Genealogy and Heraldry

One of the things I do on a regular basis is talk to genealogical and lineage societies about the potential usefulness of heraldry in genealogical research.  It's nice to know now that I'm not the only one.

There was an article in northern Scotland's The Press and Journal on March 14 about the presentation by Charles Burnett, Ross Herald Extraordinary and a personal friend (we first met in 1996 at the International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences in Ottawa), to a meeting of the Moray Burial Ground Research Group.  He noted that heraldry on Scottish gravestones is a key tool for people researching their family history, and that "Graves with coats of arms, even if the name is unclear, can still be very useful. The coats of arms are still retraceable. It is important for people tracing their family history. They should be used as a research tool."

It was a thrill to see that Charles (recently retired as Ross Herald with the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland) is still busy with heraldry, and to see a professional herald giving the same message that I do in my lectures: that heraldry can be very useful to genealogists.

The full article (along with a photo) can be found on-line at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2177398?UserKey=