A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Jass family of Scotland.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Vert a sandglass running, ar. and in chief the Holy Bible expanded ppr”
The Jass arms were recorded in Banff, c. 1748.
Banffshire was farming and fishing country on Scotland's north-east coast. Its landed families were long-settled and closely related, and each line recorded arms to be told apart from the rest.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Scotland in this period.
Reigning in Scotland when the Jass arms are first recorded.
Scottish heraldry is unique because it treats a coat of arms as a piece of personal property protected by law. Only one person can own a specific design at any given time. When a family grows, the head keeps the original shield while other relatives must apply for their own distinct version with slight changes to prove their specific identity.
The surname Jass is deeply connected to the coastal town of Banff in northeastern Scotland, where records confirm the family was established by at least 1748. During the eighteenth century, Banff was a bustling center for trade and fishing, and families like the Jass clan were often integrated into the local maritime economy. The name itself likely originated as a variation of regional surnames common to the Aberdeenshire area, potentially evolving from older phonetic spellings found in local parish registers. As the family grew, they became part of the social fabric of the town, participating in the daily life of a community that relied heavily on the North Sea for its livelihood. By settling in this specific region, the early members of the Jass family helped establish a long-standing presence that persisted through generations of Scottish history.
Hebrew origin meaning Yahweh is gracious
