BB News No. 60 dtd 30 Jun 1999

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 60 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) June 30, 1999 (all rights reserved) "He who boasts of his ancestry praises the deeds of another." Seneca NOTE TO RECIPIENTS If you no longer wish to receive Burgenland Bunch mailings send an email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel both membership and mail.) To join see our homepage. Comments and articles are appreciated. !!! PLEASE READ - TIME FOR A NEW MEMBERSHIP LIST - PLEASE READ !!! It's time for a new BB Membership List - 34 pages of packed print, over 325 entries. It will be sent in four email sections July 15 in lieu of the regular newsletter. If you do not want to receive it, let me know no later than July 10, send email saying "no list" (include your name). If you do not include your name, I'll ignore your message. Members are also listed on the homepage. STATUS OF ROOTSWEB BB NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION CHANGE I'm loading old BB newsletters to Rootsweb archives. I've removed redundant and outdated material. These archives will be available for searches at an address which will be forthcoming. When that is finished, I'll be loading member email addresses, after which the newsletters will be distributed by Rootsweb (perhaps by August). This first section of the 3-section newsletter contains: - Early Item Concerning Pilgersdorf - Data Concerning Villages of St. Margarethen and Kemeten - Basic Genealogy Help - Source of Old Lehigh Valley, PA, Ethnic Papers - Steamship Arrivals - A Primer for Hungarian Tax Records - Villages of Pinkamindszent and Pornoapati, Hungary EARLY ITEM CONCERNING PILGERSDORF (from Albert Schuch) Translation From: Oberwarther Sonntags-Zeitung, 11 May 1884, page 4: Emigrations. On 25th April another 15 persons from Pilgersdorf and surroundings emigrated to America. The number of those who have already made up their mind to emigrate is not small, and as soon as they are able to sell their property or have the money they need for traveling, they will embark on their journey to the New World. The farewell of the emigrants who say goodbye to their relatives and friends with broken hearts is deeply affecting. It is not hard to guess why so many decide to make this move, for anybody who knows the situation in this area knows that the poor quality of the soil makes it impossible for the poor farmer - no matter how hard he tries - to make enough profit to pay the taxes and to have enough for his own needs. Also, the fact that those who emigrated earlier praise their situation in the letters they send home is increasing the will to emigrate. One doesn't have to be a prophet to foresee that because of the above-mentioned circumstances the emigration will increase to such dimensions that, in a few years, the number of the modest and good hearted inhabitants of Pilgersdorf and surroundings will have fallen strongly. SOME NEW VILLAGES We get asked about villages we haven't covered. Here are two new ones: ST. MARGARETHEN (Hungarian names Margita, Szentmargitbanya) A market town in the Bezirk (district) of Eisenstadt, 2635 inhabitants (1993) and 1103 houses. Site of a Roman quarry which may be visited today. First mentioned as a village in the year 1232. Part of the Herrschaft (fief) of Eisenstadt. Much destruction during the Bocskay Hungarian rebellion (1604-5) and the Turkish Wars (1683). First church built in 1276, rebuilt often as "Heilige Johannes dem Tufer." Site of a periodic "Passion Play," there are 5 other chapels. Area called "Kohlgraben" is the oldest part of town. Michael Unger (Landwirt [farmer], 1877-1937) was Bürgermeister in 1922-27, Karl Unger (merchant, 1895-1955) in 1939-45. Rosa Unger (1909) was notary 1941-1970. Church records 1827-1895 are available from the LDS as microfilm number 0700846, Civil records 1895-1920 as 0700596-599. First emigrants to US as early as 1855, names Nawrath and Steindl. KEMETEN Kemeten (Hungarian Komjat) is in Bezirk (District) Oberwart. 1530 inhabitants (1993), 596 houses. First mentioned in the year 1475 as Komyath. It then became part of the Herrschaft (fief) of Buchenschachen in possession of the Kaldy family. In 1574 it was taken over by the Batthyány. In 1750 by Baumkirchner of Schlaining. Later it became independent. A Lutheran site during the Reformation (you'll find both Catholics and Lutherans). Both churches are there today, the Catholic (Heilige Nikolaus) built 1797, present Lutheran 1967 (was a school). Johann Mühl (1866-1942) was Bürgermeister from 1931-37, Johann Mühl (Landwirt [farmer] 1912-1990) from 1951-58 and Josef Mühl (1933) from 1980-1992. Many families named Mühl in this village. RC church records 1828-1896 are LDS microfilm 0700750, Civil 1895-1920, 0700313-320. BASIC GENEALOGY HELP I often get basic genealogy questions. While I don't mind helping (and will continue to do so), I'd prefer that questions be limited to Burgenland genealogy. There are many genealogy sites that can help with general genealogy. A new help site is coming on line. You may wish to use it as a source for non-Burgenland questions. From a recent RootsWeb Newsletter: "ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING YOUR FAMILY TREE ("RootsWeb Guide") http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/. Designed with the beginning genealogist and new RootsWeb user in mind, each lesson will include text, suggested reading list, links to some of the relevant resources hosted by RootsWeb, and links to some relevant resources found elsewhere on the Internet. Lesson One, "Where to Begin," is online now. Lesson Two is scheduled to be posted next week. Additional lessons will be posted most weeks thereafter. Even experienced genealogists and long-time RootsWeb users might learn some useful new things. Please stop by." SOURCE OF OLD LEHIGH VALLEY ETHNIC PAPERS (from Anna Kresh) Have you tried AccessPA? ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA is a coordinated effort to automate library services in the Commonwealth. This is a project from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Commonwealth Libraries. As of the fall of 1997, there were 1,425 school, public, academic and special libraries on the database, over 23 million holdings in the database, over 3.3 million unique records on the database, and 95% of Pennyslvania's school districts participating in the program. I checked in Dauphin County (for the PA State Library in Harrisburg) searching for: Friedens-bothe, and came up with these 2 returns: 1) "Der Friedens-Bothe und Lecha, Northampton, Bucks und Montgomery Caunties wöchentlicher Anzeiger" ( from 1834, this one may be too early) https://accesspa.powerlibrary.org/.../Friedens-Bothe/... 