THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 107
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold)
May 31, 2002
(c) 2002 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved)
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***WE WISH THE BURGENLAND DELEGATION BON VOYAGE***
Landeshauptmann Hans Niessl, LH-Stellvertreter Mag. Franz Steindl, Landesrat
Helmuth Bieler, Landesrat Karl Kaplan, Landesamtsdirektor Hofrat Dr. Robert
Tauber, Protokollchef Hofrat Johannes Pinczolits, Büroleiter Martin
Ivancsics, Büroleiter Mag. Thomas Steiner, Mag. Paul Blaguss Jr, BG Präsident
Dr. Walter Dujmovits: Danke für Ihren Besuch und kommen Sie wieder gut heim!
***FEATURED EVENTS >>> JUNE 8th ALLENTOWN SACRED HEART FOUNDER'S WEEKEND
(107-6) >>> JUNE 23rd COPLAY SAENGERBUND CLUB NEWS (107C-2) >>> JULY 14th BG
ANNUAL PICNIC MOSCHENDORF, BURGENLAND >>> AUGUST 24, 5th ANNUAL BB MID-WEST
PICNIC (see Homepage)***
This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes:
1. Burgenland Delegation Visits US & Canada
2. News From Riedlingsdorf
3. Low Airfare To Austria
4. More On Ellis Island Translations
5. Bukovina & Galicia
6. Founder's Weekend - Sacred Heart, Allentown, PA
7. "Splitter" - Fragments From Members
1. BURGENLAND DELEGATION VISITS US & CANADA
In a whirlwind of activity, beginning May 10 and ending May 19, our visitors
found that Burgenland ethnicity is still alive in Canada and the United
States, but in need of coordination. The difficulty was not in attracting
people to meet them, but in finding a slot in the delegation's busy
schedule. Most functions were "sold out." Since we were told that one
purpose of the visit was to meet "young" (new or later generation)
Burgenländers, there is no doubt that they achieved this goal. Your editor
had to accept a slot during the group's last hours in Allentown, but we were
then able to discuss plans for the future after a breakfast meeting, hosted
by the BB at the Ramada Inn.
I can't speak for the other places visited, not having been there myself, but
I can report that the Lehigh Valley visit was an astounding success. BB
member and Allentown BG representative Bob Strauch surpassed himself in
providing the visitors with a warm and "gemutlich" welcome at the Ramada Inn,
the Austrian/Hungarian Vets, where a flag raising ceremony took place, dinner
and music at the Coplay Saengerbund (24 BB members attended) and an evening
of fun and music at the Edelweiss Haus, Northampton. Bob also led his singing
group, the Hianznchor, in a musical conclusion to the Saengerbund dinner. I
understand that a lunch and a dinner was provided by Northampton BG members
despite scheduling conflicts. BB members were not invited to these
Northampton affairs.
I hope to bring you a report of the Delegation's visits to Toronto, Chicago,
NYC and Passaic, NJ. I understand one of the places visited was "ground zero"
in NYC. I have also been informed of a reception given by the Austrian Consul
in Chicago, a dance in NYC and a German mass in Passaic, New Jersey.
Four BB members, who were present to meet the delegation, were honored for
their work. Frank Teklits (Philadelphia) and Bob Strauch (Allentown-award
was also for past and present BG work) were presented with the Burgenland
Service Cross (Verdienstkreuz des Landes Burgenland) and Anna Kresh
(Pittsburgh) and Tom Glatz (Chicago), received the Burgenland Gold Medallion
(Goldene Medaille). I drove in from Winchester, Virginia and was given a
large Burgenland Flag. BB member John Lavendoski flew in from Texas, and in
addition to those already mentioned, Margaret Kaiser came from New Jersey and
Bill Stubits from Philadelphia. The rest of the 22 BB members were from the
Lehigh Valley and we were delighted to meet them and grateful for their help
and attendance. One hundred copies of the most recent BB newsletter were
printed and distributed as well as invitation letters and BB business cards.
We are already receiving new Lehigh Valley requests for membership. We
presented the delegation with specially bound copies of the newsletter.
Visits like this are strands in the bonds that keep ethnicity alive and we
hope that this one will lead to greater cooperation and family history
development.
2. NEWS FROM RIEDLINGSDORF (From: Heinz Bundschuh)
Dear friends of Riedlingsdorf, you can find the first song of the MGV
Riedlingsdorf on our homepage. http://members.aon.at/mgvriedlingsdorf/
You can hear the first 17 seconds of 'Gläubige Seelen', it's a Christmas
song. Some other songs will follow in the next months. You can find the song
on our homepage behind the button 'Auditions'.
Behind the button 'History', you can find the site 'Overview Emigration' and
there are two new pictures from Tobias Zapfel, the grandfather of John
T. Cooper. Behind the button 'History' there is also the site 'Overview WW-II'
and there you can also get interesting historical information.
In the last four months the 'Historical Pictures' - Site (you can reach it
from the Homepage) was reorganized with many new pictures. I hope you will
find a lot of new interesting information.
3. LOW AIRFARE TO AUSTRIA (FROM Bob Unger)
I recently subscribed to the National Geographic Traveler magazine. Their
May/June 2002 issue included a great deal: Round trip air on Austrian
Airlines for $679.00, which includes the following:
* Round trip economy class from New York (JFK), or Washington, DC (IAD) to
any of the following destintations - Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, or Salzburg
* Three consecutive nights at a superior tourist class hotel
* Daily breakfast buffet, hotel service charges and hotel taxes
* Extended stay (at your own expense) for up to 2 months
Note the $697 fare is good for the periods (4/10/02 - 6/15/02) or 09/01/02
- 10/31/02). For the period (06/16/02 - 8/31/02) the fare is $859.
This fare is much cheaper than buying a round trip ticket. For more
information go to the following web site: http://www.imtc-travel.com/, then
click on "Other smart packs".
To verify this message, I tried this web site again but this time it did not
offer me the "Other smart packs" options. However, when I called Austrian
Airlines @ 1-800-790-4682, or the Austrian Tourist Office @ 1-800-965-3342,
they both verified this offer is valid. Austrian Airlines is partnered with
United Airlines, thus through this partnership you should be able to get
cheap fares from other departure airports.
