The Martini Family Crest

by Charles (Chic) Martini

This year I've been working on a project along with my son Mike in Nashville, to create a Martini Family Crest. As you may recall, Franz Klee, a distant relative from Strasbourg, France (now deceased), together with our relative Helen Graf (also now deceased), published 12 newsletters between 1962 - 1972. In one of them Franz stated he could find no trace of a Martini Crest during his genealogy search and suggested we might consider creating one.  I've had that in the back of my mind for almost 50 years and now I offer it to you.

Here is the sketch Franz Klee did as a model or starting point:

And here is the Family Crest created to preserve our Martini History for future generations, followed by an explanation of the symbols. Please pass on to your siblings, children, and grandchildren.............Enjoy!.........Chic

Our ancestor, Philip Martini, came to the United States in 1850 at the age of 18 with his Father who then returned home to Walschbronn, Lorraine, which was then German but is now French.

This crest incorporates ideas from both sides of the Atlantic.

The Upper part reflects our European Heritage:

• The Double Arm Cross is an old symbol known as the Cross of Lorraine.

• The Glass Goblet refers to distant ancestors who worked glass. Tradition tells us French King Louis XIV (1638-1715), “The Sun King,” recruited the best craftsmen from around Europe to work in his kingdom. The first Martini emigrant may have been Etienne, born around 1635, who probably was a glass craftsman in Northern Italy around Venice. People there have fair complexions as opposed to the darker complected people of Southern Italy. Philip was six generations from Etienne.

• The Yellow Shield is the provincial flag of the Region of Lorraine, which along with Alsace is known as the Alsace/Lorraine area of France/Germany. It has a long history of bouncing back and forth between the two countries.

• The Blue Diagonal represents the Atlantic Ocean separating Europe from America.

• The American Star, the French Fleur-de-lis, and the German Imperial Eagle represent the mixing of the Nationalities.

The Lower part of the Crest reflects our American Heritage:

• The Crown represents Cincinnati, the “Queen City,” with Cincinnati’s Seven Hills shown as the seven peaks on the crown.

• The Wavy Blue Lines represent the flowing Ohio River.

• The Plowshare represents the farming heritage of the Martini Family.