2) Skizzen aus dem Lecha=Thale. Eine Sammlung von Nachrichten über die ersten Ansiedlungen der Weiszen in dieser Gegend. Von Ben 1880-86 https://accesspa.powerlibrary.org/.../Skizzen aus dem Lecha/... If you go to those 2 web pages you will see the State Library's Bibliographic Record for those 2 newspapers. It will also tell you how you can "borrow the book". I'm assuming you can get these on microfilm via inter-library loan at your local library. I have gotten microfilm of older issues of the Allentown Morning Call and the Hazleton Standard-Speaker, but have been unsuccessful in getting really old microfilm of the Bethlehem Globe from them. STEAMSHIP ARRIVALS (from Bob Unger) I have used this reference many times - thought the BB members could also find it a very useful Reference Book: Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals; Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1980; (973.0 U3m) Port of New York (1890-1930); and ports of New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore for the years of 1904-1926. This reference book is in my local LDS Family History Center, it may be in others. 1839 HUNGARIAN TAX RECORDS (by Bob Unger and Joe Jarfas) The LDS Family History Center (FHC) has 55 rolls of microfilm on Hungarian Tax Records, film numbers 1,729,844 to 1,729,898. They cover the period from 1768 to 1848. It is not a year by year tax record for all villages. For example the record for the village of Rudersdorf (Radafalva) was for the year 1839. The text is in Hungarian, and they are referenced or indexed using the Hungarian names of the villages for that period. The Hungarian Tax Records offer a new and broader dimension to information about our ancestors. These tax records list all the individuals in the village who were required to pay taxes. They also list the asset being taxed, therefore one can get some idea of the wealth of the individual. Since all tax payers are listed, one can also get a sense of how the village was structured and how the assets, (house, land, live stock, etc.) varied between individuals. To find the film number for your village, it is suggested that you first consult a Hungarian Gazetteer, possibly microfiche 6,000,840 (1-19), to find the old Hungarian names for your village (or use our homepage). Next, using the FHC computer system, select the Family History Library Catalog. Select option D, film/fiche number search. Enter 1729844 which brings up the tax records. Select F8 for full display. Select F4 search mode. Select the option for word search. Enter the name of your village. That entry will highlight the village, and show the film number to be ordered. If your FHC has a print screen option, print the screen containing your village and film number. Save this sheet to assist you when you get your ordered film, because the records are not indexed in an easy to find order. Good luck with your research. Ed. Note: Bob began working with Tax records and had questions. He writes further: At long last I finally got around to ordering and gathering information from the LDS Hungarian Tax Records for 1839, film # 1,729,853. There were only 15 pages of records for Rudersdorf, so I copied them all. I tried to translate the Hungarian heading but am having some problems, i.e. under the heading of Házainak = Home, they have 1-s, 2-ik, 3-ik and 4-ik. What do they mean? Does it mean that the home had three rooms? If you have a copy of the form headings translated, I would be very much in your debt. Some time ago I purchased two large Hungarian dictionaries, but found them to be lacking at times. I found it interesting to learn from these tax records that almost everyone owned the same amount of land. It appears that Rudersdorf truly must have been one of the resettlement villages, where each new settler received the same among of land. I also found it interesting to find that my GGGrandfather, Matthias Unger, had 12 6/8 holds (hold=1.42 acres) of land while most others had 8 4/8 holds. There were a total of three tax payers having 12 6/8 holds and remaining 69 listed had 8 4/8 Holds. Ed. Answer: Bob, the Headings show as: Házainak, 1-s, 2-ik, 3-ik and 4-ik, Osztálban, Száma. My interpretation of this is the number of divisions of the homestead (number of buildings?). You'll notice that most checkmarks are under the "3-ik" column. That would mean house, barn and shed. It may well be the number of rooms. Since the same 1-s, 2-ik, 3-ik and 4-ik shows under Szántó földjeinek (ploughland -ploughable fields) and other headings, it's obviously a numbering system, but it might also refer to a series defined and identified in the beginning of the tax record which I don't have. Unfortunately, as you say, the 1839 records are headed in Hungarian as opposed to Latin. While I have the Latin headings translated, I don't have the Hungarian ones. One suggestion, sometimes it's easier to translate Hungarian if you break the words into their component parts and look up the components. I'm asking Joe Jarfas by copy of this email if he could comment on the above. (Bob Unger then transmitted a page of the tax records) Joe Jarfas responded with: Dear Robert, the scan was just fine; I was able to read all of it, except that Brunner Jnos' number 2 entry, which looks like xx Ispny; the manager or bailiff of the estate or property of the nobility. The approximate line by line translation follows (many of the definitions are difficult to discern from the columnar entries without knowing the meaning of those classes and categories in those times [for some of the accented characters to show correctly you have to set your browser to ISO-8859-2 - Central European]): ______ Járásban kebelezett = belonging to ______ district; ______ adz község adó alapjának szive rsa 1839.-ik évében = ______ named village tax base determination for the year 1839; I. Szeml - Ad = personal tax; Az Adz család Fejnek neve = name of head of houshold taxed; Polgári sorsára nézve = (belonging to) civilian category; Jobbágy = serf, villein, peasant; Zsellér = cotter; Laks = resident; II. Ház - Adó = dwelling tax; Házainak = (his/her) houses; 1.-s, 2.-ik, 3.-ik, 4.-ik = 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th; Osztálban = class/category; Száma = number; Kap Házbértá = receive rent(?); Pengben = (in) Peng; fl. = Florin (seems like they used an old(er) form); xr. = Krajcr (I believe 100 xr to a Florin. [Same for Peng and fillér: 100 fillér to a Peng]); Kap Malombért vagy jövedelmet = receive mill rent or income(?); III. Telek - Adó = property tax Szántóföldjeinek = (his/her) arable (ploughed) land; 1.-s, 2.-ik, 3.-ik, 4.-ik = see above; Oszátlban = (in) class/category; Hold száma = number of (cataster: 1.412 acres); Rétjeinek = (his/her) meadows; Kaszás száma = scythe number (suspect this to be the number of man hours/days it took to finish mowing/cutting by hand. Why it wasn't given in 'hold' I've no idea!); Mind 3.