Verifying Coat of Arms

Question

Hello Everyone,

Many years ago, I did a family search and got a family Coat of Arms (COA).  Does anyone know what database/source House of Names uses for the COA they provide?  Is there a way I can independently validate this COA?  I cannot seem to find it anywhere.

https://www.houseofnames.com/Beanlands-family-crest

Thank you

Bruce Beanlands

Comments

One of the sources to look at is "Grantees of Arms" (1915) - but it has no entry for Beanlands.

https://archive.org/details/granteesofarmsna661915/page/n5/mode/2up

and Encyclopaedia Heraldica. Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry. By William Berry 1828 - nothing in Volume 2

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e_lBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP9&dq=abacorne&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5hN_m1uDpAhVOXMAKHa3kDoIQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=abacorne&f=false

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also Dictionary of British Arms. Medieval Ordinary. Volumes 1 to 4.

http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/links/herrefs.shtml

but nothing on Beanlands.

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Thank you so much for the resources and for looking. That is awesome. I will check them out.

I did not expect anything under Beanlands.  Old English spelling varied but was most often Beneland, Benelande, Benelandes or even Benland etc.  

I have found other references to different Beanlands COA as well:

1 -  Argent a tressure flory vert over all a saltier gules 

Associated with the Beanlands family in Burke, Sir Bernard (1895) A Genealogy and History of the Colonial Gentry, Vol.2 , London: Harrison & Sons, pp 414.  Unfortunately, it seems to have been born without authority and is only an assumption of the armorial bearings of my ancestors. No family relationship has yet been proven.

2 - Chequey ermine and sable, on a fesse gules, a bull's head caboshed argent, pied of the second between two garbs or.

This Coat of Arms was granted to Reverend Arthur Beanlands in 1908 by the College of Arms. According to Conrad Swan in his book entitled Canada: Symbols of Soverignty, published in 1977, Reverend Arthur was perhaps first the resident of the province of British Columbia to receive a grant of arms (Swan 1977: 185). 

Cheers

Bruce

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FOUND IT!  It was under Beanley: Or, a chevron gules, between three torteaux.  House of Names states that Beanley is one of the variations of Beanlands so I guess this is where they got if from.  Not sure how they made this link but that is research for another day...  :-)

Question answered!

Thank you for your help.

Bruce 

Answer 1

A heraldic authority, is Britain’s College of Arms

Armorial bearings are hereditary. They can be borne and used by all the descendants in the legitimate male line of the person to whom they were originally granted or confirmed. To establish a right to arms by inheritance it is necessary to prove a descent from an ancestor who is already recorded as entitled to arms in the registers of the College of Arms.

The British College of Arms offers fee-based research services to those wishing to learn about their heraldic connections. Learn more here.

Comments

Just to clarify, the College of Arms "is the official heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth including Australia and New Zealand". However, the official heraldic authority for Scotland is the Court of the Lord Lyon whose website is https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/

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Yes, Sheena, you are correct. Also, in Scotland, only one person, the current heir, may bear the arms at any one time.