Crow Crest | Reitstaps Armorial Crest | Dutch Crebolder Crest | New! Another Version of the Kraehenbuehl Crest
Crests
Dr. Ernest N. Kraybill commissioned artist Peter Bedick of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to create this water colour rendering based closely on a family crest he found during a trip to Switerland.
Dr. Kraybill wrote this description: "This reproduction of the Krähenbühl crest is derived from a copy found in Zaziwil, Switzerland, in June 1982. Paul and Jean (brother and sister-in-law), Eunice (wife) and I were in Zaziwil for three days, looking for traces of our Kraybill ancestors. As we entered the dining room of Gasthof (Hotel) Zum Weissen Rossli for dinner, we saw a number of family coats of arms (crests) lining one wall. We learned that they represented families of former community leaders of Zaziwil.
"Behind the table at which we sat was hanging the Krähenbühl crest. We took color snapshots and, with the gracious permission of the Gasthof manager, carried the framed crest a few blocks to the Gemeindeverwaltung (Town Hall), where we had black and white photocopies made.
"Artist Peter Bedick of Chapel Hill worked from the photocopy and color snapshots to create a new original in water color. It is remarkably true in both color and detail to the one found in Switzerland. This color print is a photographic reproduction of Bedick’s painting.
"The
origin and date of the crest are not known. The Zaziwil version is similar to the
stylized, reverse image copy called 'Graybill (Krähenbühl),' shown in The History of
the Kraybill Family in America. That version is from a 1955 reproduction by a German
artist who added a motto which was not part of earlier copies. Prominent in both designs
are crows, both inside the shield, which traditionally contains the essential elements of
the crest, and atop the helmet.
"Zaziwil is a small farming village at the edge of the beautiful Emmental Region of the Canton Bern. About two kilometres outside the town, atop a high hill overlooking the valley, is a homestead with a well-preserved half-timbered house and attached barn, known locally and identified on local maps as "Chrajbuel". This appears to be an earlier form of the name "Krähenbühl" which means, "Crow Hill".
"In the Zaziwil Town Hall are kept civil records from the mid-19th century showing that many Krähenbühls lived in the area.
(Swiss geneaologist Ueli Barger has indicated that such records
are no longer kept in
the Zaziwil Town Hall. In an e-mail message, he wrote: "The Church
Register of the
Parish Hochstetten are kept in the Staatsarchiv in Berne. The Baptism
Records starts
at 1553 by the Priest Melchior Bucher. The Marriage Records also start
at 1553.
The Death Manuals start at 1728." - Gene)
"At least two Krähenbühl families, including one, Ernst Krähenbühl, a farmer, still live in Zaziwil.
"In nearby Grosshochstetten, in underground vaults built during World War II, are preserved the parish records of the local (Reformed) church. Here are inscribed in old German script, the baptisms, marriages and deaths of scores of Krähenbühls as far back as the early 17th century."
Here is another Krahenbuhl crest, submitted by Marty Graybill of Las Vegas, NV.
Marty says: Attached you will find our other Coat of Arms, this is from Reitstaps Armorial, very old Armorial ! This is the only registered Coat of Arms to the Krahenbuhls. I had a CoA Graphic Artist recreate it for me, you may want to add it to the web page. This is the same CoA that appears in the "History of the Kraybill Family in America" it is from Berne, Switzerland.
(Note: Click on the picture to see a bigger version)
Gerjan Crebolder of Barneveld, Netherlands submitted this version of the crest from a book he owns about the Dutch branch of our family. He says: A 'quick scan' of our crest, registrated in 1988 for the Netherlands but in use in Grosshöchstetten (Switserland) in 1699 by Niclaus and Peter Krähenbühl. We do have three different surnames in the Netherlands: just plain Crebolder, Krijbolder and the combination: Crebolder surnamed Krijbolder; the last one is actually my family name. The Dutch history started with Johannes Krähenbühl who came to the Netherlands as a mercenary and was baptized 5 NOV 1713 or 20 AUG 1713 at Grosshöchstetten (CH). There were nephews and one of the two is still missing. The 'Dutch' one founded a family. He had 4 children, one survived and he made it possible that I'm e-mailing to you! The first Krähenbühl was buried 6 MARCH 1753 at Veghel (NL), a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of our country. At the end of his life his was the village policeman. We were able to follow back our family to 1496.
Here is the text that appeared just below the crest in the book that Mr. Crebolder scanned the picture from:
New! Another Version of the Kraehenbuehl Crest
Submitted by Walter A. Kraehenbuehl, of ZUG, Switzerland. This is a stained-glass panel that hangs in his front window. The picture shows a black crow standing on a ploughshare (plowshare) on 3 heaps of earth, flanked by the heraldic emblems of Signau (left) and Canton of Berne (right, with bear). The glass panel was created by an artist in Berne who had searched the archives in Signau for the correct historical background.
Home Page of the Krähenbühl Family | The Family Name
Last modified
12/01/03 by
Margaret Crabill Mead
Send e-mail to: patrick.mead@comcast.net