-ik oszátl Szőlőjnek kapás száma = the 3rd (class) category vine(yard) hoeing number (again it seems to mean the number of people/hours/days to hoe the place ... and imply that it is defined some place else.); IV. Marha - Adó = live stock tax; Marháinak nv szerint = (his/her) live stock by name; Lovainak = (his/her) horses; kreinek = (his/her) oxen; Teheneinek = (his/her milking) cows; Növendék marhinak = (his/her) calves; Csikójinak = (his/her) foals; Juhainak = (his/her) sheeps; Kecskinek = (his/her) goats; Sertéseinek = (his/her) pigs; Száma = number/pieces; V. Ipar - Adó = trade tax; Bir kereskedéssel = pursue a trade(?) (or business); Osztálval = type of class/category; Gyakorol mestersget = practice a trade (profession); Osztált = type of class/category; Fizet haszonbrt pengben = pay for lease in peng(?); VI. Mellékes haszonvételek adja = miscellaneous taxes; Van mellékes haszonvétele pengben(?) = has other (side) income in peng; Bormérésböl = (from) wine sale; Gubacsbul = (from sale of) gall-nut (first I thought it was acorn, but looking it up in Shorter Oxford I found "oakapple, gall: An excrescence produced on a tree, esp. the oak, or other plant by the action of a fungus, bacterium, an insect, etc."); Makkböl = (from sale of) acorn (feed for pigs); Ezekétál adzik = pay taxes to; Á Házi = (state?) house; Pénztárba = treasury (cashier); Á Hadi = (state?) military; Összésen = Total; Some of these expressions are old fashioned - as can be expected; the spelling has changed in many cases as well. My expectation would be that the introduction to the tax records spell out the definitions for many of the classes and categories mentioned; or they refer to the standard classifications defined by law at the time. The class/category designation which shows up under so many headings means - likely - different things with different headings. Evidently not only the houses but arable land, meadows, trade and/or professions were categorized. If one assumes that the price of the house (therefore the number of rooms) is meant by it; with the land it could be the condition of the soil, location to irrigation, near/far to creeks, etc.; the trade and business or profession had to be defined by other means, i.e. laws of that time or before; that's why I assume that many of the others are defined by law as well. To make the translation I attempted to get in touch with somebody at the National Archives in Hungary via E-mail but they do not respond to general inquiries of this type. There are lots of books available on the subject (read it on their web site ... but few in English) which should be available in most libraries. They do respond to written inquiries, and have their addresses, but let me know if anybody can locate the information by other means, before I write to them. I can also search for the relevant literature/books if that's needed. Regards, Joe Jarfas. PINKAMINDSZENT, VAS, HUNGARY (from HIZI ATLAS, by Fritz Königshofer) We are reprinting (with the publisher's permission) brief descriptions of villages in counties Vas and Györ-Moson-Sopron as contained in newly published atlases (mentioned below). Readers are encouraged to submit requests for specific Hungarian border villages to Fritz Königshofer who will accommodate such requests to the extent possible. The requests can only be for villages or towns that are located within today's counties of Vas or Györ-Moson-Sopron. The bibliographic details for the Vas County edition of the atlas are: "Vas Megye Településeinek Atlasza," Peter Göndöcs, publisher, 1997, published by HISZI-MAP Kft., 5700 Gyula, Corvin utca 3, Tel/Fax: +36-66-463610, 463323, Hungary, Web-site www.hiszi-map.hu. All rights reserved. Copies available in Hungary for 2,500 Forints. The issue for Györ-Moson-Sopron Megye was published in 1998, and sells for 2,500 Forints. Editions exist for some other counties. Vas County: Pinkamindszent. [German name was Allerheiligen] The village along the Pinka brook was first mentioned in 1221. Then already, the village had a church named for all saints ("mindszent") which gave the village its name. Today's church furnishings are from the Baroque period. The population, nearly 800 at the start of this century, has diminished to 183. The reason for the decline was the isolation of the village due to the nearness of the frontier (adjoins Moschendorf, Burgenland, but no national border crossing nearer than Heiligenkreuz). Pornóapáti. The village along the Pinka brook, partly inhabited by ethnic Germans and first mentioned in 1221, owes its name to the Cistercian monastery founded here by the Ják family. The remains of the monastery are hidden under the buildings of major (Old Manor) where several 13th century stone carvings have been unearthed. The present day church is late Baroque with an altarpiece painted by Stephan Dorfmeister and altar statues by Johannes Metter, dating from 1681. The church bell is also very old, dating from 1464. The church is dedicated to St. Margaret. Population is 400. [German name was Pernau; Croat name?] (Newsletter continues as no. 60A) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 60A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) June 30, 1999 This second section of the 3-section newsletter: - The sixth 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 21 through 22 are included in this issue. They explain Batthyány conditions of settlement, movement and resettlement of Croatian Uskoks (Uskoci-Dalmatian pirates from the area around Senj) into Burgenland and mention names from an early Urbar. 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 XXI - The Last Immigration of the Croatians The reader is referred to Chapter 7 "The National Structure of the Croatian Countries to the Year 1500" (on Page 12) for a better understanding of the following views. It is necessary to differentiate between the two different Walachs, the Catholic Croatian and the Orthodox Serbian in the history of Croatia. The smaller part of the former Roman herdsmen settled in northern Dalmatia and in the Croatian coastlands, and came into the Croatian sphere of interests. In the course of time, these descendants of the Romans became Croatian Walachs with the Roman Catholic faith as a result of living next to the Croats. To these Croatian Walachs, we must add the many Croat cattle breeders, who since the 13th century, even before the conquest of Bosnia by the Turks, were called Walachs. Croatian Walachs are already mentioned as being in the neighborhoods of Lika and the coastal regions in 1344, who have their "Croatian Chapter". They were Catholic and called Croatian Walachs. In the Diocese of Vrlica, Walachs were mentioned as being from the Tulic family. The Walachs of Northern and Central Burgenland When the ancestors of today's Croats living in surroundings of Eisenstadt and Gross Warasdorf fled before the Turks, some Croatian Walachs also came into Northern and Central Burgenland with them. That testifies to the following statement: The Urbare of the Hornstein Domain from 1581 shows that a farmer named Vlaschitz lived among the Croats that settled in Steinbrunn (at that time known as Stinkenbrunn). A Fronbauer (farmer) named Matthias Walach lived in Wulkaprodersdorf at the same time. Among the 39 fief owners that came into Kleinwarasdorf in 1595, one was named Vlah. Among the 57 Söllnern (inhabitants who owned no property) that came into Deutschkreutz in the same year, a Söllner named Vlah was also with them. We can also add Lucas Glaschitz to the above Walachs as he settled in Oslip in 1527. Since the recorder of the Urbare did not understand Croatian, he wrote it as Vlasic Glaschitz instead. The surnames that refer