4. MORE ON ELLIS ISLAND TRANSLATIONS
Previous articles have suggested caution in accepting Ellis Island data at
face value. Daily I receive comment asking for help or reporting
misspellings. Some examples follow:
Phonetic Spelling (From: Jerry Molchany)
I have another example of 'mangled' names. I found my grandfather Franz
Sinkovits, who emigrated in 1922. I knew my grandmother followed him later
the same year. I could not find her under that spelling. I did find her
under SCHINKOWITSCH, which is how the name was pronounced in the 'old
country'. So this may be another way people can find missing relatives in
the Ellis Island records. Think of how the name was pronounced in the
Burgenland (or elsewhere - phonetic spelling) and then try the alternate
spellings in the Ellis Island database.
Phonetic Spelling Plus Absorbed Village (From: Fritz Königshofer)
In your article about the Ellis Island records, you mention that the last
place of living of your Sorger grandfather is transcribed as Balazsfoln. I
wonder whether this could have been the small ethnic Slovenian village of
Újbalázsfalva, better known as Balázsfalu, or Börgölin/Wergelin. The
Slovenian name was Otkovci. The village is located to the south of
Szentgotthárd, but there is no train track nearby. The train tracks are
north of the river Raab. Another option might be Olaszfalu, also called
Lapinczolaszi, which is Wallendorf in German and today in Burgenland (near
Mogersdorf and Szentgotthárd). This would have been nearer to the railway,
and its population was ethnic German. There was also an Olaszfalu in
Veszprém county, district of Zirc. However, I checked the ship manifest, and
believe that it clearly states Balázsfalu, even including the accent on the
second a.
Question from G. Berghold
I certainly appreciate your settling this place of last origin (my
grandfather always said this was the last place he worked and it was there he
must have decided to come to the US, although he said his mother told him
(while he was visiting her in Rosenberg) that the authorities were asking
about his whereabouts as he was due for military service.
<< Újbalázsfalva, better known as Balázsfalu, or Börgölin/Wergelin. The
Slovenian name was Otkovci. >>
I have searched south of Szt. Gotthard. It does not appear to have been
absorbed by Szt Gotthard so I searched further but cannot locate this place
on my maps under any of these names. Is Otkovci now in Slovenia under that
name or is it still in Hungary under a Hungarian name?
Fritz Replies:
The village of Balázsfalu was very small in 1910, only about 250 ethnic
Slovenian inhabitants. It does not exist as an entity on today's maps. My
1910 map shows it located between Apátistvánfalva and Farkasfa, a little to
the north of the direct line between the two villages, south of Zsidahegy,
which is south of Szentgotthárd, in Hungary.
If you consult the red Hiszi atlas of Vas county, go to the entry for Szentgotthárd,
and see the map for the suburb Farkasfa there (it's page 147 in my version).
You will see, there is an area called Balazsdó to the north of the village,
perhaps a relic of the name (but Balázsfalu would have been a bit to the west
of this Balázsdó). If you look up the entry for Apátistvánfalva (page 17),
the text states that little village of Újbalázsfalva was incorporated in 1935.
It would be located at one of the settled areas near where it says Méh-Hegy.
5. BUKOVINA & GALICIA (fom Hannes Graf)
(ED. Note - the Dual Monarchy was a big place and, while we've restricted our
research to the Burgenland, we have provided some help in other areas. Here
is one that links to our membership editor's Burgenland family. - Bukovina,
Austrian crown land in northern Romania and Galicia, Austrian crown land in
the Carpathians. Direct any queries to Hannes!)
Hi all, For people who have also ancestors from BUKOWINA and GALICIA, I made
a map-page.
There are 3 historic maps from 1900.
The first is Bukovina, the second a street map from Czernowitz (former
capital of Bukovina) and the third a map from Galicia & Bukovina in Hebrew.
Maybe somebody can use it.
6. FOUNDER'S WEEKEND - SACRED HEART, ALLENTOWN, PA (from Jim Somogyi)
Details for the "Founder's Weekend" at Sacred Heart Church, Allentown
Founder's Weekend
Sacred Heart Church
336 North Fourth Street
Allentown, PA 18102-3008
610-434-5171
Saturday, June 8, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.: Parish Hall, Display of Parish History
and Burgenland memorabilia. Sale of traditional foods.
Saturday, June 8, 4:00 p.m.: Church; Mass, principal celebrant and homilist,
Rev. Msgr. James J. Reichert, son of the parish and currently pastor of Sacred
Heart Church, West Reading, PA. Lector will be Loretta Hartman, a niece of the
late Rev. Msgr. Leo Fink.
Sunday, June 9, 9:00 a.m.: Church; Mass and Graduation of Sacred Heart School
8th Grade Class, principal celebrant, Rev. John J. Grabish, Pastor.
Parish Hall, Display of Parish History and Burgenland memorabilia. Sale of
traditional foods.
My understanding from the organizing Committee is the hope that this will
become an annual event and will be expanded as the years go on. If you could
place this information in the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, the pastor, Rev.
John Grabish, would be most appreciative. I thank you for your help. I have
had some nice correspondence with several of the BB readers. I am always
willing to help them in any way I that I am able.
7. "SPLITTER" - FRAGMENTS FROM MEMBERS
*From: Edmund Traupmann
Just thought I'd let you know, me and my 22 month old son Luke will be in
Tobaj, Burgenland, from July 3-17. We were mentioned in the last issue of
the Burgenland Gemeinschaft.
*From: Margaret Kaiser
The Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints announced that additional guides in the Finding Records of Your
Ancestors series will be published in 2002. Research guides are being
prepared for the British Isles, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,
Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland (for
German language records). Additional guides will follow.
*From: Silvia und Günter Nikles, Josef Reichl-Straße 17a/7, A-7540 Güssing
Hallo! Güssing ist unter der neuen Adresse www.guessing.net erreichbar. (new
Güssing URL)
www.austria-4u.com | www.austria-4u.net | www.best-of-burgenland.com |
www.best-of-ungarn.com | www.familien-forschung.com |
www.my-family-research.com | www.glossare.net | www.guessing.net |
www.st-nikolaus.com | www.sued-burgenland.com | www-company.com
*From: Hannes Graf
After the reading the last newsletter I spoke with Elfie about pickles. The
point is, if YOU ever eat Elfie's pickles, YOU will forget all about
industrial made pickles. (Felix or Inzersdorfer.) She makes them from her
grandmother's original recipies. The very best are her "Salzgurken" (pickled
in brine), but also "Essiggurken" (vinegar cucumber) and "Senfgurken"
(gherkin with mustard seeds). Every year, we go to Tadten and we buy some
Kilos of cucumbers (20 to 50) and then Elfie's work begins. So I spoke with
her to share the recipes for an article for the newsletter. liebe Grüße
*From: Albert Schuch
I have just received the recent edition of the BG news. One page is devoted
to what appears to be a project of our member Herbert Rehling (Bad
Tatzmannsdorf). Together with Gert Polster (a historian; I mentioned his name
before) he is researching the Ellis Island records for emigrants from Bad
Tatzmannsdorf. The Ellis Island website is indeed a genealogical treasure. I
keep searching it every now and then. Tom Glatz (I recently met him in
Vienna; we went to the Volkskundemuseum, then to a nearby cafe) says he is
doing the same.
