The Visitations of Heralds

As I describe on my Heraldy page, the accounts compiled from the information gathered by the Visitation of Heralds is not always helpful.

A lot of the time the dates of births, deaths and marriages are not recorded and as the family trees produced by the heralds more emphasis is placed on who married whom and the perpetuation of family lines. At the same time the coats of arms were a major driver for their visits, I guess that is how Heraldry got its name!

The text on the Visitations of Essex - 1634: (below)

From the Visitations of Essex - 1634:

For example:

What I was trying to establish was the date of the marriage between Philip and Agnes (shown above). I do have a date of 1470 from a less than reliable/credible source.

There was a move from Hunsdon, Hertfordshire to Belchamp Walter, Essex and this was 1611, the Heralds recorded that the R were in Essex in 1634. The Rs must have been resident in Hunsden at a similar time to queen Mary I, prior to 1533.