BB News No. 123 dtd 30 Nov 2003

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 123 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. If you wish to discontinue these newsletters, email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, homepage listings and mail.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Sign your email with your full name and include BB in the subject line. Send no attachments or graphics unless well known to me. Please keep changes to a minimum. To join the BB, see our homepage. If you join, your email address will be available from our websites. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Appropriate 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. Please exchange data in a courteous and cooperative manner-not to do so defeats the purpose of our organization. This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. Digital Parish Records of Klingenbach - Fritz. Königshofer 2. New Member Seeks 18th Honved Data 3. Walachia Not Part Of Burgenland Research Area 4. Radio Burgenland? - Bob Strauch & Frieda Eberhardt 1. DIGITAL PARISH RECORDS OF KLINGENBACH (from Fritz Königshofer) Fritz writes: Gerry and other colleagues on the staff of the BB, BB member Norman Gludovatz has informed me that during his recent trip to Burgenland he was able to digitally photograph three old matrikel books of the Roman-catholic parish of Klingenbach. Since he used a tripod, the copies apparently are of superb quality. The Diocesan Archive allowed his filming of these records. Norman's effort continues a trend that strarted with Frank's (and John Lavendoski's) filming of the oldest records of Szentpéterfa, and continued with Klaus Gerger's immense work of capturing the entire set of original matrikels of Güssing and Heiligenkreuz. We are all aware of the question mark that would hang over the possibility of the BB passing these digitized records to LDS, especially as far as films made at the Diocesan Archive in Eisenstadt are concerned. However, I wonder whether there would be any similar concern, if the BB were to manage to offer these records for on-line access via the BB web site? What would the web site experts among our staff have to say about this avenue? Is it feasible? Digitized records would, of course, require a lot of server space. We might also have to check with the Diocesan Archive about permission to allow public access to the records, so that future imaging of further parish records would not be denied by the archive. I have to say, I was very excited about the news from Norman, as it might indicate a thrust that would incredibly enhance the value of the BB resources for visitors of our web site (including all of us). Charles Wardell replies: Assuming that permission is granted and legal questions are solved; some technical considerations ..... a) Just to remind you that BB has UNLIMITED webspace (without ads) on the Burgenland WorldGenWeb Account at Rootsweb ....... b) The storage of the digital images is probably not the main issue. The (old) problem is that one has to be able to FIND the right image once they've been stored. c) On CD-ROM or DVD one could browse through various digital images (scans or photos). Via the Internet (even with a high bandwidth connection) that wouldn't really work (yet). d) To make the data useful via the Internet it would have to be (at least partially) transcribed and indexed in some way or another. Fritz responds: My central concern is that through the private initiative of some BB members, there is a potentially immensely valuable collection of original matrikels of the Burgenland and bordering areas slowly becoming a reality in form of digital images. Well, it's not really available yet, but it's there to think about making it more accessible. Perhaps, we need someone working under the BB umbrella, who could make copies of the CDs available for people who need them. It is also evident for me that we should not skirt the issue on how to make the job of copying the CDs attractive to the person or institution doing the work of making the copies and packing/mailing them. Likewise, as you rightly say, access to the records via the Internet might need an investment in indexing which makes it difficult to conceive a free access service to these records. However, I for one rather have these records made available (the Archive and Churches permitting) for a nominal fee that defrays the cost of making them available, than to give up on the idea altogether. Frank Teklits adds: I'll "tip my hat" to any & all of the clerics / lay personnel involved in their permitting the filming of the Klingenbach church records. John was fortunate in getting permission of the parish priest to take photographs of the Szentpeterfa, Hungary church records. However, when his Bishop heard about donating the records to the LDS, he called the pastor & told him that he wasn't happy about the photographing of the church records. As a result, I sincerely doubt that the pastor will allow any more filming to occur. One of the developing issues concerning the total digitization process, is the fact that there are no standards to go by, which is typical when "new ground" is being broken. Digital cameras fortunately provide the capability to save digital photographs in a variety of formats. The digitizing of the data process however, has no known standards, & any & all of us doing it are using whatever program we either have, or are most conversant with. All of the approx 20,000 digital date records that were donated to the LDS are done using Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program. Until some set of standards are set, it is not clear how one could request a programmer to code a program enabling on-line search, sorting, etc of these records that would encompass most of the church records that have been digitized to date. After all of the preliminary effort was completed prior to sending the Szentpeterfa, & St. Kathrein digitized data & images to the LDS, I received a "permission to duplicate" from the LDS granting them an ok to own such records, granting them the right to reproduce, display, or distribute such copies in whatever format they desire. Subsequent to my signing such "permission to duplicate", the LDS only "accepted" the donation of the digitized data records. For your information, the LDS has microfilmed the records that I have donated to them, & they are available for viewing, using microfilm # 1224600, items 8 to 11. This is not the case with the digitized images; the LDS subsequently sought, or is still seeking, official approval from the Hungarian authorities to use, or perhaps, photograph them using professional personnel, & associated equipment. From a memory storage viewpoint, storing of the 20,000 digital records is not a major concern, as all of the Szentpeterfa & St. Kathrein data records require less than 20 Mbyte storage capacity. Storage of the digitized church record images is another matter. A "top of the head" estimate to store the digital images for the 20,000 date records is somewhere between 1.5 - 2.0 Gbytes. To say the least, for the above permission to be granted, this effort will require the services of an individual with the patience of Job, wisdom of Solomon, & the diplomatic skills of Dr. Kissinger. This is not to say however, that an effort to provide on-line access to church records should be discouraged. I'm in full agreement with the intent, but am not sufficiently skilled to see through the maze of non-standardized digitized church records, & legal requirements for such to occur. Hopefully, while some of the above is occurring, I'll be able to continue the digitizing of the Szentpeterfa church records to fulfill a self set goal of digitizing all of the birth, marriage, & death records of my Dad's parish from the 1681 - to 1933. (ED. Note: A BB dream is to someday have many of the Burgenland church records digitized and on-line. A start has been made, albeit there are many obstacles to be overcome, photo copying is just the start.) 