Newsletter continues as no. 107A
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 107A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) May 31, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved This second section of our 4-section newsletter contains: 1. Jewish Gravestones Returned To Güssing 2. Burgenland Cemeteries 3. Güssing Cemeteries 4. Burgenland Committee for Jewish-Christian Relations 5. Burgenland Commuters 6. New Microfilm of Rabafüzes (Raabfidisch) Birth Records 7. Heritage Quest Magazine - Beginner's Choice 1. JEWISH GRAVESTONES RETURNED TO GÜSSING (from Albert Schuch) ORF Burgenland (the local branch of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) reported that, following their recent discovery in Graz, 17 Jewish gravestones from Güssing have been returned to the town. They had been found leaning by the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Graz. Members of the "Schalom"-society researched their origin and organized their return to Güssing. The gravestones apparently had been removed from the Güssing Jewish cemetery during the Nazi era. The inscriptions show typical surnames of the former Güssing Jewish community, like Engel and Hoffmann. A German article on this subject is available on-line at: http://burgenland.orf.at/oesterreich.orf?read=detail&channel=2&id=201439 My knowledge is limited to the ORF article. I did some searching on the internet and found that there is a good English-language website on Jewish cemeteries in Austria at: http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/w-europe/austria.html Güssing is not mentioned, but the "Verein Schalom", which was instrumental in finding the gravestones and arranging their return was. Following is an excerpt from this website: "General Information for Vienna and North Burgenland about the Shalom Association: Austrian Federal President Thomas Klestil praised the work of the Shalom Association, which for the past five years restored Jewish graves in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. Shalom was founded in November 1991 by Walter Pagler and his wife Carla, together with historian Erika Weinzierl and architect Friedrich Rollwagen. In the course of 150,000 hours of voluntary service so far, a 26-hectare Jewish cemetery, that for five decades was completely abandoned and overgrown, was made accessible. During this process, 19 kms. of paths and roads were either repaired or newly built, which entailed cutting out 2,000 tons of wood. This cemetery is one of four Jewish cemeteries in Vienna in which no burials have taken place for years. Since the 1938-1945 period, in which 62,000 Viennese Jews were murdered and 102,000 exiled, these cemeteries have been completely abandoned and become overgrown. Walter Pagler succeeded in finding several mass graves of Jews in Burgenland, and particularly Hungarian prisoners of forced labor camps, who were murdered by the Nazis. Shalom Association is currently preparing a 'Guide' to the Jewish cemeteries, in order to make it easier for visitors - mainly descendants of the second and third generation - to find the graves of their exiled or murdered relatives. The invisible core of the restoration of the Jewish cemeteries proved surprisingly to be the electronic database. This was made possible by a donation made by the former Federal Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Science, Erhard Busek. The database is linked up with 24 computers at the Vienna Business School in which the Jewish Community Centre's death register and registrar records are stored. They comprise all the Viennese cemeteries with a total of 155,000 Jewish citizens who have died since 1750 and the cemeteries in northern Burgenland and Lower Austria." 2. BURGENLAND CEMETERIES General Burgenland cemetery notes. Most villages have a cemetery or share one with a nearby neighbor. Since villages average 800 years of age, these cemeteries have been in use a long time. It is rare to find graves for more than four generations of an existing family. Earlier grave markers were of wood (deteriorated) and later of iron (scrapped during WW-I & -II). Following WW-I, stone markers began replacing wood or iron. With the arrival of affluence, grave markers are now mainly of granite or marble and quite ornate. They often contain pictures of the deceased and the trend is toward integrated family plots. Plots are well maintained by family members and are covered with plants and flowers. There is often a small church or chapel nearby, if not, a small meeting house may be available for funerals. Parking lots are often available as well as water facilities and unlocked iron fences and gates. Most cemeteries are well landscaped but are often on hillsides, reflecting the use of ground which would be difficult to cultivate. The cemeteries are generally under the supervision of the parish church and the village community office and require payment of an annual rental fee. When the fee is no longer paid, the marker is removed and the grave site reused. Even though a village may belong to a parish church in another village, burials most often take place in the village cemetery of the deceased. In Lutheran communities, such as Eltendorf and Kukmirn, one will find both Lutheran and RC burials. Some communities have two cemeteries (Königsdorf is one). On the Hungarian side of the border, one will find abandoned and overgrown cemeteries (Rönök is an example) particularly in areas contained within the communist iron curtain. Others like Pinkamidszent are in excellent condition. Burgenland cemeteries are idyllic spots, often in a very picturesque setting. I've used their parking places to have a picnic lunch, being very careful to take nothing and leave nothing. I do not take rubbings from grave markers but I do take pictures (use a sun filter to cut glare) and my wife makes back-up notes for me. You will often find a village matron tending her family plot and you can then ask the location of your own family plots. I remember one poor woman in the cemetery at Heiligenkreuz, who after helping me find some graves, remarked that she was the last of her family and that she hoped someday descendants of her immigrant family would return seeking her grave, a poignant episode. Sometimes when I'm in a Burgenland cemetery I feel like my ancestors are talking to me. 3. GÜSSING CEMETERIES Given the centuries of settlement in the Güssing area, it is not surprising that there are many graves. Unfortunately, most grave markers are no older than the late 1800's. The main cemetery is located south of the castle at the base of the hill and is an adjunct of Pfarrkirche St. Jakob (12th Century), the former Güssing parish church which now serves only as a chapel. In addition to the cemetery graves there are some aristocratic Batthyány and Draskovitch Family Crypts. There must have been burials within the castle complex itself and there is a chapel, which dates to the 13th or 14th century when the masonry castle was erected. A Benedictine cloister (no remains) was erected there as well and it too could have provided some burial sites. There are none in evidence today but the castle complex