Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society
Encyclopedia
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The New England Historic Genealogical Society is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. A charitable, nonprofit educational institution, NEHGS is located at 99-101 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, in an eight-story archive and research center....
, established in 1864, is the world's oldest non-governmental body primarily concerned with heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
. It authenticates and records coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
rightfully borne in the United States or by U.S. citizens living abroad, publishing historic arms in A Roll of Arms, Registered by the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The committee illustrated the published Roll of Arms with only the escutcheons or shield of arms for the registration. However, in the text of the Roll of Arms the full achievement, and other related matters are discussed.
Though it does verify and register contemporary arms (including assumed arms), generally only historic arms dating from before February 10, 1917, are published in the committee's roll of arms. The roll itself is published in pamphlets called parts, the first of which was published in 1928; but each segment of the roll also appears in an issue of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
One need not be entitled to the arms in order to apply for their registration. Genealogists
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
and others often apply to register arms having nothing to do with their own ancestry purely to put them on record with the committee.
The Committee was charged by the Council of the Society (3 February,1864)......"to collect and preserve information in regard to heraldry"....... and to otherwise deal with all matters to do with the subject for the Society.
See also
- American College of HeraldryAmerican College of HeraldryThe American College of Heraldry was founded in 1972 with the aim of aiding in the study and perpetuation of heraldry in the United States and abroad...
- American Heraldry SocietyAmerican Heraldry SocietyThe American Heraldry Society is a learned society that promotes the study of heraldry and education of U.S. citizens about heraldry. The organization also advocates the development of a distinctly American heraldic tradition and encourages the legal protection of armorial bearings in the U.S. The...
- College of Arms FoundationCollege of Arms FoundationThe College of Arms Foundation is a non-profit body whose mission is the promotion of heraldic knowledge in the United States. It was first incorporated in 1983 in the state of New York. The purpose of the original foundation was to raise funds for the College of Arms in London...
- The Heraldry SocietyThe Heraldry SocietyThe Heraldry Society is one of the leading organizations in the world devoted to studying heraldry. In 1947, a twenty year old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This title was changed to The Heraldry Society in 1950. It was incorporated in 1956 and is now a registered...
- Heraldry Society of ScotlandHeraldry Society of ScotlandThe Heraldry Society of Scotland was founded in 1977 with the objective of promoting the study of heraldry and encouraging its correct use in Scotland and overseas....
- Royal Heraldry Society of CanadaRoyal Heraldry Society of CanadaThe Royal Heraldry Society of Canada is a Canadian organization that promotes the art of Canadian Heraldry. Founded as the Heraldry Society of Canada, the mission of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada and its branches is to promote the art of heraldry, particularly Canadian heraldry, and to...
- United States Heraldic RegistryUnited States Heraldic RegistryFounded in 2005, the United States Heraldic Registry is a private, American enterprise that offers free registration of contemporary and historical heraldry.By early 2010, the USHR had compiled information for over 900 coats of arms...