THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 86

DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
August 15, 2000
(all rights reserved)

NOTICE! THERE WILL BE NO NEWSLETTER AUGUST 31. NOTICE!
The BB Will Not Respond To E-mail August 25 -September 8.


Note to recipients. If you don't want to receive these Burgenland Bunch
newsletters, use the Membership Forms to change your status. We can't help with
non-Burgenland family history. Comments and articles are appreciated. Please
add your full name to email. Our staff and web site addresses are listed at
the end of newsletter section "B". Introductions, notes and articles without
a by-line are written by the editor. This first section of the 3 section
newsletter contains the articles: Hap Anderson and BB Group Visit Burgenland,
Die Kleine Bank (The Small Bench) and Composers With Burgenland Connections.


HAP ANDERSON & BB GROUP VISIT BURGENLAND!

Editor's introduction: Sometimes I run out of superlatives. If angels smiled
on some Burgenland visitors-in this case they laughed out loud! The Hap
Anderson group recently experienced it all. What a wonderful report and what
a successful trip. It's one for the books and a pattern to be emulated by
other visitors. Hap shares it with you below:

Burgenland Trip Report by Hap Anderson July 22, 2000

Genealogy field trip by Burgenland Bunch members Susan Peters, Wendy
Johanson, James Grassinger and Hap Anderson. We were joined by Angela Latta
and Phyllis Sauerzopf in our Gasthof (motel/café) in Deutsch
Tschantschendorf, Burgenland, Austria.

Day one (Thursday/Friday):
Thursday June 29, 2000. Our group of four met at Mpls-StP. International
Airport at 11:00 a.m. (Minneapolis time). Flight to Chicago was on time,
connecting flight to Vienna (Austrian Airlines flight 524) was on time.
Arrived in Vienna at 9:00 a.m. (Austria time) Friday morning. We went
through customs, picked up our rental car (air conditioned Mercedes) and
headed south. Driving on the Autobahn (A2) was an enjoyable experience, our
first impressions of Austria and the Burgenland. We arrived at our Gasthof
(motel) Walits-Guttmann in Deutch Tschantschendorf, Burgenland at about 1:00
p.m. Unpacked and walked around the village. Saw the church, cemetery and
everything in town. Had dinner at the Gasthof. I had Schweinmedaillon in
Morchelrahmsauce und Spatzle (Pork medallion in mushroom cream sauce and
dumplings).

Day two (Saturday July 1):
Breakfast at the Gasthof included bread, ham and cheese with coffee or tea
and orange juice. I enjoyed the goose or ostrich liver spread on my bread.
Went to the town of Güssing to see the sights and do some shopping. We called
Burgenland Bunch (BB) member Klaus Gerger and went to his house for coffee
and birthday cake (Klaus's 40th birthday). Visited the Burgenland
Gemeinschaft (B.G.) emigrant museum. Our museum guide was B.G. member Erwin
Weinhofer. Took the self-guided tour of the Burg Güssing (Güssing castle),
had dinner and saw the emigrant play, "Landflucht" at the castle. We got
lost driving back to our Gasthof, back home at about 11:00p.m.

Day three (Sunday July 2):
We drove to the village of our ancestors, Lebenbrunn for the first time. Met
our relatives, Franz und Erna Grosinger of house #35, daughter Anneliese,
Anneliese's two children Sonja and Robert, and Anneliese's husband Joseph.
Franz is my fourth cousin. They gave us a guided walking tour of the
village, cemetery and church. Anneliese and Sonja were our English speaking
guides for most of our trip. Lebenbrunn has a farming population of about 300
and is located in the mountains of middle Burgenland.

Day Four (Monday July 3):
Went to Vienna. Meet Klaus Gerger and took the streetcar to the Südbahnhof
train station to meet Jeff Wolf, our tour guide for Vienna. We visited the
Belvedere Palace, Schloss Schönbrunn Palace and the Austrian art museum.
Then downtown Vienna to the Kärntnerstrasse area and St. Stephen's Catholic
cathedral, built in the 11th century. Jeff Wolf showed us how to take the
streetcar back to where our car was parked ... and we did that. That night
back in Deutch Tschantschendorf, we met BB members Angela Latta and Phyllis
Sauerzopf, who stayed at the Gasthof the next week.

Day five (Tuesday July 4):
Met with Anneliese and her parents in Lebenbrunn. Drove to the mountain
village of Rotleiten, saw the Boehm family place and a distant view of the
village of Lebenbrunn down in the valley. Drove to Anneliese's house in the
village of Pilgersdorf. Walked Pilgersdorf ..... very hot and windy. We
were joined by Anneliese's friend, Wilma for a drive and walked to the
Schlögl heuriger/gasthof (open air café that serves new wines) in the
Bucklige Welt (mountain woods near Lebenbrunn). We had dinner and drinks. I
had the best wiener schnitzel and a glass of wine with apple juice. I rode
back to our car with the Grosinger's in their car. Stopped at the Kogl
cemetery on the way back home. Back home at 11:00.

Day Six (Wednesday July 5):
Went to the town of Bernstein and took the self guided tour of the Burg
(castle) Bernstein. We walked around town and had lunch at the Frühwirth
Hans-Walter Gasthof. I had kraut strudel and bean strudel and a gross
(large) beer. I bought some "Bernstein Jade" gifts and souvenirs. Went to
the village of Salmannsdorf, saw the church and cemetery.

Day Seven (Thursday July 6):
Went to the church in Pilgersdorf to look for church records older than 1828
... found records back to 1780's. Camera copied the baptismal records and
extracted the marriage records of Lebenbrunn. Drove to Lebenbrunn for lunch,
Erna's homemade Hungarian Goulash. We then had coffee and cookies at house
#34, widow Anna Heissenberger. I was given the grand tour of house #34, the
house of my great-great grandfather, Franz Weber.

Day eight (Friday July 7)
Went to Pilgersdorf church and reviewed the records of Lebenbrunn. Met
Anneliese and her parents and drove to Közeg, Hungary for lunch and shopping.
Drove to Lockenhaus and took the self guided tour of Burg Lockenhaus. Went
to Salmannsdorf to meet Anneliese's sister and her husband Joesph and son
Martin. Back at the Gasthof in Deutch Tschantschendorf, we witnessed a
severe storm, "klein (small) hurricane", 11 houses had roof damage and 2
houses were struck by lightning. The electrical power was out, so we
gathered in the café and were entertained by the niece of Herta
Walits-Guttmann (Gasthof owner), Denise Keglovits. We were served drinks,
she played her accordion and we had a fun time by candlelight.

Day nine (Saturday July 8):
Went to Stegersbach, I bought some Burgenland history books, maps, souvenir
straw rabbit, and several bags of Mozart chocolate balls, an Austrian
specialty. We bought deli sandwiches and parked near the village of
Bocksdorf's fire station for lunch. James and I toured the fire station. In
Deutch Tschantschendorf, we drove around and saw the storm damage from the
night before. That evening we attended the special church service in
Stegersbach given by Bishop Iby. Here I meet BB member Albert Schuch for the
first time and we were joined by Klaus Gerger. We then attended the
Stegersbach Festival. Met Burgenland Gemeinnschaft (B.G.) President Dr.
Walter Dujmovits and B.G. members Heinz Koller and Erwin Weinhofer. Dr.
Dujmovits signed Susan's and my copy of his book "Die Amerika-Wanderung der
Burgenländer". The Stegersbach Fest was well attended by Burgenland Bunch
(BB) members, Susan Peters, Wendy Johanson, James Grassinger, Angela Latta,
Phyllis Sauerzopf and myself from America. Albert Schuch and Klaus Gerger
from Burgenland. The eight of us were gathered for a group photo for the
local (?) newspaper. The BB members were then given a special tour of the
Telephone and Postal museum in Stegersbach. Back at the Fest, we ate, drank
and listened to the band until about 10:00.

