https://drsavta.com/wordpress/2005/05/03/my-cousin-diane-or-the-internet-as-a-human-lost-and-found/ Tue, 10 May 2005 01:49:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://drsavta.com/wordpress/2005/05/03/my-cousin-diane-or-the-internet-as-a-human-lost-and-found/#comment-23 Tue, 10 May 2005 01:49:09 +0000 https://drsavta.com/wordpress/2005/05/03/my-cousin-diane-or-the-internet-as-a-human-lost-and-found/#comment-23 This entry reminded me of the time my father-in law proudly showed me a very impressive parchment-like page with a family history and coat-of-arms. Oh the pride I heard in my father-in- law’s voice is still in my mind’s ear. But the first thing I thought was, “Hm, ‘Fielding’ sounds like a farmer, not even a landowner, but a hired hand. Well I asked “Daddy” if he had read the long history on the page, and he responded in the negative. So I read it and sure enough it did say that the Fieldings were small farmers who proceeded from the English/ Scot border. And interestingly enough, my husband also comes from a long line of horsethieves. And that is pretty low, for as any educated person knows, that hoss thievery was a hanging crime.
In addition, there in the middle of the page was the impressive, elaborate, colourful coat-of-arms. And that reminded me of a time in Fort Knox, when my son and I were leaving the post exchange, a man tried to sell us a page with a family history and coat of arms. He boasted that he could find a coat of arms for ANY last name. Now think about it folks, any name? Omly the nobility was awarded arms that were passed down to their progeny. The conclusion I came to was that it’s mostly a scam. In all probability the Fieldings couldn’t have a coat of arms. But as an adult I have learned that one doesn’t have to say everything one knows, so I didn’t tell Daddy, or my husband that the heraldry Daddy had bought was just that–bought!

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