Somerset, England Visitations, 1623

This database contains genealogies of some of the citizens of Somersetshire, England that were taken in the year 1623 by Henry St. George and Sampson Lennard under Camden. Heralds (those in charge of controlling the use of coats of arms under the direction of the Crown) conducted visitations to record the use of arms. Part of this recording included recording the pedigrees of the families using coats of arms. Pedigrees were recorded because families had to prove their right to bear the arms by showing their connections back to the original bearers. Because coats of arms were passed down through the generations, armory, or heraldry, has much genealogical value. This visitation, therefore, is significant because it provides over 200 pedigree charts as well as several illustrations of coats of arms used by families in the 17th century in Somerset.

Taken from: Herber, Mark D. Ancestral Trails. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1998, pp. 492-494.