has yet to undergo an archeological dig. St. Jakob was replaced as the Güssing Parish church when the present Kirche Maria Heimsuchung was built about 1638. As an integral part of the Franciscan Cloister, it contains the main Batthyány Family Crypt. East of the Stadt, on the road to Strem (Rt 56), in the area known as the Mühlwinkel (Mill Corner), one will find the small Jewish Cemetery surrounded by a masonry wall. There were few grave markers when visited by me in 2001 but, as the previous article states, this will soon be changed. This cemetery was restored a few years ago and there is a memorial marker containing its history. Now part of Gemeinde Güssing, the former Croatian parish church of St. Nicholas (Szt. Miklos) was merged into the Güssing parish in the late 1800's. It has its own village cemetery. The other Ortseile (community villages) of Langzeil, Rosenberg and Urbersdorf do not have cemeteries that I am aware of, but Neustift bei Güssing does. 4. BURGENLAND COMMITTEE FOR JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS (from Markus Prenner) News from Burgenland: Since Spring 2002, a Burgenland Committee for Jewish-Christian Relations has been established. The main purpose of the Committee is to provide a place for dialogue between Christians and Jews living in the Burgenland area - nowadays only between 10-15 Jews of the once prospering Communities (about 8,000 in the 19th century!) are still alive, most of them over 70 years of age. This Ecumenical Group - led by Bernhard Dobrowsky (Dioc. Eisenstadt) and Markus Prenner (Theologist, Project-management) - wants to act as a memorial and information group, for schools and anyone who is interested in the Jewish Religion and Culture. The spiritual aspects of an inter-religious dialogue is one of the most important reasons for our existence. The Austrian-Committee (www.christenundjuden.org) supports us in administraion and in building and keeping good contact with Jewish Communities all over Austria. Anyone interested is invited to join our group and receive information about our activities! Please contact us via our email addresses: bernhard.dobrowsky@kath-kirche-eisenstadt.at markus.prenner@aon.at 5. BURGENLAND COMMUTERS (from Markus Prenner) (ED. Note: Emigration got its start when Burgenland area workers began commuting to other countries to help with seasonal harvests. They would be gone as long as there was work and then return home with money to support them until their next trip. When one-way trans-Atlantic fares of $14 became available, a commute to America became a viable option. About 25% returned - the others found they preferred life in America. My own grandfather Berghold emigrated, returned and emigrated again. If you visit Burgenland villages, even today, you will be struck by the absence of young people during the week - many are commuting to the larger cities to work. Markus tells us there are 38,000 of them (about 15% of the total population). He also tells us they wish to do something about it - or are we going to see another exodus to foreign lands?) A few weeks ago the "Club Burgenland", a "think-tank-platform" established by the former Vice-Governor of Burgenland, Feri Sauerzopf (ÖVP), started a new project: Work and Mobility in Burgenland. Project manager is BB member Markus Prenner, theologian and teacher from Strem and Güssing, now living in Horitschon. Main purpose is to study the 38,000 commuters who work outside Burgenland. In partnership with the "Pendlerclub" (a newly established commuter network), the Club Burgenland wants to provide the politicians with strategies and the latest results of the economical sciences and point out possibilities for the Burgenland as part of the European Union of the 21st century! Who knows it better? There is no other province in Austria that has had so much "experience" with commuting workers than the people who had to leave Burgenland for America......! MMag. Markus K. Prenner Raiffeisengasse 7 A - 7312 Horitschon 6. NEW MICROFILM OF RABAFÜZES (RAABFIDISCH) BIRTH RECORDS From: Margaret Kaiser I got my first glimpse of the (June 1897-Feb 1900) microfilmed birth records recorded at Rabafüzes. The records were microfilmed March 2000. The manner of record keeping is similar to the Eltendorf civil registrations. Entries are recorded in Hungarian on a preprinted page. One page is used for each entry. (For some unknown reason, on the roll I viewed, each page has been filmed 3 times.) Question - Since my Hungarian is nonexistent, I can discern general entries, but cannot interpret detail. I was wondering if either of you have noticed that, after a period of time, the entries appearing as sort of "fill in the blanks," the record keeper continues for a time making entries on the preprinted form in paragraph form, without using the blanks (writing on the left or right hand side of the pages). This continues for a time, and then records continue as fill in the blank entries, and then follows a series of the left/right side page entries. Have you discerned any reason for this pattern? Observations: I did not make any full record notations as yet; however, I noticed the following names and wonder if these records would be of interest to you. Please let me know if you have interest in these folks, and I will transcribe or copy the entries for you. Abbreviations used below: AR = Alsoronok FR = Felsoronok J = Jakabhaza RK = Rabakerestur BG = Borosgador S = Sandorhegy RF = Rabafuxes RC = Roman Catholic 1897#132 Peter Kroboth & Rosina Koller, parents of Adolf, August 4, 1897 #143 Jozsef Kaefer & Teres Koller, parents of Karoly, RF 72 #183 Janos Nikitscher & Julia Koller, parents of Julia, Oct. 31, 1897, RK 1898# 73 Ferencz Berghold & Julia Roscher, ages 44/39, parents of Terez, born April 26, 1898 at Rabakerestur 33/24. #105 Karoly Koller & Teresa Knautz, parents of Julianna FR/J #107 Ferencz Koller & Teresia Cseh, parents of Teres, FR 133 #111 Janos Koller & Juliana Windisch, parents of Ferencz & Cecilia (twins) #153 Antal Koller & Anna Klucserits, parents of Adolf #207 Jozsef Schadt & Maria Koller, parents of Herman in FR #227 Julia Burghard, AR, age 22, mother of Adolf #241 Mihaly Lorencz & Julia Kaufman, parents of Janos, Nov. 30, 1898, AR, both RC Ferencz Dujmovits & Teresa Oberecker, parents of Teresa, RK 1899 #79 Mihaly Kurta & Maria Koller, parents of Herman, BG/S #152 Janos Fischl & Maria Berghold, parents of Cecilia, RF #160 Mihaly Boder & Julia Koller, parents of Karol, AR #198 Ferencz Koller & Teres Cseh, parents of Herman, FR These records are great. I expect to find them of great enlightenment untangling loose ends. HERITAGE QUEST MAGAZINE - BEGINNER'S CHOICE (ED. Note: Lately I've received a number of queries concerning basic genealogical procedures. The BB is a specialized family history site and was never intended to be a general genealogical "how to" website. There are many sources for such data. One is the Heritage Quest Magazine and related websites. I've mentioned them before. While I haven't done so lately, I've written articles for this magazine. I think it is one of the best. If you need some basic genealogical help, try a free copy. We receive nothing for this plug which is brought to you only as information.) HERITAGE QUEST MAGAZINE - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Discover addicting articles for the novice, intermediate or advanced researcher in Heritage Quest Magazine with no obligation. If you like what you see -- and we're confident you will! -- subscribe for just $28 per year. Get your free copy today! (Only one trial issue per household please.) http://www.heritagequest.com/html/feature39.html Newsletter continues as no. 107B
