THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 46
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
November 15, 1998
All Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted, but Give Credit.
This first section of the 3-section newsletter features:
- Villages of Gerersdorf and Steingraben
- An Emigration Article from Der Volksfreund
- Village of Zanegg, Hungary
- Castles in Hannersdorf and Burg
- Food & Wine in Illmitz
- St. Cloud, MN - A Destination for Seewinkel Emigrants
- South American Emigration
- Selling Mailing Lists, and
- Paprika, the Taste of Hungary.
Thanks to Dale Knebel, Fritz Königshofer and Albert Schuch for supplying
much of this issue.
42) Gerersdorf (from the Father Leser series; translated by Albert Schuch)
Consists of the "core" village plus places called Riegelberg, Petzischberg,
Steinerberg, Jokischberg, Gadiberg, Hackergraben and Krautgraben [note:
"Graben" meaning a small valley]. Old village names: Grodt, Gyrolth, Grod,
Grooth, Geroth etc. (1400-1600), Giroth, Zenth Goroth, Szent Groth,
Gerersdorf (1600-1800), from 1800 onwards "Gerersdorf anders [otherwise]
Nemeth-Szent-Grot". Probably named after an early local noble "Gyrolth"
family. In 1599 Franz Batthyány owned 20 houses in "Ghiroth", of which 16
were deserted in 1608 (after the Bocskay Rebellion). The Urbarium of
1693 names the following families: MARTH (7), ERNST, BAUER (3 each),
SCHNEIDER, GAHISCH, RAMISCH (2 each), ZAHISCH, KOSOBER, BOGNER, PAIDL,
KROBOTH, FARKALICH, SAGLER, WUMEDLER, GRÖLLER, TAMEDL, HAFFNER, RUISZ, KUNDL;
free: BOTKA Georg, KALDI Sigmund and Georg; Söllner: SCHNEIDER (2), JOST,
ROADL, KROBOTH, KOGLER; Söllner in the vineyard hills: FRISCH (2), BOGNER,
GRÖLLER, SCHRAGN, PAIDL, BAUER, NEUBAUER, JOKISCH. Families in 1750: BAUER
(4), GRÖLLER, MARTH, ERNST (2 each), JOST, WOLF, RAIMISCH, FARKALITSCH,
KAMEDLER, GROBOTH. On 17th January 1799, while digging a well, the well
digger Georg SATTLER (from Graz), 40 years old, and Katharina, 25 years old
wife of Jakob SPANITZ, were buried alive by the earth. Maria, 17 years old
daughter of Josef HAFNER, survived the accident. Notaries were Georg
KOLLARITS (ca. 1870, also teacher), EBENSPANGER, Alois KAKOSSY (1890), the
wife of Viktor ZAMBO (1909), Julius PACSAY (1909-13), Rudolf KIRNBAUER
(1913-14, died as a soldier in WW-I), Andreas LUKATS (1914-30). 14 casualties
in WW-I. Number of inhabitants: 1812: 734; 1832: 821; 1851: 790; 1870: 932;
1930: 789 Catholics, 10 others; ca. 1000 Gerersdorf natives live in
America (in 1930). Belonged to Kukmirn parish, became independent in 1789.
New church built in 1812. Catholic Priests (of Kukmirn parish): Johann
Christoph GRIM (1698), Ferdinand WAGNER (1754), Michael VOLNICS (1772),
Matthias HUTTER (1776), Josef KLEMENT (1783), Franz DOBROVITS (1788); priests
of Gerersdorf parish: P. Daniel BREZOVITS O.F.M. (1789-98), P. Barnabas
O.F.M. (1798-1806), Georg BARBARITS (1806-10), Lorenz ZIDERITS (1810-49),
Simon BIRICS (1850-95), Joseph KOLLAR (1895-1900), Johann TORMANN (1900-05),
Franz PATAKI (1905-17; killed by Hungarian guerillas in 1921, when he was
priest of Pernau), Johann HAIZLER (1917-30). Teachers: Georg ENGER (1768-75),
Matthias BERCZKOVITS (1795-1812?), Michael KOLLARITS (1832), Georg KROBOTH
(1846), Georg KOLLARITS (1871-77), Johann RUISZ (1877-1906), Franz FISCHL
(1906-11), Stefan MERSICS (1911-13), Adalbert KREM (1913-15), Johann KELLER
(1915-16), Julius HOLCZER (1916-17), Julius LANTOS (1917-19), Ladislaus
ZSITLIK (1920-30); second teacher in 1930: Jakob DUJMOVITS. (source: V+H Nr.
14-16/1958)
43) Steingraben
Ca. 3 km west of Güssing. Probably founded by Croatian immigrants in the
second half of the 16th century. Called "Bonnya" or "Bonya" and "Steingraben"
in the 17th century. Steingraben surnames as mentioned in the Güssing baptism
records 1648-73: JURISCHICH, BAVICH, MIKOVICH, GERBAVECZ, LUXIS, OSTROSICH,
ZUCHICH, PUSTROROVICH, PERCZKOVICH, HRICSANICS, SABICS, MATISCH, JELENCHICH,
HORVATH, HEIDER, IVANKOVICH, BILOVICH, BESTANOVICH, PERSONICH, PESTO,
ZIGLARICH, ZELONCHICH, MALICH, ZLOPIKOVICH, PALKOVICH, KRISANICH, KERSNARICH,
LUSICH. The Urbarium of 1750 names the following families in "Banya, anders
[= otherwise] Steingraben": MIKOVITS (3), BILOVITS (2), PAVITSITS (2),
LENETSITS (2), KLUBOTSITS, MARX, REICHEL, BESLANOVITS; free: Johann
JANDRISOVITS; Söllner: TURKOVITS (2), KLOBUTSITS, MARX. (source: V+H Nr.
16-17/1958); Number of inhabitants: 1812: 223; 1851: 250; 1870: 258; 1930:
253 (including 1 Lutheran); always been a part of Gerersdorf parish;
Teachers: Albert RUISZ (1876-78), SZALEK (1878-86), Josef SCHNIDERITS
(1886-1900), Franz MAYER (1900-01), Daniel OSZTOVITS (1902-04), Stefan NEMETH
(1904-05), Josef JAHRMANN (1905-07), Anton KALKBRENNER (1907-08), Irene
PEUSER (1908-30). (source: V+H Nr. 16-17/1958)
EMIGRATION ARTICLES FROM THE "VOLKSFREUND" - EARLY 1900's (1 of 5)
(Ed. Note: this begins the final series of Volksfreund articles written at
the turn of the century by Adolf Königshofer, school teacher in Poppendorf,
and contributing columnist to the newspaper "Volksfreund". Extracted and
translated from the original by Adolf's great-grandson, our Austrian
Contributing Editor, Fritz Königshofer.
