Both the Rockenbach and Ott families have long histories of residence in the Alsace area. The Rockenbach ancesters have been traced back as far as the late 1500’s in the Gerstheim, Alsace area and the Ott genealogy can be traced back to the late 1100’s in the Baldenheim, Alsace area.

Alsace is an area in what is now northeast France. The area has a long history of invasion and annexation by various groups since it was settled by the Celts around 1500 BC.

By 1500 BC Celts began to settle in Alsace, clearing and cultivating the land. Alsace is a plain surrounded by the Vosges mountains to the west and the Black Forest  mountains on the east.Alsace has always been a rich agricultural land with deposits of coal and iron ore which is one reason that it has suffered so many invasions and annexations in its history.

By 58 BC the Romans had invaded and established Alsace as a center for the cultivation of grapes. To protect this highly valued industry, the Romans built fortifications and military camps that evolved into various communities which have been inhabited continuously to the present day.

With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of German Alemanni people who controlled the area until defeated by the Franks in the 5th century AD when it became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Frank rule the inhabitants were Christianized. As a result of the Treaty of Verdun in 843 the Alsace area became part of the Middle Francia, ruled by Charlemagne’s eldest grandson Lothar.

About this time, the surrounding areas experienced recurring fragmentation and reincorporations among a number of feudal secular and ecclesiastical lordships, a common occurrence in the Holy Roman Empire.