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 107B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) May 31, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved This third section of our 4-section newsletter contains: 1. Where Do We Live? 2. US Census 1930 3. International Roots Conference 4. Burgenland Dish Question Answered 5. Namensforschung - Questions Answered 1. WHERE DO BURGENLAND BUNCH MEMBER DESCENDANTS LIVE NOW? BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT DESCENDANTS CONTINUE THE AUSWANDERUNG. I have been curious as to the geographic distribution of our membership. Membership editor Hannes Graf (Wien) responded to my wish and added a new website to the BB Homepage. It starts with a map of the world. As you click on the continents, countries appear and as you click on the countries, a list of the numbers of members in residence appears. In the United States and Canada, the countries are also divided into states and provinces. Hannes has been burning a lot of midnight oil. There is a direct link from the Membership list by clicking on "Where We Are". A summary follows (includes members with listed data but excludes those who have not provided a resident state or who only receive the newsletter): Geographic Area and Number of Resident BB Members: Foreign Countries: Australia 10, Austria 51, Argentina 1, Canada 46, Germany 6, Hungary 3, Israel 3, Italy 1, New Zealand 2, Sweden 1, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 6 Canada: Ontario 22, British Colimbia 10, Quebec 3, Others 11 United States: Alabama 4, Alaska 2, Arizona 14, Arkansas 1 California 68, Colorado 8, Connecticut 9, Delaware 4 Florida 24, Georgia 9. Hawaii 1, Idaho 3 Illinois 74, Indiana 15, Iowa 6 Kansas 6, Kentucky 3, Louisiana 2, Massachusetts 6 Maine 1, Maryland 14, Michigan 23, Minnesota 78 Missouri 23, Mississippi 0, Montana 0, Nevada 1 New Hampshire 3, New Jersey 39, New York 47 North Carolina 11, North Dakota 4, Nebraska 8 New Mexico 4, Oregon 10, Oklahoma 4, Ohio 11 Pennsylvania 90, Rhode Island 0, South Carolina 5 South Dakota 4, Tennessee 6, Texas 16, Utah 4 Virginia 18, Washington 12, Wyoming 0 West Virginia 0, Vermont 1, Wisconsin 25 Austria (51) and Canada (46) have the most foreign members. Pennsylvania (90) has the most US members followed by Minnesota (78), Illinois (74) and Califorina (68). There are no members from Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, Wyoming or West Virginia. We have no members from Asia. Burgenländers seem to know which are the best places in which to settle - heh-heh! 2. US CENSUS 1930 We have written about the US Census in previous issues of the newsletter and we suggest a search of the archives if you want to know more about using census records. The census is taken every ten years and the data is made available to the public after seventy years. While it is necessary to know where someone lived in order to find their listing, there are ways of determining residence via various indices. While the census has been taken since 1790, the three which are most important for Burgenland immigrant searches are those for 1910, 1920 and now 1930. These will show not only all members of the family and their ages, but frequently will show languages spoken (a clue to origin) as well as country or even village of origin and date of immigration. There is other data. I have used the 1910 and 1920 census for Lehigh and Northampton Counties of Pennsylvania extensively and found them to be of great help. I assume the 1930 census will be similar. Once you know the residence of your immigrant family, you can order the census records for that place either through the LDS at one of their Family History Centers or through one of the commercial sources. The following was received from RootsWeb and may help you determine how to use this new tool. The BB does not endorse any commercial offer and this is brought to you for information only. Subj: Discover your roots with the 1930 U.S Census From: RootsWeb-Announce-L@rootsweb.com (RootsWeb Special Offers) Dear RootsWeb User, What's so great about the 1930 U.S. Census? That's easy - it's an essential piece of U.S. history containing important details on more than 137 million individuals. And whether you love family history, Americana, or just want to discover the records of people you know well-grandparents, parents, perhaps even yourself-the 1930 U.S. Census is a priceless resource. And as of 1 April, it's available for the first time ever, from Ancestry.com. Start your FREE TRIAL now! http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=3180&sourceid=2383 Ancestry.com is pleased to bring you the first public offering of the 1930 Census, now part of our 1790-1930 Census Subscription. Our U.S. Census free trial includes access to new 1930 records containing: -- Name and age of every person in each household surveyed, and their relationship to the head of household -- Gender, age, and race -- Birthplace of individuals and their parents -- Marital status and age at first marriage -- Occupation, industry, and current employment status AOL READERS: If you are an AOL user and/or if you cannot click on the URL, highlight the ENTIRE URL (address) and copy the URL to the Windows Clipboard. Paste it into your browser window. Click "Go" or press Enter to access the Census Free Trial signup form. 3. INTERNATIONAL ROOTS CONFERENCE (From: James Weinzatl) (ED. Note: The Burgenland Bunch is not a genealogy group. It is a Burgenland Family History Group. As such we are not interested in teaching genealogy except as it may relate exclusively to Burgenland Family History. There are many other groups and websites offering genealogical help and we direct you to them if you need basic help or are just beginning a family search or need genealogical how to. Come to us if you have Burgenland questions. Maybe someday we'll host a Burgenland Conference.) Member Jim Weinzatl writes: I am sure several of us received invitations to the International Roots conference this year in Dearborn Michigan (July 14-18). One of the Monday morning sessions deals with Austria-Hungary Genealogy and vital records. This is targeted to the beginner/intermediate level. I was looking for you to say something about it in the latest BB newsletter, but not one word was mentioned. Do you know anything about the instructors; are these sessions worth the time and money? Reply: I too received this email invite but nothing else. Since I host a Roots-L board, I would have thought they would have notified me with more data. (Brochure recently received, see below.) I also heard nothing from Charles Wardell who