to a Walach descent such as Vlah, Vlahic, Vlasic, Vlahovic, Walach, Olah, and Tulic are not limited to these few named. Quite the opposite! Their numbers grew in the 17th century in other Croatian villages of today's Burgenland as well. Germans referred to these former Roman herdsmen as Walach, while the Hungarians called them Olah. The Urbare of 1640 from the Domain of Landsee shows 10 families in Siegendorf with the name Vlasic. Johann Vlahovics, a Catholic Priest, worked in Wulkaprodersdorf from 1614, and a farmer named Matthew Walach lived there in 1661. The Urbare of the Domain of Eisenstadt in 1675 testifies that Mate Walach had the services of a half of a fief in Trausdorf. The surname Vlahic appears 5 times in the Grosswarasdorf priest's register from 1665 until 1690, and the family name of Vlasic comes up 46 times. On page 93 of his often-mentioned thesis, J. Breu says that a father with the surname Olah was in Kroatisch Geresdorf in 1667. The Urbar from the Domain of Landsee of 1640 shows that Georg and Mattias Tulic living in Siegendorf are of Walachian descent. The Urbar of the Domain of Forchtenstein says that three families of the Walachian Tulic family, namely Mate, Ivan, and George Tulic, also lived in Trausdorf an der Wulka. We can cite 2 families with the surname Vlah-iovi in Kroatisch Minihof, and three houses that carry this name in Weingraben. This name occurs sporadically also in Siegersdorf(Horvatzsidany) and other Croat municipalities. Walachs in the Domains of Schlaining, Rechnitz, and Rotenturm. On the territory of the former Domains of Schlaining, Rechnitz, and Rotenturm are situated 10 small villages on the slope of the Rechnitz Mountain. These inhabitants settled here only in the 17th century, one hundred years after the remaining Croats of the surroundings around here. These villages are Weiden bei Rechnitz, Parapatitsch, Podgoria, Rumpersdorf, Allersdorf, Mönchmeierhof, Podler, Allersgraben-Rauhriegel, Spitzzicken, Miedlingsdorf, and Althodis. The Croats of the surrounding localities called the inhabitants of these municipalities Vlahi. The Urbar of the former Domains of Schlaining and Rechnitz refer to the inhabitants of Podler, Mönchmeierhof, Altschlaining, Spitzzicken, and Althodis only with the name "Vlahi (Walach). St. Martin in dem Wart, and Tatzmannsdorf, which belonged to Hungarian gentry, were Croatian. Since the migration of Croats from the Croatian countries ended with the year 1579 or 1593, and because no one had to leave their homeland due to the Christian offensive, the question remains open, from which area and what reasons did the ancestors of the above-mentioned municipalities emigrate? J. Breu says on page 82 in his Dissertation: "Only with the discovery of more documented material can the question of the Schlaining Walachian be clarified." The opinion heard up to now is that the ancestors of this language island would have been Serbs. One also claims that these Croats, which were also called Walachs, originally belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church and become Catholic later. Dr. Mladin Lorkovic says on page 71 and 72 of his historical work "Narod I Zemlja Hrvata", Zagreb 1939, that at the time of the great Christian-Islamic War (1593 -1606), only an insignificant part of the Walachs became Christians. These were namely the District of Warasdin ruled by a captain and Ivanec, the District of Karlovac and in the regions of Otocac and Modrus. There are no entries in Croatian Historical works concerning the immigration into the present day Burgenland. One can assume that the Croats of the above-mentioned ten small towns did not come as refugees here, because the Turks were already on the defensive by then. Therefore these currently open questions can be answered in the following way: Dr. Knezovic leads us to the first traces of the history of Croatia when he says on page 208 of his book: "After the fall of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large part of the Croatian Catholic people fled before the Turks to Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia." In Slavonia they were called "pribjezi" (refugees), and in Dalmatia "Uskoci" (escapees). Later, some called them "vlahi", "martalici", and "morlaci". (Pribjezi, Uskoci, vlahi, martalici, and morlaci) are all synonyms for the Catholic Croats who fled before the Turks. From this point further, we will refer to these Croatian Catholic refugees as the "Uskoci". Author's note.) There were several groups of these Uskoci. The best known group was the one that gathered around the Fortress of Klis near Spalato (Split) from Bosnia and Herzegovina around the year 1530. Klis was subordinate to Zengg (Senj), and Peter Kruzic was the Captain of Senj, who included the Uskoci into the ranks of his soldiers. The Uskoci frequently broke into Bosnia from the fortress of Klis, which explains why the Turks insisted on conquering the fortress of Klis at all costs. They succeeded in 1537, as Peter Kruzic died a heroic death here. The Uskoci were now resettled to Zengg that had a natural fortification, which was the Captain's headquarters. The Captain, who was a part of the Croatian military frontier, was subordinate to a War Council that had its headquarters in Graz. The Uskoci now became border soldiers who with their descendants constituted the garrison of the fortress of Zengg for over 80 years. Little by little the Uskoci joined with a number of defectors from Veneto - Dalmatia who wanted to escape punishment. In the end the Uskoci were no longer a purely national group, but a mixture of Croats, Serbians, and Italians. The Uskoci were an uncommonly bold people, armed with rifles, axes, and Handzars (a type of long knife) who knew every angle in the Velebit Mountains and on the islands. Their main strength was located on the sea. Their monthly wage was four and a half florin (Gulden), but their pay seldom arrived. Since the environments of Zengg were barren, the Uskoci were forced by circumstances to nourish themselves and their members in some way. Due to the continuous border wars, they undertook raids into the regions of Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina occupied by the Turks, and who searched the mainland and the sea for their booty. Venice supported the Uskoci way of life when they were in a state of war with the Turks. When Venice (Venedig) made peace with the Sultan, he demanded that they terminate their support of the Uskoci who regularly plundered Turkish ships on the Adriatic Sea. In order to avoid the Sultans accusations, Turkish goods were placed on Venetian ships. The Uskoci did not concur, and as a result they searched Venetian ships for Turkish commodities. Thereupon the Sultan announced that he ordered the fleet to go into the Adriatic Sea and create order. This did not suit the Venetians, which led to a war between Venice and the Uskoci. After 1596 the Uskoci moved against anything Venetian, and it was a devastating war. The Uskoci took terrible revenge. Even though the Venetians paid with the same coins, they could not restrain the Uskoci. At last, the Pope