BB News No. 134 dtd 30 Nov 2004

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 134 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 9th Year-20 Pages / 4 Email Sections Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) *** NOTICE - REQUESTS FOR INCLUSION OF MOST NON-BURGENLAND TOWNS AND VILLAGES CAN NOT BE ACCEPTED. IF VILLAGES ARE MORE THAN TEN KILOMETERS FROM THE BURGENLAND, YOU SHOULD LIST WITH SOME OTHER WEBSITE. CHECK ANY ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR THE BORDERS. QUERIES CONCERNING NON-BURGENLAND MATTERS WILL BE ANSWERED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE EDITORS AND THEN ONLY AS THEY AFFECT OUR INTERESTS. *** RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To discontinue these newsletters, email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, website listings and newsletter.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Sign 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. Staff and web site addresses are listed at the end of newsletter section "C". Notes and articles without a by-line are written by the editor and reflect his views. Members 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 concerns: 1. The Burgenland Emigration To America - (Amerikawanderung) 2. Correction To NYC Burgenland Club Address 3. Kopreinitz, Slovenia 4. Burgenland WorldGenWeb Query Board 1. THE BURGENLAND EMIGRATION TO AMERICA (ED. Note: Dr. Walter Dujmovits, President of the Burgenland Gemeinschaft and author of the subject book, has supplied the following. I include his German language email. I urge members to get a copy of the book - available from the BG office in Güssing - the pictures and lists of names are of value even if you know no German.) Emigration from Burgenland to America by Dr. Walter Dujmovits (translation by Inge Schuch - edited with added items in parens.) No other region in central Europe has seen more people emigrate than the Burgenland, which ranks among the top emigration regions even on a pan-European scale. Thus, at least 100,000 Burgenländer and their descendents were living in America at the end of the 1970s (80% in the U.S.A., 12% in Canada, 5% in Argentina, 2% in Brazil, and the remainder in other American regions). Emigrants from the province of Burgenland accounted for as many as 61% of all U.S. immigrants from Austria registered in 1922 (5,346), and for more than 70% of all U.S. immigrants from Austria in 1923 (6,683). In those two years, an average of 600 Burgenländer emigrated each month - basically (the population of) an entire village every month. At that time, every 11th German-speaking person, boarding an emigration ship, had been born in the district of Güssing. In 1939, 21% of the population of Güssing, or every 5th Güssinger, was in fact living in the U.S.A. - all in all, as many as 8,200 people. The wave of emigration from Burgenland to America had highly distinct features from the very onset; emigrants from Burgenland stood out from all emigrants from Austria or Hungary. In Chicago, people of Burgenland stock were even classified as a separate ethnic group (Germans, Austrians, Burgenländer ...). The dearth of land, owing to the smallholdings (of land) prevailing in Burgenland, exacerbated by an estate splitting tradition (primogeniture), as well as the overpopulation of a region subsisting on agriculture, initially prompted people from Burgenland to seek seasonal employment in various regions of Hungary and Lower Austria, and later sparked a wave of emigration to America. There was a time when virtually everybody in Burgenland had an uncle in America and an aunt in Vienna. When World War I broke out, the flow of emigration from Burgenland had reached the 33,000 mark. Another 24,000 Burgenländer left their homes between World Wars I & II, and another 5,400 emigrated after World War II. Adjusted for re-migration, this adds up to a permanent migration loss of 52,000 people. (It's estimated that perhaps 25% returned to the Heimat.) When one considers those not covered by the official statistics, this figure could be even much higher. The first emigrants from Burgenland settled in the German belt stretching from New York to Pennsylvania, and onward to Chicago and Detroit. Above all, in the rural regions of Pennsylvania, immigrants from Burgenland have left their mark on the population and settlement structure. In those regions, traditional customs and the German mother tongue (in the form of "frozen" dialects) lived on virtually untainted. A lot of immigrants from Burgenland worked in one of numerous cement mills established in the area of Allentown, Northampton, Coplay, etc. (in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania), which hired thousands of laborers, particularly before World War I. They produced the huge volume of cement needed to build the Panama Canal. As the immigrants were typically joined by friends and family, every immigration region (enclave) in America tends to reflect a particular emigration region in Burgenland. Thus, the vast majority of Chicago's population of Burgenland descent comes from the Oberwart district, whereas migrants from the Lake Neusiedl area moved mostly to St. Paul, and people from Güssing typically settled in New York, (PA. and NJ) etc. Some 30 years ago Chicago was home to 30,000 Burgenländer and their descendants - three times as many as the population of Burgenland's capital Eisenstadt. The global community of Burgenländers is represented by the association called the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft", established in 1956. This association promotes the interests of Burgenland expatriates, offers them a range of services, and publishes the magazine "Burgenländische Gemeinschaft". In its mission to help expatriates maintain close ties with their homeland, it has since been joined by the "Burgenland Bunch," founded by the children and grandchildren of American immigrants from Burgenland (who wish to identify immigrant ancestors, villages of origin and learn something of Burgenland culture) The Burgenländische Gemeinschaft may rightfully claim to have kept alive the interest of emigrants in the old country. Over the years, it has helped numerous emigrants stay in touch. It has thus preserved an invaluable network of friends abroad from which today's Burgenland benefits more and more. This is becoming ever more significant. Last but not least, in 1994, the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft established an "Emigration Museum", which documents the bygone times and traditions, and contains a moving collection of emigration stories. It is located in the so-called "Hofmühle" in Güssing, at Stremstrasse 2, together with a memorial for Josef Reichl, famous Burgenland poet and migrant. Opening hours: May 1 to October 31, every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday, from 2 p.m. to 6. p.m, or on request. For reservations, please call (+43) 33 22 / 425 98 (Burgenländische Gemeinschaft) or (+43) 33 22 / 423 11-23 (tourist office of Güssing). Auf Deutsch: Die Amerikawanderung der Burgenländer Das Burgenland ist das mit Abstand bedeutendste Auswandererland Mitteleuropas und nimmt auch innerhalb der gesamteuropäischen Auswanderung einen Spitzenplatz ein. Am Ende