is our Roots liason, so I ignored the preliminary notice. Sorry but I can't tell you if this would be worth your time or not. Depends on how much experience you have. Are you interested in basic genealogy or have you had the course? I know it would not help me, as it is probably more macro-genealogy (large geographic areas and general "how to") than micro-genealogy (small geographic area and specific "how to"). Austria/Hungary was one big place - Switzerland to Romania - northern Italy and the Balkans to Russia. Even so, some genealogy groups still place it under Germany! Even today, Austria encompasses nine provinces and excludes the Hungarian and Slovenian border regions. Your chance of finding any specific reference to Burgenland at a macro-genealogy conference is about zero. This is why I formed the Burgenland Bunch. I could rarely find anything pertinent to the Burgenland or Trans Danubia in the morass of other non-related material. I thus assumed that an International Conference would cover too large a field. In addition to our staff (and they are not all expert in all Burgenland subjects), I know of only two other Burgenland "experts" and one specializes in Austria/Hungary, the other Austria/Czechoslovakia. Neither specializes in just Burgenland. Neither have mentioned the conference to me so they won't be among the conference leaders. By all means, if you need instruction in basic genealogy, attend the conference - you'll find Roots people among the best and you'll get some good general help. If you go, give us a report on the Burgenland aspects if any. I know this sounds as if the BB is the only place for Burgenland Family History, but believe me, at least in English, it is - and I know of no other group or web site, Austrian or Hungarian, who can match us. Regards, Gerry ***Additional Notice*** ED. Note: I just received the May/June issue of Heritage Quest Magazine. Included in the mailing envelope was a multi page brochure outlining this conference. As I expected, it is pretty much a macro conference although there are at least three sessions which address Hungary and or Austria. Germany and Central Europe (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, etc.), north of Burgenland, appears to be well covered. The brochure is silent with regard to Burgenland. Lots of good general subjects such as Ellis Island records, genealogy trips, how to use various records, reading German script; something for everyone. If you need this sort of thing, by all means attend, you won't be disappointed. If you are interested exclusively in the Burgenland, you can probably find your answers in our archives. Full registration for 5 days is $230 exclusive of meals and lodging. Special side trips and events are offered at extra cost. 4. BURGENLAND DISH QUESTION ANSWERED (from Dale Knebel) (ED. Note: BB News No. 106C questioned a "Burgenland" plate. Lake Region Editor Dale Knebel found the answer.) Dale writes: With interest, I read your piece on the mysterious dish. In November of 2000 my sister bought a setting for 6 at a combination second-hand/antique shop. The store also buys whole estates. Since then, I have been keeping an eye out for this pattern without success. The internet yields little except that the steins that Villeroy and Bach make enjoy a good market in the collectible world. Her dishes are blue. Luckily there was an original brochure with hers which displays all the pieces available. The brochure says: Form KÖLN and Dekor BLAU BURGENLAND. In addition it says Villeroy & Boch / Steingutfabrik / Mettlach-Saar The dishes don't all have the same scene. They seem to use several scenes but all tend to follow your description (river, mountain, castle, etc). Here are some of the pieces available (in German, try to translate what they mean): Tieler Tief Platte runc flach Platte rund tief suppenglasse mit 2 Henkein Unterlasse zur Suppenlasse Platte oval Platte für fische Vorspeiseplatte mit 4 Abteilungen Gemüseplatte rund tief Salatschüssel oval Salatschüssel rund Salatschüssel viereckig Suppenschüssel Gemüseschüssel Ragoutschüssel Kasserolle mit Deckel Kartoffelnapf Sauciere Buttersauciere Salzgefäß doppelt Senftopt Eierbecher auf Platte Eierbecher ohne Platte Grützeschale Puddingschälchen Kompottschälchen Kaffekanne Mokkakännchen Teekanne Milchkanne hoch Zuckerschälchen Zuckerbol Tasse mit Untere (3 sizes) Käseglacke HAAG These websites show the red and blue dishes. I believe I also saw them in Brown and/or green. Notice the different scene on the plate and the Kaffeekanne http://www.villeroy-boch.ru/win/tblware/index03.htm http://www.porzellan-frankreiter.de/c27.html http://www.kustermann.de/w/w_porz/VUB1.htm 5. NAMENSFORSCHUNG (Queries from Gerry Berghold, Answers by Albert Schuch) ED. Note: I have a lot of books as well as dictionaries, but every so often I get stuck, and one of the first places I go for help is our Burgenland editor Albert Schuch. I recently asked the following and his answers follow. << Kogel as in "Tanzkogel"? What is a Kogel? >> Kogel (or Kogl) is another word for hill. << Geschchlechtes as in "die Mitglieder des Geschlechtes Heder" the members of the Heder Family? Why not "Familie?" Is Geschlechtes more of a "dynastic" term? >> Yes, exactly. One wouldn't use "Geschlecht" (which usually translates to gender or sex) for a "normal" family. Just for noble families. << What do you know of the "Rheimchronik" shown as part of "Die Güssinger", WAB 79? Looks like a saga similar to the Nordic ones (those from Iceland -Greenland etc.) but covering Trans-Danubia. Is this truly a good reference for the early period? >> As far as I know the Reimchronik gives a fairly accurate account of the Güssing Feud (that ended with the defeat of Count Iwein). As the name says, it is a chronicle in verse. The online encyclopedia www.aeiou.at has the following information about the author: << Ottokar aus der Gaal (real name: Otacher ouz der Geul; sometimes O. von Steiermark; used to be wrongly identified as O. von Horneck according to W. Lazius), b. around 1265, d. between 1319 and 1321, Styrian poet and historian from the family of the Lords of Strettweg. Was in the service of the Liechtensteins, probably at times a traveling poet; there is evidence of him in Styria from 1304. Fought in wars and travelled in diplomatic functions. His "Österreichische Reimchronik" in almost 100,000 verses is the first comprehensive work of history in German. It covers the years 1246-1309 and describes the history of the Holy Roman Empire and the history of Austria and Styria according to poetical and historical sources. His "Weltchronik", which was partly a history of Emperors, has not been preserved. >> << Do you know why the German troops destroyed St. Emerich's Church in Ronok, Hungary (border at Inzenhof)? The booklet I have says they blew it up while retreating - hardly seems to have any military significance and the Hungarians were allies. >> Sorry, I have no knowledge about this incident. << There must be a biography of the Batthyány family. Do you know of a one?... >> I do not know of a printed biography. There are several unpublished master's and doctoral theses, but usually these deal with one person only. The "Heimatblätter" (quarterly of the Landesarchiv) recently included an article in two installments based upon a recent thesis. It is about one part of the family (referred to as the "older" line) in the 18th century. Written by a young historian named Gert Polster. I do not know him, but I recall that BB-member Herbert Rehling has mentioned his name. He might be able to provide "special prints" of this article (the author gets a number of these). A book you probably own is the "Festschrift Stadterhebung Güssing 1973". This includes an overall history of the family. (Starting on page 36.) Newsletter continues as no. 107C
