The News
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 204

October 31, 2010, © 2010 by The Burgenland Bunch
All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided.

Our 14th Year, Interim Editor: Thomas Steichen, Copy Editor: Maureen Tighe-Brown

The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online.
It was founded by Gerald Berghold (who retired in Summer 2008 and died in August 2008).


Current Status Of The BB:
* Members: 1863 * Surname Entries: 6461 * Query Board Entries: 4460 * Number of Staff Members: 16
 

This newsletter concerns:

1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER

2) TRACING YOUR CROATIAN ROOTS
(by Frank Paukowits)

3) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
   a) DID YOUR ANCESTOR MEET EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH?
   b) CONCERNING THE FIRST SETTLERS OF SANKT ANDRÄ
   c) A 1955 REVERSE VISIT (BURGENLAND TO THE UNITED STATES)

4) ZANEGG (MOSON-SZOLNOK)

5) NEW BB STAFF MEMBERS
   a) MARY KNOTZ REILLY: E-MAIL LIST MANAGER
   b) BARBARA RAABE: MEMBER RESEARCH EDITOR

6) BEDTIME STORIES FOR CHILDREN
   a) THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC?
(by Earl Barret)

7) BURGENLAND FRENCH CONNECTION: ORIGIN OF THE POTETZ SURNAME?
(by Richard Potetz)

8) THE (E)MAIL BAG

9) ETHNIC EVENTS
(courtesy of Bob Strauch, Hannes Graf, Margaret Kaiser, Tom Glatz & Andrea Neumann)

10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES
(courtesy of Bob Strauch)


1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)

The e-mail "reminder" announcement for the September newsletter was still zinging through e-space when a short, to-the-point, reply e-mail arrived from Betty Mische.

Betty writes: Hi Tom, a question: why is there never anything written about Zanegg/Szolnok? have a good day. Betty

Well, as you might expect, my first thought was, "but did you find anything worth reading in the current newsletter?" (No, I did not think that Betty had offended me... Betty and I have exchanged a few e-mails over the years and I know she does not waste e-words!) Nonetheless, that did not stop me from poking her back just a little:

I wrote: Hi Betty, there's nothing about Zanegg because you haven't written it yet! (we gladly accept guest articles!) Maybe more accurately, we haven't had a member with an interest in the town who has prompted discussion/commentary about it or provided material about it for the newsletter. I'm already starting to think about material for next month's newsletter so I'll see what I might find about Zanegg that is worth writing up... no promises, mind you, but I will look into it. If you have material or ideas, please share!

That "non-promise" started me wondering what I knew about Zanegg (now Moson-Szolnok) and also about what the BB had published about the town. I knew I had an ancestral line (Laszl) that once lived there... but that line was beyond the "great-eight" lines that I was concentrating on and I never really pursued it. So I did a quick search of the BB Newsletter archives... and came up with 14 newsletters that mentioned Zanegg!

"Betty," I said to myself, "what do you mean that there is 'never anything written about Zanegg/Szolnok?' Fourteen articles! Fourteen!" But when I looked closer, I realized that only four mentions had any substance and one was written by Betty herself!

Interestingly, though, if one puts together the available materials, they tell much of what Betty needs to know. Article #4 of this newsletter will gather that material together. Hopefully, it will help Betty see why her research there has been stymied.

A PS: Betty is interested in obtaining pictures of Zanegg and/or Wieselburg (Mosonmagyaróvár) from the late 1800s. If you have some to share, please contact Betty via her e-mail address (click here).

             

A second e-mail, this one from Gerhard Lang of Rust, arrived almost as quickly as Betty's did.

Gerhard writes: Dear Tom, on reading through BB-NL your story caught my eyes and I found it interesting and lovely. But please allow one – the following – correction:

You’re going to tell that the Name „Burgenland“ results from that lot of castles over here. That‘s a nice, often heard explanation – but it‘s not correct. I’m going to put two links in, concerning the finding of the name „Burgenland“ – it has to do with Austro-Hungarian Comitates: WieselBURG (Moson), ÖdenBURG (Sopron), EisenBURG (Vas), PressBURG (Pozsony). Parts of that comitates formed the new province – names as „Vierburgenland“ (Vier = Four) or – in the peace negotiation of 1919 was fixed that Pressburg went to Czech Republik – „Dreiburgenland“ (Drei = Three) were in thought. Due to a recommendation of Gregor Meidlinger, citizen of Frauenkirchen, the name „Burgenland“ was selected. For further details see also:
http://www.burgenland.at/media/file/201_Entstehung_des_Landesnamens.pdf
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgenland#Geschichte.2C_Name
Best regards, Gerhard


I replied: Dear Gerhard, thank you for your kind e-mail. I did know the true story about the naming of Burgenland, but I was using a bit of "poetic" license in telling this "story" to my grandchildren (castles are so much more picturesque than simple names). Your comments, however, reminded me that I could be "poetic" and picturesque and still tell the truth. So I have altered the story (an advantage of online publishing!) Please look at it again and see if this feels better to you.

For those of you who also picked this up, please know that the true story is now online... and my poetry license remains useful!

             

A third e-mail, this one from Mary Knotz Reilly of Savage, MN, arrived later that same day!

Mary writes: Hi Tom, I read the most recent edition of the BB Newsletter. I would like to volunteer, at least for a little piece to begin with. The newsletter indicated that there is “an e-mail newsletter notice list that requires routine maintenance (but no knowledge of HTML).” Could you tell me what it would involve?
 
As you can imagine, I could and did tell Mary what it would involve. The outcome was a concise, to-the-point, reply: "OK, just call me the Email List Manager. I'll do it."

So... we are pleased to announce that Mary has volunteered to be the new BB E-mail List Manager (replacing me in that role). Mary is researching the Knotz families from St. Peter, Hungary, specifically great grandfather Paul who settled in Minneapolis, MN in 1881. We'll let her tell you more about herself below, but please welcome Mary to the BB staff!

             

A fourth e-mail, this one from Barbara Raabe of Sammamish, WA, arrived later in the month.

Barbara writes (in part): You mentioned in the newsletter that you need volunteers. I had offered to volunteer once before but I am not a whiz at computers so that job is out. However, I do like to help others with their research so, if that is an option, I would be interested.
 
