> >http://www.rootsweb.com/~gabryan/coatofarms.html > Cousins, Today was the first time I have ever seen the "Shuman Coat of Arms"! Thanks so much to both Judi and Carolyn! Yes, I had memorized the description which my grandfather received more than 60 years ago, but it did not contain an illustration. Of course I showed it to my wife, and my son and grandchildren who were visiting here this afternoon! We are puzzled by the use of "de" instead of "der" or "das". Why would that have happened? The word "de" appears to mean "of" in most European languages. We are also wondering about that last word. It looks to us as if it might be "Aut." -- perhaps an abbreviation for something? Judi and Carolyn, do either of you know where in Germany this was found? Is there any indication as to how old it is? If we could identify the locale and time period of the insignia, it might help us to understand what the words mean. Our German-English dictionary shows that "Aut." *could* be an abbreviation for "Autorität," which means "authority." Of course it could also be an abbreviation for such words as "authorization," "autonomous" or independent, "automobile," taxicab, car wreck, autobiography, and other less likely possibilities. It could also be the abbreviation for "Autarkie," which means "self-sufficient;" perhaps it was used as the English used "Esq." to mean "esquire." We do keep coming back to the question of whether the word "Mausegg" could be the name of a person or place... Regards! JS ____________________________ James Shuman, art instructor Modesto High School jshuman@telis.org ____________________________