THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 54
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 31, 1999
(all rights reserved)
A family tree can wither if nobody tends its roots.
(these pithy proverbs are often received from members)
This first section of the 3 section newsletter concerns a Free OZ Service for
Finding Relatives, Data on the Middle Burgenland Villages of Deutsch
Gerisdorf, Pilgersdorf and Bubendorf, Hungarian Latin & the 1828 Census and
Different BB Member Categories.
FREE SERVICE FOR BB MEMBERS WHO WISH TO FIND THEIR RELATIVES IN BURGENLAND
(from Albert Schuch)
Your query will be printed free of charge by the "Oberwarter Zeitung" (OZ),
the oldest newspaper in Burgenland. Founded in 1879 as "Oberwarther
Sonntags-Zeitung" and relaunched in 1949 as "Oberwarter Zeitung", the paper
celebrates a "double anniversary" in 1999.
The OZ is a weekly newspaper, with 24 pages per issue, mainly read in
Southern Burgenland, to a lesser extent also in Northern Burgenland and
Eastern Styria. Selected articles of the current edition are always published
on the OZ-homepage http://www.bnet.at/oz/.
Decades ago, when the OZ had a large readership among the American emigrants,
Burgenlanders searching for "lost" emigrated relatives or friends had their
query published in the OZ. Now it will be the other way round. Since this is
a free service, it goes without saying that the OZ retains the right to
cancel it at any given time.
To get your query published, send it to Burgenland Editor Albert Schuch,
who will translate & edit it and forward it to the OZ. Your query should be
brief and to the point, and it has to include your postal address. Please
note that the number of queries per issues is limited due to space reasons,
so publishing may take some time. As soon as your query is printed, you will
be notified via email by Albert.
The OZ is also available for subscription, the annual fee being 432 Austrian
Schillings (ATS) for outside of Austria, plus surface mail. To keep the postage
at a minimum (9 ATS per issue; ca. 460 ATS per year), it is mailed without
the TV program supplement. For a first-time two-year-subscription, the fee is
630 ATS outside of Austria. again plus surface mail.
Methods of payment: A bill will be mailed to you with one of the first
issues. You can then either transfer the money, or send a check. Payment is
in ATS or USD. (Current exchange rate: 1 USD = ca. 12.5 ATS) BB-members who
wish to subscribe please send your order (with mailing address) to Burgenland
Editor Albert Schuch, who will forward it to the OZ office.
VILLAGE DATA FROM MIDDLE BURGENLAND (from Albert Schuch)
Taken from Josef LOIBERSBECK: "Um Pilgersdorf und Kogl" (translated extracts
from: Volk und Heimat, 1961, # 8 - # 15/16) [including: this issue
Deutsch-Gerisdorf, Pilgersdorf, Bubendorf, later issues Salmannsdorf,
Redlschlag, Kogl, Lebenbrunn, Steinbach.] These may have been sent directly
to some of our older members.
DEUTSCH GERISDORF (V+H 8-9/1961)
21 farmers lived in Gerisdorf in 1519. Some of their family names are
mentioned: 2 PUFF, 1 STYFTER, 1 GROFF, 2 KALMAN, 1 WARGA, 1 AROS. Gerisdorf
was then "governed" by the "Richter" of LOCKENHAUS. In 1528 Gerisdorf had its
own Richter, Johann KALMAN, who was also Richter of BUBENDORF and
SALMANNSDORF. In 1597 only 17 farmers are listed for Gerisdorf. Names
mentioned are Gaspar KELEMEN, Andre KIS, 4 SCHERMANN, 2 KOGLER, 2 KOGER, 1
STIFTER. In 1605 Gerisdorf was looted and torched during the
Bocskay rebellion. In 1608, 13 farms are mentioned, only one of them has not
been burned in 1605, and only two of those burned have started rebuilding
their houses. The 2 mills seem to have been left unharmed too (in 1605). In
1639, we have 27 farmers and 2 Söllner, in 1661 around 40 farmers and 2
Söllner. Names mentioned (1661) are EPIT, JANOS, CLEMEN (KELEMEN), and 5
SCHERMANN. Domain owners in this area (ruled from the LOCKENHAUS castle) were
the noble families KANIZSAY (until 1535), then NADASDY (until 1675), and from
1676 ESTERHAZY. The NADASDY were Lutherans until 1643, when Count Franz III
became a Catholic again. This meant that the inhabitants of his domain had to
return to the Catholic faith also. The (r.c.) Canonical Visitation of 1697
reports that there is no church in Deutsch Gerisdorf, but that they have a bell
fixed in a kind of a wooden tower. In the following years, the Kuruzzen uprising
and a plague epidemic may have caused some casualties, but in 1720, 40 families
and 2 mills are still reported.
In 1733. the community erected a wooden chapel, which was replaced in 1836 by
the (still existing) church (Holy Trinity). School teacher Franz WENINGER
wrote (1836) that 64 families have contributed to the building of the church.
Deutsch Gerisdorf continued to belong to the parish Pilgersdorf. A book published
in 1833 reports 444 inhabitants. The school is said to be in existence since
around 1767, the name of the first teacher is remembered as Johannes SCHERMANN.
In 1860, Count STRACHWITZ built a small factory where copper ores from Glashütten
bei Schlaining and from Redlschlag were smelted. The coal came from Bubendorf.
The inhabitants of Deutsch Gerisdorf profited by carrying out transportation. By
1875, Count STRACHWITZ was bankrupt and shot himself. This of course was the end
of the smelting business. In 1873 a new school house was built. Teachers were
1883-85 Ferdinand FLUR, 1886-1917 Josef SCHEDL, 1917-50 Nikolaus SCHERMANN,
from then on Gustav THURNER. Statistical data: 1836 - 465 inhabitants; 1896 -
69 houses, 351 inhabitants; 1900 - 71 houses, 354 inhabitants; 1910 - 67
houses, 343 inhabitants; 1933 - 347 inhabitants; 1934 - 332 inhabitants; 1951
- 67 houses, 286 inhabitants (of these 218 worked in the agricultural
sector); 1960 - 70 houses.
PILGERSDORF (V+H 9-10/1961)
North of Deutsch Gerisdorf; first mentioned in 1225 as "villa Pylgrim"; in the
times of the Güssing quarrels (late 13th century) the castle of "Pilgreimsdorf"
was taken by Duke Albrecht (of Hapsburg); from around 1390 Pilgersdorf was owned
by the noble family Kanizsay, 1447-88 they rented it out to the family
von-Pottendorf, the owners of Kirchschlag and Krumbach (both in Lower Austria);
in 1535 Pilgersdorf (and the whole domain Lockenhaus) came under the rule of
the noble family Nadasy by way of marriage; a report of 1528 counts 26 farmers
in Pilgersdorf, 8 of them were 'libertini', i.e. 'freed men' - this means they
don't have to give money and/or agricultural goods to the domain owner, nor
do they have to work ("robot") for him (on his fields); usually one could
become a 'libertinus' by paying a large sum of money to the domain owner. In
1528 Martin MOLNAR was "Richter" (kind of a mayor) of Pilgersdorf. In 1597
Martin REISNER was Richter, and the village was inhabited by 29 farmers and 7
"Söllner" (people without farming land).