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 107C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) May 31, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved ***IF YOU LIVE IN THE MID-WEST, SEE THE INVITATION TO THE 5TH MINNEAPOLIS BB PICNIC, AUGUST 24. A LINK TO DETAILS AND A MAP IS AVAILABLE FROM THE BB HOMEPAGE*** ***LEHIGH VALLEY MEMBERS, SEE UPCOMING COPLAY SAENGERBUND AFFAIR, 2ND ARTICLE*** This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter contains: 1. Austrian-American Clubs 2. Coplay Saengerbund To Celebrate 85th Anniversary 3. BB Welcome Address To Austrian Delegation 4. A Visit Home - Allentown, PA 5. Using Google Search Engine 1. AUSTRIAN AMERICAN CLUBS (from Anna Kresh) (ED. Note: In our preoccupation with matters Burgenländisch we must not neglect mention of Austrian / American groups which represent all of the Austrian Provinces as well as some of the crown lands and Hungarian counties of the old Dual Monarchy. Many of the greater ethnic enclave cities have such Austrian-focused groups and it is worth while to seek them out. We've already mentioned some in previous issues. Now internet editor Anna Kresh sends me a report of the Pittsburgh group in addition to some material by snail-mail.) Anna writes: We went to the (Pittsburgh) Austrian-American Society's annual black-tie Austrian Ball yesterday. They changed the format considerably this year. Instead of the Sheraton at Station Square, it was held in the Foyer of the Carnegie Music Hall, a great imposing marble hall with balconies all around (very impressive). Instead of the Hank Haller Band, this year music was provided by the 20-piece Plum Creek Chamber Orchestra. Some extraordinarily good vocalists sang several beautiful solos, including "Wien, Wien, nur du allein" and an impromptu (I think) "Edelweis", sung from one of the balconies by a soloist from the Pittsburgh Opera, fantastic vocalists. Also, we had the presentation of about 18 debutantes in their beautiful white gowns, accompanied by their gallant escorts. The dinner was marvelous, ending with Sacher Torte with fresh whipped cream. It was a most impressive affair. The Carnegie foyer was filled to capacity with about 314 in attendance. I will send you one of the programs. Coincidentally, yesterday I also received in the mail a most welcome gift from Albert Schuch's cousin, who was able to use one of my brother's physics books (one written in German by a noted physicist). He sent me a Sacher Torte from the Sacher Hotel in Vienna. I was thrilled. Today we are recovering. 2. COPLAY SAENGERBUND TO CELEBRATE 85TH ANNIVERSARY (from Bob Strauch) The Coplay Saengerbund will celebrate its 85th Anniversary at the annual "Stiftungsfest" on Sunday, June 23rd, 2002. Music for dancing, provided by the Josef Kroboth Orchestra, will start at 1:30 PM in the grove and break for a choral concert, at 3:00 PM in the 2nd floor hall, featuring the Coplay Saengerbund Mixed Chorus, the Hianznchor, and the mixed choruses of the Reading Liederkranz and possibly the Lehigh Saengerbund. Dance music in the grove will resume at app. 4:30 PM and continue until 8:00 or 8:30 PM. Ad- mission is only $1.00 or $2.00 per person and is collected at the entrance to the grove. The kitchen will be open all day. It's not a bad idea to throw some folding chairs into the car just in case it gets packed, which is what usually happens. The club is located at 5th St. & Schreiber Ave. in Coplay. All Lehigh Valley BB members (and beyond) are welcome and urged to attend. We Burgenländers in the Lehigh Valley are fortunate enough to have probably the most active Burgenländer colony in the US. Please attend and support our events. I expect the usual BBers will be there - Phyllis Sauerzopf, Judy/Tim Snyder, Dennis/Frieda Eberhardt and Bill Stubits. Hopefully I can get Frank Teklits to come up - he said he'd like to hear us sing again. This is a daytime event. 3. BB WELCOME ADDRESS TO AUSTRIAN DELEGATION GREETINGS TO THE BURGENLAND DELEGATION - COPLAY, PA, DINNER MAY 16, 2002 Herzlich willkommen alle mitsammen, I offer the welcome of some 900 Burgenland Bunch members. Unfortunately they reside all over the United States and elsewhere and it is impossible for more than a small number to attend this dinner. As founder and co-ordinator of the group, I speak for them all. Each visit from and to the Burgenland is another strand of the ethnic cords that continue to bind us to the Heimat. These visits remain in our memories forever. I know I will always treasure the memory of our last visit to Burgenland and the warm welcome we received. We are especially honored to be visited by Burgenland head of state Landeshauptmann Hans Niessl and Landeshauptmann-Stellvertreter Franz Steindl, as well as other officials. It is most gratifying to know that we, Burgenland immigrants and descendants of Burgenland immigrants, are not forgotten by those who are directing the destiny of the Heimat. I am overjoyed to meet you again. It is also a distinct pleasure to again greet Dr. Dujmovits and representatives of the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft. We may be two separate organizations but we share a common purpose. We are partners and many of us, myself included, are members of both organizations. I wish to thank Robert Strauch and the local Gemeinschaft members for including us in their plans for this dinner. We have printed a special edition of the 106th Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, dated April 30. We wish to present copies to our visitors as a remembrance of their visit. We hope it portrays how we continue to strengthen our ethnic ties. The newsletter has never before been printed. It is normally distributed to our members only as email. It is also available from our internet website. I might mention that four of our editors, Dr. Albert Schuch, Mag. Klaus Gerger, Charles Wardell and Mag. Hannes Graf have Burgenland ties and live in Austria, so it is a joint Austrian/US effort. They also join me in wishing our guests a pleasant journey. Some extra copies of the newsletter will be available after the dinner for those who may wish to have one. Those of us here in the United States are of course Americans, but I believe everyone would agree that we are also Burgenländers, and can claim the words of your Landeshymne for us, too: "mein Heimatvolk, mein Heimatland, mit Österreich verbunden." Landeshauptmann Niessl und Delegation, danke für Ihren Besuch und kommen Sie wieder gut heim! G. J. Berghold, Burgenland