Dorothea was born in the Zeckenmühle – a mill, likely a sawmill, about one mile downstream from the Dorfmühle. She was 12 years old when Mistelbach was destroyed by the Croatians in the spring of 1634. We don’t know if the Zeckenmühle was razed, but given the fact that all but eight houses were left standing, and that the mills were the likeliest of targets, we can reasonably assume that Dorothea and her family fled. If their mill was destroyed, we don’t know where the family sought refuge, or for how long. Perhaps they fled to another village, perhaps they “camped” in the woods, as many did.