Indeed, it was an option... so Barbara will be joining the staff as Member Research Editor, being on the distribution of information and change forms from new and old members and joining current staff who assist members with ideas on how to pursue their family research. Personally, Barbara is researching Gelbmann, Rath, Griemann and Strommer from Wallern; Zwickl, Binder (Pinter) and Lendvai from Tadten; Gelbmann and Wurzinger from Andau; and Stehle from Trillfingen, Germany and Koenig from Funfing, Styria, who passed through Halbturn. We'll also let her tell you more about herself below, but please welcome Barbara to the BB staff

             

A final side note: The BB Newsletter sometimes has a strange way of "coming together." The first piece to this month's puzzle was Frank Paukowits' article on Croatian roots, which arrived late September after that month's newsletter was essentially ready. Frank consented to it being held for October's newsletter, and so it is presented below as Article #2. Then I decided to talk about the sometimes-unusual e-mail spam I receive (see article #8)... and part of that evolved into a discussion about Roman-era "Pannonia," which includes some of the areas Frank speaks about. To top this sequence off, Andrea Neumann sent in an events notice about the 30th Annual Croatian Christmas Party (see article #9) in South St. Paul, MN, so we have a Croatian trifecta this month!

Our second trifecta involves Betty and Mary (see above), both being Minnesotans, ladies of few wasted words, and research interests in the Hungarian area east of the northern Burgenland district of Neusiedl am See. Betty's comment caused me to write article #4 below about Zanegg, a community in Hungary east of district Neusiedl, and coincidence had it that I had already chosen to republish a 1997 Historical Newsletter article (see #3b) that concerned the resettlement of Sankt Andrä and other villages (including Zanegg) in that same area. Then Mary provided some background material that helped to fill out the article. So we also have a Hungarian trifecta.

Thus, through no forethought on my behalf, this newsletter has themed itself as being border-Burgenland based... Croatia to the south and Hungary to the east. Enjoy!
 

2) TRACING YOUR CROATIAN ROOTS (by Frank Paukowits)

Many of us studying our Burgenland roots realize that our distant relatives came from Croatia. The big question is: Where in Croatia did they actually come from? Frank Teklits' translation of the book, People on the Border, by Johann Dobrovich, provides some clues, but there may be some other research tools that can be applied which provide additional insights.

There is one common link that remains today... and that is the family name. Many Burgenland names of known Croatian derivation still exist in Croatia today, with slight variations. For example, my "Paukowits" name is the equivalent to the name, "Paukovic" in Croatia. I believe that there is a greater likelihood that my Paukowits ancestors migrated from an area in Croatia where there is currently a high concentration of families with the name Paukovic rather than from an area where the concentration of the name is low.

For starters, I reviewed the on-line phone directory for Croatia, which is available in English, and from which I made a list of the towns where the people with the name Paukovic came from. Secondly, I correlated this information by noting the counties in which these towns are located. The ultimate goal was to determine the incidence of the Paukovic name by county. I did this and found the highest incidence of the name came from the northern centrally-located counties of Croatia, consistent with the areas from which Dobrovich said the migrations had occurred.

By far, the three counties with the highest incidence of families with the name Paukovic are Karlovac, Sisak-Moslavina and Primorje-Gorski (shown below in blue). The counties with the lowest incidence of the name are along the southern Dalmatian Coast... again consistent with the information in Dobrovich’s book.

There is a high concentration of the name in two relatively small towns (Tounj & Potok Tounjski [see map]) in Karlovac County. This may be attributable to patterns that evolved after the migration of Croats to Burgenland. On the other hand, they might represent residual family clan members who did not make the trek to Burgenland in the late 1500’s.

There is a town in Sisak-Moslavina called Paukovac [see map]. It is right next to two towns with the names Draskovac and Zrinyi Brdani. Draskovic and Zrinyi were two Croatian noblemen who took Croat peasants to Burgenland during the late 1500’s and early 1600’s. The clustering of these towns may have some significance from the standpoint of identifying likely areas from which emigration had occurred.

Based on the analysis I did, I concluded that it is virtually impossible to identify where exactly the emigration of my distant Croat relatives had originated. However, the analysis did serve to eliminate areas from which emigration was likely not to have occurred. For example, in my case, while Koprivnica (shown above in yellow) was identified by Dobrovich as an area of emigration of Burgenland Croats, for my Paukovits family, the numbers are too small.

BB members might be interested in doing an analysis similar to what I did for their family name. Please let me know, if you are interested. I would be willing to help so that you can avoid some of the pitfalls and hurdles that I had to deal with as I went through a learning curve in my research efforts.

My e-mail address is paukowits1@aol.com.
 

HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

Editor: This is part of our occasional series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of 10 years ago.

Surprisingly, there were no articles published in October of 2000 that I felt were of sufficient interest to be worth republishing! That was true largely because Gerry published only once that month (rather than his usual by-weekly twice) and that the single newsletter was dominated by a very long article (and I did not want to use up that much space).

Instead, I chose to go back to 1997, the first year of the BB Newsletter, and look at October's offerings. Thus, I give you three short articles from that month so you can see the "flavor" of what Gerry felt worth publishing in his first year:

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 21
October 15, 1997


3a) DID YOUR ANCESTOR MEET EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH? (from Albert Schuch)

If he was "Richter" (Burgermeister) of a "Gemeinde" (District) in the "Komitat Wieselburg" ("Moson (var)megye") in 1856, chances are good: On 18 Sept. 1856 the emperor traveled through Hungary. Coming from Schönbrunn, he crossed the Austrian-Hungarian border at Wimpassing, then passed through Hornstein, Müllendorf, Kleinhöflein, Eisenstadt, Purbach, Breitenbrunn and Winden (where he crossed the border between Sopron megye (Komitat Ödenburg) and Moson megye). Finally he arrived in Halbturn castle. After dinner he appeared at a big "Volksfest" (folk festival), where all the "Richters" of Moson Megye were introduced to him. Because Halbturn had repeatedly suffered from fires (the most recent one having broken out earlier in 1856) the Emperor donated a large sum of money to the community. (source: "Pressburger Zeitung," 22 Sept. 1856)


3b) CONCERNING THE FIRST SETTLERS OF SANKT ANDRÄ (Northern Burgenland)

In 1702 the people of Sankt Andrä (in the Seewinkel) wrote a letter to the "Hofkammer" (the imperial court treasury) because the Hofkammer owned the domain Ungarisch Altenburg (Magyarovar), of which Sankt Andrä was a part. In 1696 the village of St. Andrä, which had been deserted for more than 200 years, had been given to them by Adam Xaverius Schad, administrator of the Magyarovar domain. They had been granted a tax-free status for 6 years, which shows that they were "foreigners" (citizens of Austria-Hungary would usually get only 3 years tax free status; this tax-free status for settlers was due to a law passed in 1689). The village which consisted of 28 farmers and 18 Söllners (plus their families) asked in their letter that their tax-free status be prolonged. The Hofkammer did reduce part of their taxes, but not all, for another 3 years.