interfered. Through his mediation Emperor Rudolph agreed to resettle the Uskoci from Zengg. He dispatched General Rabata so that he could settle the Uskoci around the villages of Otocac, Brinje, Brlog, and Prozor, however the German military was at Zengg. Rabata proceeded boldly and executed several military leaders of the Uskoci, and he died in a subsequent mutiny after which the Uskoci resumed their old way of life again. However the peace made at the delta of the river Zsitva in 1606 was a heavy blow for the Uskoci. All war strategies with Turkish countries were strictly forbidden to them, and in addition they received no more pay. But law knows no need, and the Uskoci continued to plunder the Turks and the Venetians again. A violent war then broke out between Venice and the Uskoci from 1615 to 1617 that ended in peace in Madrid in 1617. The perplexing question of the Uskoci issue was decided there through the negotiation of France and Spain. Archduke Ferdinand committed himself in this peace treaty to withdraw the Uskoci from Zengg, burn their ships, and station German military in Zengg. The greater part of the Uskoci were resettled soon thereafter to the Croatian-Carinthian boundary at Sichelburg-Zumberak, into a hilly and barren area, which was called the Uskoken mountains by the new inhabitants for a long time. The remaining parts of the Uskoci were assigned to the area around the village of Otocac. The Croats who fled from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the emigrated Serbs and Italians lived with their families in Zengg for more than 80 years before Archduke Ferdinand moved them to other accommodations in Sichelburg. Zengg was the seat of a Catholic bishop. We can quote from the treatise of the historiographer Adolf Mohl "Hrvatok bevandorlasa 1553 - ban" Budapest 1915, page 15: "The former Archbishop Dr. George Posilovics, while still the Bishop of Zengg, succeeded with great difficulty in 1894 to obtain the provisional usage of the ancient Slavic liturgy in the coastal regions with the obsolete Glagolithic language from Rome." The Dalmatian born Jovan Hranilovic, Greek-Catholic priest of Neusatz (Novi Sadi), who was famous for his Sichelburg Elegies (songs), claims that the Zengg garrison had been a Catholic one. In these poems, Hranilovics describes the heroic past of the Uskoci ancestors, who were resettled into the stony vicinity of Sichelburg. An annotation under the text of the poem on page 520 of the aforementioned reading book says that these former Uskoci were Catholics of the Greek United Church. On pages 82 and 83 in a directory of settlements in the Republic of Croatia dated December 1, 1956, a hamlet named "Vlasic" is listed as having 15 families and a small village with 60 inhabitants named "Vlasic" in the territory of Sichelburg. These two places still remind us today of the rich past of the courageous Zengg soldiers who fled from Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Dalmatia. We can pursue the traces of the Uskoci from Zengg further, as they lead us beyond Sichelburg-Zumberak, and into today's Northern, Central, and Southern Burgenland. We sang the small ditty "Boze, Boze, Zumber, zumberske druzine." as we danced the circular Kolo in the author's youth. The name Zumberak occurs three times in these ditties. For many years the author sought an explanation for how the word Zumberak came to his hometown, as Wulkaprodersdorf and Sichelburg are located approximately 280 km distant from each other. Because no association existed between the villages of Wulkaprodersdorf and Sichelburg, some ancestors from Wulkaprodersdorf, Siegendorf or Trausdorf must have brought the name Zumberak here. These are reminders of their former places of residence, a hypothesis that appears quite possible. While in the northern and central Burgenland only individual Walachian surnames are reminiscent of a later immigration, the so called Walachs from Schlaining, Rechnitz, and Rotenturm" are a different matter. Spitzzicken was already newly founded in the 16th century, and all of the remaining Croats only came here in the 17th Century. The first safe date of its establishment is indicated in the deed of foundation of the village of Podler. A remark from the year 1664 about this place states that the first Croats had already settled in the towns of Schlaining and Mönchmeierhof before the year 1650.Weiden bei Rechnitz, Hunzberg, Podgoria, and Rumpersdorf are mentioned for first time in 1664. Perepatic Berg and Althodis were mentioned in 1593 and 1698 respectively. Because these Croats did not come from Croatia, we must look elsewhere for their origins. The only possibility points towards the area of the Uskoci Mountains, or by Sichelburg-Zumberak, whose barren ground could not nourish the former crew of Zengg. For these reasons the former Uskoci gradually left their assigned place of residence, and came into the neighborhoods of Schlaining, Rechnitz, and Rotenturm from 1650 to the end of the 17th century. Adam Batthyány, who was a Cavalry General in the 30 Year War, settled the first inhabitants near Podler, Mönchmeierhof, and Altschlaining. His descendants settled the remaining Croats in the villages that were ravaged by the Heiducken(Hungarian military units) of Nemethys in 1605 and by the Styrian farmers after 1622. This verifies the Canonical Visitations of the years 1697-1698 by Stephen Kazo, the Archdeacon of Eisenburg, as it notes that these Croats did not belong to the Greek-Orthodox church. According to the priest in Neumarkt im Tauchental, these Croatian inhabitants were Roman Catholic, to which all belonged without exception. In conclusion to this consideration, we refer to the Charter of Foundation for Podler. Podler - (Settlement of Croats by Adam Battyany in 1650) Among other interesting archives, The Burgenland Provincial Archives also holds a document concerning the settlement of the southern Burgenland village of Podler. It is an original parchment with the signature of Count Adam Battyany from the year 1650, and the entire translated text is shown here. Unfortunately, the names where the document has been folded are no longer legible. Furthermore, it is remarkable that the Croats, and the document undoubtedly talks of Croats, are called Walachs (olahok) in German. From the names it can be said that not only Croats but also Germans and Hungarians, took the opportunity to settle there. "We, Adam de Battyany, Eternal Count of Güssing, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord High Steward of Hungary and Oberster (Commander in Chief) of that section of Hungary situated on this side of the Danube and the border area of Canisa, Kammerrat (imperial and royal councilor of the Treasury) of his Holy Majesty, King Matthias. We make it known herewith to all those to whom it may concern, that we have abandoned the Meierhof (agricultural estate) called Polyanizi situated in the territory belonging to our Castle of Schlaining. All those who desire to do so are allowed to settle and build houses, for there shall be villages in this place in the future, as there have been in the past. So far, the following have settled and begun to build there: Michael Zlatarics, Lucas Czvek, Ivan Balaskovics, Ivan and Verhas Jrue. In addition to the aforementioned, the following persons have promised to take up residence there: Glav,...Ive, Stefan Horvat, Juri Konczer, Matthias Horvat, Vida Verhas, Nicholas Horvat, Silbernagl Moritz, Kru_, Martin Bencsicz, Johan Balok, and Bark...icz. We grant them liberty for three years and will grant the same exemptions to all those who settle there at a later date until they have built their houses. But we will not allow these liberties to those that already own a house on our domain and abandon their homestead. With the condition that they endeavor to build their houses within three years, and that they start to do their services or Robot (obligatory work) and pay taxes (within three years), they are after this time obliged to serve and pay taxes in the way the other Walachs had to serve and pay taxes. For greater endorsement, we strengthen this Letter with our Seal and our handwriting. Written in our Castle of Rechnitz on Saturday before the celebration of Saint George the Martyr, in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord, one thousand six hundred and fifty. Adam Battyany L. S. This document issued in 1650 speaks of 4 Walachs who began building, and 11 candidates who promised to settle in the future village of Podler. Of the four men, who had started building, three are Croats and one is a Hungarian. Of the eleven candidates, three surnames are not readable in the fold of the document, five have Croatian surnames, two have Hungarian names and one has a German surname. The Charter of foundation said that of these eight, five were Croats, two were Hungarians, one was German, and that they were Walachs. These circumstances caused the author to ask Joseph Mikisic, the priest of Weiden, to search the church records of the Neumarkt im Tauchental parish for Slavic and Italian surnames for the years 1691 to 1711, because these Walachs belonged to this parish at the time of their settlement. Approximately 10 surnames were received from the priest. To the author's surprise, not a single name such as Vlah, Vlahic, Vlasic, Vlahovic, Walach, Olah or Tulic was seen in the 10 so-called Walach communities. On the basis of the large dictionary of the Zagreb Academy of Sciences (as far as this comprehensive work is finished), the source of Croatian History from University Professor Dr. Ferdo Sisic, among other works, it can be ascertained that the Schlaining, Rechnitz, and Rotenturm "Walachs" are in fact Croats. These however have added Serbian and Italian elements in the course of time. Chapter XXII - Croatians in Particular Districts of Burgenland Since this chapter is dedicated particularly to the Burgenland Croats, the text will deal with the Croats that settled outside of Burgenland only to the extent that it is a necessity. We addressed the immigration in general in the Chapter XIX "Immigration of the Croatians into today's Burgenland and into the Neighboring Lands". In the ensuing sections it will dwell on how individual Croatian settlements were accommodated in the Districts of Burgenland. We note beforehand that the villages in the former Domains of Eisenstadt, Hornstein, Güns, Rechnitz, and Kobersdorf, as well as the Earldom of Forchenstein at the time of the settlement of the Croats (actually from 1491 to 1649) belonged administratively to Lower Austria. The remaining communities belonged to Hungary. The living conditions were favorable for the Croatian settlers in Austria; on the other hand in Hungarian, laws, duties, and liabilities for the farmers were especially difficult after the Farmers Rebellion in 1514. Settlers in the Imperial Domains (e.g. Eisenstadt, Güns) were owners of their houses and properties. They were able to buy, sell or exchange real estate. In Hungary, the farmers were only considered as hereditary tenants of the land that they worked. The new settler was released for some years from duties and payments so that they could build houses within the prescribed time, cultivate the ground, and obtain the necessary cattle stalls, tools and seeds. Croatian villages from the Raab to the Danube Rivers indicate the tracks of the Turks who took this path towards Vienna in 1532. The Turkish Army's route took them over the Drava River, Zala County in Hungary, and beyond the plains towards Vienna. Villages touched by the Turks suffered terribly. They had just settled these devastated villages before fleeing from the Turks. Many Croatian settlements ceased to exist in the course of time, especially in southern Burgenland. After the 1st World War in 1923, there were 42,010 Croats in Burgenland. Of this number 5,167 were in Neusiedl, 112 in the Municipal District of Eisenstadt, 14 in the Municipal District of Rust, 12,522 in the rural District of Eisenstadt, and 2,933 in the Mattersburg District. There were 11,448 Croats in the Oberpullendorf District, 3,954 in the Oberwart District, 5,819 in the Güssing District, and 11 Croats in the Jennersdorf District. A total of 10,432 Croats lived in the three Western Counties according to the 1930 census in Hungary, of which 2,925 resided in the former County of Wieselburg, 4,261 in Ödenburg County, and 3,346 in Eisenburg County. The villages are smaller and in general poorer in southern Burgenland, whereas the villages become larger and wealthier towards the north. (To be continued in newsletter no. 62, this newsletter continues as no. 60B) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 60B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) June 30, 1999 This third section of the 3 section newsletter contains: - A Review of a Book Concerning Gypsies - Description of a Heimatschein (Certificate of Domicile) - A BB Friend Visits Ollersdorf - Share Those Newsletters. NATIONAL SOCIALISM & GYPSIES IN AUSTRIA (review by Robert Loerzel) Originally published in German in 1983, Erika Thurners book, National Socialism and Gypsies in Austria examines Nazi treatment of Gypsies during World War II. In 1998, the University of Alabama Press published an English translation by Gilya Gerda Schmidt, which includes some revisions and new material that did not appear in the original German edition. The new edition is currently available online at Amazon books, and could probably be ordered through your local bookstore. Although the book is not specifically about Burgenland, much of it focuses on this region. The reason is simple: Burgenland was the area of Austria with the most Gypsies. Censuses conducted in the 1930s counted about 11,000 Gypsies living in all of Austria. Of that number, about 8,500 lived in Burgenland. The book examines a grim but important chapter in Burgenlands history. Although Jews were the main target of the Nazis genocide program, Hitlers regime also attempted to exterminate Gypsies. This book details how the German government and earlier governments in Austria had changed their policies toward Gypsies over the years. The laws governing Gypsies grew increasingly harsh during World War II and the period just before