Gose Family Coat-Of-Arms

GOSE Family Coat-Of-Arms

We have seen three different Coats-of-Arms presented by separate heraldic researchers or companies that are said to be the Gose family's coat-of-arms. All three of these may be viewed here by clicking on the "thumbnail" image for each below. View Family Crests

WHICH IS THE CORRECT ONE?

We must confess that we don't really know which may be the "correct" one. In "The GOSE Book", Thelma Pearl chose to use the one that George B. Gose also presented in his 1964 publication, "Pioneers of the Virginia Bluegrass" - as being the correct coat-of-arms for the Gose family "from Strasbourg, Germany".

Prior to the one above, the Sanson Institute of Heraldry in Boston identified a different coat-of-arms for the Gose family.

More recently, a third coat-of-arms has been presented by Halberts of Bath, Ohio as being the "Gose family coat-of-arms".

You may be familiar with Halberts if you have received any of their mailings promoting a "Gose Genealogy Book". This "family genealogy book" is something that they do for just about every surname in the U.S. It is basically just a mass produced, commercial product that is generic in nature and contains nothing really of any specific substance pertaining to our Gose family history or genealogy.

It may be that all three of these coats-of-arms are correct for the Gose family.. but are for different family groups who lived in different places in the old world.

We do know that there are different families of Goses (Goß) who have immigrated to this country from totally different parts of Germanic Europe.

The following article is taken from The GOSE Book, by Thelma Pearl Yost, published first in 1970 as a supported effort of the Decatur, Texas Goses who are descended from the immigrant Stephen Gose through his first born son, Christopher and his son Stephen.

HERALDRY - An absorbing and fascinating Hobby

By Patricia Chadwell

Coats of Arms originated in the Middle Ages when men fought in heavy body armor which made them impossible to identify. Knights began painting their shields with various individual patterns so that their friends and foes would be able to recognize them. These designs were embroidered onto silk or cotton coats which were worn over the armor to protect it from rust and dirt (and to protect the wearer from being broiled in his own shell by the sun); from these coverings comes the modern tern coat-of-arms.

Soon they added devices of leather or wood to their helmets to make themselves visible to their foot soldiers. These were called crests. Below the crest, a sort of robe or mantle was attached to the helmet by a silken rope or torse, again to protect the man in armor from the elements.

During the fourteenth century, men ceased to fight in armor and coats of arms were relegated to paper. A science of designing and regulating their use was developed, which was called Heraldry, and a College of Arms was established to see that only those entitled to use a coat-of-arms did so.

Coats-of arms in America are usually displayed as paintings. They consist of the shield; a helmet topped by the crest, if there is one, surrounded by the mantling, an artistic display of the principal colors in the arms; and the motto, if there is one. All of this is called the achievement. When a grant of arms does not include a crest, only the shield is displayed.

(signed) Patricia Chadwell

And then Thelma Pearl continues on…

"You may secure the Gose Coat-of-Arms from York Insignia Ltd., York, England. However, it cannot be considered our personal coat-of-arms though it belonged to our forefathers in Germany. Even the eldest son’s (coat-of-arms) must be "cadenced (changed or added to) before it can be his – we might call it bringing it up to date (having the same surname does not entitle one to use the same coat-of-arms).

It is alright for us to display this coat-of-arms on our walls, but we are not to use it on our silver, stationery, linens, yachts, or above our homes on a pennant.

Women do not inherit a coat-of-arms. The coat-of-arms of her father may be displayed alongside that of her husband.

To secure a personal coat-of-arms one first would have to have proof of a direct line back to the person to whom it was issued.

Moreover, as you can tell from Miss Chadwell’s "write-up", we have no crest, therefore the helmet and mantling should not have been shown. "Well, how did this happen! Did the company just do that?" asked the composer. "Yes", replied Miss Chadwell. Sorry GFR (Gose Family Reunion) members, but it is being told just as it is. Howerver, no harm has been done - it is alright to have it in the Gose Book. (Geo. Gose of Va. had the same insignia in his book - in fact, the compiler got the address to order it from him.)

Perhaps as the printer suggested, the company may use this form in displaying many shields so that if proof of crest shows up later on, it would be necessary only to add the crest - or maybe, York Insignia Ltd. only wanted to make it attractive for the G.F.R. In the large library book (Genealogical Dept.) Illustrations to Rietsthe’s Armorial General, by Roland, Vols. III & IV, p LXXI, only a hunting horn on a shield is shown with the name Gosse underneath (this is shown for or from Strasbourg.)"

* * *

Note From Ted Gose: A while back, I attempted to locate the address for York, LTD, which is the company that presented the Gose Coat-Of-Arms that was used in George Gose’s book. The only search I did was on the internet using an international directory search for businesses in the U.K. However, York, LTD or York Insignia, LTD did not show up in any of these searches.

As stated above, the arms presented by York was created by interpretation of the blazons description found in Rietsthe’s Armorial General. This is a primary reference source used by many of the companies that produce family crests.

Further research should be done to gather the different actual blazons descriptions as found in the various reference books used as sources by the various companies who have produced the various Gose Family Coats-Of-Arms.

For each of the blazons descriptions that is thusly revealed to be obviously different from the rest, we should attempt to determine the geographic location associated with each. In this way, we may be able to determine which coats-of-arms may be associated with particular Gosse family lines coming out of Europe.

If anyone is willing to do this research, please let us know.

GOSE Family Coats-Of-Arms

(Click on images to see a full page view)


Coat-Of-Arms #1 As used in "Pioneers of the Virginia Bluegrass" and "The GOSE Book"	Coat-Of-Arms #2 Presented by the Sanson Institute of Heraldry	Coat-Of-Arms #3 Presented by Halberts

If you believe any of the above information is incorrect or have additional information to contribute, please contact us!

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