The book "Die Österreichische Monarchie in Wort und Bild" - the Austrian Monarchy in Word and Picture - (called "Kronprinzenwerk"), vol. IV, Hungary, p. 452, says: "The inhabitants of these villages (Zanegg, St. Johann, St. Peter, Andau [marked in red]), as well as of St. Andrä (Szent Andras) are said to have settled here after the last Turkish war; they are said to have come from Salzburg, and they are mostly called "Heidebauern" (meadow farmers). The Magyarovar domain had promised to give the settlers 42 "Joch" (one Joch = 0.575 Hectare), or about 55 acres in all, of farming land for each farm, plus plenty of pasture land. They couldn't keep their promise, because Count (later Prince) Esterhazy claimed half of the same land for his domain Frauenkirchen (which included the villages Frauenkirchen, Apetlon, Illmitz, Pamhagen, Tadten, Wallern [marked in blue]), so the farmers received only about 21-23 Joch.

In 1715 St. Andrä was inhabited by 52 farmers and 16 Söllners (57 Germans, 7 Croats, 4 Hungarians); in 1720 by 60 farmers and 22 Söllners (74 Germans, 6 Croats, 2 Hungarians). (source: Friedrich Lotz: "Zur Siedlungsgeschichte der Gemeinde St. Andrä", in: Burgenländische Heimatblätter 1962, p. 88-91)


3c) A 1955 REVERSE VISIT (BURGENLAND TO THE UNITED STATES)

Most trip reports concern US visitors to the Burgenland. This one deals with a Burgenländer visit to the US. You'll notice that times have changed significantly. Many of the ethnic organizations are no longer with us (how unfortunate), the need for "sick & death beneficial societies" has declined with the growth of health care insurance and many US center-city Burgenland neighborhood "villages" are no more. Like the song says "1955 was a very good year". I was a young man starting a family in Allentown, living in a third floor walk-up in Allentown, over Fiedler's Cafe, just a short distance from the Hungarian Club and the Burgenland "Liederkranz", where "Krankengasse" dues were collected weekly. I was enrolled at Lehigh University (remember the Beethoven "Männerchor" and the Allentown Lehigh Organization, Frank Teklits?), many Burgenland immigrants were still with us, Horlacher's and Neuweiler's were still brewing beer and we were trying to "drink it all up" and life on the "GI Bill" was good. This article really brings back some memories:

Dr. Norbert RIEDL visited Burgenländers in America in 1955;
Excerpts from his report for "Volk und Heimat" Nr. 10 / 1956.
(translated by Albert Schuch):


I found strong Burgenländer settlement in the cities New York, Chicago, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Passaic, Allentown, Hamilton, Cleveland and St. Paul.

In most of these cities they have their own associations, mostly "Krankenunterstützungsvereine" (supporting members in case of illness). Since some of them have many members, I tried to establish contact with them first. In New York I was able to meet the chairmen and secretaries of three associations: Johann Boisitz from Punitz, Josef Tancsics from Güssing, Johann Huber from Grosspetersdorf, Alois Lang from Mogersdorf, Franz Augustin from Vienna, Josef Leyrer from Rettenbach, Josef Knabel from Grosspetersdorf and Johann Baumann from Deutsch-Schützen. I talked to them and we drank a few glasses of wine. They were dressed the American way, but their language, their habit, even their faces were "burgenländisch". They invited me to a "Mai-Fest" organized by the "Brotherhood of the Burgenlander Sick and Death Benefit Society in New York".

Two weeks later I was in Chicago, where I first visited Hans Leo Reich. He comes from Vienna and heads the daily Viennese radio hour broadcast by a Chicago station. He gave me the address of a Mr. Himpelmann, a "Donauschwabe". Mr. Himpelmann gave me addresses of a few Burgenländers. Thus I met Mr. Unger, who is the president of a Burgenländer association, and Mr. Schipits. We drank beer and schnapps and had a nice conversation. Mr. Unger was born in Kohfidisch, he emigrated in 1923. At this time the association "Eichenstamm" still existed, with members mostly from the Eisenburger Komitat (Vas megye).

The "Eichenstamm" society dominated Northern Chicago, while the "Ersterburgenländischer Krankenunterstützungsverein" operated mainly in southern Chicago. Later on, a third Burgenländer society was established in western Chicago. Mr. Unger told me that at least 1000 Burgenländer families were living between 39th and 59th street, and that this area was called "Klein-Burgenland" by them. He remembers the times when young Burgenländers used to walk the streets in warm summer nights, singing Burgenland folk songs. Back in these times (in the 1920's) the traditional feasts were celebrated and the Burgenländer societies had many members.
 

Editorial note: The online Encyclopedia of Chicago states the following at http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/95.html: "Beginning in 1890, Chicago became the most important destination of Burgenlanders (from Burgenland, a region in eastern Austria) immigrating to North America. Economic necessity was the primary motivating factor, for though Burgenland was rural, many Burgenlanders did not own land, obligated instead to do handwork or weekly labor in Vienna. The Burgenland immigration to Chicago took place during three periods: (1) from about 1890 to 1914; (2) from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I (1918) until the rise of National Socialism in the 1930s; (3) post–World War II. Immigration between the world wars was not only the most extensive, it also played the most critical role in shaping Burgenland-Chicago identities. During this period most Burgenlanders worked in the stockyards, for railroads, or in related industries, such as in foundries and construction. The first immigrants were often single men, hoping to earn enough money to return to Austria, and many were able to return (as many as 35 percent). A “Little Burgenland” took shape, roughly stretching along the railroad lines paralleling what is today the corridor of the Stevenson Expressway."
 

4) ZANEGG (MOSON-SZOLNOK)

Zanegg is the German name for the Hungarian town, Moson-Szolnok. Although not in current-day Burgenland, it is close enough to the border to have been of social and economic importance to villages now in Burgenland, therefore, it is of interest to the BB.

Member Betty Mische's special interest in Zanegg motivated this article. Back in 1999, Betty had written to say, "...I am taking another stab at [the name] Presseller. From 1770 it showed up in the LDS films as Blasseller, Plasseller, Preseler etc. I find them in the Zanegg/Szolnok area from 1770 on. I try to imagine what the name would have been at some time before then."