2. NEW MEMBER SEEKS 18TH HONVED DATA Mark Schock writes: My grandfather, Josef (Joseph) Schock, served in the 18th Honved in WWI. He was born in what was then, Nagyszentmihaly, now Grosspetersdorf, Burgenland. I stumbled across your site while doing a search for "Honved". Joseph immigrated to Northampton, PA in 1922. Northampton has a large population of Austro-Hungarians. The Catholic parish in Northampton is Our Lady of Hungary. My grandparents however were Evangelische (Lutheran). My grandfather considered himself to be "German", not Hungarian, and German was the language in their home. I have been to Grosspetersdorf and there is a huge monument at the entrance to the town cemetery listing the dead and missing form both WWI &II. My grandfather's brother, Fritz, disappeared in Wehrmacht service in Russia during WWII. I have a few letters that my grandparents received from family in Austria during and right after WWII. Most are written in the old-fashioned European script and even a friend of mine from Germany can NOT decipher them. I do have a photo of my grandfather in his uniform taken in Szombathely in 1916. I've been there also. I would appreciate any information on the 18th Honved. My grandfather suffered from frostbite on his foot all his life after the war. I do not know where the 18th fought during the war. I would also be interested in any suggestions on how to find out any info on Fritz. All that any of the family in Grosspetersdorf could tell me was that he went to Russia and never came home. They are very reluctant to talk about WWII. There is also a huge obelisk in the back of the cemetery placed there by the Russian regiment that occupied Grosspetersdorf after WWII. According to one of the relatives there, these troops beat my maternal great grandfather with their rifle butts as they confiscated his home, and he died a couple months later. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing anything I can that I know about Burgenland. Mark Schock Our reply accompanied our Invitation Letter. Search our newsletter archives for at least two articles mentioning the 18th Honved. The ethnic makeup of Burgenland has generally been 84% German speakers, 14% Croatian and 2% Hungarian and others. Read our archives re the historical movement of these ethnic groups into the Burgenland. We'd like to have your data in the form mentioned in the invitation letter attached. Our web site pages can tell you how to find family data. Hope to hear from you. (Mark has subsequently joined the BB.) 3. WALACHIA NOT PART OF BURGENLAND RESEARCH AREA Correspondent writes: I am Nancy Lee Wallage-Burdette (from) Mesa, Arizona. There are a few Wallage's that are doing Family History. I am excited to find your site. I found a John Wallage who was born in Istria in 1855, migrated to the United States in 1898, Naturalized in 1903 (?) Census is hard to read. It reads: Person born: Istria, Mothers tongue: Slovene, Fathers place of Birth: Istria. Is there anything you can tell me that Walach, Walachia and Wallage are connected??? We have been doing family history for some years., and hit a dead end in Page Co, Virginia in 1830 where my G-Grandfather David Franklin Wallage was born. We can't find his parents or a connection. One of our cousins had traveled abroad some years ago. He asked someone about Prince Vlad Dracula of Wallachia, and they told him we were definitely related to the Prince (the impaler). I have trouble believing this as there is no documentation. I saw a History Channel program on Prince Vlad Dracula this last week, and it said his bloodline ended in 1700-1800. Do you know anything about this subject and the Wallage/Walach/Wallachia families, possibly being the same blood line? I know I am asking a lot. One half of nothing is nothing, so I am asking all I can.:):):) We also know there are Wallage's in: England, Netherlands, Australia, Germany and Canada- immigrated from England), and U.S. Thank you for your time and appreciate any information you can give myself and cousins. We are grateful for any morsel. Our reply: Walachia is a former principality between the Danube River and the Transylvanian Alps. It is now part of Romania. It was for a brief time part of the Austrian Empire. Whether your name stems from this or not, I don't know. Most of the inhabitants were Slavs, some Hungarians and remnants of earlier Romanians. You also mention Istria on the Adriatic clear across Hungary, now mostly part of Slovenia, Italy and Croatia. It too was an Austrian crown land. My advice would be for you to start with what you know to be factual data about your ancestors and work back from there. You must find birth, marriage and death records to link the generations. We are exclusively a Burgenland group and can't help with family history beyond its borders. I am sending you our invitation letter even though you do not qualify for membership (no origin in Burgenland) so you can find other sources of data. See our URL list on our homepage for a start. (A thank you was received.) 4. RADIO BURGENLAND? (from Bob Strauch & Frieda Eberhardt) Member Joe Tretter writes: Would you please help me if you can? I would like to receive radio Burgenland, however it always seems to drift. What are the best connections to use? Bob Strauch responds: To be honest, I virtually never listen to Radio Burgenland anymore. Every once in a great while I remember to turn into their Croatian programs on Sundays at 12:30 PM EST. If I listen to internet radio, it's usually Radio Steiermark, which has folk music starting at 2 PM EST (everyday except Sunday); Radio Eviva, an all-folk music station from Switzerland, or Bayern 1 from Munich, which has folk music from 1-2 PM EST (every day except Saturday). I get to the stations thru www.mikesradioworld.com. If those links are faulty, I try the radio stations' homepages. I notice that Radio Bgld. was dropped from the list on www.mikesradioworld.com. I would try thru their homepage burgenland.orf.at. Frieda and Dennis Eberhardt are regular listeners of Radio Bgld. Let's ask them for their input. The Eberhadts respond: Ditto re Radio Burgenland. We haven't listened to it for almost a year because they play more American pop music than anything. We also connected thru Mike's Radio World and put a shortcut on our desktop. We have been listening to www.radioherz.com for a long time. Our computer is off the kitchen so from 6 A.M. until I go to work, that's what I listen to. It comes from Toronto, Canada and the music is beautiful - all our kind of songs. I recall when we did listen to Radio Burgenland, we had the same problem with drifting in and out. It was very annoying and I don't know what caused that. Bob once more: Thanks for your input. Radio Bgld has a folk music program on Sundays mornings at 9 AM (3 AM our time!). After that a Frühschoppen concert. The Croatian program is a mix of folk (tamburitza, etc) and folk-style pop. Newsletter continues as no. 123A

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 123A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) BURGENLAND BUNCH INTERNET LINKS - ADDITIONS, REVISIONS 10/17/2003 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE HOMEPAGE (from Internet/URL Editor Anna Tanczos Kresh) This second section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. A New Member's Lament - Gerstl Name, Village of Limbach (introducing the possibility scenario) 2. You Will Be Removed From The Newsletter Distribution List 3. Member Update & Offer To Help - Geosits & Szt. Peterfa 4. New Member Sends Much Data - Pelzmann, Bocksdorf 1. A NEW MEMBER'S LAMENT - GERSTL NAME, VILLAGE OF LIMBACH (INTRODUCING THE POSSIBILITY SCENARIO) (ED. Note: I include this exchange because it is a typical example of the many requests I receive. Unfortunately not too many turn out this well. This article also includes comments concerning nefarious genealogies available for sale, the problem of name changes due to diacritical marks and phonetic spellings and the difficulty in finding small villages. It also suggests how to proceed when you are sure you have found your ancestor's village of origin and the help that the BB can provide. It introduces a procedure that I have found most helpful in my own family history searches - I call it the "possibility scenario") In a message dated 11/16/03, Anita Mitchell writes: If only I had found your website sooner. I have just been scammed by MPNS, whoever they might be. I foolishly ordered the Gestl family yearbook. It's a pile of junk. I am not interested in Gestl jokes and recipes. We know nothing of my father Frank Gestl, nor his parents, brothers etc. I thought this book might give us some information. I not only ordered one but I ordered three for my sisters as well. I'm too old to have fallen for this. Thanks for listening, and please send me info about your group and how to join. Thanks, Anita Mitchell My reply: You will find that no one can give you a family history - you must do it yourself. Firms who tell you that you are in their book are often merely copying internet telephone books, etc. See our newsletter archives for an article concerning these "genealogy" scams. The only way to produce your genealogy is for you (or a close relative) to link each generation via birth, marriage and death records. We can't do that for you but we can help with Burgenland material. We are not a commercial group (1100 members) and we sell nothing. See Invitation Letter below for information. If you are not a descendant of immigrants from the Province of Burgenland in Austria (see definition of where this is if you are not sure), don't bother to join, we can't help you. You will find that our website has some general family history information and some "how to?" articles. Feel free to use them as well as our URL list of other helpful internet sites. I will provide some help. Gestl is a Germanic name. It stems from Gast, Gastmann - meaning stranger or guest. If you think yours came from Austria, see the Austrian on-line phone book for possible villages or towns, which may still have families with those names. Since you are only one generation removed, you can well have some Gestl cousins. I assume your father was an immigrant? If not, check the US census of where he was raised. May provide a clue as to origin. Germanic names are found everywhere, as there was considerable migration all over Europe as well as overseas. I'd also search the Ellis Island records for possible help with village/town of origin. Check our surname list to see if we have any members searching that name. A quick check of the seven district towns in Burgenland did not reveal any Gestls, but there are over 400 other villages in Burgenland. Your scam purchase at least brought you a little knowledge - education is always expensive. Anita responds: I appreciate very much all the info you sent me. I will take advantage of the website. Thank you so much. As far as I know, my father was born in Limbach, district of Güssing. Would that be in the province of Burgenland? To which I reply: No apology necessary - we all can become frustrated in this business. Oh my yes - Limbach is in Burgenland - welcome Landsmann! Limbach is in the district of Güssing, in the southern Burgenland of Austria and inhabitants used the churches at Kukmirn - there are two - RC and Lutheran (Evangelical). I have a lot of information about Limbach (much from a German history of Kukmirn). Church and civil records for Kukmirn 1828-1921 are available from the LDS at any of their family history centers. I find no Gestl's at Limbach now but that's no criteria; your father's name may also have been spelled differently. See further along for name changes and other spellings. Much emigration wiped out the male lines in many villages; as an example, there are no longer any Bergholds at Poppendorf where my grandfather and many generations of Bergholds were born, lived and died. The men all emigrated (but there are some in a nearby village)! Kukmirn churches were used by the following additional villages, all near Limbach: Neusiedl bei Güssing, Eisenhüttl, Olbendorf, Rehgraben, Tobaj, also Eltendorf. Again I find no Gestls. Limbach is now administered (civil administration) from Kukmirn along with Neusiedl and Eisenhüttl. There is now a Lutheran prayer house (Bethaus) in Limbach, which leads me to believe your father was baptized Lutheran. In 1993, my wife and I had a drink in a Gasthaus in Limbach, now known for its sporting facilities: tennis, bike riding, hunting. A little place not over 150 houses, maybe less, very rural and attractive. There is an RC chapel, Volks School, Vol. Fire House, Singing Society, Theater group and Gasthaus. Very early history - as early as 1635 - even much older (13th century) known as Limpok. German migration (from Bavaria, Styria, Lower Austria etc. perhaps took place about 1600). A land inventory (urbar) from 1748 lists 100 houses as Hofs or small farm holdings (strips behind the houses). A Göstel family is mentioned as living in one of the houses. My source (book Marktgemeinde Kukmirn, 1982) suggests this name may also be spelled Kessl or Göschl. There are still Göschl's in some of the surrounding villages. Don't let all of these spellings confuse you - very common especially among umlauted names (the marks over the vowels). Three languages were used: German, Hungarian and Latin, sometimes even Croatian, and spelling was at the whim of the writer. I feel your father's name may have been changed from Göstel to Gestl when the immigration people didn't know what to do with the umlaut ö. It was common to change an "ö" to an "oe" and then the "o" was dropped. There is also a Gästl family mentioned and a Gästel. Phonetic name changes are common - spell them like they souund! The urbar records are from the Batthyány family aristocratic holdings - they had the Herrschaft (domain) of Güssing beginning 1524 and owned all of the Kukmirn-Limbach land until 1848-62. The first immigrants to the US from Limbach were a Karl Krenn and Karl Reichl in 1888. In 1927, 9 people emigrated - we don't know their names - could your father be one of them? Check the Ellis Island records under various spellings of the name. Most immigrants went to Allentown, PA area - some to New York (13) and some to Philadelphia (10). There was later migration to Canada and even South America. The Limbach War Memorial for 1914-18 shows Franz Gestl (house number 48) and Rudolf Gestl (house number 107) as having died in the war. Could one be your grandfather? All in all, a most interesting study. We now know various spellings of the name. There is no doubt as to Limbach being the village of origin. I suggest you now look first to the Ellis Island internet records under various spellings of the name to find date of arrival, place of origin and maybe original spelling. Then scan the LDS church records for a baptism record of your father or try writing the church in Kukmirn. You must find out if RC or Lutheran. Maybe you already know. That record will supply parents and you can go back from there. Also check our map site and house number list and house owners in Limbach from the 1800's. Why not join us by sending your data as per the Invitation Letter I sent previously. Good luck in your search. Search our archives for anything further re Limbach. I intend to use our correspondence in my next newsletter (Nov. 30) - you'll get a copy if you join. I'll be happy to answer any other questions. Possibility scenario to be investigated from above data: Gestls came to Limbach before 1748 (similar names first mentioned in urbar) Gestl brothers or cousins died in WW-I - left one or more children. Frank Gestl was son of deceased Franz Gestl from house number 48 (similarity of given names) or a member of a Göstel family and changed his name. I would lean toward the former while feeling that the Gestl name was originally Göstel when first arriving in Limbach. Frank Gestl may have migrated to US in 1927. Note: An assumption scenario such as this provides a framework upon which research can be based. A little data combined with some logical assumptions can lead the way to later proof. 2. YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTION LIST Every month, I can spend time reading and deleting messages telling me that newsletters can't be delivered for one reason or another. Most result from inattention on the part of recipients or failure to advise us of address changes. This causes me to sometimes wonder why I ever started this business. At no cost to members, we set up an organization, conduct research for others, answer hundreds of queries and spend most mornings writing or editing newsletters. Some members then thank us by not telling us about address changes and causing us more work. We had to take steps to reduce this work load. If four newsletters are undeliverable, you will be removed from the distribution list and I won't be too quick to set you up again if this happens. Now I find that it is possible that a server failure can cause non-delivery (see below). If this happens to you, let me know, BUT ADVISE US OF ADDRESS CHANGES & DON'T LET YOUR MAIL PILE UP TO MAXIMIM LIMITS ALLOWED BY YOUR SERVER. Member writes: Say, I had a DNS outage--and whenever that happens, it takes 48-72 hours for the internet to reconverge. Our reply: We're set up to auto-remove distribution addresses after four delivery failures. This is necessary since with 1100 members we have to process 30 to 40 non-deliveries every issue. Your situation is a new one for me. Most involve people who don't bother to advise us of email address changes or who don't read their mail, allowing it to pile up until their server cuts them off. In your case, since it's beyond your control, I'll set you up again. I'm not so kind for the other types. Can you explain what a DNS outage is? I'm not an Internet expert. Gerry Berghold 3. MEMBER UPDATE & OFFER TO HELP - GEOSITS - SZT. PETERFA (from Steve Geosits) Steve Geosits writes: Please update my membership profile as follows: Steve Geosits, New York, NY. GEOSITS, FILIPOVITS, SZTUBITS, SZABARA (Harmish, Austria); JURASITS, NEMETH, SKRAPITS, HAKLITS, FILIPOVITS, MILISITS, HARANGOZO, PAUKOVITS, BARILOVITS, HABETLER, KAPITAR, GRABARITS, TEMMEL (Szentpeterfa, Hungary). I am currently correlating all Szentpeterfa house names, house numbers and their associated family genealogies. Contact me if you are interested in finding out the house/clan names of your ancestors. 4. NEW MEMBER SENDS MUCH DATA - PELZMANN - BOCKSDORF Keeping to my habit of reporting new members who send us more than the required data, I've included the following: Robert Frank Pelzmann, Jr., Agoura Hills, CA. PELZMANN (Bocksdorf), MARINITS (Stegersbach) Grandfather Frank Pelzmann settled in New York City, later in Medford Station, Long Island, New York, USA around 1920-22; Frank was an Engineer for New York Central Railroad, and Long Island Railroad. According to an unverified family story, Frank (born about 1898, died about 1975) was one of several children, living in Bocksdorf, Burgenland, and left the family at age 11 or 12 to work as a fireboy on the Austrian National Railroad. He emigrated to the USA in 1920 or so. Frank's wife Rosa Marinits (sp?), whose family was from Stegersbach, emigrated to New York City, died in childbirth about 1925. Rosa's sisters (?), Anna and Hanna, lived in Medford Village, Long Island, New York. Anna and Hanna helped Frank raise his children after Rosa's death. Anna and Robert visited Bocksdorf and Stegersbach about 1930. Frank's children: Gertrude Pelzmann (died 1997), married Eddie Devlin, lived in New York City; Gerturde worked for Montifiore Hospital; Eddie retired from NYC Police department and Robert Frank Pelzmann (born approx 1925), married Gennie Helen Andrukiewicz (died in 1997) in 1945, lives in Fairfield, CA. Robert (Sr.) joined the (then) Army Air Corps in 1943, retired from the US Air Force as Lt. Col. in 1965. Robert flew transports in the Berlin Air lift. Gertrude's three daughters, Joanne, Suzie, Ellen, live in NYC. Robert's children, Cinthia Louise married Gary Lozanno, lives in Vallejo, CA; and Robert Frank Jr., lives in Agoura Hills, CA. Robert Jr. received a Ph. D. in Physics from Stanford University in 1974. Cynthia's Children, Jeffery, still living in Vallejo, CA; and Anna, living in Sunnyvale, CA. Robert Jr.'s children, Christopher, lives in Los Angeles, California; and Sophia, living in Atherton, CA. Sophia recently graduated from Stanford University. Thanks for the opportunity to find more about my family history. Newsletter continues as no. 123B.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 123B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved) This third section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. DNA Continues To Tantalize Us Re Origin Of Burgenlanders - Helena Clan, Steve Geosits 2. Al Meixner Advises Of Ethnic Music 3. Viennese Orphans In The Burgenland - Fritz Königshofer 4. Burgenland Fruit Varieties 1. DNA CONTINUES TO TANTALIZE US RE ORIGIN OF BURGENLANDERS (from Steve Geosits) In a message dated 11/6/03, Steve writes: I came upon the Oxford Ancestors website, and noted that you posed a question in July, 2003 concerning your own mDNA analysis. I don't know who else in the BB has taken the plunge and had their mDNA analyzed, but I have. My maternal mDNA indicates a single mutation at 16121C-T in the Helena clan. Although my Burgenland ancestry is predominantly Croatian, followed by Hungarian and Austrian (in that order), I've determined from genealogical research on my own family line that my mDNA was inherited from an Anna Harangozo, who was born in Szt Peterfa in 1805, and Harangozo is a Hungarian surname. What nationality is your oldest maternal surname? With all of the different cultural groups intermixing, I suspect that Burgenlanders may have a diverse number of mDNA mutations. It would be interesting to know the distribution of the various mDNA mutations in Burgenland and, for me, Szentpeterfa in particular. My reply: I have two mutations CTCATGCTTA at 16192C-T and CACATAAAGC at 16311T-C. While in the clan of Helena, which would link me to Europe west of the Alps (one of the German tribes) with subsequent migration to the Burgenland. I've traced my family history to Graz, Styria region (Paternal) about 1650 and probably Swabia or Franconia (Maternal) about the same. My oldest direct links are in Burgenland in the district of Güssing in the village of Rosenberg (Rosahegy) now part of Güssing. They are all German. Oldest with 2 or more daughters is Margita Paar, born Krottendorf abt 1795. She would be German - married Sammerl - other females in clan Majer(in), Batka. Last could be Hungarian, but I feel German. I do have one Hungarian g-grandmother, name Tarafas who was born in Pinka Mindszent 1846-1889 (Vas Megye) just across the border from Moschendorf, but this is the mother of my maternal grandfather. Oldest Hungarian female linked to her was Anna Pal 1699-1750, died Pinka Mindszent. We Burgenland descendants shouldn't have too great a mix or mutations as both of our DNA's seem to prove. Just three basic possibilities - German (84%) - Croatian (14% - this would be yours) and Hungarian, etc. (2%). Most of these married in their own culture, even after emigrating to the US, although my g-grandfather did marry an Hungarian. My Berghold clan also married into a Croatian family, Schaukowitch in the area around Heiligenkreuz. I feel our mutations may have occurred much earlier than this. Since Croatians came to Burgenland about 1524 and Germans (later generations) about 1600 - I'd say the mutations may have taken place in Croatia (for Croatians) and in Swabia. Franconia, Lower Austria, Styria for Germans. Nationality of the mutations is anybody's guess given the many tribal migrations and wars that took place in these regions. You may well be correct in your Hungarian link given the interaction of Hungarians (Magyars) and Croatians over the many centuries of Croatian presence in the Balkans. Isn't it possible, however, that it could have occurred during the Croatian migration to the Balkans? Lots of possibilities - see our translation of Croatian history in our newsletter archives (Teklits). It may even be an Asiatic mutation from some place like Iran or the Crimea. How about a Hun or Mongol gene? Same for mine, heh-heh. I always told my grandmother that one of her ancestors got caught by a Turk - then I'd get the wet dishcloth in the face! I'll admit that I'm a little confused as to the number of generations required for a mutation - is one sufficient or perhaps a dozen or what? Is there a definitive answer? I will publish this exchange in the next newsletter if you'd like to add anything further. Steve responds: Thanks for your reply and detailed information of your genealogical background. You make a good point concerning my own Hungarian link, and of course there are very many possibilities concerning various migrations of Croatians, Germans, etc. to Burgenland. Tracing our genealogies back several hundred years pales in comparison to the 10,000 year time scales we are dealing with when interpreting mDNA results. So, even though my oldest maternal ancestor was Hungarian, her own mother could have just as easily been Croatian or Austrian. So, at best, mDNA points to our past, but routes taken on our way back to that time fades with time. It has been established that mDNA mutations occur about once every 10,000 years. At the present time, it does not appear as though any single mDNA cluster can be traced back to any particular group in Europe, since even 10,000 years may predate distinct ethnic groupings. So far, the research seems to indicate a mix of clusters for any given European group. Bryan Sykes, a professor of genetics at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University has done extensive work in this area. By way of example, the research that he has completed on the Basque population in Spain indicates that they contain six of the seven possible mDNA clusters that are common throughout Europe. This is true even though the Basques have been a relatively isolated ethnic group and have a language which is distinctive and not Indo-European. Now, since the Basques themselves contain such a large mix of mDNA cluster types, it seems to me unlikely that non-isolated populations such as those in Burgenland can be traced back to any particular cluster. So I think it is probably coincidental that we both have mDNA from the Helena cluster, since 47% of all Europeans do as well. What we can say is that Helena was one of the most successful of all the seven maternal clans that populated Europe and that your maternal ancestors and mine converge on Helena about 20,000 years ago. So Gerry, if we assume 25 years per generation, then that would mean that we are related as 800th cousins ... roughly <grins>. All the best, Steve Geosits ED. Note: So we have at least two Burgenland descendants from the Helena Clan, each with mutations. I would guess, based on what I know of European history that most Burgenland descendants with Germanic backgrounds are related to the Helena Clan - but I'm surprised that Steve with a Croatian background is also related. Of course we don't have a large enough sample to draw any conclusions. If any other BB members have had their DNA analyzed, please send me the results (clan name and number of mutations). I would expect that both Croatian (Slavic) and Hungarian (Magyar) backgrounds would differ as Clan names, possibly Katrine or Xenia. The origin of these racial groups is still cloudy and we may find that DNA analysis may cast some light, the Croatians being from northeastern Europe/northwestern Asia on the fringes of the Xenia Clan and perhaps the Magyars as well. If any Hungarians read this article and have had DNA analysis, please contact me concerning your Clan name. 2. AL MEIXNER ADVISES OF ETHNIC MUSIC (ED Note: The Meixners are one of the few groups who promote Burgenland type music. Al has been a BB member for some time and I am always happy to hear from him and pass on his information. If you enjoy this type of ethnic music (and most of us do) see his website. New Braunfels, by the way, is a Germanic enclave in Texas - while I don't know of any Burgenland presence, it is possible. Advise us if you know of any.) Al writes - Hello Friends, Just a short note to let you know that we're back from another successful Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Texas. The Al Meixner Trio was honored to have been on the same entertainment line-up with the Fabulous Dujka Brothers, the Super Sauerkrauts of Gary Trumet, the Incomparable Alpenfest of Mike Barker and our newest musical friends, The Internationals from northern California. Primo accordionist Robert Atwood, Master Yodeler Kevin Hatcher and trumpet prodigy Matthew Barker all gave stellar performances. All of the New Braunfels area bands did a great job of rounding out the entertainment at all three venues. Hope we get to do it again next year. If any of you find yourselves in eastern PA between Thanksgiving and Christmas, check out our schedule at the trio section of our website - try to make one of the performances of "Weihnachtszeit" by Alex & myself at the Bethlehem, PA Christkindlmarkt. It's an authentic European-style Christmas marketplace and Christmas cultural & entertainment fest. We're really looking forward to it. Here's a link to the Christkindlmarkt website http://www.christkindlmarkt.org/03/03Home.asp Our 2003 #4 catalog is now online. We have a nice selection of Holiday music and some great "new items". Do have a great Holiday Season and remember to keep Love, Peace, Music and Christ in your Christmas. musically yours, AL MEIXNER & the Al Meixner Family. Our Website www.almeixner.com 3. VIENNESE ORPHANS IN THE BURGENLAND (from Fritz Königshofer) (ED. Note: some time ago when I was scanning Burgenland church death records of southern Burgenland, I found a number of entries reporting deaths of young children. They all included the fact that they were born in Vienna and they all had a cryptic number as part of their record. They died at various village locations and their death was reported by local villagers. Often, there would be notes in Hungarian or German, the drift of which indicated that they were orphans under the care of locals. We have mentioned these before, but it is very possible that our members may find such an orphan in their family history. A message about these orphans appeared on the Burgenland query board and received the following answer from Fritz Königshofer: Information Concerning Viennese Orphans: Since after the uprising of 1848, and even more so after the Compromise with Hungary in 1867, Vienna started to thrive as the capital of the Austrian Empire, I assume that many people flocked to Vienna from all parts of the dual Monarchy in the pursuit of work. There were many single young women among them who tried to get jobs as chamber maids, nurses, cooks, maids for everything (Mädchen für Alles, often abbreviated MfA), etc. It must have happened frequently that these women bore children out of wedlock. Add to that the children born to prostitutes who also congregated in the metropolis of Vienna, hailing from all parts of Empire and Kingdom. Perhaps there were too many babies and children to take care of by the "Niederösterreichische Findlinganstalt" (Foundlings Institute of Lower Austria). Therefore, apparently, an attempt was started to place these children with foster families in rural areas of the Monarchy. While they were called foundlings and orphans, the mothers were often known, but not able to care for the children, and there must have been too many of these babies to find adoptive parents for them. Children were placed with people ostensibly willing to take them into foster care, in Bohemia, the Hungarian counties of Pozsony and Nyitra, and possibly other regions. From about the 1870/1880s onwards, children were apparently also placed in Western Vas county, mostly the upper Raab and the Lafnitz valley, from Jennersdorf to Felsõ Rönök. The conditions may have differed over the years, and may have differed between regions, but families received about 6 florins per month per child, and the children had to be returned to the institute in Vienna after reaching age 6 to 12. The unfortunate fact was that very few people with food on the plate took these children into foster care. Mostly, the volunteers were people or families with no money to feed themselves, and no land or milk-producing livestock. Almost a trade developed, where some shrewd (though irresponsible) people collected orphans in Vienna, took the advance payment for the foster care for one year, then traveled with the children to their rural home areas where they placed the poor children with unsuited foster families or persons, taking a cut on the advance money received for the foster care. When one reads the death records of that time (till the early 20th century) of the Raab valley in former Vas county, one can easily get dispirited by the many deaths reported among the foster children, usually mostly born in Vienna, but some in Graz too. In many parishes, these deaths outnumbered deaths in the local population (children to adults) by 2 to 1. The cruelty and abuse did, however, not go unnoticed. Local people with a heart complained to newspapers about the Institute in Vienna and the local abusers who essentially starved their children to death. The Institute in Vienna, itself, was aware of the problems and, at least at times, tried to address them. Despite the bad odds, some of the children managed to survive their ordeals and stay with sometimes loving foster families or return to Vienna and Graz to start an apprenticeship. Most of the information I just conveyed, I owe to Albert Schuch, who serves as the Austrian editor of the Burgenland Bunch (BB) Newsletter. You can find a few articles on the Vienna orphans in BB newsletters 58B of May 31, 1999, and 91A of December 31, 2000. 4. BURGENLAND FRUIT VARIEITIES In a message dated 10/21/03, Sherwin Dubren writes: I am a member of a backyard fruit growing society, Midwest Fruit Explorers, and recently we acquired a pear called a King Karl. I have been trying to trace the origins of this pear. Can you help me? Sherwin Dubren Reply: Hello, you pose an interesting question. Unfortunately while I know something about apples grown in Austria, I don't have any information about pears, although I know they use the Williams pear for a white fruit brandy. The Hungarians also make a pear brandy, which is not as sweet and stronger than the Austrian variety - I don't know which they use. They (the Austrians) have 74 varieties of apple listed in a book I have ("Rund um den Apffelbaum" - Around the Apple Tree - by Gerger/Holler) and they end the list with usw. (und so weiter - and so forth), so there can be more. A very few are named for royalty or aristocracy - Kronprinz Rudolf, Frieherr von Berlepsch, Kaiser Alexander, Königenapfel. You can see from this that at least one refers to what is probably the Russian Czar (Alexander). I feel your pear likewise could have been named for the King of some other country. The only Austrian King (Emperor) with the name Karl was the last one (Charles I) - I doubt if the pear was named after him. Many other Karl's (Germanic Charles) - even Charlemagne. Could even be an Hungarian king. I would opt for the ruler of one of the smaller kingdoms which made up the Holy Roman Empire - incorporated into Germany in 1867. Just a guess. Let me know if you find an answer. I'll publish your question in the next BB newsletter and let you know if I get an answer. Newsletter continues as no. 123C.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 123C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) THANKSGIVING IS BEHIND US. THIS YEAR I GAVE THANKS FOR MY IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO BORN IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY. I AM ALSO THANKFUL FOR OUR MANY ETHNIC TIES WITH THE "HEIMAT." I LOOK FORWARD TO THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, REFLECTING ON THE MANY WAYS WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST CHILD AND RECALLING THE PLEASANT FAMILY GATHERINGS OF CHRISTMAS PAST. This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. Translation Help 2. A Bilingual Xmas Poem - Hannes Graf 3. First Immigrant From Oslip - Bruce Klemens 4. Post Those Requests For Family History Contacts 5. LDS To Digitize Microfilm Records? - Anna Kresh 6. Please Read The Fine Print - Your BB Email Address Is On Line! 1. TRANSLATION HELP (from the Burgenland Query Board) We often get pleas for help in translation. I've had requests to translate books and magazine articles, which I have neither the skill nor time to do. I have only a working knowledge of German and no Hungarian, although I can use a large Hungarian dictionary. While the BB has some members who are fluent in these languages, it is too much to ask for a lot of translation. If you need a book or lengthy article translated, we must point you to a commercial translator or to computer translation software. We limit our translations to "official" BB requirements or short "phrase" or "word" translations. If you have a short phrase or troublesome word like those appearing on church or civil records, you might try placing them on our Burgenland Query Board. The following recently appeared on that board and was answered by our board stalwarts, Herb Rehling and Fritz Königshofer. The exchange follows: Query: Could someone help translate this for me? "Lt. Dienstbotenbuch ist die Mutter, Helena Weger, rom. kath., ledig, dienstmagd, zutandig nach Hof/Niederosterreich." I get that part of it is saying that Helena Weger is the Mother, and that she was born in Hof, Austria right? Please help! Thank you! Herb Rehling replies: "As specified in the 'servant log', the mother, Helena Weger, Rom Cath, single, servant, is registered in Hof / Niederoesterreich". Legend: Hof is a (little) town in Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria, Austrian province around Vienna), very probably Hof am Leithagebirge. Fritz Königshofer replies: More particularly, the word "zuständig" means that Helene Weger had home rights on Hof in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich). This describes the old citizen rights system in Middle Europe, where citizenship (home rights) extended down to the village level. Helene most likely inherited her Zuständigkeit from her father (or mother if born out of wedlock), or acquired the right herself, which is much less likely. Therefore, there is a high likelihood (though no certainty) that Helene had been born in Hof in Lower Austria. I would agree with Herbert that the Hof of her was likely the one near the old Hungarian/Austrian border in the Leitha mountains. 2. A BILINGUAL XMAS POEM (from Hannes Graf) (ED Note: Those of us who have studied a little German - or English as our Austrian friends might do - soon find we can converse a little bit and, by putting in a few foreign words and ignoring syntax and grammar, we can make ourselves understood. This is exactly what our immigrant ancestors did - many spoke this way for the rest of their lives. Few had the time or opportunity to become fluent in their new language. The fact that they had smatterings of Hungarian or Croatian as well, makes me wonder how they managed to do even that. I think we enjoy having our Austrian friends use a little English and they in turn like to see us use a little German. The number who have perfect command of both languages is rare and involves much study. We can't all do that. Unfortunately many on both sides of the pond are sometimes too proud to use their limited knowledge of a language. I know that we would hear from many more German speakers if they weren't too concerned about using poor English - they think we might laugh at them. Likewise, they would hear from more of us if we weren't so concerned about using poor German. I remember attending a German church service in Eltendorf when my immediate neighbors smiled at my pronounciations. I'm sure God understood. Last year Hannes Graf sent me a bi-lingual Xmas ditty which I thoroughly enjoyed - I think you will too. You might even find that you know more German than you realized. It reminds me of some of the Pennsylvania Dutch (Palatinate) I heard while growing up in Allentown, PA. It is also a little like the Hianzen dialect our Burgenland friends are keeping alive. Nothing is more complex than trying to rhyme in two or more languages.) Hannes wrote: I know I am 14 days too late for this, but I hope you enjoy it also, as I do. Little Christmas Gedicht (poem) When the last Kalendersheets flattern through the winterstreets and Dezemberwind is blowing then ist everybody knowing that it is not allzuweit she does come the Weihnachtszeit. All the Menschen, Leute, people flippen out of ihr warm Stüble run to Kaufhof, Aldi, Mess make Konsum and business, kaufen this und jene things and the churchturmglocke rings. Manche holen sich a Tännchen when this brennt they cry "Attention". Rufen for the Feuerwehr "Please come quick to löschen her!" Goes the Tännchen off in Rauch they are standing on the Schlauch. In the kitchen of the house mother makes the Christmasschmaus. She is working, schufts and bakes the hit is now her Joghurtkeks and the Opa says als Tester "We are killed bis to Silvester". Then he fills the last Glas wine- yes this is the christmastime! Day by day does so vergang and the holy night does come you can think, you can remember this is immer in Dezember. Then the childrenlein are coming candle-Wachs is abwärts running. Bing of Crosby Christmas sings while the Towerglocke rings and the angels look so fine well this is the Weihnachtstime. Baby-eyes are kugelrund the family feels kerngesund when unterm Weihnachtsbaum they're hocking then nothing can them ever shocking. They are happy, are so fine this happens in the christmastime. The animals all in the house the Hund, the Katz, the bird, the Maus, are turning round the Weihnachtsstress, enjoy this as never nie well they find Kitekat and Chappi in the Geschenkkarton of Papi. The family behins to sing and wieder does a Glöckchen ring. Zum Song vom grünen Tannenbaum the Tränen rennen down and down. bis our mother plötzlich flennt "The christmas-Gans im Ofen brennt!" Her nose indeed is very fine ENDE OF THE WEIHNACHTSTIME 3. FIRST IMMIGRANT FROM OSLIP (DISTRICT OF EISENSTADT) (from Bruce Klemens) Regarding the first immigrant from Oslip to America: I have in my possession the big Oslip history book (mentioned in BB last year). It lists Franz Kutassy, the parish priest, as leaving Oslip for America in 1848 "for political reasons." (The second immigrants were Paul and Anna Schumich in 1856.) Of course, 1848 was a year of great political unrest throughout much of Europe. I then checked a document I have about the parish of Oslip. It indeed verifies that Franz Kutassy was the priest in Oslip from 1842-1848. It says he was born 17 July 1801 and in 1824 was "Kaplan" (curate) in the Diocese of Zagreb, Croatia. (Remember Oslip was primarily Croatian.) In 1835 he was a priest in Markt St. Martin, before he came to Oslip in 1842. And it says he was in America in 1848 and more specifically Evansville in 1854. Evansville is in Southern Indiana, right across the river from Kentucky. I tried an Internet search to find out exactly what the political reasons were to force him to leave Oslip and what happened to him. Burgenlaender.com verifies he was the first Oslip immigrant and says he had to flee the country and that his destination in America was Tennessee. It doesn't say anything else. Further searching shows that his name is listed several times in "A History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes," published in 1884. Vincennes, IN, is about 50 miles north of Evansville. More searching reveals there is apparently a folder of news clippings about him at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. Unfortunately none of these documents are online. Kutassy sounds like he had an interesting life...I'd love to know more about him. 4. POST THOSE REQUESTS FOR FAMILY HISTORY CONTACTS (suggested by Bruce Klemens) (ED. Note: email has been edited - names have been removed.) Bruce writes: I thought you'd find this interesting about the power of the Internet. About six months ago one of my relatives joined the BB. She got into genealogy because of one of her kid's school projects, and now she's hooked. Besides posting on BB, she posted on Rootsweb. A while later she got an email from a person in Burgenland, also into genealogy, who by sheer chance saw her Rootsweb posting. He couldn't figure out why the names that this person in America was looking for were the same he was looking for. So he asked his mother who clued him in that almost a century ago several of his great-grandmother's siblings came to America and that their descendents still lived. Judging from the enthusiasm in his emails, this person seems beside himself with delight and excitement to find out he has living, breathing relatives in America just as interested in genealogy as he is. We have been exchanging emails and electronic images, re-establishing the cross-Atlantic family connection that existed when his grandmother and great-grandmother were still alive. And a very weird thing has happened: I have sent him old photos of our mutual relatives that he has never seen, and he has sent me old photos taken in America that I have never seen. I can only assume that, when the original trans-Atlantic connection still existed, these photos (mostly pre-WW-II) were exchanged. Our contact was amazed when I sent him a photo of my grandfather, with his parents and several brothers. He had never seen a photo of his great-great-grandparents ANYWHERE and here, some guy in America has a copy. He literally wrote "I can't believe it!!!" At his request, I had to rescan the photo in high resolution mode so he could print it out and hang it on his wall. I'm sure at times running the BB can be a thankless job, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do. As you can see from the above, genealogy can go far beyond mere paper family trees and into re-establishing family ties. 5. LDS TO DIGITIZE MICROFILM RECORDS? (from Anna Kresh) Anna writes: BB Staff, For those of you who have made use of the LDS microfilm rentals, you may be interested in an article in the latest issue of Eastman's online genealogy newsletter. It is a very informative report on the future of LDS microfilming and digital imaging. See: http://www.eogn.com/newsletter/ Click on "End of microfilm" link. (ED. Note: When I first read Anna's email I got the wrong impression that microfilm would no longer be available to genealogists. Upon reading the Eastman newsletter, I find that the LDS is considering giving up microfilm as a storage medium but replacing it with digitized records. This could well mean that, sometime in the future, LDS records may be available on-line. Given the large amount of microfilm in storage, it can well be many years before this happens. Don't fret - the LDS is not discontinuing microfilm availability at their family history centers. 6. PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT - YOUR BB EMAIL ADDRESS IS ON LINE! We go to an inordinate amount of trouble to bring you Burgenland family history contacts. We make it easy for you to find data and for others to find you. We also warn you that putting your data online WILL EXPOSE YOU TO SPAM. Now I hear from some members who tell us they saw their email address on one of our websites and they are upset. "PLEASE REMOVE MY ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY - YOU HAVE MADE IT AVAILABLE TO SPAMMERS" they write. We'll honor such requests, but the entire thrust of the Burgenland Bunch is to provide contact between people who are researching the same family history. I know no way to do this short of providing a contact address available to others. With 1100 members, I have no interest in being a forwarding point middle-man or operating some sort of an anti-SPAM filter; I have enough to do to provide the BB service. It would be of no value to retain your family history data without a point of contact. As I see it you have the following choices: 1. use your delete button or server SPAM filter 2. establish an email address exclusively for family history contact purposes 3. cancel your BB membership. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA residents unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald 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) Lehigh Valley Burgenland Enclave (Robert Strauch) Szt. Gotthard & Jennersdorf Districts (Margaret Kaiser) 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 HOME PAGE (WEB SITE) http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenl.gem@bnet.at 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.