der 70er Jahre lebten mindestens 100.000 Burgenländer und deren Nachkommen in Amerika, davon 80% in den Vereinigten Staaten, 12% in Kanada, 5% in Argentinien, 2% in Brasilien und der Rest in anderen Teilen Amerikas. Die Burgenländer stellten auch fast immer das größte Auswandererkontingent aller österreichischen Bundesländer. So waren die 5.346 burgenländischen Amerikawanderer des Jahres 1922 genau 61% und die 6.683 Auswanderer des Jahres 1923 mehr als 70% aller Auswanderer aus ganz Österreich. In diesen beiden Jahren haben im Durchschnitt monatlich 600 Burgenländer ihre Heimat verlassen, das heißt in jedem Monat ein ganzes Dorf! Damals kam jeder 11. deutschsprachige Passagier auf einem Auswandererschiff allein aus dem Bezirk Güssing. Im Jahre 1939 lebten 21% der im Bezirk Güssing geborenen Menschen, also jeder 5. Bewohner, in Amerika. Das waren beachtliche 8.200 Personen. Von Anfang hatte die burgenländische Amerikawanderung ein eigenständiges Profil, war also nicht ein Segment der österreichischen oder der ungarischen Auswanderung. In Chicago wurden die Burgenländer sogar als eine eigene ethnische Gruppe geführt (Deutsche, Österreicher, Burgenländer...). Die durch den landwirtschaftlichen Kleinbesitz bedingte Bodenarmut, welche durch die unselige Gewohnheit der Erbteilung noch verschärft wurde, sowie die Überbevölkerung des reinen Agrarlandes, führte zunächst zu landwirtschaftlicher Saisonarbeit in verschiedene Gebiete Ungarns und Niederösterreichs und später zur Auswanderung nach Amerika. Im Burgenland gab es eine Zeit, da hatte fast jeder einen Onkel in Amerika und eine Tante in Wien. Bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg verlassen 33.000 ihre Heimat, in der Zwischenkriegszeit waren es 24.000 und nach dem letzten Weltkrieg 5.400. Abzüglich der Rückwanderung beträgt der dauernde Wanderungsverlust mindestens 52.000 Personen. Die Dunkelziffer dazugezählt liegt er jedoch erheblich höher. Schon die ersten Einwanderer ließen sich in "german belt", dem Gürtel deutscher Besiedlung nieder, der sich von New York über Pennsylvanien und Detroit bis nach Chicago erstreckt. Vor allem im ländlichen Bereich von Pennsylvanien haben sie die dortige Bevölkerungs- und Siedlungsstruktur stark mitgeprägt. Dort haben sie auch das mitgebrachte Volkstum und die Muttersprache (in Form von "stehengebliebenen Dialekten") nahezu unverfälscht erhalten. Für den Bau des Panama-Kanals waren damals große Mengen von Zement erforderlich. In der Folge entstanden zahlreiche "Zementmühlen" um die Orte Allentown, Northampton, Coplay usw. in der Landschaft Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvanien. Diese benötigten vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg tausende Arbeiter ,von denen ein großer Teil Burgenländer waren. Da die Auswanderer wieder ihre Freunde und Verwandten nachkommen ließen, entspricht jedem Auswanderungsgebiet im Burgenland auch ein bestimmtes Einwanderungsgebiet in Amerika. So leben in Chicago fast nur Burgenländer aus dem Bezirk Oberwart, Auswanderer aus dem Seewinkel zogen vornehmlich nach St. Paul, die aus der Güssinger Gegend nach New York usw.. Vor 30 Jahren lebten in Chicago 30.000 Burgenländer und deren Nachkommen, das waren 3 mal mehr Burgenländer als in der Landeshauptstadt Eisenstadt! Die 1956 gegründete Organisation "Burgenländische Gemeinschaft" ist der Weltbund der Burgenländer und versteht sich auch als Interessensvertretung der Auslandsburgenländer und als deren Servicestelle. Sie gibt auch eine Zeitschrift gleichen Namens heraus. Ihre Bemühungen um die Erhaltung der Verbundenheit mit der alten Heimat findet eine erfolgreiche Fortsetzung in der Organisation "Burgenland Bunch", die von den Kindern und Enkeln burgenländischer Einwanderer in Amerika gegründet wurde. Es bleibt ein unbestrittener Verdienst der Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, daß sie bei den Auswanderern das Interesse an der alten Heimat wachgehalten hat. Sie hat zahllose Burgenländer in aller Welt vor dem Vergessenwerden bewahrt. So hat sie dem Burgenland im Ausland ein unschätzbares Potential erhalten, das dem Lande zu Gute kommt und zunehmend geschätzt und genützt wird. Sichtbares Denkmal der Geschichte und der Tradition und ein berührendes Zeugnis menschlicher Schicksale ist das von der Burgenländischen Gemeinschaft 1994 eingerichtete Auswanderermuseum in Güssing. Zusammen mit der Gedenkstätte für Josef Reichl, dem bedeutenden burgenländischen Heimatdichter in der Ferne, ist das Auswanderermuseum in der "Hofmühle" in Güssing, Stremtalstraße 2, untergebracht. Öffnungszeiten: 1. Mai - 31. Oktober jeden Samstag, Sonn- und Feiertag von 14:00 - 18:00 Uhr oder nach Vereinbarung. Anmeldung unter: 03322/42598 (Bgld. Gemeinschaft) oder 03322/42311-23 (Informationsbüro Güssing) 2. CORRECTION TO NYC BURGENLAND CLUB ADDRESS Carol Tanczos writes: My brother-in-law, Erwin Tanczos is now the president of the First Burgenlander Beneficial Society. His address is 50-44 66th Street, Woodside, NY 11377 and his telephone number is: 718 642-6142. On Sunday Nov. 7th is the annual Katharina Ball and Miss Burgenland is crowned. 3. KOPREINITZ, SLOVENIA (from Fritz Königshofer) Issue 133B, reported an enquiry about a place called Kopreinitz in Slovenia. There is a place which, until the breakup of Austro-Hungary after WW I, had the German name "Kopreinitz in Steiermark." Today it is in Slovenia and has the name Koprivnica pri Brezicah I believe this little village was located in the southeastern corner of former Lower Styria, and today lies near the border between Slovenia and Croatia. Lower Styria became part of Slovenia, while the core of Slovenia was indeed the old crown land of Carniola. I feel you gave the right advice pointing the enquirer to boards for Slovenia. There is also a Kopreinitz in Croatia. This town and its surroundings were a major place of origin of Croats who settled in and near Rechnitz in Burgenland. However, in 1910 no Slovenians lived in that Kopreinitz, therefore it's probably not the one of the enquirer's family. 4. BURGENLAND WORLDGENWEB QUERY BOARD In 1998 Charles Wardell, our WorldGenWeb and RootsWeb editor established a BB query board (for questions and answers). We realized that many questions would not be of interest to all of the membership nor would it be possible to publish all of them in the newsletter. I became the host of this board and agreed to monitor it for compliance with the board rules. The main problem we've had is that some people don't read the rules and don't understand that this is a board only for Burgenland questions - there are other boards for other geographic areas. It is of no value to put a request for some other area on a Burgenland Austria Board and expect to get any contacts. When this happens it merely loads the board with trash. It is up to the host to delete these. Some people think that because they are on the net they can do as they will. I've encountered so-called genealogists who tell me that they put their data on every genealogical website that they can find, irrespective of any rules, etc. Many legitimate queries have been answered and many contacts made - about 3000 are now archived. Our BB editors have answered many - Fritz Königshofer has been very much in evidence as have some of our other editors. You can search these archives from the board. The BB board can be reached from the BB Homepage or by going directly to: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Austria/Burgenland Newsletter continues as no. 134A

