January 24, 2007
See What I Got with These Genes?
For quite a few years before he passed away my grandfather was working on scanning a lot of the photos, news paper clippings, and other paperwork related to our family. My parents have a copy of most of it and I finally remembered to ask them to send me one. I'm still looking through the photos, since there are more than a thousand files on the CD they sent.
I did want to share this one though. I confirmed with Aaron that the source mentioned is real and the translation they gave is reasonable. The text accompanying the image reads:
The Schiffer Coat of Arms, illustrated left, was drawn by a heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Schiffer Coat of Arms can be found in Rietstap Armorial General. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat of Arms. In their language, the Arms (shield) is as follows:
"De gu.; au chef d'arg., ch. d'un corbeau de sa.,
tenant en som bec une bague d'or, le rubis en bas."
When translated the Arms description is:
"Red; a silver upper third, charged with a black
crow holding in his beak a ring of gold, the ruby
downwards."
Above the shield and helmet is the Crest which is described as:
"Le corbeau."
A translation of the Crest description is"
"The raven."
Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. A Motto was not recorded with the Schiffer Coat of Arms.
Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources for second names were: occupation, location, father's name, and personal characteristics. The surname Schiffer appears to be occupational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Germans, meaning, "one who was a boat man." The supplemental sheet included with this report is designed to give you more information to further your understanding of the origin of names. Different spellings of the original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations. The most prominent variations of Schiffer are Schiffers, Schiffere, and Schifer.
Census records available disclose the fact there are approximately 450 heads of households in the United States with the old and distinguished Schiffer name. The United States Census Bureau estimates there are approximately 3.2 persons per household in America today which yields an approximate total of 1440 people in the United States carrying the Schiffer name. Although the figure seems relatively low, it does not signify the many important contributions that individuals bearing the Schiffer name have made to history.
No genealogical representation is intended or implied by this report and it does not represent individual lineage or your family tree.
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