THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 30
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
February 28, 1998
(all rights reserved)
This edition of the newsletter contains articles on the Village of Wallern,
some Andau Emigrants, INS Records, More on Books, Burgenland on TV, New Issue
of "The Bankerlsitzer", More on Burgenland Houses, A Poppendorf Obituary and
member comments, questions and answers.
***SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL***
Good News! I've just been informed that my magazine article "The Burgenland
Bunch" has been accepted for publication by Heritage Quest Magazine. This
article covers the formation of our group. It is scheduled for a special
"Germanic" issue- HQ#77, Sept/Oct 1998. You may wish to subscribe to Heritage
Quest in time for the release. HQ has first rights so I can't publish the
article in our newsletter at this time. Subscription is available @ $28.00
/yr (6 copies) from Heritage Quest Magazine, P. O. Box 329, Bountiful, Utah
84011-0329. While heavy on US genealogy, a Germanic column by genealogist
Horst Reshke is one of the magazine's many great features.
*SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*****SPECIAL*
BURGENLAND VILLAGE DATA (NORTHERN SERIES NO. 2)
I have translated another article for the Northern Burgenland researchers.
Thought Wallern to be the best choice, because of the vicinity to Pamhagen
(of the first article). Wallern also belonged to Pamhagen parish for a long
time. I recently copied a list of all surnames mentioned in the Lutheran
baptism records of Pamhagen and Wallern 1653-1660, which I plan to send
later. - Albert Schuch
Wallern (Northern Article 2)
Called "villa Bala" in 1269. In 1464 already part of the domain
Forchtenstein. Probably destroyed by Turks in 1529 and rebuilt on a different
location. Part of the village fields are still called "Altdorf" (old
village). Other sources say a flood made the inhabitants move their houses.
In 1589 24 families farmed in Wallern, 22 on whole sessios, and 2 on half
sessios. The surnames of these farmers were: 4 UNGER; 2 KOHLNÜBER, LANG,
SCHMIED; 1 LENTSCH, RENNER, FÜRNS, RÖSNER, RATH, HAUER, FRONAUER, WIRNSNER,
KOTZENMACHER, JÄNNDL, RISCHL, HÜTFLÜSS, LENTSCHITZ, KIEREIN POLTINGER.
Wallern became a Lutheran village by the end of the 16th century. When the
Lutheran bishop Gregor MUZSAY visited the maternal parish Pamhagen, Wallern
was represented by the Richter (village headman) Ambros KÜRAIN, who was
accompanied by August UNGER (48 y) and Martin SCHNEIDER (30 y). The catholic
"visitatio" of 1663 says that the inhabitants of Wallern are newly reformed
Catholics. In 1674 Wallern already had a school. In 1680 Matthias HARING from
Donnerskirchen (44 y) was teacher, in 1696 Michael DÄCHEL (46 y). The
Urbarium for 1675 shows 9 farmers with a whole sessio and 30 with a half
sessio. Their surnames are: 10 UNGER; 6 SCHNEIDER; 3 DENK; 2 FLEISCHHACKER,
RAUHBORTER; 1 STROMMER, PAUER, AUER, OPITZ, RAINER, NITSCH, WOLKENDORFER,
ZECHMEISTER, HISSMANN, RUPOLD, MUER, KRIEHMANN (KRIEGMANN), ALTENBURGER,
ZAGENSCHMIED, DÄCHEL, HALBBAUER. The surnames of the 16 Söllners are: 2
JANDL, ROTH; 1 HAUER, HAIDER, FUHRMANN, PFEIFFER, STADTMÜLLER, MAGL, WEIGL,
RENNER, MARTINGER, BINDER, BAUMGARTNER, LIDY (LIDITSCH). Apart from the
farmer's and Söllner's houses the village has a school house, an inn, a
sheperd's house and a butcher's house.
The baptism records of Pamhagen parish (starting 1681) show the following
additional surnames for Wallern 1681-1715: LANG, STEINER, HOHMANN, WUNDERLER,
KOPPA (KAPI), GELLES (GÖLLÖS, KÜLLÖS), LEITNER, KANITSCH, KLESCHITZ,
KRUPITSCH.
The visitatio of 1713 still shows Michael DÄCHEL as teacher, the inhabitants
are Catholics, but their religious conduct is described as "cold". In 1720
Georg KLEMENS was teacher. (In 1713 he had been teacher in Tadten, then aged
25.) Stayed until about 1729. In 1730 a small church was built (St. Matthew),
Georg GREISI was Richter. In 1734 Wallern became a parish, Johann JANKOWITSCH
was the first priest. He started church records in the same year. He writes
that the people of Wallern keep singing their Lutheran songs. Further
priests: Georg HÖFER (1738-43), Anton NEMETHY (1743-48), Matthias FLITSCH
(1758-79), Michael REINPRECHT (1779-1812), Georg SENTNER (1812-53), Josef
WITTMANN (1853-72), Johann WAYAN (1872-87), Stefan SÜTÖ (1887-1902), Martin
GRAF (1902-06), Josef HEURIGS (1906-26), Paul LANG (1927-38), Johann ETTL
(1940-54), Hanns HEIDER (1954-?). Teachers were Johann Adam RAUHOFER
(1760-69), Josef WESTERMEIER (1776-84), Johann GLATZ (1787-1814), Georg UNGER
(1822-34), Ignaz HÖNIG (1825; "praeceptor", that is assisting teacher),
Josef KIRCHKNOPF (1837-42; from Ödenburg), Josef JAROSCH (1846-53), Anton
HACKL (1861-73; from Sieggraben), Josef JAROSCH (1873; assisting teacher;
probably son of the above mentioned), Georg BOGNER (died 1871), Johann
KAMPITSCH (1890ies), Georg FORSTNER (around 1900), Franz VERTES (1902-14),
Josef ZECHMEISTER (1914-19), Josef PILLES (1919-23), Geysa HAIDER (1923-38),
Josef HOFSTÄDTER (1938-44), Ladislaus MOLLAY (1950-?).