Day ten (Sunday July 9)
Went to the village of Kogl to visit Anton Grosinger (house 28). He showed
us photos of Kogl history and told us about the Archives Office in
Eisenstadt. Then back to Lebenbrunn for lunch (homemade Kraut Strudel) and a
visit with Anna Grossinger of house #31. We then headed south for the
Burgenland Gemeinschaft (B.G.) picnic at Moschendorf. Dr. Dujmovits gave a
speech and stated that "the Burgenland Bunch was the future of Burgenland
Gemeinschaft". The BB members were asked to stand and be recognized. I was
told later that I was on Burgenland TV attending the picnic. Susan was
interviewed by a young fellow from the Austrian Tourist Bureau about her
Austrian visit. That evening, back at the gasthof, we celebrated Phyllis's
birthday with champagne and poppy seed strudel with one candle. Denise
Keglovits played "Happy Birthday" on the harmonica (accordion). She was
joined by her father, Ewald Keglovits, with his accordion and they took
requests.

Day eleven (Monday July 10)
We drove to Pilgersdorf to meet Anneliese, Sonja and Wilma. Then we all
proceeded to the town of Eisenstadt to meet with Dr. Tobler at the
Landesarchiv Office. He told us that microfilming of the records we are
looking for will be finished and released next Spring. He suggested we visit
the Bishops Office to see what church records are available. We then walked
to the Bishops Office and meet Dr. Zellfel. He knew about the Burgenland
Bunch and said he would be able to help us via e-mail in the future. Walking
back to our cars, we saw the Esterhäzy Palace and park. We then drove to the
village of Rust and saw the Neusiedler See (lake). On the way back to our
Gasthof, we stopped at a Hotel in Stegersbach for dinner. I had the
Knoblauch (garlic and liver ball?) soup.

Day twelve (Tuesday July 11)
We started our day by doing some shopping in Stegersbach. Then headed North
to Lebenbrunn for our last visit. We went to the cemetery in Lebenbrunn and
video taped every stone for extraction later. Then proceeded to Pilgersdorf
to video tape the cemetery there. We drove back to Lebenbrunn and then to the
village of Rotleiten for a visit with Joseph Grosinger. Back to Lebenbrunn
and met the Grosinger's from house #11, relatives of Wendy and James, and got
a tour of that house. We said our final goodbye to all our relatives in
Lebenbrunn. Back at the Gasthof, we packed our bags and set the alarm for
5:00a.m.

Day thirteen (Wednesday July 12)
Drove to the Airport in Vienna, turned in our rental car and boarded Austrian
Airlines #523 at 10:50 a.m. Arrived at Chicago at about 2:00 p.m. and
arrived at Minneapolis at about 5:15 p.m.

Summary:
Our trip was a genealogical success. We met living relatives and found
church records of our ancestors. We also learned where older records might
be found. We acquired several history books (all in German) about the
villages of our ancestors and of the Burgenland. I now have a better image
where my ancestors came from and how they lived. I have 14 hours of video
tape showing most of the above events of my trip.

Burgenland travel tips:
The bank cash machines worked normally, but were only found in the larger
towns, Güssing, Stegersbach, Bernstein etc.

The pay phones on the street worked great for calling the U.S.A. Five
Schillings would connect to a direct number and then add more coins to talk
longer. Worked great if you get an answering machine. You dial "001" - then
the U.S.A. area code and number. I could talk for about 15 minutes for 50
Schillings ($3.60).

The mosquitoes were bad and the Gasthof had no air conditioning or screens on
the doors. Bring repellent ... I didn't.

FYI - One Schilling = about 7.3 cents. Diesel cost was 10.1 Schillings per
liter = about $2.95 per gallon.

Burgenland Bunch web site -
http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org



DIE KLEINE BANK ODER BANKERL-A BURGENLAND TRADITION ON ITS WAY TO OBSCURITY?

My wife descends from Palatinate immigrants, the so-called Pennsylvania
Dutch. Her people arrived through the port of Philadelphia in the mid 1700's
and settled in Haycock Township (Beck family), Bucks County, Pennsylvania and
near Kunkletown (Silfies family), Monroe County. Both families are also found
in Lehigh and Northampton Counties. You would think, since Palatines and
Austrians both speak German, that their descendants would have similar
customs and traditions. Having researched our family history on both sides,
I've found this is not always the case. The leavening and/or customs added by
many generations of association with Hungarian, Croatian and Slovene
neighbors as opposed to Swiss, Quaker and English ones have generated many
differences between the two groups. This article mentions an obscure one.

We were recently having breakfast outdoors. My wife happened to look at a
small bench that sometimes holds our Hibachi, sometimes potted plants and
sometimes sits under the dogwood by our side garden. This bench had been made
by my uncle Bill Sorger from some redwood scraps. Molly remarked that we had
always had one or two such benches and that she remembered seeing others at
my home in Allentown and at the homes of my relatives. She said they never
had any at her home (Fountain Hill-Bethlehem) and the closest she saw at her
relatives was a large bench for wash tubs on her grandparents' farm. She
wondered if such benches might be of Burgenland origin.

I remember seeing these benches from my earliest days. They were hand made
and sat in gardens or on front or back porches and were used for many
purposes. They were never made with backs or arms. One could sit on them or
use them as a garden work bench. A place for a basket of wash to and from the
clothes line for instance. My grandmother often sat on one as she cleaned
garden produce or shelled peas in the shade of her grape arbor. I would use
them as play tables, running toy cars or trucks from end to end. Their size
varied, probably as a result of the size of the surplus lumber from which
they were made. We never bought lumber to make a bench. We used whatever was
stored under the porch or left over from larger projects. Some were high
enough for adult legs, others barely a foot off of the ground. A cartoon in
my grandmother's cook book was of the man who ate so many "Knödels"
(dumplings) at one meal that he broke the bench on which he sat!

My grandfather Sorger, a bricklayer, liked to work with wood and made some
benches. Some were later replaced by his son, my uncle Bill. They were always
well made. They sometimes used two inch lumber, sometimes one inch, often
with a larger top of joined 1x6, or larger. They'd be braced with wood, with
the braces mortised into the top and legs. Legs would often feature a cut out
heart shaped design or triangle spread at the feet. Sometimes the top would
also be finished underneath with some molding or have a cut out to put one's
hand for carrying. They were always painted since they often sat out in the
weather. I have a feeling that the skill required to make one was often
passed from father to son. Every neighbor on the 600 block of Jordan Street,
Allentown had one. Perhaps they are a Burgenland tradition even today? I've
never seen any for sale.

In a previous issue of the newsletter, I mentioned Peter Sattler's Rudersdorf
"Bankerlsitzer" web site and how benches are still found in villages. Peter
used the "village bench" as the theme of his internet news site. These
village benches were much larger and sturdier, often seating three or more
adults. A place to sit and gossip. One of the first such benches I saw in
Austria was during my first visit to Poppendorf in the 1970's. Two elderly
men were sitting on a bench enjoying the warmth of the morning sun while they
wrapped twigs with twine for use in the kitchen stove. They talked to me of
the village and the time they spent working in Chicago. In another village I
saw a couple sitting on a bench outside their cottage braiding onions in the
cool of the evening. On my cousin's porch in Poppendorf, I saw benches
holding pots of flowers and the day's collection of pumpkins. In a nearby
garden, a group of women were sitting on benches and removing seeds from a
pile of pumpkins to make oil. In another village, Moschendorf, a man smoking
on a bench in the shade was joined by an aproned matron who had just
collected a basket of cut flowers. They invited us to sit as they answered
our questions about Pinkamindszent, Hungary just across the fields. In early
Hungarian paintings I often see a bench depicted outside of a building.

