BB News No. 73 dtd 31 Jan 2000

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 73 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) January 31, 2000 (all rights reserved) I SEARCH FOR ANCESTORS SO I HAVE SOMEONE TO BLAME FOR MY INADEQUACIES! - Anonymous Note to recipients. If you don't want to receive Burgenland Bunch newsletters, email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, homepage listings and mail.) To join, see our homepage. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Comments and articles are appreciated. Please add your name to email, otherwise we must search four large membership lists. This first section of the 3-section newsletter contains: - Data concerning the Village of Andau - Questions Concerning Village of Bildein - Family History Center - Again - Post-1920 Civil Records - Geography and Genealogy, and - Tschaar Trip Reported in OZ. VILLAGE OF ANDAU (from Burgenland Editor Albert Schuch) (Ed. Note: this starts a new village series which will feature villages in northern Burgenland, in the vicinity of the Neusiedler See. Andau is found east of Eisenstadt on the eastern side of the lake right next to the Hungarian border and the Hungarian town of Mosonszentjanos.) Andau ----- (source: Josef Loibersbeck: Am Waasen. In: Volk und Heimat 1966, # 8-10; summarized and translated by Albert Schuch, January 2000) The first document about Andau ("Anthau") dates from 1546 and mentions 12 farmers: Thomas GÜRTZEL, Stefan GÖLTL, Wolfgang BENESCH, Christian WINTER, Nikolaus TRAPOLD, Kolomann KIRNER, Matthias GRIESSBACHER, Wolfgang and Matthias FLEISCHHACKER, Zenz ALBER, Thomas MANDL and Franz SCHWARZ. There were also 9 deserted farms - probably destroyed during the Turkish War of 1529. The last three farmers from the above list were exempt from taxation, which indicates that they were new settlers. The village grew again and by 1582 consisted of 21 houses, but in 1594 it suffered again, as it was looted and torched by retreating Imperial troops following the Turkish seizure of Raab. In 1605 and 1621 Bocskay's and Bethlen's Hungarian troops operated in the area. In 1659 the inhabitants were mostly Lutherans, nonetheless their church was taken away by the Catholic authorities and re-catholicized (St. Nicholas). Both Lutherans and Catholics had their priest in St. Johann. Andau had a Lutheran teacher. In 1680 Andau's teacher was Matthias GROSS (31 y, from St. Peter). The ecclesiastical inspection of 1696 counted 434 Lutherans and only 14 Catholics. Teacher was Johann STROSCHITZ, Catholic, 42 y. In 1712 the parish Tadten was established. Andau belongs to it since 1716. Starting with 1742, baptisms and marriages were carried out in Andau itself and Andau had its own church records. In 1742 Johann GOTTSCHLICH was teacher - and inn keeper. The first surnames mentioned in the new church records (1742) are: SCHEIBELHOFER, UNGER, PELTZER, BECK, SATTLER, PILLMANN (SPIELMANN), HAHN, FUCHS, WEIDINGER, THÜRINGER, TELL, BESTENLEHNER, WURZINGER, BÖRSEL, REHBÖCK, SCHWARZ, WALLY (VÄLI), LYDI, DONGISCH (DONGS). It is said that in 1781, when the Lutheran religion was officially "tolerated" again, many inhabitants moved to Gols, where a Lutheran parish was established. In 1802 Andau became an independent parish, with Franz OBERGMEINER as its first priest (until 1833). His successors were Josef GANGL (1834-44), Josef FOIDECK (1844-54) and Georg FRST (1854-97; born in Csorna). Teachers: Anton RATH (1791-1803), Laurent LECHNER (ca. 1804; praeceptor = assisting teacher), Lorenz DUDOVITSCH (1806-9; praeceptor), Matthias MESSERER (1807-20), Ignaz MITTERNAST (1822-32; married Theresia DONGISCH), Johann PRAGER (1833-37), Josef BRAND (1857-71), Franz FRIEDRICH (1878-91), Nikolaus GILITSCH (1896; from Zala Megye). In the 1850's and 1860's, Andau consisted of 34 farmers' houses, 67 Söllner houses and 162 Hulden houses. At that time the land was transferred to them from the Domain Ungarisch-Altenburg (Magyar-Ovar), and a farmer received 150 Joch of land, a Söllner 34 and a Hulde 6-7 Joch. They also lived separated from each other: The farmers lived on the main street, the Söllners lived in the Söllner street and the Huldens lived in the Hulden street. The children from the workers of Lehndorf and Albrechtsfeld attended school in Andau. Both were nearby agricultural estates (called "Meierhof"). In 1873 Lehndorf had 117 inhabitants and Albrechtsfeld 130. Andau itself had a population of 1433. Most of them were Catholics, only 5 Lutherans in Andau, 6 in Lehndorf and 2 in Albrechtsfeld. Also 8 Jews in Andau. Further Priests: Franz GRUBER (1897-1907), Karl GRUBER (1907-18; nephew of Franz), Johann LEX (1919-1937), Johann KUGLER (1938-42), Rudolf MITTL (1942-59), Johann LIEBENTRITT (1959-?). Teachers: Johann SIMHART (1900-27), Johann DANY (1927-36), Josef SCHMAL (1936-38), Josef ARTH (1938-45 and 1954-57), Anna SCHMAL nee SIMHART (1945-47), Ernst TSCHIDA (1957-?). Albrechtsfeld had a school for some time until 1933. Statistical data: 1833: 160 houses, 1029 inhabitants; 1880: 244 houses, 1980 inh.; 1900: 307 houses, 2192 inh.; 1934: 456 houses, 2655 inh. Next in this series: Tadten. VILLAGE OF BILDEIN - QUESTIONS (Lavendoski, Berghold, Schuch, Teklits) This question started a thread which caught the attention of a number of people. If you are interested in Bildein, read on. In a message dated 1/6/00, John Lavendoski writes: QUESTION: Can you tell me the following: Where did people from Bildein go to church last century? What were the "other" names for Bildein? I will also check the web page. - John L. ANSWER: BERGHOLD WRITES: BILDEIN (Ober & Unter); (Beled, Alsó & Felsö) 0 33 23; 7521 - District of Güssing. NE of Güssing, few kms NE of Eberau. 4 kms to the W of Hungarian border. In the "Pinkaboden". Pop. 180. Combined with Eberau, Gaas, Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, Kulm. Had been independent. Was in the District of Szombathely pre-1919. Catholic church in Unterbildein was also attended by residents of Oberbildein. Emigration began in 1901 and included families from nearby villages of Harmisch, Winten, Deutsch Schützen, Eberau and Höll. Most went to NY and Passaic, NJ. LDS 0700645. QUESTION: When did that church in Unter-Bildein get built? I was thinking that, before 1900, they may have gone to Church in Szentpeterfa? Any knowledge of that? I thought that I had seen some births and marriages for residents of Bildein in the Szentpeterfa records. - John L. ANSWER: TEKLITS WRITES: In beginning the compilation of the 1681 to 1796 marriage records that you photographed, in the years 1762 to 1796, I have come across many marriages in the Szentpeterfa church records that recorded the couple / individuals as coming from Alsó-Beled (Unter-Bildein) & Felsö-Beled (Ober Bildein). The Gazetteer of Hungary shows these locales as being in the District of Szombathely and in Vas Megye. If the records show marriages with individuals stemming from both locales, I'm sure that, once I begin transcribing births during the same period, we'll find births records of the children born to the individuals whose marriages are recorded in Szentpeterfa. Frank. QUESTION: When did that church in UnterBildein get built? ANSWER: SCHUCH WRITES: According to Dr. Josef Loibersbeck, the church of Unter-Bildein was built in the 15th century. Pernau (Pornoapati), Oberbildein and Höll also belonged to the parish (St. Vitus) of Unter-Bildein. Church records start in 1692. Surnames of inhabitants of Unter-Bildein, as found in these records, 1692-1707: ROSNER, UNGER, FISCHER, KAGER, LAKOWITSCH, POMPER, LUKA, KOLLER, HAFNER, REITER, MILISCHITSCH, SEYER, EBERHARD, KRAXNER, WUSCHER, STEIRER, KNOPF. Frank, Did I already mention that a Johann FRISCH (married) was the teacher in Unterbildein 1874-1897? Gerry, The above information is taken from a historical series written by Josef Loibersbeck, entitled "Um den Eisenberg". I hope to be able to provide summaries for the newsletter later this year but, as I already wrote, I'd like to start with the "Am Waasen" series which covers several villages of the Seewinkel in Northern Burgenland. Regards, Albert QUESTION: Any knowledge of that? I thought that I had seen some births and marriages for residents of Bildein in the Szentpeterfa records. ANSWER: BEGHOLD WRITES: John, I see Albert answered some of your questions. As to finding Bildein residents in other church records, it's always possible due to marriages and baptisms (even deaths) being found as wives take their first born back "home" for baptism or a groom marries in his bride's church. Always best to scan all local area churches. Fritz Konigshofer has found some of my Berghold's as far away as Budapest and elsewhere in Hungary. Gerry TEKLITS WRITES: Albert, I have saved this list of names & will retain it as a reference to the individuals who are included in the marriage records of Szentpeterfa. Whereas the handwriting in the 1770's, 1780's, & 1790's were generally good, records in the early 1760's are very poorly written, and hence these names may be very useful in deciphering their real names from what appears on occasion to be hieroglyphics rather than readable writing. You've got a good memory, as my great-great-grandfather Frisch sort of disappeared after being recorded in the 1853 marriage records of Szentpeterfa. Your information may very well provide a link in my search for his ancestry; thanks for the input. I'll obtain the FHC microfilm for this village. (end of thread) LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS - AGAIN At the risk of being redundant, I can't mention the availability of LDS Burgenland Church and Civil Records too often. As new members join us, many have no knowledge of the availability of these wonderful records. We descendants of Burgenland immigrants are most fortunate. If you don't know about the LDS records, read on. My apologies to veteran members. FRANK PAUKOWITS WRITES: I recently became a Burgenland Bunch member. I happened to be reading your very informative article, "Rooting Around in the Burgenland of Austria," and noted your reference to the Family History Center. Would I actually be able to trace my ancestory by examining the microfiche at the Center? I assumed I would have to pour over church records in Burgenland to get that type of information. I would appreciate if you could merely clarify that point for me. Frank Paukowits; New York, NY. PAUKOWITS (Winten-Eberau) settled in the NYC area in the 1920's; KARLOVITS (Winten); JAUTZ, BODISCH (Glasing); MAGDITS (Punitz) settled in the New Jersey area in the 1920's and HORVATH (Punitz). ANSWER: Frank, yes you can trace your ancestry by using microfilm records from the LDS. Since you live in NYC you'll find more than one Family History Center there. They are operated by the Mormon church. They have copied records from everywhere for their own purposes and gladly share them. In the 1960's they copied Burgenland records stored in Budapest. Look in the phone book or check the LDS web site (from our URL list of sites - see the Homepage) for their addresses. When you go there you must order the film (there is a minimal charge per film for 6 weeks rental - you read the film when received using their readers at the FHC). The records will be in Latin, German and Hungarian but not hard to understand. See our newsletter number 37B which tells you how to read them - print it and take it along. Check the index at the FHC to see what to order or check the LDS website address from our URL list. Now what to order? I'll do it for you this once. I look in Albert's Village list and find that Winten-Eberau inhabitants went to church in Szt. Peterfa. Searching the the LDS index (website), I find the microfilm numbers for Szt. Peterfa. Now to look for PAUKOWITS & KARLOVITS (Winten-Eberau) - I assume you know your father's or grandfather's name and when born. Order the records for Szt. Peterfa, 1793 to 1895; film nos. 0602026 (birth & marriage) and 0602027 (death). This is where Winten-Eberau people went to church. Look under the birth year of the first record (grandfather's?) - you'll then find his parents and their ages - then look for their births, etc. That's all there is to it but read the newsletter on how to interpret the foreign words and each column of the records. Also copy the German & Hungarian names of the villages and take them along when you read the records - you'll find them spelled both ways (check Albert's Lists of Villages on the Homepage - all of your villages are in the district of Güssing except for Szt. Peterfa which is still in Hungary. I do the same search for your other villages and find: JAUTZ, BODISCH (Glasing); order Güssing, nos. 0700699-701. MAGDITS (Punitz) and HORVATH (Punitz); order St. Nicholas, nos. 0700734-5 Good luck and let me know how things turn out. Regards, Gerry POST-1920 BURGENLAND CIVIL RECORDS (Fritz Königshofer) The church was responsible for recording records of birth, marriage and death until 1896. At that time it became the resposibility of the village notary. Angela Trautman Latta writes to Fritz: I have seen the microfilms for birth records from 1895-1906 and 1907-1921 for Strem, but do you know which microfilm I can order from LDS for births beginning in 1922 for Strem? Fritz replies: Toward the end of 1921, the new Austrian province of Burgenland came into being and Hungary officially lost control of the area. Therefore, Hungary only retained the duplicates of the civil records until 1920 (I am surprised that for Strem this would also include 1921, but it may have been borderline, timewise). Only the Hungarians allowed LDS to film their records. Anything in this century runs into the data privacy laws of Austria (just as it does in Hungary). However, you can always try to overcome the data privacy argument by a specific valid cause such as access to the records of your own ancestors, or in pursuance of the higher good of finding relatives. For the same data privacy reasons, it is also usually easier to obtain death records of the time, rather than birth records (as the latter persons might still be alive). You would need to write to the civil office of Strem ("Standesamt, A-7522 Strem, Austria/Europe") and ask them to find specific records for you, or ask whether you would be given access if you visit. You could also write to the local parish church with the same questions ("Römisch-katholisches Pfarramt, A-7522 Strem"). While the churches from October 1895 onwards did no longer have an official recording function on behalf of the state, they continued to record vital events for their respective followers. My impression is that the Roman Catholic church of Austria has more relaxed data privacy rules than the state, as I have been able to search church records well into the 1930s. This reminds me that I do not know what actually happened to official vital recording after the Burgenland joined Austria. While Hungary had introduced civil recording since October 1895, Austria kept the service of the churches for the official recording of vital events till the 1930s. I have no idea, therefore, whether the recording in the new province of Burgenland reverted to the churches for ten years or so, or whether the Burgenland maintained the civil recording that had already been introduced by the Hungarian Government. This is an interesting question, and I am copying Gerry, Albert, and Klaus (Gerger) to see whether one of them knows the answer. Thanks for bringing up the point. The basic procedure was that all Hungarian laws remained valid in Burgenland until they were replaced by Austrian laws. The respective Austrian laws were introduced by government decrees, starting with July 1921. Since the civil recording was a "modern" system I would rather think that it was maintained. But I can't say for sure. On your advice to write to the civil office or to the local parish church I would recommend to choose the civil office. There is a considerable shortage of priests in Burgenland and so many of them have to serve two parishes instead of one. Also, for reasons not known to me, the diocese gradually seems to stop paying secretaries for the priests. They also tried to do this in our parish (Großpetersdorf) but the priest threatened to resign on the spot, hence they will continue to pay the secretary until he retires (later this year). So priests may often lack the time for this correspondence. I should also mention that there are priests who have enough time, but simply do not care about genealogical requests and refuse to answer them. Regards, Albert GEOGRAPHY AND GENEALOGY Our introduction continuously repeats that we can't help with non-Burgenland genealogy. It's not that we wouldn't like to, it's just that we don't have the data or expertise to cover all of Austria much less the rest of Europe. However, we keep getting queries about places as far away as the Ukraine, the Tyrol, Transylvania, etc., just about anyplace in Europe that might have a castle or "Burg" and thus be considered part of Burgenland! Lately I've been answering such queries by sending sections of our BB URL address list. At least this helps by providing other places to look. Following are a few of the most recent queries. Each received a list of helpful sites in addition to the published reply. We hope they get lucky and find an equivalent Burgenland Bunch for their area. In a message dated 1/11/00: QUERY: Hello: I am hoping you can help me. I am doing a Heritage Book for our three children. I have looked and looked and found nothing on Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. The first is from Austria, I believe, and the surname is Potomak, Alois born around 1898. Is there anything on him and his family at all? He died in Sept 1957. I believe he was born in Shellach, N Osterreich. Please excuse the spelling. That is my husband's side of the family. My grandparents came to Canada around 1903 from Russia. What part I do not know. My grandfather's name was Sam Zietsoff, born in 1880. If you have any information, I would very much appreciate it. Please just tell me what to do. Thank you for your time and patience. REPLY: Hello and thanks for the contact, We get many requests like yours. Three things are necessary before you can achieve any success in a European genealogy search. You must have the the exact spelling of family name as used in Europe, the correct village of birth and an approximate immigration time frame. Many family names were changed upon immigration. Many villages are now under different names. Exact spellings are required for computer searches. You may have two of these requirements. Potomak appears to be a Czech or Slovakian name. Since there is no village named Shellach in Austria today, it is either a phonetic spelling or the former name of a village in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. It could also be a small village absorbed by another. N. (Neider) Österreich or Lower Austria is one of the Provinces (States) of today's Austria. Burgenland is another. Our research area is the Burgenland exclusively. We have no information concerning the other provinces except for immediate border villages. Russia is an even greater enigma. Without a village name your quest there is almost hopeless. Your best approach is to look for family records or traditions that may supply a clue. Also check the 1910 or 1920 US census for the county and state where your ancestor settled. They may supply the village and country of origin. They are available from the LDS (Mormon Church), some Libraries and at various US govt. locations. Another path is to look for a naturalization record in the county courthouse of where your ancestor settled. It too might have the village name. A fun method, but very tedious is to check the many web sites available today. Below I've listed some of the more popular. Try a name search at the Austrian telephone site for the name Potomak. There just may be some relatives still living there. IN A MESSAGE dated 1/11/00: Researching the GOLOB name. Have been told by family members that we originally came from Austria near the Hungarian border. Know that the name is Slovenian in origin. So far that is it. My father was born in Springfield, Illinois, but don't know if his father emigrated or his father. Donald Golob REPLY: The Austro-Hungarian Empire was vast. Slovenia, or Carniola as it was called pre-1918, was just one of many provinces. From 1918 to 1992, it was part of Yugoslavia. It lies to the south of Burgenland and is not included in our research area. The region borders both Austria (provinces of Styria and Carinthia) and Hungary. The Golub name is not familiar to me as a Burgenland name. If you find information that places your ancestors in the Burgenland, please let us know. Suggest you try some of the following web sites. IN MESSAGE: I am searching for a John Rudish from the village of Funfkirchen. Is that located in the area of Burgenland? Any help locating the parish for records would be appreciated thanks, Mary Hudson box 267 Strabane, PA 15363. Mary Rudish came to this country in 1901 from Bohemia. I have a picture with her and her son taken in Funfkircehn but thats all the info. REPLY: No, Fünfkirchen (now Pecs, Hungary) is in Hungary to the east of the Austrian Burgenland. It is not in Bohemia. If Rudish came from Bohemia he would have come from what is now the Czech Republic to the north of Austria. They may have just had a picture taken in Fünfkirchen. Bohemia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire pre-1918. IN MESSAGE: Christine Dombrowski; Midland, Pa Researching KYCZAN, KICHEN, in GALICIA, GALIZIA Austria settled in Pennsylvania. REPLY: Sorry, but Galicia (Galitzen-capital Lemberg-[Lwow]) is far from the Burgenland, clear across Hungary in what was southern Russia (the Ukraine) from the Vistula to Dneister Rivers). Just one of the many territories of the Empire. You wouldn't find anything in our Burgenland archives. Suggest you try some of the following: (Extract from URL List followed.) TSCHAAR TRIP REPORT PUBLISHED IN OZ (Albert Schuch to Alex Tschaar) Alex, my shortened translation of your trip report has been printed in yesterday's issue of the Oberwarter Zeitung. I will send the newspaper to your address tomorrow. Note that it may travel a few weeks, as I will be sending it "non priority" to keep my postage costs as low as possible. It has, by the way, turned out that the woman you visited in Stegersbach (96 yr-old Hedwig Koller) is related to my mother (who is a native of Stegersbach). We found this out when I told my mother about your story while I was at home during the Christmas holidays. Small world, isn't it? And yesterday, BB-member Heinz Koller phoned from Güssing. He said he had just read the article and reminded me that he is also related to this family (which I already knew, but had not thought of it). He told me that he visited Hedwig during the holidays. She is now staying with her daughter Hedy's family in Oberwart. (Newsletter continues as no. 73A) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 73A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) January 31, 2000 This second section of the 3 section newsletter has: - An Interesting Report of Genealogical Help - Notice of Allentown Morning Call Archive Charges - Obituaries From The Allentown Morning Call, and - Comments on the Derivation of Surnames. INTERESTING REPORT OF GENEALOGICAL HELP New member Mary Carmody introduced herself by telling me of the help she received from a pastor in Hungary. Thinking her experience would be of interest to our readers, I asked her to elaborate. Her reply follows. It shows the results that can be obtained by contacting distant relatives as well as writing to church authorities. Many of us often get the feeling that some unseen hand is guiding our efforts. MARY WRITES: Gerry, You asked for a short report on my contact with the church in Ágfalva, Hungary. I'd like to give a fuller sense of how, during 1999, something larger than ourselves unexpectedly opened one door after another, taking us on a wonderful genealogy adventure - the pastor in Ágfalva is but the most recent. Early in 1999, my 87-year-old legally-blind father (he was the fourth child and the first born in the US) gave me items that belonged to his parents -- old photos, letters, and a book recording his parents' marriage in Ágfalva and the deaths of some relatives "in the old country" -- all handwritten in "old" German (script) and which he couldn't help identify. Grandpa and Grandma had not talked much about the old country, which they left in 1907 and 1911, but had preserved these items over many years. I suspect Dad had kept them put away because Grandma and Grandpa had two children before they married. I shared copies of the "hand-me-downs" with a cousin who lives near me in St. Louis and she had a friend translate the book for us, but the "old" German was very difficult and we had some questions about Grandpa's brothers. So, on a long shot we contacted my cousin's brother in San Diego whom we had heard visited one of Grandpa's relatives in the 1950s. It turned out that he had visited Nuenkirchen, Germany with the wife of Grandpa's #2 brother and had visited twice after her death with her offspring in Mosbach, Germany. Most importantly, he still had a Christmas-card-exchange relationship with a cousin there. He contacted the Mosbach cousin and her husband, who gave us names and birthdates of the family of Grandpa's #2 brother, identified some photos and gave us photos of her family. Even more, she surprised us with the existence of, and an address for, the daughter of Grandpa's #4 brother who lives in Traun, Austria. From the Traun cousin and her daughter we received much help not only with a list of their relatives but with the knowledge that Grandpa had two sisters. They also did translations of "old" German writings on photos and postcards. And, another surprise, they had a copy of birth documents obtained by Grandpa's #4 brother in 1938 as "proof of Aryan descent". These gave us the names of Grandpa's two sets of grandparents. On top of that, the Traun cousin knew of a grandson of Grandpa's #1 sister now living in Budapest Hungary. She also knew that Grandpa's #2 sister lived in the Balaton-Lelle area of Hungary and died giving birth to her 6th or 7th child. My San Diego cousin contacted our Budapest cousin, who was delighted to provide the information about his relatives, identified some of the photos, and contacted the cousin still living in Ágfalva, who apparently speaks the same "old" German as our grandparents. In addition, our Budapest cousin remembered hearing the married name of Grandpa's #2 sister and found two listings of people with that name in the Balaton-Lelle phone directory. He is writing to them and to the registrar of that city. On Grandma's side, my cousin in San Diego, via the internet, located the daughter of Grandma's only sister who lives in Brownsville, Wisconsin, and had visited Grandma in St. Louis in the 1950s. San Diego cousin and an uncle visited Brownsville, took photos of that family and learned the story of our 19-year old cousin -- forced to leave Hungary when the Soviets came in, relocated to Schwaigern, Germany, married and had a child, and then insisted on taking the opportunity presented in a newspaper ad to come to the US to work on a dairy farm (and much more). She gave us an old address for her sister. My San Diego cousin asked the husband of our Mosbach cousin (grandpa's family) for help in locating Grandma's niece; she had moved but he tracked her down in Leonberg, Germany. She has provided much data about her family and given us photos of her parents and stories of being cold and hungry and how the family lost everything except 100 kilos of belongings when they were relocated to Germany. Genealogy brings some sadness, too. By October of 1999, the fates had led us to the point of having a list of 52 relatives of Grandpa and 24 of Grandma. Of these, 29 and 13, respectively, were probably born in Ágfalva (Agendorf). We knew the identities and contents of 50 out of 52 of the original old photos and letters and we had amassed a nice collection of additional photos from our European relatives. Probably familiar to other family researchers, as the adventure progressed we became more and more emotionally "caught up". Each succeeding door held not only revelations, fascinating historical stories, and yet another enticing door, but provided contacts with really helpful and enthusiastic previously unknown relatives with whom we continue to correspond. All of which leads me, finally, to October 10, 1999, on which date I wrote to Evangelikus Egyhazkozseg, 9423 Ágfalva (near Sopron), Hungary, the church in which Grandpa and Grandma were married. The letter was in English and inquired as to whether extracts could be obtained from them, the cost, and if we could visit the church. I enclosed the lists of possibly-Ágfalva (Agendorf)-born relatives to give the pastor an idea of the size of the job. As time passed, I worried that I should have had the letter translated to German or Hungarian. But, just before Christmas, a response arrived. The pastor, Makovnikné Hüffner Györgyi, wrote in perfect English giving information about our cousin living in Ágfalva, inviting us to visit the church and offering to provide information at a modest cost. On the enclosures, she had filled in 18 dates of birth/death/marriage, confirmed some others, made a few corrections -- apparently two of our female ancestors were from Harka and Balf (Wolf) -- and provided causes of death for 6 of them. Best of all, she enclosed ancestor diagrams taking us back one generation on both Grandpa's and Grandma's families. Once again, we were astounded at the discoveries and heart-warmed by the generosity and helpfulness. We quickly requested another tap into their wonderful records. Last week, when by accident I found your website while looking for Austrian travel information, I was struck by how similar the sharing spirit of your newsletters is to the experience we have had with our cousins. I hope this doesn't sound too melodramatic but it's as though some unseen force is moving to draw together what war and economic necessity have separated. Perhaps others in the BB will understand. Thanks for all the high quality work you obviously put into the BB. Mary Carmody NOTICE OF ALLENTOWN CALL CHRONICLE ARCHIVE CHARGES (from Anna Kresh) Guess it was too good to last. The Allentown (PA) Morning Call newspaper is going to begin charging a fee to download fully (I assume this means "display") articles from their online Archives web site at http://www.mcall.com/. See notice below from their Archives web site. I tried using it this afternoon (1/14) and it was still free, but if you were planning to do some Lehigh Valley research at this site I would suggest that you do it SOON. NOTICE: Free access to The Morning Call's online Archive of local stories since 1984 will give way in the first quarter of 2000 to "e-commerce." Searching will continue to be free - you will only need pay using your credit card the cost of stories you want to download fully. In order for schools and other not-for-profit organizations to synchronize with their budget cycles which begin 7/1/2000 contracting for archive service at annual rates (to be announced), The Morning Call offers to students, teachers, and staff of any qualified entity within the The Morning Call's service area free access through 6/30/2000. Entities desiring to be so exempt from charges should request such on letterhead to (subject to qualification solely at the discretion of) The Morning Call, attn. Online Archives, 101 N 6th St, Allentown PA 18105. Include all IP addresses for exempt downloading - PCs at other IP addresses will be charged. Allow 10 days from receipt of request for processing. <end of notice> OBITUARIES FROM ALLENTOWN, PA "MORNING CALL" (G. Berghold) (from BB URL List) Morning Call Newspaper http://www.mcall.com - Allentown, PA newspaper for Lehigh Valley area; click on Archives for searchable database of birth, marriage, death, and general articles since 1984 Having spent most of my formative years in Allentown, I like to check the local news to see what's happening. The fact that thousands of Burgenländers settled there also provides much information for the BB news. I recently searched the 1999 archives by entering the name Berghold, then Burgenland, then Austria and finally Hungary. I found only a few Berghold entries (there is an unlinked Berghold from the Bath area who is an avid bowler and gets mentioned frequently; and the large Frank Berghold [grandfather's brother] clan are busy marrying and having children). There were more Burgenland entries, even more for Austria and many more for Hungary. As you can imagine, many of the articles are obituaries. The older generation of immigrants is now reaching the nineties in age and their place of birth is mentioned. What is surprising to me is how few descendants know the name of the deceased's village of birth. Just a few are mentioned. Many obituaries merely say "born in Austria." I've selected a few family names that appear in the BB membership list: Josef Drauch, 61, of Allentown died Dec. 15, 1999; born in Austria. Son of Erna (Jaindl)Drauch and the late Josef Drauch. Services were (held) Friday in Heiligenkreuz, Austria! Pearson Funeral Home, Bethlehem. Felix Hammel, 91, of Northampton died Oct. 12, 1999; born in Northampton. Son of the late Edward and Anna (Taschnovian) Hammel. A meat cutter for ...Kornfeind's Market Northampton. Husband of the late Helen (Kochan) Hammel who died in 1995. Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. Johanna Milisits, 96, of Northampton died Aug. 31, 1999; born in Harmisch, Austria. Daughter of the late Frank and Anna (Palkovits) Luipersbeck. Wife of the late John Milisits. Schisler Funeral Home, Northampton. Rose Poandl, 92, of Allentown died Jan.22, 2000; born in Eltendorf, Austria. Daughter of the late Franz and Theresia (Doppler) Mirth. Wife of the late August Poandl. Weber Funeral Home, Allentown. Theresa Sommer, 95, of Coplay died Sept. 5, 1999; born in Austria. Daughter of the late Michael and Cecelia (Weber) Kaintz. Wife of the late Ludwig Sommer. Hauke Funeral Home, Coplay. Stephen Tarafas, 73, of Northampton died Dec. 5, 1999; born in Northampton. Son of the late Joseph and Sophia (Kolar) Tarafas. Husband of the late Olga (Reszetar) Tarafas. Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. (Ed. Note: this is a Pinka Mindszent, Hungary family - part of my genealogy.) Joseph Teklits, 95, formerly of Nazareth died Jan. 14, 1999; born Szentpeterfa, Austria-Hungary. Son of the late Frank ans Mary (Temmel) Teklits. Husband of the late Mary (Milisits) Teklits. Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. Joseph Vollman, 80, of Allentown died Aug. 22, 1999; born in Burgenland, Austria. Son of the late Joseph and Anna (Deutsch) Vollman. Husband of Theresa (Haftl) Vollman. Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. These are just a few of the Burgenland names I found. If you have ancestors from the Lehigh Valley, it would be worthwhile to search the Morning Call archives which are available from 1984 to date. The archives can be reached at http://www.mcall.com Click on "Archives." I suggest you set the number of items to be listed at a high number like 200 so you don't miss any. Search first on your family names, then try Burgenland, then Austria and Hungary. DERIVATION OF SURNAMES (suggested by Anna Kesh) One step every genealogist should take is to research the origin of their names. This is a specialized field called "Onomastics" or "the science of names". There are many books on the subject and I've mentioned some in previous newsletters. It's not my intention to pirate some of this work, although I have considered writing an article mentioning the origin of some Burgenland names, as they do fall into special categories not found everywhere. My own name "Berghold" is not too common and has at least four or five origins, but only two of these origins stem from southern Austria. The name can mean (with an "e" on the end) "vineyard worker" (southern Germany) or "mountain smallholder" (Styria). I don't feel I have enough data to prepare such an article as yet, although we have discussed some BB names in past issues. The main purpose of this article is to get you started looking into the origin of your name. Anna Kresh recently forwarded a nice synopsis of the general origins of Germanic names. We want to share it with you (with Roots-L permission). Remember that if your surname is a Germanic one, it can well mean that your Burgenland ancestors migrated from some other Germanic region and the type of name may be a clue as to where that place was. If this article gets you started, consider adding one of the books mentioned to your library. ANNA WRITES: I got the following from the Northampton County mailing list. Is there anything here we can use for the newsletter? FROM: LAURA D LAHNEMAN, Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2000 5:04 PM Subject: [PANORTHA-L] definitions of surnames I thought I would send these definitions around again. For all the newbies this may help to define your family name. I am researching the Lahneman/Lahnemann family name. Any info you can offer would be appreciated... MEANINGS Names derived from PROFESSION of first bearer: Arzt - doctor; Bader - barber; Bauer - farmer; Bauman(n) - builder; Becker - baker; Brenner - distiller; Brauer, Breuer - brewer, brower, brewster; Eisenhauer, Eisenhower - iron cutter, miner; Farber - painter; Fischer - fisher; Fleischer - butcher; Gebauer - peasant or tiller of the field; Gerber - tanner; Kellerman - worker or dweller in a wine cellar or tavern; Kessler - coppersmith, own who sold or made kettles; Kramer - merchant; Krieg, Krieger - war, warrior, in Yiddish could mean tavern keeper; Kuster (Kuester) - sexton; Kunstler - artist or skilled artisan; Lederer, Lederman(n) - leather maker, tanner; Lehrer - teacher; Lesser - custodian of a forest, game keeper; Lichtermann - one who lit lamps, lamplighter; Lichtman - candle maker; Maurer - stone mason; Mehler (Mahler) - painter; Mehlinger, Mehlman(n), Melman - one who works with flour; Metzger - butcher; Muller - miller; Nachtman(n) - night watchman; Pfannnenschmidt - maker of pots and pans; Postman(n) - postal worker, (also a person from Postau); Puttkam(m)er - person who cleans rooms; Rader - wheelwright, one who makes wheels; - a person from Raden (moor, reedy place), one who thatched with reed; Reifsneider, Reifsnyder - one who made barrel hops; Reiter - horseman, also one who cleared land for tilling; Richter - judge or magistrate; Saltz, Saltzman(n) - one who processed and sold salt; Sandler - one who carts sand, repairs shoes, a cobbler; Schäfer - sheperd; Schenker - one who kept a public house; Scherer - one who shaved others, a barber; Schlosser - lock smith; Schluter (Schlueter, Schlüter) - the keeper of supplies; Schmidt - smith; Schmuker, Schmu(c)kler - one who decorates, ornaments; Schneider and Schroeder - tailor; Schultz, Schultheis - village mayor; Schreiber - secretary or scribe; Schreiner - cabinet maker; Schubert - one who made or sold shoes; Schulman(n) - school or synagogue man; Schumacher, Schu(h)man(n), Schuster - shoe maker, cobbler; Steinhauer - one who cuts and breaks stone; Studebaker - one who prepared or sold pastries; Wagner - wagoner, wagon maker; Weber - weaver; Wechsler - money changer. Names derived from LOCATION of homestead: Zumwald - at the forest; Kaltenbach - cold creek; Waldschmidt - smith at/in the woods; Meer - from the sea, ocean; Borg (northern German) or Burg - from or near a fortified castle; Bullwinkel - corner where bulls were kept; Adler (zum Adler) - eagle, may have derived from a house name; Rabe - crow. The PLACE a person came from: Cullen from Koeln/Cologne; Dannenberg, town of Dannenberg - pine tree covered mountain, three places in Germany; Dresdner from Dresden; Halpern or Halperin - one who came from Heilbronn in Wurttemberg; Mel(t)zer - can be a brewer or a person who came from Meltz; Berlin, Klutz and Lowenthal- place names in Germany; Silberg - two place names in Germany; Stein - numerous villages in German-speaking countries; stone, rock, marker; Sternberg - name of ten places in Germany; Shapiro, Shapira, Shapero, Shapera - one from Spyer / Spira / Shapira; Pollack - one who came from Poland; Frank - from Franconia; Rockower, Rockow - ow is frequent and only in the low lands of Germany; Schlesinger - one who came from Silesia or Schleusingen in Thuringia; Schwei(t)zer - person from Switzerland, but also a dairyman. FIRST NAMES of first bearer: Friedrich, Fritz, Albrecht (Albright), Dietrich, Dietz, Eberhard(t), Georg(e), Heinrich, Heinz, Hinz, Konrad, Kunz, Ludwig, Lutz, Ott(o), Paul(us), Reinhard, Werner. Names derived from a PHYSICAL OR OTHER CHARACTERISTIC of first bearer: Altmann - old man; Hellmann - light man; Dick - fat person; Klein - short; Lange - the long one; Kurz - the short one; Lustig - happy person; Grossmann - the big one; Rot(h)bart - red beard; Weiss - white appearance; Schwar(t)z - black appearance; Schwarzkopf - black haired; Sus(s)man - affectionate person; Unruh - agitator or trouble maker; Schatz - treasure; Stamm, Stump - trunk (as of a tree); Stammler - stutterer; Stock - stick, tree trunk. Dating back to the OLD GERMANIC world: Albrecht (Albright), Die(d)trich, Gunther, Hagen, Hildebrandt, Hillenbrand, Oswald, Siegfried (Seyfried). SHORT forms: Konrad-Kunz, Heinrich-Hinz. Names of SAINTS, which became family names: Lukas, Matthias, Matthaeus, Paulus, Ruprecht and Nikolaus. After DAYS OF THE WEEK OR MONTH: Montag, Freitag, Sonntag; May (Mai). Relating to OBJECTS/MATERIALS: Hammer - hammer; Nagel - nail; Knopf - butto;, Stahl - steel; Eisen - iron; Erzberger - ore mountain; Gold - gold; Silber - silver; Baum - tree; Holz - wood; Stroh - straw; Keller - cellar, storage space. Regional differences: Diminutives (-chen, -lein, -lin) can indicate regional origin. Examples: Buechlein, Boeglin. Allemanic (Switzerland, Alsace, Baden) endings in -li; Swabian: -le; Bavaria/Austrian: -erl; North German: -gen, -ken. Schleswig-Holstein and Friesland share the North-European tradition of adding -sen or -so(h)n to the father's name: Hansen, Claussen, Petersen, Petersohn, Jacobsohn, T(h)omsen. Where immigration from the northeastern provinces of Mecklenburg and Pomerania was strong, you will find names ending in -ow (but note that Polish and Russian have that ending too). Sources: Hans Bahlow, Dictionary of German Names, 1993, 641 pp., $22.50, ISBN 0-924119-35-7, Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 901 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 52705 George F. Jones, German-American Names, 1995, 320 pp., $25.00, ISBN 0-8063-1481-8, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202-3897 From the Max Kade Center's Teaching Unit: GERMAN-AMERICANS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AMERICAN MAINSTREAM CULTURE: GERMAN NAMES AND WORDS (Newsletter continues as no. 73B) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 73B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold) January 31, 2000 This third section of the 3 section newsletter has: - an article concerning the Publication of the Final K & P Bezirk Book, - more on Vas Megye Teklits Nobility, - a synopsis of US Immigration 1904-1906, - and many URL and Member Changes. FINAL KIRSNER & PETERNELL (K&P) BEZIRK PUBLICATION (G. Berghold) A few days ago I received a special package from Austria. It was the 7th and final edition of the K&P German language publications covering the villages within each Bezirk (district) of the Burgenland. This one covered the Bezirk of Neusiedl am See. The full title is "Der Bezirk Neusiedl am See im Wandel der Zeit" (The District of Neusiedl am See through the ages). I had placed an order for these books with my cousin Klaus Gerger. When I visited him in Vienna last year, he handed me the editions I didn't have, explaining that the last had not as yet been published. I've mentioned these books in past newsletters. If you'd like to have pictures of the village of your ancestors including churches, municipal offices, Gasthausen etc., get yourself a copy of the book for the Bezirk in which your village is located. Included are brief histories of the villages written in German. As stated, there are seven editions, one for each Bezirk. As you may know, the Burgenland Bezirks (north to south) are Neusiedl am See, Eisenstadt-Umgebung (Eisenstadt and surrounding areas), Mattersburg, Oberpullendorf, Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf. Within each book are the villages (Die Gemeinden or Municipalities) and their dependencies (Ortsteile) in alphabetic order. Those Gemeinde, which include even smaller area villages (Ortsteile) in their jurisdiction, include them in their respective sections. For instance, in Bezirk Oberwart, the Gemeinde of Bernstein includes its Ortsteile villages of Dreihtten, Redlschlag, Rettenbach and Stube. Each book has a Bezirk overview, a history with pictures, a bibliography, and comments concerning industry. Within each Gemeinde are aerial views of the Gemeinde, the coat of arms and description, history and evolution from earliest times to the present, more pictures, street scenes, churches, monuments, history of the churches, items of cultural and tourist interest (Sehenswrdigkeiten), a section called "Unsere Gemeinde" (our community) with pictures of people, places, businesses, artists and worthy individuals. The smaller "Ortsteile" may not have as much data as the larger villages. Like a sign I once saw which said "in this place in the last century, absolutely nothing happened!" Fortunately there aren't many of those in the books. A table of contents is included. A list of the Gemeinden and their Ortsteile is usually found around page seven although it varies by edition. Cost per book is 396 Austrian schillings plus postage. A check for $40 will probably cover book and postage. Write to: Kirsner & Peternell, Spezielle Publikationen, Kapellenweg 14, 8502 Lannach, Burgenland, Austria, Europe. Mention that you want a copy of "name of book" (Ich möchte gern ein Kopie dem Buch "Der Bezirk (your village Bezirk) im Wandel der Zeit". Be sure to include your name and address. All seven books ("gesamte Burgenlandserie sammeln") can also be ordered; however I'd write for exact price as they are heavy and postage is expensive. If you don't know the Bezirk that includes your village, you can find it in Albert's Village List in the BB Homepage. These are finely-made publications, hardback with glossy paper, lots of color and well-bound. They are a wonderful adjunct to any family history. You may become so enthralled with them that you'll probably learn some German so you can read the histories! These books don't take the place of a good local village history but, until you find one, they'll be the next best thing. While the historical sections are not as detailed as I'd like, they are an excellent synopsis. They also mention all of the names of the village, including Latin, German, Hungarian and Croatian. The illustrations are outstanding. You'll feel like you're visiting the area. You couldn't buy my seven copies at three times the price. FURTHER ON LOCAL (VAS MEGYE) TEKLITS NOBILITY (Fritz Königshofer, Frank Teklits, and Felix Jurasits) Fritz writes: Just back from business travel to Budapest and Tirana, I believe I have some further material on the Teklits family.... When I visited the Széchenyi Library, I once again checked the regional (county) books on Hungarian nobility, available in one of the reading rooms. I noted two small booklets which I had previously overlooked. They are both written by the same Dr. Horväth Kálmán who is the author of the book on the 1835 list of nobles on which I had written to you in June. His other two booklets available from the library appear to be on the 1726/27 census of nobility, and on the 1754/55 census of nobility. Of the latter, my notes say 1774, but in retrospect, I am pretty convinced it should read 1754, but I am not absolutely sure. The booklet on 1726/27 lists György and Miklós Teklich [sic] in Szentpéterfa, and János Teklics [sic] in Rohoncz (Rechnitz). The remarkable aspect is that in both entries (for Szentpéterfa and Rohoncz) the nobility reference leads back to the same original decree of nobility, and this is the one by Rudolf II on April 2, 1601. The 1754/55 (or 1774?) booklet lists a Miklós Teklics in Rohoncz, and has the following list (my amateur interpretation) in Szentpéterfa: Miklós Teklics jun.; another Miklós Teklics; Miklós Teklics sen., widower, with son György; János Teklics, son of György; Ferenc Teklics, widower, with sons Ferenc, György and József; and Adám Hertelendi. I am transcribing the full Hungarian text below and recommend that you obtain a translation by a person capable of the Hungarian language. The only question I cannot resolve without revisiting the library is whether the second book refers to the 1754/55 census as I assume, or a 1774 census as I had noted. 1. From "Vas Vármegye 1726/27 évi Nemesség vizsgálata" by Dr. Horváth Kálmán, Szombathely, 1940: Rohonc (Rechnitz): Teklics János. Felmutatta II Rudolf ltal 1601 pr. 2-n adomnyozott cmeres nemeslevelet, amelyet csak az 1604.vben hirdettek ki Vas megyben. Szentpéterfa: Teklich György s Miklós. Felmutattk II Rudolf ... [exactly the same text as above] 2. From the same book on 1754 (or 1774?)... I did not note down the title and year of publication. Rohonc (Rechnitz): Teklics Miklós Szentpéterfa: ifj. Teklics Miklós; Teklics Miklós, msik; id. Teklics Miklós zvegye fival Györgyel; Teklics János, György fia; Teklics Ferenc zvegye fiaival Ferencel, Györgyel s Józsefel; Hertelendi Adám. Felix Jurasits then tranlates the Hungarian for Frank Teklits: In reply to your email of 12/20, below is my translation: 1. "Researching the Nobles in Vas Varmegye year of 1726/27" by Dr. Horvath Kalman, Szombathely, 1940: John Teklits produced an emblem-impressed noble document that was given to him by Rudolf II on April 2, 1601. This was made public in 1604 in Vas Varmegye. Szentpeterfa: George and Michael Teklits produced........ the same text as above. I agree with Mr. Königshofer's translation regarding Rohonc (Rechnitz): Teklics Miklos. etc. Wishing you a happy and joyous holiday season. Felix UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION 1904-1905-1906 (by G. Berghold, data and quoted excerpts [in parens] from "The Complete National Geographic on CD" for years mentioned) The 20 year period from 1890 to 1910 is very important in the history of Burgenland area emigration. It started slowly and built up to a crescendo, at which point government officials began to register great concern. The United States, feeling they were headed for serious social and political problems, and the Austrians and Hungarians, feeling the effect of the population drain (some villages and farmsteads were almost completely denuded of men). Shortly thereafter, both began to apply the brakes in the form of immigration laws and bureaucratic restrictions. To encapsulate these times, I searched the National Geographic magazines and found articles written by the US Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ZF McSweeny, 1904-5) and the Commissioner General of Immigration (FP Sargent, 1905-6. I've extracted and commented on only Austrian-Hungarian and Slavic Immigration, although the articles address immigrants from everywhere. In his opening remarks, McSweeny states "in 1882 a circle drawn over the map of Europe, taking in all points from which we (the US) were receiving immigrants would have its center in the city of Paris. In 1902...its center (would be) located in Constantinople (Istanbul)." In other words immigration had shifted from northern to southern Europe and was to remain that way for a number of decades. The second waves of European immigration were reaching our shores in large numbers. Sargent states "No migration in history is comparable to the great hordes that have crossed the Atlantic during the past 20 years to enter our territory. In 1905, 1,026,499 immigrants were admitted; in 1906, 1,100,735...Since June 30, 1900, 6,000,000 have been admitted, of whom probably 5,500,000 have settled permanently...Perhaps the most striking fact is that less than 5% of the newcomers have reached or passed the age of 45..." "More than one-third of the immigrants (fiscal year ended June 1906), 374,708 stated they intended to stay in New York, ...198,681 asserted they were going to Pennsylvania, ...86,539 Illinois, ...73,863 Massachusetts, ...58,415 New Jersey, ...880,036 entered through New York, 62,229, Boston, 54,064 Baltimore, 23,186 Philadelphia, 6,201 Galveston and 2,051 New Orleans." "During this fiscal year Austria contributed 111,508; Hungary 133,540; Balkans 4,666; German Empire 37,304; Italy 273,120; Russian Empire and Finland 215,665; England 49,491..." "The economic conditions in Austro-Hungary are such that there is every inducement for the peasant class to seek the prosperity which this country offers... Seen from this side, there seems to be an unceasing war between Bohemian and German, Croat, Pole and Hungarian, which permanently threatens the nation's progress, while (Austrian) parliamentary efforts seem to be limited to the playful exchange of inkpots, rules, and cuspidors between opposing factions." "The fertile country of central Hungary furnishes no emigrants, but further north (and west) in the districts less favored by nature, there is an emigration of Magyars amounting to about 23,000 a year. The Croatians and Slovenians from the south of Austria have only commenced to come into this country in the last 15 years, and already have colonies in southern California and Oregon, with large numbers in the Pennsylvania mines." "From Carniola (Slovenia), Krainers (people from the Oberkrain regions) have been coming here for 70 years, following some Krainer missionaries who came here and settled on the northwestern border... The whole Balkan territory is beginning to feel the fever of emigration..." The article is accompanied by many pictures of representative immigrants in their national dress as seen upon landing, also pictures of Ellis Island. Two pictures show immigrant children (detained for one reason or another) enjoying an Ellis Island roof top playground, waving American flags while riding in a toy truck). IMMIGRATION DURING 1904 (same source) "Only a few less than 10,000 landed at New York in two days in November, the least popular season of the year for newcomers." "The striking and significant feature of the table of immigrants for 1904 is that the chief diminution is shown in the arrivals from Austria-Hungary, amounting to 28,855 (dropped from 177,151), and from Italy, 37,326 (dropped from 223,291)..." ABILITY TO READ AND WRITE (same source) Illiteracy rates, Finns from Russia, only 3%, Germans 4%, Germans from Austria-Hungary 4%, English 1%, Irish 3%, Scandinavians 1%, Poles from Russia 36% (!), Poles from Germany and Austria Hungary 23% (!), Hebrews from Russia 23% (!), Italians 13% (as a group), south Italians 48% (!). The articles go on to discuss the possible effects of massive unchecked immigration on the United States and the general philosophy of whether immigration is desirable long run. Statistics of aliens requiring social care, numbers in mental institutions, in jails, etc. are quoted. Likewise economic effects are discussed with the general consensus being that the cheap labor while desirable from an economic standpoint is causing problems among the native alien population (the last wave of immigrants-mostly German and Irish). The same "immigrants=good or bad?" question being addressed today was addressed 100 years ago. At that time it led to the immigration restrictions of the 1920's and the quota system. McSweeny writes: "The privilege of intercourse with native children and school instruction lifts up the immigrant in the second generation to the level of his fellows. (Ed. Note: and, in the 3rd and 4th generation, frequently surpasses them!) The children of the ignorant, illiterate and once despised German and Irish have grown up to match the native American of several generations in brawn and brain, wit and culture, and today are working with them, side by side, in every line of social, scientific, intellectual, political, and mechanical endeavor." He concludes with "There is only one Ellis Island in the world; no other country has its mate, because none offers the inducements to the poor of the world that we do. Let us thank God that this is so and and pray that we may be able to keep it so, and that the twentieth century may bring to America the fruition of all its hopes, and the standard of progress and freedom which its history has inspired be the torch that will light the world in the same path." I think the writer would have been pleased, had he lived to see the results of the immigration that occurred in the twentieth century. One immigration article not quoted here was written by an eminent Ivy League member of a prestigious university, now known for its extremely liberal staff. He advocated that we should select immigrants in the same way that we select animals for husbandry (pedigree and desireable physical traits) - that the massive immigration allowed the United States the unique choice of being selective and improving the native stock by turning away those that did not meet stringent requirements of health and mental acuity. It's remarkable that the National Geographic published such an article even in those days, but it's to our everlasting credit that this advice wasn't followed, at least to the extent advocated. Of course, many immigrants were even then denied entry, 12,432 in 1906; including 2,493 Hebrew, 2,121 Italian, 1,000 Polish and 1,867 German. How many possible Einstein's, Marconi's, Chopin's and Thomas Mann's in that lot? One picture was of a little Gypsy girl and boy waiting to be deported (Picture title: Excluded Gypsies [sic] about to be Deported, page 333, Ntl. Geo. May 1907). I wonder what their fate was, did they survive the return voyage and WW-I only to end their lives in a WW-II concentration camp? BURGENLAND BUNCH INTERNET LINKS - ADDITIONS, REVISIONS 1/30/00 (from Internet/URL Editor Anna Tanczos Kresh) AUSTRIAN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN INTERNET LINKS o LDS - Austria http://www.ettl.co.at/mormon/ - Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in Austria; links to LDS Family History Libraries and genealogy - German http://www.ettl.co.at/mormon/deutsch/gen_gie.html - English http://www.ettl.co.at/mormon/english/gen_gy.html; no LDS-FHLs yet in Burgenland (Ralph Nielsen) BURGENLAND INTERNET LINKS WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS IN BURGENLAND (Albert Schuch) Burgenland has no daily newspaper, only four weeklies. Three of them are published in German language, one in Croatian. (1) Burgenländische Freiheit (BF) http://www.bnet.at/bf - owned by the Socialist Party (SP) of Burgenland, comparable to the U.S. Democratic Party; largest circulation (2) Burgenländische Volkszeitung (BVZ) <paper only; not online> - owned by the Conservative Party (VP) of Burgenland, comparable to the U.S. Republican Party; second largest circulation (3) Oberwarter Zeitung (OZ) http://www.oz-net.at/ - formerly "Oberwarther Sonntags-Zeitung" (many emigrated Burgenlanders were subscribers in the 1920s and 1930s); founded 1879 and owned by Dr. Wolfgang Steflitsch, attorney at law in Oberwart, and his family; circulation 7000; see also: OZ Queries (Verwandtensuche) http://www.bnet.at/oz/verwandt.htm. (new address, description; added link to queries) (4) Hrvatske Novine http://www.hrvatskenovine.at - published by the Hrvatsko Stamparsko Drustvo (Croatian Press Society); homepage features some articles in both Croatian and German; circulation: 3400. COMMERCIAL NEWSPAPERS IN BURGENLAND (Albert Schuch) Some commercial papers, financed by advertisments, are mailed (usually bi-weekly) to every household in a certain area. o Bezirksrundschau Oberwart (BRO) http://www.bnet.co.at/bro - Distributed in districts Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf. o Sd-Ost-Bildpost http://www.bildpost.at - for Eastern Styria; also distributed in Southern Burgenland (same districts as BRO). A good source for on-line Burgenland news is also provided by the ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation) at http://burgenland.orf.at/ GENEALOGY RESEARCH LINKS (U.S) o US Newspapers http://www.neh.gov/preservation/usnp.html - The United States Newspaper Program links you to hundreds of online newspapers, some of which have put back issues up to 200 years old online; excellent for births, marriages and deaths GENEALOGY RESEARCH LINKS (OTHER) o Censuslinks http://www.censuslinks.com/ - Census sites on the Internet o MultiGen http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CACulman/MultiGen.htm - search for your ancestor at multiple (approx. 9) resource sites at one time (Northampton County, PA RootsWeb Mailing List) o RootsWeb WorldConnect Project http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ - RootsWeb users have uploaded more than 6.2 million names of their ancestors to the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project; online search facility; new GEDCOMs uploaded at the rate of one million names per week. LANGUAGE AIDS - TRANSLATORS, DICTIONARIES, etc. o AudioOnDemand http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/ - on demand radio from Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Vatican, and many more (each site offers multiple languages) SEARCH ENGINES o MultiGen http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/CACulman/MultiGen.htm - search for your ancestor at multiple (approx. 9) resource sites at one time (Northampton County, PA RootsWeb Mailing List) URL CHANGES (revised links/descriptions) o IHFF Genealogie Gesellschaft mbH http://ihff.nwy.at/index.htm/ - Institute for Historical Family Research, 1190 WIEN, Pantzergasse 30/8, Austria; Genealogical research in the lands of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; Guide to Archives and Parish-Registers (Austria, Czech & Slovak Republics, Hungary, Slovenian Republic, Croatia, Galicia & Bukovina) (new address - Ralph Nielsen) o Landesverband Burgenland Tourismus http://www.burgenland-tourism.at/index.asp - Burgenland Tourism; excellent information on Burgenland provinces; click Regionen for calendar of events in the villages; links to hotels and inns http://www.burgenland-tourism.at/activity.asp?menu3=2 (link to hotels and inns - Fritz Königshofer) o Vorfahren von Konrad Unger http://members.xoom.com/kunger - Genealogical site from Konrad Unger, a teacher who lives in Wallern, Northern Burgenland; good site for Wallern; mirror site http://welcome.to/k.unger (new address - Konrad Unger) o Austrian Press and Information Service http://www.austria.org/ - many Austrian links including general and tourist information, visa regulations, business and economy, culture and science; link to Radio Austria (revised description) MEMBER CHANGES NEW Mary Carmody; Bridgeton, MO. POHL, BLASZMANN, MAX, WÖDL, EBER, BADER, BINDER, GELLEMANN. Hungarian villages Agfalva (Agendorf), Balf (Wolf), and Harka. Johann Pohl emigrated in 1907, coming directly to St. Louis. His wife Elisabet Bader Pohl and their 3 children emigrated in 1911. Susan Chimento; Brookline, NH. GRAF, FASSL, UNGER. Litzelsdorf, possibly Kemeten, Worterberg. Settled in Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y. Elizabeth Schrettner Duley; Woodbridge, VA. SCHRETTNER, URBAN, Jakabhaza, Hungary. GERBAVSITS, HACKER, ROSICS, Sulz. Marcey Fletcher; St. Paul MN. Mother BRÖTH from Pamhagen, HOLLENTISH, TSCHIDA, MANN (or MAHN), Illmitz; STEINHOFER, FLEISCHHACKER, Pamhagen. Frank Broth settled in St. Paul, MN. John Broth settled in Parksten, SD. Ralph Hess; Toowoomba, Queensland, AUSTRALIA; HESS, Eisenstadt [Kismarton]; FLASCHNER, Eisenstadt. New York & LA USA, London UK, Melbourne & Toowoomba AUSTRALIA. Edward F Ifkovits; Anderson, SC. IFKOVITS (Ivkovits, Ifkovitz, Ifkowitch), Kroatisch Tschantschendorf; PANNY (Pany, Pani), Tobaj, BODISH, (Bodisch, Boditsch), Neustift; GAMMER, Gerersdorf; BELTZMAN, Steingraben. All settled in the Lehigh Valley in PA (Northampton, Nazareth, Coplay, Egypt). (Ed. Note - we have another Edward Ifkovits) William Frank Imre; Milan, TN. Michael IMRE, father came to Chicago in 1923 from Willersdorf. Mother Marie ULREICH, from Willersdorf or Bad Tatzmannsdorf about the same time. Dennis Leidl; St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. LEIDL: Johann (John), born 1859 Bubendorf, Settled in Fingle, North Dakota USA (1887). Immigrated to Pascal, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1909. REINHOFER: Elizabeth. Born 1861 Bubendorf - Settled in Fingle, North Dakota USA (1887). Immigrated to Pascal also. Mark Lukitsch; Londonderry, NH. LUKITSCH, HIRTENFELDER, PIELECKI, KALWA. Jennersdorf, Wolfau, Riedlingsdorf, Oberwart, Grosspetersdorf and Wien (Vienna). Grandparents emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri around 1920. George Mandl; Pittsburgh, PA. MANDL; St, Martin a.d. Raab to Pittsburgh, PA. ZOTTER; McKeesport, PA. Buzet / Buzett / Buzetti - Kramarovci / Slovenia. Heidi M. Raab; Waupun, Wisconsin. RAAB, ECKER, HUBER, PFEIFFER. Neckenmarkt, (Bezirk Oberpullendorf) Burgenland; Fertorakos (Kroisbach), Hungary. Settled Menasha, Wisconsin on or before 1858. Kendall Simon; Arlington, TX. UNGER, Wolfau; SAUFNAUER, Gross Petersdorf. Settled in St. Louis, MO. Christine Steiner; Albuquerque, NM, STEINER, Neustift bei Gussing (Ujtelep), emigrated to Allentown, PA, and later settled in St. Louis, MO. Bob & Margie Uhlemeyer; Wyandotte, OK. LUDWIG EICHHOLZ or EICHHOLCZ, MARIE JUREK, JOSEPH & ROSE FISCHER. Villages: Nieznanowice, parish of Rudolphsheim (Slovakia?), Grodnau, Goberling (district of Oberwart) These people moved to the USA and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Ralph Wuscher; Puyallup WA; Researching WUSCHER, Henndorf (Gemeinde Jennersdorf). Grandfather Frank settled in Seattle area and Great Uncle Tony (Anthony?) settled north of St. Louis MO in 1908. Robert Zecker; Philadelphia, Pa. ZECHER, Deutsch Jahrndorf. Settled in Pusztavam (Ondod), Fejer megye, Hungary, then Passaic, N.J. ZECHMEISTER, Zurndorf. Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye, then Passaic, N.J. FARKAS, Ragendorf (Rajka). Settled in Pustavam, Fejer megye, then Passaic, N.J. BERYDOLT, Deutsch Jahrndorf. Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. MAIDLINGER, Ragendorf (Rajka) and Deutsch Jahrndorf. Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. ZOELLER, Strass-Sommerein (Hegyeshalom.) KOPP, Strass-Sommerein (Hegyeshalom). WODAL (VODAL), Ragendorf (Rajka.) Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. CREUTZ, Zurndorf. PINTER, Zurndorf. MACHER, Zurndorf. Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. WURM, Carlburg (Rusovce) and Ragendorf (Rajka). Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. RUNZRETRS, Carlburg (Rusovce) and Ragendorf (Rajka). GIBICZ (GIEBITZ, KUEBITZ), Ragendorf (Rajka). Settled in Pusztavam, Fejer megye. End of Newsletter. BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald J. Berghold; Winchester, VA) Burgenland Editor (Albert Schuch; Vienna & Kleinpetersdorf, Austria) Home Page Editor (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor (Anna Tanczos Kresh; Butler, PA) Contributing Editors: Austro/Hungarian Research (Fritz Königshofer) Burgenland Lake Corner Research (Dale Knebel) Chicago Burgenland Enclave (Tom Glatz) Croatian Burgenland (Frank Teklits) Home Page village lists (Bill Rudy) Judaic Burgenland (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Western Hungary-Bakony Region (Ernest Chrisbacher) Western US BB Members-Research (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached from Home Page hyperlinks) BURGENLAND HOME PAGE http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ P.O. 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