Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on January 30, 2015

By Glenn Avolio for the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society | Published on 01.30.2015 8:52 a.m.

The Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society will hold its monthly general meeting from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 21 at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance St. in Santa Barbara.

James Terzian

This months featured speaker, James Terzian, will present "Americans Heraldic Heritage:Coats of Arms, Clan Crests, Illustrious Ancestry and Other Secrets We Genealogists Know."

Most of us associate coats of arms with knights and nobility, clans and colonies the stuff of romance from ages of swords and chivalry. So it is. But heraldry is also very American.

From the first European voyages of discovery to the present day, heraldry has been actively used by military and civilian branches of government, by social, educational, religious and business organizations, and by families and individuals. It is part of the heritage of most who descend from Europeans, the bequest of ancestors of achievement, social position, political influence or affluence. And though few modern Americans understand heraldry, we see and use it everywhere.

In this months presentation, Terzian will explain American and European heraldry in a one-hour lecture and discussion. He will survey how heraldry works;how a person acquires and uses arms;how armorial ensigns on heirlooms, antiques, buildings, monuments and other artifacts can be "read";and how these graphical representations of identity can be used to solve genealogical challenges and ancestral mysteries.

Terzian, is chairman of the Heraldry Foundation, director of the Miles Morgan Origins Project, secretary-treasurer of the Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain, and co-author of the currently authoritative treatise on American heraldic law. He has studied and consulted in heraldry and genealogy for over 40 years, and has represented the United States as a delegate to the International Congresses of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences. He has also been honored by the Queen of the United Kingdom for his nonprofit activities.

Terzian is managing director of the Terzian International Group, a 27-year-old Silicon Valley firmthat advises clients on the development, launch and turn-around of technology, education and cultural organizations.

This promises to be a fascinating presentation.

Continued here:
James Terzian to Discuss Americans Heraldic Heritage in Talk to Genealogical Society

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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