Fritz writes: "I am starting to send you translations of the remaining five
articles from Der Volksfreund, completing my great-grandfather's stories that
dealt with emigration. This first article is from Der Volksfreund of 28 April
1906, page 8. As you will see, the event triggering this somewhat moralizing
article was the return from America of the Feiler family to their native
Poppendorf. Interestingly, as we already know from another emigration story
printed in No. 42 of the newsletter, barely half a year after their return,
the Feilers were once again on their way back to the United States."
Return Of An Emigrant Family
Last Saturday [21 April, 1906], Josef Feiler returned with his family from
America to Patafalva (Popendorf), all in fresh spirits and good health. He
had spent several years on foreign soil, and came back to his old home
country, not only with a tidy sum of money but also rich in experience. One
daughter is married with a wealthy American, while the 13-year-old daughter
not only speaks fluent English, but also accent-free German. Patafalva has
several inhabitants who speak English just as well as German. When they come
together in the inn, one can often hear English.
Our girls who emigrate to the West, mostly marry very quickly over there, and
very few among them will ever see their father's house again. Therefore,
while the departure from the parents is an emotional good-by, in most cases a
reunion will only happen up there, above the stars. Most of the young men, on
the other hand, promise their parents heaven and earth when they depart; as
soon as they are over there -- as one says, over the water -- the lad
forgets, over binges of eating and drinking, his poor father, his sorrowful
mother, and his promise, and ... soon the 17-18 year old writes the
following back to home: I have married this or that woman. When he must
show up at the draft [meaning: back at home?], there are already 3-4 kids
crying behind their parents, and, if the military keeps him, then misery and
distress look in through the window. If, in addition, such a young family
father also become ill or lose the job, then they finally recognize their
situation and ask themselves: what have I done? There is no way out for such
a man, because it is impossible for him to come up with the money needed to
care for his dependents; thus he and his family remain left to their own
fate.
Everywhere you find such emigrants who have not even sent back their travel
money, let alone support the parents in their need. How can it be otherwise:
he has no friend who would warn him, while everybody says to him: come,
come, ... and the result is stuck-together, hung-together, money hard earned
yet easily squandered. Therefore, I would very much like to advise parents,
not to send their sons over the ocean at too young an age, unless they have a
proven friend or relative there who is able to take the parents' place.
Rarely does one hear that this or that lad behaves well in the West. If he
arrives over there in bad circumstances then nothing good can be hoped for
anyway; but even if he arrives with good intentions, one can safely expect
that he will also go bad, because bad morals, as will surround him, corrupt
the best man.
Therefore, please let your sons learn a respectable trade, because then they
will also find golden [solid] grounding here in their home country, and will
not be forced to grab the walking stick; even in America, not everything
which glitters is gold.
(End of Article)
Gerry, it is ironical that despite my great-grandfather's admonishments as
expressed in this article, not too long afterwards two of his five children
also sought their future in the United States. First, Adelheid emigrated to
Milwaukee in about 1909, where she died barely three years later after
marrying and giving birth to two daughters. In 1914, Emery Königshofer
emigrated and settled in Allentown. He later owned a beer and wine store
there (the name of the store was something like "Jordan's"). Our relatives
from both branches (Milwaukee and Allentown) greatly helped us (the ones
whose lines had remained in Hungary and Austria) by sending parcels of food
in the difficult years after WW-2. I'll never forget this experience. Fritz
ZANEGG, HUNGARY (From Jill Johnson)
The Burgenland Bunch is more than just a resource for information about the
beautiful region of our ancestors. It is also an important link to provide
answers about their place of origin too.
Nearly 2 years ago, my mother's first cousin put me in touch with a close
family friend who did not know where her TSCHIDA father came from in Austria.
He had come over as a little boy. I had been researching in the church
records at St. Agnes in St. Paul and had by chance made a photo copy of her
father's two marriage records. One record showed he was from ZANEK and the
other said ZANEGG. None of my maps or resources showed where this place was
located but other information on the records showed it was clearly in the
same general area as my TSCHIDA family from Pamhagen. She mentioned that
she had a cousin in Arizona who was working on the family history and had not
been able to learn the place of origin. I sent her copies of the records for
her to share with her Arizona cousin.
At the Burgenland Bunch picnic in Minneapolis in August, I was looking at
some books that Larry Zierhut had brought and realized that ZANEGG was indeed
a Burgenland village [Ed: Zanegg is the German name for Moson-Szolnok, Hungary).
He was kind enough to send me a copy of the map showing where ZANEGG is located
today in Hungary.
About a month ago, Bill and Winona Leitner joined the Burgenland Bunch. We
began to email and they asked about a TSCHIDA family member came to live in
St. Paul and that he was from ZANEK. I told them that ZANEK was actually
ZANEGG and that I knew where the town was located and that the two names were
pronounced exactly the same. Like good genealogists, they were skeptical of
my interpretation because they had a copy of the actual church record from
St. Agnes in St. Paul that said ZANEK. I shared with them that I had seen
several misspellings of Pamhagen in these church records and that it was
quite probable there was a mistake with the village name in the record they
had too. Yet as we continued to email about this, I finally realized that
their TSCHIDA family member was the same little boy that I had looked for
nearly two years ago. So I went back into my files and was able to pull the
church record from the first marriage for this man, clearly showing that
ZANEGG was his place of birth. The record Bill and Winona had was from the
second marriage. To find out where he was from required looking at both
records. Thus the mystery was solved. It turns out that the woman never sent
the information to her "cousin" in Arizona. That "cousin" turned out to be
Bill Leitner. It is a small world.
CASTLES IN HANNERSDORF & BURG (question from John Kornfeind)
<< You mention the ruins of a castle in the Hannersdorf vicinity with your
response to Gary Saurer of Fort Francis, Ontario. Do you have more
information? Where is it located? >>
Answer: I'm translating from "Der Bezirk Oberwart im Wandel der Zeit"
(Kersner & Peternell): "first mention of the village is in an Urkunde (census
of property) from the year 1406 as 'Samfolua' (Hungarian). The German name
Hannersdorf comes from von 'Heinrichsdorf'...
"the Catholic parish church dates from the 13th Century, part of the building
walls mixed with Roman building stones and later Gothic from the 15th
Century. About 1522 there was much damage by the Turks. During the
Reformation the church was used by Lutherans. From this period are two grave
stones of the Lutheran Counts von Rindtsmaul from the years 1649 and 1654. On
the north side of the church one finds the remains of the walls of a fortress
castle incorporating marble lions from the second Christian century (des
zweiten nach-christlichen Jahrhunderts)."