Before the draining of the swamps, large quantities of hay were sold to
Vienna. 1894-97 the swamps (part of the large swamp area called "Waasen" or
"Hansag") were drained and the farmers started to raise corn and sugar beets
on the new fields.
Surnames in 1952: 27 MICHLITSCH, 17 SCHNEIDER, 16 UNGER, 14 KRIEHMANN; 10
HALBBAUER, SCHWARZBAUER; 9 DENK, THÜRINGER; 8 MÜLLER; 7 SOMMER; 5 GRAISY; 4
KANDELSDORFER, LANG, HAIDER; 3 FLEISCHHACKER, TSCHIDA. (source: Josef
LOIBERSBECK: Am Waasen. In: Volk und Heimat 13-17/1966)
ANDAU EMIGRANTS (from pre 1997 BB email)
Some emigrants from Andau in Northern Burgenland (extracted from the
"Chronik der Marktgemeinde Andau", published in 1993 - numbers following names
are ages):
1888: Josef GELBMANN, 28 y, plus wife and 2 children; Johann SATTLER, 46,
farmer, + w. + 5 ch.; Peter STIPL, 42, + w. + 4 ch.; Martin SATTLER, 42, + w.
+ 1 ch.; Johann PECK, 32, + w. + 5 ch.; Michael RIESCHL, 44, + w. + 7 ch.;
Martin WEIDINGER, 25; Gregorius HAHN, 26, + w. + 1 ch.; Theresia PECK, 22;
Mathias RECH, 27, farmer, + w. + 3 ch.; Lorenz PECK, 26, + w.; Angelika ADAM,
33; Andreas POLREISS, 45, + w. + 5 ch.; Florian ENGELBERT, 27, + w.; Borbalya
BECK, 19; Michael WOLFSBAUER, 24, + w. + 2 ch.; Johann GRUBER, 24.
1889: Borbalya ENGELBERT, 23; Michael FANGL, 35, + w. + 2 ch.; Maria PECK,
20; Susanna PECK 24; Borbalya BECK, 28; Lorenz WAHRMANN, 30, + w. + 2 ch.;
Martin SATTLER, 26; Maria SATTLER, 20. 1890: Georg BOHNENSTINGL, 20; Maria
BOHENSTINGL, 19; Michael SPIELMANN, 60, + w. + 4 ch.; Michael PECK, 21.1892:
Martin SATTLER, 58, + w.; Anna PERLINGER, 19; Anna ROSANITS, 45. 1893: Josef
WAHRMANN, 22. 1894: Maria PECK, 18; Maria THELL, 19.
IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE (INS) RECORDS
Geri Hartmann from Arnold, MO. needs some help with ship manifests. This is
not one of my better areas of expertise. Maybe someone can provide more help.
She writes:
<< First, let me say Happy New Year. Thank you for all the time and energy
you have given me on my family research. Without your help and the
assistance of your other members I would still be in square one wondering
what to do next. PERSISTENCE PREVAILS!!!!! Here is some good news. One of
the very best presents I received was the news received Xmas Eve. Received a
letter from Washington, DC, with a copy of my grandfathers Letter of Intention
and the application for naturalization. It contained some very interesting
news. Grandfather left Hamburg, Germany, on 4 February 1906 and arrived in the
Port of New York on the ship Pennsylvania on 2 March 1906. Imagine my
excitement. This news was so wonderful I had to shout it to everyone I knew.
I now know that both gmother and gfather lived in GrossPetersdorf. The
letter of intention was applied for in 1910 and gfather acknowledges gmother
as wife. We know that they were married in 1909 here in the US and that
gfather was not actually naturalized until 1917. I don't know if this was
common length of time (1910 - 1917) but I suppose this is not really
important. I have been on a hunt to find out gmothers immigration info but
have been unable to get any info. When I received gfathers info it only
stood to reason that gmother didn't need to file paperwork because it was
automatic with gfather's paperwork. This now leaves me with another task. I
am stuck on how to get the US arrival info on gmother. So here are some
questions. I hope you can help. >>
(my answers follow each question)
<< 1. Is it possible that gmother came over with gfather? >>
Sure, but if they came together the landing card would mention it.
<< 2. How old could you be in order to travel to US alone? >>
I don't know if there was an age limit. I've seen them as young as 12.
As long as they were healthy, had money and a destination, I don't think age
was a problem.
<< 3. How can I get a copy of ships log to see if any other relatives
accompanied gfather on trip >>
I'm not an expert on this. There are two sources of information. There is the
landing card prepared by the Immigration & Naturalization Service. These are
available through The AGL (American Genealogical Lending Library whose
microfilm copies are available at many libraries - maybe the LDS) or the
National Archives (various locations). You must know year and port of entry.
Name of ship helps. You supply your Family Name Soundex code and port and
year. You get a microfilm with the landing cards for that Soundex. Then you
scan till you find your person. Card has lots of information like money,
where from, description, traveling with, age, sex, name, port left, arrival
date, ship, etc. Also gives you the volume and page nos. for the ships'
manifests. Then there are the ships logs (manifests) as such. I believe they
are also available at the National Archives. I believe you can write to them
and pay a fee and they'll send you photo copies. There are also lists which
tell you by date the names of ships that arrived in various ports. This is
not easy searching and the records are often handwritten, faded and stained.