The NADASDY family (the local aristocrats) was pro-Lutheran, so from 1596
onwards Lutheran pastors like Benedikt PYRUS, Veit ALTENMARKTER, Matthias
KAPPELMANN, Johann SUMMERAUER, Gregor GERBER and Wolfgang LANGFELDER were
active in this area. (As said in part 1, the NADASDY returned to the Catholic
faith in 1643.) Several exiled Lutheran noblemen who had to leave Styria in
1629 settled in this area. They 'rented' villages or parts of villages from
Count NADASDY. Names of these Styrian/Carinthian aristocrats are: Sigismund
SPEIDL, Bartholomaeus Mensdorff, Sigismund HOHENWARTH, Karl PREINBERGER,
Tobias PREINBERGER, Alban GLOBITZER.
A document ("Urbar") of 1661 lists around 40 farmers. Among these were: 3
LOIBL (LEIBL), 2 RAUHOFER, 1 SCHLÖGL, SCHERMANN, ZETTL, SCHREINER,
GROSSINGER, FRÜHSTÜCK, BRUNNER, KRENN, PAUSS, KORGER, SCHWARZ, PAMPER, POSCH.
The "Visitation" (kind of a church inventory for a whole church district) of
1697 mentions a church made of stone, consecrated to Holy Aegidius (Egyd). A
house for the priest does exist, but at this time the teacher lives in it.
The priest, a monk, lived in the monastery in Lockenhaus. A school house also
does exist, but it is not used (in 1697). In 1720 28 farmers and 16 Söllner
are counted in Pilgersdorf. In 1731, twelve inhabitants still were Lutherans,
in 1780, ten. Catholic church records started in 1720 (baptisms) and 1758 (weddings,
deaths), but were destroyed during the great fire of 1855. Probably in 1789,
but definitly in 1804, Kogl became a parish of its own (including Lebenbrunn).
In 1807 the Catholics of Redlschlag were added to the Kogl parish (formerly
they had also belonged to the Pilgersdorf parish).
In 1820, the monastery in Lockenhaus ceased to exist. Already from 1801-1821
Pilgersdorf had a priest who was no monk, this was Paul HAFNER. His successors
were 1821-1838 Josef Nepomuk Johann HESSE (from Prague); 1838-54 Josef KISS;
1854-74 Franz POPP (from Lockenhaus); 1874-88 Michael SCHLAMADINGER; 1888-95
Vinzenz PEHAM (from Pinkafeld). From 1917-21, Anton KNÖCZL was priest. He was
pro-Hungarian (wanted the Lockenhaus area to stay a part of Hungary), so he
went to Koszeg (Güns) in Hungary in 1921. His successors were Stefan PORITS
(1922-35) and Josef WOHLMUTH (1935-51) ...
A wooden school house is reported in 1780, in 1815 mentioned again as very
well built, in 1858 it was enlarged. In 1928, a new school house was built.
Known names of teachers in Pilgersdorf are: Johann GREINER (1652, from Nürnberg,
Germany); Johann Michael PLÖZ (1769-1815, from Litzelsdorf); Johann FRÜSATZ
(1815-1836, from Rohrbach); Josef LEHNER (1836-1887); Josef EKAMP
(1887-1903); Johann HOLZER (1903-17); Rupert WENINGER (1918-38); Josef
WIESINGER (from 1938 onwards). "Kreisnotar" (this is a civil servant, his name
may appear on civil documents) were: SZENTGYÖRGYI (1874-86), Josef KOFALVI
(1892-1921), Stefan FARKAS (after 1923); in Austria the "Kreisnotar" was (is)
called "Oberamtmann." A post office does exist in Pilgersdorf since 1870. First
telephone was installed in 1921, in the same year a police ("Gendarmerie")
station was opened. Electricity was provided for some houses from a local mill
after WW-I, in 1950-51 for the rest of the village.
Statistical data: 1833 - 68 houses, 621 inhabitants; 1842/43 - 712 inh.; 1863
646 inh.; 1896 - 113 houses, 625 inh.; 1900 - 116 houses, 637 inh., among
them 4 Jews; 1910 - 118 houses, 604 inh. (5 Jews); 1923 - 638 inh. (2 Jews);
1934 - 642 inh.; 1951 - 125 houses, 620 inh. (of these 428 worked in the
agricultural sector)
BUBENDORF (V+H 11/1961)
The village Bubendorf lies southwest of Pilgersdorf, on the slopes of several
hills. First mentioned in 1390 as "Lachofalva", in 1397 "Latorfalu" (a Hungarian
name), etc... The "Urbar" of 1672 calls it "Puebendorff". Bubendorf is said to
have suffered during the Turkish siege of Güns (Koszeg) in 1532 and during the
Bocskay uprising in 1605. Like all neighbouring villages, the inhabitants
became Lutherans soon after the domain owners (NADASDY) had done so ... In
1649 the village was rented out to the Styrian lord Friedrich Sigismund
SPEIDL. An "Urbar" of 1661 counts 13 farmers and 2 Söllner. The "Urbar" of
1672 reports still 13 farmers and 6 Söllner. Another 2 Söllner houses are
deserted. During the 'kuruc' uprising of 1704-1709 the village has been looted
(this applies to the whole area). In 1720 Bubendorf consisted of 24 farms, 10
Söllner houses and 1 mill. The wooden chapel (Saint Anna) was replaced by a church
in 1812. After a great fire in 1866 the inhabitants obviously thought it safer to
exchange St. Anna for St. Florian (prayers to this saint were and are said to prevent
fires). The copper-smelting business in Deutsch Gerisdorf (of Count STRACHWITZ) has
already been mentioned. The coal used there came from a mine near Bubendorf,
which was exploited from 1860 onwards (for several years). 60 miners from
Bohemia are said to have worked here. In 1874 the village got its own cemetery.
A school house was built in 1918. Before this, the children went to school in
Pilgersdorf. From 1918-1957 Julius HOLZER was teacher, from then onwards Rudolf TATALIN.
Mentioned "Richter" names are: Paul PUHR (1597), Andreas PETZ (1673) and
Michael PUHR (1890). Electricity was first provided in 1950. Statistical
data: 1822: 49 houses, 306 inhabitants; 1842: 346 inh.; 1863: 325 inh.; 1896:
57 houses, 328 inh.; 1900: 61 houses, 324 inh.; 1910: 61 houses, 316 inh.;
1923: 305 inh.; 1934: 305 inh.; 1951: 59 houses, 272 inh. (173 of these
employed in the agricultural sector)
HUNGARIAN LATIN & 1828 CENSUS (Gerry Berghold & Fritz Königshofer)
Many of our members realize that early Hungarian records, both church and
civil use numerous Latin words. Latin was for some time the "official"
language of Hungary (considering Hungarian language problems, this isn't
surprising) and, of course, the church. Latin, however, like all languages
varies according to time and place. A Latin word or phrase used in England or
Germany for instance can differ considerably as to exact meaning. The
definition in 1900 can difffer substantially from that in 1750, etc. Likewise
when using an English-Latin dictionary as compared to a German-Latin or
Hungarian-Latin one, we can be misled as to true meaning. If you wonder why
some of us agonize over the meaning of certain words found in Burgenland
records, this is the reason. As an example, the 1828 Hungarian Land Census
(available from LDS microfilm) uses Latin headings exclusively. Martha M.
