THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 16
(issued as required by Gerald Berghold)
August 1, 1997
(all rights reserved)

This edition of the newsletter contains an introdution concerning an Elder
Hostel trip to Austria by Bob Unger; material from Albert Schuch about
Urbars, Canonical Visitations and village data; a list of US German language
newspapers and some interesting comments from the bunch.


URBAR(S) & CANONICAL VISITATIONS (Gerry Berghold)

In a previous issue of the newsletter, I discussed some genealogical source
records other than census and church. Two of these were tax and land
registration records (Urbar) and church inventories (Canonial Visitations).
These all predate most extant church records. Unfortunately all they provide
is a family name, sometimes property holdings, village names and money owed
or pledged. They do however provide proof that a family name was prevalent in
a given area at a given point in time. With a very common name (like Horvath
or Schmidt) this can be almost meaningless. With an uncommon name, it can be
very meaningful and can help track family migrations. These records are not
easy to find (most that are available for the Burgenland are in the libraries
in Eisenstadt or Vienna). They are also not easy to read. They are written in
Latin, some in German and the originals are in script. Arthur Schuch has
dipped into some of them for various reasons involving his studies and work
for the bunch. I plan to publish those that he finds. It is not possible for
him to research all that are available, the work would be just too
prohibitive. You might get lucky and spot one with your family name or
village.

Following Definitions and Urbar-Visitation data are from Albert Schuch:

"An "Urbar" is a kind of a tax description of a village. Every now and then
the "Herrschaft" (the local aristocracy) wanted to know how many people lived
on their land, and what they had to contribute (money, labour, agricultural
products). Usually the Urbar was compiled for the whole Herrschaft, listing
one village after the other. Most 17th century (and some 16th century) Urbare
include the names of the "house fathers" (the property owner). Usually the
farmers are listed first, then come the Söllner (people without land other
than the one their home is on) with a house of their own, then the Söllner
without a house (subinquilini or pauperes in Latin, Inwohner or HOLDEN in
German). The Urbar also tells us how many cows, sheep, etc. the people of a
village own, as well as the number of houses deserted or destroyed."<<

URBAR of 1716 for GRIESELSTEIN: (located few kms north west of
Jennersdorf -source is Burgenländische Heimatbltter 1966, page 73):

32 houses are deserted. The names of the farmers are: 4 Thomas, 3 Forjan, 2
Dornfeld, Wagner, Rauscher, Weiss, Herzeg; 1 Temmel, Pammer, Lipp, BERGHOLD,
Neubauer, Kalowitsch, Binder, Brckler, Meier, Unger, Leiner, Mllner,
Steirer, Soldat, Seidl. "Söllner"-names are: Thomas, Wagner, Kummer, Weber,
Mandl, Gumhold, Frhlich, Gerger, Knittl, Dornfeld; "Hulden" (Söllner in
rented houses) names are: Knittl, Unger, Lipp, Thomas, Weiss, Dornweber.

We also have an older URBAR of 1677 for GRIESELSTEIN (source: as above, page
72): Farmer-names: 8 Dornfeld, 5 Thomas, 4 Lex, 3 Kiesner, Unger, Prosser; 2
Wolf, Pammer, Leiner, Knittl, Weiss; 1 Binder, Zaidl, Mllner, Tessl, Mandl,
Krobot, Steirer, Wagner, Strodner, Rott, Massl, Nopp, Tauss, Pauker, Lipp,
Rauscher, Munder, Lenz. "Söllner"-names: 2 Rauscher, Hedl; 1 Binder, Weiss,
Munder, Schwarz, Unger, Wagner, Kummer, Mller, Knittl, Dornfeld, Fehringer,
Lipp.

NEUSTIFT BAPTISMS 1669-1699 (from a question concerning possible Irish
Burgenland ancestors posed by Joe Gilly) <<Your posting of my Irish query in
no. 14 of the BB News has generated some help. Albert Schuch was challenged
by my question and we've had some nice e-mail exchanges on the subject. He
recently located a book titled. "Das irsche, schottische und englische
Element im Kaiserlichen Heer" written in 1971 by Ernst Schmidhofer as a
doctoral thesis.<<

Albert sent the following baptisms collected by Father Gratian Leser. Born
Deutschkreuz 1873, died Eisenstadt 1949; possible variations of family names
{in brackets} as found in later Burgenland records.