Interestingly, article #3B above, may play directly into the Zanegg story and the reason Betty struggles to find more about her family line. That article cited an 1896 volume of the book "Die Österreichische Monarchie in Wort und Bild," via this quote: "The inhabitants of these villages (Zanegg, St. Johann, St. Peter, Andau), as well as of St. Andrä (Szent Andras) are said to have settled here after the last Turkish war; they are said to have come from Salzburg, and they are mostly called "Heidebauern" (meadow farmers)."

The "last Turkish War" to affect the area, prior to the settlement mentioned above, was the "Great Turkish War" from 1683 to 1699, with Zanegg being almost totally destroyed and largely deserted in the earlier years of the war when the Turks and Hungarians pushed the Austrians back toward Vienna. Eventually, a "Holy League" alliance of Austria and Poland recaptured the western half of Hungary (including Buda and Pest), and a treaty ended the war in 1699. However, after the Hapsburgs purchased the "Domains of Ungarisch Altenburg" in the early 1700s, one last Magyar uprising in 1707 led to yet another destruction of Zanegg and the dispersal of its inhabitants.

That destruction and dispersal marks a cut point where many older surnames disappear and many newer ones appear. Betty reports that the Presseller name shows up on LDS films of the Zanegg/Szolnok area from 1770 on. This strongly suggests that they were new settlers to the area at that time.

Zanegg also suffered a more recent cut point when the area was ethnically cleansed at the end of WW-II. The German-speaking residents (about 97% of the population) were deported and the town was resettled with Magyars.

It is the time interval between these two cut points that is relevant to most Burgenland Bunch researchers of surnames from Zanegg (and also of the surrounding towns and farmlands).

The quote above cites Salzburg as the prior location of the settlers who came in the early 1700s (and whose family lines likely remained there for over 200 years before being deported in 1946). However, other sources indicate that the area was periodically settled by ethnic Germans from about 1000 on. These people are variously listed as coming from Bavaria, Franconia, Upper Austria and Styria, and Upper Swabia, and it is unclear what proportion of them returned after the various war-driven dispersals that occurred. This makes it quite difficult to trace these peoples back beyond the limits of the church records of the area. I, personally, have a family line from Zanegg, surname Laszl, that I have been able to track into the late 1700's... but no further back.

Of interest is the question of why an area so dominated by ethnic-Germans was not made part of Burgenland after WW-I. One would think (correctly) that a plebiscite would have been heavily "for" joining the German-dominated Burgenland. The problem was that a plebiscite was not allowed! Czechoslovakia did not want both of the railway lines running south from Bratislava to be under control of Austria. Having one in Austria and one in Hungary provided more immunity from political pressure, and since the eastern-most rail line to the south ran just west of Zanegg, it could not be allowed to be part of Burgenland.

Also of interest is the destinations of the German deportees after WW-II. BB member Larry Zierhut provided material for a newsletter article published in 2000 (BB NL #82) that showed the destinations. In it, he provided destinations for most of the deportees from Ungarisch Altenburg.

I quote Larry:

"There were some 10 transports that removed them in April 1946. They were only allowed a suitcase for their possessions. Everything else was confiscated (homes, property, livestock, etc.) without compensation. A list of these transports and their destinations are as follows.

1. 12 April 1946 from Zanegg, Hungary to north Baden, Germany (Kreis Mosbach)

2. 14 April 1946 from Zanegg, Hungary to north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Böblingen)

3. 17 April 1946 from Zanegg, Hungary to north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Crailsheim)

4. 19 April 1946 from Zanegg, Hungary to north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Heilbronn)

5. 20 April 1946 from St. Peter, St. Johann to north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Ludwigsburg)

6. 23 April 1946 from St. Peter, St. Johann to north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Sinsheim)

7. 24 April 1946 from St. Johann to north Baden, Germany (Kreis Öhringen) & north Württemberg, Germany (Kreis Esslingen)

8. 25 April 1946 from St. Johann, Hungary to north Baden, Germany (Kreis Tauberbischofsheim)

9. 15 May 1946 from Straß-Sommerein, Hungary with people from Ragendorf, Karlburg, Kaltenstein, Straß-Sommerin and Wieselburg to Bavaria, Germany (Kreis Karlstadt) and Hessen, Germany (Kreis Schwalbach/Hünfelden)

10. 20 May 1946 from Wieselburg with people from Leiden, Ung. Altenburg and any remaining people to Hessen, Germany (Kreis Eschwege)

"Along with these transports, many people had already fled the area to Austria and Germany when the Russians approached near the end of WW-II, and many moved into Burgenland to be with relatives before the forced deportation. In all, some 20,000 people were cleansed from this part of Hungary. Many of these DPs still reside in the areas they were transported to."


The following document give more detail (in German) on the Expulsion of Germans from Hungary: http://www.ungarndeutsche.de/hu/cms/uploads/Vertreibung%20der%20Deutschen%20aus%20Ungarn2.pdf

It notes that "3627 people (including 478 families from Zanegg), together with people from Kaltenstein (127 people) and Maria-Gahling (84 people)" were deported from Zanegg. In addition, it says that the "total number of displaced people were distributed to 140 towns in Württemberg and 10 towns in Bavaria... but 8 women were allowed to stay at home because they had a Hungarian spouse."

Again, this wide dispersion makes it difficult to follow family lines affected by the deportations.
 

5) NEW BB STAFF MEMBERS

The BB is pleased to introduce two new BB Staff members this month, Mary Reilly and Barbara Raabe! More accurately, we are going to let them introduce themselves (once I shut up).

As noted in my "President's Corner" section above, Mary is taking on our E-Mail Newsletter Notification List and will manage changes in it for the BB, and Barbara, as Member Research Editor, will provide assistance to new and old members who need a hint on how to extend their research.

Both Mary and Barbara responded to last month's note about positions needing to be filled on the BB staff. Unfortunately, that does not fill all our needs. The BB remains interested in finding volunteers with some HTML experience and we need individuals willing to edit or write for the Newsletter. Please consider giving a bit of your time to the BB!

             

MARY KNOTZ REILLY: E-MAIL LIST MANAGER

I love history, archeology, paleontology – all of those. I am mesmerized with the idea that “my ancestors are alive today” in me (genetically speaking). I also think it’s amazing that any of them survived the wars, famines, plagues, and illness of the Middle Ages. From what I’ve read, the odds were certainly stacked against them.

My father’s name was Claude Knotz. He told me that his father, Paul Knotz, came to this country with his family when he was 6 or 7 years old. They came from St. Peter, Hungary, with his uncle Mathias and his family, on the same ship in 1881. His aunt, Eva Knotz Zierhut, came with her family the following year. All eventually lived in North Minneapolis, as did others from their homeland – Langs, Wachtlers, Weiss, Hautzingers, Neubergers, Zwickls, etc. Then, later, many of these same people were buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in South Minneapolis.

