ELEMA, Ariella
| ELEMA, Ariella |
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ELEMA, Ariella
Arms: Or four fleurs-de-lis two and two Sable all within a bordure Gules charged as with a Canadian Pale Argent. Crest: NA Motto: Flag: A banner of the Arms. Standard: NA Source: J.B. Rietsap's nineteenth-century Armorial Général describes the Elema arms thus: ELEMA: Pays de Groningue. D'or à quatre fleurs-de-lis de sable, 2 et 2. Cimier: une fleur-de-lis de sable. Variations on this design appear in portraits as early as the sixteenth century. Assumed in January 2009. Artist/Herald: David M. Cvet & self History: Unfortunately, Ariella isn't related to those Elemas. Her earliest traceable ancestor was a jumped-up farmer who bought a manor farm in 1785 for 8000 Carolus guilders. The manor, located in the village of Godlinze in the Dutch province of Groningen, was named Elemaheerd, or Elema Hall. Like many Dutchmen of his day, Tonnis didn't have a surname; however, with developments in government administration, his four sons were required to assume one in 1811. They seem to have thought that Elema of Elema Hall sounded pretty good. F.R. Elema, the tireless genealogist of the family, had this to say on the subject of the Elema arms: "Although, according to heraldic rules, a family coat of arms can only be borne by the descendants who bear the same surname as the original armiger and descend from him in the male line, I personally do not have any objection whatsoever if every Elema or descendent of an Elema bears these arms honourably. Since the heirs of Reneko Elema of Uthuysen in the direct male line have died out, there would otherwise be no one among the present-day living Elemas who would be able to bear the age-old Elema arms." However, he adds pointedly "There is no one known to me among the Elemas who will take on airs with badges of honour that do not belong to him, for on that matter the Elemas are too straightforward and down-to-earth in their worldview." * Ariella begs the indulgence of the Elemas of the world.
She has differenced the traditional family arms to make them her own by adding a border Gules with a Canadian pale Argent to represent the Canadian branch of the Godlinze Elemas.
*F.R. Elema, Familieboek Elema (Harderwijk, The Netherlands: Drukkerij Mons, ca. 1965) pp. 288-9. Translation from Dutch by Ariella Elema.
Rank: Scholler: Nov 12, 2006