Café umbrella tables with matching chairs as found in the cities have now
gained popularity in the villages as well. "Café sitzen" as opposed to
"Banker sitzen". Park benches with arms and backs are also seen. The day of
"die kleine Holz Bank" may well be on its way out, but when you're outdoors
and looking for a place to sit something, nothing beats the bench. I'll bet
as long as Burgenländers grow things or have porches, they'll be using
benches. I'll keep ours for their many outdoor uses and as a reminder of my
immigrant heritage. I know my son has the necessary skill to make one if ours
ever need replacing.



COMPOSERS WITH BURGENLAND CONNECTIONS-INTRODUCTION
(The start of a series suggested by Fritz Königshofer)

While replying to some questions concerning the Esterhazy family and their
patronage of the composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), it became apparent that
some other composers had Burgenland connections (both pre and post 1921).
This is very interesting when we reflect on Burgenland musical heritage and
the large number of present day Burgenländers who have musical leanings or
are skilled musicians. You may ask yourself, why? Is it the proximity to
Vienna, the world capital of music, or are their other reasons?

Fritz Königshofer and I correspondened on the subject. Fritz writes:

" I noted with interest your reprint in BB newsletter 83 of our earlier
correspondence about Joseph Haydn. However, let me mention that my interest
in Haydn was not related to an expectation of possibly finding a connection
between Haydn's maternal Koller family and my own Koller line of Rechnitz.
Koller (from Köhler, i.e., charcoal maker) is a very widely spread and
frequent name, and it would be extremely unlikely that Koller lines of
northern Burgenland and neighboring Lower Austria would be related to Kollers
from southern Burgenland. Not even BB fellow member Heinz Koller (Güssing)
and I have been able to establish a link between our two, geographically much
nearer, Koller lines.

Let me explain the reason for my interest in the descent of Joseph Haydn.
Some time ago, I read a very detailed biography of Franz (Ferenc) Liszt.
This biography included a section about the descent of Liszt. It struck me
that Liszt's paternal line descended from the area where Austria/ Burgenland,
Hungary and the Slovak Republic today intersect, with contributions from all
these three areas. Therefore, I intended to write a little article for the
BB newsletter about the descent of Franz Liszt. At that point, the question
struck me "What about Haydn?" Since Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, which -
though in Lower Austria - is right at the border to Burgenland (and thus
former Hungary), I wondered whether Haydn also may have had "Burgenland"
ancestry. After all, Haiden and variations of the name are known to exist in
northern Burgenland. Therefore, before writing the article on Liszt, I
decided to dig into the Haydn ancestry as well, and check for other composers
who may have hailed from the Burgenland.

This summer in Graz, I was able to find a book with an incredibly detailed
treatment of Haydn's descent. It turns out that his greatgrandfather (of the
Haydn line itself) originated from Tadten in the Lake Corner. With the newly
gained information, there now was material at hand for two articles for the
newsletter.

However, to my amazement, further checks revealed there are two more great
musicians/composers with a background in the same region! One was the
violinist (and composer/educator) Joseph Joachim, next to Paganini the most
famous virtuoso of his instrument ever, who was born 1831 in Kittsee, and the
other was Karl Goldmark, known for his opera "The Queen of Saba" which forms
a bridge between the styles of Meyerbeer and Wagner, who - though born in
Keszthely on Lake Balaton - grew up in Deutschkreutz and received his musical
education in Sopron (Oedenburg). I wonder whether I might be missing yet
someone else in this list!

My father speculates that perhaps the border region with its multiple
languages provided a boost for geniuses to rather apply their talents in
music (which knows only one, its own, language). Another reason, I believe,
could be the relatively stifling climate for thinking and speaking out, as
was a feature of most of the Habsburg era. There are numerous other famous
composers who happened to hail from the multi-lingual "margins" of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, such as Mahler, Dvoräk and Smetana (all born in
Bohemia), Ferenc Erkel (born in Gyula, Békés county, but descending from
several generations of ancestors in Bratislava), and Bartók (born in Nagy
Szent Miklós in the Banat region). The same can be said about many of the
most famous composers of operettas.

Anyway, I'll try to write a little series for the newsletter about the
families/descent of Haydn, Liszt, Joachim and Goldmark. (Ed. Note-I readily
agreed. In discussing this with my wife, she reminded me that language and
music originate in the same part of the human brain-the point being that the
necessity of using multiple languages may also stimulate musical talent.)

Fritz later responded with:

I did not want to overload the previous message with the composers of
operetta but the situation I find here is also quite interesting. Franz Lehar
("The Merry Widow") was born 1870 in Komorn, i.e., Komärom on the Danube,
today divided between Hungary and the Slovak Republic, Franz von
Suppé ("The Poet and Peasant") 1819 in Spalato, today's Split in Croatia, Leo
Fall ("The Dollar Princess") 1873 in Olmütz, i.e., Olomouc in Moravia, Imre
Kalmän ("The Csardas Princess") 1882 in Siófok on Lake Balaton, Ralph
Benatzky ("The White Horse Inn") 1887 in Mährisch-Budwitz in Moravia, and
Paul Abraham ("The Flower of Hawaii") in Apatin of the Batschka region of
Hungary, now Yugoslavia.

Obviously, there were just as many other famous composers of classical music
and operettas who hailed from core parts of Austria, especially the region
around Vienna, but Austria as a whole anyway was itself somewhat a border
region of the (Holy Roman) German Empire. As I already had written, I
believe the spiritual climate under most of the Habsburgs was not conducive
to people's free expression of (political) thoughts which may have given an
impetus to express these thoughts in music."

(Ed. Note: if you are a musician or have one in your genealogy, or have
musical leanings, you'll be interested in the continuation of this series.)

(newsletter continues as no. 86A)

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 86A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
August 15, 2000


This second section of the 3 section newsletter contains an extensive
cemetery listing of Burgenland immigrants who settled in the McKees Rocks
Area of Western Pennsylvania, a report of Croatian Books Of Interest, more
Sources of Burgenland Flags, many Marriage Records-Danwebber Name, a source
of new Austrian Maps On CD, Micro vs Macro Genealogy Again and a response to
Hungarian-Mongolian Connections.

McKEES ROCKS, PA CEMETERY LISTINGS-BURGENLAND IMMIGRANTS

(Ed. Note: Bernie Sulzer Agreen has been an active member for some time.
She's done a lot of work in the border villages of Rönök (German name
Rädling, Ober & Unter), Hungary and the western Pennsylvania Burgenland
enclave of McKees Rocks. She now sends us a list of names and dates from her
local cemeteries, a great job. I've listed her family data. Contact her if
you find a link.)

Bernadette Sulzer Agreen; Pittsburgh, PA; WAGNER,
HARRER, WINDISCH, SULZER, ARTINGER, SCHMIDT, GOLLINGER, DRAMLER, HARRER,
STERN, GOLLINGER, SCHMIDT, NEUBAUER, HORVATH, STANGL, UNGER, MARX, TAKERER,
PENDL, BOGNEIN, HARTLER, PAUL, PODER. Felsoronok and Alsoronok, Hungary.
Settled in McKees Rocks, PA.

Bernie writes:

I have greatly enjoyed being a member of the BB! Much that I know now about
my ancestors and their homeland, I have discovered from the BB newsletters or
from exchanges with other wonderful members.