Roman ruins were frequently used for later building purposes. Much easier
than quarrying stone. I assume this "fortress castle" was a defensive work
other than the one mentioned for the village of Burg which follows.
The village of Burg, which along with Woppendorf is part of Katastralgemeinde
Hannersdorf obviously takes its name from fortress or castle. Burg is first
mentioned in 1244. The text used in Burgenland high school history classes
shows Burg as an "old" defensive work during the Mongol invasion. The history
of this village is tied in with a fortress. Not known when they were built.
Called "Ovar" (old fortress). There was even a late Bronze age (1000 B.C.)
earthen wall fort. During Roman times there was a watch tower. In the 10th
and 11th centuries a wood-earth defensive wall was built in which remains of
a settlement have been found. Various owners (Counts of Chem, Andreas
Baumkirchner, Batthyány) added to the defensive nature of the village. Much
destruction in 1489. Today only a few ground works remain. I would guess from
this that all three villages were part of a defensive border network,
although my source is silent re any "burg" in Woppendorf, speaking only of a
an earlier "villa corradi". What I'm saying is that you won't find a castle
like Güssing or some of the other prominent buildings, merely traces of
walls, etc.
FOOD AND WINE IN ILLMITZ (from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, courtesy Dale Knebel)
The November 19, 1997, edition of the Star Tribune has an article calling
Austrian wines the "best kept secret in the wine world", but if you call wine
shops in the Twin Cities the response may be "Huh? We've got Australian
wines." Willi Opitz, a genial winemaker from the small village of Illmitz
(Burgenland) was named winemaker of the year in 1966 for his late harvest
vintage. He's produced a CD called "The Sound of Wine" that captures the
sounds of wine fermenting in his cellar. The motto on his wine posters is
"Life is too short to waste on bad wine." He named his signature red dessert
wine (a Blauburgender trockenbeerenauslese; definition: the late picking of the
dried grape berries) Opitz 1, which did not please makers of Opus 1 in Napa
Valley (a Mondavi-Rothschild venture). The micro-climates of the Seewinkel
make many grape varieties viable. Opitz grows welschriesling, weissburgender,
Scheurebe, bouvier, blauburgender, gewürztraminer and grüner veltliner. Over
500 other families have vineyards. Austria is the oldest wine-producing
nation in Europe dating back to 700 B.C. in the Burgenland.
In the Oct. 15, 1997, edition is an article called "A Tale of Many Meals." The
staff writer's family were visiting Illmitz. Would their relatives keep them
well-fed? As it turned out, the more important question was whether their
family would ever stop feeding them. "Essen, essen, essen" advised their host.
They already knew the American version of the Illmitz etiquette. "Eat, eat"
Johanna Nekowitsch Mollner always urged them at her dinner table in St. Paul,
MN. If any was left she would say "Don't you like the food?" Five thousand
miles away, her sister Marie Nekowitsch Tschida urged her guests "Essen, essen
und essen." If any was left she would ask "Hast du das Essen nicht gern?"
(didn't you like it?)
EATING IN ILLMITZ (courtesy Dale Knebel; article from Star Tribune by Lee Svitak Dean)
Illmitz, a neatly kept village in Burgenland, has one cemetery, one church,
two gas stations and a single main street but the 2500 residents can choose
from among 38 eating places. It turns out there is even more eating within
the homes. At the home of Franz Nekowitsch, the writer was served with a
traditional breakfast, thin slices of a variety of sausage, many cheeses,
Kaiser rolls, butter and jams. "Too early for schnapps", the host grinned as
he opened a bottle of his own wine. Franz, a former Bürgermeister then took
his guests for a walk following breakfast, stopping at the homes of various
relatives. First stop, Josef and Susanna Unger. Breakfast was again waiting.
Essen, essen, essen! Great ceremony and the wine cellar was shown. Bottles
were uncorked and juice and pop for the children. Next house, another
breakfast and Johann and Anna Neckowitsch were unhappy at how little was
being eaten. Once again wine glasses were filled and kirschwasser made its
appearance. After a visit to the nearby national park, it was chicken dinner
time. Wine flowed. Come supper, "do you want to eat now or later", the host
asked. Later. To pass the time more family wine cellars were visited. Three
of them. With wine goes food. Two cakes. "Don't you like the cake?" The day
ended around a table with wine, platters of Wiener Schnitzel and a visiting
family silly with much food, wine and merriment. They had eaten well and
honored the family name. Burgenland hospitality had struck again!
ST. CLOUD, MN - A DESTINATION FOR SEEWINKEL EMIGRANTS
Dale Knebel writes that he visited the Stearns County Heritage Center in St.
Cloud, MN, digging for more information on people from Eden, SD. The small
villages to the west of St. Cloud were some of the first settlements for
Burgenland emigrants who ended up in Eden.
SOUTH AMERICAN EMIGRATION (question from Dale Knebel)
Dale asks: << With the use of the Wallern book, I find more people who
went to South America. Have you ever run across anything that explains that
attraction? >>
Answer: Yes Dale. This happened when the United States Congress passed laws
in the 1920's limiting immigration (the Dillingham Quota Bill of 1921, the
Johnson Act of 1924 and others). In 1923, Burgenland emigration to the US
reached a yearly high of 6,683, then dropped to 523 in 1924 (data from Dr.
Dujmovits, BG newsletter Sept/Oct 1998). Since they were barred or had to
wait to enter the US, Burgenland immigrants went to South America and Canada.
Prior to the great migration ("Auswanderung") to the US, some Burgenländers
would go to South America (and other places in Europe and North America to
work for part of the year (no work at home). They would then return home when
seasonal work was over. Ship passage (3rd class) was only about $15.
Dujmovits tells of this seasonal "arbeit" in his book "Die Amerika Wanderung".
It even continued during the heavy emigration period. Since there was some
previous South American experience it followed that, with US restrictions,
emigrants turned toward South America (mostly Brazil and Argentina) and other
places.
PAPRIKA, THE TASTE OF HUNGARY
In previous articles I mentioned paprika as one of the cornerstones of
Hungarian cuisine. I was recently reading the book "Peppers" by Amal Naj,
Vintage Books, Random House, 1993. In the first chapter of this book, the
author develops the history of this unique spice. Native to Brazil, it was
brought to India by early Portuguese traders. The Turks of the Ottoman Empire
later invaded India and besieged the Portuguese colony of Diu near Calicut.
