Hello, Ewald, Thank you so much for your great information. Maybe I should not have dismissed Feil by Bingert as being too close. It is interesting that Franz Friedrich von Sickingen sounds more tolerant of Lutherans in your account than in the Grossarth pedigree in GDB. I checked for the availability of Feilbingert records through the LDS and found some for the needed years. I will check be taking a look at the websites which you provided. It looks like one might be a relative. Thanks so much for your help, Karen Grossart -----Original Message----- From: EWALD Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 5:06 PM Karen Feil was a hamlet near Ostwald (Bas-Rhin, Alsace). Ostwald was called Illwickersheim before 1789. Feil near Ostwald NEVER depended on the family Von Sickingen. source: book "Das Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen, 1901-1903" Feilbingert is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland- Palatinate. Feilbingert was composed in the past by two towns :Feil and Bingert. Not far from Feilbingert was the castle Ebernburg, the castle of the family VON SICKINGEN. For more, see the site: http://freenet-homepage.de/ebernburg-stiftung/_private/Landschaft_ erzaehlt_Geschichte.htm#III3 This site says that << Sein Nachfolger wird sein Sohn Franz Friedrich, der vorher jedoch den Ebernburgern schriftlich die freie Religionsausübung zusichern musste.>> The successor of Johann Arnold von Sickingen (d. 1660) was his son Franz Friedrich von Sickingen who accorded the free religious exercice to the inhabitants of castle Ebernburg. In your message is mentioned << Johann Nikolaus Großarth, I >> Here are 3 "Johann Nikolaus Großarth": Johann Nikolaus Großarth I, b.1645, d. 12.12.1720 Johann Nikolaus Großarth II, b. 16.12.1718, d. 14.12.1795 Johann Nikolaus Großarth III, b. 24.10.1808 d. 08.03.1864 http://www.schmidt-marfo.com/x_baum/ http://www.schmidt-marfo.com/x_baum/pages/julius_grossarth.htm Johann Nicolaus Grossarth ''from Feil'' was in 1704 the "Pächter" (owner, farmer ?) of the farm Disibodenberg (Disibodenberger Hof) near Odernheim-am-Glan. The distance between Feil and Odernheim-am-Glan is about 13 km. Good luck with your search Ewald