Many emigrants came to McKees Rocks at the turn of the 20th century, many of
them finding employment in the car repair shops with the P&LE RR (Pittsburgh
and Lake Erie) or in the local mills. Others became merchants. The success
and determination of these emigrants was reflected daily in the thriving
McKees Rocks businesses and the expansion of schools and churches during the
first half of the 20th century.

My grandparents were from Rädling (one from Unter and the other from Ober.) I
was greatly interested in Larry Zierhut's article regarding the ethnic
cleansing from two German villages in Hungary. Are you aware of any books,
articles, or web sites regarding the ethnic cleansing that occurred in the
Rädling area?

>From my many walks through the local cemeteries in McKees Rocks, I have found
clues to my ancestors. Researching my grandparents, I found that many of
their friends, relatives and neighbors also came to McKees Rocks. Every time
I'd see a name on a gravestone that sounded like a "BB" name I'd jot it down.
I have attached my lists from my cemetery walks in hopes that some of our BB
members may find a lost relative!


Mt. Calvary Cemetery, McKees Rocks, PA
(mostly Lutheran... but other denominations too)

Louis Artinger 1890 - 1976
Anna Artinger 1896 - 1954

Albert Bressler 1906 - 1974
Gertrude Bressler 1912 - 1999

Carl Fischl 1889 - 1977
Anna Fischl 1887 - 1959
Theresa Fischl Schwarzl 1892 - 1969(sister of Carl Fischl)

Gedeon Gyori 1873 - 1943

Michael Kovacs 1881 - 1959
Maria Kovacs 1885 - 1947

William J Marx 1910 - 1997
Florence Marx 1921 -

Amil E Marx 1912 - 1984
Anna Mae Marx 1911 - 1989

John Stangl 1916 - 1965
Helen (Rudison) Stangl 1917

John Stangl 1894 - 1965 (his mother was Marie Mulzet of Unterradling)
Teresa (Paul) Stangl 1894 - 1957

Edward F Sulzer 1889 - 1960
Mary (Takerer) Sulzer 1890 - 1988


St. Mary's Cemetery, McKees Rocks, PA (Catholic)

John Artinger 1882 - 1948

Charles Bauer 1887 - 1961
Rose Bauer 1889 - 1968

Charles Bauer 1884 - 1946
Mary Bauer 1889 - 1956

Robert Bittner 1907 - 1993
Gretchen Bittner 1909 - 1993

Herman H Bonstingl 1908 - 1971
Anna Bonstingl 1908 -

Rose Brunner 1891 - 1984
Ludwig Brunner 1887 - 1981

Karl Csenich 1884 - 1930
Justina Csenich 1889 - 1966

Karl M Csenich 1910 - 1972
Marie (Sulzer) Csenich 1915 - 1972

Rudolf Diecek 1887 - 1940
Julia (Keppel) Diecek 1884 -(born in 1884 in Oberradling)
Arthur J Diecek 1907 - 1950 (son)

Charles M Dolgos 1871 - 1931
Cecilia Dolgos 1881 - 1948

Joseph Drauch 1848 - 1924
Julia Drauch 1852 - 1933

Joseph Drauch 1885 - 1972
Theresa Drauch 1888 - 1974

John A Drauch 1908 - 1982
Julia Draugh 1910 - 1995
Marien E Draugh 1934 - 1995 (daughter)

John Drauch 1878 - 1962
Theresa (Mulzet) Drauch 1877 - 1956 (born in Unterradling)
Joseph Drauch 1913 - 1937 (son)

William P Drauch 1910 - 1943

Harry Fink 1880 - 1954
Anna Fink 1882 - 1971

Frank Flanhoffer 1892 - 1954
Julia Flanhoffer 1894 - 1982

Charles Fleishaker 1875 - 1945
Pauline Fleishaker 1885 - 1967

Albert Gerger 1910 - 1973
Frances Gerger 1911 -
Joseph Gerger 1913 - 1971 (WWII Army veteran)

Joseph Giedl 1885 - 1952
Anna Giedl 1892 - 1966
Anna T Lex (Giedl) 1912 - 1998

Frank Harrer 1879 - 1966
Lena (Schmidt) Harrer 1883 - 1947

Frank J Horvath 1894 - 1941
Theresa M Horvath 1897 - 1950

John Keppel 1887 - 1964
Rose Keppel 1888 - 1941

Charles Koger 1894 - 1966
Christine (Yost) Koger 1904 - 1976

John Koger 1901 - 1957
Franaceska (Horvath) Koger 1906 - 1998

Frank Koger 1892 - 1962
Theresa Koger 1896 - 1975

Michael Koller 1880 - 1957
Hermina Koller 1887 - 1969

Charles Krobot 1870 - 1949
Cecilia Krobot 1872 - 1946

Joseph Krobot 1879 - 1937
Theresa Krobot 1877 - 1963

Robert Krobot 1889 - 1956
Julia Krobot 1895 - 1971

Frank Lex 1876 - 1964
Mary Lex 1883 - 1936
Mary Lex 1905 - 1906 (daughter)

Frank E Lex 1903 - 1969
Hedwig Lex 1902 - 1956

Joseph Mahr 1885 - 1958
Theresa Mahr 1886 - 1964

Joseph Marks 1868 - 1938
Hedwig J Marks 1884 - 1960

Anna Marx 1919 - 1991
Alber Marx 1913 - 1989

Edward Marx 1907 - 1995
Mary E Marx 1912 -

Stephen Mulzet 1885 - 1966 (born in Unterradling)
Theresa (Muller) Mulzet 1886 - 1978

John Nickles 1878 - 1930
Theresa Nickles 1882 - 1946

Rose (Bauer) Nickles 1878 - 1957

Joseph Pandl 1898 - 1979
Theresa Pandl 1900 - 1979

Michael Perschy 1900 - 1944

Katherine Pohrer 1840 - 1903
Joseph Pohrer 1825 - 1903

Louis Posch 1894 - 1971
Gisella Posch 1893 - 1955

Karl Posch 1875 - 1948
Juliana Posch 1879 - 1964
Julia Posch 1905 - 1997 (daughter)

Anton Schaukowitsch 1890 - 1967
Gisella Schaukowitsch 1892 - 1982

Andrew Schaukowitch 1880 - 1950
Julie Schaukowitch 1884 - 1970

Frank Schmidt 1883 - 1940
Theresa Schmidt 1885 - 1977

John Schott 1887 - 1963
Theresa Schott 1888 - 1967

Louis Schrei 1878 - 1947
Theresa Schrei 1884 - 1954

Randolph Schrei 1908 - 1997
Mary Schrei 1909 - 1994

Frank Schrei 1880 - 1922

William Semler 1863 - 1940
Johanna Semler 1867 - 1925

Mary Simitz 1879 - 1918

Joseph Simitz 1879 - 1958
Gizella Simitz 1894 - 1949

Stephen Stangel 1894 - 1940
Ana Stangel 1897 - 1984

Michael Stangl 1886 - 1931
Mary (Schmidt) Stangl 1886 - 1962
William Stangl 1911 - 1918 (son)
Raymond Stangl 1935 - 1936

Norman Stierheim 1892 - 1955

John Sulzer 1884 - 1982 (born in Unterradling)
Theresa (Wagner) Sulzer 1884 - 1972(born in Oberradling)
Albert Sulzer 1914 - 1974 (son)
Frank Sulzer 1886 - 1939 (brother to John)
Julia (Harrer) Wagner 1859 - 1937 (mother to Theresa, born
Oberradling)

Mary Urban 1883 - 1946
Joseph Urban 1886 - 1964

Franz Windisch 1876 - 1907

John G Wilhelm 1893 - 1967
Margaret Wilhelm 1890 - 1971

Anna Yost 1884 - 1968
Alois J Yost 1885 - 1982
Josephine Yost 1877 - 1934

Stephen Yost 1881 - 1962
Cecilia (Urban) Yost 1881 - 1955
Cecilia Yost Kacsur 1908 - 1969 (daughter)

Joseph Yost 1871 - 1955
Emma Yost 1877 - 1955
Marie Yost 1903 (daughter)

Michael Yost 1882 - 1941
Anna Yost 1891 - 1973

Peter J Yost 1889 - 1968
Mary A Yost 1891 - 1896
Peter Yost Jr 1914 - 1936 (enlisted 10/13/1933, died April 5, 1936)

Alois Yunker 1865 - 1931
Catherine Yunker 1867 - 1958


CROATIAN BOOKS OF INTEREST (from Fritz Königshofer)

When I visited the Styrian State Library in Graz during my recent Austrian
vacation, I came across a few books about the Burgenland, and specifically
Croat settlement in Burgenland. There are two books I want to mention,
though you might already know about them.

Tornow, Sigfried: "Die Herkunft der kroatischen Vlahen des südlichen
Burgenlandes" [The origin of the Croat Vlahi of the southern Burgenland],
Wiesbaden, 1971, 274 pp., from the series Publications of the Department for
Slavic Languages and Literature of the Eastern European Institute at the Free
University of Berlin.

Geosits, Stefan (Ed.): "Die burgenländischen Kroaten im Wandel der Zeiten"
[The Croats of the Burgenland over changing times], Edition Tusch, Wien,
1986, 424 pp.

I had no time to actually look through these books, but might do so in the
future. My interest is huge, yet time is always short.



MORE SOURCES OF BURGENLAND FLAGS

Ing. Dieter Karner of Neustift advises:

Hallo, in the newsletter nr 84, there was a queston about burgenland flags.

Here you can get the flags via email: [addresses redacted]


MARRIAGE RECORDS-DANWEBBER NAME

New member Pat Screpetis sends us the following marriage records from the
Lehigh County Court House in Allentown, PA. These Danwebers (various
spellings) were from the southern Burgenland in the districts of Güssing and
Jennersdorf (district of Szt. Gotthard pre 1921)and settled in the Lehigh
Valley. Inhabitants of Wallendorf (Villa Wallorum) went to church in
Mogersdorf (Hungarian Nagyfalva) also in the district of Jennersdorf.


Pat Screpetis; Pineville, LA; Wallendorf, Deutsch
Schutzen and Raabfidish, Eisenburg, HUNGARY. Surnames: Damweber, Danweber,
Domweber, Donweber, Dunweber, Bukmitsz, Lang. Names and places of birth taken
from 1907 marriage licenses in Allentown, Lehigh Co., PA courthouse. >>


MARRIAGE LICENSE INDEX "D" - GIVEN NAMES "A-Z" LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

(Name, Year, Docket Number, Marriage License Number)

DUNWEBER, Celia to Frank PIFF, 1910, 23, 21465

DANWEBER, Charles J. to Barbel B. C. KLEIN, 1958, 107, 103097

DANWEBER, Carl T. to June M. CAINE, 1960, ___, 107136

DANWEBER, Emma to Gustave TAMERLER, 1942, 74, 73002

DONWEBER, Eugene F. to Patricia L. SCHEIRER, 1958, ___, 104004

DAMWEBER, Frank J. to Edythe M. BONNER, 1948, 88, 85675

DAMWEBER, Freida to Francis R. SCHLOGL, 1953, 99, 95191

DAMWEBER, Henry to Johanna LANG, 1907, 19, 17485

DAMWEBER, John to Elizabeth BUKMITSZ, 1907, 19, 18404

DAMWEBER, Julios to Martha M. LICHMAN, 1947, 83, 81496

DAMWEBER, Julius to Cecilia GOLLER, 1943, 75, 74105

DAMWEBER, Julius to Adolfine M. ERKINGER, 1949, 90, 87667

DANWEBER, Joseph to Julia MATSCO, 1934, 58, 57349

DOMWEBER, Louis J. to Josephine R. GOLDSMITH, 1928, 51, 49563

DANWEBER, Rudolph J. to R. Elaine KINDRED, 1950, 91, 88271

DONWEBER, Stella A. to Charles STANGL, 1929, 51, 50114

DAMWEBER, Theresa to Frank BERGHOLD, 1927, 49, 47974

Pat also writes:

DANWEBER is my husband's line. His father was Edward DANWEBER, b. 1914 in
Allentown, Lehigh Co., PA. Edward m. Mabel MURPHY of West Monroe, Ouachita
Parish, LA in 1935. (We do not know what brought Edward to LA. Verbal history
has it that he was apprenticed to a farmer near Allentown and he ran away.
However, we do not know if this story is true.) Edward and Mabel had two
children: Edward Doyle and Bettye Ann. Edward died in a work-related accident
in 1941 and is buried in Cypress Baptist Church Cemetery, West Monroe,
Ouachita Parish, LA. In 1945 Mabel MURPHY Danweber m. George Spiro SCREPETIS
and SCREPETIS adopted her two children by Edward DANWEBER. Edward Doyle's
name was changed to read George Doyle at that time. It has only been in the
past two years that my husband has been free to pursue his PA roots. We made
a trip to Allentown, PA in July to the courthouse there to try and discover
his grandparents' names and to perhaps find a birth record for Edward
DANWEBER. My husband never knew very many details about Edward DANWEBER's
life; we had very little to go on. We do know that Edward had a brother, Leo,
who was b. 15 Nov 1916 and d. 26 June 1990 in Palatka, Putnam Co., FL. Leo
served in WW II and was in the Army. We do not know if he married and had any
children.


AUSTRIAN MAPS ON CD (from Fritz Königshofer)

When I looked at new map offerings during my vacation in Austria, I found
that the Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen (the Austrian equivalent of
the National Bureau of Standards) has made available their retail maps of
Austria on two CDs, Eastern and Western Austria. A single CD sells for
ATS550 (about $36 at current exchange rates), while the complete set is just
a little more expensive than the single price. I bought the CD with the maps
of Eastern Austria.

These are the most detailed maps you can find in retail. Their scale is
1:50,000. The CD of Eastern Austria covers all of Lower Austria, Vienna and
Burgenland, most of Styria, almost half of Carinthia, and a bit less than
half of Upper Austria. At this scale, one would need to buy about 17
individual maps on paper (at ATS80 retail each), to just have all of
Burgenland covered. The entire CD for Eastern Austria covers the equivalent
of almost 120 individual 1:50,000 maps. The CD includes additional maps of
Austria in the scales 1:200,000 and 1:500,000.

There are further advantages with the CD, as it obviously does not wear the
same way as the paper version, and comes with an index where you can search
every small settlement and immediately present it centered in a little
individual map. For instance, the index comes up with a total of 5 places
called Poppendorf, plus, of course separately, Poppendorfbergen! One can
also copy desired sections of maps and then pass them on as attachments via a
detour through a utility like Paint

The program runs under Windows 95/98 and NT4.0. While it sells through
retail, interested readers may also contact the producer directly. The web
site is www.bev.gv.at, and I was
assured that ordering via the listed fax number is possible. If ordering
proves difficult, bb members can contact me and I'll purchase the copies for
them during a future stop in Austria. The ISBN no. of the CD with Eastern
Austria is 3-9501002-1-0. However, let me also say that the current user
interface (menu selections) is German only, and, as you will see, this is
also the case with the BEV web site. However, please don't be shy writing to
them in English.


MICRO VS MACRO GENEALOGY-AGAIN

I recently saw an advertisement for a computer genealogy link that said "Find
Your German Ancestor-In Any Time (Frame)-Anywhere" -Database of 10M Names!

This ad would have you believe that the database encompasses 1600 years of
Germanic history and covers all of Europe, parts of Asia, most of North &
South America and elsewhere. Will you really find "Germans" and/or German
emigration to all of these places? Further, does the database contain
variations of the original Germanic names? G. F. Jones in "German-American
Names" alone lists 12700 names. We have an extra 3000
Austrian-Hungarian-Croatian variations of Germanic names in our Burgenland
Surname Lists, very few of which are in Jones' book as such.

Now really, is it any wonder some people give up in disgust when tracing
family history. What is a German? A descendant of the Germanic tribes?
Someone who speaks German? Someone who was born in what is known as Germany
today? Someone who was born in one of the 400+ principalities of the Germanic
speaking Holy Roman Empire? Does it include those who migrated and retained
their Germanic language and culture? Most "experts" use the term Germanic as
opposed to German and restrict their help to specific times and areas. There
are associations and web sites that specialize in The Transylvanian Saxons,
The Donau-Schwabian Migrations, The Crownland Migrations, the Paltinate
Movement, etc. WorldGenWeb-Austria deals with Austria and then the Provinces
within Austria. These are the places to look.

We must discourage the idea that if someone has a Germanic name, their
ancestors must have come from that red colored blob in today's atlas, and
that any book or reference to a "German" web site will provide a family tree.
Just check a list for your name and eureka. This is utter rot!

As I've stated so often before, you must narrow the field. Before you get
serious in your search you must find the exact where and when of your
immigrant ancestor's birth. If you didn't learn any ethnic history or
geography in school or from your family, you'll have to do it now. If your
people did speak German and if you do have any clue pointing to the
Burgenland-the BB website is the place to look, not some macro-Germanic
source on the internet or on an expensive CD that'll gather dust.


HUNGARIAN-MONGOLIAN CONNECTION RESPONSE (from Felix G. Game)

Felix writes: In response to the expressed interest in a possible Asiatic
descent of the old Magyars, I am attaching a short note from my web site
which may be of interest to your readers.


Hungarian Roots in China
By Felix G. Game

A Washington Post column appearing in the Guardian Weekly on 19 February 1995
tells of a graveyard near Urumchi, the capital of Xinjiang province in
northwestern China, which the Hungarian explorer Aurel Stein discovered in
1907. After 80 years of restrictions, Hungarian researchers were again
allowed to continue, and have excavated some 1200 graves finding implements
and burial methods to closely resemble 9th and 10th century Hungarian graves.
Not far from the grave site they came upon a small ethnic group called the
Ugars, of whom there are only 9000. These Ugars knew 73 songs that fit
exactly into the five tone scale on which Hungarian folk music is based as
popularized by Bartok. The researchers found the last woman who still knew
how to sing their folk music and the Hungarians found that "she sings it just
like we Hungarians".
----------
Visit my Austro-Hungarian Web Site:
http://www.austro-hungarian-genealogy-translations.com
--------------------

(newsletter continues as no. 86B)


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 86B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
August 15, 2000


This third section of the 3 section newsletter contains sources of Current
Austrian News (also mentions "The Lake", a novel which has the Neusiedler See
as its locale), some Comments Concerning Duplicate Burgenland Records, an
article on Linguistic Name Changes, correspondence concerning "Die Amerika
Wanderung der Burgenländer" (also mentioned in Hap Anderson's trip report-BB
News No. 86), a progress report on the Digitization of St. Peterfa Church
Records, Gilly Name Origin- Switzerland and Member Changes.


CURRENT NEWS OF AUSTRIA (from Fritz Königshofer)

The Austrian Embassy in the USA runs a web site http://www.austria.org. It
is included in the list of the Burgenland Bunch's useful links maintained by
Anna Kresh. I would like to draw BB members' attention to two periodicals
with news on Austria which can be read on this web site, namely Austrian
Information which reports on general news with an angle to what might
interest readers in the United States, and Economic News. The web site also
offers a selection of downloadable videos, among them a beautiful one
presenting the Burgenland.

The Austrian Cultural Institute of New York also has a web site, at
www.austriaculture.net. The Institute issues a periodic newsletter called
Austria Kultur. You can find the current issue by selecting Austria Kultur
Online which then also provides a link to Back Issues.

It might interest BB members that the current issue contains a review of the
book "The Lake" by Gerhard Roth which has recently been published in an
English translation (Ariadne Press, Riverside, California, 2000, 165 pp.,
$15.50). The book was a bestseller in Austria when it was first published in
1995. The story plays around the Neusiedler See, is somewhat based in
Podersdorf, but includes venues all around the lake. Gerhard Roth is a good
friend of mine. We both worked at the Computer Center of Graz in the early
1970s. Gerhard is an exceptionally astute observer, and, while the story is
entirely fiction, one can assume that he saw what he describes. However,
make no mistake, this is serious, modern literature and for full benefit
requires a well-read reader.


COMMENTS CONCERNING DUPLICATE RECORDS AS MENTIONED IN BOB LOERZEL'S TRIP
REPORT (Newsletter no. 83B-from Fritz Königshofer)

As I finally made it through all the newsletters I had missed during my
vacation in Austria, I have some comments on Robert Loerzel's trip report in
issue no. 83B.

The duplicate parish records were started in Hungary between 1826 and 1828.
In contrast, in Styria the same thing happened a bit later, in the 1830s.
>From those times onwards, a parish had to maintain two books of vital events,
the original and the duplicate. The best I can gather is that the duplicates
were always closed at the end of each year, and submitted to the diocesan
offices for reference and safekeeping. Therefore, the duplicates of the
rom.-cath. parishes of what is now southern Burgenland were sent to and kept
by the diocesan ordinariate in Szombathely.

Sometime in the 20th century, the Hungarian Government declared the old vital
records (up to the introduction of civil recording in October 1895) as state
property. Parishes and dioceses had to submit the matrikels to the National
Archives in Budapest, where LDS was able to film them. Since the
centralization of the records happened after the breakup of the dual
monarchy, the original parish and civil records of the Burgenland area were
out of reach for the Hungarian authorities, and therefore only the duplicates
(from 1828) as originally kept by the dioceses of Szombathely and Gyõr, and
the duplicates of the civil records, were available to be collected in
Budapest (and later be filmed). This explains why the LDS was able to film
original matrikels of parishes that had remained part of new Hungary, while
only duplicates could be filmed of areas now part of other countries, and
only to the extent where the diocesan offices had remained in Hungary. In
cases where both village and diocesan office were now outside Hungary, no
vital records are available anymore within Hungary.

Duplicate records will typically only have later marginal entries when the
subsequent vital event still happened in the same year (before the duplicate
was sent off to the diocesan office). This is the case when a new-born child
died within the same year. However, for places that remained in Hungary,
like Pinkamindszent, the LDS has films of the original matrikels which then
can obviously contain marginal entries made many years later such as re
marriages, death or name changes (such as magyarization of the name).

I could not agree more with Robert and you (Gerry B.) that it can be very
rewarding to access the original matrikels for the reasons given in Robert's
trip report and your editorial remarks. As you say, this can, e.g., be an
avenue to find out about the father of an illegitimate child, in case this
father had later come forward, and/or the legitimatization of child births by
later marriage of the parents.

Now on to a second subject, the identity of the various places Miske.
Väsärosmiske is a place in the district of Särvär, Vas county. It also had
the German name Mischendorf, but is a different place from the Mischendorf
that is now in Burgenland (though pre-1921, both these villages were in Vas
county). Since Väsärosmiske is still in Hungary, it naturally cannot be in
Albert's village list. Please also note that Répcsemicske, now Strebersdorf,
has a different spelling, i.e., Micske rather than Miske.


LINGUISTIC NAME CHANGES (suggested by Burgenland Editor Albert Schuch)

Next to the village identity problem, the question that arises most often is
the spelling of the family name. Do the Hungarian, German, Slavic spellings
of the family name refer to the same family? This becomes even cloudier when
the American spelling is changed either because of the umlaut or Hungarian/
Croatian diacritical marks, English phonetic translation or the linguistic
whim of some immigration official. Another stumbling block is to misinterpret
what is written, i. e. not understanding the foreign language conventions
such as spousal suffixes (the "ne" -Hungarian or "nak"- Slavic, meaning wife
of the previously mentioned male). The LDS computer files contain a number of
inaccurate name spellings containing these suffixes.

The LDS genealogy software (Personal Ancestral File or PAF-an LDS trademark)
provides space for two given names and two surnames as well as a title. I use
this extra space to record American spelling as well as Austro/Hungarian
spelling for my families. For instance one grandmother is listed as
"Hedwig"-"Hattie" "Muehl"-"Mühl." I use notes to explain other spelling
variances. By paying attention to these variances you keep the records
straight. Albert Schuch responds to such a question from Connie Wright:

Connie writes:

<< A second cousin of mine ... lists my g-g-g-grandparents as Janos Mann,
Katalinnak Holenios, Jstven Schali, and Marianak Piezt. I understand that
Janos is the Hungarian equivalent of Johann or John. I am wondering if the
other 3 names are Hungarian, and whether you know their German or English
equivalents. Specifically, I am wondering whether Holenios could be the same
as Hollenitsch/Hollentisch. >>

Albert answers:
"-nak" is just a grammatical suffix. So you have to delete "-nak" to get the
first name. In your case, the correct names are Maria (Mary) and Katalin
(Kathryn).

The first name "Jstven" is not spelled correctly. It has to be "Istvan" (with
a diacritical mark above the 'a'). The equivalent name in English is Stephen.

The surname "Mann" looks OK, but the other three surnames look rather strange
and are probably not spelled correctly. With respect to this, Holenios could
indeed be the same as Hollenitsch. Hollentisch is less likely, because many
surnames end with "-itsch". This (Slavic) suffix is
often spelled "-ics", and Holenics could easily be read as Holenios.



"DIE AMERIKA WANDERUNG DER BURGENLÄNDER" (The Emigration of Burgenlanders to
America)

Sometimes I feel like I'm meeting myself coming around the corner. I must
occasionally repeat myself in order to make a point, provide credit for the
work of others or explain why we have a Burgenland Bunch.

In 1993 I purchased a copy of the book "DIE AMERIKA WANDERUNG DER
BURGENLÄNDER" on a trip to Güssing. When I found my grandfather mentioned on
page 213, I was hooked. Later in talking to the author I found that he was
very interested in identifying the first emigrant from each village. Since
much of his individual immigrant material came from family sources, I told
him of the possibilities inherrent in the US 1910 & 1920 census and the LSD
microfilm records. My original idea was to search those sources and develop a
data base of Burgenland emigrants. Frank Teklits and I originally set out to
do just that. We soon found we had a tiger by the tail. Two people alone
couldn't possibly do the job and the idea of a Burgenland group began to
glimmer and take form as other correspondents joined us.

Thus, "DIE AMERIKA WANDERUNG DER BURGENLÄNDER" more than any other work,
prompted me to establish the Burgenland Bunch (BB). The book, written in
German, authored by Hofrat Dr. Walter Dujmovits, president of the
Burgenländische Gemeinschaft (BG), and published in 1975 was reissued in
paper back by Desch-Drexler in 1992. It is the first and to my knowledge, the
only book which addresses this subject in its entirety (portions are repeated
in "nach Amerika" -the 1992 Burg Güssing "emigration festival" publication
and a few other local publications). Prior to 1975, no one had previously
written the complete story of Burgenland emigration, although it is mentioned
in Professor Andrew Burghardt's English language book "Borderland", 1962. Dr.
Dujmovits summarized not only what was available at the time, but also what
he had uncovered through research and correspondence. While it is unfortunate
that it has not been published in English, it is the starting point for what
I hope may some day be a complete history of this emigration. I don't know
how many immigrants the BB have identified todate. I do know we have over
3000 surnames listed in our surname list and obviously many belong to
multiple emigrants (three or more on average might give us nine to twelve
thousand thousand individuals?) We know there were at least forty thousand
Burgenlanders who entered the US in the period 1880-1924 alone. If one fourth
returned (an educated but published guess), we may still have perhaps twenty
thousand to find!

A treasured dream would be an English language version of Dr. Dujmovits' book
complete with BB surname and village lists and appropriate archive articles.
Perhaps someday, the BB and BG membership may be such that the combined
membership would support the printing of such a publication in both German
and English. A magnificent tribute to our ancestors!


The BB with 550 members and the 2000 page archive of the 86 BB newsletters,
as well as the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft with 4000 members and their
newsletter archives (now at number 366 with approximately 5800 pages) is
indicative of the current interest and depth of this subject.

New member Donna Sheraden writes:

<<There was book published in 1975 "Die Amerika-Wanderung der Burgenlander"
written by Walter Dujmonits (not sure of the spelling) My cousin said it was
available thru: Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft HauptPlatz-No7, 7540 Gussing,
Burgenland, Austria. Are you familiar with that book? My grandfather and
uncle are mentioned in it. Mom had a copy, and I had it after her death, but
now I can't find it and would like to obtain a copy.>>


My answer: Yes-the book you mention is "Die Amerika Wanderung der
Burgenländer" and it is available from the address you quoted. Author is Dr.
Walter Dujmovits. He's president of the Burgenlandisches Gemeinschaft.

They will accept your check-email them, attention Frau Renate Dolmanits,
Secretary for US dollar cost and postage. You might also ask if they have any
more copies of "Nach Amerika", a book published a few years ago with much
immigrant data from the Güssing area and lots of period pictures. Both books
of course are in German.

(Ed. Note to all members: even if you don't read German, get a copy of this
book and pass it on to your descendants. They will then never be without the
story of their immigrant ancestors. As translation software improves, it is
not difficult to translate to English, just time consuming. There are
pictures and many immigrant names.)


DIGITIZATION OF ST. PETERFA RECORDS (from Frank Teklits and others)

The membership may remember John Lavendoski's 1999 trip report. During his
trip he photographed all of the St. Peterfa church records extant at the
church and at the Diocesan Archives in Eisenstadt, quite a task. When he
returned he digitized those records and Frank Teklits agreed to translate and
summarize them. Frank recently had a few questions and in the exchange of
correspondence, we received a report of this work in process. Remembering
Frank's stupendous efforts in translating the history of Croatians in the
Burgenland, we can only admire his continued tenacious efforts on our behalf.
Those of you interested in St. Peterfa records will be blessed!

Frank's question dealt with "how sacred are the original records-can we add
to them or rearrange them?"

My answer was: "I see nothing sacred about the original lists. If someone
wants the "original", let them look it up. I see nothing wrong in doing
this, just quote the source(s) and explain the procedure used to create the
new."

Franks responds:

Thanks for your input. When John & I started this project, along with the
usual column headings, we added one called "Notes". I leave a note when I add
something to the original church entry. I have also used a specific term
(obtained) to state as an example, "Mother's surname obtained from marriage
records". Whenever I get through this initial phase, I plan on explaining the
conventions used in the generation of the digitized records, & in that
summarization, explain how to go back to the original entries with relative
ease.

It is this work I term "correlation" of birth records with the associated
marriage records, that is by far the most demanding & time consuming. To be
more specific, in the 1750 decade, I have entered 828 births that I am
attempting to correlate or match up with the marriage records. I've worked
for a solid 2 weeks, 6 or more hours each day & have
progressed to the letter P as in Paukovits. This effort is more time
consuming as each decade is entered. There has been a growth of approximately
86% in the births from the 1720 to the 1750-decade. If the progression
continues at this same rate, births in the 1790-decade could well reach 1200
or more. However this effort has been satisfying, & has already improved the
quality of the work. If all goes well, I may even complete Phase I of this
effort by the end of the year.

Later: Within the next day or two, I'll probably close out the 1750 decade
births.... Based on the effort to date, here are some numbers & observations
that may perhaps be of some interest to you.

There are a total of 1478 marriages recorded over the period 1683 to 1796, &
3583 births from 1681 through & including 1759. Approximately 120 of the
marriages do not have names of grooms or brides. Almost 500 of the births
lack the fathers' surname, or even the mother's given name. There are 20
years for which there are no marriages recorded, & 3 years where no births
were recorded. There are many years where births of only a few months of the
year are recorded.

Some impressions of the records seen to date can be summarized as follows.

Marriages recorded in the early years (1680-1690) were legible & provide good
references to the birthplaces of both the couple getting married as well as
for the witnesses. The early 1700's are a disaster, years are missing, (there
are 3 marriages recorded over the period of 1700 to 1709),writing is
atrocious, & for a few years the records appear to be garbled. The records
from the 1740's onward begin to show some attention to the need for record
keeping. However, over the years as the numbers of births & marriages began
to increase, one must assume that there was a paper shortage, as the number
of hand written entries on a single page can reach
as high as 19. Compounding that tragedy is the fact that double pages of
these extremely busy pages were photographed on a single image, which makes
what have been readable pages extremely difficult to read. It prevents
utilizing the full capability of programs such as Photo-Shop, & Acrobat. I
recommend that in the future, photographs of any church records be limited to
the contents of a single page only.

The possibility also exists that records of a few years may have been
accidentally omitted, & that some records can be photographed again on a
single page basis. The results of my efforts should prove helpful in
furthering the readability of both the records, & my interpretation of the
entries. By the way, I'm well on my way to transitioning my work from the old
to my new 733 MHz Micron PC.

Frank writes to Albert Schuch

Many thanks for your input, & I'm proceeding with the digitization as
summarized. I continue to spot check the changes made & based on them I am
confident that the bulk, if not all, of the changes made can be obtained by
searching on the word "obtained". There is a fair amount of subjectivity
involved due to the fact that there are so many marriages
with similar names. I maintain a constantly updated list of alphabetically
sorted lists of births that I use to determine if a specific birth is
associated with a given couple. If within a 20-year span a birth occurs to a
similarly named couple, e.g. (John Paukovits, & Anna), that birth entry
remains as in the original records. In some cases, I have gone back & removed
an association if similar names occur. It's this reiterative process that is
both arduous & time consuming, as well as being gratifying.

Albert writes: As regards the spelling of the surnames: Would it be help if I
sent phone books of the area? I have them for the districts Oberwart, Güssing
and Jennersdorf and I do not need them myself.

Frank answers" By all means, & please give me an idea of the costs. These
reference sources would enable me to at least select a proper spelling if I
have not been able to locate that surname in some of the phone books from my
area, or from back home. I had an interesting occurrence recently. I came
across the surname Tallian, spelled differentlyin the old church records.
Then an email arrived from a BB member in Netherland who was seeking
information about the same surname. Hence I changed the spelling to be as
shown above. I'd find these books useful, without a doubt.

Albert writes: I am also happy to report that my master's thesis (written in
1997 about the history of mining in Southern Burgenland) will be pubished in
the "Burgenländische Forschungen" series of the Provincial Archives later
this year.

Frank writes: That's an outstanding bit of news, & my congratulations. I hold
the Burgenländischen Forschungen in high regards, & am sure that your thesis
will maintain the high standards the series holds. Please let us know when
the thesis will be published, & by whom. Is there a similar outlet for
dissertations in Europe as the University of Michigan Dissertation Services
provides for every Doctoral dissertation accepted in North America? It's the
source through which I purchased Andrew Burghardt's doctoral thesis, "The
Political Geography of Burgenland". Thanks again for your thoughts, & I'll be
forwarding copies of the 1740 Decade births as soon as I complete the
associations of the 1750-decade.


GILLY NAME ORIGIN CAN BE SWITZERLAND (from Fritz Königshofer)

Fritz writes:

With reference to the article in BB newsletter 84, the late Joe Gilly, an
early member of the Burgenland Bunch, had pursued the idea, based on family
legend, that his Gilly ancestors had been Irish, and that he descended from
an Irish soldier who had fought in the imperial army which won the battle of
Szent Gotthärd (in Austria also called the battle of Mogersdorf), and then
settled in the area.

When I tried through the records of Graz to see what they say about the many
Gillys who live in Graz, I found to my surprise that several of them had come
to Graz from Graubünden, a canton of Switzerland, in the southeast of the
country. This seems to dovetail with your findings.



ORGANIZATION OF US CENSUS EXPLAINED (taken from GENERATIONS HERITAGE QUEST
NEWSLETTER, dtd August 2, 2000)

NEW THIS WEEK ON GENEALOGYBULLETIN.COM
"Census Records and County Boundary Changes" by Award-winning Author, WILLIAM
DOLLARHIDE. All censuses taken since 1790 are tabulated and organized by the
counties within each state or territory. By federal precedence, a county area
in a census is the basic unit of jurisdiction in all states. (Except Alaska,
the only state without counties. Judicial districts are used as jurisdictions
for the censuses taken there.) In Louisiana, a parish is the same as a county
in other states. Even the New England states - where a town may have more
importance than a county as a genealogical resource - are all organized by
counties for each census taken. Read more...
http://www.genealogybulletin.com/HTML/current.html


MEMBER CHANGES

>From 7/31/2000

- addresses with permanent fatal errors were removed -

New

Molly James; St. Paul, MN. ELLE (ILLI), WASHENBERGER
(VASCHENBECHER), Tadten, Apetlon, to St. Paul prior to 1906.

Marc Opitz; Oakesdale, WA. OPITZ, Tadten. To Eden, SD
(Farm on Opitz Lake)

Theron Rogers, Gainesville, GA.,
MUHR, Heilingenkreuz, GRAF, Eltendorf to Hellertown, PA.

Steven Vass, Ypsilanti MI. Grandfather is from Burgenland
: VASS, Istvan. Uncle still living there Vass, Laszlo in Oberpullendorf. My
grandfather moved to Budapest and my father was born in Budapest.

Elisabeth Zalka; Vienna, Austria. ZETHOFER -
Riedlingsdorf, ZALKA - Pinkafeld. Looking for descendants of Samuel ZETHOFER,
who emigrated to the US ca. 1913.


CHANGE
Otto Limbeck - new e-mail address

John Maschler - new e-mail address

Andreas Lehner - new e-mail address
url. http://members.xoom.com/lehner/default.html

Joan and Frank McGrath
Under the surname research list,my grandfather's name is spelled PRIENINGER;
it should be PREININGER.

Gertrude Schlener - new e-mail address

(end of newletter)

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 Co-Editor (Klaus Gerger, Austria)
Burgenland Lake Corner Research (Dale Knebel)
Chicago Burgenland Enclave (Tom Glatz)
Croatian Burgenland (Frank Teklits)
Home Page village lists (Bill Rudy)
Home Page surname lists (Tom Steichen)
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>(previous newsletters can be reached from Home Page hyperlinks)

BURGENLAND HOME PAGE>(gateway to all lists and archives)
http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org

Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com,
Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798

Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Must Provide Credit.