BB News No. 56 dtd 30 Apr 1999

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 56 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) April 30, 1999 (all rights reserved) one member writes "my family coat of arms ties at the back....is that normal?" This first section of the 3 section newsletter concerns the villages of Kogl, Lebenbrunn and Steinbach, a Village Question, a Burgenland Family History Checklist, an easy approach to Translating Foreign Languages, an old NYC Burgenland Organization and a Late Migration Story (through the Iron Curtain). 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 Kogl, Lebenbrunn, Steinbach.] These may have been sent directly to some of our older members. KOGL (V+H 13/14-1961) is situated north of and lower than Redlschlag. The name "Kogl" is first mentioned in a document of 1596. The Urbars of 1661 and 1672 count 11 farmers (7 "half-farms" and 4 "quarter-farms") and 5 "Söllner". Like other villages owned by the NADASDY family, Kogl was rented out to the Styrian family SPEIDL in 1649. In 1673 Michael PUCHER was "Richter" of Kogl. 1720: 17 farmers and 2 "Söllner" in Kogl. 1742: Chapel of St. Oswald built; some inhabitants had pledged to build it in case their cattle would survive some nasty epidemic disease (Saint Oswalds "department" is the protection of the farmers' animals); in 1804 or in 1789 Kogl became a parish; in 1807 the chapel was turned into a church; the catholics of Lebenbrunn and Redlschlag became parts of this new parish; first priest was Raimund JGER, probably a Lockenhaus based monk; some of his successors were: Anton STIRLING of Pinkafeld (1823-35), Vinzenz RUNTSEK of Steinamanger (1835-52), Anton WIRKLER of Güns (1856-67), Emmerich Traugott IRITZER of Pressburg (1873-92; of Jewish origin; known for his frequent walks (!) to Vienna), Anton KÖNCZÖL of Rabakecsked (1913-17), Leo TUBA (1918-25); HOFMEISTER (around 1929; emigrated to the Tyrolian colonial village "Dreizehnlinden" in Brasilia), Josef KROYER of Breitenbrunn (1950-60). The school was built in 1875. Anton KÖFALVY was teacher around 1923, nowadays (1961!) Josef WEBER of Lebenbrunn is teacher. According to him the most common surnames of Kogl are KAINZ, HUMMEL, BAUMGARTNER, WEBER, GROSSINGER, HEISSENBERGER. Statistical data: 1833 - 36 houses, 224 inh.; 1842 - 248 inh.; 1863 -238 inh.; 1896 - 39 houses, 208 inh.; 1900 - 40 houses, 210 inh. (including 10 Jews); 1910 - 40 houses, 196 inh. (incl. 7 Jews); 1923 - 188 inh. (incl. 5 Jews); 1924 - 206 inh.; 1951 - 41 houses, 173 inh. (124 of them working in the agricultural sector). LEBENBRUNN (V+H 13/14-15/16 / 1961) situated north of Kogl. First mentioned as "Lenprun" in 1608, believed to have been founded just a few years earlier. The 1661 Urbar counts 9 farmers(7 half-farms, 2 quarter-farms) and 1 Söllner. In 1720: 19 farmers, 1 Söllner. In 1735 a statue of Saint Sebastian was built, by Michael LATTINGER. Christof PRATSCHER was "Richter" at that time. A school is said to have been built in 1789, and a chapel of Saint Ulrich is said to have been turned into a church in 1808. This church was torn down completely in 1859/60 and a new one was built (still standing today). Two documents of 1845 and 1856 (one an inventory, the other about the purchase of piece of land) do still exist. They are believed to have been written by the teacher Franz BERGER. An area called "Rotleiten" was annexed to Lebenbrunn in 1870, having belonged to the village Steinbach until then. The names of the owners of the 7 houses of "Rotleiten" were: Aegidius SCHLÖGL (nickname "Jidi"), Michael GROSINGER (nickname "Graben Stinl"), Michael WEBER (nickname "Lindenbauer"), RENNER (nickname "Bürger"), Andreas WEBER (nickname "Gamauf) and MORTH. The farm house that was used as a school house back in 1789 still carries the name "Schulmeister Michl". Teachers were: Franz BERGER (1820-70), REHBERGER, Michael SCHUCH (1873-75), Josef WAGNER (1875-91), Alois HÖFLER (1903-16; founder of the (volunteer) fire brigade), Vinzenz SCHLÖGL (1923-27), Paul SCHUCH (from 1923 until now (1961)). A new school was built in 1956. Surnames of the farmers of Lebenbrunn (1961): 11 WEBER, 6 GROSSINGER, 4 SCHLÖGL, 2 BAUMGARTNER, 2 HEISSENBERGER, 1 HOCHECKER, DORNER, SITKOVIC, MORTH, BÜRGER. Statistical data: 1833 - 40 houses, 221 inh.; 1842 - 246 inh.; 1863 - 244 inh.; 1896 - 41 houses, 240 inh.; 1900 - 39 houses, 221 inh.; 1910 - 42 houses, 246 inh.; 1923 - 229 inh.; 1934 - 228 inh.; 1951 - 48 houses, 193 inh. (128 of these working in the agricultural sector). STEINBACH (V+H 15/16-1961) north of Lebenbrunn, close to the Lower Austrian border, surrounded by forests. First mentioned in 1558 as "Stampach". In 1608 a mill is mentioned in Steinbach. The 1661 Urbar counts 11 farmers. In 1673 Laurentius FRÜHSTÜCK was "Richter". 1720: 10 farmers, 5 Söllner, 1 mill. A chapel (Saint Antonius of Padua) was built in 1774, turned into a church in 1896. A shoemaker named Albert WINKLER is said to have been teacher in 1803. The house he lived in, today owned by a HEISSENBERGER family, is still called "beim Schuster (shoemaker) Wertl" in his memory. A new school house was built in 1881. Teachers were KERN, HASLINGER, HEFLER (1899-1907), Bernhard W. NEUREITER (1922-34; he was also an author and wrote several books), Johann MORTH (1945-55), Johann MAYERHOFER (1956-). Statistical data: 1833 - 23 houses, 135 inh.; 1842 - 156 inh.; 1863 - 158 inh.; 1896 - 31 houses, 210 inh.; 1900 - 35 houses, 183 inh.; 1910 - 31 houses, 1997 inh.; 1923 - 189 inh.; 1934 - 206 inh.; 1951 - 37 houses, 163 inh. (85 of them working in the agricultural sector) VILLAGE QUESTION (from Maureen Tighe-Brown) ED. Note: While I believe the BB has solved the German-Hungarian Burgenland village name problems (and Frank Teklits is working on the Croatian ones), there are others that we can be glad don't involve us. Even so, we should have knowledge of them in the event we run into some non-Burgenland ancestors. Maureen recently sent the following concerning Slavic village names: "Someone on the H-Judaic list has asked the whereabouts of Mesovari, which she thinks was in Austria or Hungary. I could not locate it with www.mapquest.com or the calle.com web site, neither for Austria or Hungary, nor for Czech, Slovakia, or Ukraine. I found this in Avotaynu's"Where Once We Walked": "Mezovari, HSL [Hebrew Subscription Lists of Yiddish town names]. This pre-World War I community was not found in BGN [U.S. Board on Geographical Names] gazetteers." (p. 208). Do you have any idea where this village of Mezovari might be, and what its current name is?" Answer: I think we have either a phonetic or colloquial name (spelling) here. There are a number of "Meso" villages west of Debrecen, Hungary (eastern Hungary near Romania), ne of Budapest. NW of Tiszafured we have Mezovovesd, Mezoszemere, Mezokeresztes, Mezonagymihaly, Mezonyarad, Mezozat. South of that region there is a Mezotur (ne of Gyula on the Romanian border). There are others in my "Magyarorszag Autoatlasza" but no Mezovar or Mezovari. My Austrian 1900 Baedeker says the same. "vari" might refer to a district of one of the larger "Mezo" villages-perhaps a ghetto like in Eisenstadt. I find no Hungarian villages spelled "Mes"-all are "Mez" so this is why I think we have a phonetic problem. A "mezo" in Hungarian is a field and "mezovaros" means country/market town. You can see the connection. Reply:..... I think you're right that it was literally a field market town. Three folks on the H-Sig (branch of Jewishgen) emailed its whereabouts and current name: they all agreed that the current name is Tesanovci, with inverted ^ over the 's.' However, two put it in Slovakia, and the 3d, who lives in Budapest, put it in the former Vas county, now part of Slovenia. I checked on the www.calle.com web site. It's in Slovenia, not far from Graz, Austria. I was afraid a 2d one would be in Slovakia to muddy the waters, but no, it was apparently the closeness in sound of the two countries that confused the writers. Have you ever heard of a Tesanovci, Vas megye? I think it's probable that the Yiddish name of Mezovari came about, as you suggested, from its existence as a field market town. It's not on the puszta, but at the base of the mountains leading into Croatia. CHECK LIST FOR PREPARING A BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY Below is my suggested approach to the steps which will provide you with a Burgenland family history. It isn't something you can finish in a weekend and if you're as interested in the subject as I am, it can end up being a major hobby. Of course it presupposes that you already are fairly certain that your ancestors came from the region which is today's Burgenland. 