My Dad, James True, Sr. who was an artist and interested in our Irish and Scottish ancestry, did a heraldry search for the True name, but since “True” is an English name and not Scottish OR Irish, none was found. Not to be outdone, Dad decided to design his own based on his and Mom’s ancestry!  Here is the description of the elements he place in it.

In an authentic Coat of Arms, each item shown has a particular meaning. On this COA, starting on the top, you will find the following items:

The golden Crown represents a King (Harold).  The arrow through the crown means that the king was removed from his throne as the result of violence (a battle).  In tracing our ancestry, our name goes back to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, in which the political structure of Britain was changed from a kingdom to split king-representative type, such as is the modern political system of England.

The Earle of Godwin was set into place as the representative of the “people” – Prime Minister – as Gordon Brown is today.  Mother was related to the Earle of Godwin (my grandmother was a “Goodwin”, an etymologizing of the name, Godwin).

The Seashell with the “T” in it depicts that a True crossed the ocean. Sir Richard True arrived in Baltimore in 1641 and began the True clan in the “colonies.” (Unfortunately for “us”, Richard True was a convicted horse thief and was exiled from England to the New World!  Uh, we don’t talk about that!).

The Blue and Gold embellishment around the shield is significant of royalty.

Inside the shield, in opposing corners, you will see the Shamrock  and the Thistle, the national flowers of Ireland and Scotland, respectively.

Across the breadth of the shield you will see 4 Acorns. These represent Dad’s four kids (his “nuts”).     I’m number 3,  from right to left!

Traditionally, each successive male family member would modify the original COA.  The two striped sections are “optional” ones that Dad reserved for his kids to put a personal flair on their versions. (None of us ever did that).

Finally, the banner with “Esse Quam Videre” is Latin, meaning “Seen But Also Heard”.

And so we were (heard)!