Map of the Fürstentum Birkenfeld
The map above shows the Fürstentum Birkenfeld in the mid-1850's, when Peter and Anna Maria Zehler and Anna (Becker) Zehler emigrated to America. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1815, the Congress of Vienna awarded the Principality of Birkenfeld to the Duchy of Oldenburg. At the same time, the surrounding area became part of Prussia. Thus Birkenfeld was a separate territory (country), although travel between Prussia and Birkenfeld was easy.
Note that Selbach (green dot) is located near the lower left tip of Birkenfeld and that Mettnich (red dot) is straight west of Selbach, just across the border in Prussia. The location of the Principality of Birkenfeld and of Oldenburg can be seen in the 1850 map of the German States.
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