>>Here are names documented for people born in Neustift from 1669 to 1699:
BAUER, PAL, NIKLES {Nicholas}, SVALLES, DRAXLER, INGESICS, FERSINGER,
WILLISCH {Wallitsch}, POSCH, NIKICS, NR {Knorr}, GIBISINGER {Gibiser},
HANNS, KNOR, NICHAL, WEBER, HAFNER {Hofner}, SCHWEITZER, JRG, MINZEG, PUM
{Pimm}, PHILESMERTY, MICHEL, GRLLER, PEINGURL, GREGER, MAYR {Mayer}, ILING,
JAGADICS, RADIS, STIMPERGER, TAPLER, PETANOVICS, FUX, FIDLER
{Fiedler}, HIGECS, HOFER, PREINER, PRENNER, RMITZ, MOR {Mühr}, FISCHL,
BERTL, WECHSLER, REMISCH, PEIDEL {Beidel}, JANESPACHER, NISTOZ, HOSENPURGER
{Hosenberger}, STUMPER, RADANOVICZ, JANOS, NOCHLOCH, KNAUS, WLIZ
{Wallitsch}, RABATH, GABER, KEMETER, KOCHER, JANI, BOGNER, NICHAS {Nichlas},
JRG, GITTERSDORFF, KAMERLE, HAS {Haas}, GROGEL, LEDERER, WALSINGER, PUNCH,
KOBER, RATZ, PHILES, VIERHSL, JAKADICZ, JVISPACHER, SCHUSJ, SARGER
{Sorger}, PEK, SCHMERDL, STADINGER, POSCH, BOTNCZ, LESSL, WELFINGER,
SCHERMANN, REISINGER, DONOVICZ, FISCHER, GRIEBBAUER, HEISLER, GILI {Gilly},
JAGODICZ, HANCZEL {Hansel}, SIMONSICZ, BUSLINGER, HASENPAUER, KURTZ, BELACZ,
SCHNEIDER, REICHER, STUBENVOLL, ADAM, SIMECZ, SCHMIED {Schmidt}, HEILIMANN
{Halleman), PEITL, {Beidel} MENDICZ.<<


HEILIGENKREUZ CHURCH RECORDS (from A. Schuch)

Father Gratian Leser says: Heiligenkreuz RC church records started 1710/11
(Sterbebuch-death register-1710, Taufbuch-baptism register-1710,
Trauungsbuch-wedding register- 1711) including the "Filialen" (associated
villages) Poppendorf, Oberradling, Jakabhaza and Raabfidisch (Rabafüzes).
(from A. Schuch). LDS microfilm covers only 1826-1896-ed.


MORE ON FOOD (from Joan Straub)

I really enjoyed the newsletter about the food. It helped me to understand
my father and his parents who died many years ago. I didn't know any other
families who did the "weird" food things we did (or ate). Sterz, blood and
liver pudding, buckwheat pancakes, potato soup, homemade sauerkraut,
Twestchen Knödel (which I still make today and my kids love them), and one
of his favorites - Rice sausage, "Reis Wurst". Visitors thought we were crazy
when they stopped by and saw us making this sausage. Usually it was in the
fall (Oct-Nov) when this family production would take place. Enough sausage
would be made for the entire year and the whole family had to work. It took
all day. My job was to clean the intestines used for the casings. If my
friends stopped by, my mom would try to put them to work but they usually ran
off. The older children would help grind up the pork and cook the rice. Mom
and Dad would mix it all up and Dad was in charge of getting the spice
mixture "just right". Plenty of garlic, cinnamon, buckwheat, and other
spices. Then came the filling stage. We would slide the casings on the hand
cranked grinder outfitted with a nozzle. The casing end would be tied with a
heavy string, the meat mixture forced in, then tied at the other end with
string again. Then the sausage would be plunged into boiling water for a few
minutes, left to cool and packaged for the freezer. I never understood why my
father would be so happy when we did this work until I read your newsletter!
He was the happiest when eating or preparing ethnic foods. When I was 10
years old, I never understood exactly why we rarely shopped for meat at the
super market. Instead we would go with father to the packing house and get
things like 2 - 3 ft. ox tails. Dad would instruct me on how to find the
joints and cut each tail down into 1 inch pieces. He LOVED oxtail stew!

I don't know if any of my half-cousins prepare any of the ethnic foods I grew
up with. (My Dad was born in Burgenland, and his half-sisters were born 10-15
years later in America. I plan to give a gift of our family tree to each
family at Christmas (hopefully this year) and I will be including ethnic
recipies, stories, and pictures.


VILLAGE DATA SOURCES (from Albert Schuch)

>>Hap, You ask where I found the articles on Lebenbrunn. This could be of
general interest.<<

When looking for information on a Burgenland village, I turn to the
"Allgemeine Landesbibliographie des Burgenlandes", part VII,
"Topo-Bibliographie". This work consists of 4 volumes (A-E, F-L, M-P, R-Z) at
around 1000 pages each. The villages are listed in alphabetic order, with
references to most of the known literature.

For small villages (like Lebenbrunn) most of this "literature" are just short
articles in newspapers. Most of them are of little or no use. But when you
see a reference to either "Volk und Heimat" or to the "Burgenlaendische
Heimatblaetter" chances are good that you will find a longer article, as
these two periodicals usually contain very useful historical information.

Now I do not own this 4 volume "Topo-Bibliographie" (one volume alone would
cost 950 Austrian Schillings-about $90.00). I can always use it in the
National Library (on the Heldenplatz in Vienna) or when I am in Eisenstadt,
in the Landesarchiv / Landesbibliothek. In the Eisenstadt library these
books are kept in the users room (open Mo-Fr from 8.30, usually until 16.30,
only Tu till 18.00 and Fr till 12.30) next to all volumes of both "Volk und
Heimat" and "Heimatblaetter". Copy costs are 2 Schillings (20 cents) per
page. So when you are in Eisenstadt and you want to find some basic
information on a certain village, you can get it fast and cheap. If you find
some information in a book or even a whole book on one village, this will not
be in the users room. You have to order it, but the library staff will bring
it to you in no time. (In libraries in Vienna, I have to wait 2-3 hours if I
order a book, in Eisenstadt I get it within 5 minutes.)

So here are the credits for the Lebenbrunn-articles:
Rupert LOESCHNAUER: "Der Loewe von Lebenbrunn", In: "Volk und Heimat"
1960, issue 17, p. 8-10

Josef LOIBERSBECK: "Um Pilgersdorf und Kogl", part 6 and 7, in "Volk und
Heimat" 1961, issue 13/14, p. 18, issue 15/16, p.19.

("Volk und Heimat" is published by the "Burgenlaendisches Volksbildungswerk"
in Eisenstadt. In the 1960 it used to be a bi-weekly, nowadays it is just a
quarterly.)

There is a 7 part series on the Pilgersdorf /Kogl area. I have copies of the
whole series. It just takes some time to sit down, read, and translate.


GERMAN LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS (question from Albert Schuch)

>>Do you know anything on American newspapers in German language from the
1920's and 1930's (like those quoted in the Oberwarter Zeitung)?<<

(Answer by GJB) >>Yes there were a number but I don't know much about them.
My grandmother read one that came from Chicago or Cleveland. There was also a
news magazine.

A book called "The German Language Press of the Americas" by Karl Arndt & May
Olson lists many plus detail re dates of operation, etc. Also shows where
library files are located. I don't have a copy. Some that look like they may
have Burgenland news are:

Washington Journal, 1113 National Press Bldg., Washington, DC 20045

Abendpost-Sonntagspost, 223 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60606 (daily since
1889)

Wochenzeitung "Eintracht", 9456 N. Lawler St., Skokie, IL 60077 (weekly)

Detroiter Abend-Post, 1436 Brush St., Detroit, MI 48226 (semi-weekly 1944,
daily from 1868)

Deutsche Wochenschrift, P.O. Box 28218, St. Louis, MO 63132

New Jersey Freie Zeitung, 500 S. 31st St., Kenwilworth, NJ 07033 (weekly)

New Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 160 W. 71st St., New York, NY 11101(
from 1834!)

Volkszeitung Tribune, 4614 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68132 (weekly)

Plattdeutsch Post, 4164 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113 (low German dialect
weekly)

Waechter und Anzeiger, 4162 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113 (weekly since
1852)

These were taken from "Address Book for Germanic Genealogy", by Ernest Thode,
5th Edition, Gen. Pub. Co., Baltimore 1994. There are others on the west
coast, midwest and Canada.<<


AUSTRIA - A REPORT OF THE TRIP TO THE HOME OF MY UNGER ANCESTORS
Part #1, ELDERHOSTEL!!!!! (By Robert F. Unger)

PURPOSE: Gerry Berghold asked me to "tell all" in the form of a trip report
for the Burgenland Bunch, detailing the wonderful time my wife and I had in
Austria from May 10 - June 3, 1997. Ah, so much to tell. Since the first
two weeks of our trip involved participation in an international Elderhostel
program, and the last nine days were spent on our own in Burgenland, I
decided to make it a four part report.

Segment one will focus on Elderhostel in general, two will cover our week
with Elderhostel in Vienna, and part three will focus on the week with
Elderhostel in Salzburg. The fourth and final portion will be devoted to our
nine days in Burgenland. In each segment I will try to detail significant
events, offer comments about lessons learned, and strive to help others who
may be thinking about a visit to Austria. Feedback in the form of comments
and suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated.

MOTIVATION: I have been pursuing genealogical research for about seven years.
After learning that my Unger ancestors came from what is now the village of
Rudersdorf in Burgenland. I've had the strong desire to visit there.
Genealogical research usually starts with the gathering and documenting of
names, places, and dates. For me this came into focus when I was asked by
one of my Grandchildren, "Granddad, did you have TV when you were a little
boy?"

That question was easy for me to answer, but what could I tell my
Grandchildren about the life and time of our Unger ancestors, the persons
about whom I had been collecting data.

Going beyond mere names and dates and researching eras in which one's
forbears lived is often stressed during genealogical seminars, emphasizing
that to really know your ancestors you must "try to walk in their shoes and
experience life during their time period." Since there is no time machine as
yet, the best way to do that would appear to be to study the history of
Austria and also to sample the current physical, emotional, and social
activities of Austria in the present day. The Elderhostel program helped
greatly with the history and also contributed to learning about the people of
Austria, both past and present.

ELDERHOSTEL: Often when I mention the word "Elderhostel" people react in
many different ways. Some associate the word with the Youth-hostel programs
- conjuring up thoughts of seniors trudging about with backpacks and sleeping
in dormitories.

Many do not have a clue as to what Elderhostel really is. So I'll start this
report by trying to answer often asked questions, such as: "What is
Elderhostel? How does it operate? What do participants do? What are the
accommodations like? How much does it cost? Who attends Elderhostel events?"
My comments are based on the experiences my wife and I have had in six
different Elderhostel programs. (We have known individuals who have gone on
more than 40 programs - what an endorsement!

WHAT IS ELDERHOSTEL? Elderhostel is a nonprofit educational adventure for
individuals 55 years of age and older who are looking for something
different. (Participants' spouses of any age are welcome.) Elderhostel
claims that the later years should be a time of new beginnings, opportunities
and challenges. Elderhostel offers you a way to keep expanding your horizons
with people who are interested in the same things you are. It offers
inexpensive, short-term academic programs hosted by educational institutions
around the world. The address is: Elderhostel, 75 Federal Street, Boston, MA
02110-1941. They have two different quarterly catalogues, one covers programs
within the USA and Canada, and the other is an international catalogue. Most
USA/Canada programs follow a 6-night format with three different subjects or
courses offered Monday through Friday. The format of each of their
international programs is individually designed to take advantage of the
unique features of each country or region and is usually of two to three
weeks in duration. The number of students in each class varies from a
minimum of about 20 to a maximum of 40. Pick your subject to study, choose
the place, and you are all set!

HOW DOES ELDERHOSTEL OPERATE? Essentially Elderhostel takes care of
everything, i.e. preparatory reading material, transportation, lodging,
meals, lectures, guides, field trips, program coordinators, etc. At the
conclusion of each program, each attendee is requested to complete a
questionnaire as a critique of the experience. This feedback assures the
high quality programs.

WHAT DOES EACH STUDENT DO? Enjoy! Simply put, you pack your bags and get
yourself to the airport for international programs, or go to the site of the
program in the USA or Canada. Orientation provides all the information you
need and allows the opportunity to meet all your fellow students. The term
"student" takes on a different meaning for Elderhostel - no pressure, you
have fun while learning. The lectures are structured, but there are no tests,
home work, or roll call.You select your degree of involvement.

WHAT ARE THE ACCOMMODATIONS LIKE? Each quarterly catalogue has a section
that specifically addresses accommodations, i.e. names the site and location
and explains what is offered in each of the rooms. Most rooms are arranged
for double occupancy. You may select to have a room by yourself, but one
person per room is at an extra cost. An option is to request that
Elderhostel pair you up with another attendee. Some sites offer no elevator
services - but you are made fully aware of such situations by reading the
course selection material. Elderhostel tries to fully inform you ahead of
time about every aspect of each program. It has been our experience that
rooms vary from small dormitory type rooms with two single beds, to three
room suites. We always found accommodations very clean and comfortable.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? For Austrian international programs the cost for a two
week program varies with the time of year, from $2,600 to $2,900. This cost
includes virtually everything, i.e. air fare from gateway cities, room,
meals, field trips, lecturers, lecture material, guides, program
coordinators, etc. There are optional costs for such things as additional
optional field trips, drinks, gifts you buy for your friends, and telephone
calls back home. (By way of comparison, I estimated that our international
program to Austria would have cost at least $1,200 more per person, had we
not gone via Elderhostel but with essentially the same agenda. That estimate
does not include the cost for the lectures, all the hand-out material, and
the program coordinator. A USA/Canada 6 day/night program averages about
$395, plus transportation.

WHO ATTENDS ELDERHOSTEL EVENTS: We found that many of the Elderhostel
participants are college graduates, many are retired school teachers.There
are others from all walks of life. Discussions during and after the lectures
make each Elderhostel program unique.

OUR ELDERHOSTEL PROGRAM: Our Elderhostel program, #80204-0510, covered the
time period from May 10-25, 1997. The cost was $2,748 with New York City
designated at the Gateway City. There were 37 enrolled, including 12 couples
and 13 singles. The first week was in Vienna and the course subject was
European History, but Austrian history was emphasized. Our accommodations
were a double room with private bath at the Hotel Springerschlssl
hotel/conference center. The second week was conducted in Salzburg, with the
course subject being Music History. Our accommodations were two room suite
with a private bath at the Hotel Kaisererhof. Part two will cover our week
with Elderhostel in Vienna. (to be continued)


BURGENLÄNDERS WHO WENT WEST! (from Lynette Wolf)

This is a clipping my aunt had from a Rawlins County, Kansas newspaper:

THURSDAY MARKED FIFTIETH YEAR OF RESIDENCE HERE
April 10, 1880, a small group of six families arrived in Northwest Kansas.
Last Thursday, April 10, 1930, marked the fiftieth anniversary of their
arrival. Among the group was Adam Wahrman [my grandfather who was 8 years old
at the time], who came with his parents and brothers and sisters. The party
which included thirteen families, left Andau, Austria some months previous.
Only six of the thirteen emigrating families reached Northwest Kansas, the
remainder having dropped off at points enroute... Besides Mr. Wahrman, the
following people, who were in the group of six families, are yet living: Mrs.
S.L. Goltl, formerly a Schwartz; Mrs. Joseph Martin, (Weishapl); Mrs. C.W.
Kirchner (Theresia Wahrman); all of this vicinity. Others living and known
to Mr. Wahrman are Andrew Tongish, now of Nebraska City, Nebr.; and John
Sattler, Sr. of Greencreek, Idaho.

From Ship Passenger Lists -
The group sailed on the Westphalia; point of embarkation was Hamburg and Havre;
steerage; their occupations was farmer; country to which they severally belong
was Hungary; arrived in New York City on March 31, 1880. Other family names in
group [as near as I can decipher] were Rippell, Wolff, and Rischel.

From the obituary of Anna Tongisch Wahrman [Adam's mother] -
January 1, 1880 they heeded the call of the west and sailed for America, landing
in New York and then came by railroad to Buffalo Park, [now Park, Gove Co, Kansas]
then the end of the road. The remainder of the trip to Herndon was made by team
and wagon, reaching Herndon March 1 [?]... To the deceased is due a full measure
of honor in bearing her share of the burdens of the early pioneers. She came
with her husband and family to Herndon via the covered wagon route from
Buffalo Park in March 1880 when settlers in this section were very scarce.
She was a devout member of the Catholic faith and with her husband comprised
one of the thirteen original families who attended the first Mass celebrated
here May 10, 1880 and were among the founders of St. Mary's parish.


END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD