STORY OF THE COAT OF ARMS:
The coat of arms shown above was located in Perth, Australia. It is said to date back to 1216 from a town somewhere near the Prussian/Polish border - possibly Tolstejn - and appears to be a nobility crest. It is a difficult coat of arms to locate, and is probably the one contained in "Siebmacher's Grosses Wapenbuch Band 21, Die Wapen des Sachsischen Adels", 1972 Bauer & Raspe, Neustadt an der Aisch, ISBN 3 8747 021 9, taf 57, p.49. It contains the motto "Fide et Diligentia", which is Latin for "Fidelity and Diligence".

Bernhardt Robert Sussmilch, the first family member to emigrate to New Zealand, circa 1909, brought a version of the coat of arms, as well as the charter, with him to that country. They were, unfortunately, destroyed by his wife when he was out cutting bush. A verbal description was given to his son, who passed it down to their sons. This version of the crest had a bear embracing a cub, as well as a fish. The armorial symbol of a bear meant Fidelity, which would tie in nicely with the motto.

A Suessmilch seal, apparently used with sealing wax on documents and letters, is owned by Edgar von Hobe and on display in a small museum in the Reinbek Schloss outside Hamburg as of 1997. It is an alliance seal (a seal between 2 families, the other of which is unknown) most likely dating from the 1500's. The Suessmilch part has 2 horns as in hunting in a row, one on top of the others in an oval shape with embellishments all around, then there are 2 more horns on top, so it appears very similar in form to the one above. The horns were a common Viking symbol, and may have been included on the coat of arms to reflect our Viking heritage.

There may also be a different coat of arms dating from 1453. Information will be posted here when it is forthcoming.