Presentations
The following list contains the titles of many of our presentations,
along with a brief synopsis of the topic being presented for each one. If
you would be interested in having one or more of these illustrated
lectures presented to your organization, please contact us (see contact
information here).
Don't see a presentation here that matches your particular interests?
Please feel free to contact us (see contact information here)
and tell us. We regularly create or tailor presentations to meet the
specific interests of a group.
An Introduction to Heraldry for
Genealogists
"At the outset there is a curious fact in the relationship between the two
subjects [of heraldry and genealogy]. While students of Heraldry do take
to Genealogy and acquire a considerable knowledge of it, those who begin
as genealogists seldom if ever take any interest in Heraldry. This is most
unfortunate because the two subjects are necessarily connected." (L.G.
Pine, Heraldry and Genealogy, p. 145) Encounter this connection between
genealogy and heraldry (coats of arms), and find out how heraldry can
become "the genealogist's most colorful tool" even when it's in black and
white. We will briefly review the history of heraldry from its earliest
days until now, learn the various parts of an heraldic "achievement" and
what clues they may hold for genealogists, discover ways to identify coats
of arms, and find ways to use heraldry yourself. We will also explain two
common misconceptions about heraldry.
The Heralds Visitations, an Often
Overlooked Genealogical Resource
"No genealogist whose interests lie in sixteenth and seventeenth century
England can afford to neglect visitation pedigrees. Used with discretion,
they are an indispensable section of the genealogist's library." (G.D.
Squibb, Visitation Pedigrees and the Genealogist, p. 25) The
heralds visitations of England recorded not only who could bear certain
titles of rank and coats of arms (and some who couldn't), but also family
lineages. Learn about the heralds visitations, when and why they took
place, their methods, the genealogical and heraldic information they may
contain, and most importantly, where the published visitations, their
indexes and related records can be found.
One Approach to Publishing Your Family
History
We know it’s important: preserving and sharing not just the names and
dates, but the stories of and events in the lives of the people in our
family trees. But it is such a daunting task that too many times it never
even gets started. How do you begin? What do you write? What about
pictures or other items? How do you print and publish? This presentation
discusses one successful approach to writing and sharing these stories, as
well reviewing the printing and binding options that can fit any budget.
Finding Your New England Ancestors
Genealogical research in the six states of New England states (Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) can
sometimes appear easier to do than in some other regions in the United
States: "These people killed themselves to make sure there was a paper
trail." (Michael Comeaux, Assistant Archivist, Massachusetts State
Archives) But that strength, the many different records available, can
also make genealogical research in New England challenging, because it can
take a lot of hunting to locate all the records that may relate to New
England ancestors. Learn about some of the peculiarities of genealogical
research in New England, and discover many of the most useful places to
start looking for genealogical information there.
In Their Footsteps: The Genealogical
Tourist
Genealogical tourism is on the rise. What is it? Why is it becoming
increasingly popular? Should you consider becoming a genealogical tourist?
Discover the answers to these questions, learn some of the national and
regional resources now available to the genealogical tourist, find out
what to consider in planning, preparing, and packing for such a trip, and
hear some practical advice (some learned the hard way). Most important,
though, see what you might expect to gain personally from “walking in the
footsteps” of your ancestors.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
in American Heraldry, From Aldrich to Zerwas
Fantastic beasts - dragons, griffins, and many more - have been used in
heraldry for centuries. Discover American coats of arms and crests which
have used these and other fantastical creatures throughout the history of
the United States.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
in Canadian Heraldry, From Acheson to Zobrist
Fantastic beasts - dragons, griffins, and even more - have been used in
heraldry for centuries. Discover Canadian coats of arms, crests, and
badges which incorporate these and other fantastical creatures in grants
by the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
Blazon, the Language of Heraldry
"Gules a bend engrailed or." Wait! Or what? The specialized language of
heraldry, while seemingly cryptic, is really a remarkably concise way of
describing coats of arms without requiring a picture. This presentation
will help to make the technical jargon, called "blazon," with its unusual
words and specialized grammar, comprehensible to the non-herald
genealogists who may encounter it in the course of their research.
Coats of Arms: Meanings and Myths
Heraldry has been called "the genealogist's most colorful tool." But what
do the colors and figures in heraldry actually mean? Is red really "the
blood of a martyr"? Does a unicorn truly stand for "purity"? This
presentation will help you to discover the truth about what the colors,
lines of division, and charges or symbols on a shield may mean.
The United States of America: The search
for a national coat of arms
The coat of arms of the United States of America, the shield found on the
breast of the bald eagle on the Great Seal on the reverse of the $1 bill,
was only one of a number of designs suggested by different committees and
individuals as the young nation searched for a national emblem. This
presentation looks at the history of those committees and the evolution of
their designs into what finally became the coat of arms of the new nation.
Also presented are some of the uses to which the national coat of arms is
put today, as well as some of those government entities which incorporate
or use in modified form the U.S. arms in their own heraldic emblems.
The Gore Roll: A colonial American roll
of arms
The Gore roll is the earliest known American book of coats of arms,
depicting 99 coats of arms and dating to the early 18th Century. Created
in Boston, Massachusetts, by coach painter John Gore and his son, Samuel,
and possibly his grandson, Christopher Gore, the roll is a remarkable
record of the heraldry of individuals who lived in or passed through
pre-Revolutionary War Massachusetts. Learn about the history of the roll,
its authors and their place in Boston society, the coats of arms found in
it, and discover some of the other places where those arms may be found
even today in and about the city of Boston.
The Westford Knight: Heraldic evidence
of pre-Columbian Scots in America?
In the little town of Westford, Massachusetts, stands a stone monument
next to a rock ledge. The monument was erected in 1976 and memorializes
"Prince Henry First Sinclair of Orkney," his voyage to North America in
the year 1398, and the death of one of his party in 1399 near Prospect
Hill in Westford. The stone ledge next to the monument is said to bear an
"armorial effigy ... memorial to this knight". What is the Westford
Knight? Is it in fact a medieval effigy of a knight bearing a coat of
arms? Or is it just patterns in glacial striations? This presentation
looks at the evidence and the arguments, pro and con, about this
controversial heraldic figure.
The Boke of St. Albans: An Introduction
The Bokys of Haukyng and Huntyng; and also of coot-armuris,
popularly known as The Boke of St. Albans, published in 1486, is
a book of three treatises written to guide "gentill men and honest
persones" in the arts necessary to an English gentleman: hawking, hunting,
and heraldry. It is a seminal work as well as a glimpse into the late
medieval mindset on both heraldry and the larger world of which heraldry
was seen as a proper part. Printed only ten years after the introduction
of the printing press to the British Isles, it is the first treatise on
heraldry written in English, and had a direct influence on other heraldry
books published more than a century later. Discover the history of the
Boke of St. Albans and its author; review its heraldic sections: the Liber
Armorum (or "Book of Arms") and the blasyng of armys; and
learn its place in history.