heraldry

The most ancient HOWELL family Coat of Arms was recorded between the 12th and 15th centuries.

These are the arms of Coat of Arms of Edward Howell of Southampton, New York. He was born at the Manor of Westbury, Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire, England and baptized 22 July 1584 at Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire. He married (1) Frances Paxton, who died 2 July 1630 and was buried in England, and married (2) Eleanor, who came to Boston with him in 1639.

Components of the Howell Family Name Coat of Arms
	The Shield is:	Gules, three towers, tripled towered, argent," meaning three silver towers on a red background.
	The Crest is:	Out of a ducal crown or a rose gules, stalked and leaved vert, between two wings endorsed of of the last.
	The motto is:	"Virtus In Ardue"

I am not a linguist and truthfully, do not know the exact translation of the motto. I have asked that anyone who knows the translation, to please contact me. Luckily for us, one came in:

Our son-in-law has taken a number of Latin classes, including at the University level, so I asked him for the translation. My Howell coat of arms says "Virtus in Arduo" instead of "Ardue," and our son-in-law says that the meanings that he found in a Latin-English dictionary are as follows:

virtus: manliness, excellence, character, worth, courage

virtus: valor, prowess, moral virtue, virtuousness, manhood, power

arduus: difficult, proudly elevated

He says, "I would then most likely translate the phrase "Virtus in arduo" as "Valor in difficulty" or something to that extent."

Submitted by Carolyn Berry [25Dec01]

If you know of a different set of arms or translation, please contact me and I'll place it here.