The map below shows where our Crecelius ancestors lived and worked, not far northwest and northeast of Wiesbaden and Frankfurt respectively. Our earliest known Crecelius ancestors lived in the area shown in the upper left corner of the map below. Just east of Westerburg is Gemünden, and the next village to the southwest of Gemünden is Berzhahn, and the first village southeast of Berzhahn is Wilsenroth, which isn't shown on this map. These villages are very close: not even two miles from one another. Berzahn is where a Krekel is first documented in 1452. In 1473, that man's son was in Wilsenroth, where his progeny remained until Dietrich Krekel (Crecelius) moved to Gemünden some time around 1560. Dietrich and Margarethe raised their family in Gemünden, but as adults their children moved south southeast to the area of Nauheim, Mensfelden, Heringen, Kirberg, and Burgschwalbach. Dietrich and Margarethe remained in Gemünden, where Dietrich died in 1628 and Margarethe was beheaded for witchcraft in 1629.
In this second area, Nauheim (not Bad Nauheim), just south of Limburg, is about 16 miles from Gemünden as the crow flies. In this area the next three or four generations of our Crecelius ancestors raised their families. Then in 1723, Johannes Crecelius, father of our immigrant ancestor, became pastor at Reichelsheim, where he raised his family, and whence our immigrant ancestor Otto Rudolph Creclius departed for the new world. Reichelsheim is approximately 35 miles west of Nauheim.
To mention a few other points of interest, Gießen, in the top right of the map, is where our immigrant ancestor's father, Johannes Crecelius, attended the University. He had received his secondary education at the preparatory school (Gymnasium) in Idstein, which is southeast of the Nauheim area. Just a short distance northeast of Nauheim, near a bend in the Lahr River, is Villmar, where our 9x great grandmother, Agnes Ludwig was born. She was the wife of Philipp Bonart and grandmother of Johann Christoph Crecelius's wife, Anna Catharina Conrad. A little southwest of Reichelsheim is Friedberg, where our immigrant ancestor's mother, Anna Margarethe Senkenberg, was born. Kettenbach, where our 11x great grandfather Peter Los (father-in-law of Christian Crecelius) taught from 1572 to 1780, is just south of Burgschwalbach, the southernmost village in the second area.
Below the map I've added a table showing the family milestones in each location.
| Berzahn | 1452 | The earliest recorded Krekel is here. |
| Wilsonroth | 1473-1560 | The son of the Krekel who was in Berzahn is here, and his progeny remain until Dietrich Krekel (Crecelius) moves to Gemünden. |
| Gemünden | 1560-1629 | |
| 1560-1570 | Dietrich Krekel (Crecelius) and Margarethe Weller marry. | |
| 1565-1570 | Christian Crecelius is born. | |
| 1572 | Peter Los is canon. He will become the father-in-law of Christian Crecelius and our 11x great grandfather. | |
| 1577 | Dietrich Crecelius becomes cantor in the Lutheran church here and serves as such until his death. | |
| 1583 | Dietrich Crecelius becomes instructor at the Institute of St. Severus. | |
| 1628 | Dietrich Crecelius dies. | |
| 1629 | Margarethe Weller Crecelius, widow of Dietrich, dies. | |
| Heringen | 1542-1692 | |
| 1542 | Conrad brothers are here. They are the family of Anna Catharina Conrad, wife of Johann Christoph Crecelius. | |
| 1627 | Hans Dietrich Conrad is born. He is our 8x great grandfather and the father-in-law of Johann Christoph Crecelius. | |
| before 1646 | Jacob Höltzer dies. He is the maternal grandfather of Hans Dietrich Conrad. | |
| 26 Feb 1679/80 | Johann Christoph Crecelius and Anna Catharina Conrad marry. | |
| after 1680 | Anna Maria Bonart Conrad dies. She is our 8x great grandmother, wife of Hans Dietrich Conrad, mother of Anna Catharina Conrad, and mother-in-law of Johann Christoph Crecelius. | |
| 24 Feb 1682/3 | Johann Crecelius, father of our immigrant ancestor, is born. | |
| 1692 | Hans Dietrich Conrad, father-in-law of Johann Christoph Crecelius, dies. | |
| Nauheim | 1606-1700 | |
| 1606 | Theiß Dreiling is a forced laborer. He will become the grandfather of Johannes Crecelius's wife Katharina Dreiling, and our 10x great grandfather. | |
| 1618 | Christian Crecelius and Anita Los marry. | |
| ~1620 | Johannes Crecelius is born. |
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| ~1629 | Katharina Dreiling is born. | |
| 1630 | Peter Crecelius is pastor. | |
| after 1634 | Theiß Dreiling dies. | |
| July, 1635 | Peter Crecelius leaves to become pastor at Mensfelden, following Christian's death. | |
| 10 Sep 1650 | Johannes Crecelius and Katharina Dreiling marry. | |
| 3 Aug 1652 | Johann Christoph Crecelius is born. | |
| 9 Aug 1673 | Georg Dreiling dies. He is the father of Katharina and the son of Theiß Dreiling, and our 9x great grandfather.. | |
| 11 Jan 1676/7 | Martha Dreiling (maiden name unknown) dies. She is the mother of Katharina and the widow of Georg Dreiling and is our 9x great grandmother. | |
| Mensfelden | 1602-1700 | |
| 1602 | Justus (or Jodocus) Crecelius, son of Dietrich, becomes pastor. | |
| 1616 | Justus Crecelius dies, and his brother Christian becomes pastor here succeeding his brother. | |
| 8 Jul 1635 | Christian Crecelius dies, and Peter Crecelius becomes pastor shortly thereafter. | |
| 24 Jul 1635 | Peter Crecelius dies | |
| 1635/41 | Anita Loos Crecelius, widow of Christian, dies. | |
| ~ 1652 | Agnes Ludwig Bonart dies. She is our 9x great grandmother, the grandmother of Johann Christoph Crecelius's wife Anna Catharina Conrad. | |
| before 1681 | Philipp Bonart, our 9x great grandfather, dies. | |
| 1697-1700 | Johannes Crecelius is toll-collector. | |
| Kirberg | 1629-1716 | |
| 1629 | Peter Crecelius is schoolteacher. | |
| Easter 1707 | Johannes Crecelius, father of our immigrant ancestor, becomes deacon. | |
| 1 Sep 1716 | Johannes Crecelius and Anna Margarethe Senkenberg marry. | |
| Burgschwalbach | 7 Nov 1716 | Johannes Crecelius becomes pastor. |
| Friedberg | 14 Feb 1693/4 | Anna Margarethe Senkenberg is born. She is the mother of our immigrant ancestor. |
| Reichelsheim | 23 Jul 1723 | Johannes Crecelius becomes pastor. |
| 22 Apr 1753 | Anna Margarethe Senkenberg, mother of our immigrant ancestor, dies. | |
| 21 Feb 1760 | Johannes Crecelius, father of our immigrant ancestor, dies. | |
| 7 Jul 1764 | Certificate of legitimate birth of his children is given to Otto Rudolph Crecelius in anticipation of his emigration to America. |
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