The follow-up

Cut n' pasted directly from the assignment, here you go.  I did end up changing the color of the banners but that was it, surprisingly.  I figured I'd go back and forth about more choices before the final product.

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Familial Crest

As an unmarried woman over the age of 30, I felt it appropriate to include elements of both my paternal and maternal ancestry in the crest, even though I only used my birth surname for the shield banner itself.  I more closely identify with the maternal side of family, largely due to the reasons detailed in the preceding paper, and could not accurately describe the value system in which I was raised without including their influence.

The upper left quadrant, containing the Ethnicity portion, features a split-tail mermaid holding a thistle.  Copenhagen, Denmark is famous for Hans Christian Andersen and the corollary statue of the Little Mermaid in the harbor, and Thiessen is a name of Danish descent.  The thistle is the national flower of Scotland, from where the majority of my maternal side descends, and it seemed a nice balance, the paternal line displaying or even protecting the maternal from the rough waves below.  I also admit to two personal reasons for the figure:  as a child swimming in the pool with my grandmother, I fantasized of discovering fins the first time I entered actual seawater (not, unfortunately, a dream realized), and I am an enormous coffee addict.  That Starbucks utilizes the split-fin mermaid for their logo is serendipitous in the extreme.

The upper right quadrant I chose for the History portion.  Because so little is known on either side as far as genealogy or migration is concerned, I chose a Viking ship both for the Scandinavian connection as well as being emblematic of water travel, since I do know that the Atlantic Crossing was made by both sides of the family tree, just not the dates or specific launch locations.  Both Thiessens and Fishers came to America itself via Canada, so I included a maple leaf on the sail of the ship. 

The lower left quadrant represents the values, which was a bit tougher considering all it needed to encompass.  My family has never, even as far as back as we can trace, had a definitive connection to an organized religion of any source, but both my maternal great-grandmother and many of the modern family members had/have an interest or belief in reincarnation and/or more of the metaphysical, Eastern-based philosophies of worship.  So I chose the Ouroboros, the worm swallowing itself, which is a symbol both of eternity and of the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth.  The worm surrounds two wolves rampant, holding an antique-style key between them.  Wolves are monogamous and very dutiful parents, as well as being fierce, independent and the evolutionary forefathers of domestic dogs.  Even in familial situations where marriage did not end the way the participants intended, the idea of one love, one life was passed on, and certainly my mother dedicated herself to celibacy and the memory of my father until my brother and I had left the nest.   Wolves traditionally symbolize reward after perseverance (“The Meanings Behind the Symbols,” 2009) and I think the traits of friendliness, loyalty and comfort associated with dogs as pets also applies to the way my family comported themselves in their public relationships.  Finally, the key represents privacy and security, things my family felt were essential to creating a stable home life, as well as a sign of working in the trades (locksmith, janitor, electrician, etc.) which was good work done by hand and the major source of income for both sides of the family.

The lower right quadrant represents occupation and/or uniqueness, and so I chose the anvil (for great-grandpa Herman’s blacksmithing as well as a link to the trades as mentioned in the Key description), the thimble (my paternal grandmother was a Snyder, which is a commonly Americanized version of the German Schneider, or “tailor”) and the fishing hook for the obvious Fisher connection.

The colors were also chosen with an eye for applicability. I chose to alternate the quarters of the shield in color with Green and Maroon; the heraldic reference website Fleur-de-lis Designs states that Green represents “hope, joy and loyalty in love” while Maroon represents “patient in battle and yet victorious” (2009).  Ours is not an aggressive family legacy; we have few if any business tycoons, decorated generals or political dynamos, and are known primarily for our cooperation, love of simplicity and understanding, and a generous, gentle nature.  I felt these two colors perfectly summed up that balance of an almost communal sense of responsibility with the streak of stubbornness and intractability that will rise when pushed too far.  Per the same website, Gold represents “generosity and elevated state of mind” while Blue represents “truth and loyalty” (2009) so I used those as the ribbon colors for both the motto and the Thiessen family name (as well as for accents within the shield graphics), because those are attributes we strove to reach rather than having been imbued with them from birth.

Lastly, the motto has no basis in familial history; I debated for quite awhile as to what I could choose that would capture something both sides of the family would’ve agreed upon, that was not necessarily represented by the symbols already present on the shield.  I opted for “Stand Alone Together” and translated it into Gaelic on the Google Translate website to put it into the form seen on the Crest.  We seem to have quite a few untimely deaths, long separations, and family feuds/grudges throughout our history, and take great pride in being able to survive on our own when need be.  Yet no one ever completely severs ties, and we will defend each other from “outsiders” against any threat regardless of personal conflicts.  I felt this simple phrase really encompassed all of that, as well as the idea that both my ancestries were represented within.