the war. At times, the Nazis tried to distinguish between half-breed Gypsies from people of pure Gypsy blood. The Nazis considered the mixed-race Gypsies more threatening because they were supposedly diluting the purity of the German race. But Thurners book argues that there was no practical difference in how pure and half-breed Gypsies were treated (or rather, mistreated). By the time the Nazi efforts to kill off Jewish people had reached their peak, all people with Gypsy ancestry were also being persecuted. Apparently, many of the Gypsies in Burgenland were not of pure Gypsy ancestry, although one must view this information with some skepticism, since it comes from research conducted by the Nazis. In 1938, Dr. Richard Ritter, a Nazi eugenics researcher, wrote, In contrast to the Jews, the Gypsy half-breeds (are) socially more inferior than those who are racially pure The approximately 8,500 sedentary Gypsies of the Burgenland stem from such a mixture, which resulted from a relationship of Gypsies with the lowest elements of the most diverse peoples and races of southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe. By far the greater number of these so-called Gypsies is nothing by a Gyspy-like mixture of vermin that has hardly anything in common with the real Gypsies. Thurners book does not explore the early history of Gypsies in Burgenland in much depth. Gypsies -- or Zigeuner in German -- called themselves the Roma and Sinti, depending on which group they belong to. She writes: At least to a degree, the Gypsy politics of Maria Theresia and her son, Joseph II, had a seminal influence on the nature of Austrian Gypsy settlements. Because of the repressive measures used, the plan for settlement -- within whose framework Gypsies were to be given a certain degree of rights -- was not suited to achieve successful integration. Thus the success of the campaign was moderate. Settlement succeeded somewhat only in western Hungary, today's Burgenland. The approximately eight thousand Roma who lived there before the Nazis came to power were descendants of these forcibly settled Gypsies, that is to say, Gypsies who had already lived a sedentary, or partially sedentary life, for two hundred to three hundred years before. However, giving up the nomadic way -- sedentary life in small houses -- was a far cry from integration or assimilation. The economic impact of the Gypsies was determined by the prevailing conditions in the host country. Thus, many were forced into continued mobility by the necessity to make a living. Even after giving up their nomadic way of life, they remained an outsider group, a foreign body, that was banned to the lowest rung on the social and professional ladder. There are censuses from the time of Empress Maria Theresia that identify more than half the Gypsies as migrant workers. During the economic crisis, which began with the collapse of the monarchy and dominated the inter war years, Austrian peasants themselves lived to a large degree at the edge of minimal existence. Gypsies, as the poorest of the poor, often were forced not only to beg but to steal. As a result of punishment for these lifesaving crimes, Gypsies were subsequently forced into criminal behavior. This led to a deepening of the existing attitude that was based on prejudice and stereotypes. Hate campaigns in the local press further intensified the hostile atmosphere. Thurner quotes articles from Burgenland newspapers of the 1930s to demonstrate local attitudes about the Gypsies. By 1930, police in Burgenland had registered all Gypsies and fingerprinted every Gypsy over the age of 14 as part of a crackdown on this minority population. Thurner describes this as advance work for the Nazi government that would later take over Austria. The persecution against Gypsies in the late 1930s included the removal of all Gypsy children from schools and the end of their voting rights. In August 1938, a law went into effect in Burgenland forcing all able-bodied Gypsies into forced labor. A number of other decrees were passed, including one on June 5, 1939, that was called the preventive measure to fight the Gypsy plague in Burgenland. The overall effect of these measures was the internment of most Gypsies in two Austrian camps, one in Salzburg and one in the Burgenland town of Lackenbach. The camp in Lackenbach was on the grounds of Schaflerhof, an inoperative Esterhazy estate. Many of the prisoners in these camps were later sent to Auschwitz and other death camps, where they were killed. Thurners book is apparently the first to document these two camps in much detail; they had barely been mentioned at all in most previous literature about the Holocaust. Thurner examines the question of whether it is proper to call these concentration camps. They did not include gas chambers, and seem to have functioned largely as forced-labor camps. The conditions sound as if they were pretty dreadful, as one might expect, but perhaps not quite as horrifying as the torments Jews and Gypsies faced in some of the more infamous camps. While the Nazis carried out medical experiments on Gypsies, they apparently did not do so at Lackenbach. Thurner concludes that it was a transit camp to the large concentration and death camps. Threat of deportation to a concentration camp, as well as repeated deportations, governed the atmosphere and living conditions in camp. The former headquarters of the Lackenbach Gypsy camp was the last remaining relic of the site, and was torn down in the 1980s around the time Thurners book was first published. When the building was partially demolished, she visited the site and found numerous documents, which she used to tell the story of the camp, including statistics on the prisoners and stories about their treatment. About half of this book (which is a short 129 pages, not including introductions and appendices) is devoted to the chapter on the Lackenbach camp. Of the 11,000 Gypsies who lived in Austria before the war, only about 3,000 survived, according to Thurner. In a new introduction for the American edition of her book, Thurner mentions a right-wing bomb attack on the Gypsy ghetto in Oberwart that killed four people in 1995. Although it is discouraging that such hatred and violence persists today, Thurner found some reason for optimism in the Austrian public's reaction to this incident. The results surrounding the bomb attack in Oberwart give us hope for the future, she writes. Funeral ceremonies for the murdered men turned into a public demonstration of solidarity. Solidarity with the Roma -- against their persecutors and murderers -- that has never happened before! Anyone interested in Burgenland genealogy has to wonder if he or she might have some Gypsies somewhere on the family tree. It's interesting to note that the handful of Gypsies mentioned by name in this book have German or Hungarian names, such as Walter, Horvath, Link and Weingartner. The book does not make it clear, however, whether they had adopted names in the local languages or whether these names are the result of intermarriages between Gypsies and the local population. The detailed bibliography and footnotes in the American edition of Thurners book should prove helpful for anyone researching Burgenland history or genealogy. Unfortunately, there's one part of the original German edition that was left out of the 1998 American edition. The new translation includes a list of relevant documents that are in the German edition's appendices, including admissions lists with all of the known names of Gypsies who were imprisoned at Camp Lackenbach. This information would be very useful to anyone trying to trace Gypsy genealogy in Burgenland. The German edition, Nationalsozialismus und Zigeuner in Oesterreich, is Volume 2 of a series called Veroeffentlichungen zur Zeitgeschichte, published by Geyer Edition, Wien. HEIMATSCHEIN (CERTIFICATE OF DOMICILE) - (from questions by Alex Tscharr) One document that may turn up in your family papers is one with the above title. While the format may change over the years, the Austrian one from the 1920's reads like this: Burgenland, Republik Österreich, Politischer Bezirk: ("town" like Güssing). womit von der Gemeinde ("of which community/town" like Olbendorf) Name ("name") Maria geb. ("nee or born") Obojkovits Beruf oder Beschäftigung ("profession or occupation" like domestic servant) Alter ("age") geb. um 2 Mär 1864 im Krottendorf Stand ("status") verh. (ledig, single or verheiratet, married) in dieser Gemeinde das Heimatrecht besitzt. Olbendorf, den 8 April 1924. Seals, stamps, file numbers, Bürgermeister name. A BURGENLAND BUNCH FRIEND VISITS OLLERSDORF (from Marjorie Krell) I am happy to report I received a postcard from Barrie Geosits, altho' she almost beat the postcard home. I had asked her if time permitted while she was in Austria, and if she was near Ollersdorf, to please check out something I did NOT look at while I was there in '94. There's a small chapel across the road from the church. I didn't know until the priest in Stegersbach said that small chapel (which I thought was perhaps used for graveside services when the weather was very bad) would have been the chapel my grandfather attended. He said my grandfather would have looked at the painting inside, and I have many copies of it he gave to me. I wanted to be sure this painting really is the one inside, and hoped to have a photograph someday. Not only did she go there and take photos which I will be anxious to receive, but the postcard has several small pictures on the front. In the upper left hand corner is a picture of the very Gasthof where I stayed, and the church which is next to it. I think possibly Ollersdorf was NOT on her agenda and she worked it in. I appreciate this so very much. TO WHICH I ADDED: Marjorie, I think your grandfather would have attended the main church which until 1871 was part of the parish of Stegersbach, although he most certainly would have visited the chapel to take the water and look at the picture. The parish church for Ollersdorf im Burgenland (there are other Ollersddorfs), Hungarian name Baratfalu, is the "Katholische Pfarr- Und Wallsfahrtkirche "Mariae Himmelfahrt", first built in 1764. It has a Baroque interior. Ollersdorf became an independent parish in 1871. You probably know that the records 1871-1895 are on LDS microfilm 0700653. Records prior to that are found in Stegersbach, LDS 0700730-732. The Wallfahrtskapelle (the chapel you mention) had its origin in 1626 when the inhabitants "found" a picture of the virgin Mary (Marienbild) in the vicinity, near a spring (brunnen). This picture was then displayed in a small wooden chapel on the spot where found. The water was said to have holy and restorative qualities. In 1768, the chapel was rebuilt of stone and the water flowed through the wall to a basin close to the altar. The chapel was renovated in 1954 and the water no longer flowed into the chapel. In 1986 the chapel was again renovated and the "brunnen" was enclosed nearby in a fountain with a statue of the Mariabild. The picture "Gnadenbild Maria Helferin" is still displayed in the chapel. The chapel is a well known local shrine and attracts visitors. In 1960 another chapel with cross, the "Bergerkapelle" was also built. The well known Gasthof Holper dates from 1868. Before that it was a village guest house (Dorfgasthaus) used as a carriage rest stop named "Mattstall". An old postcard shows the gasthaus with a horse and carriage in front. Renovated in 1965 by the parents of Franz and Gisela Holper. Rudolf and Annemarie Holper have it since 1992. There was also a Gasthof Janisch but I don't know if it is still operating. Ollersdorf has a choral group called the "Gesangverein" and also a theatergruppe. Maria and Josef Strobl have a "tischlerei" (cabinet maker's) and the Familie Klaus have a Romantikschenke (a buschenschank-new wine cellar which features live music). Karl Klaus had been a chef in Haus "Raffel" in Jennersdorf (a world class hotel restaurant). Located just north of Stegersbach on Rt. 57, the population of Ollersdorf is 957 with 364 houses, the altitude is 360 meters. In 1878 the population was 858. (Note-much of the above taken from "Güssing im Wandel der Zeit", Kirsner and Peternell, 1995.) SHARE THOSE NEWSLETTERS (suggested by email from Bill Stubits) Bill writes: << I saw my brother yesterday, and he told me that he reads your articles in the Burgenland Gemeinschaft Newspaper periodically. He also told me that he used to work with your cousin at Patt White Realty. This is a small world. >> Yes Bill, and email is making it smaller, but it can still be a lonely place. I often wish I knew exactly how many people have read some of our material. While we have over 320 members in the B. Bunch, a number circulate our newsletters and many of the B. Gemeinschaft people (a few thousand?) are also aware of us. While there are a large number of descendants of Burgenland immigrants (I estimate over 3 million), not all have computers (particularly the older generations). One of my pleasures is knowing that some of that segment is being reached by some members printing and distributing the newsletters. It's more than I wish to take on to make them available through surface mail, but I wish I could. Many of the older group (the immigrants) have lost all contact with the "heimat" and of course as they get older their memories take them back and they get a little nostalgic and homesick. Many descendants (like me) left the new places that were settled, (enclaves like the Lehigh Valley) and moved far away. Another side of the quest for family history. I just heard from a cousin in Sao Paulo, Brazil! Hasn't heard from any relatives in 30 years. I like to think I'm doing some good. Are you aware of the Poppendorf village memorial to the emigrants (erected by the BG) which reads (translated): "Only a Burgenlander can be as constant as this hard stone. He is driven into the wide world and there earns his money the hard way. Thanks to all our loved ones, we have remained faithful to our homeland." Applies to the descendants as well as the emigrants. We're still "driven into the wide world." Regards, Gerry Berghold END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD