French Huguenot ancestry - BATE family with French crest, "Dieu et ma main droit

[sbate]

Hello,
We have a dual ancestry.  The BATE family from Northumberland, and Truro, Cornwall have a French crest on which appear the words "Dieu et ma main droit" - 3 right hands, the Stag with an arrow through the heart and another emblem which I do not recognize. if you have any knowledge of the history of our crest and the family between the years 1650 to 1900 I would appreciate it.  Thank you.  We do know a branch came from Fance and that they were Huguenots.

Thank you for your help.  Sonia Bate
 

[behindthefrogs]

Hi Sonia,

You seem to be describing the shield rather than the crest.  Is there any chance that you could attach a copy of the shield to your reply.  Is this a shield to which you are entitled to use by reason of descent or just one which someone found in a book?

Do you know what is the associated crest.  This should be mounted on the helm over the shield and is equally important.  If you have the coat of arms associated with the original family have you checked the Helm (helmet) to determine the rank of the person to whom they were granted.

Finally the fact that the words were in French means very little.  They are usually in French or Latin.

Do you know the name of the family which was of Huguenot descent.  If you go to the web site of the National Huguenot Society (just google "Huguenot Society") you can check the name.  Huguenot families are not very likely to be armorial and so you mat be confusing two things.

David