Armistead Family Virginia (1635)

The coat of arms of the family Armistead of Virgina.

The Coat of Arms of William Armistead

The Coat of Arms Blazoned: Or, a chevron between three points of spears sable, tasseled in the middle.
Crested: A dexter arm in armor embowed proper holding the butt-end of a broken spear.
Motto: Suivez raison.

The arms were most likely awarded in England by the College of Arms of Great Britain.

The Arms Armistead cited in Crozier's armory

As cited in the 1904 Edition of Crozier’s General Armory; William Armstrong Crozier, Fox Duffield & Company, New York.

Crozier only gives us a last name and a state, so it is difficult to tell who exactly he is attributing these arms to; however, William Armistead came to the Virginia colony about 1635. I found this passage from a book entitled “The Family of Armistead of Virginia.” It was published in Boston in 1899 by David Clapp and Son.

William Armistead, founder of the principal family of the name in Virginia, ancestor undoubtedly of most of the name in the United States, received grants of large tracts of land in Elizabeth City County in 1636 and other years, and in Gloucester County in 1651. He probably came from Yorkshire, England, where the name was a very common one. He has been thought to be the William Armistead, son of Anthony, baptized 3 August, 1610, at Kirk Deighton in Yorkshire, but of this there is no proof. It is of course possible, though it would make William Armistead a rather younger man than one would expect. Be this as it may, William Armistead with wife Anne was undoubtedly in Virginia soon after 1635. Nothing whatever is known of his life in Virginia, except that he was Vestryman of St. John’s Church, Hampton, 1646. The date of his death is not on record, but he was dead in 1660. He had four children…

Burke’s General Armory lists a William Armistead as bearing the same arms as those described by Crozier, so we may be forgiven for making the assumption that this is William Armistead.

Motto Translation

The motto, “Suivez raison” is French and is usually translated into English to mean, “Follow the Truth.”

Coat of Arms of William Armistead with Familiy Crest

The Arms Armistead with Crest

What was the Coat of Arms of the Armistead family from Virginia?

Or, a chevron between three points of spears sable, tasseled in the middle.

Other people noted as having the same or similar Coats Armor according to Crozier’s General Armory

None listed; however, since this coat of arms originated in the Kingdom of England, there are most likely families who did not immigrate bearing similar arms today.

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