[1] The committee was charged, on 3 February 1864, by the council of the New England Historic Genealogical Society "to collect and preserve information in regard to heraldry" and to otherwise deal with all matters to do with the subject for the society.

However, in the text of the Roll of Arms the full achievement, and other related matters are discussed.

In 2013 the Committee on Heraldry published a one-volume edition of the complete Roll of Arms to date (registrations 1–741), edited and with a historical introduction and notes by the committee's secretary at the time, Henry L. P.

At that time, the committee began recording assumed arms (arms created and used in colonial or recent times without formal sanction by a government heraldic authority).

Members of the committee as of October 1, 2024:[6] Prominent past members include Harold Bowditch, Henry Ernest Wood, and Robert Dickson Weston.