Connor* (see end of article for items she can furnish), translator of many of
these census records had the headings translated by a professional who, for
reasons quoted, wouldn't guarantee his translations.
Recently Fritz Königshofer addressed this probelm in the Budapest Library. He
writes:
Subj: Re: occupations - Latin
Last Saturday, I had a few hours in the Szechény Library in Budapest and
used the opportunity to check the Latin dictionaries in the reference section
there. These are the holdings I found:
[1] "Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis Regni Hungariae" (glossary
of middle and earlier (?) Latin in the kingdom of Hungary), by Anton Bartal
(Ed.), Teubner, Leipzig, 1901.
[2] "Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae" (lexicon of middle-ages
Latin in Hungary), by János Harmatta and Iván Bornkai (Eds.), Akadémiai
Kiadó, Budapest, 1987 and following. This is in several volumes, of which the
issues up to the letter H have been published so far.
[3] "Glossarium Vocum in Politicis ac Juridicis negotiis" (glossary of
[the language] spoken in political and legal affairs), by Antal Szirmai,
Cassova (Kosice?), 1801.
[4] "Dictionarium Latino-Hungaricum et Hungarico-Latino-Germanicum," by
Páriz Ferenc Pápai, Budapest, 1995.
[5] "A Latin nyelv szótára" (dictionary of the Latin language), by Dr.
Henrik Finály, Budapest, 1884.
Of these books, [1] and [2] are clearly erudite terminological books, while
[4] and [5] are dictionaries. Number [3] is a slim volume whose importance
stems, I believe, from its early publication date and the suggestive title.
What do these books say about the word "carnifex"?
Number [1] defines the word as "lanius qui carnes vendit et facit" (butcher
who sells and produces meat). The Hungarian equivalents are given as
mészáros and hentes, German "Fleischer," i.e., butcher in English. No other
meanings are provided.
Number [2] states the meanings as follows: (1) bakó, hóhér, kinvallató;
meaning hangman, executioner, or torturer; (2) hóhér lélek gyilkos; which I
translate as "execution-style murderer"; and (3) mészáros, hentes; which we
already had as meaning butcher.
Numbers [3] to [5] translate the word only into the meaning of hangman or
executioner, with the Hungarian words hóhér, hengr, börtön (prison-ward),
and bakó.
As you can see, we have no clear answer from these Latin dictionaries!
Interestingly, the Latin word lanius translates to executioner as well,
besides the (more common?) meaning of butcher. I think it still remains most
likely that the term in the records of Nemet Csencs referred to the meaning
of butcher or perhaps knacker/flayer as Albert has suggested. If you can
follow the related person into one of the periods where the Hungarian
language was used for entries, then you might find the pastor's Hungarian
equivalent for his use of carnifex in Latin.
*(certain Hungarian counties -megye, including Moson, but not Vas or Sopron
are available for $25 plus $3.00 postage each from Mrs. Martha Connor, 7754
Pacemont Court, Las Vegas, NV 89117). She can also furnish a "Book of Cities"
- all of the cities named in the 1828 census, 52 counties, for $15. Mrs.
Connor has been working on this particular census for many years and is the
acknowledged expert. For those who may not know, this census arranged by
villages within megye, names only heads of households, their holdings and
assets, number of persons in the household by type and value for tax purposes.
MEMBER CATEGORIES - IMMIGRANT FROM 1956 HUNGARIAN REVOLT
As I'm contacted by people wishing to be members I can't help but reflect on
the various categories of Burgenland immigrant into which they fall,
descendants of and/or immigrants from the mid 1800's, 1890's to 1914 first
wave, 1918-1924 second wave, emigrants to Canada and South America when US
quotas were established, refugees from the 1938 anschluss, post WW-II
emigrants (the 1950's wave) and now a descendant of some who migrated to
Hungary and in turn migrated to the US as a result of the cold war. Truly the
Burgenland "auswanderung" has many aspects; however descendants now all seek
the same thing, a link with the "Heimat". The Burgenland Bunch was founded to
help find that link.
Our new member writes: Hi, It is an answer to a prayer to have discovered
your group. I won't bore you with the details, but I'm searching for my
grandmother's background. Her name was Eleonora Oswald, married Ignác
Horváth. Either he or her or both were from Vasvárósvár. I'm ashamed to
admit that I have no idea of their birth dates, but judging from my father's
birth year, 1908, and her wedding picture, she must have been in her early
20's at her marriage. That could make her date of birth around 1885-1888.
Her husband, Ignác, seem to have been a few years older, he was a cantor,
teacher and also composed church music. He died young, when my father was
just a baby, probably around 1909 or so. My father was an only child, he has
passed away also, so it would be wonderful to find out something about the
family. There is one more bit of information, my grandmother's parents had
some kind of a business there. Thank you for your help, Jolan E. Fagerberg
<< Hi, this is my second letter tonight. I was so excited to discover you,
that I did not give you the proper information....The names I'm researching
are: Oswald (or Oszwald) and Horváth. The town the were from originally
was Vasvárósvár, now Rotenturm an der Pinka in the Burgenland Province,
southeast of Oberwart. They did not emigrate, I did from Hungary in 1956. I
would very much like to join your group. >>
Reply: Thanks for your note. A number of Oswald and Horvath names are still
found in the Rotenturm phone book, but don't get excited as I'm sure you know
these are common Burgenland names, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are
related to you since you are sure your ancestors were from there. Rotenturm
is in Bezirk Oberwart, just southeast of Oberwart off of route 63. It includes
the villages of Siget in der Wart and Spitzzicken. Population 1993, 1430, no.
of houses 549. Bürgermeister in 1993 was Franz Pomper.
First mentioned in a Schenkungurkunde (deed of gift) from King Ludwig in 1355
as the village of "Weresuarfelde". Present name comes from Berthold II von
Ellerbach 1456. Came into the possession of the Erdody family in 1613.
Schloss Rotenturm built 1862-66 by the Erdodys. Restored 1977, park created
around it in 1995. Church is the Pfarrkirche "Allerheiligen" (all saints)
started in 1489, but present building dates from 1779, restored often. The
Pinka river flows from Austria into Hungary and eventually joins the Raab. I
have maternal ancestors from the village of Pinkamindszent along the Pinka in
Hungary.
