THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 26
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
December 31, 1997
(all rights reserved)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This edition of the newsletter contains articles on Tschanigraben (the Father
Leser Series), Burgenland Featured on TV, Folk Customs and Tales, Burgenland
Dwellings, Urbersdorf Research, Neustift Records, Home of a Burgenland
Schoolteacher and other interesting items from members.
BURGENLAND VILLAGE DATA FROM THE PATER GRATIAN ANTON LESER, O. F. M.
(1873-1949) EXCERPTS (continued from letters nos. 21-25; by Albert Schuch)
12) TSCHANIGRABEN (inhabitants: 1812 - 151; 1929 - 189). Was a part of
Inzenhof until ca. 1800. Spelling of the village name in the church records:
1736 Schonagraben, 1765 Chanigram, 1789-1802 Sandorhegy gewöhnlich (usually
(called)) Sconagraben, then Tsonagraben, Csanagraben and Tsanagraben. Very
rarely mentioned pre-1789, therefore early surnames can be located only from
that time forward:
Surnames of Tschanigraben 1789-1802: NEUBAUER, ARTINGER, STUIBER, KROBATH,
SVETALICS, KÖPPEL (KEPPEL), PAMER, BRUNER, JOST, MULZET, NIKLES, MEHLMAUER,
FALUSI, TAKERER, KONRATH (KONRAD), ZIMITZ. The FALUSI are known to have lived
in Güssing throughout the 17th century. The dead, like those of Inzenhof,
were originally buried near the St. Emerich church, and children went to
school in St. Emerich (Szent Imre). Since 1893 Tschanigraben has its own
cemetery. At that time, the school had already been established in house nr.
6. First teacher was Godefried LOTH, who died 28 Apr 1858 aged 65. Further
teachers: 1858-62 Michael NEUBAUER (teacher of Tsch. and Inzenhof), around
1864 Michael GLÜCKSHOFER (only in Inzenhof). His successors were Ida
KERSCHBAUM, Franz JOST (after 1870), Johann SCHREDNER (in the 1880ies),
MAYER, Andreas LOIKITS (until 1895). From 1895 onwards the children went to
school in Inzenhof. (source: V+H Nr. 3/1957).
BURGENLAND ON TV & MORE ON THE HAPSBURG MARRIAGE
Very good friend (Dr. Conrad Christianson) writes: Home at last after a long
tour of Germany/Austria/Italy/Switzerland. Among the high points was a
couple of days in Dresden. We stayed near Innsbruck, (Schwaz). Our hostess
mentioned she had just recently viewed on Austrian TV a program about
American Burgenlaenders and commented on what a fine one it was. An American
Burgenlaender from Chicago was interviewed to the effect that he preferred
the USA but loved a couple of months 'home' every now and then.
Noted the comments (BB News) relative to the Habsburg/Oldenburg nuptials in
Budapest. My trusty Burke's Peerage leads me to believe the following:
Eilika Helene Jutta Clementine is the granddaughter of the Hereditary Grand
Duke of Oldenburg, Nikkolaus (Duke from 1931-1970) and his wife Helene,
Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her father is the sixth son of Duke
Nikolaus and her mother is Ilka, daughter of Count Alfred-Friedrich Franz
Otto Hugo Amelung of Ortenburgh. The House of Oldenburg is really the overall
name for the reigning families of Norway, Denmark, Greece, and in the next
generation, England, by way of Phillip Mountbatten who is really of the House
of Oldenburg, the family Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluecksburg.
Oldeburgers are mainly Lutheran, Habsburgs Catholic. But in those rarefied
circles ecumenism is of long practice. Other members of the Oldenburg family
include Tsars of Russia, Kings of Sweden, Grand Dukes of Oldenburg, Dukes of
Holstein. The family traces its origins to a Egilmar I, Count of Aldenburg
(notice the vowel shift) who is recorded as living in 1108. It is a fairly
respectable family.
BURGENLAND FOLK CUSTOM, SONG & TALE
(suggested by "The Book of Austria", E. Marboe, Austrian State Printing Office, 1948)
Many events and facts are kept alive via oral repetition and song (including
some of those lengthy aristocratic genealogies). This becomes part of custom,
tradition and folklore. Below are a few from the Burgenland. Perhaps you have
some to share.
Burgenland Customs - If the new baby is a girl, violets are put in the oven so
the child may never get freckles. The first actions of a new born are very
important. If a male and he stretches his hand toward money, he will become a
thief, if he tries to grasp a whip, he will make a good farmer. Bread, meat
and eggs, carried in a basket and blessed at the church at Easter will bring
good fortune. Sauerkraut and pork, left by the door and eaten on New Year's
day will bring good luck. (The latter may have been borrowed by my people
from PA-German neighbors).
Croatian Village Song - "When Croatian girls are singing, To the tamburizzáa
sound, You hear ancient lays a-ringing, Every eye casts smiles around. For
they're singing of Junaken, Their love's rapture and distress. Of the king's
descendant, Marko*, And his wife, the proud princess."
* ed. note: Marko the Prince (Marko Kraljevich), son of Serbian, King
Vukashin, who became a vassal of the Turks. A popular and controversial
Serbian epic hero, he died at the Battle of Rovine in Romania in 1395. Among
others, Petar Hektorovich (Croatian literary nobleman from the Island of
Hvar) wrote an early epic poem in 1555. That it became part of Burgenland
culture is indicative of racial mixing of customs and traditions, similar to
Germans and Croatians adopting Magyar "Gulyas" as a favorite.
Seewinkel Tale - Legend of the "Wasserstoffel"
A fish like human creature lived in the Neusiedler See and was often seen by
fishermen. He was fond of a beautiful young peasant girl who lived near by.
When he heard she was to be married, he collected a large sack of frogs,
snails and water snakes. He brought them to the wedding and dumped them on
the banquet table, since this seemed to him to be a fine gift. The wedding
gift was not well received and caused much shouting, confusion and disorder.
The poor Wasserstoffel fled howling in despair and was never again seen by
humans (but he can still be heard sometimes, splashing in the tall reeds on
the edge of the lake, as he hunts for his dinner).
A definitive book of Hungarian folktales, including some from the western
border is "Folktales of Hungary", Linda Dégh, trans. by J. Halász, Univ.of
Chicago Press, 1965.
QUESTION CONCERNING DWELLINGS
"I also note that in most cases, brides and grooms resided in the groom's
parents household. Does anyone know if each house number is really for a
particular building or does it represent something else? At times, it seems
to me that the house must have been truly filled to the walls with
residents." (from Margaret Kaiser)
Margaret, this question has been posed by others as well, so you have the
benefit of getting an answer which I'll later use for an article in the
newsletter. The data stems from various books and microfilms I've seen as
well my memory and pictures of 23 family villages we've visited.
The houses were filled to the walls. A roof and a place for a bed was all
that was necessary for sleeping, but infant mortality was appalling. There
were large families, but many children did not reach adulthood. Also
primogeniture forced younger children to go elsewhere early (about age 12-14
for apprenticeship or servant jobs). The average house (dwelling) consisted
of 3 rooms (Maria-Theresianische Kolonistenhaus)-sometimes four (Josefinische
Kolonistenhaus), (1) a bedroom(father-mother-baby-younger children)-one main
bed, crib, truckle (trundle) bed(s), chests, table, chair, wardrobe, lamp;
(2) a kitchen- was often main room (warmest), (grandparents slept
here-truckle bed(s) plus more young children or just the girls), wall
benches, table, wood stove, dry sink, chairs, chests, cabinets; (3) a pantry
or workroom (don't know if anyone slept there, but why not?) and (4) on
occasion, another chamber. In German, "Stube", "Küche", "Kammer". Of course
there were variations on these themes. There were other buildings often
attached to the main house-a barn (even in the village), for hay &
animals-which could contain a bedroom for adolescent boys. (My grandfather
Sorger spoke of sleeping in a room in their barn in Rosenberg with his
brothers and two uncles). Covered front porch often ran the length of the
main house (sleeping place for boys in summer) connecting kitchen entrance
with barn. Peppers and onions would be strung and braided and hung up to dry
there. There were outer sheds (wagon shed, work shop, outhouse,
etc.)-possible sleeping places for servants, if any. Often a wine and root
cellar-probably too cold for sleeping. Even in the middle of a village, the
houses were often more of a "farmstead" than just a house as we know it.
House numbers (introduced in the 1840's) were assigned to individual
farmsteads (house plus barn plus outbuildings, there may also be a wall and a
large carriage gate. Buildings often enclosed a small court yard, (many paved
today, but dirt years ago), the wagon was brought in at night and the gate
locked. Wood would be bundled and stacked against an inner wall near the
kitchen or under a roof overhang. The house number will often be found
affixed to the upper right of the wall near the gate or on the upper right
hand of the wall of the most prominent building facing the street). It is
often white on blue or green. Many numbers remain the same today (150 years
later) in the smaller places. Larger villages have changed numbers somewhat.
When looking for a particular older house number, try the center of the
village (near the old village well or pre WWII water source-water is now
piped). During the time of governmental solicitation of settlers (reign of
Maria Theresa and Josef II), the government drew up house and village plans
to be used for new construction. These plans show basically what I've just
described. The LDS has a microfiche of them (LDS 6001514, German Settlement
in Transdanubia, "Die Siedlungen des 18. Jahrhunderts im mittleren Donautal-
Siedlungsgeschichtlichte Grundlagen", Prof. T. Miller, Weimar, 1947).
There are a number of period "museum" homes open to tourists in the
Burgenland for a small fee. One that is especially nice is in Mürbisch on the
Neuseidler See. Many of these former "peasant" dwellings are being
modernized, some into weekend or vacation homes. I was told they can be
bought for around $30M if derelict and modernized for about $100M! The main
beams in one home I visited in Poppendorf were blackened and 14 inches
square. Wood of this size is scarce today, indicating great age although most
villages in that region were burned in 1605.
Some dwelling statistics: (from History of Vas County, 1898; Magyarorszag
Varmegyéi és Városai Vasvarmegye, Sziklay és Borovszky - LDS1045430)
Poppendorf - 108 dwellings; 805 German inhabitants (average 7.5/dwelling);
Muhlgraben - 91; 632 German inhabitants (7); Königsdorf - 204; 1373 German
inhabitants (6.7); Eltendorf - 136; 934; German inhabitants (6.9); Szt.
Miklos - 45; 310 Germans (6.9).
NEW MEMBER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Some of our new members have had considerable genealogical experience which I
like to share. The following (edited slightly for content) is from Bob Schatz
and concerns his ancestors in Urbersdorf . It's almost a primer on how to
proceed with Burgenland genealogy (although Bob says he would have used the
LDS records sooner had he known about them):
"In college at the University of Scranton I majored in history and philosophy
(and studied German and Latin as well - did I know I would be needing these
in the future?), and managed to hire a very good genealogist in Vienna, Herr
Kohler (a member of Gesellschaft Adler but now deceased) who didn't charge me
very much because I was a student. He did actual research at the Kloster in
Güssing and provided me with birth, marriage and death certificates of
everyone he found on my "Ahnentafel". His research took the Schatz line back
to Michael Schatz and Margaretha Rosner of Urbersdorf in the late 1700s, but
he became very ill and was never able to resume his work for me in Güssing.
After college I moved to Boston and attempted to round out the research by
writing the Pfarramt (parish office) in Güssing requesting certificates
based on conjectured dates. The Pfarramt (parish office) was helpful when it
could be, but of course was not able to conduct out and out research. I also
joined the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft at that time, through which I
eventually discovered my distant relatives in Graz. In 1984 I travelled to
Austria and stayed for a month visiting with the family in Graz and their
relatives in Strem. My "uncle" Andreas Schatz had been the agricultural
minister for the province of Styria and was very generous to me while I was
there. His nephew took me to Burgenland and we travelled around the vicinity
of Güssing. It was sad to discover that there were no more Schatz families
in Urbersdorf; The Schatzes of Strem and Glasing were branches that had moved
to those villages from Urbersdorf at various times in the 19th century.
I moved to NYC about 11 years ago and somehow discovered the LDS films from
the Hungarian National Archives around 1990. I became obsessed! For about a
year I think I was at the LDS Center almost 3 or 4 nights a week! (This
caused a great setback in my career and social life!) But I was able to fill
out my Ahnentafel and that was very rewarding. Being in Manhattan I also had
access to the Central Research Library on 42nd Street and read as many of
their monographs on Burgenland as I could. It is a shame to be stuck with the
research. I think this is why I stopped back in '91. The records of Parish
Güssing go back to the 1660s, but I believe the Pfarramt once informed me
that the earlier volumes are now all in the Diocesan Archive in Eisenstadt.
I have often thought of hiring a genealogist there, and I think that I will
probably do that eventually.
The "dicalis conscriptio" (census) and urbariums helped me get a sense of the
material life of my forefathers, and from a note appended to the 1828
conscriptio I learned that my ancestor Michael Schatz was an assistant
bailiff (eskutek: "juror") of Urbersdorf in 1828. If not already aware of
this, BB members should note that ancestors may have served as bailiffs
(Biro) or assistant bailiffs, and that this information was noted on the
dicalis conscriptio.
Andreas Schatz provided me with a copy of his certified Ahnentafel and that
added more information to my records. Because Andreas was a government
official at the time of the Anschluss, he was required by German law to prove
his Aryan ancestry, and the pastor of Güssing researched this for him in the
1930s. As historically unappetizing as these documents might be (because
they were prepared for the Nazi regime), they do provide many generations of
ancestry. If any of the Bunch's ancestors or relatives held even minor
positions in their villages at that time, they would have been required to
prove their ancestry, and these Ahnentafeln might still be in the possession
of those families. I have been provided with another by another relative
whose grandfather was the mayor of Glasing in the '30s. (end of email
extract).
BOOK COCERNING LOCKENHAUS (from Tom Glatz)
Geschichte Von Lockenhaus (History of Lockenhaus), by P. Dr. Aegid Schermann,
Benediktiner Von Panonhalma (Martinsberg) Ordentl. Mitglied Der St.
Stephans-Akademie, Panonhalma 1936 (Printed in Budapest).
I'll be happy to eventually start translating this for the newsletter.
Perhaps when the weather gets cold. I could translate a portion at a time and
send it to you. I had completely forgotten about it. My relatives gave it to
me. I will try to get one of the immigrants to help me. Translating is not my
best attribute! I have yet to find any of the family names in the book. I
think most of my Lockenhaus & Hammerteich people came after 1700. I'll never
know until I exhaust the records.
EXTRACT OF EMAIL CONCERNING NEUSTIFT RECORDS (Bob Schatz to Joe Gilly)
(ed. note: portions of the urbarial records for Neustift were received from
Albert Schuch and printed in newsletter number 25, NOTE-some are available on
LDS film):
You asked whether I knew if urbarial tables exist for Neustift bei
Güssing. I believe Neustift belonged to the Batthyány, and was not a royal
free town, and therefore urbarial tables should exist. The 1767 urbarial
survey was conducted throughout the Habsburg lands (initiated by Imperial
Patent of Maria Theresa dated 23 January 1767) as a result of the "Farmers'
Unrest" of 1765-66. The table for Urbersdorf is found on LDS film #152978:
Records of the Vice-Regal Council, Urbarial Tables for Vas County, Letters
L-O" (Helytartotanacs Levtara, Urberi Tabellak, Vas Megye/Tabellae Urbariales
Comitatus Castriferrei). The villages are all recorded under their Magyar
names, so I suspect that Neustift might be on the next LDS film, because it
would have been listed as Ujtelep. (That is the Magyar variant, right?) The
format for the Urbersdorf table was printed in German and is therefore
legible; the individual names and notations are in the script. I suspect
that German-speaking agents were responsible for the tables, since the
surnames I found were all in their standard German spellings.
The last time I did research in the LDS records was in 1991, and my notes
from that time indicate that urbarial tables from 1720 had also been filmed.
I have not yet looked into those, however. The urbarial tables list only
the heads of households, so if your direct Gilly/Gilli/Gülli ancestor isn't
found listed, it doesn't mean he didn't exist in Neustift. It simply means
that he was an unlisted member of the extended family (a household could
include uncles, aunts, cousins, as well as the immediate family of the head).
Let me know if I can help again, and if you come across any listings with a
Schatz, Stranzl, Fürst, Keppl or Feigl in your 18th century research, I'd
sure appreciate a holler! >>(end of extract)
PHOTOS MAY HIDE A CLUE
In newsletter no. 24, Giles Gurken asked a question re some printing on the
reverse of an old photo (he's trying to find where an ancestor relocated).
> Question 2. old photo in my possession thought to be Mrs Volligrand
(grandmother) was found to contain name ... ----ette M. Ovarot. ...
> Ed. reply: I think you have a name of a person, probably the photographer
or a town. I find no current Hungarian town by that name but it is listed as
the old Hungarian name (Pinka) Ovar for "Burg" (also Purg) which is located
just east of Gross Petersdorf ......
> A. Schuch's reply: I don't think Burg is the place. "M. Ovar" will rather be
"Magyar Ovar" (Ungarisch Altenburg), today including the former "Moson" (Wieselburg)
and called "Mosonmagyarovar". This town is located just a few miles east of Halbturn.
"----ette" may be the name of a photographer in Magyar Ovar.
HOME OF A BURGENLAND SCHOOL TEACHER
Your editor's g-g-grandfather (grandfather of immigrant Hedwig Mühl Sorger
from Güssing) was one Mihaly Mühl, born 1797, died Rosenberg 1873. He had a
large family (9), taught in many villages around Güssing, before settling in
Urbersdorf where he taught from about 1837-1860's. Albert Schuch recently
found the following interesting information concerning him:
"Have also looked into the book "Die Volksschulen im Burgenländisch
-westungarischen Raum 1849-1860" by Hans Paul (= Burgenländische Forschungen
74). As you already know, a new school house was built in Urbersdorf in 1856.
The BF 74 tells about a letter written by the Urbersdorf teacher Michael
Müller (Mihaly Mühl) on 20 May 1854, sent to the "Stuhlrichteramt" in
Güssing, in which he complains about the conditions he has to live and teach
in. He writes:
"1) the classroom is about 6,85 meters long and 3,78 meters wide, which is
too small for 50-60 pupils. 2) the living room is about 4,88 meters long and
4,06 meters wide, which is also too small. 3) the kitchen is inflammable; the
(wooden) floor already has several holes; the chimney is made out of wood. 4)
the larder is too small, the ceiling is partly broken, so one cannot go in
with open light (probably there was the danger that a torch might inflame the
"Schab" (straw) roof) 5) the "so called" barn is about to break down; it is
so bad, that the animals almost froze to death 6) the whole building is made
out of wood, and in very bad condition; several repairs and mendings have
already been necessary to avoid a collapse." He may have overdone it a bit,
but one still can see that he didn't live in luxury.
We know a little more about this third (Urbersdorf) "Ludimagister" Michael
(Mihaly) MÜLL (Mühl): He wrote a "Rechenbuch" (mathematics book) in Neustift
on 9 July 1824; from 1824-1829 three of his children were born there; in 1832
he was teacher in Inzenhof, then in Urbersdorf, where from 1837-1843 four
(more) of his children were born. In 1854 when he wrote his letter he was
teaching 25 boys and 17 girls in apparently one room with holes in roof and
floor!
OBITUARY - GOLS PASTOR (from Gary Portsch)
Pfarrer Gunther Nussgruber, minister of the Evangelical Church in Gols died
of a heart attack in Jordan on October 5th. He was a good friend and had
spent a great deal of time with my family on our trips to Gols. A memory
fund was established in his name at the Bank of Austria in Gols.
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 26A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
December 31, 1997
(all rights reserved)
Glckliches Neujahr!
Glckliches Neujahr!
This is another Holiday Special issue. We hope it improves any possible New
Year's Day condition, which might stem from an over indulgent New Year's Eve!
Some good things are in the offing for the Burgenland Bunch in the new year
so be sure to stay with us. Also make a resolution to write and send us your
articles and/or ancestors' "Auswandererschicksal" (Immigrant Story) in 1998.
Our Austrian members who may not have an immigrant story may consider telling
us what they know of their family's Burgenland history. We would read that
with considerable interest!
I am both amazed and gratified at how our membership has grown during this
first year of publication. I always knew there were a lot of "Burgenländers"
out there, but I had no idea so many would be researching family. If we have
another ten fold increase in membership some changes will have to be made,
but we'll see what the future brings.
This special edition of the newsletter contains articles on Robert Unger's
Genealogical Experiences, Village of Pamhagen (number 1 of the northern
Village Series), Questions on Data Sources & Taxes, and Items from Burgenland
Editor Albert Schuch,
A PERSONAL APPROACH TO BURGENLAND GENEALOGY (by Robert F. Unger)
I recently wrote Gerry Berghold to share my joy in actually finding living
Unger blood relatives in Burgenland. The discovery was the culmination of
more than 10 years of genealogical research. Gerry's response was: "Can I
use this email as an article "as is" - probably calling it "A Personal
Approach to Burgenland Genealogy?"
When I sent the email message to Gerry, my text focused mainly on the results
achieved from my three-week trip to Austria in May-June 1997, including the
preparation and subsequent events, which covered only about 10% of my total
genealogical effort. However I reasoned that a reader of the article might
be interested in the sequence of events that lead to the discovery - the
culmination of ten years of research.
A number of steps led to finding my Unger relatives now living in Austria.
Had only one link been missing, possibly I still would be searching in vain.
This is truly an example of synergism at its finest; synergism being defined
here as: "The action of two or more efforts to achieve an effect of which
each is individually incapable." I am therefore sincerely grateful to each
of the individuals who helped me in my search. Success in genealogical
research truly depends on the generous response of many when asked for
information. The result of this research also proves how loving, caring, and
helpful are the people of Burgenland. A synopsis of the events that led to
my success follows.
I started my genealogical research knowing only that my paternal grandparents
spoke German. I therefore initially concluded that they came from Germany,
but I had no clue as to from what area, what town, or what village. I first
wrote to each of my living relatives, pleading for information. I was
fortunate in that a cousin had started gathering genealogical information
and shared her results with me. Essentially the information was regarding
relatives currently living in USA. Responses from other relatives
unfortunately revealed nothing about the Unger family origins in Europe. The
census records data listed both Austria and Germany for places of birth of
individuals. One relative suggested that my best hope for information would
be to locate descendants of my Grandfather's brother who had a son named Earl
Unger, but no one knew where he was.
In desperation I purchased a copy of "The Complete Registry of the Ungers in
America" from an organization that essentially scans telephone directories
and then publishes surname listings indexed by city and state. I searched
that complete telephone listing and fortunately found a few "Earl Ungers" and
called each. When I called Earl Unger of New Mexico, he told me that he was
the Earl Unger that I was seeking. Fortunately Earl's mother had left some
genealogical records, listing Rudersdorf as the village where my Grandfather,
Janos Unger, was born. Fortunately that record also mentioned other towns
and villages in the area of Rudersdorf. The mention of those places was
extremely fortunate, since later I found that Austria, at one time, had at
least six villages called Rudersdorf. The information that the "Rudersdorf"
of my ancestors was located near Furstenfeld, helped immensely in finding the
correct Rudersdorf.
I next joined the German Research Association of San Diego, an organization
whose charter gives as an association goal "to share and help others in
their genealogical research." There I met a very kind and helpful lady who
guided me through the vast amount of material available in the genealogical
library at the San Diego Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Knowing that my Unger ancestors were Lutherans prompted me to write to the
Lutheran Church of Austria, asking for help in locating records about the
Unger family from Rudersdorf. Ultimately in May 1993, I received in response
a letter from the Lutheran Pastor from Eltendorf, Austria. Her letter
included copies of the actual church birth and wedding records, dating back
to 1836 to 1872. Unfortunately those documents were in a foreign language, a
script - later found to be Hungarian - the official language of the area
during that period. Finding someone to translate those documents from Hungarian
to English was my next task. Fortunately here in the San Diego area we have
a large group of active ethnic groups, each having a hospitality cottage in
our Balboa Park. A visit to the Hungarian House of Hospitality led me to a lady
who is fluent in Hungarian. Her translation of the church records revealed a
great deal about my ancestors. It is important to note that reading old
Hungarian script can be a difficult task.
Receiving the Unger family records for the time period 1836 -1872 prompted me
to seek records further back in time. The Pastor informed me that the church
had records into the 1770's, but to research them would require that I visit
the church and undertake the time consuming task of going through them. I
was very fortunate in that she added one other bit of info. She informed me
in November 93 that another person in the USA was also doing the same type
of research in the Burgenland area, Gerry Berghold of Winchester, Virginia
who very kindly shared much information with me - the same type of
information that he has made available on the Burgenland Bunch Web Site. From
1993 to 1997 Gerry and I communicated via telephone and mail. Then for
Christmas of 97 my sons gave me a period of paid-up, unlimited time, on the
Internet. Being on the Internet opened a whole new world of opportunity -
including the ability to communicate with Gerry on line. All of us in the
Burgenland Bunch owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for organizing and
establishing the group!
The prior text provides the background leading up to the planning stage for
the trip to Burgenland in May-June 97. What follows is essentially the text
that I initially emailed to Gerry regarding the trip. After recovering from
major health problems, I was ready for my long awaited trip to Burgenland.
Gerry stressed the importance of planning and helped immeasurably by sharing
his experiences from his trips to Burgenland. At that juncture neither Gerry
nor I had any contacts in Rudersdorf. But by searching the Web, I found a
dentist in Rudersdorf and I contacted him. The dentist and I subsequently
exchanged email messages for several months,
planning my visit to Rudersdorf. Unfortunately the gentleman had made prior
travel plans and would not be in Rudersdorf during the time of my visit, but
he did provide me with a wealth of information and contacts.
Another part of my planning process was to obtain a copy of the Rudersdorf
telephone directory from AT&T here in the USA. (Now in 1997 the complete
Austrian telephone directory is on the Web http://www.etb.at/.) From that
directory I found that there were six Ungers listed for Rudersdorf. I
subsequently wrote to each of the six Ungers, and ultimately received one
response. Unfortunately the English of the lady who responded was as bad as
is my German, so we struggled with our communications, using my
English/German software translator.
Upon arrival for our one week stay in the Rudersdorf, Austria area, we used
Gerry's suggestion and checked in at the Mirth's Gasthof in Eltendorf (the
"Kirchenwirt"). Shortly after our arrival we asked Matthias Mirth, the son of
the Gasthof owner, and the only person at the Gasthof who spoke English, to
try to arrange a visit for us with someone in the Rudersdorf Village office.
Matthias talked with his father, Rudy, who subsequently called and scheduled
a meeting with Franz Tauss, now the newly elected (October 97) Brgermeister
of Rudersdorf. (I learned of this from the Rudersdorf Newspaper, which is
now on the Web.) Herr Tauss was most cooperative and spoke quite good
English. While there, he gave us a Xerox copy of my Grandparents' death
records. He also gave us information about house #58 and #177 - the houses
identified as the (Unger family) places of residence in the church records.
He also told us the names of the current owner of house #58 and #177. The
current owner of house #58 happened to be the lady I found through the
telephone directory. Herr Tauss suggested that we contact the current owner
of house #177 for any additional info. At that time Herr Tauss could only
find the telephone number for that owner, who lived in Eisenstadt. We had no
idea at that time that we would have a problem locating #177. It appeared at
the time that Rudersdorf had one long main street, and therefore all we
needed to do was go along the street until we came to #177. Wrong.
Apparently during the time period when house #177 was built, the house
numbering system really meant it was the next house in sequence to be built
in Rudersdorf, without any consideration as to its location. So we had to
search for the location of old house #177. Many of the houses in Rudersdorf
currently display both the old and the new number, but we could not find old
house number 177.
We visited with the lady who currently owns house #58. She was most friendly
and gracious, giving us tours of Rudersdorf, while trying to find old house
#177. The Rudersdorf dentist had suggested that I contact the editor of the
newspaper in Rudersdorf for information about the history of Rudersdorf. In
preparation for the trip I wrote to the editor and alerted him of my pending
visit. A subsequent visit with the editor at his home proved to be very
enlightening. During that visit I remarked that my ancestors lived in house
number 58 and 177, but unfortunately we could not find house number 177. The
editor immediately searched his files and found a conversion chart which gave
both the old and new house numbers for Rudersdorf.
After our visit with the editor we immediately went to the location of the
old Rudersdorf #177. There we were fortunate to find the current owner and
his wife. Lucky for us the gentleman spoke some English, enough for us to
understood each other fairly well. After returning to the USA, and
reflecting on our recent trip, I thought of many questions that I had failed
to ask about old house #177 and my ancestors. Armed with only his name,
telephone number, and the fact that he resided in Eisenstadt, I wrote to him,
addressing the letter only by his name and the city, Eisenstadt, Austria, and
listed his telephone number, asking that the letter be forwarded.
Several months later I received a response from the owner of house #177. He
wrote in German, telling me that he had considerable difficulty finding
information about my relatives. He said that he remembered my ancestors. He
also took the time to research information for me. He told me that he was
born in 1915, so that makes him 82 years old. He said that his research for
information included inquiries with individuals in Rudersdorf, some now being
90 or older. Through those inquiries he found that my Grandfather's sister's
family's descendants still lived in Rudersdorf and gave me their names.
Shortly thereafter I received an email message from the editor of the
Rudersdorf newspaper, telling me a relative of mine lives only two houses
away from him. He subsequently sent me an email with an attachment - a
colored picture of my relative - a very good quality picture. To shorten
this long story, I ultimately received an email message from that relative's
grandson's wife. She was born in New Zealand, so English is her native
tongue. So now at last we can exchange email messages in English, and I can
share information with my newly found relatives in Rudersdorf. Wunderbar!
The above tells of my "Personal Approach To Burgenland". It taught me to be
very patient and to be extremely diligent. Again, I give my heartfelt thanks
to all who helped in this effort.
NORTHERN VILLAGE SERIES - PAMHAGEN
(note, after providing data for 12 villages from southern Burgenland, Albert
Schuch decided to give northern Burgenland researchers a break and furnish
some northern village data. This fine extract dealing with Pamhagen is the
result. Note the possible Styrian or Swiss connection!)
(1) PAMHAGEN (source: Josef Loibersbeck: Am Waasen. In: Volk und Heimat
17-19/1966, 1/1967). Called "Pomog" in 1268, "Pammaggen" in 1653 (in the
Lutheran church records). The Urbarium of 1589 counts 65 houses (including
the vicarage) in "Pommagen". Surnames of 1589: 8 MUTH; 3 PFANN, SCHNEIDL,
LANG, KIEREIN; 2 KRIEGLER (KRÜNGLER), KLEINDL, PAUER, GABRIEL, GRAF, KRAMER,
OBRECHT, KAINZ, WALLOSCH (BALOS), RABA (RABOLT); 1 TITSCH, WEIDENHOFER,
JÄCKL, DÜRNFELDER, PLÖDL, FÜRST, AUGUSTIN, ANDOCK, PLANK, FLEISCHHACKER,
AUSSENSCHMIED, PLATTEIS, GREUSS, ANDRE, HÖDL, WETTL, KOWITSCH (KOVACZ),
ORGOTSCHI (ORGOCSI), FÜRASS (FÜRESZ), MÄCKHUSCH (MAKKOS), ANNOTSCH (ANYOS),
ERDESCH (ERDÖS), RUDITSCH.
From 1596 legal documents are known concerning the inheritance of a
Margarethe BINDER, Thomas FRIES, Thomas ANOTSCH and Simon FLEISCHHACKER. In
the middle of the 16th century Pamhagen annexed the (area of the) former
village Micheldorf, which had been destroyed in 1529 by the Turks. The
Pamhagen inhabitants subsequently became Lutherans. Lutheran church records
for 1653-1660 have been used to (try to) prove Lutheran immigration from
Styria and the Bodensee area in 1606-1620. PATSCH, PHILIPP, MUHR, GRAISY,
GUTSCHI and DENK have been said to be Styrian names, WUNDERLE (WUNDERLICH,
WUNDERLE) has been said to be a Bodensee area name. The Urbarium for 1675
gives the following surnames: 6 ANDERT; 4 RAUHORT, MUT, LENTSCH; 3
KOHLNDORFER, WUNDERELE (WUNDERLE, WUNDERLICH), KOTZENMACHER, OBRECHT; 2
WEISS, SCHNEIDER, FLACKER, KRAMMER, SCHUSTER, SCHERER (SCHIER), IRMITZ,
FRONAUER, LANG, BAUMGARTNER, PERICH, HOLZBAUER; 1 HALBBAUER, WENIGER,
DÜNNAGL, NERMANZ (NEMAC ?), DACHS, GRAF, ROTH, KLENGER, GUTENDINGER,
BIERBAUER, FROMM, GRÜNBERGER, PFANN, PREINER, GELBMANN, RAHMKÄS, KÜHRAIN,
PLANK, REINHARDT, BUSCH, ECKER (EGGER), TURKER, MANNER, HEISS, MAURER, RIEPL,
WORTA (BERTA ?), WIEGER, KOPPA (KAPI), KAINZ, WEINER, SCHEDL, RIECHEL, GROSS,
DENK, GREISY, MÜNZENEDER, SPRENZL, FLEISCHHACKER, KLINGER, SCHAFFER, TATEN,
MUHR; additional Söllner surnames: FUCHS, WAGNER, WEIDINGER, PFAIDL,
SAGENMEISTER, KEGL, KAMITZ, HOFER.
Catholic church records started in 1681 by a priest named Gregor STANITZ,
stopped in 1683, restarted in 1686; seems that the Turks burned down village
and church during the 2nd siege of Vienna (1683). 1734 Wallern became an
independent parish, having belonged to Pamhagen until then. Teachers: Paul
STUPPACHER (1726-1728); Josef HALLER (1800-1808; married to a STUPPACHER);
the "praeceptores" (assisting teachers) Johann NEUKAM (1807) and Franz
WESSELY (1819); Michael GRAIL (1810-1825); Georg OPITZ (1825; praeceptor);
Johann NABINGER (1830-59); Franz KIRCHKNOPF (1860-1902); assisting teachers
Franz SCHÖNTAG and Stefan MATTASCHITZ; Johann KRAJASCHITZ (KEMENY)
(1902-1921) ...(end of extract).
QUESTIONS ON SOURCES & TAXES (from Bob Schatz)
Questions: << do you know how I might be able to obtain copies of the
original article from VOLK UND HEIMAT, nr. 17-20/1956? The earliest ancestor
of my paternal line, Johann Schatz, is listed as a resident of Urbersdorf in
1750, and I'd like to find the source of that information >>
Answer by Albert Schuch: I have copies of these. If you give me your address,
I can send them any time. Unfortunately, the text does not give the source.
But I presume that this will be an Urbar stored in the "Batthyanisches
Herrschaftsarchiv Güssing" (located in Güssing). For the text reads as
follows (excerpt):
"1750 war Reilimann Georg Richter, Unger Michael, Kedl Hans, Astl Michl und
Gröller Matthias Geschworene. Ausser diesen wohnten von den dort noch heute
ansässigen Familien Stranzl Michl und Georg, Sakacsics Georg und Schatz
Hans. Nennenswert ist noch Magyori Georg, der als 'Rechnitzer kroatischer
Schulmeister' bezeichnet wird. Im genannten Jahre gab es in Urbersdorf 23
Herrschaftshäuser, 6 Pferde, 49 Ochsen, 31 Kühe, 27 Kälber."
Question: << Do you know if the Neuntl (ninth of crops and bred cattle) was
paid instead of serving Robot, or were both owed to the Grundherr? The
sources I have read here are not clear, but one book by a Hungarian author
(Bela Kiralyi) stated that they were interchangeable. >>
Answer: As far as I know, the system was as follows: The "Zehent" (tenth) was
owed to the church, although payment was usually carried out via the feudal
lord. The "Neunt(l)" (ninth) was the ninth part of the rest, that is in fact
the second tenth of the whole amount. This was owed to the feudal lord. It is
not to be mixed up with the Robot. It is a separate debt. Alas, both the
Neuntl and the Robot could be replaced by the payment of money, in case both
parties did agree.
<< One other question: do you know what the monetary equivalent of a "dica"
was? I don't have that information anywhere in my notes from my reading back
in 1990-91. I know that in 1828 my forefather Michael Schatz owed 3 dica
(one for him, one for his wife, and one because there were at least four men
between 18 and 60 in his household), but I have no idea what that meant in
terms of actual florins/forints paid as tax. "Dica" was a kind of point used
for assessing tax to be paid to the royal government (as opposed to any fees
due to the landlord). Hence "dicalis conscriptio" - the Latin designation
for the Hungarian "censuses" found in the LDS microfilms.
A head of household was assessed one dica for himself, one for his wife, and
one for every four males between 18-60 in his household. If you have copies
of the LDS films for the 1828 "census", you will see the tally marks in the
first part of the tables. I'll have to check my notes, but I believe this
information comes from Bela Kiraly: A HISTORY OF HUNGARY.
NEW CROATIAN BOOK (from Yvonne Lockwood)
I just received a new book that should interest at least those with Croatian
ties to the Burgenland: Tomislav Jelic, Gradiscanski Hrvati u Austriji
(Burgenland Croats in Austria). Zagreb (Croatia): Multigraf, 1997. In
Croatian. The subtitle is An Analysis of Croatian settlements in the
Burgenland. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 1998!
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM: Giles Gerken
Have immensly enjoyed association with B. Bunch, met very nice people
including distant relative. (M. Winkler). Hope new year will bring more
members & information for everyone.
ED. Note: There have been so many nice comments and wishes like the above
from so many of you that I wish space would permit me to publish them all.
I've even had some graphic and musical greetings. I often wonder if everyone
is getting their newsletters and finding something of interest. This season's
email has put my mind at rest! Gerry
POSTCARDS & OTHER COMMENTS
(Ed. note: It appears that Albert Schuch does occasionally take some time off
from his university work as well as his genealogical and historical research.
When he does, he still keeps us in mind!):
Gerry, I did some shopping today in various Antiquariats and bought a couple
of used books. One is called: "Burgenland in alten Ansichtskarten (= picture
postcards)", was published in Eisenstadt 1981. Included is one card dated
1922 showing Heiligenkreuz. The upper half shows a view from the church to
the west, with the Gasthaus GIBISER in the background. The lower half shows
the "Gemischtwarenhandlung" (=grocer) BERGHOLD (today Nr. 233) and the house
and workshop of the "Tapezierer" (= decorator, upholsterer) GIBISER. Both
houses are said to be still in family property today (=1981).
A book review (in the monthly "Wiener Journal") says a psychologist and
historian named Josef Berghold has written a book called "Italien -Austria.
Von der Erbfeindschaft zur europischen ffnung." Published in 1997 (Werner
Eichbauer Verlag, Wien). No details on the author given, but I presume that
he will be an Austrian. (Does anyone know an easy way to find which Josef
Berghold this is? There are a number in Austria.) Also wanted to tell you
about the existence of a Styrian "Landesrat" (member of the provincial
government) named Erich Pltl. (there were Allentown immigrant families by
that name related to your editor). If I don't get a chance to write again,
Have a Happy New Year! (end of email).
Home page editor Hap Anderson and I join Albert in this wish!
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD