BB News No. 100 dtd 31 Oct 2001

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 100 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (issued monthly by G Berghold) October 31, 2001 (c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWSLETTER 100TH EDITION - 750 READERS FIRST EDITION JANUARY 1997 - 13 READERS 257 EMAIL SECTIONS (NOW 5 PAGES PER SECTION) PUBLISHED TO DATE 1300 ARTICLES ARCHIVED THIS IS THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF THE PROVINCE OF BURGENLAND 1921-2001 (SEE NL-100B FOR HILITES) TO RECIPIENTS: If you don't want to receive these newsletters, email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, homepage listings and mail.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Add your full name to email. To join, see our homepage. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Comments and articles are appreciated. Our staff and web site addresses are listed at the end of newsletter section "C". Introductions, notes and articles without a by-line are written by the editor and reflect his views. This first section of the 100th Anniversary edition of our section newsletter includes: * Index Of The Best From Five Years Of The BB News * Szentpeterfa 1681-1913 Records Digitized & Available THE BEST FROM FIVE YEARS OF THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS For the 100th issue of the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, I've prepared a list of archived articles of major interest. There are about four hundred. They were included in 140 of the 257 email newsletter sections which we've published in the last five years. There have been some 1300 articles in all. These selections can be read, printed or downloaded from sites available by hyperlink from our BB Homepage. Entries which stand by themselves have particular merit. Selection was motivated by a desire to provide a primer for studying Burgenland Family History and Culture. I have purposely not included trip reports or family histories, as interesting and informative as they are, because they do not meet that requirement. Nonetheless, I strongly urge you to read every one of them-they are priceless. I have not included village histories or Urbar and Canonical Visitation translations. These are among the most important work we've done, but they can be found by searching our Homepage lists. If you read these articles, you will definitely advance your research. ARTICLES FROM "HERITAGE QUEST MAGAZINE" AUTHORED BY G. J. BERGHOLD article 1. Rooting Around in the Burgenland (how to get started) article 2. Genealogy On Site in the Burgenland (how to visit Burgenland) article 3. Burgenland Genealogy in Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley Burgenland enclave) article 4. Formation Of BB - See Newsletter No. 43A NEWSLETTER ARTICLES No. 1, 1/11/97 Introduction, Books, Flag, Dictionaries No. 2, 1/18/97 Census (Hungarian and US) No. 4, 2/4/97 Maps, Homepage No. 6, 2/22/97 Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft No. 7, 3/1/97 Immigrant Itinerary No. 10, 4/12/97 Villages (start of 3 articles) No. 13A, 6/14/97 Burgenland Castles & Genealogy No. 14A, 7/5/97 Burgenland Food at Turn of the Century No. 15, 7/14/97 Hungarian Marriage Records No. 16, 8/1/9 Urbars, Canonical Visitations No. 18, 8/31/97 Older German Words and Terms. No. 18A, Reading Hungarian Records No. 21, 10/15/97 Historical Village Series (start of many) No. 24, 11/30/97 Little Known Terms No. 25A,12/25/97 Books on Burgenland No. 26, 12/31/97 Folk Tales, Burgenland Dwellings No. 28, 1/31/98 Concerning Burgenland Gypsies No. 28A, German Newspapers in Western Hungary No. 29, 2/15/98 Taxes("dica"), Diacritical Marks, Political Subdivisions No. 32, 3/31/98 Emigration Reasons, Definition of "Hold No. 33, 4/15/98 Amtlicher Ausweis, "Mei Hoamat" No. 33A, Burgenland Genealogy URL List No. 34, 4/30/98 Kitchen Food, Wends & Slovenes No. 34A, House Names, Meaning of Names, Burgenland Jewish Population No. 36, 5/30/98 "Staatsangehörigkeit" and "Zuständigkeit No. 38, 6/30/98 Bakony Hills No. 38A, Allentown and Northampton, PA No. 38B, Naming Conventions, Military Service No. 39, 7/15/98 BB Picnic, German Terms, Books & Publications. No. 39A, Poppendorf Edition, Auswandererschicksal, Father Leser, Königshofer History No. 40, 7/30/98 Where To Start When You Have No Data No. 41, 8/15/98 Reasons For Migration (Parts I & II) No. 41A, Looking At Church Records, Civil Records No. 43A, 9/15/98 Heritage Quest IV-The Burgenland Bunch No. 44, 9/30/98 Latin Terms, Districts No. 45, 10/31/98 Hianzisch No. 45A, Immigrant Busy Work No. 46, 11/15/98 South American Emigration, Paprika No. 46A, Publishing a Genealogy No. 47, 11/30/98 Starting a Burgenland Search No. 47A, German Names of Hungarian Villages, Cabbage Strudel, Emigration Article -Volksfreund Series No. 47B, Hungarian Death Terms No. 48, 12/15/98 Step 2, Beginning Your Search No. 48A, Croatian Origins No. 49A, 12/31/98 2 Year Index-BB Newsletters No. 51A, 1/31/99 Step 3, Beginning Your Search No. 51B, House Numbers No. 52A, 2/28/99 Lehigh Valley Immigrants No. 52B, Land Holding Terminology No. 53B, 3/15/99 Burgenland 1950's No. 54, 3/31/99 Hungarian Latin & the 1828 Census No. 54A, Terms For Farmer, Beginning Your Burgenland Search - Part 4 No. 55A, 4/15/99 People On The Border-Croatian History (serialized in 12 sections) No. 55B, 4/15/99 WorldGenWeb No. 56, 4/30/99 Family History Checklist No. 56B, Meaning of Family Names, Distribution of Family Names No. 57, 5/15/90 Travel Tips. No. 58, 5/31/99 Continuing Your Burgenland Search, Part 5 - Census Records, Telephone Directory Searches No. 59, 6/15/99 Batthyány Family, Geography, New Hungarian Atlas. No. 60, 6/30/99 Hungarian Tax Records No. 60B, Gypsies, Heimatschein (Certificate of Domicile) No. 61, 7/31/99 Occupations or Titles, Surname Endings No. 62, 8/15/99 Latin Names of Hungarian Counties No. 62B, Hungarian Census Explained No. 63, 8/31/99 Tax Records No. 64, 9/15/99 Nobility No. 65, 9/30/99 Status Animas, Hungarian Record Headings No. 66, 10/15/99 Güssing Family Names, Currency-Current & Historical No. 66A, 10/15/99 People on the Border-Croatian History - XII (last of the series) No. 67, 10/31/99 Don't Know What To Do, Historical Atlas of East Central Europe No. 67A, Historical Genealogy-Batthyány family. No. 67B, Burgenland Trip Tips No. 68A, 11/15/99 John Lavendoski's Status of St. Kathrein & St. Peterfa Records No. 68B, Free Burgenland Listing Service No. 69B, 11/30/99 LDS Civil Record Microfilm No. 71, 12/31/99 Statement of Objectives, How to Use the BB, How to Improve Your Research No. 72, 1/15/00 Surname List, Translations from "Der Volksfreund" No. 72A, Croatian Settlement in the Burgenland Part II No. 72B, Hungarian Working Papers Translated No. 73, 1/31/00 Family History Centers, Post 1920 Civil Records, Geography & Genealogy No. 73A, Obituaries-Allentown Morning Call, Derivation of Surnames. No. 73B, Publication Final K & P Bezirk Book No. 74A, 2/15/00 Lorenz Schoenbacher - First Burgenland Immigrant(?) No. 74B, Pogachel-Taste of Burgenland, Significant Epidemics No. 75A, 2/29/00 Travel Time, Burgenland to NY, Burgenland-Formation and Name No. 75B, Burgenland Immigrant Cities, New History of Hungary No. 76B, 3/15/00 Burgenland Immigrant Cities, Using Albert's Village List No. 77, 3/31/00 New Query Board No. 77A, Frequently Asked Questions No. 78, 4/15/00 BB Surname List, New Maps Section No. 79A, 4/30/00 Immigrant Travel, List of Possible Burgenland Immigrant Ships No. 79B, Shipping Agents in Burgenland Villages, Ports of Departure, Ports of Entry, Hizi Atlasz No. 81B, 5/31/00 First Trip To Austria, Sterz-Taste of the Burgenland No. 82, 6/15/00 Jordan Street-Allentown PA No. 82A, Travel Hints I (2 part series) No. 83, 6/30/00 Language-Immigrant Problem, Raised Strudel, Klaus Gerger's Village House Lists No. 84A, 7/15/00 Pumpkin Soup & Fried Twists, Comments On Illegitimacy. No. 85, 7/31/00 Sources for Burgenland Flags, Origin of Hungarians (Magyar) No. 86, 8/15/00 Composers With Burgenland Connections. No. 87A, 8/30/00 Correspondence With Felix Game, Why Family History? -How To Proceed With Limited Data. No. 88, 9/30/00 Transdanubia-Mother of the Burgenland. No. 88B, Sacher Torte vs Imperial Torte vs Strudel No. 89B,10/31/00 Composer Series (Haydn) No. 90, 11/30/00 America's Immigration Crisis No. 90B, New Book in English-"Burgenland Panorama" No. 91, 12/31/00 Just A Little Interest In Genealogy, Germanic Regions Not Burgenland No. 91A, Burgenländische Gemeinschaft Web Site-English No. 91B,12/31/00 Philosophy Behind The BB No. 92, 1/31/01 When To Visit Burgenland No. 92A, Western Hungary & The Bakony Region No. 93A, 2/28/01 First Emigrant From Each Village, Immigrant PA Addresses (start of series) No. 93B, 2/28/01 Genealogy Of Franz Liszt (start of series) No. 94, 3/31/01 Kipfel Recipe No. 95, 4/30/01 Burgenland Emigrant Rail Travel, Districts of Vienna No. 95C, A MOST IMPORTANT PROJECT - Preview of Publication (from Bob Unger), Ellis Island Records Available, Eisenstadt Diocesan Archives, Burgenländische Gemeinschaft No. 96, 5/31/01 Burgenland Slaves, Serfs and Peasants, Immigrant-Family Status No. 96A, Franks, Moravians, Magyars-An Early History Reviewed No. 96B, Introduction To The Study of Burgenland No. 97, 6/30/01 BB HONORED BY GOVERNMENT OF LAND BURGENLAND No. 97C, Learning German - Textbook Recommendation No. 98, 8/31/01 Hianzen-A Burgenland Tap "Root" No. 98A, Die Amerika Lied, Burgenland Differs From America, BG Picnic No. 99, 9/30/01 Szt. Peterfa, Hungary Project Completed No. 99C, Hungarian Property Description, BB Staff List No. 100, 10/31/01 THIS ISSUE! NOTE - TO SEE A COMPLETE INDEX OF NEWSLETTERS CLICK ON BURGENLAND BUNCH ARCHIVES SZENTPETERFA 1681-1913 RECORDS AVAILABLE (Frank Teklits & John Lavendoski) Various issues of the BB newsletters have mentioned the collaboration of fellow BB member John Lavendoski & myself in digitizing the birth & marriage records from the original Szentpeterfa, Hungary church records dating from 1681 to 1796. The dual undertaking consisted of John making a significant financial investment in state of the art digital camera equipment, and photographing the records in the summer of 1999, while my effort consisted of reading the digitized images & completing a fully documented release of the Phase I birth & marriage records. (No death records were photographed in Phase I.) John has subsequently added to his digital camera equipment investment & has taken a Phase II set of the same images which aids considerably in the reading of these records, some of which are badly faded, poorly written, or difficult to read dual page images that have now been photographed as single page images. These Szentpeterfa, Hungary church records contain the birth & marriage registers for a number of villages. Some of the communities for which church records can be found in these records include: Eberau, Edlitz, Ehrensdorf (Deutsch & Kroatisch), Gaas, Harmisch, Kulm, St. Kathrein, Szentpeterfa, Tschantschendorf (Deutsch & Kroatisch), and Winten. Some birth & marriage records are also included from the villages of Ober/Unter Bildein, Pernau, Nagy Kulked, Kroatisch Schutzen, & Kohfidisch. We attempted (without success to date) to obtain written permission to publish these records restricted to BB membership. Hence John & I agree that some attempt be made, short of a full release, to make the content of the digitized images available to interested members of the Burgenland Bunch. To this extent, we will respond to specific requests from members interested in pursuing lineage. By specific, we mean that you have researched lineage back to the 1790's, or very early 1800's using the LDS FHC microfilm, or church site records, and make a request for a specific ancestor. Requests without having researched lineage back to the late 1790 or early 1800 time frame will be ignored. A 2nd set of Szentpeterfa Hungary marriage records has just been completed, & also warrants the attention of BB members interested in this area. Part of the church records digitized by John in 1999 included marriage records for Szentpeterfa dating from 1895 to January 1913. Approximately 280 marriage records are digitized and will allow the membership to pursue lineage beyond the September 30, 1895 date limitation found in most of the FHC microfilm. These marriage records, contrary to the older records discussed above, contain marriage entries primarily for the villages of Eberau, Kulm & Szentpeterfa. Significantly fewer records are seen from other locales. Again, John or I will respond to specific questions posed by BB members regarding marriages only for the families for whom marriages are recorded. Any requests outside of the family listing provided will be ignored. (ED. Note: see Membership List for email addresses for Frank or John. I have seen these digitized records. They are a magnificent achievement.) Newsletter Continues As No. 100A THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 100A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (now issued monthly by G Berghold) October 31, 2001 (c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved This second section of the 100th Anniversary edition of our 4 section newsletter contains: * Meet The Staff MEET THE BB STAFF (in alphabetic order) ED. Note: The following people have been instrumental in developing the BB. There is much talent, experience and knowledge in this group and we are most fortunate in having Austrian staff as well as American. Along with their family history knowledge, our staff have computer expertise, allied academic backgrounds, research capabilities and language skills. Surmounting all is their unstinted willingness to share their talents with those interested in Burgenland family history. HAP ANDERSON (web site coordinator) Hap Anderson, Minneapolis MN, researching Weber and Grosinger (Grassinger) families from the village of Lebenbrunn who came to Minnesota. I have been a BB member since day one (summer of 96). Education - 2 year General College at U of M, 2 year trade school (drafting). Trade - Computer drafting and design (mechanical and electronics). Interests include genealogy, computer, video photography and model railroad. I visited Burgenland in the summer of 2000 with three other BB members. I have been