(181) ROTENTURM AN DER PINKA / (Hungarian name VASVÁRÓSVÁR) RC church
EISENZICKEN (147), OBERDORF (175); LU to OBERWART (177)
Famed for its red tower, as its name suggests. ROTENTURM ("red tower" is a
"schloss" built over an earlier (1334) moated castle. The church records
1828-1896 and civil records 1896-1921 are available as LDS microfilm (from
any Family History Center located in any Mormon Temple - see phone book) nos.
0700751-2, 0700630-637. (I closed with the usual - Welcome to the Burgenland
Bunch etc ...).
(Newsletter continued as 54A)
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 54A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 31, 1999
(all rights reserved)
This second section of the 3 section newsletter contains Translation of an
Article Appearing in the Feb. 17 Edition of the Oberwart Zeitung,
German-Hungarian Terms For Farmer and Beginning Your Burgenland Search -Part 4.
BURGENLAND BUNCH ARTICLE APPEARING IN FEBRUARY EDITION OF OZ
(by Albert Schuch)
(ED. NOTE: the following translation of an article recently published in the
Austrian weekly newspaper "Oberwart Zeitung" was presented to me at a dinner
given by my cousin and BB member Klaus Gerger in Vienna during our recent
visit. Albert and his sister Inge were also present. The article was written
by Albert and translated by Inge. I was very pleased and felt like a
celebrity.)
Tracing the Steps of Forefathers and Tracking Down Relatives
Gerry Berghold, born 1930 in Allentown, PA, as a second-generation American
of Burgenland descent, is now retired from a successful career and living in
the town of Winchester, VA. Once free from the demands of his job, he got
serious about trying to find out more about his family roots in Burgenlandand,
tapping into the vast resources of the Internet, quickly came
across a bunch of like minded people.
At the beginning of 1997, the contacts Gerry had thus established led to the
formation of a group which he named the Burgenland Bunch. From an initial
dozen members, the Burgenland Bunch has since grown to an institution with
close to 300 members. Quite a few members were first drawn to the group by
their genealogical interests, only to find their interests widened to bigger
issues of the history and culture of the regions of Burgenland and Western
Hungary.
Every other week the members receive a newsletter, brimming with genealogical
and historical information, translation hints for Church and government
documents, news on recent book and music releases, and the like.
The homepage of the Burgenland Bunch (now http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org),
which is [was] administered by Leslie "Hap" Anderson (Minneapolis), among other
things features a list of all members, with a list of their family names and
the regions in Burgenland where they originally came from. Most of the members
are U. S. citizens, but there are also a number of Burgenlanders that have signed
up, and there are some Canadians, British, Australian, Hungarian and Israeli.
Thanks to the Burgenland Bunch, paths that diverged long ago have crossed
again, and one or the other member has actually managed to find "new"
relatives through the channels of the group. Not all members have personal
relations to Burgenland, though; there are some who have joined for purely
academic reasons.
To find out more, just visit the group's website. And do not hesitate to get
in touch with Gerry Berghold - he loves to get e-mails from Burgenland.
Should you wish to contact him right now, you will, however, get no answer
until the beginning of March. At the moment Gerry is taking some time off,
celebrating his 45th wedding anniversary with his wife Molly - in Austria, of
course.
TERMS FOR "FARMER"
<< In researching LDS films of Burgenland (Pilgersdorf), there are several
terms which seem to mean "farmer". I wondered if there is some distinction
among these terms. The terms are "földművelö", "jobbagy" and "zseller". Can
you enlighten me and other readers of the Burgenland Bunch News? Gerry
Stifter >>
Answer: In translating these terms we must remember that they reflect
conditions in a particular time peroiod. 1848 was the date which forever
changed the relationships between the common people and the aristocracy.
After 1848, it was common for tenants to own their own land and many feudal
concepts no longer prevailed. I'd also suggest digging through our archives
for previous articles on the subject by members like Albert Schuch, Fritz
Königshofer and Bob Schatz. Newsletters 52 and 52B also have some material.
"földművelö" is of course Hungarian and various translations for the noun are
given such as cultivator or ploughman - "földműves" also is defined as a tiller
of the soil, farmer, husbandman. I'd translate this (post 1848 term?) as
someone who operates a farm which he either owns outright or as a tenant, but
who has the right to make decisions. Like a British "yeoman". He may have
"jobbagy" or "zseller" types of his own working for him.
"jobbagy" is also Hungarian and refers to a serf or bondsman, feudal tenant.
This is a (pre-1848? term?) commoner, usually a day laborer working on
someone elses land. A persom "tied" to a particular manor. It may also refer
to "status" as well as "occupation". Fritz Königshofer says:
On your question, I always thought that jobbagyi meant "commoner" but I think
you are right that it was used in the sense of "Untertan" and thus gradually
went into disuse after 1848 (though I think this was decades after 1848). I
believe the term was more or less replaced by "nemtelen" the real equivalent
of "commoner."
Bob Schatz says: Reading Fritz's query about the Hungarian Földmüves for
"farmer" triggered more thoughts about pre- and post- '48 terminology. I'm
wondering if we should include in your essay the Hungarian term Jobbagy
(plural: Jobbagyok), which was used in the pre-1848 records to indicate a
peasant farmer/manorial tenant (today I believe this word is used pretty much
like our English farmer). Along with Fritz, I have also noticed in my
research that Jobbagy was little used after 1848, and instead was replaced by
Földmüves. I'm just speculating here, but Jobbagy may have had such strong
manorial implications that it became undesirable to apply it to the now-freed
peasantry. Perhaps someone might know a professor of the Hungarian language
who could shed light on this?
"zseller" is also Hungarian and is defined as a "cotter", a peasant or farm
laborer who occupies a cottage and small holding of land in return for
services. This person would work directly for the landowner on a purely
"robot" basis. An English equivalent (also found in the US) is the person who
gets the use of a house as well as pay on the farm of a yeoman or large
estate in return for being a "hired man". Many also tilled garden plots for
their own use.
Fritz says more: Your article would be very welcome. It does not need to be
complete to be useful. These farmer statuses and words are not my ballpark,
and I have never even noticed that the names used changed according to pre-
or post-1848, and pre- or post-Komassierung (the break up of the aristocratic
holdings after 1848). Let me just throw in what I encountered and, if you or
anyone in our group could place the words, could be appropriately included in
the article. Obviously, in our matrikel search, for the Burgenland we mostly
encounter Latin or Hungarian terms, rarely German ones.
1. Especially older Hungarian matrikels often use the Latin term colonus
which I always thought translates to farmer. A translation to Söllner
(zsellér) is unfamiliar to me. Sometimes the term "neocolonus" [farmer of
newly cleared land?] is also encountered. Gerry might well be right, though,
with translating it to Söllner, as I would not know a Latin term for the
latter anyway... which only now I notice is quite odd. However, my Latin
dictionary translates colonus to peasant and/or farmer, which would look
similar to the Hungarian földmüves, see point 3.
2. Let's not forget the Latin term octavalista which was encountered in
matrikels of the Northern Burgenland and discussed by us, though we cannot
yet be 100% sure whether it already describes a farmer (with 1/8th of a
sessio... Albert was lately leaning to this explanantion), or a cotter
[Söllner, Hungarian term, I believe, is zsellér].
3. Especially newer records (late 19th century) often use the term
"földmüves" or "földmives." In fact, I am just looking over the death
records of the Eltendorf civil office, and the most frequent status there
appears to be "földmüves." My dictionary has two translations, namely (a)
farmhand ("Knecht" in German), and (b) farmer (Hungarian term: gazda). I
really would like to know the meaning of földmüves in the context of the late
church and early civil records of the Southern Burgenland. I have translated
the term into the English "peasant" which also seems to convey the dual
connotation of small farmer and farmhand. We do not really have an
equivalent in the German language... perhaps "Landmann," but this term is
relatively close to the term Bauer.
4. There is also the Hungarian word "birtokos" which, I believe, sometimes
was used to describe a farmer. In my dictionary, the term translates to
"property owner," but let's not forget that the political party of the
"smallholders" (in the sense of "Kleinlandwirte" or small farmers) has
"kisbirtokos" as the Hungarian word in its name.
5. I am not sure about famulus (servant?) and napsäzmos [sic] (day-laborer).
Under the term "Landarbeiter," my German Brockhaus encyclopedia states that
historically there were three categories, namely (a) Knechte and Mägde who
belonged to the semi-permanent staff of a farm receiving subsistence and a
small remuneration, (b) Deputanten (a term unfamiliar to me, meaning members
of the farm household receiving remuneration only in form of naturalia, and
(c) day-laborers, engaged only when work needed to be done.
6. Within the BB, we have consistently called people with their own houses
but little land by the German term Söllner. In Styria, alternative German
terms used are Keuschler or Häusler, the latter perhaps representing the most
widely and commonly used term in German lands. I believe it translates to
the Hungarian word zsellér, English translation cottar or cotter???
7. In my own research, I have not consciously encountered the term paraszt,
therefore, I wonder how much the term was in use and in which regions.
However, my dictionary clearly translates the word to peasant or countryman.
This is a discussion I truly enjoy, yet I hope that Gerry will cut through
the uncertainties we will hardly put to rest, and actually print his summary
in whatever state he will leave it for the moment. On your question, I always
thought that jobbagyi meant "commoner" but I think you are right that it was
used in the sense of "Untertan" and thus gradually went into disuse after
1848 (though I think this was decades after 1848). I believe the term was
more or less replaced by "nemtelen" the real equivalent of "commoner."
Since I have done some searching in Styrian records, most of them being in
German language, I briefly reviewed my notes from these searches.
Accordingly, I believe that farmers were always or mostly called "Bauer" in
the German language. However, for the category with no or little land,
various terms were used, and I am not sure if there are distinctions. There
was Söllner/Sölner/Söldner, then Keuschler, and also Häusler. The term
"Bergler" was also used, perhaps meaning the owner of a house without much
land in the hills or mountains. I noticed also a term "Hofstättler" and
wonder how Albert would classify this term (in this case I have no idea at
all).
I believe that in older times (before 1800?) there was a classification as
various "-holden" in the meaning perhaps of "Untertan" such as "Berghold" as
an Untertan living in the mountains, "Vogthold" as the Untertan of a Vogtei
(the lowest class of overlord). Clearly, it seems to me, the concept of
people being "beholden" to someone (-hold has the sense of Untertan but also
of being protected by) came out of use in the 19th century. Today, you can't
even find the word in most historical dictionaries, let alone current ones.
BEGINNING YOUR BURGENLAND SEARCH - PART IV, CIVIL RECORDS
Newsletters 47, 48 and 51A provided guidance for locating your family
village, finding the church records and translating the data. This part
explains how to use civil records.
Beginning in the 1500's (the period following the Council of Trent in the
last half of the 1500's), the Roman Catholic Church issued a decree requiring
parish priests to record baptisms; soon followed by marriage and death
records. Protestant churches followed suit. In 1828, the Hungarian government
made each parish officially responsible for these vital records and further
required that they be given copies. In 1896, the responsibility was
transferred to local authorities (the village notary or "amtmann"-office
clerk). In 1921, with the formation of the Austrian Burgenland, these record
files were retained at the village Gemeindeamt (community office) and for the
most part are still available there (in the village responsible for local
administration) today. Specific forms were supplied, which at first contained
much more data than the previous church records. There were changes to format
year by year. For the years 1896-1921, copies were also provided to the
central Hungarian government and they too were microfilmed by the LDS in the
1960's and are available by ordering from any FHC. (Note-civil records for
villages which remained in Hungary were not microfilmed by the LDS. [Ed note:
But digital copies are now available!])
Locating the civil records for your village is a little like locating the
church parish records. Not all villages had notaries or municipal offices.
You must find the one responsible for your village. In the case of larger
villages you'll find the civil record microfilm following the church record
microfilm in the LDS index covering your village. If your village is a Bezirk
(District) capital, the records will be there. For instance, if you look in
the LDS index under Hungary, Vas, Németujvár (Güssing) - Civil Registration
you'll find 9 rolls of microfilm, 3 each for birth (Szteltek), marriage
(Házasultak) and death (Halottak). You'll find the same film numbers if you
look under Austria, Burgenland, Güssing. However if you look for the civil
reords for Grossmürbisch (Hungarian Alsomedves) you won't find anything. What
to do?
Go to Albert's Village List (homepage) and find Grossmürbisch (it's shown
under Bezirk Güssing). After the village name you'll find a "gv"
(abbreviation for government records) and the town name Güssing. This means
that is where the records are kept. However, in this case there were so many
that you'll also find Civil Registration film for "the surrounding area of
Güssing". When this is encountered, you must look in both places to find the
records for your village. In this instance, Güssing is also where you'll find
records from 1921 to date, except there is no microfilm. You must visit or
write for copies. Also (I repeat) there is no microfilm for villages which
are in Hungary today. [Ed note: again, digital copies are now available!]
The BB newsletter has published articles concerning the many fires that
occurred in the villages. You will find villages where the original records
were destroyed either through fire or war damage. Fortunately many of the
1896-1921 records were copied.
The earlier civil records are at least two pages long and follow a printed
format. I have not used Hungarian diacritical marks in the examples, nor have
I shown all headings, just those to allow you to extract the basic data. I
only show Hungarian words and translations once. You'll need a dictionary or a
list of names for occupations, causes of death, etc.
The following is an example of a birth record: This example shows a US birth
reported to Hungary probably at the time the parents returned to Hungary
(they emigrated to the US again shortly thereafter)
A bejegyzes ideje (date of entry) 1913 Aug 5
A szuletes ideje (date of birth) 1904 Oct 11
A gyermek utoneve neme, vallasa (name, sex and religion) Geraldine, female, Lutheran
A sulok (parents and domicile) Berghold Janos, Langasch Fani Patafalva
vallasa (religion) Lutheran
kora (ages) not given
A szuletes helye, ha a szuletes nem az anya lakasan tortent (place of birth)
Allentown Pa North America
Alairas elotti esetleges megjegyzesk. Alairasok. (Comments and name and
signature of recorder) Vertes Sandor
Note: some earlier birth forms will look like the following marriage form.
Later ones may include just the very basics. The same applies to death and
marriage records. Look for key words as shown in these examples to identify
the type of record.
The following is an example of a marriage record:
Upper Left -> Hungarian Coat of Arms
Kelt (place) Kortvelyes (Eltendorf)
ezer, evi, ho (date: year, month, day) 1898 februar 7
Magjelentek (name of notary) Ebenspanger, Rezo (Rudy)
1. mint volegeny (groom) Mirth Joszef, Lutheran faith, of Patafalva (Poppendorf) 98
Szuletesenek (birth data) Patafalva, 1873, December 18
atyjanak (father) blank (illegitimate)
anyjanak (mother) Julia Mirth,
foglalkozasa (occupation) foldmuvesnos (farmer)
lakohelye (residence) Patafalva 19
2. mint menyassony (bride) Berghold Julia, Lutheran faith, of Patafalva 100
born Patafalva 44, 16 Jul. 1875
father Berghold Janos
occupation blacksmith Patafalva 100
parents Berghold, Janos and Neubauer, Teres
egyik tanu (witness for groom) Gibiser Jozsef, farmer, Patafalva 29,
eletkora (age) 47
masik tanu (witness for bride) Berghold Jozsef, farmer, Patafalva 5, age 40
Signatures of all plus date.
The following is an example of a death record:
Szam (number) 55
Kelt (place) Kortvelyes 1906 september 12
Megjelent az alulirott anyakonyvvezeto (person reporting) Schlener Mihaly
occupation kisbirtokos (small land holder) from Patafalva
Es bejelentette a kovetkezo halalesetet-csaladi es utoneve (name and particulars
of deceased) Berghold Janos of Patafalva, born Patafalva, age 3 years
Atyjanak (parents) Berghold Janos small holder of Patafalva and Berghold
Janosne (wife of Janos Berghold) born Langas Fani from Patafalva
(wrong - name was Langash and she was born in Inzenhof - an example of how these
records are not always correct)
The parents (as above repeated) attest that the deceased died 12 noon 12
Sept. 1906 of (can't translate the reason)
Witnesses Vertes Sandor (notary), Schlener Mihaly (witness)
Now let me give you a quick and dirty way of translating foreign church and
civil records (WHICH ALL FOLLOW THE SAME BASIC FORMAT WITH VARIATIONS):
o look for the words that mean birth, marriage or death so you know what
you're looking at
o look for a name and a date (the name and time period you're researching)
o if it's a birth record you'll find a given name followed by names of
parents (sometimes godparents are first) - sometimes their village - and
sometimes their ages
o if it's a marriage you'll find two names, ages and villages followed by
parents and witnesses (sometimes just witnesses)
o if it's a death you'll find one name and age, sometimes child of, widow of,
etc., cause of death
Scan for the above. Forget the foreign phrases or legalese or church "boiler
plate". This is interesting of course but you can translate that at your
leisure or when you learn some of the language. Look for the meat of the
document.
This now takes us to 1921. What if we need later civil records? I know of no
post-1921 Burgenland record depositories in the US or from internet sources.
As of now, you must either visit the Burgenland or write requesting copies of
the records. To do this you need the address of the Gemeindeamt (community
office) holding the records for your village, and pertinent data to enable
them to find the record. Name(s), village(s) and approximate date(s) are
minimal. They will generally charge a fee to copy and mail the document.
Writing in German is the only way to be sure of an answer. If you don't know
German, German letter forms may be found at some of the web sites mentioned
in our URL lists. Some genealogical publications also provide examples.
This concludes the series on beginning your Burgenland search. You should now
be something of an expert. The next series will cover some more sophisticated
sources of data starting with the 1828 Hungarian census. We still haven't
exhausted those wonderful LDS records. If you've followed through to this
point, you should have family data for your main blood line back to 1800,
perhaps late 1700. Not bad for tracing records of people who for the most
part were peasants or simple farmers. Many US genealogists are still
struggling with that first link to Europe. Do the work now and your descendants
will not have to join them in the future. (Note: also see newsletter 54B - the
Fritz Königshofer reply to a Güssing query, which provides more help concerning
how to use civil records).
(Newsletter continue as No. 54B)
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 54B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 31, 1999
(all rights reserved)
This third section of the 3-section newsletter contains some member
correspondence about Email Confusion, A Chuckle & A Thank You, Nazareth, PA
Enclave, A Homepage For The Village Of Eberau, Greetings From Güssing, Union
Mills, IL Enclave, A Burgenland Military Picture and Response To Surface Mail
Concerning Güssing Ancestors.
CONFUSION ABOUT EMAIL
<< Help!! once again I need your assistance. I am now in St. Cloud, MN. I
was in St. Paul, MN. I am getting your newsletter, but none of the mail that
each member sends out......have things changed......have I made some
errors.......What? Betty Mische >>
Answer: No problem if you are receiving our newsletters. You will only get
member mail if I hear from someone else researching your villages, at which
time I'll copy you and some others. We have 300 members, if you heard from
all of them (copies) you'd be swamped. We don't operate like other lists-too
much mail of no interest to all. Gerry Berghold
A CHUCKLE AND A THANK YOU
Two recent notes which I thought would be of interest:
(1) In a message from: [name withheld].
<< Is anyone in the Burgenland Bunch researching the Bunch surname? >>
Answer: No, but I can see why you thought we might be. The Burgenland Bunch
(Bunch here being synonymous with group) are 300 people involved with family
history in the Province of Burgenland in Austria (Hungary pre-1921). Our
European correspondents also have occasional problems with our choice of a
name, which doesn't translate well in German. G. Berghold
(2) << To all of you, WOW!!! You can double that WOW!! The trunk full of
information that I received is beyond my highest hopes, believe me. For the
past couple of months I have been trying to break down the brick wall I had
come up against, lo and behold, it took the BURGENLAND BUNCH to do it, it
was like seeing the Berlin Wall coming down all over again. Thank all of you
so very,very much. YOU ALL ARE THE GREATEST!!! Sincerely, Alex Tschaar >>
(Ed. This is the gentleman, new member, who said he'd like to know something
about his ancestors before he joins them!)
REPORT FROM ENCLAVE OF NAZARETH, PA (courtesy of Phyllis Sauerzopf)
Ed. Note: While I'm pleased we've grown so quickly, I miss the frequent
member contacts of earlier days. Of course we run out of things to say and
many members, when they do write, now apologize and say "I know you're busy, I
don't want to bother you." Lately, when scanning the member list, I've found
myself thinking, "I wonder if so and so has had any luck and have they heard
about so and so." While I promise myself I'll write and ask, another load of
new member requests hits my incoming file and it never gets done. Every so
often, however, a member will send a note that I feel I must answer
immediately, so the new requests get put on the back burner while I answer.
