Other Cress Families
As much as we would like for all bearers of the Cress/Kress surname to be of the same family, we cannot satisfactorily prove that all Cresses are related to a common Kress ancestor. There is evidence to the contrary which may be of some assistance to those researching their own genealogy. There is even uncertainty that the original Heroldus Kress ever existed to unite the two sides of the Kress family tree as shown in Kress Family History by Carl Friedrich von Frank.
Other Coats-of-Arms
By simply searching for Cress coat-of-arms or even Kress coat-of-arms, you may find various coats-of-arms which don't seem in any way related to the Kress sword and red shield. Some of these may be complete nonsense created by sites interested more in selling you artwork than proving any Cress ever bore these arms. Other arms seem to potentially have some historical viability.
Fish Coat-of-Arms
There appears to have been a coat-of-arms using 3 silver fish on a red shield. This may be in reference to the name (as described here) rather than an achievement. Rothenburg is an area in Germany just west of Nuremburg.
One example found online: http://www.my-coat-of-arms.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?Surname=Cress
A description for these arms reads:
Nördlingen, Rothenburg (Bavière) – De gueules à trois poissons d’argent posés en pals rangés en fasce au chef d’or ch de quatre losanges rangées du champ Cimier un lion issant d’or Lambrequin d’or et de gueules.
Google Translate detects that as French with a rough translation as follows:
Nördlingen, Rothenburg (Bavaria) - Gules with three silver fish set in pales arranged in fess on a chief or or ch of four lozenges in rows of the field Crest a lion issuant d'or Lambrequin d'or et gules
Mallet Coat-of-Arms
There appears to have been a coat-of-arms using 3 silver mallets on a black shield. Alsace is an area in Eastern France near Germany. In fact, this coat of arms has been connected to the Kresge surname as well suggesting Kresge is a variant of Kress although possible from a Kress/Kresge family arising from a different area. The Kresge family are famous for Kmart.
A description for these arms reads:
Alsace – De sable à trois maillets d’argent Cimier un buste d’homme barbu habillé aux armes de l’écu couronné d’or.
Google Translate detects that as French with a rough translation as follows:
Alsace - Sable with three silver mallets Crest a bust of a bearded man dressed with the arms of the shield crowned with gold.
French Cress Family Coat-of-Arms
There appears to have been a coat-of-arms from France. An example is shown on the following site: https://www.houseofnames.com/Cress-family-crest
I can't speak for the validity of the above website.
A similar design can be seen at the following website as well:
https://www.4crests.com/cress-coat-of-arms.html
According to this page, the Cress family of France is described as follows:
"This surname of CRESS was of the locational group of surnames 'of Cressy' a spot in France. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Conquest. The name literally meant the dweller by the stony ground. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land and indicated where he actually lived. Almost every city, town or village existing in the Middle Ages has served to name one or more families. Where a man lived was his means of identification. When a man left his birthplace or village where he had been known, and went elsewhere, people would likely refer to him by the name of his former residence or birthplace, or by the name of the land which he owned. At first, the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield, and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the flowing and draped garment worn over the armour. Early records of the name mention Hugo de Creisdi, documented in 1171, County Lancashire. Beatrix de Cressdie was recorded in Lancashire in the year 1200. Beatrix Crecy appears in London in the year 1273, and Edwin Cressin of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Walter Cresset was recorded in County Lancashire in 1400. Most of the European surnames in countries such as England, Scotland and France were formed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The process had started somewhat earlier and had continued in some places into the 19th century, but the norm is that in the tenth and eleventh centuries people did not have surnames, whereas by the fifteenth century most of the population had acquired a second name."
No direct connection
There are some records of people bearing the Cress surname which don't seem to fit any known director ancestors beyond themselves to place them in our family tree. For example, in his book One Tough German: George Cress & His Descendants, author David Carl Attride was unable to find a direct connection and concludes that George Cress was possibly from another Kress family. Attride goes so far as to use DNA evidence to support his claim that at least two Cress families are unrelated.