They brought back the "Calicut" pepper (chile pepper - many varieties have
since been developed, both sweet and hot) which then went north with Ottoman
soldiers to their conquered territories in Hungary. From there it was
introduced to the rest of Europe. The story is that a Hungarian harem girl,
released from Turkish captivity in Buda(pest) when the Turks were eventually
driven from Hungary, returned to her village with some seeds and showed
farmers how to cultivate the chile pepper. Stronger than the more expensive
black pepper (the peppercorn or piper nigrum), it quickly became the spice of
the poor. Later, sea blockades during the Napoleonic wars cut off the trade in
black pepper and other spices and forced the upper classes to take to chile
pepper pods as well. They were quickly won over. According to an Hungarian
saying, "One may yearn for fame, another for wealth, but everyone yearns for a
paprika goulash." The area around Széged and Kalocsa has a micro-climate
particularly well suited to chile pepper production. In 1989, Hungary produced
62,000 tons of these peppers, most dried and turned into the powder called
paprika. By comparison, the worldwide production of black pepper, which is
what Columbus was after when he stumbled onto chiles, amounted to some
200,000 tons. (G. Berghold)
Newsletter continued as no. 46A
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 46A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
November 15, 1998
(all rights reserved)
"Wenn Sie die Familie Namen zu dein Enkel-Kindern geben, Denn wollen Sie und
dein Vorfahren im Herz und Errinerung leben." (translation shown on last page)
This second section of the 3-section newsletter features:
- Names from the War Memorial in Pamhagen, and
- My Guide to Publishing a Burgenland Genealogy.
PAMHAGEN WAR MEMORIALS (from James Weinzatl)
James Weinzatl writes: "Here are the Pamhagen (northern Burgenland) names
from the war memorials, thanks to Marlene Thuringer-Bennett who completed the
list that I had started. Some of the names we had to guess the spelling of,
as through the years they have worn off and moss has over taken them.
Perhaps you can use them for future BB newsletters."
(Ed. Note: So many casualties from a village of less than 2000 people! On this
Veteran's Day, I can not help but wonder how many of their immigrant relatives
or descendants are listed on memorials here in the United States. The total
Pamhagen butcher's bill, as it were.)
WAR MEMORIAL IN PAMHAGEN
WW-II 1939-1945 GEFALLENE (Killed in action)
ANDERT, ANDREAS 1920-1942
ANDERT, JOHANN 1922-1945
ANDERT, LEOPOLD 1921-1942
ANDERT, MATTHIAS 1920-1942
ANDERT, MICHAEL 1895-1945
ANDERT, NICOLAUS 1907-1943
CSIDA, JOHANN 1902-1944
CSIDA, JOSEPH 1924-1944
CZITHEI? STEFAN 1914-1943
DEUTSCH, ANTON 1913-1941
DEUTSCH, JOSEPH 1922-1941
FLEISHHAKER, JOSEPH 1924-1944
GAZIS, KARL 1923-1943
GOPFRICH, GOTTFRIED 1922-1943
GROTH, JOHANN 1921-1943
GYURIE, JOSEF 1914-1939
HAUSER, HEINREICH 1924-1944
HAUSER, JOSEF 1918-1941
HORVATH, GERHARD 1918-1943
HORVATH, MATHAIS 1919-1945
KANDELSDORFER, JOHANN 1922-1945
KIERIEN, JOHANN 1924-1943
KOLENDORFER, NIKOL 1913-1942
KOPPI, JOHANN 1901-1944
KOPPI, JOSEPH 1926-1944
KURITKA, KARL 1919-1945
LEIER, GEORGE 1914-1942
LEIER, MATTHIAS 1921-1945
LEYER, STEFAN 1917-1941
LUTMANSSBERGER, ANT 1924-1943
LUTMANNSBERGER, LEOPOLD 1921-1945
MICHLITS, FRANZ 1927-1944
ANDERT, FRANZ 1909-1944
ANDERT, FRANZ 1921-1945
ANDERT, JOHANN 1917-1944
BALSI, MICHAEL 1923-1942
BAUER, JOHANN 1923-1942
BIRSCHITZHY, GEORGE 1919-1941
BIRSCHITZKY, ANTON M. 1923-1943
CSIDA, KARL 1908-1943
DEUTSCH, JOSEF 1917-1944
EFFENBERGER, STEF. 1915-1944
FLEISCHHACKER, JOHN 1924-1943
GELBMANN, MATTHIAS 1908-1943
GROTH, ADOLF 1899-1945
HAUSER, LEOPOLD 1922-1942
HESCH, JOHANN 1911-1945
HESCH, JOSEF 1915-1942
HESCH, GEORGES 1921-1944
HORVATH, JULUIS 1907-1944
KANDELSDORFER, ANT. 1926-1945
KAINZ, JOSEF 1920-1944
KOPPI, ANTON 1924-1945
KOPPI, JOHANN 1912-1944
KIERIEN, MICHAEL 1921-1945
MEINZENRIEDEC, MICHAEL 1911-1945
NEMITH, JOSEF 1911-1945
NEMITH, MICHAEL 1921-1942
NORVARMJOISKY, FRANTZ 1924-1943
OPITZ, GEORGE 1915-1944
OSZE, JOHANN 1922-1944
PATSCH, JOHANN 1910-1945
PFALZ, ALOIS 1921-1941
PINGITZER, GEORGE 1924-1943
POETL, FRANZ 1929-1943
PREISZ, MICHAEL 1906-1947
SZALAI, GEORGE 1918-1942
SCHNEIDER, JOSEF 1907-1944
STEINHOFFER, JOHANN 1924-1943
STEINHOFFER, JOHANN 1924-1944
STEINHOFFER, MICHAEL 1920-1941
STEINHOFFER, STEFAN 1910-1943
STROMAYER, KARNELUIS 1919-1943
THELL, PETER 1918-1944
THUERINGER, FRANZ 1912-1944
THUERINGER, JOHANN 1909-1945
THUERINGER, JOSEPH 1911-1944
THUERINGER, MICHAEL 1923-1942
THOTH, MICHAEL 1910-1941
THOTH, JULUIS 1920-1944
THOTH, JOHANN 1924-1944
TSCHIDA, MICHAEL 1919-1941
UNGER, JOSEF 1920-1943
UNGER, MICHAEL 1912-1943
VARGA, ANDREAS 1912-1944
WEINZETL, GEORGE 1910-1945
WEINZETL, JOSEPH 1910-1945
WEINZETL, JOSEPH 1924-1945
VERMISSTE: (Missing in Action)
KATZENMACHER, ANT. 1911-1945
KIESTICH, JOSEF 1905-1945
LEIER, ANTON 1921-1943
LEIER, JOSEF 1911-1944
LEIER, MICHAEL 1920-1942
LENTSCH, STEFAN 1926-1945
MICHLETS, JOSEF 1910-1942
MIKOLECH, WENZEL 1916-1945
PATSCH, MICHAEL 1919-1943
SEPATZ, ANTON 1907-1945
SUPPER, STEFAN 1914-1943
SZALAI, JOSEF 1907-1945
SCHWARZ, MICHAEL 1921-1943
STERGY? FRANZ 1921-1946
STEINER, JOSEF 1908-1945
STEINHOFFER, FRANZ 1926-1945
THUERINGER, JOHANN 1909-1945
THUERINGER, MATH 1920-1944
TSCHIDA, STEFFAN 1915-1942
VARGA, JOSEF 1910-1944
WEISZ, JOHANN 1923-1943
TROTH, JOSEF 1924-1944
IN DER HEIMAT VERSTORBEN (Died at home-civilian casualties or of war related
wounds, etc.)
