Christlieb-Chrislip-Crislip Family Association Crest

The Family Crest was brought about by the efforts of the association’s second president, Denver E. Crislip, Sr., and was created by his grandniece, Jacklyn Crislip Acheson, in 1989. The Christlieb-Chrislip-Crislip Family Crest follows conventions of ancient crests in that it contains blended elements of previous crests relating to our heritage, as well as features unique to our own history.

Following historic tradition, the Christlieb-Chrislip-Family Crest is divided into four quadrants that read as follows:

The upper left quadrant is excerpted from the Crest of Frankenstein, the village where Friedrich Carl Christlieb resided before his marriage to Anna Catharina Engle-Bock. Superimposed on the quadrant is the Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David, in recognition of Friedrich Carl Christlieb’s Jewish origins.

The upper right quadrant is excerpted from the Crest of Dielkirchen, the village where Anna Catharina Engle and her family resided before marrying. Superimposed on this quadrant is a Cross, reflecting Anna Catharina’s Christian religion.

The lower left quadrant follows the tradition of including a castle or other structure pertaining to an individual’s heritage. In this case the Limburg Ruin is shown, as it stands high above Grethen, an ancient village near Dürkheim where Friedrich Carl and Anna Catharina Christlieb resided before immigrating to America in 1765. The ruin was originally a 9^th-century fortress that was converted to a monastery early in the 11^th century. Destroyed in the mid-1500s, it was a 200-year-old ruin when Friedrich Carl Christlieb and his family lived beneath its shadow.

The lower right quadrant features a Dove of Peace. Held in its beak is a ribbon bearing the date 1765, the year Friedrich Carl Christlieb emigrated from the German Rhineland to America. Carried in its clutches is the ancient symbol of Dürkheim, the place where Friedrich Carl and Anna Catharina were married and where their children were baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran tradition. The emblem has been associated with Dürkheim since 1096, the year of the First Crusade.

The wording on top and bottom is in German. Briefly, it means: Family crest of the descendants of Friedrich Carl and Anna Catharina Christlieb, 1742. The date was the year of Simon aus Frankenstein’s conversion and marriage.

You may read the complete article, "Significance of Heraldry", by Denver E. Crislip and Dr. Myrtle R. Reul, which appeared in Jacob’s Ladder, Vol. XI, No. 2, December, 1993, page 5.

In the 1980s, Family Association members were asked to create family banners in recognition of the different branches of the third generation of the Christlieb Family. About the same time, Jacklyn Crislip Acheson (JW) created this Family Crest Banner.