1. In a notebook, enter what you know about your ancestors. Names, siblings, parents, dates, village(s), neighbors and friends, where settled in the US, when, religion, language spoken (German, Hungarian, Croatian). If you don't have family names coupled with village data, do not proceed beyond item number 7 until you do. Record your sources. 2. Question relatives. Gather copies of any family documents. Have documents translated if in a foreign language (see BB URL list for internet computer translators). 2a. Buy German-English, Hungarian-English and perhaps Latin-English dictionaries if you plan to engage in serious research. Some genealogy books may contain what you'll need. 2b. Acquire a good Burgenland map (scale 1:200,000 or smaller). See archives for suggestions. You may also need an Hungarian map of the western counties. 2c. Contact Austrian Tourist Bureau (NY) request Burgenland material (free). 2d. Try to learn some German-list genealogical terms as you encounter them. 2e. Ditto a few Hungarian words (books with these can also be purchased-see BB archives index). 2f. Get one good "how to" genealogy book and study it. 3. Using what you've found from above, trace US descendants of your immigrant ancestor at least in a direct line to your family. Since you already know your immigrant ancestors are from the Burgenland and not too many generations have passed, this shouldn't be too difficult, although sibling data may not be known. Transfer this data to family group record sheets (see any good "how to" genealogy book) for later entry to a computer software program. It's assumed you have a computer or you wouldn't be reading this check list. 4. Visit the Burgenland Bunch Homepage, look for family names, villages and other members researching same. Copy Hungarian village names and district and parish for your village(s). Join the BB which will get your data posted to the homepage. 4a. Contact other BB members researching your names and villages, be courteous and patient and be prepared to exchange data. You may find a cousin who already has what you need. 5. Get family history computer software (see back copies of the BB newsletter for suggestions-some are available as shareware-LDS has a good one for $15, and there are others at various prices). Install in your computer. See BB URL list for shareware. 6. Transfer written data to your software which will then build you a genealogy file. Print pedigree charts and other reports to see what you have and what's missing. 6a. Make a search list of what is missing (i.e., parents of your ancestors, etc.) 6b. Always work back from what is known and proven-one step at a time! 7. Scan BB Archives Index for articles concerning your village data or names or topics for which you have questions. 7a. Read back issues of BB newsletter to get up to historical and cultural speed. 7b. If a newcomer to Burgenland family history, read the four Heritage Quest articles found in the archives index-if experienced read it anyway and argue with the author. 7c. Consider a Heritage Quest subscription or see their website (see URL list). 8. Add village data to family history software notes. You asould add at least German-Hungarian names, district to which the village belongs and location of churches. 8a. List this and similar data for surrounding villages. Look for their church records. 8b. Add general history of each village (see newsletters) to your genealogy. 9. Visit nearby LDS (Mormon) Family History Center and order microfilm for your village(s). See BB articles on FHC, how to order and read church records, etc. 9a. Visit LDS web site (in test mode as of April 1999) 9b. List family names encountered, group families by house numbers and parents. 10. Check Austrian phone book via internet for current village residents with your name. (see URL list). If you have data on which to base questions, try writing (in German) and asking for information. 11. Scan World Gen Web internet postings for data about your village or family names. Scan other genealogical sites like AOL's, Roots/L, etc. (see URL list). 12. Consider buying a book (will be in German-there are almost none available in English) which describes and depicts your village-the Kersner & Peternell "Bezirk" series is excellent at $40.00 each ppd and will include your village if you know the correct district; there are seven Bezirks-districts (check with BB if not sure). 12a. Try to find a village history (will be in German). There are many available. 13. Consider joining the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft ($15/yr-newsletter in German) 13a. Order ""Die Amerika-Wanderung der Burgenländer"-author Dr. Walter Dujmovits (available from the BG). While in German, this is the definitive history of Burgenland migration. Many family villages and names mentioned. See URL list. 14. Post a free ancestral query in the Austrian news weekly "Oberwart Zeitung" (OZ) (contact Albert Schuch). Maybe you'll hear from a distant relative. 15. Review other sources of family data: a. US Census 1910, 1920 (by county) or earlier b. Naturalization Records (county seat of county in which settled), City Directories c. Immigration ship Lists (mostly port of NY) d. Hungarian Census of 1828 (LDS microfilm) heads of families and holdings e. Urbar & Canonical Visitation lists (BB newsletters)-early mention of family names f. Pre 1825 Data-must visit Eisenstadt Diocesan Archives (abt. pre 1770) or village churches (from abt. 1770) and village municipal offices (from 1896)-not for amateurs! g. Civil Records 1896-1925 (LDS microfilm) h. If military service encountered, check Military Records (LDS microfilm) g. Visit US cemeteries for gravestone data. (will supply missing death dates) h. Ditto Burgenland villages. i. Check Social Security Death List (LDS-also coming online) j. Check Burgenland Village War Memorials for Family Names-BB News & Visits k. Check Burgenland Bibliography For Available Books. (Archives) l. Scan BB membership list when received in January and July for more contacts. m. Check church records in the US. n. Check US newspaper files (i.e. Allentown, PA Call-Chronicle, etc.) o. Having done all of this you are no longer an amateur, now you can visit the Burgenland and maybe, just maybe you'll find more, but you'll be glad you did! EASILY TRANSLATE FOREIGN LANGUAGE WEB PAGES YOUSELF (Anna Kresh) One of the links on our BB Internet Links web page is the AltaVista Language Translator at http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com. If you are not already aware of this site's special web page translation features, I would like to explain them. You can use this link to translate entire web pages and all of its hyperlinks. Several languages are supported. Instead of typing in text to be translated, simply type (or cut and paste) the desired web page's URL into the AltaVista Translator, then choose one of the language pairs provided, click on the "Translate" button, and the entire web page will be translated for you. If the web page is divided into "frames" (which would normally interrupt a translation), the URLs for each of the frames involved will be listed for you. You may then select which links you wish to translate in order to view all the translations in succession. Your language choices will be retained until you manually type in a new URL. If you click on any hyperlinks on a translated page, that linked page will also be translated. All you need to do is click the "Translate" button again for each new link. Your language selection will be retained until you switch to a different web site. A good example of where you can test this capability is the Oberwarter Zeitung at http://www.bnet.at/oz/. Although the translations are sometimes incomplete or too literal, the speed and ease of use will more than make up for it. Simply type in one URL, choose your language, and read entire newspapers online with simple mouse clicks. NEW YORK CITY BURGENLAND ASSOCIATION (courtesy Margaret Kaiser) The Brotherhood of the Burgenlanders (Bruderschaft der Burgenlaender), S & D Benevolent Society of New York, founded in 1937, has issued an announcement cordially inviting all families and friends to celebrate their annual Anniversary Dance and Miss Bruederschaft der Burgenlaender Contest, which will be held Sunday, May 16, 1999. The Anniversary Dance will be held at Castle Harbour Casino, 1118 Havenmeyer Avenue, Bronx, NY. Doors open at 1:00 pm, dinner starts at 2 p.m. with Castle Harbour Family Style Dinner with Soda, Beer, Wine and Coffee and Cake. Tickets are $30 per person. Children ages 6 to 12 are $15. Music is by the "Famous Band from Pennsylvania," The Joseph Weber Orchestra. Responses requested by May 10, 1999. For information: 1+718 445-4388. All checks should be made payable to Bruederschaft der Burgenlaender, and sent to Mrs. Rose Zach, 123-18 18th Avenue, College Point, NY. This announcement bears a view of "Güssing und seine Burg" (Güssing and its Castle) and reads, "So fast wie diese Mauern durch jahrhunderte hindurch zusammengehalten so soll sich die Bruederschaft des Burgenlaender Vereins gestalten." (Just as these walls have endured so will the Brotherhood of the Burgenland Organization remain). The Brudershaft also offers to print birthday and anniversary dates on its 1999 calendar in exchange for $1 per entry. Deadline is July 3. Ordering address is the same as noted above. Ed. Note: An old established Burgenland organization with ties to the Burgenland Gemeinschaft in Güssing. The "Miss Burgenland" they elect at this function is sent to the BG annual picnic held in the Burgenland every July. Members of the BB in the NYC area please take note. A LATE MIGRATION (Iron Curtain) STORY (from Marta Bobalik via Margaret Kaiser) My father's name was John Kovacs and he was born in Rabagyarmat, Hungary which isn't too far from Rabafuzes. We used to go there with our horse and wagon and also on bicycles. My father also had a motorcycle after the war. He owned a tailor shop and he also sold ready made clothes in his store. He traveled quite a bit to Budapest because of his business. He was very well known in the area and had people from miles around coming to have their suits made by him. My maternal grandmother came to the United States and I don't know what year that was but my mother was born in Pennsylvania around Bethlehem or Northampton. She was 1 1/2 years old when my grandmother went back to Rabafuzes pregnant with my aunt. She never came back because her father was ill and had no one to take care of him. She also separated from my grandfather and never saw him again. She never really talked too much about the past and I would really like to know more, but now they are all deceased. My grandmothers maiden name was Anna Haftel and her married name was Urban. My mother's side of the family spoke only German. My mother told me that she had to learn to speak Hungarian in school. After she met my father she learned to speak and write fluently. I grew up speaking both languages. My father was Catholic and my mother was Lutheran and she used to go to the Lutheran church in Szentgotthard. My father went to the Catholic church in Rabafuzes and I went to both churches. After the war when the Russians came they took away our nice home and moved out our furniture and stored it someplace. We had like a summer kitchen in the back where my mother used to do some canning and we had to move in there until we were able to move in with some friends of my parents. In the meantime my father became very ill with heart problems and he died one year later in 1950. In 1951 my mother decided that it was time for us to leave because by that time her sister had come to the United States to join my grandmother's sister who lived in Chicago. She had no family left in Hungary. My mother and I would have been able to leave the country because she was a U.S. citizen and I was only thirteen years old so I was under age, but my sister was not able to leave because she was eighteen years old. There were some Hungarian soldiers stationed in Rabafuzes at the time and my sister became friends with one of them. My mother took a chance on talking to him about escaping through the barbed wire fence with his help and luckily he agreed to it. He also could have turned us in and we would have been arrested. So one day when he was on duty as a border guard we decided to leave. He told us not to take anything with us and to just carry some baskets as if we were going to the orchards to pick some fruit. We never did find out what happened with his partner but he came down from the lookout tower and cut the barbed wire and told us where to step and not touch the explosives. After we crossed the border we walked and ran for what seemed like forever in the summer heat. We finally came to the house of some friends of my mothers in Heiligenkreuz and they gave us something to drink. Then we took a bus and I'm not sure where that was from but when we got on the bus the driver said to my mother - you must be the people that just escaped because the border is crawling with soldiers. I am not sure but I think he drove to Graz and he stopped like at a main square and got off the bus and started walking to a building. My mother got scared and thought that maybe he is reporting us so she made us get off the bus and we took a train to Salzburg where we lived for nine months until we got our papers to come to the U.S. We settled in Chicago where my great aunt had an apartment building. I went to school in Chicago and learned to speak English within the year. I am just hoping that someday I can go back to visit but my husband was born in the U.S and he isn't really interested in going and the children aren't either but you never know. End of article. (Newsletter continued as no. 56A)

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 56A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) April 30, 1999 (all rights reserved) This second section of the 3 section newsletter is the second installment of The Teklits Translation of "Volk an der Grenze ..." (People on the Border), the history of the Croatians in Burgenland, written by Johann Dobrovich. We are bringing you most of this book in serial form. Chapters 4 through 7 are included in this issue. PEOPLE ON THE BORDER by Johann Dobrovich translated by Frank Teklits (with assistance of Albert and Inge Schuch) printed via email by permission of the publishers Chapter IV - Theories about the Pre-Historic Period of the Croats The first Croat names we find are on inscriptions from the 2nd and 3rd centuries in Tanais, where the city of Azov is situated today at the mouth of the river Don in the Sea of Azov. In the era of the Roman Emperors, Tanais was an active Greek trading colony. The crossroads for the commerce of numerous neighboring people was located here. There are two preserved grave inscriptions in this city with the names Horoathos and Horovathos. (By comparison, Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenet speaks of a