CSIDA, MICHAEL 1874-1945
FRANEK, STEFAN 1920-1947
GELBMANN, FRANZ 1934-1945
GOPFRICH, MATTH. 1926-1947
HODASCH, FRANZ 1914-1940
JANISCH, JOHANN 1902-1956
KLEIN, MICHAEL 1903-1944
LUTMANNSBERGER, LEOPOLD 1899-1953
MICHLITS, NIKOLAUS 1904-1940
MOLNAR, MATTHIAS 1905-1956
PATSCH, JOSEF 1911-1954
STEINER, MICHAEL 1918-1951
STRANTZ, NIKOLAUS 1931-1949
THUERINGER, ELISAB 1925-1945
UNGER, MICHAEL 1903-1949
WAR MEMORIAL IN PAMHAGEN AUSTRIA - WORLD WAR I 1914-1918
Georg Lutmannsberger, Michael Patriach, Anton Unger, Josef Unger, Rudolf
Wagner, Brothers Anton & Johann Bleick, Anton Ratiemacher, Anton Bauer,
Joseph Lentsch, Nicolaus Bauer, Brothers Martin II, Michael Bauer, Franz
Tschida, Johann Unger, Johann Leier, Martin Andert, Michael Unger, Johann
Sialay, Franz Muth, Johann Koppi, Julius Fleischhacker, George Kierien,
Joseph Gopfrich, Jolef Horwath, George Horwath, Michael Bleick, Johann
Kanitz, Alexander Troth, Franz Klein, Jolef Troth, Brothers Anton & Johanne
Egger, Franz Kierien, J? Finder (unable to read), Jolif Kanitz, Frans
Steiner, Mathais Steinhofer, Johann Thell, Anton Lentsch, Frans Molnar, Franz
Koppi, Michael Klein, Johann Thueringer, Johann Andert
Missing:
Franz Andert, Jolef Unger, Johann Strantz
Erected - 1923 (Listed in the same order as they appear on the monument)
MY GUIDE TO PUBLISHING A BURGENLAND GENEALOGY (G. Berghold)
After you collect a good amount of data concerning your family you're going
to want to publish it in some manner. There are numerous "how to" books on
the subject and the genealogy magazines are full of ads from people who'll be
only too happy to take your data and money and send you a book in return.
That's the easy way, but the results might not be what you really want and
the cost may be more than you're willing to pay.
When I decided it was time to put my family data into some sort of media that
my grandchildren would keep and pass on to their descendants, I realized that
I had a cat by the tail. Lists of names and dates alone were no good,
pictures were a problem, a history book would turn some people off, computers
and software are not available to all, etc. While I felt a book was the
answer, I didn't want to spend the money to produce a hard copy book for a
limited group of people (about 200).
I decided the best approach was to produce a desk top computer manuscript to
be published at my local quick-copy shop. The end result would be as I wanted
it and reflect my personality. I'd have complete control of the format and
cost. The end product would be a more or less permanent record and I wouldn't
have to lean on uninterested relatives to recoup a hefty investment
(especially young people who had neither interest nor funds).
I assume my readers are familiar with the many types of genealogy software
available so I won't go into what they can do. You know most software will
produce various types of reports. In my estimation, none will produce a
single report to fill all requirements. The best would be a wall chart with
notes! Much too big for a book without a lot of confusing coding. I suggest
you study all types of reports available from your software. I selected four
from mine in order to provide readers with a choice of various layers of
detail. First, from the 14 generations that then comprised my file, I
selected my great-grandparents in the main paternal line (there were 7
generations forward) as a starting point. I felt I somehow had to limit the
number of descendants. Not many people (other than genealogists) are really
interested in third and fourth cousins. Although I had full family for most
of the seven ancestor generations back from my great-grandparents (to 1690),
their sibling descendants were much too far removed to be of interest to all
readers. Anyone wanting this data could recover it from me or from the LDS
IGI file to whom I had sent it.
My procedure from this point follows:
I. I produced their (great-grandparents) ancestor chart (6 pages, prose type,
no notes or sources)-I had seven generations. This prose report as well as
others was edited to remove redundancies. (most report generators repeat what
is in your data file so village, county and state or country will be repeated
endlessly for each person, i.e. XXX Berghold, born YYYY, Poppendorf,
Burgenland, Austria, ZZZ Berghold, born YYYY, Poppendorf, Burgenland,
Austria, etc. etc. In this case Poppendorf alone, having once been
identified, would suffice.
II. I then printed their Family History Sheet (a) and one for each of their
parents (b & c). These were the only history sheets printed but included all
notes and sources for these starting families.
III. For each surviving child from (a) I produced a prose descendants' list
(many pages) with notes and index. I also produced a simple list of only
blood line descendants for those wishing to read and run. From (b & c), I
produced selected box type descendant's lists for those families still having
a presence in family villages to aid those making future "heimat visits" and
contacts with second or third cousins.
IV. Using a report generator, I next formatted an alpha list (12 pages
showing name, bd, dd, birth place, spouse or father) of all names appearing
in the reports.
This was the "genealogy" section of the book, inserted after the historical
material.
Now the fun part began:
A. Using publishing software (Print Shop Deluxe-Broderbund) I created a book
cover, a title page, and a page showing the Poppendorf "Auswanderer"
inscription (memorial text). I did not use a dedication, including it in the
forward. Experiment with different fonts and graphics to embellish your book
but be careful not to over do it. It's best to limit the number of fonts
used. Look at the format of a well published book for ideas.
B. Using my word processor I created a table of contents, a forward and an
introduction. The forward is the best place to introduce your ties to the
Burgenland. The introduction should explain what it is you're publishing,
generally where the data came from, how you've used German-Hungarian names
(in my files I use Hungarian names pre 1921-German thereafter except in the
main line which is all German), use of diacritical marks, etc.
C. Since maps are copyrighted, my wife produced two for me showing family
villages which I scanned and edited. One, in small scale, I titled Berghold
Country-South Burgenland, Austria. A quick view of the "Heimat".
D. I created a migration chart (with known dates) showing estimated and
proven family migrations (pre 1690 to present). Mine started in Bavaria-went
to Styria-Burgenland-America-Vienna-Greece-back to Bavaria-Alaska-Florida,
etc.
E. Next Austria & Burgenland History, Regional Ancient History & Geography.
F. Family towns and villages were described, German and Hungarian place names
were shown. German-Hungarian given names were listed.
G. Derivation of family names as well as their historical presence in the
villages.
H. A history of family emigration to US, including itineraries, ship data,
early census listings, early homes, jobs, churches, etc. plus a list of the
emigrants (family and neighbors, friends), their birth dates and arrival
dates.
I. The city of arrival (Allentown, PA) was covered in detail including
vignettes of the immigration years, friends and neighbors..
J. The genealogical charts were prefaced with notes concerning their
development and inserted. Graphic pages were created to separate and title
the charts.
K. An Epilogue, Illustrations (photos were affixed to pages prepared with
titles and copied), a bibliography and general index followed. The
bibliography also covered the general sources from which the genealogical
data was taken. I agonized over sources. All good genealogies should contain
them but they are voluminous and distract the reader. I decided to limit
them. They're available from me or they can be found by reference to the
general notes. If I say such and such was taken from the 1910 Northampton
census or LDS microfilm number XXX, I see no reason to quote chapter and
verse. If you have other interesting material like a passport, early letter,
naturalization paper, etc., by all means include it. All will be of interest
to future generations and it's one way to insure survival of these documents.
After an agonizing period of pagination, editing, proofreading, re-editing
and printing on high quality 20 lb. bond paper with a new printer ribbon,
the 180 page manuscript was taken to our local quick-copy shop (Fast
Impressions). They copied it, provided a heavy weight cover in color of my
choice and punched and bound it with a spiral binding and plastic front and
back cover. Copy quality was superb (in some cases even more legible than the
manuscript). Total cost for a run of approximately 100 copies was under $12
per copy (this of course will fluctuate according to copy volume, choice of
material, etc.).
Free copies were given to the LDS, local libraries and historical societies,
relatives who acted as data gatherers for their families and all of my direct
descendants. Other relatives were able to order copies at cost plus postage.
While I didn't press it, many did after seeing copies. Within a year I had to
reprint and again sold out.
This approach may not meet your needs or it may be too complex or expensive.
It's offered as a guide. If I do it over again I know I'll make some changes,
but now my descendants and relatives have a history of the Berghold family
and posterity has a source of data. I sleep better at nights thinking that my
work over the last 13 years won't be lost. By the way, I also prepared the
same sort of thing for my wife's family and distributed it at our last
reunion. A tribute to my deceased in-laws who were working on it when they
passed away.
What I've produced may not even be a "Family Genealogy". It's more of a
"Family History" and I won't debate the relative merits of each. The
historical portion may be difficult for you if you haven't studied it as many
of us have. I'd suggest using anything in the BB newsletters that might help,
all I ask is that, out of courtesy, you somewhere credit the source. The
village histories and Urbars are particularly worthy of inclusion since they
are probably the oldest mention of family names. I hope your "book", be it
history or genealogy, will be a fun project.
I wrote a little tongue-in-cheek epilogue for my wife's genealogy. It reads:
"Wenn Sie die Familie Namen zu dein Enkel-Kindern geben,
Denn wollen Sie und dein Vorfahren im Herz und Errinerung leben."
"If you pass on the family names to your grand-children,
then you and your ancestors will achieve immortality in their hearts and memories."
- Berghold Family Proverb
Continued as Newsletter No. 46B
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 46B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND GENEALOGY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
November 15, 1998
(all rights reserved)
This third section of the 3-section newsletter features articles on:
- German Name of Nagykanizsa, Hungary
- Der Bankerlsitzer
- Szentpeterfa, Hungary - Northampton, PA
- Kornfeind Name-Case Study (includes some data on The Domain of Schlaining)
- Mail from Güssing, and
- A Music Message from Greece.
WORLD GEN WEB QUERY - GERMAN NAME OF NAGYKANIZSA
(Ed. Note - The confusion resulting from Burgenland-area place names having
both Hungarian and German names is perhaps the single most difficult factor
in tracing family. Having finally solved it for myself, it was the desire to
share it, more than anything else, which led to the creation of the
Burgenland Bunch. Everything else stems from that. The following is a case in
point.)
Burgenland Province, Austria Queries message, "(what is the) German
name of Nagykanizsa?" posted by Keiron Rad.
Answer: Per my 1900 Baedeker, the German name is Gross-Kirchen, it was a
market town with 20,500 inhabitants. Rail junction for Steinamanger
(Szombathely). Churches from 1702, 1774 and 1820. Thury family prominent.
That's all I have.
Reply: Thanks Gerry ...incredible discovery. Nagykanizsa finally revealed as
the birthplace and "Staatsgehrigkeit" of my paternal grandfather. Is this
going to unravel some mystery!! <smiles> Keiron Rad.
RUDERSDORF - SOUTHERN BURGENLAND BANKERLSITZER
Peter Sattler, editor writes: der (new edition of) Bankerlsitzer is ready to
be read on the net at http://www.sbox.tu-graz.ac.at/home/b/bzotter/bs
Sattler Peter, Hauptstraße 27, A-7571 Rudersdorf
SZENTPETERFA, HUNGARY - NORTHAMPTON, PA (from John Lavendoski)
I have been working with the church records of Szentpeterfa, Hungary, for the
past few years in an investigation of my maternal grandfather's roots. Over
the past few months, I have been discussing the phenomenon with many
Northamptonites, of the HUGE Szentpeterfa influx to Northampton, PA, during
the first 2 decades of this century. My mother was born there and many close
relatives still live there. Just for fun, I decided to look into possible
relationships with some people I went to grade school with at Our Lady of
Hungary School on Newport Avenue in Northampton. The results were telling...
I basically uncovered information that strongly suggests that the entire
group of descendants of Szentpeterfa immigrants (most especially those of
Croatian ethnic origins) are probably no more distantly related than 4th or
5th cousins!!! So far, every single Croatian tree which I have looked into
from Northampton, PA, crosses my own and each others at some point within the
past 200 years (about 6-8 generations). German names and Hungarian names
also appear frequently, but some "ethnic bias" does appear to have influenced
marriage choices over the years (Germans are more likely to marry Germans, etc.)
I have spent about 500 hours looking at the Szentpeterfa records thus far and
have begun mapping out every single collateral relationship from the 1800s
that crosses my tree at any point. So far, I have about 800 names entered
in my database within Family Tree Maker. I have a dream that, over the course
of my life (I am 31), I will eventually get the whole of the available town
records (1795-1895) into my computer. I estimate that there are about 5,000
names in the records, so I have years of work ahead of me!!!
I am using the technique of going over all of my own collateral relatives
(great aunts, 2nd great uncles, etc.) marriage records, and then mapping out
the families into which they married. Recently, I have added several other
families from Northampton and I have spent more time on death records to lead
me to such things as second marriages, etc.
Most difficult to deal with are the death records... it is often impossible to
pinpoint exactly which person they are referring to, since only names and ages
are generally given between 1795 and about 1840. Also frustrating is the fact
that the whole population gravitated toward a VERY small number of Christian
names and eschewed middle names (at least in the church records). After
looking at 20 or so different people all named Jan Teklits, or Frank
Jurasits, or Michael Stubits, or (God forbid) Anna Geosits!! within a 20-year
span, my eyes start to glaze over!!! (What did they call each other in
school??!!?? How did they refer to one another in casual conversation??!!??
It must have been VERY confusing!!!)
Anyway, I just wanted to get the information out there that I am working on
this monumental project ...interested parties, please don't inundate me with
email ...give me a few years to get further along. By the way, as a "slice in
time," records from the 1840's from Szentpeterfa indicate a population of
about 500 persons, so I think that everyone can appreciate the enormity of
this effort. Are there any interested volunteers out there who would like to
join in??? We could divide up the records by year and also check each other's
work ...just a thought (My maternal grandfather was a Jurasits).
Frank Teklits, Croatian Editor, adds: John, nice to hear from you, and I'm
aware of the extensive collection of names from the Szentpeterfa Church
files. Within the past year, I also was able to add two lines of the Skrapits
family lineage, along with the Gilly family. I also have found out that my
Dad's sister married a Stefan Jurasits but I have not as yet begun to trace
his lineage. There is little doubt that, somewhere in the past, our ancestry
will cross. I estimate that 80% of my database of 500 names are from the same
church records. So between us we probably have close to a thousand names.
Don't you think that the "family names", different from our surnames, probably
came about because of similarities of given names? The gathering of family
names would be an interesting project as well. If we could get a few
additional interested parties in delving into their lineage, we could have
quite a collection. However, it's the second set of Church records, dating
from 1682 to 1791 that I'm interested in.
KORNFEIND NAME - A CASE STUDY (John Kornfeind and others)
Dear Gerry, Dr. Yvonne Lockwood, Pat Jahn and Albert Schuch, I would like to
take a moment to thank all of you for your input on various questions I have
had in the past. I have a little theory I would like to run in front of you
to see what you think about its validity. According to material I have from
the LDS Church on the origins of German Surnames, they can come from a variety
of sources, including from a locality, house or farm surnames, occupation
surnames or other sources.
In looking at the name Kornfeind, one could think of a literal German to
English translation: "grain enemy or hater". In growing up, I have always
wondered how such a name could develop??? At one point I read of relocation
of the Batthyány Croats, that they were considered to be "farmer defenders".
Is it too much a stretch of logic to see my family name having developed
out of a variation of a direct translation plus some of the elements that
you see from the attachment E-mails? With Korn one could easily visualize not
just the product, but also a field of grain or horizon. With Feind one
could not only see an enemy, but a defender on the horizon, perhaps that
farmer defender. As Albert has suggested to me "Konfeyt" appears to be a
likely predecessor name to "Kornfeind". With the Burgenland being part of
that Austrian "horizon" or border with the Ottoman invasions, would it be
possible that such a name might develop out of this culture and the need to
defend the homelands? My GGGGrandfather and succeeding generations were
listed in the Catholic Church records as "colonus". We were told on our
1993 visit to Hannersdorf that my ancestors were considered to be very
successful farmers prior to the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
Thanks to anyone who may have thoughts or other facts to share.
Frank Teklits writes: I have read the three attachments exchanged concerning
your question, and doubt that I can add significantly to the previous
interactions. I am still in the process of translating the book
Burgenlandisches Forschungen and, with the assistance from both Albert & Inge
Schuch, a light is emerging from the end of a long tunnel. Please recognize
that I have undertaken this effort to prove or disprove that I have any
Croatian ancestry. While the text in itself has not, nor will directly answer
my quest, it has provided some significant inputs that may be of assistance
as I continue the search.
To begin with, coming from a highly ethnic (Burgenland) background in
Northampton, PA, the name Kornfeind is a very familiar surname to me, where
for many years a John Kornfeind ran what was considered to be the best
butcher shop in town. To the best of my knowledge, there are Kornfeind's
still in the Lehigh Valley area.
Dr. Lockwood's comments concerning their ethnicity is probably an accurate
one as, in my home town, the Kornfeind's were considered to be part of the
intertwined Burgenland (German and Croatian) neighborhood. They were
considered to be part of the German community, as they spoke German rather
than Croatian. As I write, I am not sure that I know of the village in
Burgenland where they emigrated from, but if you are interested, I can ask
the next time we drive back to our home town.
In Dr. Dobrovich's text, they are a number of references to Hannersdorf, which
you may be interested in. Since I merely extracted them via a search & find
operation, they are disjointed and will remain so until I complete the
effort and obtain a copyright to make the book available to the BB
community. The extractions are: "Approximately 8 years after the withdrawal
of the Turks, the Land Registration records of the Schlaining and Rechnitz
Domains for the year 1540 show that the villages of southern Burgenland were
sparsely settled. A large part of the farms were desolate after the Turkish
campaign of 1532". There were 4 farms and 3 deserted places where farmhouses
had been built in Hannersdorf. There was also a deserted mill."
The Domain of Schlaining
"In the Domain of Schlaining, Croats settled in Podler (Poljanici),
Monchmeierhof (Marof), Altschlaining (Stari Solon), Podgoria (Podgorje), with
UnterPodgoria (Bosnjak-Brig), Rumpersdorf (Rupisce), Allersdorf
(Kljucarevac), Rauhriegel-Allersgraben (Sirokani), Miedlingsdorf (Milistrof),
Neumarkt im Tauchental (Ketel), Kleinpetersdorf (Mali Petrstof), and
Hannersdorf (Sampovar). We already noticed in the last Chapter "Der letzte
Einwanderung der Kroaten" (The Last Immigration of the Croats) that the
Croats in the Domain of Schlaining - with the exception of those in Neumarkt
im Tauchental, Kleinpetersdorf and Hannersdorf - are also called Walachians.
Among the Croats of Durnbach, the author found a verbal tradition according to
which the Walachs of Schlaining were to have come around 100 years later than
the ancestors of the Croatians of Durnbach, Zuberbach, Schachendorf, and Schandorf."
"At the Synod in Buek (Wichs) in 1661, the people of Hannersdorf demanded
that a Croatian sermon be held each month."