The following is one of them:
From: Phyllis Sauerzopf
Dear Gerry, I was looking at the villages being researched and noticed blanks
after Kulm. The Kulm that I am researching is separated from Eberau by a
small stream. The church for Eberau and Kulm was Szent Peterfa. The Hungarian
name for Kulm was Kólom. The district, Güssing. I want to thank you so very
much for what you are doing for us. There is a LDS Family History Center
right here in Nazareth, PA, on Rose Inn Avenue, so I don't even have to drive
to Allentown. It is so exciting for me to have the records of my precious
ancestors coming directly to my town. I am starting to provide answers to my
older Traupman relatives, who only knew bits and pieces of our heritage and
thought they would never know! The west end of my town, where my grandparents
are from, was once called Burgenland to those who lived there. Thank you again
for the Burgenland Bunch! I appreciate it very much. Sincerely, Phyllis
(Traupman) Sauerzopf
Answer: Phyllis, Thank you for the kind words. I've asked the homepage editor
to add your Kulm data. I thought we had all of the villages straightened out
but some get missed. I always like to hear how members are progressing. Many
rarely let me know - maybe they think I have enough to do, but sometimes I can
help them or even write an article about their progress, as I'm going to do
with your note.
Glad to hear Nazareth has an LDS FHC - are any of the volunteers Burgenland
descendants? Doubt it, as most would be Catholic. The reason I ask is that I
could send them some material, like our village lists, which they could use to
help others. Maybe you've already done that. By the way, Kulm was in district
Szombathely, as you say, but pre-1921. It is now in Bezirk Güssing. It is also
part of Marktgemeinde Eberau, along with Gaas, Kroatisch Ehrensdorf and
Winten. That stream is one of the tributaries of the Pinka River, the
Rodlingbach, which has its source in a small lake in the Fidischerwald north
east of Harmisch. It joins the Neugraben just north of Kulm and flows into
the Pinka at Gaas.
I have a copy of the book "The Village of Phoenix" - is this the same part of
Nazareth you said was referred to as Burgenland? Is Phoenix the east end?
Having been born and raised in Allentown, I should know Nazareth better, but I
was only there a few times. Do you know Paul Wukovitz, author of the book? I
notice a William Sauerzopf as part of the Heritage Committee. Are you married
into the John Sauerzopf family? I also see a Dr. Arnold F. Traupman in the
list of donors for the book. I assume you've read my review of the
book in newsletter number 23. Many other Nazareth articles, nos. 14, 17, 19. I
heard from BB member Joseph Tanzos a few times and he sent me the book but I
haven't heard from him lately. Do you know him? Anna Kresh, our Internet
editor also has Nazareth connections. If you're researching the church
records of Szentpeterfa you must correspond with members Frank Teklits and
John Lavendoski.
I have a book listing the drawings of Eduard Sauerzopf (uncle of our
Burgenland editor Albert Schuch), which was just issued. He now lives in
Neumarkt an der Raab. This is a well-known name in southern Burgenland so
there is probably no link, unless you've been contacted by Albert Schuch (his
mother is a Sauerzopf from Kleinpetersdorf). Nazareth is an important
Burgenland immigrant enclave (as is most of the Lehigh Valley) so please keep
in touch and send me anything that may be of interest in this respect.
The following was just received from Albert:
http://www.eberau.at is the URL for the new homepage of Eberau (in Bezirk
Güssing). Well done, with a lot of information, including a short chronicle
in German. Includes information on the villages Gaas, Kulm, Kroatisch
Ehrensdorf and Winten (they all belong to the Gemeinde Eberau since 1971).
We have you listed as:
Phyllis Sauerzopf; Nazareth, PA; TRAUPMAN, Eberau and Kulm.
PONI (PANY?), Punitz and Kulm, FANDL, Kulm.
I guess you are aware that Traupmann and Fandl are still in the Eberau phone
book. Keep in touch and best regards, Gerry Berghold
GREETINGS FROM GÜSSING
Member Heinz Koller sends the following: (with my apologies for publishing it
so late) > (you mention)....Güssing Bürgermeister names from 1921,
Salvachrist, Fischl, Artinger, Vestner, Potzmann, Krammer, Pölz, Schwarz,
Matschnigg, Glaser, Mazgan, Holper. <
Concerning the article about Güssing. I beg to complete the list of
"Bürgermeister names from 1921" with the names of the last two Bgmst., Ludwig
Krammer and Peter Vadasz.
Let me tell you that my work for drawing up a book with "Hianzisch words and
expressions" is proceeding - since even Albert Schuch is having me put on steam!
Please look at my homepage, http://members.xoom.com/Heinele, it is the base
for the book. There you also will find the link to "Pater Leopold", my
special clerical friend. Next year he will celebrate the 60th anniversary of
taking the holy order of a priest - and his greatest wish is to celebrate the
jubilee in the USA, in the midst of the "Burgenlanders". Maybe you can help to
realize this dream of a magnificent old fool (next year he will be 87!).
Heinz Koller, A-7540 Güssing, Bergstrae 13 http://www.bnet.at/guessing
UNION MILLS, IN - ANOTHER ENCLAVE NEAR CHICAGO (from Tom Glatz)
I had an interesting weekend. I rec'd a call from a Wilhelm Heissenberger
who is the mayor of Unterrabnitz. He was in America staying with his cousin
Ed Kammerath in Union Mills, Indiana, about 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from here.
He explained that Walter Dujmovits had given him my name along with others.
He said he wanted to visit & would call me the following Friday....I was
curious because I know the basic families from Burgenland who settled in
Union Mills. They were all from Unterrabnitz & Lockenhaus. They were all
mostly Haspel, Flasch & Janisch. Then when I met them on Saturday, I
realized they were both from the Flasch lines. Flasch married Janisch from
Lockenhaus. My grandmother's sister, Theresia Schloegl from Hammerteich,
married Alois Janisch. They lived in Union Mills for only a couple years
until Alois died & Theresia moved back to Lockenhaus with their 2 children. I
had also known a Flasch woman that I met a few years ago that was related to
these 2 cousins of mine. It turns out that the 2 guys & the Flasch woman are
all cousins.
Willy gave me a bottle of Trockenbeerenauslese from the Neusiedl area & a
very nice Kalender promoting watercolors of a contemporary Austrian artist.
The scenes are from all over Austria. After eating Kipfel, Italian "Pizelles"
& downing some good German white wine, I went with them for the hour ride to
the airport....Willy is trying to help out the winegrowers in Burgenland. I
guess his cousin Ed had unsuccessfully asked some of the Burgenlaender here
for help. I tried to give them both some advice. I also gave them copies of
our newsletters. Willy hopes to be on-line soon. They were very interested.
They see each other every year one way or the other. One year Ed goes out
there & one year Willy comes here.