Croatian leader "Hrobatus" from the country of "Hrobatien".) If we omit the Greek ending os, we have the Croatian country's name of "Horvat". Responsible scientists agree among themselves that these two names, Horoath and Horovath, are correlated and pertain to members of the Croatian people, or a Croat tribe who came into the Greek colony of Tanais. Many of today's leaders in Slavonia, Croatia, Hungary, & Austria had families named Horvath who sought refuge during the Turkish Wars. Niko Zupanic (note12) cites different examples that indicate that during the Roman times several leaders in Tanais had surnames that defined their nationality. These examples prove that in the time of the Romans in this country, newcomers were so named that their surname defined their origin. This thesis gains some credibility if we consider other possible links of the Croats to the Iranian world, since a Croatian tribe lived in the proximity of the Sea of Azov during the time of the Roman Emperors. Niko Zupanic(12), Hauptmann(12), and Sakac(14) developed the theory of the Iranian origin of the Croats in the last few years based on the epitaphs found on the graves. With the help of this theory, many previous unintelligible aspects of the early Croatian history are clarified today, so that it has received much attention in research. It should be noted that only the thesis of the Iranian origin of the Croats can explain the name "Horvath", the title of a Croat dignitary Banus, the names "White" and "Red Croatian", and the Bogumile phenomenon. According to this theory, the Croats were a branch of the Caucasian Iranians, who lived somewhere in the western Caucasus during the era of the Roman Emperors. The Caucasian Anten were another branch of this group. In the 2nd and 3rd century, they fought with the Goths who dominated the rulers of the south Russian steppes and the Slavs. The Mongolian Huns who were Asiatic horsemen, found Europe towards the end of the 4th Century AD, and demolished the Empire of the East Goths in Southern Russia. Thus began the migration of the people. Some fled before the Huns;others followed them as allies or subjects. During the rule of Attila, the sphere of influence of the Huns extended from the Chinese wall to the Rhine River and from the Red Sea to the Baltic Sea. The Iranian Croats and Anten were defeated in the Hun assault, the others were included as allies in the Hun Empire. The Huns sat between Danube and the Theiss in the Pannonian plain holding the Slavs in check, while the Croats and Anten remained behind the Carpathian Mountains.We find the first traces of the Croats at the Weichsel (Vistula) River in the early phases of the migration into the Germanic Hervasaga, perhaps the German name for the Carpathian Mountains, Hervadja-fjoll. In the 5th Century, the Croats controlled the lower part of the river Vistula so that tribes wandering through had to search for other passageways for a long time. After the death of Attila in 453, the Croats and Anten (Antes-a Caucasian tribe later Slavizised) were freed from the yoke of the Huns. They dominated a weak Slavic upper class via warfare and took their language and customs. In consideration of the writings of the Byzantines Jordans, Prokops, King Mauritius, Menandres, and of others, like the so-called Bavarian Geographer (19th century), the Arabian author Masudi (16) and the Nestorian Chronicle, Hauptmann comes to the following conclusion in view of the coexistence of the Antens and Slavs. In the 5th Century, the Anten had already formed an alliance with the Slavs in the area of today's Russia, from which an expanded realm developed in 6th century. This realm was under the guidance of Mezamers around 550, and was so powerful that it stopped the tide of the Avars for a long time. At that time, the alliance between the Anten and Slavs included all of western Galicia and some of Silesia, so that this realm extended from the Oder River to the Black Sea. Its center lay at the bow in the State of Cervenjana, in the future Red Russia. Notes: 12 Niko Zupanic = "The primordial Croats" in the collected works of King TomislavO kavkasko Sakac = "Of the Caucasian-Iranian ancestry of the Croats" 14 Comparing Kings of the Svevladischen House of Sovereigns In the middle of the 6th century the Avars succeeded in destroying the Antisch-Slav Empire, and from this time the name Anten disappears from history. 16 The Arab Masudi says, "As discord came along, the organization disintegrated, and the population garnered for themselves. Each nation selected their ruler." The Croats living at the Weichsel (Vistula) River led an independent existence since that time. The original Iranian Croats commingled with the subjected Slavs. An independent Croatian people with a Slavic language had already begun to come into existence in the 5th century. "The Antish-Slavic leaven began at that time, under the wings of the Antish State and in the framework of the colossal Hun Empire, to create the beginnings of the Greater or White Croatia in the Slavic areas by the Weichsel (Vistula) river." 17 A branch of the Croats living in the north turned against the Avars and broke their power in the old Roman province of Dalmatia during the time of the wars of liberation of the western Slavs under Samo (623 - 658), and after the siege of Konstantinopel by the Persians and Avars. At that time a new southern Croatia developed, while the old Croatia still continued on in the north. Some sources still mention its existence in the 9th to the 11th century. In his paper "The Iranian Origins of the Croats according to C. Porphyrogenitus" 18 Sakac says that the Old Iranian Croats lived between the Don River and the Caucasus. By this he means that they came from the Old Persian province of "Harahwati". We find this name on three stone monuments of the Persian King Darius I (522-496 BC). Sakac maintains that the first Croats by the Vistula River are descendants of settlers from the Old Persian province of Harahwati. The Old Persian sacred script Awesta speaks of the "Harahwaiti". Acceptance of the origin of the Croats from the Old Persian province of "Harahwati" can still be supported by the following examples. The Swiss Orientalist L de Saussure says the old Iranians would have defined the directions with a color-coded system. Green was the color for the east, white for the west, black for the north and red for the south. The Greek historical recorder Herodet (who died around 425 AD) reports that the old Persians called the sea which was situated south of them the Red Sea, which is known today as the Indian Ocean. They called the sea to the north of them the Black Sea, and sea to the west of them the White Sea.When we read in a later chapter of this treatise about the "White Croats", it implies that Croatia was situated west of the original Croatia, i.e. in Galicia and Bohemia. Today's Montenegro was called "Red Croatia" in early history because it was situated to the south of White Croatia. The titles of high Croatian dignitaries, "Banus" and "Zupan" have the same meaning in the Croatian and Persian languages. The individual next in rank to the King was called "Ban" in old Iran just as it was in Croatia until 1918, The term "Zupan" is an old-Iranian administrative title. The early Croats were divided into Zupanien's (Komitate- Counties), and they were under the administration of a Zupan. These were structured under an "Erlauchten Banus", ("Noble Ban"), who resided in Zagreb (Agram). This Iranian theory, according to which the ancestors of today's Croats lived in the Caucasus, is based on the so-called Gothic theory according to which the Croats had been a branch of the Goths. A leading indication of this was that the Croats had the same energy to create their own country as did the Goths, but which the other Slavic branches lacked. 17 Sakac = "Of the Caucasian-Iranian ancestry of the Croats" Chapter V - The First Centuries in the New Homeland The emergence of a Croatian army in the Balkans was quite valuable for the Byzantine Empire. The fall of the Avar rule in the earlier Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Pannonia and Illyria made it possible for the Byzantine emperor, to concentrate its entire military strength on the Arabs and Saracens. After overpowering Persia and the Byzantine Provinces of Palestine and Syria, they conquered the cities of Jerusalem, Antiochia, and Edessa, and all of Egypt with the exception of Alexandria. In the year 1643, Alexandria also opened the gates for the Arabs. It is valid to question what fate would have dealt to the Byzantine Empire and Southeastern Europe in that time would they have had the peace loving Croats in place of the hostile Avars as neighbors. Thus Constantine III, the grandson of Emperor Herakles, was able to stop the Arab invasion, and obtain peace with the new enemy for a long time with favorable terms. Only then could Constantine III think of strengthening the Empire in the Balkans. In a conscientious consideration of the distribution of power in the Southeast at that time, one must admit that the Croats who appeared in the Balkans in this critical time and destroyed the Southern Avar Empire, saved the East Roman Empire and Southeastern Europe from the harsh reign of the Turks for a long time. The Croats lived in their new homeland as the Greek historical writer Prokop already wrote from old Slovenia: "No one person prevails over mankind, they live together in a democracy." Over a long period of time, all power was centered in the hands of numerous Zupans (District Leaders) who were a few prominent and aristocratic leaders. The King left them alone, he did not interfere in their internal affairs, and was content with being a nominal administrator. The Croats were aware of the fact that they lived in the realm of an Emperor who did not exert direct influence over them.The Northern Croats met numerous so-called Southern Slavs in their new homeland that came here from the left bank of the Danube since the 6th Century. They had settled here south of the Danube River since 547. Under the weak reign of Emperor Phokas (606 - 610) new, and powerful groups of Slavic tribes settled in the sparsely settled Byzantine Provinces. Emperor Herakles war against the Persians (610-615) was a favorable opportunity for the Slavs to expand into all East Roman provinces i.e. in Pannonia, Illyria, Thrace and up to the Peloponnese. The Croats were the dominant nationality while sharing their new homeland with the southern Slavs. Some Avars still lived among them, about whom Emperor Constantine Prophyrogenet wrote in the 10th Century:...."And one sees in them, that they are Avars." The remnants of the native Illyrian inhabitants probably also lived among the southern Slavs. The largest minorities were the Romans whom the Croats called "Walachs". The majority of these Romans lived in the coastal regions where they controlled shipping for a long time. A smaller portion of them lived as herdsmen scattered in the mountains. Internal unrest and unfortunate wars weakened the East Roman Empire. The Dalmatian Croats became the subjects of Carl the Great (Charlemagne), the ruler of the Franks, under whom they remained until 878. Carl gave the Croatians the freedom to choose their rulers and obligated them to military aid and delivery of gifts, otherwise he gave them a free hand. The last Croats in Pannonia and Dalmatia converted to Christianity during his reign. The first known Christian Prince of the Croats was Viseslav (around 806), and his residence was in the city of Nin. When the descendants of Carl the Great suppressed the Croats, they defended themselves and were forever free from the rule of the Franks in 877. CROATIA BECOMES A KINGDOM Under the reign of Prince Branimir (879 - 892), the Byzantine Emperor had to position his primary strength to the east against the Arabs. Branimir adeptly took advantage of this predicament, and the Croats with the help of Rome, became independent in ecclesiastical and political affairs. The Kingdom of Croatia became a principality in the year 925. Prince Tomislav, who later became King, unified the Pannonian and Dalmatian Croats. Under his reign, the Patriarch of Konstantinopel relinquished their past jurisdiction over the cities and islands of Dalmatia, and returned it to the Pope. The Roman Emperor transferred the administration and defense of Croatia to the Croat Regent. Starting with the King Tomislav I, the Croats had their own national kings for 170 years. Stefan Drzislav merits being mentioned among the successors of Tomislav. In return for his military assistance in the war against the Bulgarians, the Byzantine Emperor confirmed the transfer of the former cities and islands of Dalmatia to him by conferring on Stefan the title of King by sending him Crown, Scepter, and Sword. Drzislav was the first crowned King of Croatia and Dalmatia. Radovan died in 1083, and was the only son of the last Croatian King Zvonimir and Queen Helene, who was the sister of Hungarian King Ladislaus. Ladislaus, the King of Hungary, was appointed to the Croatian Throne in 1089 by a party of Croatian magnates and representatives of the cities of Dalmatia upon the death of King Zvonimir. Beginning with the year 1097, the Croatians and Hungarians had a common King for 429 years and were allied in a personal union. Chapter VI - The First Croatian State in the South The following remarks provide information on the borders of those countries conquered by the Croatians during their expansion in the south. Emperor Constantine Prophyrogenet speaks of Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Illyria. Montenegro, western Serbia and part of today's Carinthia still border on today's Croatia. The four Croatian countries of White Croatia, Pannonia, Red Croatia, and Carantania were created in this expanse. The area of White Croatia and Croatian Pannonia remain in today's Croatia, but Croatia could not retain the other two countries. 1. White Croatia, within today's Dalmatia and Bosnia, was the focal point of the Croatian settlers. It extends from the small stream Rasa in Istria, to the River Cetina in Dalmatia, south and west of the rivers Der and Drina. This was the most heavily settled area by the Croats, and it was the center of political power and the focal point of all internal political communication of the Croats starting with the initial arrival of the Croats up to the time of the Turkish invasion. Here the Croatian name was transferred for the first time to the Pre-Croatian Slavic inhabitants, a fact confirmed by Archdeacon Thomas already in the 13th century. According to Constantine Prophyrogenet, the Croatian land between Istria and the small river of Cetina around the middle of the 10th century was known only as Croatia. According to a statement from the Russian Chronicle, Nestor and others, it was also called White Croatia to distinguish it from the other southern Croatian areas. 2. Pannonian Croatia extended from the north of White Croatia to the Rivers Mur, Drava and the Danube. Two centers emerged in this country in the former Roman towns of Siscia (Sisek) and Sirmium (Mitrovica). Only the westerly portions of this territorial tract were continuously included in the Croatian community of states. Sirmium (Mitrovica) was a part of Hungary for a long time. White Croatia was more densely settled than Pannonia-Croatia. Pannonia Croatia was adjoined to the Prince of Svatopluk's Moravian Empire during the time of Prince Bratislav (880 - 900 AD). This nation bordered on the old Greater Croatia, the homeland left behind by the southward migrating Croats in the 7th century. By the end of the 9th Century, the sphere of influence of the Slavic Princes in the region extended from the Vistula (Weichsel) River to the Adriatic Sea. This self-contained unity was destroyed by the invasion of Hungary and by the destruction of the Moravian Empire. During the time of the Dalmatian Croatian King Tomislav, when Hungary as a wedge separated the northern and southern Slavs from each other, Pannonia-Croatia was united with White Croatia. After the personal union of Croatia and Hungary (1091), the area between the Kulpa, Sava, and Drava Rivers was called the Country of Slovenia from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Pannonian Croatia was settled for the second time by the Croats after many left White and Red Croatia for the north during the Turkish war. Ever since this time, the core of the territory of Croatia has been located between the Mur, Drava, Danube, Sava, and Kulpa rivers. 