Some have been copied via typewriter.
<< 4. Did sponsors have to be US citizens? I don't know but I doubt it. >>
They went to the city (county?) clerk and there was a government form they
filled out promising the immigrant wouldn't be a charge on the government and
that they would be responsible. They had to have a residence and a job. I
don't know when this started but I think it was late, like after WW-I.
<< 5. Assuming that gmother came at a different time, maybe between 1906 -
1909, how can I find out arrival info on gmother? >>
Tough if you don't know the year. You'd have to Soundex search all four years.
I'd go to 1910 US census for her county of residence and try to find her listing.
This will tell you the year she emigrated. 1920 Census will also. If it's correct
you can order film for that year. I'll publish this in a future newsletter and
maybe someone near where you live can tell you the nearest INS facility and
how to write to them. I don't have that information. Believe there is one in
St. Louis. Of course, you can always take a trip to Washington! Gerry Berghold
MORE ON BOOKS
Dale Knebel sends me information about another worthwhile Austro-Hungarian
immigrant reference work: "American Immigrant Cultures - Builders of a Nation,"
in two volumes, edited by Levinson and Ember, MacMillan Reference USA, Simon
& Schuster Macmillan, New York. Contains 6 pages on Austrians, Early
Immigration History, Immigration, Cultural Exodus, Post World War II
Immigration and a bibliography of 8 books, some of which we've already
mentioned. The Hungarian Section goes to 10 pages. Slight mention of the
Burgenland but good general coverage. Look for it in the reference section of
your local library.
New member Dean Wagner, lists a book, "Ships of Our Ancestors", by Michael J.
Anuta, published 1983, by Ships of Our Ancestors, Menominee, Michigan. It
contains pictures of the ships of the era of heavy immigration and also
connects them to the shipping lines that owned them, useful for scanning them
into the family genealogy. Dean also has a Website where he has his
genealogy.
KOGL BOOK AVAILABLE (from Albert Schuch)
Hap, the day has come: the Kogl history book has been published. It costs 190
Austrian Schilling, can be ordered from the parish Kogl. Guess you would have
to add something for postage. I think I'll order one for me, then I can also
tell you if it is worth the 190 Schillings.
BURGENLAND ON US TELEVISION (from Frank Teklits)
I described a nice show to Albert Schuch that my wife saw in late December on
the TV show, "Food Network", which had some nice scenes of Burgenland, within
a show on Austria. Albert asked me to provide a description for the BB
newsletter, but since I saw only a portion of the show, I said that I'd
request a re-run from the Network. Roughly 3 weeks after the request, it was
rerun yesterday, and my comments follow:
An interesting show was rerun by request recently on the TV Show, FOOD
Network, which devoted a very enjoyable 10 to 12 minutes to Burgenland, as
part of a trip to Austria. Robin Leech, and Sally Jesse Raphael, of talk show
fame, host the show. Prior to the scenes about Burgenland, the show centers on
Vienna, its scenic, and cuisine attractions. There are very attractive views
of St. Stephens Cathedral, Schonbrunn Castle, Sacher Hotel (and its famous
Torte with apricot jam), the Pastry Shop, Hotel Imperial, and the Spanish
Riding school. Some enjoyable portions of the show were those devoted to the
Pastry Shop and Vienna Culinary Institute, particularly those devoted to the
making of an apple strudel. It was said that the best strudels are made of
dough so thin that one can read newspaper print through it (ed. note: place
dough made from high gluten flour in middle of table, roll as thin as
possible and then making like a cat kneading its claws, reach underneath and
pull & pull & pull!), which was subsequently demonstrated. Comments made by
the master chef to Robin Leech were particularly enjoyable.
The Coffee shop dialogue was interesting as both Hosts mused over the word
Gemutlichkeit (a Dictionary states it is a cozy atmosphere/leisureliness),
which was described on the show by an Austrian "as a way of living", "a state
of mind", and that it would be "just lovely for the States".
The portion on Burgenland begins with beautiful scenic pastoral views, of
gentle rolling hills, and tidy cottages. Scenes followed of the village of
Rust (SE of Eisenstadt), and the Burgenland Wine institute, which is located
there. Robin Leech stated that the 1995 vintage from Burgenland was
particularly good. A large portion of this segment is devoted to Eisenstadt,
the capital of the Province of Burgenland, which was the home of the world
famous music composer, Joseph Haydn. Scenes depict the beautiful interior of
the Esterhazy Palace, which was described by the Hosts as one of Austria's
premier concert halls, and a view is shown of the ornate interior of the
concert hall within the palace, replete with a wooden floor. The floor was
reported to have been the result of Haydn's insistence of replacing a
beautiful marble floor with wood to improve the acoustic qualities of the
chamber.
Scenes were shown of a chef, Walter Eiselbach, who was described as one of
the best chefs in Austria, and his restaurant "Taubenkobel," located in the
village of Schutzen, which is NE of Eisenstadt. Among his amusing comments
was "Americans have finally learned to eat." The transplanted Austrian in
California, Chef Wolfgang Puck, recommended his restaurant. (Some of the name
spellings are a best guess of what was heard on the show)
Perhaps the show will be rerun again, but it may be a suggestion for the
group to consider providing inputs on shows the BB may be interested in
seeing. I'm not implying that the Network reran the show in response to my
request alone, as I personally think that Austria has a certain allure to
many of us, and other more influential parties may have asked for it. These
shows are sensitive to viewers comments.
By the way, as Albert already knows, my better half treated me to a delicacy,
"pogatchels" (potato biscuits), which were terrific. After reading BB
Newsletter #27, I introduced a new member, Edward Ifkovits from CT, to his
namesake, a lifelong friend of mine now living in SC. Have a good day, and
a great week.
BANKERLSITZLER (from Albert Schuch)
The Rudersdorf Bankerlsitzer by Peter Sattler has a new URL:
http://www.sbox.tu-graz.ac.at/home/bzotter/bs
A new issue is ready and is available on the web. (I have heard that the
Burgenland Bunch has been given some coverage, but I have not yet seen it
myself.)
MORE ON BURGENLAND HOUSES (from Albert Schuch)
(Ed.), Albert sent me some aerial photos of Kleinzicken and Kleinpetersdorf,
plus a photo of the Sauerzopf home in Stegersbach. The villages are typical
"Strassendorf," with the houses positioned along a north-south secondary road
connecting Grosspetersdorf (which is on route 63) and Kohfidisch and then
extending to route 57 at St. Michael, with the fields in farm strips behind
the houses. The Sauerzopf house is one of the main types found in the
Burgenland. Albert answers my questions:
> When would you say the Sauerzopf house was built (early 1800s ?).
I'd rather say late 1800s, although a Sauerzopf house has been there
centuries earlier (at least since the 16th century), it just has been rebuilt
or renovated constantly.
> Does that large (centered on outer wall) door open to a courtyard? I notice
the chimney in the rear which must mean the kitchen is there. Could you
describe the floor plan for me?
Yes, there is a courtyard. This house is what is called a "Dreiseithof"
(three side), meaning it has a front, rear, and left-hand side, whereas the
courtyard is open to the right-hand side. It has not always been this way:
the oldest part of the building is the left-hand side. Originally there was
just this side and the building was what is called a "Streckhof" (built in a
straight line). Most old Burgenland houses were built this way, all with the
same floor plan: "Vorderstuben" (front room), "Kuchl" (kitchen),
"Hinterstuben" (rear room), stable, barn. When my mother grew up (she was
born 1932) the house was already a Dreiseithof. The front consisted (apart
from the "Vorderstuben") of the entrance and one room at the right hand side
of the entrance. The rear included stables for hens and pigs etc., was mainly
timber construction. My mother, her sister and mother slept in the
Vorderstuben, father in the Hinterstuben, and the (4) brothers in the room at
the right hand side of the entrance. The attic was used to store corn, flour
etc.
> Do I see a beehive in the picture of the garden?
No, but there was one some 25 years ago. A brother of my mother's used to
raise bees. (ed. note - bees are frequently kept in orchards for pollination
purposes)
> The aerial view of Kleinpetersdorf ... Do you know the significance of the
tree line in the left of the picture? Is this some kind of "fence" separating
property or is it a "bach" (the Zickenbach perhaps?). Since there is also
one to the right, it may be the Tauchenbach.
These are the Zicken(bach) and the Pinka. The Zicken flows into the Pinka
south of Kleinzicken, just before reaching the village Kotezicken.
A GREAT POPPENDORF OBITUARY (translation from Fritz Königshofer)
(ed. note: compared to our current terse and lifeless obituaries, this is a
most moving one. Combining a memorial with an impassioned plea for justice,
it evokes the tenure of the times. You can't ignore the fact that, although
you'd imagine the German speaking residents of Poppendorf as siding with the
Germanic Austrians, in fact they supported the Hungarians in the 1848
Revolution. How we'd like to have an obit like this for all of our Burgenland
ancestors!). Translation follows:
Dear A. J., Here is the translation of the obit of Andreas Medl. It appeared
in the issue of Der Volksfreund dated March 23, 1907, and was written by my
great-grandfather, Adolf Königshofer, the village teacher in the Catholic
primary school of Poppendorf.
"Andreas Medl +. On the 17th of this month [March 17, 1907], the far and
widely known, modest countryman Andreas Medl was buried in Patafalva
[Poppendorf]; his good friends and acquaintances came in crowds from the
nearby villages, as well as from Németujvár [Güssing] and Inzenhof, to pay
him, the good, honorably grey haired man, the last honors. He was born in
the year 1829, saw the significant year 1848 (Hungarian Revolution) set in,
heard the lamentations, saw the dear homeland bleed, and was also forced to
witness the shameful injustice inflicted upon the loved home country. He
knew to tell many, many stories, and how often did he say: "While we are
Germans here, if we would only have had the power in those times, we would
have beaten these Austrians out of our lands, so that they would have arrived
back home without stockings and shoes. How mad we all were with rage, when
they [the Austrians] hanged our people, one by one, in Arad; but believe me,
this will once get paid back to them. While I myself am already quite old,
our children will not forget the year 1848 and they will pick up their
rifles if and when necessary. Then nobody will help the Austrians, just as
nobody helped the English with the Boers, and nobody will help the Russians
either."
From his early manhood, he was elected into the village council, and almost
all his life he served as judge and as school chairman. The whole parish
admired him like a father, and children as well as grownups drew their hats
in respect before him.
At his grave, the parish priest, Reverend Anton Martin, held a deeply moving
memorial speech.
Thus has he left us, but his good works and deeds will tell future
generations what a magnanimous, brave man, full of character, he had been.
Peace to his ashes!"
It is quite an (unexpected) challenge to translate this relatively archaic
language. I hope you like it. Best regards, Fritz
SOME MEMBER COMMENTS
NORTH-SOUTH BURGENLAND EMIGRANTS
New member Maureen Tighe-Brown asks the following: << I'm curious: why are
most of your members looking for relatives from the southern Burgenland
region, instead of the more densely populated northern region, what do you
think? >>
The bulk of northern-region migrations (Seewinkel) took place earlier
(1870-90), while the southern regions took place later (1890-1914),
(1919-1930), 1950's. There is thus a greater generation gap. In addition
you'll find that there was more emigration from the south. It was a poorer
region. What I'm saying is that there are more descendants of southern
families and they are looking for g-grandparents, etc. whom they know came
from Burgenland, as opposed to people looking for g-g-g-grandparents and not
knowing their origin. Most new genealogists begin to have serious problems
when they get beyond the 5th generation or try to find that first foreign
link.
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 30A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
February 28, 1998
(all rights reserved)
This special edition of the newsletter contains more articles on Historical
Terms (LEHEN, FIEF, JOCH, METZEN and others) of especial interest to those of
us who are digging deep and wish to fully understand the conditions under
which our ancestors lived. The subject developed into an interesting email
thread, which is reported here in some detail. Only the subject of FOOD
generated more correspondence. If you've formed any previous opinions or
recorded any ancestral holdings from the Hungarian Census, you should check
the values and definitions given in order to convert to proper English
terms. I might mention that we can thank Frank Teklits for lighting the fuse
to this discussion by asking questions from his pending Croatian translation.
The newsletter also addresses a piece of new software, creation of newsletter
"A" editions and a new source of maps.
MORE HISTORICAL TERMS (from Bob Schatz)
Hi Gerry, Frank, Albert, and Fritz. I was very interested in the discussion
of Lehen & Fief (and also Joch and Metzen) under "Historical Terms" in BB
Newsletter 27A. At the risk of being pedantic (and possibly creating more
confusion!) I wonder if I might share the following?
Part of the problem in translating Lehen (or Lehn) is that it is an ancient
feudal term which continued to be used to designate all sorts of land
holdings up until the Age of the Enlightenment, but its English counterpart,
Fief, pretty much has only a specialized Medieval connotation. Feudalism was
a political, military and social system based in sworn loyalties, military
service and remuneration in the form of real estate. It originated as a
response to weak central governments, and fused with manorialism, the
economic system which had originated during the Roman Empire. Feudalism
proper died out, but left a strong legacy in the legalized class structure of
Europe and in the vocabulary of class structure and property rights.
The terms fief, benefit (Latin: beneficium), and Lehn or Lehen are
technically synonymous (all originally implying a loan of real estate -
hereditary privileges evolved later), although as I said, the English words
have a Medieval "feel" and connotation of the land holding of a vassal. The
English word "vassal" means a man who owed his lord homage, fealty and
military service. By the early Modern Age the German counterpart, Unterthan,
was also apparently used to designate the peasantry (not serfs) who were tenant
farmers on a nobleman's estate or manor. The word vassal never acquired this
additional meaning in English. Obviously then, although our ancestors may have
been Unterthanen in German, they could not properly be designated as vassals
in English. For the exact same reasons I would choose a different English word
than "fief" to translate "Lehen" or "beneficium" whenever the latter words refer
to non-noble tenant land holdings. Beneficium is used in just this way in the
1767 urbarial laws of Maria Theresa. (For a fuller discussion of all these terms
and the rise of feudalism, see Marc Bloch, FEUDAL SOCIETY, English translation:
University of Chicago Press, 1961.)
The English word "section" (Latin: sessio; German: Ansässigkeit; Magyar:
jobbagytelek) - or also "virgate" (tenant farmers were known as virgaters in
England) - could be used in some instances as a translation for Lehen.
Section/sessio refers to that part of a nobleman's estate for which a
non-noble family provided goods and services (rent) in order to farm. By the
18th century, and especially among the new families moving to Hungary, this
arrangement was governed by unilateral contracts between landlord and tenant.
The section holder did not have the freehold proprietorship of "his" land,
only the leasehold or copy hold of it: he had heritable rights to its use and
profit, but was not the outright owner. (In some areas of Europe like
Frisia, Switzerland, and the Tirol, the non-noble population was historically
"free" and had freehold proprietorship of their land. In German such a man
was referred to as a Landsman, in English a yeoman. Interestingly,
non-noble free families in these areas often used coats-of-arms, usually an
exclusive right of the nobility.)
Section/sessio is somewhat an abstract concept in that it referred not so
much to a specific plot of land, but to the AMOUNT of land farmed. Farms as
we know them in America were not the norm. An Unterthan family did not work
contiguous acreage, but instead farmed many strips of land scattered around
the village fields, partly to insure that no one family farmed all the best
or worst soil. (This system is known as open field agriculture and has been
documented to the 8th century, but is possibly older.) The total acreage of
a family's strips would have been its "section".
In 1767 Maria Theresa stipulated the MAXIMUM allowable acreage that an
Unterthan could farm, and this maximum amount was known as a "full section".
A full section varied in acreage depending on locale and fertility of the
soil, so that a full section in Urbersdorf may not have been the same acreage
as one in Rechnitz or in a village in the Carpathian Mountains. (I know that
Urbersdorf was a "class 2" village and a full section there was about 35
acres.) Because the village land had to support all its farming households,
families rarely farmed full sections, but rather fractions thereof based on
eighths. The guiding principle (in 1767) was that one eighth should yield
enough to support one family and fulfill its obligations to state, landlord
and church.
(In Urbersdorf by 1840, all registered farming households, regardless of
their size, farmed 5/8 sections.) This would explain the question of "1/4
and 1/16 Lehen". I would not translate Lehen as "fief" here for the reasons
stated earlier, unless the context was a grant of an estate (German: Gut) to
a gentry (noble) family.