corresponding with relatives in Lebenbrunn since my visit, we are all family, sharing photos and family data. I have co-hosted the BB picnic in Minneapolis for the last four years. I have been the BB web site editor since Jan 97, when we started the site with a few pages of members, surnames and villages. GERRY BERGHOLD (BB founder, coordinator, newsletter editor) Gerald Berghold, born Allentown, PA. Lehigh University, BS-Acctg. Retiree DuPont Company-Financial Mgr. Now living in Winchester, VA. Married to a most understanding wife- descendant of 18th century Palatinate immigrants to Bucks County, PA-another area of family history I explore. Three children, six grandchildren, one great-grandchild. All four of my grandparents emigrated from southern Burgenland 1900's. Berghold-Poppendorf, Langasch-Heiligenkreuz, Sorger-Rosenberg (Güssing), Mühl-Güssing. We've traveled in southern Europe extensively. Other interests include collecting books, antique weapons, glass and tavern memorabilia. Study European and military history and read travel books and murder mysteries. Formed the BB in January 1997 to foster preservation of Burgenland ethnic heritage and memory of the Burgenland Auswanderung. Numerous articles in newsletters and magazines published both here and abroad. KLAUS GERGER (Klaus Gerger's Map Site) Klaus W. Gerger (Vienna / Güssing, Austria). I spent my childhood and early school in Güssing, with another 5 years of technical high school in Pinkafeld. For 20 years I've worked for SIEMENS in Vienna as a software developer and consultant. I'm married to Heidi (nee Gröller-Neustift) and we have two daughters Eva and Viktoria. My hobbies are - besides my family - photography, genealogy and PC-based graphics. I'm doing genealogy for 10 years and a member of BB since 1998. Almost all the siblings of our grandparents emigrated to the U.S.A. in the early 1900's, but we have just a few contacts among their descendants. (Editor's note: Klaus is my cousin, we share a Pöltl ancestor. Meeting him and his family for the first time was made possible by the BB. While he doesn't say so, Klaus is also an unofficial ambassador for Bezirk Güssing). TOM GLATZ (editor Chicago enclave) Thomas J. Glatz, Chicago, IL; BB member since 1998 and Burgenlaendische Gemeinschaft member since 1980. I have worked at various brokerage firms in Chicago. My interests are genealogy, travel, folk and ethnic music. I am a physical fitness fanatic. My immigrant grandparents were Johann Glatz from Loipersdorf and Maria Schloegl from Hammerteich bei Lockenhaus. My Burgenland genealogy began in 1975 with my first letter to Austria. I have visited Burgenland four times. I correspond regularly with Glatz relatives in Wien and Loipersdorf, Weber in Breitenbrunn, and Lackner and Fuchs in Lockenhaus. JOHANNES GRAF (editor - membership list, music page, BB award page) Ing. Johannes Graf (Hannes) living in Vienna, Austria with companion Elfie. BB Member since January 2001. Maintaining the BB-Member-List since July 2001. Added "Songbook" and "Gerry-Berghold-award" pages. Mother's ancestors are from Tadten, Seewinkel, Burgenland. Searched for relatives in the USA, found the BB. Found the descendants of my LEHNER grandmother's brother and sister. More than 300 relatives in the USA, contacted 24 with email. Worked as a fitter in several European countries. Received master craftsmen diploma and middle degree (Ing.) between engineer and Baccalaureate in Business Administration. Now a self-employed technical engineer constructing heating systems. Studying Economics at Vienna University. Interests: Railroading, financial manager for Austrian-Mozambiquean Society for Culture & Development. Assemble computer-hardware for poor children and social-organizations. Interested in drawings, paintings, photos, animations and web-publishing via the Computer. Visit Burgenland relatives monthly. Hope to meet my "American" relatives in the next few years. DALE KNEBEL (Editor - northern lake region) Dale Knebel, Wilmot, SD. My great-grandfather Knebel was from Apetlon, and his wife (Schneider) was from Wallern. They came to St. Paul, and then to SD. My other great-grandparents (Fink and Heil) came from Wallern to Stearns County, MN, then to SD, and eventually settled in Oregon. My great great-grandmothers are Klein, Michlits, Mullner, and Lackner. I visited Austria in 1996 and met relatives of 3 of my 4 grandparents. I've been a member of the BB since its inception. I was an AOL subscriber which is where I found some of Gerry's early queries. I have a teaching degree with majors in English and sociology. I am English teacher and Tech Coordinator for the local school district since 1979. My free time seems to be divided between genealogy and antique collecting. FRITZ KÖNIGSHOFER (Austrian editor) Fritz Königshofer, Bethesda, Maryland. In the USA since 1981 working as an information technology and network specialist at the World Bank in Washington, DC, specializing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Originally from Graz, Austria, as is wife Ilse nee Hermann. Two children. Doctorate in Applied Mathematics from University of Graz. Began genealogy in 1994. Joined the BB in late 1997. Great-grandfather Adolf Königshofer "emigrated" from Styria to Burgenland in 1882 to teach in Olbendorf, Gamischdorf and Poppendorf. In Poppendorf, he succeeded Gerry Berghold's great-grandfather Emil Langasch. Adolf wrote articles for the German language weekly "Der Volksfreund" published in Szombathely. Two of Adolf's five children emigrated to the US (Adelheid to Milwaukee and Emery to Allentown). Grandfather Koloman Königshofer, teacher in Raabfidisch, Rauchwart, Neumarkt an der Raab and Styria, was married to Anna nee Koller, also a teacher, who descended from ancestors in Rechnitz, Rohrbach bei Mattersburg and Lockenhaus. I visit Austria frequently; also have many opportunities to visit Budapest and its Széchényi Library. Besides other interests, Ilse and I love to dance the Argentine Tango, read books, and enjoy the fine musical and art programs of the Washington metropolitan area. ANNA TANCZOS KRESH (internet editor - URL list) Anna Tanczos Kresh, Butler, PA. My ancestors were Tanczos' of Kroatisch Tschantschendorf and Schuch's of Kroatisch Ehrensdorf. My father emigrated in 1906 at age 16; my mother in 1910 at age 17; to Northampton, PA. BB member since May 1997 and Internet/URL Editor since March 1998. We have five children and five grandchildren. Worked as office manager. Learned computer programming and became an independent programmer in business and accounting applications. Eventually wrote in four computer languages, working on programming and system analysis in business. For six years I ran a corporate training center in Pittsburgh for our 62 international branches. I retired in 1991. We have spent some of our retirement traveling and planned our first real trip to Burgenland for September 11. We wanted to see my parents' beloved homeland and finally meet relatives, whom I have just begun to contact via email. Sadly, our trip was cancelled on our way to the airport on the day of our national tragedy. We hope to reschedule soon. BILL RUDY (Editor - village list) Bill Rudy, Provo, Utah. My father's parents both came to New York City from Eberau in the early 1920s. My grandfather was a carpenter and an ardent New York Yankees fan. My grandparents later moved to the New Paltz, NY area in part so my grandmother could have a garden. I am a native of New York but education and work have taken me to Minnesota, Indiana, Nevada, Wisconsin and now Utah. I am a graduate of the New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Indiana University. I have worked as a park ranger in New York and Nevada, as a forest ecologist and endangered species specialist in Wisconsin and currently work as a recycling coordinator at Brigham Young University. I've been the villages page editor since Spring 1999. ALBERT SCHUCH (Burgenland editor - Albert's List) Albert Schuch, Kleinpetersdorf (Burgenland) and Vienna, Austria. BB member and Burgenland Editor since 1997. Earned the equivalent of a BA in Law (1989) and Business Studies (1991); MA in History and German Philology (1997); PhD in History (2000). Working as a freelance journalist, mostly dealing with business topics, but continue to write Burgenland-related historical articles; currently arranging the publication of my doctoral thesis. For details (in German) see http://members.chello.at/albert.schuch/cv.htm Became interested in the "Auswanderung" as a child, when we were frequently visited by my father's emigrated cousins (Sinkovits from Kleinzicken, Kremsner from Stegersbach - whose parents had moved to the Chicago area). My general interests in history and antiquarian books focus on the Central European, especially the "old" (pre-1921) Western Hungarian - Austrian border region. Other interests include German, British and American literature, folk music (Austrian, Central European and American) and reading as many newspapers as possible. Spend most of my time in Vienna, where I live with my friend Elizabeth, a high school teacher (History, Psychology/Philosophy) who also comes from Burgenland (Eisenstadt). THOMAS STEICHEN (editor - Surname List) Thomas Steichen, Winston-Salem, NC; BB member since July 1998 and Surnames Editor since March 2000. My immigrant Burgenland ancestors were my mother's grand parents: Theresa Halbauer, born in Wallern, and Joseph George Weiss, born in Halbturn, who emigrated to Stearns County, Minnesota in 1888 with three children. I hold an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and a graduate degree in Statistics. My main interests are genealogy, guitar and folk music, ballroom dancing and my lovely wife and sons. We visited the Burgenland in the summer of 2000 as part of a combined 25th wedding anniversary trip, family vacation, and genealogical trek through ancestral European hometowns. FRANK TEKLITS (Croatian editor, translator of "People On The Border" by Johann Dobrovich-history of Croatian migration to Burgenland) Frank Teklits, Warminster, PA, one of the original members of the Burgenland Bunch, & Croatian contributing editor since 1998. My parents Joseph Teklits & Mary Rose Frisch were both born in Szentpeterfa, Hungary and Moschendorf Austria. After graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in Engineering Physics, virtually all of my professional career was spent in either commercial computer design, or computerized Defense Systems. Main interests are genealogical with an emphasis on adding to knowledge concerning Croatian Immigration, & the digitization of old church records, such as the church records of Szentpeterfa Hungary, dating from 1681 to 1796. We visited Moschendorf in the late '80's but did not cross the border into Hungary, which was then behind the Iron Curtain. MAUREEN TIGHE-BROWN (Judaic editor) Maureen Tighe-Brown. Completed my doctoral course work in history at the University of Pittsburgh. I am midway through writing my dissertation, a comparative analysis of birth, marriage, and death patterns and household members for the Catholics and Jews of Deutschkreutz, Burgenland 1683-1920. I have no relatives from Austria or Hungary. My research languages include German, Yiddish, Latin, and Hungarian. I chose Deutschkreutz as a case study for my dissertation because I was looking for the farthest-East European village with a sizable Jewish population and a long period of available birth, marriage, and death records. In the spring of 1997, I found the BB web site and promptly became a member. I have since served as Judaic editor. In the summers of 1997 and 1998, I made two-month-long research trips to Hungary and Austria, where I was lucky enough to meet several great BB members: Gerhardt and Martina Lang in Eisenstadt, Albert Schuch in Vienna, and Fritz Königshofer, in Budapest. I hold bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing, and spent some years teaching medical and surgical nursing care of adults. Thus the fascination with birth, marriage, and death patterns. My non-academic passions are long-distance running and computer utility programs. ROBERT UNGER (Editor - West coast - general research) Robert F. Unger, El Cajon, CA. My grandfather, Johann Unger, was born in 1872 in Rudersdorf, Austria and in 1891, at the age of 19, emigrated to McKees Rocks, PA. I wrote the Pastor of my family's Lutheran Church in Eltendorf and in 1993 she introduced me to Gerry Berghold. We have corresponded ever since and I became a BB member at its inception. After high school I went into the U.S. Navy and became a naval aviation electronics technician during WW2. I took the government proficiency test which led to an engineering degree. I retired after 50 plus years in the fields of electronics and microelectronics having been involved in the manufacture of the first television sets and later research at the U.S. Naval Electronics Laboratory - pioneering in the development of microelectronics. Retiring from government service, I founded and was CEO of a consulting firm specializing in microelectronics. Main interests are trying to be a better husband after 55 years, genealogy, reading, music, and travel. My wife and I have made three trips to Burgenland and are looking forward to more. I correspond with Burgenland relatives: Bösenhofer, Kogelmann, Mirth, Unger and Waxwender. (ED. note: Ernest Chrisbacher (Bakony Enclave, Hungary), Charles Wardell (WGW Austria) and many other members have also made substantial contributions.) Newsletter continues as No. 100B THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 100B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (now issued monthly by G Berghold October 31, 2001 (c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved This third section of the 100th Anniversary edition of our 4 section newsletter contains: * 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF BURGENLAND-HISTORY Burgenland 1921-2001, by Albert Schuch When World War I came to an end in November 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire ceased to exist, and amongst other Succession States the Republic of Austria (initially called German-Austria) came into being. The Peace Treaty of Saint Germain (September 1919) has been referred to as the "birth certificate" of Burgenland, because it added that area, then known as "German Western Hungary" to the new Republic. The predominantly German parts of the Hungarian counties of Wieselburg / Moson, Oedenburg / Sopron and Eisenburg / Vas (which included substantial Croatian and Hungarian minorities) were to become a part of Austria, because of their centuries-old cultural, economic and social ties to the neighboring provinces of Styria and Lower Austria. This sowed the seeds for a quarrel between Austria and Hungary. Austria was not happy about the new province, an area of poor rural villages. In 1921 none of the 327 municipalities had more than 5000 inhabitants. There were only 31 companies with more than 20 employees, and most of them were soon to have financial troubles. It was a lucky coincidence that the Austrian Chancellor at that time, Dr. Karl Renner, had personal ties to the area: His wife Luise Stoisits, a Croatian from Güssing, had worked as a maid in Vienna, like many young women from Western Hungary. Work was scarce, and Burgenlaenders went not only to Vienna, but also emigrated to America by the thousands in the 1920's and 1930's. They had already done so in the decades before the war. They were used to migration, having worked as harvest laborers in the Great Hungarian Plain for centuries, or as craftsmen in Budapest and other Hungarian cities and in Vienna, Styria or Lower Austria. In 1929 Dr. Ludwig Leser, a leading Social Democratic politician, observed: "There is no other province in Austria with a population that is so constantly on the move. Without exaggeration, we can say that one third of the Burgenland is always away from home." The name "Burgenland" was soon established for this new and ninth Austrian province. Dr. Robert Davy, a senior civil servant, was appointed preliminary governor of Burgenland in January 1921, to be succeeded by Dr. Alfred Rausnitz. (Davy was born in Koenigsberg (East Prussia) in 1867 as Robert Henry Louis Davy, he was the son of a Scottish railway engineer. His son Rober t Davy, a singer at the Vienna State Opera, was a leading member of the Viennese Society of Burgenlaenders in the 1920's and 1930's and an ardent collector of Burgenland folk music.) According to the Peace Treaty of Trianon, Hungary had to turn over the Burgenland on August 1921. When Austrian forces entered the country, they faced unexpected casualties due to the fierce resistance put up by Magyar guerillas; outnumbered and outgunned, they retreated. In October 1921 a new treaty was signed in Venice, wherein Hungary promised to end its guerilla war in exchange for a plebiscite over Ödenburg, the capital-to-be of the new province, and its hinterland. In later years it has become obvious that this plebiscite was in fact a mere cover-up for a political deal, by which the Ödenburg area was de facto ceded to Hungary. In November 1921 the Austrian military moved into Burgenland, and it officially became a part of Austria. The Ödenburg plebiscite had resulted in a 65 percent majority for Hungary; the area was lost to Austria, and the new province was in need of a new capital city, initially, the spa of Sauerbrunn. The first provincial elections in June 1922 ended with a surprise: In a predominantly agrarian country the Social Democrats won 13 seats, leaving 10 for the Christian-Social (Conservative) Party, 6 for the Farmers' Party and 4 for the Pan-German Party. This can be explained by the average size of the Burgenland farms: Most of them were so small that their owners had to have a second job. Hence they were farmers as well as workers. (Many also crossed the Atlantic to try and make enough money in America to return and purchase more land.) In 1925 Eisenstadt became the seat of the new capital, with Sauerbrunn and Pinkafeld as runners-up. It took four more years before the government actually moved to Eisenstadt. In Austria the time between 1918 and 1938, generally referred to as the "First Republic", was a time of political instability and violence. A shootout in the village of Schattendorf (in the district of Mattersburg) between two rival paramilitary groups led to even bloodier riots in Vienna. The tension erupted into a full scale Civil War in February 1934, when the Conservative government ordered the military to suppress the Socialist militia in Vienna and other parts of Austria. Later that year, the Nazis showed their growing strength by staging a coup. The Conservative Chancellor-Dictator Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss (who had closed the parliament and outlawed political parties) was murdered, but the coup failed, mainly because Nazi Germany did not dare to intervene. The Germans could not afford to alienate the Italian "Duce" Benito Mussolini, who was visibly backing the Austrian regime by concentrating his troops along the Tyrolean border. Four years later in March 1938, the Nazis took over Austria and united it with Germany. Mussolini then needed the support of Germany for his campaigns in Africa and remained silent, as did the rest of the world. Only Mexico formally protested the annexation of Austria. Whether the majority of the population really welcomed this is still in dispute. There can be no doubt that the Nazis had a large following in Austria at that time, and there were also many people who supported the annexation despite the fact that they distrusted the Nazis. Union with Germany had been the dream of many politicians of the "First Republic". Many Jews were now forced to leave the country. Whoever was considered a political enemy by the Nazis and did not manage to get out in time faced a grim future - like the Conservative governor of Burgenland, Hans Sylvester, who died in the Concentration Camp of Dachau, Germany. In October 1938, Burgenland was split into two parts: The South was annexed to Styria, the North became a part of Lower Austria. It would be interesting to know whether a majority of the population were pleased. It seems that there was little resistance because the North and the South were still pretty much separated from each other. There was (and still is) no direct railway linking the two parts, and the building of a motorway (the "Nord-Sued-Verbindung") connecting them was not started until 1948. Towards the end of WWII, Eisenstadt and Güssing were bombed. The authorities ordered the building of a fortification along the Hungarian border, the "Suedostwall". The local population had to take part in the construction, along with slave labor, mostly Hungarian Jews. Mass killings occurred in Balf/Wolfs (on the Hungarian side of the border), Deutsch Schuetzen and Rechnitz, carried out by Gestapo and SS guards, probably aided by the local population. The "Suedostwall" turned out to be of little military value. Russian troops easily crossed the border in January 1945 near Klostermarienberg. Many villages were shelled. They soon occupied Eisenstadt. As Helmut Stefan Milletich, one of Burgenland's best known writers, has put it in a recent article, "the classic 'vae victis!' became reality" for many women during these weeks. Of course they were not the only victims