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 134A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 9th Year-20 Pages / 4 Email Sections Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) This second section of our 4-section newsletter concerns: 1. Using The LDS Family History Centers 2. Family History Cooperation From Local Priests & Pastors 3. Austrian Officials View US Elections 4. Raab Valley Definition 1. USING THE LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS (Margaret Kaiser et al.) In a message dated 10/31/04, a new member writes: Can you please tell me about the Family History Center in Whitehall (PA). Where is it located and how does someone access its records? Reply (from G. Berghold) The Mormon Church (Church Of Jesus Christ Of The Latter Day Saints) - known as the LDS - has the world's largest collection of family history material including most of the Burgenland church and civil records from 1825-1921. It's available to anyone at their many family history centers. You can visit during their opening hours (the centers are located in their temples-churches) and use their index or permanent files. There is no charge except when you order film - then they charge postage. When the film arrives you are notified and you can search it using their microfilm readers. In your case our BB members have already ordered the film listed in newsletter 133 on a permanent basis and you won't have to order it. If you've never searched Burgenland church records on microfilm, you will want to download our article on how to do this from our newsletter archives - the article is in no. 18A. The records are in Latin, German and Hungarian, but you will be able to read most of them as they are in tabular form. I believe the Whitehall FHC is located off of the 15th St. exit of Route 22 in Allentown. Check the Allentown phone book for the LDS temple address and call for their opening hours. You can also find this information from the LDS website which you can reach from our homepage link list. I'm copying Margaret Kaiser, one of our local editors in your area, who can give you directions. Plan on spending some time on these records - perhaps a whole day. Be sure you have the village names and family birth/marriage/death dates available. The more data you bring the easier the search. Bring paper, pencils etc. Do not expect much help from the FHC staff - few have ever searched Burgenland records - but the staff will tell you how to use their index files and their readers. You will want to take the film record numbers (from the newsletter) with you and tell the FHC staff that this film is on permanent loan. They will then show you where it is. You'll enjoy the experience - like visiting long lost relatives. Good luck! Margaret Kaiser then sent the following: "I can add a few remarks. While I have never visited the PA FHCs, these remarks are generic to Burgenland research in any FHC." 1. Finding your nearest FHC Go to http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp Fill in the blanks, County (United States); State (Pennsylvania). Add County and City if you know them, but if you don't, the US and State will do. Search and a list will be returned. There are 2 FHCs near Easton. Allentown Pennsylvania 1881 Van Buren Drive Whitehall, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Phone: 610-799-3522 Hours: T 9am-1pm, 7pm-9pm; W, F 9am-1pm; Th 9am-1pm, 6:30-9pm Nazareth Pennsylvania Rose Inn Avenue Nazareth, Northampton County, Pennsylvania Phone: 610-759-9486 Hours: T 10am-2pm, 7pm-9pm; W 5pm-9pm; Th 10am-2pm; Sun appointment only. These phones will usually be answered during the quoted hours. You might want to call to verify that the FHC is open when stated. Sometimes, a FHC is closed if a volunteer is unavailable due to an emergency condition. This may not be the case in larger FHCs where there may be more than one volunteer. Also some FHC's close due to snow/bad weather, or have holiday/summer hours. Nazareth may be closer to Easton. Should you find the materials on permanent loan in Whitehall "just right" for your search, you can order duplicates of these films to be sent to Nazareth by visiting the Nazareth FHC. FHCs rates slightly differ. My local FHC charges $3.75 for a 6 week loan per film. Films may be renewed twice at $3.25 each renewal. With the second renewal the film may be held permanently (there are a few FHCs with space limitations where permanent loans are not permitted). Because FHCs are located within church buildings, there are rules of respect to follow. Dress appropriately (no offensive T-shirt messages; shorts are not suggested). No smoking on church premises (including outside), and no caffeine beverages are permitted. You may see a few church pamphlets, but you will not be engaged in religion conversations. Behavior is quiet "library behavior." Our FHC had a patron who became ill from another patron's cologne, and so our FHC has a notice requesting patrons to avoid wearing scents. You may be asked not to use a cell phone in the FHC work area; but you may reply to calls in a hall or outside the building. Some FHCs are cool or warm, so you might want to layer a sweater/wrap, as needed. Allow yourself ample time for your visits. 2. Using the Film The Burgenland area films covering years up to October 1895 are generally copies of church parish registers. Those that are post October 1895 are civil registrations. There are some variances in the forms used for these registers. Generally, the pre October 1895 registrations are entries written within a form with several to many entries on a page (births in birth registers, for example), roughly these are in date sequential order. Civil registrations (post October 1895) are somewhat different. Each record was entered on a two sided form. Around 1907-1909, the entries may become multi-entries per page. Earlier records may be recorded in Latin, later records in the vernacular or a multi-language mix. Don't let this frighten you. Because these are organized, in columns or "fill in the blanks" style, you simply locate surnames of interest, dates are clear, parents names, etc. are understandable. You can refer to the following site for translations of column titles (Hungarian-Latin-English). http://www.bmi.net/jjaso/index.html You might find it helpful to copy these and take them with you as a guide. You can also print a Hungarian Genealogical Word List (No. 36335) at: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/Placeh/Pla ceh.asp&ActiveTab=Place or purchase a printed version at the FHC for about $2.75. I recommend purchasing this list as the pages are bound together, and are less likely to go astray. Should you become puzzled, the BB may be able to help. Make a copy of the page in question and send me an email. Some FHCs have an on-site resource/book collection which may be of help to you. A FHC patron assistant will show you how to make copies of pages of interest. In most FHCs, this usually involves taking the film off the reader and taking it to a reader/printer to make copies. There is a reasonable charge per printed page to cover toner and paper expenses. In some FHCs you may be asked if you need help, in others you need to ask for help. Generally, you will find a sign-in sheet on arrival where you will sign your name and telephone number each time you visit. You will not be called, other than notified by phone in most centers when a film you have ordered has arrived. Identify yourself as a first time visitor and you will be given introductory information (in your case, where the permanent collection is, and how to use the microfilm reader/printing equipment). We were FHC newbies once, and probably had the same questions as you do now, so please feel free to send your questions. I wish you a successful search. 2. FAMILY HISTORY COOPERATION FROM LOCAL PRIESTS & PASTORS A member writes: Reading (a recent BB article) gives me thought to look in the Pinkafeld Pfarramt (pastoral office). They have records going back to 1700. The LDS films only go back to 1828 and were filmed in Budapest. Those Burgenland Priests don't let the L.D.S film there. Maybe they'd like a tip. I wish somebody would film the Pinkafeld records before they become lost. I don't mean the records after 1828. When it comes to marriages, Pinkafeld has records of the origins of some of the spouses from nearby villages. Reply: Yes it would be great if the older records were also filmed by the LDS. The older ones become quite difficult to read and having them as microfilm not only helps to enlarge them but allows time in the ease of one's own city. The LDS has had problems in copying records in Austria. A series of problems causes this: * Diocesan misunderstanding of or non-agreement with LDS doctrine * Misinterpretation of Austrian Privacy Laws * Overworked priests & pastors (there is an acute shortage in Europe - many serve more than one church) * While Austrian government becomes more aware of the great interest immigrant descendants have in these records, church leaders are not as aware and in many cases consider it a nuisance and an imposition * Some priests feel their bishop must give permission to allow access (records from 1921 forward may be a problem under Austrian law) * Many can no longer read the older records written in Hungarian or German script * Fear of legal implications * Records prior to 1700 are very fragmentary and easily destroyed * Some genealogists have been demanding or outright rude while some pastors have been equally obtuse On the plus side: * Office of the Diocesan bishop in Burgenland (at Eisenstadt) is asking (has asked?) local parishes to send their oldest records to the Diocesan library (in Eisenstadt) - there they are available to Family History searchers who make appointments (see web page in our homepage) - people there could not have been more courteous and helpful when visited by me and some other BB editors * We've had three BB members take digital photos of existing records. Not an easy job and requires at least a week in Burgenland and an introduction to the parish priest as well as work scheduling. They had great cooperation. * Some of us have had good success in accessing records - I spent eleven days with Eltendorf records - two in the Diocesan library in Eisenstadt and two in Güssing. Again cooperation could not have been better but some other visits left a lot to be desired. * Records from 1828 forward give most searchers at least three or four generations of ancestors - that coupled with four or five present generations gives you an eight to nine generation genealogy - not too bad if you also pick up siblings. * We have advised the LDS of the availability of other Burgenland records - including those available from the Diocesan library. We get the feeling the LDS is overloaded filming records that were behind the iron curtain. There are also tons of film (from everywhere) still to be processed at Salt Lake. At this juncture the original Burgenland microfilm is over 60 years old. I understand microfilm has a poor shelf life and the LDS is considering digitization - this will delay new acquisitions - a big job. We'd all like to see microfilm or better yet digitization of everything that is available. Maybe it will come but not in my lifetime, I'm afraid. I might point out that few places have the large quantity of microfilm that is available to Burgenland research - even though limited to 1828-1921. 3. AUSTRIAN OFFICIALS VIEW US ELECTIONS (courtesy Bob Strauch) Sixteen government officials from Austria got a firsthand look at democracy in action Tuesday in Northampton County, PA. As guests of two state representatives, the contingent talked about the harsh tone of the presidential campaign. But much like in the United States, they were fairly equally divided on who they would support. By a 9-7 margin, the group said they would narrowly support Kerry. The unanimous favorite politician among the Austrians, not surprisingly, is one of the country's most famous exports, the "Governator" - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 4. RAAB VALLEY DEFINITION (from Bob Strauch) A member writes: I am Richard Nemeth in Fairfax, VA, a second generation American of Hungarian descent. My immigrant ancestors settled in Bridgeport, CT. I read the item in the recent (October) Newsletter about the Raab Valley Reunion and it activated my curiosity. My father's mother is from Gasztony, Hungary. Is that village considered a part of the Raab Valley? Do some of your members trace back to Gasztony? If so, are any of them associated with the names Holecz, Saly, or Rohaly? Bob replies: Actually, Gasztony is indeed in the Raab Valley, but the reunion was just for the villages of Rábafüzes, Jakabháza, and Rönök. These villages represent a special situation. They were ethnically German and, after WW-II, most of their populations were expelled and sent to Germany. Many then came here to the Lehigh Valley, where people had been coming from those villages since the 1890's. So, their history is different from the other villages in the valley, although they did have ties and connections to them. The ethnic makeup and history of the other Raab Valley villages is somewhat of a mystery to me. I know they all had German names as well (for example, Gösting for Gasztony, Zackersdorf for Csákány), and I have seen German (and Slovenian/Windisch) surnames in connection with many of them. I had a great-great-grandmother from Csörötnek (in German Schriedling), whose maiden name was Dorner. Someone once told me that the villages farther down along the Raab, such as Csörötnek and Rábagyarmat (St. Ruprecht in German) were themselves once ethnically German, but they were Magyarized either during the late 1800's or early 1900's. You mention the name Holecz. There are quite a few Holecz'/Holetz' living in Bethlehem, but I believe they come from the ethnic-Windish/Slovenian villages south of Szentgotthárd, such as Rábatótfalu, Felsöszölnök, Alsószölnök. I've heard that people from these villages, as well as from villages across the border in the region of Murska Sobota in NE Slovenia (formerly part of Vas Megye) also settled in Bridgeport. I think they had their own church in Bridgeport, and for the same reason the name "Holy Trinity" rings a bell. I have Windish/Slovenian friends in Bethlehem and attended many of their events. From what I've seen while digging through the Ellis Island Database, quite a few people from other Raab Valley villages such as Csörötnek, Rabagyarmat, Gasztony, etc. also came to the Lehigh Valley (mostly to Bethlehem, to a lesser extent Allentown), and the surnames were a mixture of Hungarian, German, and Windish/Slovenian. Newsletter continues as no. 134B.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 134B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 9th Year-20 Pages/4 Email Sections Issued Monthly By G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved) This second section of our 4-section newsletter concerns: 1. New York City List Of Burgenland Immigrants (New Website) 2. Engerau & Nickelsdorf (Villages) - Creation Of Burgenland 3. BB Staff Photo 4. Active Northampton, PA BG Member Dies 5. Burgenland Society of Passaic, NJ 6. Taschler From Punitz - Good Advice For Any Beginner 7. Winter Storms 2004 Come Early To Burgenland 1. NEW YORK LIST OF BURGENLAND IMMIGRANTS (NEW WEBSITE) (ED. Note: A problem in studying the Burgenland is the lack of a database of immigrant names. Dr. Walter Dujmovits, president of the BG has identified some and the BB lists over four thousand more, which can be found in the BB homepage surname list. Some BB members have created websites that list others. Frank Paukowits and associate Frank Klepeis, have now created a database of Burgenland immigrants who settled in metropolitan New York. Correspondence advising me of this follows.) In a message dated 11/7/04 Paukowits1 writes (edited): I have been a Burgenland Bunch member for several years and have found that the Group's resources have been invaluable. My research has been very satisfying and rewarding. I have come to appreciate the spirit and determination of all those Burgenländers who left their homeland, as part of the 'Auswanderung', to make a new life for themselves in the United States. Over the years, I've had many conversations with my now-deceased 92-year-old father-in-law, Anton Traupmann, about his relatives and friends who left Burgenland and settled in the NYC area. He knew many people, but unfortunately most of them are now gone. We started listing the names of these deceased people. After many calls to people active in the Burgenland community in New York, the list swelled to a few hundred. The idea then came to us that maybe we should display this information in a database for viewing on the World Wide Web. We did just that and now have a website that is dedicated to the loving memory to all those deceased Burgenländers. I believe there are a number of Burgenland Bunch (BB) members who may be interested in visiting the site and adding name(s) of relatives and friends buried in the NYC area who are not already included. The URL for the site is: http://hometown.aol.com/nyburgenlaenders/home.htm There is a link for sending e-Mail back to us from the home page. One can also get to the site through Google, by typing in the word "Burgenlaenders" and clicking on the website titled, "The Home Page", that comes up on the first page of the search. We are also very interested in expanding the Photo Gallery page of our website. We believe that pictures will add a real personal and human touch. Also, if there are any BB members interested in developing a comparable database for another geographic area, we would be willing to work with them and include their information on our site as a separate module. So, any help at making BB members aware of our site would be appreciated. Would it be possible to include my e-Mail as a newsletter item? Also, would you be good enough to perhaps provide a prominent link on your Homepage of "The Burgenland Bunch" website to our site's Homepage. This would be a positive step at enhancing exposure and increasing the number of deceased honorees in our database. Furthermore, any suggestions you may have as to how we could effectively promote even more interest in our new website would be greatly appreciated. Frank Paukowits (BB Member). Reply - Frank I'm very pleased to see such excellent work by you and Frank Klepeis. We will do two things immediately. We will add your website to our Internet Link page (Anna Kresh Editor - contact her to suggest phrasing.) I will also feature your request in the November issue of the BB news. Since I write a column for the BG bi-monthly Newsletter I'll plan to do an article there as well - maybe I can plan on the Jan-Feb issue. A suggestion to help promote the availability of your website and additions to your database would be for you to copy the names and addresses of BB members located in the NY area. See our website "Where we are" (Membership page) - Hannes Graf, editor. You could send them notice of your site. Combing the 1200 member list for immigrants settling in the NY area is also a possibility. At some point in time we can consider publishing data from your database. Another suggestion is that you contact Klaus Gerger (our Assoc. Burgenland Editor and BG-BB liason.) He may be interested in having your data printed and made available at the BG Immigrant Museum in Güssing. Our membership list and data has been there since 2001 - soon to be updated. What you have done is important enough for me to copy some of our BB staff in the event any of them can help with this project. Please keep me advised of your progress. I can then mention your site on a frequent basis in the newsletters. Best of luck on your great project. BB Internet Editor Anna Kresh adds: I have added the following to our online BB URL list: Burgenlaenders Honored and Remembered - lists of Burgenlaenders buried at cemeteries in the NYC Area; lists hometown, birth and death dates, cemetery names and locations of burial sites. The address is: http://hometown.aol.com/nyburgenlaenders/home.htm 2. ENGERAU & NICKELSDORF (VILLAGES) - CREATION OF BURGENLAND (from Fritz Königshofer) Beth Baumeister writes: Subject: BB - Engerau inhabitants - Dear Mr. Koenigshofer: My grandmother came to MN from Engerau in 1885. I have had a researcher find the Austrian part of my grandmother's family. She came to the US at age 9 with her parents and I have researched that part of the family in the US. Her mother's maiden name was Katherina Menhofer (umlaut?). They left a brother and a sister (Karl Menhofer and Elisabeth Ritter) in Engerau. The Ritters had two children at that time. My researcher seemed to feel that this family (German origin) were part of the genocide which followed WW-II but other than strongly suggesting this fact, did not say much more. There is a lady dentist living in Vienna who has the name of Menhofer and I will try to contact her ...she advertises on the net. Anyway, if we were victims of genocide, would there be a list of names similar to those of the Jewish holocaust? I have purchased Karl Rudolf's book "Engerau 1225-1946" but the 1st 96 pages are in German. The last 10 pages are photos and I am able to decipher the captions beneath the photos, but the German text is more than I can handle. Do you know of someone in the US who might be able to translate those pages? Thank you so much for your contributions to the BB Newsletters. I really enjoy reading about an area I didn't know existed until 2 years ago. I received an email about the BB picnic on one of our Genealogy club sites and "crashed" the picnic not knowing if we were from there or not. The members who were there assured me that my ancestors (grandmother's father from Nickelsdorf) were indeed Burgenlanders. Fritz replies: Thank you for your message. It's my pleasure to help to the extent I am able. I know no particular source for obtaining a translation of the Heimatbuch you mention. For volunteers, ninety pages is likely too much to ask. However, since I have an interest in reading this booklet, I would be willing to do so, and particularly check for any family names you know about from your own line. You would need to make a copy and mail it to me. Is that possible? I would also summarize for you what the booklet says about the years of demise of the ethnic German population (1945-46), and where the refugees ended up. Unfortunately, I do not know what precisely happened to the ethnic German population at the end of WW-II. Rather than a holocaust, what happened in 1945/46 was what is called ethnic cleansing today. The ethnic Germans were forced to leave, and likely became refuges in Austria and Germany, where they and their descendents perhaps still live. They shared the fate of many ethnic Germans in eastern and southeastern Europe. Many of these refugees formed organizations in Germany and Austria and had a keen interest in keeping the history and family bonds of their hometowns alive. Among others, they wrote the "Heimatbücher," which are truly a creation of people who lost their homelands. Therefore, besides the BB, it would be good for you to find out whether there is still an existing organization of the refugees from Engerau. Maybe the booklet you have says something about their fate. Your ancestors' town was in old Pozsony county of Hungary, on the small piece of this county which happened to lie on the right bank of the Danube river. The Hungarian names of the town were Pozsonyligetfalu and Magyarsziget ("Hungarian island"), and the German names Engerau and Ungerau. In the Hungarian census of 1910, two thirds of the population (of about 3,000) declared their ethnicity as German, 500 as Magyar, and 300 as Slovak. Today, the town has the name Petrzalka (inverted roof on the letter z), and is a suburb of the Slovak capital city of Bratislava (old Pozsony, Pressburg). It may now actually be part of Bratislava, but I don't know. Looking at the map and ethnic composition of 1910, I wonder whether your grandmother's hometown was not envisaged to be part of Burgenland, when this Austrian state was newly created out of western Hungarian border areas that predominantly had ethnic German inhabitants. The original name proposed for the new state was Vierburgenland (land of 4 castles), because it was envisaged to contain parts from four old Hungarian counties that all ended in "-burg" ("castle") in their German names. These counties were Vás, Sopron, Moson and Pozsony. Their German names were Eisenburg, Oedenburg, Wieselburg and Pressburg. Eventually, Burgenland did not contain any part of former Pozsony/Pressburg. You can see that your ancestral home likely came very close to being part of Burgenland, in which case its entire subsequent history would have been very different. In any case, you are at the right place in the BB, besides one of your grandmother's lines pointing to Nickelsdorf. The precise line of the eastern border of Burgenland was drawn somehow accidentally. From its inception, the Burgenland Bunch has always maintained an interest in the region naturally extending into today's western Hungary and in the south into northeastern Slovenia. The case of Engerau shows that the region covered by the BB also extends into Slovakia. By the way, Nickelsdorf and Engerau lie close to the epicenter of the area that produced so many world famous musicians (as covered by my series on Burgenland composers in the BB newsletter). 3. BB STAFF PHOTO Membership editor Hannes Graf recently finished an interesting graphics project. He copied some pictures of BB staff members and created a virtual reality picture of the entire group standing in front of Güssing Castle (3 are missing to be added later). If you'd like to see what we all look like and put a face to those names you've been seeing in our newsletters go to: BB-Staff.html 4. ACTIVE NORTHAMPTON, PA BG MEMBER DIES Theresa (Tessie) Teklits, 81, of Northampton, died Nov. 3, 2004, in Sacred Heart Hospital, Allentown. She was the wife of the late Joseph Teklits. Born Nov. 25, 1922, in Northampton, she was a daughter of the late John and Mary (Kurtz) Zimitz. She was active as a member of the Burgenland Gemeinschaft, having led groups on visits to the Burgenland and serving as a BG regional representative. She was also active in programs of the Northampton Liederkranz and other local ethnic affairs. 5. BURGENLAND SOCIETY OF PASSIAC, NJ Frank Jandrowitz writes: I can't find reference to the Burgenland Society of Passaic, New Jersey. It's the city where my grandfather located initially. Do you have an address and/or phone number? I thought I'd contact them for historical information they may. Thanks and really enjoy the monthly rundowns. Reply: The addresses for the Bgld. Soc. in Passaic: www.burgenlaender.com/BG/en/Contact5.html The addresses of the BG reps in Paasaic: www.burgenlaender.com/BG/en/Contact4.html 6. TASCHLER FROM PUNITZ - GOOD ADVICE FOR ANY BEGINNER (from Fritz Königshofer) A reader writes: "I am trying to find information about my g-grandfather's family. His last name is Taschler, He came from Punitz, Austria-Hungary in the early 1900's. I have no idea how to get information from there, can anyone help me?" Fritz replies: My advice is that you first of all visit the web site of the Burgenland Bunch at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org. Punitz was a village in western Hungary, county of Vas. However, since the end of WW-I, it is part of the then newly-created state of Burgenland in Austria. The name Taschler is frequent in southern Burgenland, where Punitz is now located. The Roman Catholic parish was in St. Nikolaus near the district capital of Güssing, while civil recording (which started in October 1895) was in Güssing, or under Güssing "environs." LDS (the Mormons) have filmed the duplicate parish records of St. Nikolaus and the civil records. For the film holdings, see http://www.familysearch.org/Search/searchcatalog.asp. Enter Varszentmiklos (Hungarian name for St. Nikolaus) and Gussing as place names and follow the leads to the films. One question for you to consider will be how much time you could put into this search for your roots. If you have the time, you are likely to find a lot. 7. WINTER STORMS 2004 COME EARLY TO THE BURGENLAND (courtesy Bob Unger) Bob writes: The following appeared in our Sunday 11/21/04 newspaper. Not knowing if your local paper carried the story, I thought I'd pass it on (partial). Gale-force winds dumping heavy snow wreaked havoc across Austria and Slovakia yesterday, blowing cars into deadly collisions, knocking out power to thousands of homes and in Graz tearing off a balcony that killed a man below. Several hundred cars spun out of control and ended up in snow banks along the north-south A2 highway, where visibility was poor as gusts exceeding 60 mph blew snow into the air. Authorities closed the A2 near the city of Graz for more than three hours after a foot of wind-whipped snow fell. In neighboring Slovakia, winds were clocked at 107.5 mph, the most powerful recorded wind speed since 1936. Bad weather in Slovakia's Tatras mountains was blamed for a least one death. In the eastern province of Burgenland, a flower vendor's van tumbled over an embankment, killing one passenger, an Egyptian national, and seriously injuring the two other occupants. Heavy winds were blamed for damage to homes, businesses and property across Austria, where thousands of households were without electricity overnight. Power was restored to most areas by Saturday afternoon. Newsletter continues as no. 134C

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 134C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 9th Year-20 Pages / 4 Email Sections Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) November 30, 2004 (c) 2004 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) *IN BURGENLAND EACH NOVEMBER THEY EAT GOOSE ON ST. MARTIN'S DAY. WE EAT TURKEY ON THANKSGIVING ABOUT A WEEK LATER. WHILE I KNOW THE ORIGIN OF BOTH CUSTOMS, I STILL WONDER IF IT IS JUST A COINCIDENCE THAT SO MANY EAT A BIG BIRD IN NOVEMBER? IN ENGLAND THEY EAT LITTLE BIRDS (GROUSE) - PERHAPS IT IS JUST THAT BIRDS ARE AT THEIR BEST COME LATE FALL. THIS YEAR HANNES GRAF SENT US A PHOTO OF A LARGE JET AIRCRAFT CONFIGURED AS A MIGHTY ST. MARTIN'S DAY GOOSE! MY FAMILY SAYS THAT EATING GOOSE IN AUSTRIA IS THE BEST OF ALL! * **THIS IS THE LAST NEWSLETTER BEFORE CHRISTMAS. WE WISH A "HEILIGE WEIHNACHT" TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERS, READERS AND STAFF!** This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter concerns: 1. Village Of Breitenbrunn 2. Frequently Asked Questions Concerning How We Operate 3. Dig Deeper - Seek And You Shall Find Things Burgenländisch 1. BREITENBRUNN (from Albert Schuch) In response to a query concerning this village Albert Schuch writes: Dujmovits' book does not list any immigrant names for Breitenbrunn. As in the exhibition catalog "nach Amerika", the chart entry is for 1854 without any names. The main text however says (on page 119, Das Gebiet [region] um den Neusiedlersee): "In Breitenbrunn sollen die ersten Amerikawanderer erst im Jahr 1907 den Ort verlassen haben ..." (the first immigrant came from here in 1907) The source for the earlier Breitenbrunn data appears to be an article published by Hans Paul. I am attaching a translated summary of this article (was published in BB newsletter 34) below. Emigration period 1851-55: Some time ago, Hans PAUL, retired teacher and Burgenland historian, has found material on early emigrants in the Györ-Sopron Archives (Györ-Sopronmegyei Levéltar) in Sopron: On 9 Aug 1850 Franz PAYER of Balf (Wolfs, near Sopron), Hungary, 26 y old son of the Lutheran pastor, wrote to the k.k. Bezirkskommissariat in Sopron (Ödenburg) for permission to emigrate to America, where his brother already owned a farm with 160 acres land. The k.k. (kaiserlich-königliches Bezirkskommissariat gave the permission, because: - Franz P. has already served in the army - his home village Wolfs has no objections - his father has no objections, on the contrary, will provide financial support - he has two younger brothers, so in case the army would need soldiers in the future, one of them could replace him. Based on this information the k.k. Distriktsregierung (district government) in Sopron gave permission to emigrate and provided Franz P. with an emigration passport. From 1851 onwards (until ????), those who wish to emigrate have to appear in person at the k.k. Regierungskommissariat in Sopron, where they have to prove their ability to cover the emigration costs by themselves. (ship passage cost Bremen - New York in 1855: 65 silver florins per person, children younger than 10 years pay 57 silver florins, babies younger than one year pay nothing) Before they receive the emigration passport, they have to renounce the Austrian citizenship as well as the right to return to Austria. In spring 1855 Johann MARILITSCH, 43 year old bricklayer from Großhöflein, asks for and gets permission to emigrate to America. He is married and has 8 children (aged 5 - 17 years, partly from earlier marriages of the couple, so some have the surname ROSENITSCH). In March 1852 Franz WALTER, watchmaker from Eisenstadt asks for permission to emigrate with his wife, 1 year old foster-child Samuel FRIEBE and 11 year old adopted child Elisabeth KOPF. His parents and his brothers and sisters have emigrated in 1851. In September 1852 Magdalena KISS from Eisenstadt asks for permission to emigrate to New York. She wants to marry a cabinetmaker from Vienna who has settled there. Emigrants from Purbach: in 1854: Josef TURKOVITS (1854); in 1855: Franz SCHWARZ; Michael HACKSTOCK, 56 years, his wife Elisabeth, 46 years, son Franz, 20, daughter Maria, 10; Paul SCHÜLLER, 33 years, his wife Maria, 30, and their daughter Theresia, 3 years; Paul HUBER, 39 years, his wife (36 y), and 7 children aged 1 - 17 years; Stefan SANDHOFER, 44, his wife Johanna, 41, children Paul (19), Franz (4) and Maria (1). Emigrants from Breitenbrunn in 1855: Josef RESCH, 57 years, his wife Elisabeth, 40 years, their 10 children (3 - 21 years), and one grandchild; Anton HÄNDLER, 26 years, his wife Theresia, 30, and their 3 children (2-6 years); Gregor JANISCH, his wife Kunigunde and their 5 children (5-20 years). Further emigrants in 1855: Matthias STROMER, weaver from Schwendgraben; Josef BAUER from Eisenstadt, 34 years, with wife Veronika; Josef HAIDER from Walbersdorf (his 53 years old brother is already living in America, where he owns 2 houses, 160 Joch farming land and 80 Joch forests; his brother has no heirs), 40 years old; Andreas PILLER, bricklayer from Großhöflein, 14 year old son Franz and 10 year old daughter Theresia; Paul REINER from Purbach, his wife and two children (his brother already in America); (source: Hans PAUL: Frühe Amerikawanderer unserer Heimat. In: Burgenländische Forschungen. Sonderheft VI. (Festschrift für Karl SEMMELWEIS). Eisenstadt 1981, p.133-151) 2. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CONCERNING HOW WE OPERATE (ED. Note: If you are a recent member be sure to read this.) Members sent the following email in various versions last month: * please, don't sent me the letter 4 times, 1 is enough. - best wishes Reply: The newsletter is distributed in four email parts, like 133, 133A, 133B & 133C. We cannot send as one email - it's too large. * I only received three parts of the newsletter, A, B, & C. Have you sent D? Reply: There is no D - the newsletter is distributed in 4 parts = 133, 133A, 133B, 133C. On occasion your server may delay one of the parts. You can find and download missing copies from our archives site via our homepage. * Enjoyed your website and letters!!!! Is there a chance of getting more Austrian music on line, other websites, downloads etc?? Reply: Go to our homepage (website) and search the Internet Link (URL) page - you will find many related sites for music, linked sites, etc. * How do I find village histories or descriptions? Reply: Go to our Homepage and click on Villages - then click on the village name. If it is colored blue - a thumbnail history is available - click on it. They are also available in our newsletter archives. Click on Archives and enter village name in the search space. * Are the members authorities on the surnames or villages listed with their names? Reply: Some are and some are not. All are looking for subject information and may well be able to help - feel free to contact them. Add BB to your email subject line and be courteous. 3. DIG DEEPER - SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND THINGS BURGENLÄNDISCH I get much email and can't help but think about the people who send it. Often I wish I could sit down and talk to them. Email is so terse and off-putting. How much does that person really know about Burgenland Family History? How deep have they searched for answers? How much of our material have they read? What have they found? What are they looking for? How much time are they willing to spend? How much history and geography do they know? All of this is really necessary for me to know how best to answer their queries. After nine years of this business I come to the conclusion that many members and readers do not dig into our available material. Either they don't know how or they don't want to spend the time - hopefully it's the former and not the latter. Below is a synopsis of one week's searches (total 29) on just our query board. It reveals that much more could have been found by using our homepage websites. By searching the query board, these people were in effect looking to see if anyone else had supplied something they could use. I wonder if they also searched our Homepage Web Pages? Count Keyword ----- ------- 3 Torontal, 3 Census, 2 Dalmatia, 2 Kummer, 2 list, 2 coat, 2 passenger, 2 kelemen, 2 flommer, 2 Kerry, 2 arms, 2 Banat, 2 County, 1 pernau, 1 FOLTRAUER, 1 Tenk 1 dorner, 1 stettner, 1 Calabrese, 1 castle, 1 lockenhaus, 1 FELTRAUER, 1 John, 1 kopp, 1 taschler, 1 chersicla Our Web Pages are shown below to which I've added some elaboration. Have you really dug into them to find whatever you may be looking for? * Burgenland Bunch Members: Names, e-mail addresses, and interests of 1132 Members (59 inactive) plus Burgenland map. - content is obvious but there is a general map there - do you know what Burgenland looks like? Turn on your speakers - that haunting melody is the "Amerika Lied" (the "to America" song popular with immigrants - see the words by clicking on the BB Songbook.) Clicking on "Where we are" will show you the geographic areas where BB members live. * Burgenland Bunch Surnames: Surnames (4225) being researched by Members. - content is obvious but this will also tell you the villages of origin as well as where they settled. * Burgenland Bunch Villages: Villages being researched by Members. - same as above but with district and parish names - you can also get brief history or descriptions of the villages. You might even find an old record that contains your family surname. * Burgenland Bunch Archives - Hosted by Roots Web: Newsletters. - Here you can find everything we have ever published plus a search engine. All of our 133 newsletters (over 2500 pages) are archived and indexed - they can be searched, read, downloaded or printed. * Burgenland Bunch Internet Links: Our favorite Internet links. - find out what else is available on the web - check these hundreds of related sites listed by category. Includes BB member websites. * Burgenland Query Board: View and post Burgenland queries. Courtesy of Austrian GenWeb. - This is the board mentioned in the introductory paragraph. It lists over 3000 queries and answers plus a search engine. * Albert's Village Data: Is now online! Bezirks, parishes, Hungarian names for Villages - what a gold mine! Names in all three languages - location of churches and civil offices-counties and districts where villages are (were) located. * Burgenland Bunch FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions of Burgenland Bunch members. - general questions for new members. *Minnesota area picnic: The 2004 Burgenland Bunch picnic. - describes a social event for mid-west members. * Burgenland Bunch map site: Maps of all Burgenland districts and their neighboring regions with Austrian, Hungarian and Croatian names. - there is more here than the title implies - not only maps but in three languages as well as lists of inhabitants of villages over time. Also an index showing where family names occur in our various records. This site is under constant development. * Notice to Users: Whether a new contact or long-time Burgenland Bunch member - PLEASE Read. - how to insure your request or query will be answered by our staff. How to act if you want us to continue to help. * Burgenländische Gemeinschaft - News about what is happening in Burgenland and to Burgenländers all over the world. - the site of our sister organization. Has pages in both English and German - also pictures and other links. Our bi-monthly English article in the BG News can be found here - pictures as well. * Genealogical Research - Helpful Hints: - Diocesan Archives - Diocesan Library - Diocesan Museum in Eisenstadt. - instructions from the head of the Diocesan Library explaining how you can search their holdings of pre 1828 church records. Requires a visit to the Burgenland but tells what you can expect when you get there. * Berghold Award - Photos from Burgenländische Gemeinschaft Picnic 2001, including presentation of award to BB Founder Gerry Berghold - this will tell you how we've been honored by the Burgenland government and the BG. Lots of pictures and music as well as what the annual BG Burgenland picnic is all about. Visiting in July, why not attend? * Burgenland Bunch "Songbook" - Web page by Ing. Johannes Graf. - want to hear some real traditional ethnic folk music - turn on your speakers and click. Also has a Hianzen dialect dictionary and poems. * List of all Jennersdorf and Güssing district houses - from abt. 1857, with house list names and house numbers - find your village and the house number where your family lived. Other districts are being added. * How To Use The BB Website - A Primer About How To Develop A Burgenland Genealogy. - don't know what to do? - start here. * Just A Little Interest In Genealogy? (The simplest, but least rewarding, approach to Burgenland family history.) - don't have much time to devote? - try this approach. If you look at all of the above, you can then contact our staff to see if you want to find more or get a question answered. You'll then know you haven't missed anything. What is the cost of all this? - nothing material - just time and effort. Merry Christmas. 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) A Staff Photo may be found at BB-Staff.html BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) BURGENLAND HOME PAGE (WEB SITE) http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org http://go.to/burgenland-bunch (also provides access to Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site.) The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. 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.