Short Stories and poems

Family Crest

I've been looking up my Family Crest- Now, I don't know if these are the right ones for my particular family branches, but I'll list the common depictions.

Common to Both:
Name ribbon and County ribbon at top and bottom- a knight's helm in the middle of the top decoration, which is either a wreath of leaves, or one of feathers, depending on the family.

Common Attributes of the Lockwood Crest (Father's Side):
Three horizontal bars, either black or white, alternating. Three doves, two in the top bar, one in the bottom, opposite the bar's color, though they can be blue at times. Wreath tends to have red and white in it, occasionally black and/or gold, and is either leaves or feathers. Country Banner lists England- make's sense as my father's family came mainly from England.

Common Attributes of the McCarthy Crest (Mother's Side):
Red stag with gold hooves and antlers on a white background. Wreath is green and gold, sometimes with red and/or white, mainly in the form of leaves. Occasionally, there is a severed arm, with a blue sleeve at the top, above the helm. Country Banner lists Ireland- make's sense as the name came from there, and the story is that my Mother's ancestor was kicked out of Ireland for smuggling rum.

As for the colors- Gold = Generosity, White= Sincerity, Peace, Red = Warrior, Martyr, Military Strength, Blue = Strength, Loyalty, Green = Hope, loyalty in love, Black = Constancy, Grief

What it all means- Loyal, Faithful, Generous, Loves to fight, Peaceful (at times), with Trouble nearby- Seems to fit to me.

As for my stepfather- Volpe: Family animal is the fox, with gold and blue being the normal color used, in one form or another. Italy

Stepmother- Killian (in some form)- Nothing really common- lion surrounded by three clovers, with a diagonal bar going through the whole thing seems to be what makes the most common depiction. Scotland.