The Society of the Hawley Family, Inc.

established 1923

Heraldry

The Hawley Coat of Arms seen at the upper left of each of these pages, is that of

the Hawley family of Derbyshire, England according to Elias Sill Hawley in The

Hawley Record. Not an enthusiast of arms and heraldry himself, he was quoted as

saying, "At most it is not perhaps a bad trademark".

Suivez Moi

(Follow Me)

Arms:

Vert, a saltier, engrailed, argent

Crest:

A dexter arm in armour ppr., garnished or, holding in the hand

HOME

a spear, in bend sinister, point downward, ppr.

OUR HISTORY

Motto:

Suivez Moi (Follow Me in French)

ABOUT US

Properly, arms do not belong to a family or those sharing a surname. Arms are

held by individuals. As such, different members of a family may hold different

OFFICERS

arms.

MEMBERSHIP

The right to hold arms is granted or bestowed in England by the College of Arms,

under the supervision of the Earl Marshall acting in the name of the Sovereign.

BULLETINS

This position is held by the Dukes of Norfolk. The only other persons to have a right

to a coat of arms are the legimate male descendants of someone upon whom it was

GENEALOGY

granted or confirmed.

DNA GENEALOGY

Our descent, and that of Joseph Hawley (1603-1690), from the Derbyshire family that

Elias Hawley speaks of, is not yet proven. Our connection to Derbyshire that is

HAWLEY SURNAME PROJECT

confirmed by Joseph's will is that he owned "land and buildings" there.

SOME OF OUR ANCESTORS

According to the 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.

JOSEPH HAWLEY (1603-1690)

SAMUEL HAWLEY

WILHELMINA D HAWLEY

The first step in establishing whether there might be a possibility of having a right to arms by descent is to approach the officer in waiting at the College of Arms with what details one has of one's paternal ancestry. He will then be able to advise on the cost of having a search made in the official records for coats of arms recorded for families of one's name. The search may show that no family of the name has possessed arms or that one or more have done so. If the latter, and no known ancestor of the enquirer has been found on official record, the next stage will be genealogical research in records outside the College. This would be undertaken to extend the enquirer's pedigree to see if a connection with an armigerous family could be found.

REUNIONS

Heralds have been genealogists since the fifteenth century. The hereditary nature of arms encouraged them to develop scientific genealogical methods at an early date. Sir William Dugdale (d. 1686), Garter King of Arms, was one of the greatest pioneers of modern genealogical research in England. Officers of arms conduct genealogical research, primarily within the British Isles, into families of all social strata. Sometimes the purpose of the research is to see if a right to arms by descent can be established, but more often the inspiration behind the commission is simple genealogical curiosity and the client is not hoping or expecting to find armigerous ancestors.

2008 REUNION-KANSAS CITY

HERALDRY

Tell Us What You Think

updated November, 2007