by Americans in the past; I forget the cut off data and criteria. In any case, this is a very low key operation. The value of it is that you can say you have your arms registered at yet another American location.
Welcome, Mr. Garrison! Indeed, go with USHR. It’s quick, painless, efficient…I could go on, but the "kick-backs" I get from Michael don’t warrent it! Actually, if you check out our armorial here, you will see quite a bit of Michael’s work. By all means, order an emblazonment when you register; I am very confident you will be pleased with the results. (It’s kind of like the old Rambler commercials: Should I purchase a Rambler? "Ask the man who owns one.") Enjoy!
WBHenry;67765 wrote:
Welcome, Mr. Garrison! Indeed, go with USHR. It’s quick, painless, efficient…I could go on, but the "kick-backs" I get from Michael don’t warrent it! :D Still, I can see the value of having NEHGS publishing a roll with Lib of Congress. Though, if I understand rightly, USHR logs its blazons with other parties as well.