"It seems that Hannersdorf still had a partial Croatian population at that
time. The Synod gave the request no consideration and the inhabitants of
Sziget im der Wart were denied permission for their minister Adam Bokany to
hold regular Croatian divine services in Hannersdorf."
"60 years later in 1720, 19 families with Croatian names, 21 with German
names, and 4 with Hungarian names lived in Hannersdorf. A fifth of the
Flurnamen (a name for a certain part of the land belonging to Hannersdorf)
are still Croatian today. Two different dialects were spoken in the village
according to Mr. Karner." I have no comment concerning the possible
derivation of the name Kornfeind, and wish you the best in your quest.
Ed. Reply: This question has already provoked some interesting replies and
will probably turn into a thread to which I'll also add a few comments.
Occupational surnames pertaining to agriculture appear to be very numerous in
the Burgenland. After all, this was and still is an agricultural area. Flour
of all types was a very important Hungarian agricultural product. "Korn" of
course defines as grain, cereal, corn, etc. G.F. Jones in "German-American
Names" shows many which include the word "Korn" but not Kornfeind. In
defining these occupational-agricultural names, however, we mustn't lose
sight of the fact that they are frequently shortened or formed without the
"er" suffix that English adds to "doers", bricklay(er), teach(er), etc. I
would thus opt for "Kornfeind" to stem from "Korn" (grain) and "fein" (fine,
elegant or refined - fein(d for er?). In other words "one who mills grain into
fine flour". Maybe differentiating between a Mühler (often found as just
Mühl, one of my family names) who mills coarse flour and one who mills fine
flour. Guesswork on my part. The word "feinkörnig" means finely grained, and
I can see the juxtaposition. Of course there may be a German syntax form, of
which I'm not familiar, which creates a different meaning when one adds a "d"
to an adjective (fein). I posed a similar question to Albert Schuch not too
long ago re: the name "Kornhasl" which he defined as "a little place to store
grain" or "corn crib". The "L" providing the diminutive. I found the name
very strange, he didn't, being familiar with many similar Austrian names. My
great-grandfather, Emil Langasch (mentioned in the newsletter because of his
strange death), married Ersebet Kornhasl from Rábafüzes, Hungary just east of
Heiligenkreuz. The name is found in that region.
The above in no way contradicts any of the other answers to the Kornfeind
question. I find these attempts to define names fascinating. Makes one wonder
in what dim and distant past they were first used! I often think of a village
inn discussion about 1450-1600 (when surnames for commoners were first being
used) that goes like this: "I was talking to Josef yesterday." "Which
Josef?" "You know, the one by the Korn hasl." "Oh yes, Korn hasl, Josef." - by
which the family was known ever after!
I've added Fritz Königshofer to this discussion, since his name must have been
developed in the same way - i.e., someone from a particular area. This name does
have the "er" however. In looking through my address list I find many others.
I must add this discussion to the newsletter. I'd like to be able to define
all of our names! My own name, Berghold, probably means "one from a hold (small
hut-shepherd?) in the mountains", add an "e" as in "Bergholde" and you get
vineyard worker. We could use some information on how the addition of "d",
"e" etc. to nouns and adjectives changes the meaning.
I also find it significant that Frank Teklits tells us of the utter
devastation of Hannersdorf (the village of your ancestors) in 1532. (quote:
"A large part of the farms were desolate after the Turkish campaign of 1532.
There were 4 farms and 3 deserted places where farmhouses had been built in
Hannersdorf. There was also a deserted mill."). Note that deserted mill! Is
the stage set for German colonists (I feel certain Kornfeind is a German name
as opposed to Croatian), your early ancestors, to arrive on the scene and
start up the mill?
MAIL FROM Güssing (from Heinz Koller)
Hello Gerry! Retirement is fine - you wrote. It's really fine, I'm going to
know now. But there are some problems for me in getting accustomed to
it (a trip to Güssing) - should be better next year - the 75th anniversary
of Josef Reichl's death, and 25th of Reichl-Bund-foundation! At the castle of
Güssing, we'll play "Landflucht" from Josef Reichl - from June 24th till July
10th, directed by the famous theater and movie star, Frank Hoffmann. I'm
already contacted by Albert Schuch. I hope he will leave the army (soon),
for we'll have much work doing the "Hianzen-Lexikon" and the translation into
English. It's my hope to publish the book (basing it on the internet-homepage)
in Spring 1999! I know (your cousin) Klaus Gerger very well, he's also member
of my students club.
> Where 225 Rosenberg was (Sorger home) is now a Tischler (cabinet maker?).
Weber perhaps? Emilia Sorger (1892) married Adolf Weber (1875). They had
Ferencz, Margit, Emilia and Justina...<
I know Eduard Weber, born 1912, related to my wife's mother (Hilda Gerger,
1926). There is a relation to (Poet) Josef Reichl by Mrs. Weber...,
interesting, isn't it?
And last, thank you for all your information, and, if you propose coming next
year, I promise to take some time for you and your intentions. Best
greetings, Heinz Koller A-7540 Güssing, Bergstraße 13
Ed. Note: Heinz also sent a fine picture of Güssing Castle at dusk outlined
against a fiery sky. Gives the impression of a castle on fire. Will be happy
to copy.
IMMIGRANT ASSOCIATIONS
Ed. Note: Most immigrants joined ethnic associations of one sort or another.
Almost all belonged to a sick and death benefit group, an early form of
insurance, or some social "Verein". Another place to look for family history.
Member Elizabeth Finn may have found evidence of such a group. She writes:
"I found some lapel buttons in my father's things. They are blue and white and
brass. On the badge in the center, which by the way is flanked by four triangles,
are the letters A.U.B. Does anyone know what they might stand for?
MUSIC MESSAGE FROM GREECE
Many of you copied me concerning the following: "Please can you help me where
can i find music and folk songs from Burgenland? I am a musician working in
a hotel where people comming from Burgenland and I want to play and sing
special music from Burgenland. Thank you for help, Stelios Faneromenos"
I responded with pertinent material as did some others. Apparently Stelios
addressed many members on our homepage list, as opposed to only coming to me.
It can be done with a few clicks of the mouse. I thought this was a valid
contact as the return address was Greece. Proven when Bob Unger received the
following:
"Hello, I want to thank you very much for your answer to my email (about music
from Burgenland). This helps me so much to find what I am lookin for; you are
so kind and I am happy to see people helping each other. Friendly, Stelios
Faneromenos, Thessaloniki, Greece"
We may receive similar requests of this type. Feel free to answer or forward
to me. It proves that our lists are getting worldwide attention. We may, some
day, become a target for jokers. That could be the downside of being on
the web. We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.
END OF NEWSLETTER - EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD