I started the day to simply organize my genealogical research and to chart a path of next steps to take in my research. .
I found several Andrews mottos along the way:
Victrix Fortunae Sapientia …Wisdom the Conqueror of Fortune
Virtue et Fortuna … By Virtue and Fortune
Fortiter Defendit…Defends Bravely
(from Volume 1 of Fairbairn’s Book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland)
Then, I turned to finding out if I actually am authorized to have one. The crest I desire is the crest from the Andrews family side. As with any ancestral society, the genealogy must be tight. So I began to look into the Andrews family.
Going four generations back I am related to a Robert Andrews, whose father was possibly named Thomas Andrews. I know there was a Thomas who named his son Robert around the time and location that would fit, but I need more research. However, assuming this connection is accurate, I have two graves to “uncover”. Am I related to the Thomas in the Andrews Cemetery in Dale County, Alabama? or Am I related to the Thomas Andrews buried in Holmes County, Florida?
I have some certainty that I am related to the Thomas in Holmes County—but the entire mystery consumed my day. And, yes, I loved every minute of it.
Jim Gavin says
My sister spent years researching our family, and she hit on the same problem as with your Thomas. It seems that families back then used the same few names over and over, so it was hard to know which Thomas, or any other name, is the one that we trace back to. Good luck with your search.