3. The small country of Red Croatia was situated between the little stream of Narenta and the Skutari Lake, and its eastern boundary was the upper course of the Drina River. On the whole, Red Croatia was situated in today's Montenegro. Similarly Pannonia-Croatia was also a nation of subordinated importance to Red Croatia, and up to the middle of the 10th Century was combined with White and Pannonian Croatia. It was a national sovereignty known as the Kingdom of Duklja from this time on. Towards the end of the 12th century, it was under Serbian sovereignty. 4. Carantania was the fourth Commonwealth created by the Croats, but which the Slovenians had settled. The ancestors of today's Slovenians penetrated the holdings of the Langobards in the former Roman Province of Noricum, and up to the end 6th century, took possession of the entire territory from the Adriatic sea to the sources of the Drava, Save, and Mur rivers. Valuk, the first Slovenian Duke appeared around 640, and his seat was on the river Glan in today's Karnburg (Krnskigrad). Underneath the castle was the "stone throne", on which the free Slovenian farmers still enthroned their Duke in 1414. Carantania fell to Bavaria in 772 and soon thereafter was under the sovereignty of the Franks. At the same time, when the political power of the southern Croats achieved its apex in their homeland, the Croats disappeared in the former Large Croatia, because the remaining Croatian population was essentially depleted. Chapter VII - The National Structure of the Croatian Countries to Year 1500 The pre-Croats of Slovenia were the majority of the inhabitants found by the Croats in the south, whose arrival into the new homeland has already been described. Waves of these Croatian warriors merged into a nation with the same customs and language. The process of amalgamation was fulfilled without extraordinary difficulties because the linguistic differences between the people were minimal. The Romans, or rather the Romanized Illyrian Celts, formed the predominant part of the non-Slavic population after the arrival of the Croats. They had been scattered by the Avars from the north and the south, and they drifted towards the east and the Adriatic Sea. They formed two social layers after the arrival of the Croats. The citizens of the Dalmatian Nation who were well to do, retrieved their islands from the Avars, and resumed the Christianization of the Croats on the mainland. These Romans were called Latiners in the 12th Century. The Croats forced their way into the Roman cities of Dalmatia during the time of the Croatian Kings.The 2nd ethnic group of Romans consisted of herdsmen, who were pushed into the mountains from the fruitful plains by the Croats. The Croatians called them "black Walachs" to differentiate them from the urban Walachs (Morowalachs).The Latin seaside inhabitants in the states of Zara (Zadar), Trau (Trogir), Spalato (Split), Ragusa (Dubrovnik), and Cattaro (Kotor) were already significantly intermingled with Croatians in the 11th Century. The Croatianization of the cities by the Adriatic coast progressed rapidly in the 12th Century. The clergy welcomed Pope Alexander with Croatian songs when he visited the city of Zara in 1177 AD. In the year 1345 AD when the citizens of the State of Zara dispatched a delegation to the Croatian-Hungarian King Ludwig I with the petition that the King liberate them from the Venetians, all of the delegates had Croatian names. The Croatianization process took place more rapidly in the smaller villages along the Adriatic Sea. The Dalmatian Nation was Croat at the end 14th Century, partly by influx, partly by assimilation. The aristocratic upper classes in the coastal territories of Dalmatia remained Roman and were not amalgamated with the Croats. German, Hungarian, and Italian craftsmen settled in the free cities situated between the Kulpa, Sava, and Drava rivers as early as the 13th Century. Organized guilds of Croatian, German and Italian nationalities were found in Zagreb (Agram) in the 14th century. The crafty Morowalachs expanded very strongly in an easterly direction in the 14th Century. They were mainly in Macedonia and Thessalonica which bore the name Greater Walachia (Megale Vlahia) in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Walachs at that time still spoke the Roman language. A Walach or Roman settlement area extended along the Adriatic from Cattaro to Istria in the 12th century opposite from the eastern Walachs. New Walachs moved into the Croatian countries in the 14th century, but for the most part they were Slavic. According to Ferdo Sisic's "Povijest Hrvata u vrijeme narodnih vladara" (History of the Croatians to the time of the current National Rulers, Zagreb, 1925, Page 276), the word "Vlah had no meaning in the nationality since the XIII Century. This was the result of a greater part of the Slavic population being occupied with cattle breeding, and hence were called Walachs. There were "Croatian Walachs" already in 1322. Walachs Alpine dairies were mentioned in the area of Lika (south of Fiume) in 1344, and also eight years later in the surroundings of Zara. They moved gradually from the hills into the cities and onto the islands. Walach Alpine dairies crowded the area from Dalmatia to Fiume (Rijeka) at the start of the 15th century. The Walachs did not have fixed residences because they lived in chalets as herdsmen moving frequently. They were known as the "Croatian Walachs" in the surroundings of the city of Lika, and were believers of the Catholic faith. Walachs were mentioned as being from the Tulic Family in the district of Vrlica (south of Zengg). Walach immigrants lived in West Slovenia around Esseg (Osiek) and in Sirmien from the 12th until the 14th centuries except for a few, isolated Hungarian immigrants. Hungarians streamed into the land between the Drava and Sava rivers, especially in the 14th century. The king distributed land among the Hungarian aristocrats who brought their subjects with them. (to be continued in future newsletters.) This newsletter continues as no. 56B