The terms Joch and Metzen were both units of land measure, just as our "acre"
is. Both terms are to be found in the Imperial urbarial surveys of 1767. By
my calculations, based on information provided by Oscar Jazsi in THE
DISSOLUTION OF THE HABSBURG MONARCHY, one Joch was the equivalent of
approximately 2.8 acres. "Metzen" is more frequently seen as "Pressburger
Metzen", meaning "the land unit used by Pressburg", and therefore the
Hungarian land unit as opposed to the German one (the Joch).
(Pressburg/Pozsony/Bratislava was the capital of Habsburg Hungary from 1536
to 1683 during the Turkish occupation of central Hungary.) The Magyar word
equivalent for Pressburger Metzen is "hold", and one hold would be
approximately 1.4 acres: the urbarial laws of 1767 state "jedes Joch auf zwey
Presspurger Metzen gerechnet" (each Joch reckoned as two Pressburger Metzen).
The Latin form is also to be found: "metreta Posoniensis", frequently
abbreviated as "metret. poson."
Aecker (Äcker) refers to arable land in contrast to Wiesen, pasture or
meadow. "Joch Aecker" refers to the total acreage of arable land in a
family's section. (By 1840 in West Hungary, arable and pasture are
calculated in hold.) In the 1767 urbarial tables, the German term for
section is "Eigenschaft der Ansässigkeit" (quality/quantity of the section).
To sum up, it is important to remember that feudal terms were used long after
the Middle Ages, but the political, social and economic institutions of
Europe were technically no longer feudal in nature. Feudal terms in English
have meanings specific to feudalism, but the German counterparts took on
expanded meanings so that a word like Unterthan (vassal) was also applied to
contractual tenant farmers. In the English language, these tenant farmers
would not be called "vassals" just as their leasehold would not be called a
"fief".
I hope this is not too academic a discussion and may be of some help in
future translation efforts. I'd welcome any commentary, corrections or
additional information.
By the way, etymologically FIEF is related to the German VIEH. The common
root word originally referred to movable property or the form of it which was
most valuable, i.e., cattle, and it was this latter meaning which came to be
applied to the German word. I also wonder if "Unterthan" came from "(men)
under a thane (lord)"?
Bob subsequently writes:
Gentlemen: I have to correct what I wrote earlier about Pressburger Metzen,
and the acreage of a Joch and a hold. Over the weekend, I went back to my
notes and did some new math. Apparently, a German Joch and a Hungarian hold
were equivalent measures, both equaling 0.576 hectare, 5755 square meters, or
1.43 acres, not 2.8 acres as I had previously written. (If anyone wants the
math, I calculated this from the following figures: 1 hectare = 10,000 square
meters = 2.471 acres; 1 Joch = 5755 square meters; 1 hold = .576 hectare.
Oscar Jaszi states on p. 224 of his book that 14 hold = approximately 20
acres, therefore 1 hold must equal approximately 1.43 acres.)
Obviously my statement that Pressburger Metzen were the same as hold is
incorrect. For me this adds some interesting information about Urbersdorf.
The amount of land under cultivation there was exactly the same in the 1767
urbarium and the 1828 dicalis census, and APPEARS to be recorded in Joch, but
in the 1840 urbarium from Budapest the amount of cultivated land is almost
double the earlier figures and is definitely recorded in hold. So, unless
the earlier records are actually recorded in Pressburger Metzen, this means
that the village nearly doubled its farmland (I would presume by clearing or
draining). Would this have been likely? Initially I thought that the
earlier records must have been in Pressburger Metzen, but then I tallied the
sections. The total number of sections farmed in the village in 1840 were
also nearly double those in 1767 and 1828. Does anyone know: was this a
general trend in Güssing Bezirk? It could have been a response to
population growth or an attempt to make the estate more profitable.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
Fritz Königshofer responds with: Bob, now I was able to look up my
(relatively slim) home encyclopedias. I also read Frank's (Teklits) e-mail, for
which my thanks. My Brockhaus gives 0.3 to 0.65 hectare for the size of one
Joch. The concept developed from the field size which one Joch (yoke) of two
oxen could plough in one day, and that size differed over Germanic lands
depending on prevailing soil conditions and topography of the land. (I think
you already mentioned this.)
Obviously, in newer times the size became more standardized. I remember from
my youth that farmers in the Styrian mountains were still counting their land
in Jochs, and from my memory I am pretty sure that our Joch in Western Styria
was about a third of a hectare. With 600 Joch of forest and other land, a
farmer would have a right to his own hunt (Eigenjagd), perhaps the number
was even less than 600 Joch.
Interestingly, it appears that the English acre is defined in exactly the
same way; namely as the area a yoke of oxen could plough in a day. The word
acre still links to "Acker" which is now the German word for cultivated
(ploughed) fields. Both languages still contain the same root in the word
God's acre (for the cemetery attached to a parish church), "Gottesacker" in
German, though in German the word Acker has lost its original wider meaning.
At the danger of needlessly confusing the discussion, there was an older
measure used in Germanic lands for clearings assigned to new settlers. This
was the Hufe, originally about 10 hectares, sized to feed one family. From
this measure, the Austrians developed the word Hube (or "Huabn") for the
normal farmhouse with land, still used today. There was also a Königshufe
(king's hufe) of about 20 hectares, later up to 47 or so hectares, used for
clearings on king's land. My Königshofer ancestors come from a region in
northeastern Styria that was definitely cleared out from a massive royal
forest, i.e., one derivation of my family name is from the term Königshufe.
I do not know whether the Hufe or Königshufe played any role on Hungarian
lands, though.
Albert Schuch adds:
Hi all, I am hereby beginning to catch up on the recent terminological
discussion. I would not say that "Untert(h)an" is the German counterpart of
the English "vassal". We use the same word, only the spelling is slightly
different: "Vasall". As for the meaning of "Untertan": In 1848, when the
"Grundherrschaft" was abolished, our ancestors ceased to be "Untertanen" of
the domain owner, but they still were "Untertanen" of the King. Until 1848,
the domain (owner) to some extent had a governmental function, and I think
that it is this what the term "Untertan" is mainly referring to.
Many Söllner could have afforded to buy a sessio and thus become farmers,
but they didn't, because they didn't want to become obliged to provide goods
and services (or pay money instead).
After years of unrest (which sometimes came very close to uprisings), Maria
Theresia responded to the bitter complaints of the people living on the
Batthyány domains (ed. - most of southern Burgenland) by reforming their legal
relationship with the domain owners in the "Urbarialpatent" issued on 23 Jan
1767. Progressing slowly from west to east, these instructions where carried
out in the whole country, and by 1779 this new law was valid in all 43
counties.
The legal relationship between Untertan and domain (owner) was now for the
first time standardized for the whole kingdom. The village had already been
divided into sessios (sections) before, now their size was regulated. A
farmer's sessio consisted of the "Intravillanum" (IV) (area for house, yard
and outbuildings, usually alongside the village street) and of the
"Extravillanum" (EV) (fields, meadows etc. scattered in small pieces all over
the village land). Now (1767) the IV had to have the size equaling a field
large enough for sowing 2 Pressburger Metzen (PM) of seeds. (Metzen is
originally a unit of capacity: The PM was 62.39 liters 1551-1588, in 1588
changed to 54.62 liters, in 1715 to 62.5 liters, and finally in 1807 to 53.3
liters. The size of the EV varied from village to village. The EV of one whole
sessio could include 16-40 Joch fields (1 Hungarian Joch usually calculated at
1200 Quadratklafter (0.4316 ha) plus 8-22 Tagwerk (= what one person can mow in
one day) meadows.
The Austrian Joch or "Katastraljoch" (= 1600 Quadratklafter = 0.5755 ha) was
officially introduced in Hungary in 1786 (for land surveying), but the
domains tended to stick to the Hungarian Joch. Those who owned 1/8 sessio or
more were called farmers, those who owned less than 1/8 sessio were called
"Kleinhäusler". (Note that in Northern Burgenland (Seewinkel and Heideboden)
many farmers had 2 or 3 sessios.)
The historical background for the unrest 1762-66: The 7 years war, 1756-1763,
(mainly fought against Prussia) had cost a lot of money, part of which had to
be paid by Hungary. Since the Hungarian nobility didn't pay any taxes, guess
who had to?
FURTHER RESPONSE (Bob Schatz)
Albert: I am grateful for this exchange. It is helping me clarify words and
concepts even more. Dictionaries cannot provide the subtle shades of meaning
and usage in our languages. Comments follow. Best regards, Bob
My German dictionary had only provided "vassal" as a definition for
"Untertan", but now I see that it really should translate to something like
"subject" in English. My understanding is that Feudalism was a Medieval
institution based in loyalties and military service. "Feudal" refers to the
relationship between a lord and a vassal, the vassals swearing loyalty to the
lord (homage) and providing him with military service. In compensation, the
vassal received a feudum or fee, i.e. land (usually a manor with tenants, if
the vassal was a nobleman) to provide him with a living. The vassal would
undergo the ceremony of homage in exchange for his fee. Vassals could be
both noble and non-noble (the only non-vassal being the king). High-ranking
vassals in the Middle Ages often had judicial authority and sometimes the
authority to mint coinage.
I probably would simply use "lord" for "Grundherr", since our ancestors in
the 18th century did not swear fealty and did not owe the Grundherr military
service in exchange for the land they farmed (am I correct in this?).
"Feudal lord" could be used, however, if the Grundherr had judicial authority
in his Herrschaft, especially if he could sentence an Untertan to death. Did
the magnates in Hungary have this kind of power, or was this reserved to the
king's courts?
On the urbariums I have seen, the Söllner still owed some goods and a hearth
fee to the Grundherr for their house and yard in the village, but they were
exempt from robot. One thing is not clear to me: were Söllner considered to
be lower status than the farmers? Since the Söllner were tradesmen who
provided essential services to the village, I wouldn't think that there would
have been a kind of hierarchy, but sometimes the documents seem to imply a
lower status.
MORE ON ACRE & JOCH (Bob Schatz to Frank Teklits)
Frank: I've looked up "acre" in the encyclopedia, and indeed, Fritz is
correct - it originated in the amount of land a man could plow in a day with
a pair of yoked oxen. In England, the acre was standardized in the 13th
century, and it is this measurement (700 years later) which is still the
standard here, in Canada, and in England. The etymology derives from the
Latin noun "ager" which comes from the verb "agere" - to drive.
If the German "Joch" derived from the same meaning, then I guess that implies
that German farmers were faster plowers than the English (since 1 joch equals
almost an acre and a half)!
This information may come in handy during a game of "Trivial Pursuit". Best
regards.
FURTHER RESPONSE (Fritz Königshofer)
To all, It turns out that "Acker" is/was also used as a plot size measure in
German lands. One Acker was 0.25 to 0.65 hectare, again defined the same way
as the Joch and the English/Canadian and US acre, and thus varying from
region to region in absolute size, within the above limits.
The Brockhaus says it is a German root word, while my Columbia encyclopedia
describes "acre" as being a word of Indo-European origin. I think, this is
it, as it would also explain the Latin derivation given by Bob. Clearly, 0.65
hectares must have been the upper limit for an "Acker" and "Joch." I am only
speculating now, but since the Hungarian puszta (plain) was possibly easy to
plough, I could imagine that the Hungarian Joch had a size toward the upper
end of the range.
FINAL COMMENT & ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS (Albert Schuch)
> ... Joch ... (Pressburger) Metzen ... hold <
As already said, the Metzen was a unit of capacity, later also used as a unit
of land measure. While the Hungarian Joch was usually calculated at 1200
Quadratklafter, 1100 and 1300 were also possible! (1 (Wiener) Klafter = 6 Fuss
= 72 Zoll = 1,896 Meter). My Hungarian-German dictionary translates "hold" as
"Morgen" or "Joch".
In the 1767 urbarial tables, the German term for section is "Eigenschaft der
Ansässigkeit" (quality/quantity of the section).
> I also wonder if "Unterthan" came from "(men) under a thane (lord)"? <
I think that the Latin word for Untertan is "subditus", literally
"Unterworfener" in German. The English "subject" probably can be deduced from
"sub" + "iactus" (thrown).
> a German Joch and a Hungarian hold were equivalent measures, both equaling
.576 hectare, 5755 square meters, or 1.43 acres <
The term "Hungarian hold" is somehow misleading; hold seems to be the Hungarian
word for Joch; this still leaves the question: which Joch? (1600, 1300, 1200 or
1100 square Klafter).
> The amount of land under cultivation there was exactly the same in the 1767
urbarium and the 1828 dicalis census ... but in the 1840 urbarium from
Budapest the amount of cultivated land is almost double ... this means that
the village nearly doubled its farmland (I would presume by clearing or
draining). Would this have been likely? <
Draining is not likely (too early & too much land). Since the land survey
(Kommassierung) in 1861 caused such unrest in Urbersdorf, clearing may be
likely: I think that the land cleared before 1848 had to be handed back to
the Grundherrschaft during the Kommassierung, or had to be paid for. (I am
not exactly sure if this information is correct, so I'll try to check it.)
(end of article)
EDITOR'S COMMENT:
Messrs. Königshofer, Schatz, Schuch and Teklits have our thanks for providing
this extensive material. I'm sure they will be happy to answer any questions
arising from any of the above. You'll notice we went from English to German
to Latin to Hungarian as regards these definitions. A truly remarkable
thread, indicative of the complexity of the area under study!
"A" EDITIONS OF THE NEWSLETTERS
There have been some questions concerning newsletters numbered with an "A".
Some members may be of the opinion that there is an "A" edition for every
number. This is not the case. I issue an "A" edition whenever I have a single
article which is large enough to take up all or most of the ten page
limitation for email or when I have more time sensitive material than I can
use in a regular addition. You can refer to the newsletter "catalog"
available at my FTP site or from the Homepage to check on what newsletters
have been issued. "A" Issues To date: 13A-Castles of Burgenland,
14A-Burgenland Food, 15A-History of Riedlingsdorf, 17A-Unger Trip to Austria
I, 18A-Reading Church Records, 20A-Unger Trip II, 25A-Pre-1997 Email,
26A-Unger Genealogy, 27A-Historical Terms, 28A-German Language Newspapers.
WORTHWHILE SOFTWARE FOR THE BUNCH
With over 100 members worldwide, the Burgenland Bunch gets lots of mail. This
is normally simple email easily handled by all systems and servers. On
occasion; however, someone will send an attached file of text or graphics,
even sound. When these attachments are not ASCII text or the more common
text, graphics or sound files, my computer balks and I'm left wondering what
it is that I'm missing.
Recently I ordered "Quick View Plus", a file viewer by INSO. It can be
obtained from Parsons Technology (A Broderbund Company), 1700 Progress Drive,
PO Box 100, Hiawatha, Iowa 52233-0100. Also available at
http://www.parsonstech.com for $49.00 plus $5.00 postage.
Developed for Windows, Quick View Plus gives you easy access to the files of
over 200 programs which develop them, regardless of whether or not you have
those programs on your computer.
"Quick View Plus" installed and worked flawlessly on my Aptiva 486-66 with
Windows 3.1. I was able to open and view some files which had not been
possible previously. A very nice tool. If you receive a lot of files which
your W/P or Graphics software won't open or view, you might like this piece
of software. By the way, Parsons also has some other genealogical goodies
that I can recommend. I keep their Family Origins on my hard disk along with
Personal Ancestral File (PAF) and Family Tree Maker. GJB
NEW MAP SOURCE (from Vicky Weninger)
Vicky sent me copies of maps which she ordered from the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, The Golda Meir Library, PO Box 399, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
She called the library (1-800-558-8993) and explained she was looking for
maps containing the village of Zahling in Austria and Montecalvo Irpino in
Italy. The library sent her a confirming letter with data explaining the
location of both villages, as well as three maps, 2-scale 1:75,000
(Zahling) and 1:100,000 (Montecalvo). All three are topographic maps showing
roads, terrain and houses in good detail. The Zahling maps are from 1914
(Hungarian) and 1939 (Austrian) and villages have Hungarian names (1914) and
German names (1939). The charge was $7.50. I'm impressed with the map detail
although black and white copies always require close scrutiny.
DOWNLOADING ARCHIVES
We receive much mail concerning archive downloading problems. There are many
reasons for this including unfamiliarity with downloading and system
incompatibilities. A sure fire way to download is to go to the Homepage,
click on "Archives" and follow the instructions. AOL members can also
download by using the FTP site addresses and letting AOL download. Notice
that the archives are in ASCII.txt configuration which means you must
download one file at a time, open it with a .txt reader, possibly word wrap
and maybe reconfigure.
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD