During a recent trip to the genealogy section of the New York State Library, I came upon a large volume with the Dutch title, Wapenboek van den Nederlandschen Adel, which I translate as "Coats of Arms of the Dutch Nobility." The huge book was compiled by J. B. Rietstap, and published in Groningen in 1883.
On a partially damaged page 18, I found a drawing of a coat of arms labeled as Van Den Bergh. The drawing appears to be an authentic coat of arms, with the usual shield and plumes. Page 21 included a description of the Van Den Bergh genealogy, part of which indicates that a certain Arnold Joseph Theodore Hubert van den Bergh had the title of "procureur generaal" (comparable to the district attorney in a U.S. jurisdiction) at the court of law in s'Gravenhage (The Hague) in 1867, for which position he was granted a "diploma" which named him as a member of the nobility.
As Van Den Bergh was a fairly common surname in the Netherlands, only further research can help me ascertain whether this Van Den Bergh was an ancestor of my maternal grandfather, who was definitely not a member of the gentry or nobility, but rather a gardener on the estate of a wealthy family.
Stay tuned for more details when they arise! In the meantime, you may wish to take a look at the following earlier posts that tell more about the Van Den Bergh side of my family:
What's In a (Dutch) Name?
Excursion to Ellis Island
Scrubbing Day in s'Graveland
And a post about other coats of arms of other branches of my family:
Some Ancestral Heraldry