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 56B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) April 30, 1999 (all rights reserved) This third section of the 3 section newsletter concerns articles about Using Approximations In Genealogical Files, the Homepage, URL List, Austria & Kosovo, an OZ Query Update, the Meaning of Family Names-Fandl Name, the Distribution of Family Names-Berghold Name, and review of A Delightful Little Burgenland Book. USING APPROXIMATIONS IN GENEALOGICAL FILES I recently sent Fritz Königshofer some Family History sheets from my genealogy files. He responded with the following question which prompted me to share my genealogy file dating conventions with the BB. Fritz writes: << 1. I wonder about the birth dates you entered ("approx. 1768") as we really know nothing yet, about the ages and places of birth of the couple. (Mathias Aichorn and Anna Hierzinger) >> Answer: Fritz you pose an interesting question. One of the things I do in my genealogy files is enter an "about" birth date for any person without a proven one. I do this by subtracting 25 years (the general span of years for one generation) from some known date like the birth of a child or a marriage. Sometimes I'll use 20 years for a female if something leads me to believe the wife was younger. "About" is also used when we only have age at death (birth date calculated from age at death frequently varies by as much as 3 years depending on month born or estimate of survivors). Likewise, if I don't have an established place of birth or death, I'll use the earliest or last one I do have for the family. This allows me to put that person's existence into some sort of perspective. With a file of over 2500 people, if I don't have at least one date and a location, I can have identity problems. This is a generally recognized procedure within most genealogical groups-the abbreviations "abt" (about) or "bef" (before) or "aft" (after) being recognized as approximations. Likewise, states or countries, without accompanying provinces, counties or cities are recognized as educated guesses. This procedure narrows the search area considerably and is more often correct than not. In the case mentioned, someone looking for data concerning the record knows to look around Linz, Austria in the last half of the 18th century as opposed to any other time or place. The year 1768 was calculated from daughter Barbara Eichorn's known birth date of 1793 (she being the eldest known child of that family in the file). One of the reports I can generate is a list of what is called "end of line" individuals, people whose parents are incomplete or missing. I keep this report handy when I go to the LDS FHC or wherever. The approximate data then directs me to the proper time frame and geographic area. It can be misleading but not often. It is also a good check list for future research. Use of these conventions is an LDS suggestion by the way, caused by the advent of large genealogical computer files and the desire to eliminate as many duplicates or redundancies as possible. If you send the LDS your genealogy, they will not accept records without at least one date and location. It is also of value (but not necessary) for the proper merger of GEDCOM files (the way various genealogy software shares data). The reference manual for LDS Personal Ancestral File Software (PAF) has lots of good suggestions like this. I still use PAF 2.31 as my main system, although I then GEDCOM this file to three other systems including Family Tree Maker (Broderbund), Family Origins (Parsons) and PAF 3.0. I also copy it to PAF 2.31 on a laptop to carry to the FHC and other source locations. A little computer "over kill" perhaps, but I'll never lose all the work done over these many years. I also generate a pile of reports! HOMEPAGE, URL LIST & AUSTRIA & KOSOVO (from Bob Unger) While getting info for one of our new members, I again reviewed the Burgenland Bunch Home page as a periodic refresher, and I'm always amazed at what new things I find there. I highly recommend to all BB members that they review the BB Internet Links periodically. Recently I logged onto one of the Internet Link web sites "Austria Today," an Austrian weekly news magazine, in English, and found the following two interesting articles. They show how much our U.S. politics effect Austria. This email is not in any way suggesting that the BB newsletters be used to air political issues, but possibly we could alert our members of an easy method to access "the other side of the story" from the "Austrian" prospective. I plan to log onto the "Austria Today's" web site each week for updates. Austrian Relief for Kosovo Refugees Gathers Strength The first Austrian convoys carrying aid for refugees from war-ravaged Kosovo started in a steady stream towards Albania late last week, and the first of the 5,000 refugees to be settled in Austria were expected to land in Vienna on Thursday, 15 April. The first convoy was seen off by Chancellor Victor Klima and Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schssel. The convoy headed for Shkorda, where the so-called Austrian Camp' for the refugees was set up by Austrian military personnel and other volunteers. The convoy comprised 65 vehicles bearing relief supplies for the refugees who will be housed in the Austria Camp.' Among the material carried in the trucks was material for a field hospital and other essential goods. In related news the donation campaigns initiated by humanitarian groups have collected close to ATS 100 million. The campaign has been titled, Neighbor in Need.' US Hikes Duties on Austrian Goods New tariffs will cost Austrian exporters an estimated ATS 1 billion annually. The United States has slapped a 100 per cent import duty on EU exports to the US, which will cause Austria an estimated export loss of ATS 1 billion annually. Austria will be harder hit than most other EU countries, and this is being viewed by Austrian businessmen merely as punishment because Austria had lobbied so hard for restrictions on gene-tech food. The measure, which is set to take effect in June, is in response to the EU ban on imports of hormone-treated beef, which is exported mostly by the US. One of the biggest Austrian losers in this round of the on going US-EU trade war is the motorcycle firm KTM, which says that exports worth about ATS 350 million annually could be jeopardized by the new tariffs. Other Austrian companies affected by the move are Lenzing (viscose fibre), Phillips' Austrian subsidiary (hair-cutting machines), and makers of fruit juices, meat products, jams and chocolate products....In the dispute over beef hormones, the EU has banned the import of beef treated with hormones on health grounds. The dispute has continued for two years without having been resolved. In the meanwhile, some 90 per cent of American cattle producers have been affected.....(end of extract) OZ QUERY UPDATE Albert Schuch has been implementing our plan to use the query column offered by the Austrian Oberwart Zeitung (Oberwart weekly newspaper). He reports: "With today's edition, 8 out of the 14 queries I received from BB members have been printed by the OZ. I am also happy to report the first answer (below) to the OZ queries!!! From: Lynette Wolf To: Albert Schuch This is unbelievable!!! Today I received an e-mail from a Josef Wahrmann. He is a descendant of Johann Wahrmann who was the brother of my great grandfather Nikolaus. And my query was printed only two days ago!!!! And he responded in English!!! Thank you so very much.>> "Gerry, Thank you so much for letting us know about placing queries in the OZ newspaper. After reading your March 31 Burgenland Bunch News, I sent my information to Albert Schuch about wanting to contact descendants of Michael Wahrman and Maria Pelzer. He translated it and sent it on to the OZ. On April 21 he let me know the query had been published. I was not very optimistic because in all my twenty plus years of searching, I have never come across the WAHRMAN name but thought, "What can it hurt?" I had become convinced that they dropped out of the sky and landed in Kansas. Lo and Behold!!! two days later I received an e-mail from a descendant of Johann Wahrmann who was the brother of my great grandfather Nikolaus. He lives in Gols and his parents still live in Andau. I am so appreciative of all the help you have given me. It is because of your help that I placed their origin at Andau and I found the appropriate LDS church records. This is how I discovered that Michael and Maria were Nikolaus's parents and who his siblings were. As far as I knew, Nikolaus and his family were the only ones to come to America. Who knows where this may lead!! Ed. Note: I'm sure that Albert and the rest of the BB staff agree with me when I say "It's results like this that make our BB efforts worthwhile!" MEANING OF FAMILY NAMES - COMMENTS ON THE NAME "FANDL" We are all interested in just how our family names were derived and what they may mean. Various books on the subject of "onomastics" (the very inexact science of names) are available and some have been mentioned in previous issues. Two which I use are "German American Names", George F. Jones, 1990, Genealogical Publishing Company, (12, 700 names) and "A Dictionary of Surnames", Hanks & Hodges, 1992, Oxford University Press (70, 000 English surnames derived from foreign sources). While these are of value, unfortunately they only scratch the surface when dealing with names from a genealogical microcosm like the Burgenland. In a small area like the Burgenland, host to many migrations, languages and cultures, names tend to develop in rather unique ways. For instance, I had about a dozen definitions of the name "Berghold", most incorporating that good German word "berg" meaning mountain or hill. The "hold" part was not so simple and led to a variety of meanings, including a possible corruption of "ho(e)lden or "hero" or "angel". I liked that one best, "heroes of the hill" or "angels from the hill" having a nice ring to it and possibly an aristocratic feudal touch. Alas, Albert Schuch, Fritz Königshofer and others convinced me I was day dreaming! In Styria (from where I'm certain the Bergholds migrated to Burgenland pre 1690), "hold" means among other things a small plot or shepherds hut. In other words a "berghold" can be a small hut (plot) in the mountains, probably denoting a poor shepherd eking out a miserable existence high in the mountains among the rocks and snow. So much for the picture of a Berghold knight in armor sallying forth from his mountain fortress, banners flying. Another local Burgenland definition (of "bergholde") means "vine yard worker" (I like that one least of all, but must mention that many of my ancestors had or worked in vinyards). Although I'm no expert, I have a lot of fun looking for definitions of names, but it pays to look and ask in the area where ancestors lived. You may well get a completely different answer (and probably not the one you'd like to see). The above name and many others incorporating complete German words or those nice Slavic (Croatian) names ending in "its" or "ich" -meaning "son of", are easier to define than those which are formed in other ways such as language "sound shifts", "shortened forms", dialects, diminutives etc. The following is an example of a name that may have been formed from a combination of factors. Mary Ellen Bell writes to Fritz Königshofer: "You wrote me...with information on WEISNER and FANDL family. I am wondering if you might know why so many Austrian names end with "DL". Also does "FANDL" have a meaning like farmer or blacksmith ? Fritz replies: Unfortunately, I am an amateur when it comes to the interpretation of family names. However, I believe the following might be the answer to your question. The -l ending is the southern German diminutive (dialect) form of names or nouns and belongs in the same category as endings like -ila and -lein. This ending is used as the diminutive ending for words in German from around Munich to Eastern Austria. In northern Germany, the diminutive ending is -chen and variations of it. Therefore, Fandl would be the diminutive or "intimate" ending for Fan. In my opinion, the "d" crept in because the form Fanl for German tongues automatically produces the "d" sound in between. However, I have no convincing idea what Fan might have stood for, perhaps Stefan (the German form of the name Stephen). Many family names were derived from intimate forms of first names, such as the last name Zenz from the first name Vinzenz (Vincent). Therefore, perhaps Fandl was derived from Stefan(d)l, a more intimate (i.e., diminutive) form of Stefan. I'll check your question with good acquaintances and friends who, I believe, might know more about the subject. Will see whether your question rings a bell with one of them. (Ed. Note: the closest G. F. Jones comes to Fandl is Fandrich (ensign) from Fnner, probably unrelated. I also wonder about the word "Vandal"-one of the worst of the migrating Germanic tribes who came through the region, overran Italy and Spain and ended up in North Africa! "V" in German is pronounced "F" so could it follow that we have a more romantic answer? Lots of fun. Anyone else have a theory?) DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILY NAMES - BERGHOLD NAME If you happen to have some family names that are not too common (don't try Horvath), it might be interesting to check the Austrian phone books to determine in which cities and villages the name appears. This gives you a good idea about possible migration sites. I did this for the name Berghold and came up with the following. By the way there are people who will do this for a price; I don't know of any at present but check some of the genealogy sites and our URL lists. Distribution of Present Day (1996) Bergholds Province & Number of Number of Berghold Families Listed in Phone Books Styria 122, Lower Austria 8, Salzburg 7, Carinthia 1, Burgenland 2, Vorarlberg 3, Tyrol 1, Vienna 20, Upper Austria 0; Total 164 (conclusion-Styria has to be point of origin-supported by other clues) Villages (Cities) with more than 2 Berghold families, all in Styria except Vienna Bad Gleichenberg 7, Empersdorf 4, Fernitz 7, Gssendorf 3, Graz 26, Hofsttten 3, St. Margarethen 3, Sinabelkirchen13, Vasoldsberg 6, Vienna 20. FINDING NAMES, ADDRESSES, PHONE NUMBERS, E-MAIL (some extracts from our URL list, Anna Kresh, editor) o Austrian Family Names with E-Mail Addresses http://email.findit.at - online Austrian E-mail address book o Austrian Telephone Directory http://www.etb.at/ - The complete online Austrian telephone directory o Deutsche Telekom AG http://www02.teleauskunft.de/cgi-bin/tron.cgi - German online telephone (and CD) book with Yellow Pages o Infospace http://www.infospace.com/ The ultimate guide for finding people, places, and things (some worldwide); includes Reverse Lookup (by telephone or Fax number, area code, or e-mail address) o Mtav White Pages (English) http://www.matav.hu/matav-html/istart_e.html - Hungarian Tel Service Provider (English version) o Mtav White Pages (Hungarian) http://www.matav.hu/matav-html/istart_h.html - Hungarian Tel Service Provider (Hungarian version) A DELIGHTFUL LITTLE BURGENLAND TRAVEL BOOK When he's not attending to his many other duties, our Burgenland editor Albert Schuch haunts used book stores and antique shops, looking for old Burgenland literature. He recently found a German-English travel book "Burgenland", authors Pflagner & Marco, 1970, Frick Verlag, Wien. It's only 5 X 4 1/2 inches in size, hard back, with colored photos of Burgenland sites north to south. The front cover depicts a street scene in what may be Purbach and the back cover depicts a stork's nest in what has to be Rust. Each of the 80 scenes is numbered with a description in German and later in English. A pocket on the last page holds a colored pictorial 1:200.000 relief map of Burgenland. My library has many fine Burgenland travel books acquired over the years, but this one is really something special. Albert generously gave me a copy when I met with him in Vienna recently. I later discovered he had previously found another which he had also given away. Just recently he wrote to tell me that he had found a third and that he plans to keep this one in his library! I'm so pleased with this little book that if it were still in print we'd arrange to make it available to BB members. I plan to bring you extracts of all 80 descriptions under the title "Delightful Little Book Extracts". I'm starting with the last which depicts the southernmost boundary marker: 80. "The village of Tauka lies in a 'Ditch' of the Neuhaus highlands-the last frontier post of Burgenland in its southerly Three Countries Corner; Aistria, Hungary and Jugoslavia touch here. A simple frontier stone marks this spot." END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD