Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Office

The Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Office, commonly known by its French name Office généalogique et héraldique de Belgique and the abbreviation OGHB, is a private genealogical and heraldic society based in Belgium. Founded in 1942 as an association without lucrative purpose (ASBL), it brings together people interested in researching family histories, documenting lineages, interpreting heraldic evidence, and studying the historical context surrounding families and their symbols. Its work is not restricted by social class, occupation, or presumed nobility: the society's stated purpose is the historical study of families generally, together with auxiliary disciplines that support historical research, including genealogy and heraldry. The association operates in a Belgian context in which records, families, jurisdictions, and heraldic traditions span multiple linguistic and regional communities. Although its publications are issued exclusively in French, its subject coverage extends across all regions of Belgium. This gives the organization a national scope despite its principal publication language. Its activities reflect the documentary and scholarly side of genealogy rather than a consumer-facing ancestry platform: it disseminates research, provides practical information to members, and supports the preservation and interpretation of Belgian family and heraldic history. OGHB publishes several periodicals and research series. Le Parchemin is a bimonthly review containing articles and reference material, including tables and indexes. Le Héraut is a quarterly information bulletin used for practical notices, announcements, and member-oriented communication. Les Recueils is a series of more substantial studies, with individual issues generally devoted to a major genealogical or related historical subject. The association has also published heraldic reference work, including a living armorial. The society has more than a thousand members according to the cited reference material. It benefits from royal patronage and government subsidies, circumstances that give it a more elevated institutional position than an entirely unsupported private interest society. Its royal connection does not make it a government agency or a commercial genealogy company; it remains a private association whose public importance derives from its specialized scholarship, publications, membership network, and contribution to Belgian historical documentation. OGHB formerly recorded the arms of individuals and families. In the French-speaking Community, that responsibility was subsequently taken over by the Council of Heraldry and Vexillology, while the Flemish Heraldic Council assumed the corresponding role for the Flemish Community. The Office therefore remains principally associated with research, publication, and learned-society activities rather than serving as the sole contemporary registrar of Belgian personal and family arms.

The Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Office was established in 1942 as a Belgian ASBL, or association without lucrative purpose. From its beginning, it was organized as a private society for the study of families and the historical disciplines used to investigate them. Its remit covered genealogy and heraldry while also embracing auxiliary sciences of history, allowing research into family identity, descent, symbols, and documentary context to be treated as connected fields rather than isolated hobbies. The society's scope is Belgian and national rather than limited to one province or linguistic region. It studies families from all parts of Belgium, although its publications are exclusively in French. Over time, the organization developed a publication program intended both for specialist researchers and for members seeking practical tools. Le Parchemin became a bimonthly review containing articles as well as tables and indexes. Le Héraut served as a quarterly link sheet, carrying practical information and announcements. Les Recueils provided a vehicle for longer studies, with each issue generally centered on a substantial genealogical investigation or related historical work. The publication program also included heraldic reference material, such as a living armorial. OGHB acquired a distinctive institutional standing through royal patronage and government subsidies. These forms of recognition and support did not convert the society into a state body, but they placed it above a purely private club in perceived status and public visibility. Its membership grew to more than a thousand people interested in genealogy and heraldry, creating a continuing community for research, publication, and exchange. The Office also had a historical role in recording the arms of persons and families. That function later became divided along the institutional lines of Belgium's language communities. The Council of Heraldry and Vexillology assumed the relevant role for the French Community, while the Flemish Heraldic Council took over the corresponding role for the Flemish Community. Following that change, OGHB's identity is best understood through its continuing contribution as a private scholarly association: it researches families and heraldic traditions, publishes studies and periodicals, and helps maintain access to documentary knowledge about Belgian lineages and symbols. The available reference material does not identify a founder, a precise headquarters, individual board members, or a detailed chronology of later organizational developments. Those fields therefore remain unspecified rather than being inferred.

• 1942

  Association founded

  [1]Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Officeen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was founded in Belgium as an ASBL dedicated to genealogy, heraldry, and related historical sciences.

• Heraldic registration responsibilities transferred

  [1]Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Officeen.wikipedia.org

  The recording of personal and family arms formerly associated with the Office was subsequently assumed by the Council of Heraldry and Vexillology for the French Community and the Flemish Heraldic Council for the Flemish Community.

A nationally oriented Belgian learned society specializing in family history, genealogy, heraldry, and related historical research, with French-language publications, royal patronage, and public subsidies.

• Bimonthly genealogical and heraldic review

  Le Parchemin

  Le Parchemin is the association's bimonthly review. It publishes material relevant to genealogy and heraldry and includes tables and indexes that support researchers working with family-history and historical records. It forms part of OGHB's continuing French-language publication program for members and other specialists.

• Quarterly membership bulletin

  Le Héraut

  Le Héraut is a quarterly link sheet carrying practical information and announcements. Rather than functioning primarily as a long-form research journal, it serves the association's communication needs and helps connect members with notices, activities, and useful information related to genealogy and heraldry.

• Genealogical research series

  Les Recueils

  Les Recueils is a series of substantial studies. Each issue generally contains a major genealogical investigation or another extended work in the society's fields of interest. The series provides a format for research that is more extensive than a periodical article and contributes to the reference literature used by family historians.

• Heraldic reference publication

  Living heraldic armorial

  The association has published a living armorial as an example of its heraldic reference work. It documents heraldic information in a continuing or current-oriented format and reflects OGHB's broader interest in recording and studying coats of arms and their relationship to individuals and families.

1. 1Royal Belgian Genealogical and Heraldic Officeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Office généalogique et héraldique de Belgiqueoghb.be