of the Nazi years: Thousands of men had been drafted into the German army. Many of them were killed or reported missing in action, and a number of them died in Russian POW camps. There were also those who had had no chance to fight for their lives: Jews from Burgenland who did not manage to find sanctuary and Gypsies, who were equally persecuted by the Nazis. Of the surviving Jewish emigrants, only a handful returned after 1945. Today just a few cemeteries remind us of several centuries of Jewish life and culture. A museum has been established in Eisenstadt and the Synagogue in Schlaining has been bought and renovated by the local Peace University. (This academic institution was founded by Dr. Gerald Mader, a former member of the provinicial government. Earlier this year a group of Jewish descendants from Stadtschlaining met and visited their old home town. It should be noted that this event was initiated by BB member Regina Espenshade. As for the Gypsies, many died in concentration camps. Ironically a lot of them died not far from their home, in the camp of Lackenbach (in the district of Oberpullendorf). The survivors returned to their villages or went to Vienna, were they often claimed they were Yugoslavians - to avoid discrimination. The man who perhaps deserves most of the credit for raising the official status of the Gypsies (today called Roma), Mr. Rudolf Sarkoezi, was born in the aforementioned Lackenbach camp, to which his mother, a native of Unterschuetzen, had been deported. Thanks to the work of Mr. Sarkoezi and his associates, Austria granted gypsies the full legal status of an ethnic minority in 1993. (To date Austria is the only European country to do so.) At the end of WWII, the Austrian interim government was not too eager to re-establish the Burgenland as an independent province, but local politicians pressed for it. They had a powerful ally: The Russians wanted an independent Burgenland also. They did not want the British zone of Austria (i.e. Styria and Carinthia) to border Hungary. In October 1945, Burgenland once again became an independent province. Dr. Ludwig Leser, Social Democrat, was appointed governor. (Much to the surprise of the public it was revealed just a few weeks ago that Dr. Leser, who died in October 1946, served as a spy for the Gestapo during the war.) The first provincial elections in November 1945 ended with a victory of the Conservative People's Party (17 seats). The Socialist Party won 14 seats, the Communist Party gained one. In 1949, the Conservatives won another seat from the Socialists, while the Communist seat was won by the right-wing "Party of the Independents", a predecessor of today's much disputed Freedom Party. The first Census after the war in June 1951 counted 276,136 inhabitants in Burgenland. In 1955 the Allied forces left Austria, which once again became an independent state. In the wake of the Hungarian uprising of 1956, most of the 180,000 refugees crossed through Burgenland - 70,000 of them passing over the "Bridge at Andau" (which also became the title of a bestselling book by US-author James A. Michener). In 1960 DDr. Stefan Laszlo was ordained as the first bishop of the newly created Burgenland diocese. The parishes had belonged to the Hungarian dioceses of Steinamanger / Szombathely and Raab/Gyoer before 1921 and had later been supervised by an Apostolic administrator. In 1961 the first "Picnic" - a meeting of emigrated Burgenlaenders - was organized by the "Burgenlaendische Gemeinschaft". The elections of 1964 ended with a long-lasting turn of the political tide: The Socialist Party won 16 seats, the Conservatives 15. With the help of the Freedom Party (one seat) Hans Boegl was elected governor. He was succeeded in 1966 by Theodor Kery, who is widely credited for starting the process of modernization throughout the province. Amongst other things, the number of municipalities was decreased from 319 to 138 in 1971, but since then several of the "old" municipalities have again become independent. During the 1970's, so called "Cultural Centers" were built in each district, and the Burgenland, especially the South, attracted many Austrian artists. It became en vogue to buy a small farm house at the dead end of the Western World, next to the Iron Curtain. Plenty of those houses were available, and they still are today, but they are no longer as cheap. The economic structure underwent rapid change in the 1960's and 1970's. In response to dwindling employment in the agricultural sector the government lured foreign investors into the country to boost industrialization. One of the most prestigious projects was the "Saniped" plant in Grosspetersdorf (owned by Dr. Scholl's/Schering Plough), which for years was the largest employer of Burgenland. But like most of the new industry, the plant used cheap, unskilled labor. Many of the skilled workers commuted to Vienna or Graz, as they had always done. Due to better means of transportation, weekly commuting was more often replaced by daily commuting. When average wages rose in the early 1980's some of the plants were closed - moving to Eastern Europe or the Far East. Promising cheap land and tax breaks, the government again managed to bring new companies to Burgenland, like Packard Electric (Delphi), which replaced the "Saniped" factory in Grosspetersdorf. The Iron Curtain fell in 1989 and Burgenland suddenly found itself in the center of a "new" Europe. In the referendum of 1994, a 75% majority of Burgenlaenders agreed to join the European Union. This approval, the highest of all Austrian provinces, can to some extent be explained by it having been promised "Objective 1"-status: Mainly due to the poor economic development of the southern districts, Burgenland was granted this status which allows large public subsidies for businesses who are willing to create new jobs (or who manage to prove that they need the subsidy to "save" existing jobs). Despite a few spectacular investments in the south - like the Lyocell fiber plant in Heiligenkreuz (district of Jennersdorf) and the golf resort in Stegersbach (district of Güssing) - it has been argued that the north and especially Eisenstadt have profited most from "Objective 1"-status. The preliminary results of the census of 2001 support this view, showing that the southern districts have lost population, while the northern ones have gained. The capital city of Eisenstadt grew by ten percent from 10,349 inhabitants (in 1991) to 11,394 in 2001. A two day festival commemorating the 80th "birthday" of Burgenland had been scheduled to take place in mid September. But the public festivities have been cancelled as a result of the terrorist attacks on the USA. A special exhibition June-October 2001 in the Provincial Museum focused on 8 remarkable personal histories which were supposed to represent the 80 years of Burgenland. Though not mentioned explicitly, it turns out the Burgenland Bunch was well represented in this exhibition: Andreas Lehner, an artist living in Kitzladen (district of Oberwart), was one of the members of the organizing team. Though I have personally never communicated with him, our membership list tells me that he is also a member of the BB. One of the 8 personal histories was of our member Dr. Kurt Heinrich, whom I had the pleasure to meet (along with his charming wife) during his recent stay in Austria.) (ED. Note: thus ends the first 80 years of the new era. Our ancestors would have been pleased with the results. We hope for an equally bright future.) Newsletter continues as No. 100C. THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 100C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (now issued monthly by G Berghold) October 31, 2001 (c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved CHECK THE BB INTERNET LINKS (URLS) VIA HOMEPAGE HYPERLINKS MAINTAINED BY INTERNET EDITOR ANNA KRESH OUR SONG BOOK HAS BEEN EXPANDED. INGE SCHUCH IS TRANSLATING HIANZEN AND TOM STEICHEN IS TRANSLATING GERMAN BUT HANNES GRAF AND TOM NEED A TRANSLATOR FOR CROATIAN & HUNGARIAN SONGS-IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE CONTACT THEM UPCOMING ARTICLES * Rohrbach an der Teich - Village Cross - Albert Schuch * Burgenland Trip Report - Barbara Groh * Szt. Emmerich's Kirche - Gerry Berghold, Margaret Kaiser * Rummaging Around the Records In Burgenland - Frank Paukowits * Calvinist Congregation Of Oberwart - Fritz Königshofer * Cantas Felix Choir Visits Holy Trinity Church - Herman Klemens This fourth section of the 100th Anniversary edition of our 4 section newsletter contains: * Village History-Rumpersdorf * What The BB Is All About * What To Do After Joining The BB * BB Staff Email Addresses VILLAGE HISTORY: RUMPERSDORF (from Albert Schuch) (ED. Note: Albert continues his much appreciated village history series. He writes: I am sending another village history for the newsletter. I plan to continue in this region (Bezirk Oberwart), then move to the north.) RUMPERSDORF Situated in today's district of Oberwart, between Stadtschlaining and Rechnitz, north of Grosspetersdorf. First mentioned during the "Güssing Feud" in 1289 as Rumpolstorf, when it was conquered by Duke Albrecht of Hapsburg in his campaign against Count Iwan of Güssing. In 1479 the village came into the possession of the noble Széchy family, who gave it to Johann Ellerbach, son of the mercenary leader Berthold Ellerbach, a close associate of Andreas Baumkircher (of Schlaining). Johann Ellerbach's wife was a Széchy; he received Rumpersdorf along with Sankt Martin (in der Wart) when they married. Ellerbach subsequently sold the village to Thomas Bakács, together with his domains of Körmend, Eberau and Rotenturm. In 1517 Bakács, a wealthy clergyman (Primas of Gran), transferred most of his estates to his nephew Peter Erdödy, including the domain Rotenturm with the village of Rumpersdorf. For some time his ownership of Rotenturm was sucessfully disputed by the Styrian nobleman Kaspar Stubenberg. Eventually Erdödy prevailed, only to mortgage (in the 1540's) and later sell (1557) Rumpersdorf ("possessio Rumpolth") to Nikolaus Zrinyi, who brought Croatian refugees to the area, probably from his estates near Kostajnica and Hrastovice (1556-1561). In 1613 Thomas Erdödy regained the domain Rotenturm (including Rumpersdorf) for his family. A second wave of Croatian (Greek-Orthodox "Vlahi") settlement in the area is thought to have started about that time. An inscription claims that one "Comes Dominus Paulus Kunich" built a chapel in Rumpersdorf in 1695. He might have been a leader ("Vajda") of the Vlahi, perhaps a son of the leader of the immigrants. Apart from the KUNIC family the church records of Neumarkt (im Tauchental) list the following names as early Rumpersdorf inhabitants: HORVATH, KEGLOVIC, JANKOVIC, POOR, BEBAR (WEBER), HOLZER, RATZ, HOCHBOSTER, BERNSTEINER. A land conscription of 1676 names the families of Rumpersdorf as follows: BAGODY, BAUSA, BEBER, DERDICZ (2), HORVATH, JANKOUICZ, JOSA (6), KEGLEUICZ(3), KUNICZ (3), LAKNER, MAUROUICZ (2), MILICZICZ, NEMET, RACZ (3), SEPSY(2), VUKICZ (VUKICS, 2). In 1808 the village was transferred from the parish of Neumarkt (im Tauchental) to the new parish of Weiden (bei Rechnitz). A school was built in 1874. The first teacher was a man named ULLRICH from Miedlingsdorf. Statistical data: 223 inhabitants in 1900, mostly Croatians; 240 in 1910, 237 in 1934, 140 in 1951. The sharp decrease was caused by the deportation of the Gypsies (84 in 1934) during the Nazi area. Summarized and translated by Albert Schuch, October 2001 (Sources: Dr. Josef Loibersbeck: Um Hirschenstein und Plischa. In: Volk und Heimat 1962, # 19-23; Harald & Leonhard Prickler: Hoheitszeichen der kroatischen Gemeinden des Burgenlandes. Eisenstadt 1997, p. 200) WHAT THE BB IS ALL ABOUT Between 1850 and 1950, over 50,000 people emigrated from the area now known as the Burgenland. Some called their homeland Western Hungary (pre 1921), some called it Austria (post 1921), some called it Vas Megye, or Austria-Hungary or the district in which their village was located such as Szt. Gotthard or Güssing or Neusiedl. Whatever they called it, they were our parents, grandparents or ancestors. They were of German, Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian and Gypsy (Roma) origin. They were Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist and Judaic. There is no complete official record of these immigrants, yet it is possible that today there may be as many as 11 million descendants. Many would like to trace their ancestry. There are problems to doing this, not the least of which is language. There are 16,000 books on Burgenland history, written in German and Hungarian, but there are almost none in English. Burgenland as a political entity is only 80 years old, but its history spans 2000 years. Most villages date to medieval times and their names have frequently changed. Family names have likewise undergone change in the records that have been kept. There are over 400 Burgenland villages but they are small (under 1 or 2 thousand inhabitants) and don't appear on most maps. Many are no longer individual municipalities and parish and civil records have moved. Church and civil records from 1828-1921 have been microfilmed by the LDS (Mormon Church) and they are available at family history centers, but reading German and Hungarian script and archaic terms can be difficult. US Census records for 1910, 1920 and 1930 identify immigrant families if residence is known, but much listed data is inconclusive. Ellis Island records have been digitized but are fraught with misspellings. An Austrian organization, founded in 1956, called the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, with headquarters in Güssing, continues to link immigrant families to the homeland via a newsletter and periodic meetings and social functions, but require language proficiency and ocean crossings. The long-time president of this organization and editor of its newsletter, Dr. Walter Dujmovits, has written a definitive primer of this Burgenland migration (Die Amerika-Wanderung der Burgenländer), but it is in German. Records prior to 1828 are available but their location is often obscure. Most Austrian families have lost track of their American cousins and many American descendants are not aware they have Austrian relatives. Many would like to make a trip to Burgenland and look for their ancestral villages or relatives, but don't know how. With the advent of the home computer and the internet, both here and abroad, the time and tools to address these problems arrived. For this reason the BB was formed in 1997 by a small group of Burgenland descendants. Our purpose is to address the previously mentioned problems, establish a database of Burgenland immigrant families (3000 to date) and provide an archive of English language articles concerning Burgenland history and culture. We identify and address areas of original research which shed light on the lives of our ancestors. We provide English language translations of here-to-fore untranslated material. We do this by offering membership to descendants (800 to date) and listing and archiving their family data and maintaining same on an internet website. We coordinate our efforts through a volunteer staff and tie it all together with a monthly internet email newsletter. In this way we hope to expand Burgenland family history, memorialize the memory of our immigrant ancestors and retain links with their homeland. WHAT TO DO AFTER JOINING THE BB DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO? (revision of an article from newsletter no. 67) I've written other guides for finding Burgenland ancestors but I still get mail that reads: "I don't know what to do. I've scanned the BB site and read the newsletters and I've gone through the member and village lists. I found some family names and I think I found their villages. Now what do I do?" Answer: There are two problems here. The first is that someone is just starting genealogy. The second is that they have little experience with computers and the internet. You come to the BB to see if you can find some data concerning your family history. Maybe you are just interested in the Burgenland or its history. Either way, we can help, but you must learn to help yourself. Genealogy: In its simplest form, family history involves linking pertinent data of individuals from family to family. To do this, they must be traced through available records. You start with what you know and work back from there. First, complete the names, dates and places of birth, marriage and death of your four grandparents (assuming you already have that data for your parents-if not start there). Look at records you may have. Check what's missing. Then ask relatives what they know. Record it in a notebook. Then look for records where they settled. Old telephone books, city directories, local church records of baptism, marriage and death, court house records, wills, naturalization papers, US census, Social Security death list, Ellis Island records, etc. If you do not live near sources, try the internet. Check our BB URL lists for helpful sites. Sometimes you must write for information. Get a good genealogy "how to" book and read it. Once you have your grandparents' data, look for their parents' data. Also look for information about their brothers and sisters (siblings) and their children. Then do the same for your great-grandparents. By that time you will be an expert and you'll know what to do next, but only you can decide how far you want to go. Computer: Learn how to print, copy files and download from the internet. Review how to send email. Read your computer instruction books. Practice downloading to a floppy for virus protection. Add the BB web site addresses shown at the end of each newsletter and some of the BB URL listings to your internet address file. Help is then just a click away. Establish a BB file on your computer's hard disk or email server personal file. Copy all BB correspondence, newsletters, downloaded material to this file. Delete it only when it no longer has value. Back-up your data. Buy or download some free some genealogy software and update it with your genealogical data. Now you can print some genealogy charts-an Ahnentafel (ancestor table), a pedigree chart or family history sheets. Some will even prepare a genealogy in book form with pictures. Internet: Once you find the genealogical data pertaining to your family in the United States, search the Burgenland church and civil records copied by the LDS. Go to the Burgenland Bunch Homepage. Look at the village list. Write down the Hungarian name, German name, Bezirk (district) and where the church (parish) is located. If you can't find the information ask the BB staff or other members who are researching that village. Look at the member list and write down the names and email addresses of members researching your family names or village. Send them email and ask if they have any information. Offer to share what you have. You must eventually go to a LDS family history center and order the film for your church as found above. Then follow research directions supplied in our newsletters. To use the BB website in your search, click on the following topics (appear in blue)on the homepage: Burgenland Bunch Members - check your listing-is it correct? Search the list (use computer 'find in top window') for your family names and villages. If you find members with similar data-contact them. Burgenland Bunch Surnames - look for your family names-copy what you find. Burgenland Villages - look for your villages-copy-click on village name for available history. Albert's Village Data - search for your villages-copy Hungarian names, districts, parishes. Klaus Gerger's Map Site - copy map for your village districts-check name lists and house numbers. Having done that: Go to our archives (click on Burgenland Bunch Archives-there are 2 sections) and see what has been written about your family name or village, copy it to your files. Maybe it will furnish more clues. Click on Burgenland Bunch Internet Links to find more sources. Click on FAQ to get answers to frequently asked questions. If you have a question you'd like the world to see-click on Burgenland Query Board. If you'd like to hear some Burgenland music-click on Burgenland Bunch Song Book. If you'd like to check on what is happening in the BB, click on Gerry Berghold Award and BB Picnic. There is no short cut to this procedure. Someone may already done it for you, but beware, what they've done could be wrong. You'll never be sure until you do it yourself. There is nowhere you can go and have someone supply you with all of your genealogy. You might find bits and pieces and maybe some clues but there is no substitute for doing your own work. The BB can be of immense help, but you must learn to help yourself. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald J. Berghold) Burgenland Editor (Albert Schuch; Austria) Home Page Editor (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor (Anna Tanczos Kresh) 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) Home Page membership list (Hannes Graf, Austria) Judaic Burgenland (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Western US BB Members - Research (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason - Burgenland (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide Credit and Mention Source.