Niedderhein - that is not correct. It is Nordrhein (North Rheinland). I have not seen any other source saying Niedderrhein or even Niederrhein for that matter. a quick check at http://maps.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll shows Blatzheim is in state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Kerpen in two states - Nordrhein-Westfalen and Rheinland-Pfalz Kerpen (Nordrhein-Westfalen) is located right off west side of "A61" and south of "A4" freeways and Blatzheim is right west of Kerpen so I am betting on Nordrhein-Westfalen location. Both are south of Dusseldorf and downriver from Koblenz. David John Wells wrote: > > Greetings to all. I am a new member of the group and I have need help(surprise!). I have recently organized a family heritage tour of southwestern Germany for the Auxier family of East Kentucky. For generations we thought we were French(a long story), but have discovered that our name was originally "Axer" and our ancestors Christian and Johann Michael Axer lived in Armsheim in Pfalz-Hessen in the early 1700's. However, "Axer" is not a common name in that area and I was told that the family came to that town after the Thirty Years War from "Neiderrhein." A check of the available church records reveals that the "Axer" family was concentrated around the tons of Kerpen and Blatzheim. However, from my limited knowledge, Blatzheim and Kerpen were never in the Niedderrhein? Right? Help! > > Sincerely, > John B. Wells III