 A more fanciful source claims that the elephant comes from the first ancestor of the family, Helfrich, a citizen of Rome in 225 AD, a captain of the 5th Legion of Veterans based in Germany and the Lord of the Fils River.Because his legion had fought against Hannibal four centuries earlier, Helfrich acquired an elephant for his coat of arms from the Legion's emblem.While the ancestral castle, Burg Helfenstein, was built around 1100 the family may originate about three centuries earlier.