WHAT IS A COAT OF ARMS?
In English heraldry, a coat of arms is an identifiable arrangement of charges and colors on a shield, associated with a particular bearer and inheritable only according to heraldic rules. A crest is a distinct device traditionally worn above a helm. Modern commercial “family crests” often blur that difference and may assign one historical design to everyone who shares a surname.
THE BRISTOL CANN FAMILY
The family manuscript recounts a prosperous Cann family associated with Bristol, including Sir Robert Cann and a baronetcy established in the seventeenth century. It describes a shield with a blue ground, silver fretty pattern and red horizontal band. That historical description is a lead to be compared against heraldic grants, visitations and pedigrees rather than an authenticated reconstruction of our own entitlement.
THE DELAWARE CONNECTION IS UNPROVEN
The same manuscript suggests that John Cann of Delaware may have been a son of Sir Robert Cann. The wording is qualified and the present archive has not obtained an independent chain of English and colonial documents proving that parentage. Accordingly, the Bristol family’s heraldry must not be described as the arms of every modern Cann descendant.
HOW WE VERIFY HERALDRY
The authoritative path is to find the historical blazon, the original recorded grantee, the date and terms of the grant, and the documentary descent to any person claiming it. The College of Arms holds relevant heraldic records and explains the principles of inheritance. We will publish reproductions of historical arms only with accurate attribution, source metadata and image rights.
A SYMBOL FOR THE WEBSITE
Cann.org may use an original decorative monogram, an oak motif or a typographic mark as modern branding. That must remain clearly distinct from any historical coat of arms. No decorative symbol on the website should imply that an unproven genealogy has been established.
NEXT INVESTIGATIONS
Locate the earliest reliably documented Bristol Cann blazon; review the seventeenth-century baronetcy and surviving pedigree references; distinguish the spellings Compton Green and Crompton Green; and examine probate, civic and parish records for Sir Robert’s children. These investigations may establish or disprove the proposed transatlantic link.
Sources & interpretation
References are research leads and citations, not confirmation that every original has been inspected. Questioned family connections remain unverified.