Embroidered, painted, stamped, carved, and engraved coats of arms enjoyed continuous popularity in colonial and Revolutionary America. As expressions of family identity—remembered or aspirational—, heraldic arts are among the most compelling and enduring symbols of our interest in family roots. We will survey the major genres of heraldic decoration from the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries, considering how, why, when, and for whom they were made, and focusing on some examples from the collections of American Ancestors.

Dr. Nathaniel Lane Taylor, FASG is the Editor and Publisher of The American Genealogist and a specialist in Medieval Europe. He taught medieval and modern history at Harvard and elsewhere for fifteen years, including the social, political, and military origins of heraldry at the time of the Crusades. His genealogical research spans from medieval Spain, France, and Britain to colonial New England and Virginia. He has been on the NEHGS Committee on Heraldry since 2006 and is now its Registrar. He was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 2011 and is Chairman of the Scientific Committee for the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences held in Boston, September 2024.

Curt DiCamillo, who joined American Ancestors in February of 2016 as the organization’s first Curator of Special Collections, is an internationally recognized authority on British historic houses and the decorative arts.