Bunch 4. A VISIT HOME - ALLENTOWN, PA 2002 In 1957, after the better part of 27 years as a resident of Allentown, I took my new family and moved to a new job and a new city. I then knew what it was like to pull up roots - something our Burgenland immigrant ancestors all experienced. But in my mind, as in theirs, home - my birthplace - the "Heimat" - would forever remain frozen in time. However, the only unchanging thing is change itself and, as the years flew by, each visit "home" saw more and more change. On this latest visit to greet the Austrian Delegation and see distant cousins once more, the changes that had taken place were almost unbearable. Some of the old landmarks remained, a few of the fast food havens and a few of the sandwich shops, stores, and public buildings, but many places of memory no longer existed. Where Hess Bros. Department Store once stood (and where I worked and met my wife) there was now empty space awaiting construction. The 7th Street Pike, where I rode my bike to my great-aunt's tavern in Stiles, is now McArthur Drive and extends its strip malls and development north almost to Coplay. The former Lehigh Valley Dairy complex, where once we could see ice cream being made, is now a derelict empty shell with broken windows. My old ethnic neighborhoods ring with Spanish words instead of German. Traffic, which once flowed in a leisurely manner, was now bumper to bumper and gridlock often prevailed. Trees, which once bordered the residential areas, were depleted and nowhere did I see residents strolling and greeting their friends and neighbors. Jordan Park, where once I fished and swam, still existed, but was hidden by new development. Fields where I once played no longer existed and inner city blight was everywhere. It was a sad return. As I do in the Burgenland, I looked for old Allentown, and I found bits and pieces here and there. On my first day, I saw that Dorney Park still existed, albeit newly enlarged and approached by a multi-lane highway instead of the old "Toonerville" trolley line and country lanes. I was still able to buy some great "Yocco" hotdogs, Yocco's now having seven outlets and celebrating their 80th year. We topped it off with local "shoofly" pie. My sister and her husband took us to the old Ruchsville Inn for dinner; now under new ownership and a new name, it was once owned by a cousin. My cousins Burkhart and Poeltl (the last of my mother's immigrant first native born generation) hardly looked any different from the last time I saw them. We ate at a new restaurant in Coplay - "Tony's" - and had a good meal, but no "pogatchel" or strudel. When I entered the Austrian/Hungarian Vets at 4th and Greenleaf in Allentown (courtesy of BB member Bob Strauch), it was like walking back in time. The ethnic pictures and flags and the "raised strudel" filled refreshment table. Members speaking some German or English with an accent and telling me what their villages of origin were - I spoke to a Bauman from Poppendorf as an example. Presented with a Burgenland flag, the Vets had a flag raising ceremony attended by the Austrian delegation. Local Hispanic residents, who have replaced many Burgenländers, were wondering what was going on, attracted by the Delegation's large tourist bus. The Coplay Saengerbund, which another immigrant cousin (Sam Wallitsch) had helped found in the early 1900's was another ethnic oasis - in fact, Coplay is little changed - still a pleasant Burgenländisch-type borough. An evening of ethnic music, wine, beer and more strudel (apple this time) was enjoyed at the Edelweiss Haus. The Delegation members didn't want to leave! The hospitality to which we were later treated by Anna Kresh's sister Emma Farkas and friend Frank Breitfeller (Heiligenkreuz) took me back many years to the hospitality of relatives during Sunday visits. Before leaving the Lehigh Valley, I paid one last visit to a cousin who is a descendant of my grandfather's immigrant brother Josef. We then visited his son (her uncle), a 96 year old Berghold, now the elder of his clan. He was a contemporary and friend of my father's and I heard they were the terror of the ethnic clubs. Mothers supposedly hid their daughters when those two appeared. Now he sat in the sun, smoking one of his eight daily cigars, and passed me reminiscences as they came to mind. His son, now living in California, has just established a winery; wine must be in the genes. Our name means vineyard worker in Styrian dialect. I have a book entitled "Bergholde, Sauffhäuser, und Bauernschinder" by Arne Opitz (gift of Hannes Graf). Before we left, we challenged one of our elder's stories as not being the same as last time, he chuckled and said, "old people tell lies." Perhaps we should remember that as we dig our roots. We had a picnic lunch which included more take-out Yocco hotdogs and we then headed west on our way to our daughter's home near Lancaster, before heading south to Virginia. With a catch in my throat, I turned and said to my wife "do you think we'll ever return again?" Although Allentown family generations are fading, others are established elsewhere and our family history continues. 5. USING GOOGLE (tm) SEARCH ENGINE - From: Alan Varga (ED Note: We have a lot of information but finding it can be difficult. In addition to using our BB index - BB News No. 100 & Nos. 49A & B - your own system "find" mechanism, or our archive search, you can download and use some search engines. Here's a good tip.) Alan writes: If you think this is a worthwhile suggestion, please share it with your readers. As an alternate to the Edit / Find feature of my browser I use the Highlight feature of the Google Toolbar. The basic toolbar can be downloaded from the Google search page and installed. Instead of going to the Google web page, simply activate the toolbar in your browser, type in the word or phrase you are looking for BUT DO NOT press Enter or click the Search Web button. Then turn on the Highlight button. Instead of being shown a list of Google's search results, your word or phrase will be highlighted on the current page (e.g., the BB Homepage). This will work on any page you have loaded and will remain active on any subsequent pages you link to until you change the search word or turn off the Highlight button. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter: (Gerald J. Berghold) Burgenland Editor: (Albert Schuch; Austria) Home Page Editor: (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor: (Anna Tanczos Kresh) Contributing Editors: Austro/Hungarian Research: (Fritz Königshofer) Burgenland Co-Editor: (Klaus Gerger, Austria) Burgenland Lake Corner Research: (Dale Knebel) Chicago Burgenland Enclave: (Tom Glatz) Croatian Burgenland: (Frank Teklits) Home Page village lists: (Bill Rudy) Home Page surname lists: (Tom Steichen) Home Page membership list: (Hannes Graf, Austria) Judaic Burgenland: (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Lehigh Valley Burgenland Enclave: (Robert Strauch) Western US BB Members-Research: (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland: (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide Credit and Mention Source.