I’ve continued collecting information off and on since then, with the demands of every day life interrupting all along. I was lucky to have my Dad’s oldest sister, Doris (Dorothy), live to be 101 years old, and I recorded numerous conversations with her. I was also lucky that Larry Zierhut contacted me and generously shared his family information. Larry’s great-grandmother, Eva Knotz Koppi Zierhut, and Paul Knotz, who was my great-grandfather, were brother and sister.

I always wanted to find my gg-grandfather, Stephan Knotz, and his parents, however, I didn’t think I could handle translating handwritten Latin – just didn’t think I could do it. “Life” intervened again but, in the last year or so, I started ordering films from the LDS. I read many of the archived newsletters of the Burgenland Bunch, and I recently joined. I’ve been reviewing birth, death & marriage records from the towns of St. Johann & St. Peter, Hungary. Picked up a little information on some surrounding towns and also found the Knotz name in Zanegg, Vimpac & Sopron in Hungary, Graz & Baden in Austria.

             

BARBARA RAABE: MEMBER RESEARCH EDITOR

I have been a member of the Burgenland Bunch since the late 1990’s. I’ve researched church records through the LDS library for Tadten, Andau, Wallern and Halbturn, used the Tacoma Public Library extensively for state and U.S. censuses, local directories and newspapers, and visited Andau, Tadten, and Wallern in 1998. I currently have a world membership with Ancestry.com.

I am a retired school teacher with a major in social studies and enjoy learning not only the names and dates my relatives lived but what historical events were occurring then and there and what life was like for them. I enjoy directing others in their research whenever possible.


6) BEDTIME STORIES FOR CHILDREN

a) THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC?
(an excerpt from "Eden Was On a Hollywood Hill," copyright Earl Barret, used by permission)

     Mary and Nelson watched from the living room while Earl helped Professor Schreiver to remove his overcoat in the hall. The Professor hung his hat on a hook but didn't part with his muffler. He was perhaps 75, tall, elegant, had a head of fluffy white hair and a large mustache. He carried a violin case that still had some snowflakes on it.
     He took Mary's hand and kissed it.
     “Goot afternoon, Mrs. Trombitas. It is very nice to see you once more again.” Then he turned to Nelson. “And you must be Nelzone.”
     “No, I'm Nelson.”
     “Ya, that is what I said. 'Nelzone'. That is a goot name for a violinist. What grade is you in, Nelzone?”
     “He started the 1st grade in September,” Mary interjected.
     “Please, Mrs. Trombitas, let Nelzone talk for himself. I want to hear the music in his voice,” Professor Schreiver corrected kindly. “What grade, Nelzone?”
     “1st.”
     “Hokie-dokie,” Professor Schreiver said. “Please show to me your violin.”
     Before Nelson could move, Earl rushed out of the living room and returned with the violin in its black case and handed it to the Professor who opened it and began to shake his head.
     “Nien, nien, nien. This will never do.”
     He removed the violin from the case and inspected it very carefully.
     “What's wrong wit' it, Professor?” Earl asked defensively. “I paid a lot of money for 'dat violin. 'De guy who sold it to me said 'dat it was a good one.”
     “Ya, ya, it is an excellent instrument, but not for Nelzone. Nien. It is too big for him. He won't be ready for this one for 2 or 3 years,” the Professor explained. “What we need here is a child's violin.”
     “Professor Schreiver, I'm afraid we don't have any money to buy a child's violin.”
     “That's okay, Mommy,” Nelson said cheerfully, “I don't mind waiting 2 or 3 years.”
     “You shuddup,” Earl said.
     “Buying is not the only solution, Mrs. Trombitas,” the Professor said. “Sometimes when the case is special, I have a child's violin that I rent for 5 cents a veek.”
     “What makes a case special?” Mary asked.
     “Nelzone, do you like the sound the violin makes?” Professor Schreiver said.
     “I don't know. I never heard anybody play one, except Jack Benny on the radio.”
     “He is an honest boy. That is a goot sign.”
     The Professor removed the violin from its case again and began to carefully tune it. Then he adjusted the bow to his liking. Mary recalled later that a rather remarkable transformation happened as he did this, the years almost seemed to leave his face and his body.
     “You are Romanian, Mr. Trombitas?” Professor Schreiver asked.
     “'Dat's right,” Earl said proudly.
     “So, I play for you something Romanian.”
     He then launched into a performance of 'Hora Staccato' that left Mary and Earl amazed as his fingers flew and up and down the fingerboard and the bow slashed across the strings. When he finished, Nelson clapped his hands with glee.
     “That was wonderful, Professor,” Mary said, finally.
     “Nien, nien, it was not so very hotsie-totsie, Mrs. Trombitas. The hands are old now and the fingers a little stiff.”
     “Please rent me a child's violin, Daddy,” Nelson said. “I want to learn to play my violin the way the Professor does!”
     “Do you think that would ever be possible, Professor,” Mary wondered.
     “I wouldn't make a lie to you, madam. We know the music is in the violin, whether it is also in Nelzone only God knows.”
     After that day Mary and Earl never treated Professor Schreiver the same way. He moved up in their world from being a violin teacher with a good reputation to a man of culture, a man worthy of respect. He was an artist.
     Mary and Earl rented the child's violin for Nelson for a year and a half before Professor Schreiver hinted that the day might be near when the big violin would be coming into use. During all of this time the Professor spent part of each lesson beseeching, “Nelzone, don't shoot holes in the carpet!” which meant that Nelson shouldn't point the scroll of the violin at the floor. When Nelson had an especially good lesson, Professor Schreiver would reward him with some Sen-Sen licorice candy flakes, which he was addicted to so that his breath wouldn't give offense to his pupils or their parents.
     Everybody loved the sound of the big violin and Professor Schreiver introduced Nelson to some new friends: Mozart, Brahms, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, all in very easy versions, of course. Nelson loved to play, but he hated to practice. When Nelson would make a mistake, the Professor would say, “Nien, nien, Nelzone, don't compose! Herr Mozart don't need no help - don't add no notes! Only play the ones he wrote!”
     Everybody in the house hated to hear him practice except Earl. No matter how terrible Nelson sounded, just the sight of his son playing the violin pleased him. He would slip off his shoes, settle back on the sofa, and no patron in a box at Carnegie Hall listening to Fritz Kreisler could have enjoyed himself more. (Fritz Kreisler was Earl's other favorite.)
     Eventually, Nelson started taking the bus downtown by himself on Saturdays to take his tap and violin lessons. His routine was always the same. Tap lesson in the morning, hot dog and orange drink at Woolworth's counter with the farmers for lunch, and violin lesson in the afternoon. Secretly he and Professor Schreiver were working on two projects. One Nelson was very excited about. He was learning to play “Hora Staccato” as a surprise for his Daddy. The second, Professor Schreiver was very excited about.
     “Nelzone, you're going to play the violin on the radio!”
     Mary and Earl and Johnny, Lucy, Helen and Professor Schreiver were all seated in the living room when Nelson played “Hora Staccato” without missing a single note. He didn't play it as well or as fast as the Professor had, but it was good. Everybody applauded and Earl's eyes misted up.
     “Well done, Nelzone, well done,” the Professor said. “And two weeks from next Sunday, if you turn on your radio, you will hear Nelzone, accompanied by me on the piano, play the Mendelssohn Concerto in E.”
     Everybody was amazed. They all knew that Canton had a radio station with an amateur show like Major Bowes, but they couldn't quite grasp the idea that Nelson and Professor Schreiver were going to be on it together. As it turned out, they weren't.
     “I don't know how I'm going to tell him, Earl.”
     “Don't worry about it, Mary. I'll do it.”
     When Nelson came in from playing that evening, Earl took him into the living room and sat him down on his lap.
     “Nels, Professor Schreiver ain't gonna be givin' you no more violin lessons.”
     “Why not, Daddy?” Nelson asked in alarm. “Did I do something wrong?”
     “No, no, you didn't do not'in wrong, 'de Professor did,” Earl said reassuringly. “He stepped off a curb without lookin' and he got killed by a truck. 'Dey said he never let go of 'de child's violin case he was holdin'.”
     Nelson laid his head on Earl's chest and neither of them moved until Mary called them for supper.
Mary and Earl were surprised when Nelson insisted he wanted to go to Professor Schreiver's funeral. They didn't realize how much 'Nelzone' loved the old man until they saw the tears stream down his face as the dirt was thrown on his casket. Many of the Professor's other pupils were there too, and some of them were also weeping.
     Two of his granddaughters played a duet of “Ave Maria.” They were both sobbing.
 


