Alsace Lorraine family records

First of all, I'm sorry if you already know this, but many Americans have a mistaken idea (encouraged by certain online scam artists and vendors of dodgy products) about how heraldry works. You only have a "family coat of arms" if you are a direct blood descendant of the individual to whom the arms were first granted, not simply if you have the same family name.

Specifically, this is a very specialised area that I'm not sure anyone here will be able to give an expert opinion on. It appears from a bit of online searching that there has not been a specific French heraldic organisation since the 1789 revolution, and that during the nineteenth century arms were granted by letters patent from central government. As such, I would suspect that the most likely source of information would be in the French national archives in Paris. There is also an organisation called the Societe Francaise de l'Heraldique et de Sigillographie (http://www.sfhs-rfhs.fr/) and it might be worth contacting them.

Thank you for your cautionary comments as well as the information to further my research. I believe the coat of arms in my possession is valid since the registry has been passed through my family for several generations. Perhaps somone might help me figure out what is stated on the document. The language on the document is as follows (to the best of my ability to read the handwriting!):

Wappen der familie Baumgartner
1832
Strasburgishe Abstammung

allgemaine, europaischen Wappenamt...
5th Apil pag. 232

"Strasburgische Abstammung" simply means "Strasbourg descent" and would seem to me to indicate that the family came from Strasbourg rather than that the arms were registered there.

So I don't think that there will be anything special in Strasbourg, but that you should look for more general sources on French heraldry.

Philip, Thank you. I have documents showing numerous Christenings at the Herz Jesu church in Ettlingen, which is relatively nearby. I am wondering if that would have been considered some kind of suburb of Strasbourg. I'm also going to contact the church and see what records that they might have...