Hi Mel,

That's great if you can go directly to Bell (collect $200 and do not go to jail).

I have 31 BELL entries in the British Armorial. Unfortunately, they all predate.the time you to which you are referring. Your best bet now would be to take Stephen's advice and approach the College of Arms - initial enquiry via email to < enquiries@college-of-arms.gov.uk >. I think that you will eventually have to produce the full details of your G-Grandfather including his date and place of birth along with his parental details - your Father should already have all this information to hand.

If G-GF Bell was granted arms in the late 1800s, there wouldn't be much of a pedigree attached to the entry and you would have to produce the necessary documentary proofs for each generation down to your own (and brothers) to establish a current right to those arms. Unfortunately, the College of Arms does charge fees for this sort of work, but you can rest assured that the work that they do for those fees is unquestionble in its validity.

Please let us hear how you got on with your quest as it would be interesting to see the exact steps that the College of Arms takes in this new age, how long it takes to make those steps and the current fees aplicable.

Regards,.