7) BURGENLAND FRENCH CONNECTION: ORIGIN OF THE POTETZ SURNAME? (by Richard Potetz)

Years ago, my father’s uncle, Michael Potetz, told about the origin of the Potetz family name. According to his story, a soldier with the surname Potez came to Austria with the French army to fight invading Turks, staying in Austria after the war. Later his descendents changed the name from Potez to Potetz to be more like an Austrian name. My father’s uncle claimed that the soldier’s uniform was still in the attic of the family home (house number 83 in Neumarkt a/d Raab) when he came to America in 1922.

I doubted the story. Later family members living at that home had no knowledge of the uniform. My cousin Josef Potetz, who lives in Neumarkt a/d Raab, does not believe the story. As I’ve tried to investigate, though, the story has become more credible.

I found that changing the name Potez to Potetz would have been normal because, in German speaking areas, the spelling of names containing the letter “z” was often changed to “tz”. The local history book, Chronik der Marktgemeinde St. Martin an der Raab, contains a picture of a 1751 land registry for the Neuhaus manor (das Urbar der Herrschaft Neuhaus von 1751), and extracts from that book a village-by-village tally of local head-of-household surnames in 1751. There is just one Potetz spelling, in Gritsch, while the Potez spelling has nine heads-of-household, one Potez each in Unterdrosen and Welten, three in Neumarkt an der Raab and four in Eisenberg.

The Burgenland Bunch house lists show by 1858 the conversion from the "Potez" spelling to "Potetz" was nearly complete. The 1858 Village House Lists show six Potetz heads-of-household and just one Potez. Today the conversion is complete; there are 57 Potetz entries in the Austrian phone directory, but no Potez. There are, by the way, 211 Potez listings in the French phone book and, as you would expect, no Potetz.

The timing of the appearance of the Potez name in Austria also supports the story of the French soldier. In a worldwide search, I have found no record of the name Potez or Potetz before the 1664 Battle of Szentgotthárd – except for the name Potez found in northern France! The oldest “Potez” entry in the LDS International Genealogical Index (IGI) is for Gabriele Potez, born in France in 1646. The oldest “Potez” entry in the IGI outside of France is for Josef Potez, born in Jennersdorf in 1778. The oldest “Potetz” entry in the IGI is for Maria Potetz, born in Jennersdorf in 1783.

Under Louis XIV, the French in 1663 sent both militia and regular armies to help the Hapsburgs defend against the expanding Ottoman Empire. At the culminating Battle of Szentgotthárd (Austrians call it the Battle of Mogersdorf), French, Austrian and Italian armies were part of the combined Christian force that defeated the larger Ottoman force on August 1, 1664. Ten days later, the Treaty of Vasvár ended Ottoman expansion for the next twenty years.

In his Burgenland Bunch Newsletter #130 article, The Location & Population of Burgenland, historian Fritz Königshofer wrote of Imperial army soldiers staying near the site of the 1664 battle:

“There is likelihood that some soldiers and members of the entourage of the Imperial army remained and settled around Mogersdorf in southern Burgenland (west of Szentgotthárd) after they had defeated the Turks in the famous battle of year 1664. An early Burgenland Bunch member, the late Joe Gilly, always sought for confirmation about a possible Irish origin of his last name. There are indications that Irish officers indeed had fought in the Imperial army.”

No mention was made in the article of soldiers from a French army staying, but the land was partially depopulated by the war, and a twenty-year peace treaty had just been signed, so a French soldier staying would not be surprising. Much of the 1664 battle was fought in Mogersdorf, just four miles from the home of my Neumarkt a/d Raab ancestors.

Genealogy alone may not be able to verify the Potez story. My Potetz ancestors have been traced in church records back to about 1789: My ggg-grandparents Josef and Maria (Neuhertz) Potetz had a son, Josef, born December 4, 1822, in Neumarkt a/d Raab. The gap back to 1664 will not be able to be spanned with the records available. However, as part of the National Geographic Society’s Genographic Project, my DNA has been tested and registered to see if I might have a common ancestor with other males tested. If someday there is a match with a Potez in France or Belgium, then the story of the origin of the Potetz surname in Burgenland would be verified.
 