BURGENLAND MILITARY PICTURE (from Phyllis Sauerzopf)
My dad also received a picture of his grandfather and maybe you can help me
with it. The picture is 9"X14" framed and with glass. Pl is in the center in
a military uniform. There is an actual photo of his head, but the body in
uniform and everything else in the picture is drawn and painted, very
colorfully. The jacket is dark blue, the collar, sleeve cuffs and pants are a
lighter blue. There is a hat setting off to the side that is blue also. There
is a sword and black boots. Across the top, written in German, it reads, "In
memory of my period of service 1880." On the bottom left it reads "Unity and
Strength." On the bottom right it reads "Mighty and Free." Across the bottom
it reads VIVAT AUSTRIA. There are three heads above him encircled with green
wreaths, all males, one older, one younger and one a small boy. Below their
necks you can see that each is wearing a different uniform. To the right of
my grandfather, far in the distance, there is a white castle with a stream in
front of it. There are flags with 2 birds, wings expanding and facing opposite
ways. There are 2 odd shaped banners with colors divided diagonally. One is
white and black. The other is red, white and green. The picture is in very
good shape considering it is 120 years old and made a trip across the ocean!
Could you tell me what military unit a man from Kolom, Hungary would have
served in and where?
Answer: In 1867, Hungary was given partial independance, but Austria retained
control of international relations and the military. What you describe is the
common blue Austrian infantry uniform of the late 1800's period. The major
army affair during this period was the occupation of Bosnia in 1878. The
birds are probably eagles as they appear on the Habsburg coat of arms. White
and black is probably an Austrian army flag - the red, white and green, the
Hungarian one. Being from Kulm, I'd say he was a member of KuK Infanterie
Regt. 83 (still a unit from Szombathely in WW-I) or its former designation,
which I don't know. The three pictures are probably three generations of the
Habsburg line (Franz Josef, Crown Prince Rudolf (b 1858) and the child I don't
know (?).(If any member has a similar picture or a better answer, please
write).
RESPONSE TO SURFACE MAIL QUESTION RE GÜSSING RESEARCH
(Ed. Note: I hope all of our BB members will consider similar answers to any
questions they may receive from non-members-spreading the BB gospel this way
helps all of us.)
From: Fritz Königshofer To: William Starr
William, Your letter and copies arrived on Wednesday. Sorry it took me till
today to react. There is no question that your greatgrandparents lived in
Güssing, Burgenland (Hungarian name Német Ujvár). The Aloys versus Alois
spellings are of no relevance... these are simply variations of the same
thing.
The first document is a transcript of the rom-cath baptismal entry of your
grandfather. It states that he was born in Güssing, house no. 38 (probably
where the family lived), to parents Albert Josef Staar, rom-cath, master
blacksmith, born in Moschendorf, and Anna nee Gotthard, rom-cath, born in
Deutschschützen. The baptism happened four days after the birth (birth on
March 16, 1909, baptism on March 20). The godparents were Josef Nikischer
and Johanna Semler.
Your grandfather received the baptismal rites from the famous Father Gratian
Leser, who headed the Franciscan Convent in Güssing and is unforgotten to this
day due to the "village series" he wrote about the history of Burgenland
villages, and other historical articles about the country.
The second paper is a transcript of the birth entry from the civil records.
It puts the birth of Albert Josef Staar also on March 16, 1909; it was
recorded on March 21. It lists father Alois Staar as a blacksmith
("Schmied"... as you can see, this is his profession, not his origin), and
the parent couple as living (and possibly belonging to) Güssing. This entry
provides the age of the parents, namely 47 years each. I believe that the
rightmost column simply states that the birth was reported by the father
(Alois Staar) and entered in the records by Emil Hollo, likely the town's
notary.
William, you stand an excellent chance to unravel data on your ancestors via
the microfilms that can be ordered via the Family History Centers of LDS.
Check the so-called Salt Lake City Library index (on fiche) for Austria,
Burgenland, and Güssing. Go for the civil birth records, starting with 1909
(your grandfather's birth) and working your way backwards. The civil
recordings before 1907 were much more detailed, i.e., provided possibly more
data on the origin and age of the parents. Assuming the couple had lived in
Güssing over a longer period.
I believe you should also check births after 1909 to see if any older
siblings of your grandfather were already married themselves and had
children. You may also scan the death records for siblings who died young or
other members of the household like grandparents who may have lived with the
family, also the marriage records for marriages in Güssing of any siblings.
Especially the girls would most likely have married in the town of their
parents, i.e., Güssing.
The civil records span Oct. 1895 through the end of 1920. They are in
Hungarian. If you run into any problem of interpretation, please let me
know. The records of Güssing are quite voluminous and you face a challenge in
scanning through them. However, I find this kind of hunting emotionally very
rewarding.
For the time before October 1895, you may order the rom-cath church records,
especially if you have not accounted for all 9 or so siblings yet when you
reach the start of the civil records. Then you should study the rom-cath
records of Moschendorf (Nagysároslak) in about 1862 for the birth of Alois
(Alajos) Staar, and the rom-cath records of Deutsch Schützen (Német Lövö) of
the same period for the birth of Anna nee Gotthard. The marriage of the
couple might have been held and recorded in Deutsch Schützen, or Güssing,
Moschendorf, or yet another place. Try first to come close to the
prospective marriage date by finding the earliest possible child births to
the couple.
Let me also mention that there is a group in the Internet who share a common
interest in the Burgenland. The group is the Burgenland Bunch, and was
founded by Gerry Berghold (originally from Allentown, PA, now Winchester, VA)
who edits a biweekly newsletter. If you have not done so, you may want to
take a look at our web site at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org and the other
material there. This is an entirely non-commercial joint venture and I feel very
much at home with the co-members of the bb. In any case, please keep me updated
how it goes. Best regards, Fritz
REGISTRAR FROM RUST BECOMES MEMBER (from Ewald Bulfone)
Reiherweg 8/2/2, A 7071 Rust, Austria
I am working on family trees for me and my wife! We are researching the area
of southern Burgenland - Rudersdorf, Dobersdorf, Rabafüzes, Königsdorf,
Limbach, for my wife and Styria - Neudau, Neudauberg, Burgau, Burgauberg,
Hackerberg, Fehring for me. Researching in Burgenland DALKNER (also TALKNER,
TALGNER), BAUER, WIRTH, LEITGEB, VENUS (also FENOS), KRAMER (also KRAMMER),
LORENZ, UNGER, SCHNECKER, ERNST, GIBISER, STROBL, WEILAND, WINTER, SCHOBER,
ZEDL, MAYFURTH (also MAIFURTH), KOGELMANN, GMELL, KÖNIG (KOENIG), SCHIMPL,
KOHL, ZACH, SCHMALDIENST.
One of our relatives - Rose Schober, married to BAUER emigrated to Allentown,
PA. I am working at the city hall of Rust - there I am also the registrar
(Standesbeamter). - So if there are any queries about Rust I may be able to help.
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD