Does anybody have picture of the hicks family crest/coat of arms?

Question

family tree

Answer 1

I'm not sure but I do think that this is what you are looking for.  Good luck!

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/h/hicks-f...

Answer 2

Hicks

Blazon: Gules a fesse wavy between three Fleurs-de-lis or.

[three gold trefoils or fleur-de-lis on a red field seperated by a wavey gold center]

Crest: A buck's head or, gorged with a chaplet of cinquefoils of the last leaved vert.

[A gold buck's head surrounded by a wreath of green leaves and 5 petal blue or gold flowers]

Motto: (French)Tout bien ou rien.( Very good or nothing) or Tout en bonne heure. (All in good time) sometimes: Donner et pardonner. (To give and forgive)

Here is a link to a large image you can view use and print for free. I drew it with the Blazons computer program. http://rushings.info/images/hicks_1.jpg

Combs

Blazon: Gules a saltire engr. voided ar.

[ a red x cross embossed with no color]

Crest: A dexter hand holding up an escutcheon.

[ a right hand holding a shield]

Motto: none recorded

Steel/Steele: Great Britain

Blazon: Argent a bend chequy sable and ermine between two lions heads erased gules a chief azure.

Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or, a demi ostrich, wings endorsed gules. Some people were granted arms with a demi eagle without a dukes crown, instead of an ostrich in the crest.

Motto: Siempre Fidelis ; Latin: always faithful. others Steel family mottos vary with some not recorded.

In Ireland the achievement varies between different Steel families, as does the crest and motto.

The crest is the part of the arms achievement just above the helmet. Crests were made into jewelry and seals for wax sealing they were also engraved into flatware and glazed on china and passed from generation to generation. The full arms were carved in leather and wood, many old churches in England have the arms of the benefactors, who donated enough money, carved into the wood inside.

In America there are no laws governing what coat of arms we show or laws about which colors of plaid we can wear. I can see no crime in proudly displaying an ancient piece of artwork associated with our own surname.

If we went strictly by heraldic laws we would have to apply to the Lyon Office or college of arms to approve the colors of plaid in our skirts and horse blankets.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as a family crest.

A crest is part of a coat of arms. Coats of Arms do not belong to surnames.  They were and are granted to individuals and are passed down through the direct male line of descent.

Actually, there might have been, for instance, 15 different men named Hicks, not all necessarily related, that were each granted their own coat of arms.  Descendants of snake oil salesmen that peddle them on the internet, at airports, at shopping malls, in magazines and solicit by mail will not have all 15, no way.  The only time they will have more than one is if more than one man with the same surname from different national origins were granted a coat of arms.  Then they will have one of each when there might have been several of each.  House of Names and All Family Crests just want to sell you something.

House of Names has the following in fine print:

"We encourage you to study the Hicks genealogy to find out if you descend from someone who bore a particular "family crest."  . . . . . . . .No families, not even royal houses, can make sound claim to the right to bear arms unless a proven connection is established through attested genealogical records."

I put "family crest" in parentheses as it is used as a misnomer for a coat of arms.

Now, if this is a school assignment, go ahead and print off any you find.  However, also print off the 2 links I am furnishing you and give them to your teacher.  One is from the British College of Arms.

They grant coats of arms and are the ultimate authority on them. Certainly their authority is greater than a website that is selling walnut plaques, key chains, coffee mugs and T shirts.

The other link is from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the U.S., The National Genealogical Society.

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Faq.ht...

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...

Now you might have more than one in your family tree. That doesn't mean you are entitled to any one of them.  It just means after doing research and finding various ancestors that were granted coats of arms, it is quite valid for you to put pictures of  your ancestors' coats of arms in any book you have printed or even published on your family tree.  

However, it would not be valid for you to put in your book those that were granted to someone who just happened to have the same surnames as your ancestors.

If you are an American and you have any English lines that goes back to early colonial days in the American South, your chances of finding several are very good.  Actually some in the South have the ones their ancestor brought over from England 300-400 years ago. They aren't those dinky little walnut plaques either.  As a rule, they don't display them.  Afterall, they can't buy groceries with them and you know something else.

Walmart won't even take them.

Now if you are a student and I apologize if you aren't. I am stating this because we have a lot of students with assignment like this.  However, if you are, let me tell you probably what your parents would.  Anytime you go into someone's home and see one of those plaques with a coat of arms on it and a surname underneath hanging on their den wall or over their fireplace, it would be very rude to laugh at them or making some ridiculing comment.

This should also make you understand if you had one of those plaques in your home, or a key chain, coffee mug etc with a coat of arms on it, anybody who knows anything about genealogy will be amused.  They will not let you know as a matter of courtesy.

We have another gentleman on this board, named Tebs, that can give you detailed info on coats of arms.  Actually my link to the British College of Arms can give a person tremendous info.  Just click on the various tabs at the top and often there are links on the pages to which the tabs take you.

Answer 4

I’m sorry to tell you this, but YOU probably do not have a Coat of Arms.  Coat of Arms were granted to INDIVIDUALS, not assigned to surnames. Just because someone of your last name MAY have been granted one at some point does not make it yours.  Also, it may be that several men of the same surname were granted a coat of arms....each one different.....and maybe none of the men were related to each other.  Likewise, it may be that NO ONE of your surname was ever granted one.  In order for you to be able to claim any Coat of Arms you must be able to do the following:

1. research your family tree to see if you have any ancestors that were granted a Coat of Arms.

2. If you do have an ancestor who was granted one, then you can only claim it IF the following is true: The person who rightfully can claim a Coat of Arms that was granted to their ancestor is a male descendant who is the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, of the first born son, etc., all the way back to the person who was originally granted the Coat of Arms. If you do not fall in that line, then you cannot claim it.  If you do fall in that line, then chances are you are already aware you have one.

To use a Coat of Arms based on your last name is meaningless.  It is about as accurate as buying a picture frame at the store that has a piece of paper in it showing an image of a child holding a flower and claiming that is actually a picture of your child.

Answer 5

Here is an interesting article concerning the topic of fake family crests/ coats of arms.  

http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-02/moa-0...

Understand that the UK College of Arms is the legal authority on this subject.. who clearly states that there is no such thing as a "family" coat of arms.  Houseofnames, of course (who has tons of goodies for sale) claims otherwise.  Profit is a good motive.. it does not make it valid.

Educate yourself.. and I hope you will not get sucked in by garbage. At least once a day, we see people get sent to houseofnames (or other places like them).

edit-

from the above article...

*But whereas many of the bucket shop heralds do actually understand a little heraldry (not much, but some of them have read a book or perhaps even two, and they all have a copy of the notoriously unauthoritative Burke's General Armory), the computers that churn out the "Distinguished Surname" scams are utterly ignorant of history.*

Nope. No law in America against being sucked in.

Answer 6

I googled and instantly got this website:

http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.c/qx/...

The slogan says: "Tout en bon heure." (All in good Time.)



A slightly different version at:  http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx...

A somewhat different coat-of-arms is given at:

http://www.allfamilycrests.com/h/hicks-f...

The family appears to be an old one, predating the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066.  

Read what they have on the above-referenced sites and hopefully it will be a help to you.

Answer 7

You are asking for a picture of "the Hicks" family coat of arms, You must not assume that because, presumably, your name is Hicks, that you are entitled to display the coat of arms ascribed to that name. You must prove your right, by way of a fully documented line of descent from the first man that was awarded that grant of arms.

In the first instance the grant of arms was made to one individual and inherited by his descendants who alone may bear or use his arms, they were passed equally to each of his sons, each one added their own mark of cadency to those arms. The eldest son added a label – a horizontal strip with three pendant drops (during the lifetime of his father). The second son added a crescent, the third son added a five pointed star, the fourth son added a martlet, the fifth son added a annulet, the sixth a fleur de lys, the seventh a rose, the eighth a cross Moline and the ninth a double quatrefoil, which were then displayed on their shields to distinguish themselves from each other and their father, the sons passed their arms, complete with their own cadences, on to their own sons, who then added a second set of cadences to distinguish themselves from each other, their father, uncles and cousins.

When a man died, his eldest son then had the right to bear his father’s arms without the differentiation marks, the eldest son’s children would then add only one set of cadency marks, instead of two, and so on down the generations, the brothers of the eldest son continued to use the arms with their own cadency marks, which were later passed to their sons in the same manner, It all got very complicated.

Daughters also inherited the right to display their father’s arms if there was no male heir, a daughter could pass her father’s arms on to her sons. Wives, widows and daughters had a courtesy right to display their husband or father’s arms, normally on a diamond lozenge.

The original achievement remained the same through the generations, enhanced by the addition of the various cadences, however, the arms of more than one family could also be included on one shield. If both the man and his wife had the right to bear arms, they could be displayed side by side, called impalement, or if mixed together to form new arms, it was called compounding. One method was quartering, where the shield was divided into quarters, then, for example, if a man had no sons, his daughter or daughters inherited his right to the coat of arms, if one such daughter married a man who also had a coat of arms, her arms could be impaled with his, or be displayed on a

small shield in the centre of her husbands arms, their sons would then seek permission of the Heralds to bear arms, with their father’s arms in two quarters and their mother’s

in the other two quarters. With time the coat of arms could include the arms of many families and became very complex.

Dating originally from before the advent of surnames, the arms were in effect a means of identification, much the same as a surname. With the establishment of surnames during the 12th. And 13th. centuries, those families who already had the right to bear arms acquired a surname to go with their arms, once surnames were established and became hereditary, new arms were granted to men with an established surname, so it can, I think, be argued as to whether or not arms are attached to a family, or the family surname.

Neither were they (or surnames) introduced by the Normans for taxation purposes. The Normans arrived in England some 100 or more years before the first heraldic arms or devices began to appear.

Heraldry in Europe developed and evolved during the 12th.and 13th. centuries (1100-1200) Heraldic arms were a personal device, possibly for military purposes, or simply a display of status or vanity, it can only be guessed at because, today, no one knows the real reason. At first, arms were displayed without authority from anyone, but gradually became controlled by the Crown, through Heralds, whereby, men who could prove their ancient use of arms by their family, were granted permission to continue displaying them. Total control finally came about in the 15th.century, when Richard III

in 1484, established what is now known as the College of Arms, it still holds the

authority to grant or withhold the use and display of arms.

A crest was normally an ornament on a helmet and it was included within the family’s achievement (coat of arms) but later became used separately, as decoration on plate and cutlery, stationery etc.

If it is possible to access a copy of Burke’s “General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales” first published in 1842, you can find out if any particular family was ever granted the right to bear arms. It is unfortunately a fact that very, very few people, other than extremely well documented lines of royalty, nobility, gentry or maybe wealthy landowners, traders or other persons of note, can prove a satisfactory link back to that period. Generally, if a family is entitled to display arms, they are most probably still aware of the fact, it is not something usually “forgotten”. Today there are two types of arms, “granted arms”, which are formally conveyed by a sovereign, state, or other body with the authority to do so, these grants have legal status under the law wherever they are recognised. And there are “assumed arms”, which can be designed and used by anyone but carry no legitimacy.

Other countries have a broadly similar history of Heraldic rules and regulatory authorities.

Sources :-

Among others.

The College of Arms

http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/About/...

And the book by T.Woodcock & J.M.Robinson

“The Oxford Guide to Heraldry”.

EXTRACT FROM THE COLLEGE OF ARMS site.

The apparently quite widespread, but new, belief that everyone has a clan, and can wear some specific tartan or display a clan badge, is quite erroneous. Only those of Scottish descent can be associated with a clan in any way. The clan system is an entirely Scottish phenomenon, and consists of a few groups of families, centred on old and historically prominent families, with other associated families (some of the same name as the principal lineage, but many not). To count as a clan, with a chief, these groups need to be recognized as such by the chief Scottish herald, the Lord Lyon King of Arms. This leads on to the second point, which is that it is Lord Lyon, and not the English College of Arms, who has authority and responsibility over matters relating to clans.