8) THE (E)MAIL BAG

Do you receive spam mail? I suspect that there is a unanimous "yes" echoing across e-space as you read this! It simply is impossible to be active via e-mail without getting some spam mail. Wikipedia states that spam "today composes some 80 to 85% of all the email in the world." In my case, my e-mail address is flung far and wide over the Web (the BB being just one of the diverse internet-based activities I am involved in), so I get LOTS of spam. As a result, I have at least a dozen filter rules set up to herd the majority of that crap to where it so rightfully belongs... the bit bucket, the big hole in e-space, the spam-bam, no thank you Ma'am round file... direct to the trash bin, by whatever name you wish to call it.

However, spam is not always junk mail. By definition, "spam" is simply unsolicited bulk e-mail... a definition that provides no delineation between good and bad unsolicited e-mail.

In this article, I want to tell you about some of the "good" spam I receive...  specifically, some of the good spam I receive because of my involvement with the BB.

             

I'll start by telling you about a small "spammer" ...once or twice a month, for almost two years, I've received an e-mail from Peter Grois, a man I've never met or had any kind of relationship with and to whom I've never sent a message. The messages are always nicely composed and never solicit anything from me. Looking at the distribution list, I see that I am one of 28 recipients of his missives. So why is this stranger sending me messages and why do I classify his messages as "good" spam?

Peter is one of the founders of the "Austrian Club - Oesterreichischer Stammtisch," of Richmond, VA. In December, 2008, the club was started, in their words, "to bring Austrians in the Mid-Atlantic area together. Our goals are to socialize, speak German and to have lots of fun!" The Club meets monthly on the first Tuesday of each month... so the next meeting is November 2nd. While their purpose and membership demographic are not a perfect match to the BB's, they are close enough to be of interest to the BB membership (especially those of you within easy driving distance of Richmond). I suspect that Peter believed that I live close enough (it's about a 4-hour drive for me) that I might participate once in a while and that I might find his group to be of sufficient interest to the BB membership that I'd pass along the information. He never directly asked me to do either of these things but, if these were his goals, he just succeeded in one of them!

The website of the Oesterreichischer Stammtisch can be found at http://www.austria-richmond.com/. Membership is free but they ask that you sign up via their website.

            

The second (and last) bit of "good" spam that I'll tell you about this month is the weekly German-language newsletter of the Pannonien Ferien Magazin (Pannonia Holiday Magazine). I started receiving this newsletter sometime this past year... exactly when, I don't recall. However, I do know that I did not sign up for the newsletter -- or know about their website (http://pannonien.tv/) -- before I received my first good "spam" from them.

Pannonia, for those of you not up on ancient Roman history (like me),
was a province of the Roman Empire that included the present-day western half of Hungary plus parts of Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the map to the right, the upper and right edges of the pink and green areas is the Danube River. Also, if you look closely, you can see Neusiedler See as the more northern of the two lakes shown (the other is Lake Balaton in present day Hungary).

Regardless of the magazine title being the all-encompassing "Pannonia," the newsletter and the website is largely about Burgenland holiday facilities and events, with a little about nearby Hungarian areas and facilities and the occasional comment about more-distant Lake Balaton; I've not noted anything that extends into the wider Pannonia.

Still, the newsletter is full of interesting bits about vacationing and events in Burgenland. If you are planning a trip there, this could be a very useful tool to educate yourself on things you don't want to miss. The newsletter text is in German -- but there are plenty of good translation tools to help you understand the basics of what is being discussed. Some (but not all) of the video segments (accessible directly from links in the email newsletter) are in English. And the main website has a built-in translator... just click the button to pick your language of preference.

A recent newsletter had articles about the Bertoni Art Garden near Winden am See, an autumn hike from Sopron to Fertörakos in Hungary, an art exhibit at Halbturn Castle and about another exhibition in Halbturn about the (r)evolution of fashion (starting with mammoth fur and going to miniskirts!), videos about a wine tasting near Neusiedler See and the harvest festival at St. Margarethen, an article about biodegradable picnic boxes, complete with compostable dishes, cups, napkins and trash bags (from a company in Dallas, TX!), a commentary about how the wineries in Mittelburgenland are struggling because of the lack of other tourism attractions ("Too much wine, too few pretty visitor magnets"), a "Great Autumn Offers" sales pitch of specials from area hotels, etc., and an Events Calendar.

If you would like to receive the newsletter, you can go to their website (click the address shown above) and enter your email address in the box under text "Bleiben Sie am Laufenden - Newsletter" (Stay up to date - Newsletter) near the top right. I'm sure you will find something of interest, even if you have no plans to visit!

            

Next month, I'll tell you about some of the "weirder" e-mail "spam" mailings that have found me. I hope you find them as odd as I do!
 

9) ETHNIC EVENTS

LEHIGH VALLEY, PA
(courtesy of Bob Strauch)

Saturday, November 6, 10 am - 2 pm: Ethnic Food Bazaar. Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church  (formerly Our Lady of Hungary), Newport Avenue in Northampton.


LANCASTER, PA (courtesy of Hannes Graf)

Saturday, November 13, 7:30 - 11:30 pm: Military Ball. Lancaster Liederkranz, 722 S. Chiques Rd, Manheim, PA. $8 ($10 guest) at door or in advance at the bar. Members who have served in the military are encouraged to attend in uniform! Music by the George Tarasek Orchestra. Dinner Service: 5:30-8pm. It is not necessary to attend the dance to enjoy Dietrich's Dance Night Menu. Seating is available in the Barroom for those not attending the dance. lancasterliederkranz@verizon.net, 717-898-8451 (after 4pm M-F)

Remaining 2010-2011 Lancaster Liederkranz Dance Schedule (details similar to above):
November 20: Stiftungfest.
Music by Heidi und the Heimat Echo
December 4: Christmas Concert & Dance. Music by Hank Haller
December 31: New Year's Dinner Dance. Music by Joe Weber (reservations required)
January 15: Jaeger Abend. Music by Heidi und the Heimat Echo
January 30: Schneeball/Kaffeeklatsch. Music by Emil Santa (Sunday afternoon event)
February 12: Fasching. Music by The Continentals
February 26: Lumpen Ball. Music by the J.T. Orchestra
March 19: Bockbier Fest. Music by Heidi und the Heimat Echo
April 16: Ein Abend in Wien. Music by the Walt Groller Orchestra
April 30: Spring Concert & Dance. Music TBD
May 14: Maitanz. Music by Joe Kroboth


NEW BRITAIN, CT
(courtesy of Margaret Kaiser)

Friday, November 5, 7 pm: Heimat Abend (Home Evening) with guitarist Peter Frey. Austrian Donau Club (http://austriandonauclub.com/, 545 Arch Street). $3. (Kitchen special: Wursts)

Saturday, November 6, 6 pm: Donau Scholarship Dinner (featuring Schnitzel). Austrian Donau Club. (details at http://austriandonauclub.com/scholarship.html)

Sunday, November 14, 8 am - 12 noon: Sonntag Frühstuck (Sunday Breakfast). Austrian Donau Club.

Friday, November 19: Heurigan Abend ("A meeting where wine of the latest vintage is drunk") with Schachtelgebirger Musikanten (Box Mountain Musicians). Austrian Donau Club. $3. (Kitchen special: Sauerbraten).

Friday, November 26, 7 pm: Gemütlichkeit Abend (Congenial Evening) with violinist Nick Kwas. Austrian Donau Club. $ Free. (light fare)

Tuesdays at 7 pm: Men's and Women's Singing Societies meet. Austrian Donau Club.
 
Thursdays at 7 pm: Alpenland Tänzer (Alpine Country Dancers) meet. Austrian Donau Club.


CHICAGO, IL, Area (courtesy of Tom Glatz)

November 19th: Martini Fest. Gaelic Park, Oak Forest, IL.


MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL, MN, Area (courtesy of Andrea Neumann)

December 4th, 6 pm (RSVP reservations required by Nov. 15):
30th Annual Croatian Christmas Party (Sretan Bozic I Vesela Nova Godina).
Croatian Cultural Society, Croatian Hall (Hrvatski Dom), 445 2nd Avenue South, South St. Paul, MN. $25 (ages 5-11: $8, under 5: free). Includes social hour, Christmas dinner (janjetina [lamb], sunka [ham], sarma, honey glazed carrots, Croatian potato salad, cole slaw, Waldorf salad, relishes, coffee and rolls, and Croatian desserts), door prizes, awards, a presentation of famous Croatians, and Croatian music by Biljan Brothers Tamburitzan Orkestra. Contact Andrea Novak Neumann for an RSVP form.


10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch)

Hilda Gratzer, 1931-2010

Hilda Gratzer, 79, of Woodside, Queens, NY, passed away on September 1, 2010.

She was the widow of Joseph Gratzer, who died in 2007.

Born in Moschendorf, Burgenland, Austria, she was a daughter of the late Ferdinand and Maria (Feibel) Behm.

Burial was in Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY.

            

Albert Stanko

Albert Stanko, 90, passed away October 18, at his home in Whitehall.

Born in Raabfidisch/Rábafüzes, Hungary, he was a son of the late Josef and Gisella (Gollinger) Stanko.

Albert was the husband of Kristina (Gasper), with whom he celebrated 62 years of marriage this past June.

He was employed by the Fuller Co. for 28 years retiring in 1983.

Albert was a member of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church and a life member of the Austrian-Hungarian Veterans Society in Allentown.

Survivors: In addition to his wife he is survived by; sons, Steve with wife Karen, and Albert with wife Nanette; grandsons, Burt and Brad Stanko; sisters, Gisella, Paula, Cecilia, and Frieda; as well as many good friends and neighbors. He was predeceased by siblings, Bertha, Eduard, Anna, Josef, and Franz.

Services: A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Thursday, at 10 a.m., please call from 8:45 to 9:45 all in the church, 619 Fullerton Ave., Whitehall. On line condolences can be made to: www.weberfuneralhomes.com.

Contributions: Can be made in Albert's name to the American Cancer Society, 389 Adler Place, Bethlehem, PA 18017.

Published in Morning Call on October 20, 2010

            

Frank G. Dergosits

Frank G. Dergosits, 89, of Whitehall, died Saturday, October 23, 2010, at his home.

Born November 3, 1920 in Gerersdorf, Burgenland, Austria, he was the son of the late Frank and Anna (Jost) Dergosits.

He and his wife Edith J. (Haertel) Dergosits were married October 5, 1946.

He was a member of Member of the Coplay Saengerbund and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 190.

He served in the US Army during World War II where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and earned two Bronze Stars and Two Purple Hearts.

Survivors: in addition to his wife he is survived by: daughter, Joanne M. Tatem, of Audobon, PA; son, Edward N. Dergosits, of Mill Valley, CA; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son, Robert F. Dergosits.

Services: arrangements are being handled by Schisler Funeral Home, Inc., 2119 Washington Avenue, Northampton, PA, where the family will receive friends from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, October 29, 2010. A Memorial service will be at Schisler Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Friday, October 29, 2010.

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the National World War II Museum, in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be made at www.schislerfuneralhomes.com.

Published in Morning Call on October 25, 2010


            

Bertha P. Hanisits

Bertha P. Hanisits, 86, of Northampton, PA., formerly of Whitehall, PA. died Sunday, September 19, 2010, at Phoebe Home in Allentown, PA.

She was the wife of the late William P. Hanisits who died in 1970.

Born in Kukmirn, Burgenland, Austria, she was the daughter of the late Adolph and Caroline (Freismuth) Peischl.

Bertha was an assembler for the former Western Electric Co. of Allentown, PA. for 27 years before retiring in 1986.

She was a member of the Whitehall Seniors Club and enjoyed the traveling she did with the group.

Survivors: sons, William A. Hanisits and wife Joyce of Venice, FL, Thomas J. Hanisits and wife Teresa of Coplay, PA; nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, sons John and Robert, and grandson Jason.

Services: scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday September 23, 2010 at the Schisler Funeral Home, 2119 Washington Avenue, Northampton, PA. 18067. Calling hour 10 - 11 a.m. prior to the services. Interment will follow services at Cedar Hill Memorial Park in Allentown, PA.

Contributions: May be made to the American Heart Assoc. - Northeast, PA. C/O the funeral home. On-line condolences may be offered to the family at www.schislerfuneralhomes.com.

Published in Morning Call on September 22, 2010
 

END OF NEWSLETTER
 

REMINDER: Be sure to switch your links to the new Burgenland Bunch website:
www.the-burgenland-bunch.org
 

NOTICE (Terms and Conditions)
: The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and, toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us (email, letter, phone conversation, etc.) as part of our information exchange and educational research efforts.
• If you do not want your communication to be used for this purpose, indicate that it is "confidential" and we will abide by that request.
• Correspondents who communicate with the BB without requesting confidentiality retain their copyright but give a non-exclusive license to the BB allowing us to forward to BB members, publish in our monthly newsletter or on our website, and/or subsequently and permanently archive all or parts of such communications.

The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at:
http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/

Use our website to access our lists and web pages.

Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, copyright © 2010 by The Burgenland Bunch
All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided.