Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 164
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
Our 12th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold
June 30, 2007
(c) 2007 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved


~TIME FLIES LIKE AN ARROW - FRUIT FLIES LIKE AN ORANGE~
(Chris Berghold, 3rd generation immigrant descendant)

Current Status Of The BB: Members: 1429; Surname Entries: 4787; Query Board Entries: 3720; Newsletters Archived: 164; Staff Members: 15

EMAIL RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, use the Cance/Unsubscribe Form available from our homepage at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org. You cannot send email to this newsletter. If you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it may be read, downloaded, printed or copied from the BB Homepage. There is also an archive of previous newsletters.

This first section of our 3-section newsletter concerns:

1. DNA As Pointer To Family History
2. BB DNA Project?
3. Poppendorf & Latin-Hungarian Dictionaries
4. Burgenland Immigrant Obits - Notify Frank Paukowits
5. Burgenland Railroad Reborn


1. DNA AS POINTER TO FAMILY HISTORY

Continuing the correspondence begun in newsletter 163 (Italian DNA),
our correspondent writes:
"Is there no anecdotal evidence of Turkish/Ottoman/Other ancestry persisting in Pamhagen or that area? Also, I see that you had a head count of Lutherans, Catholics and Jews in Balf (which I know is not currently in Burgenland but is in the historical region). Where did you find that count? Are there names associated with it? Where could I find it?"

Reply: For our purposes we recognize Hungarian villages close to the border of today's Burgenland. Balf is one of them, less than 5 km from the border. Without the plebiscite of 1920, all of the Sopron district would have been included in the portion ceded to Austria in 1921. The head count I supplied is taken from 1873 Gazetteer of Hungary available from the LDS as microfiche no. 6000840. Megye Sopron, Commitat Sopron. Names are not given.

I have only found one Burgenland anecdotal evidence of Turkish ancestry. In the records (1689 - 1692) of Stadt Güssing, we find baptism of some Turkish orphans and followers with even the Batthyany serving as godparents. One record translates:

"On 19 March 1689, was baptized Georg, whose father (was) a Turk, the mother Rasciana (A Serb?) Margarethe, the godparents Matthias Delichicz and Johannes Grohicz, residence Szt Nicholas."

Obviously a rape or mistress case which included a refugee from Croatia as Szt. Nicholas was a village settled by Croat refugees.

There are 8 more. Multiply this by the other six district towns and we can have at least 54 possibilities. Multiply by 300 parishes and we can have almost 3000!

The best anecdotal evidence for Pamhagen that I've found is in Kirrsner & Peternell "Der Bezirk Neusiedel am See im Wandel der Zeit," pub 1999 by Feldkirchen Druck.

It briefly summarizes Pamhagen's history from 1268 (mentioned in an early "urkund" as Pomag) to the present. Through 1451 it was in the hands of the owners of Domain of Forchtenstein - Duke Albert and then Kaiser Friredrich III. In 1554 it was acquired by Palatin Thomas Nadasdy. Following 1675 it was acquired by the Esterhazys, who controlled it until the Empire was abolished in 1920. There was much Turkish destruction in 1683 (as well as during the first siege of Vienna). In 1683, a bell tower was erected with a Turkish flag and the motto "Mosco Pascha 1683" as a remembrance of the last Turkish incursion.

I feel you should give more credence to the effect of Turkish invasion of the Burgenland area. You speak of 150 years (the time when the Turks controlled eastern Hungary) following the battle of Mohacs in 1527. In reality, I feel we must recognize the effects of Turkish incursions from as early as 1354 to 1804 (e.g., "Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354 - 1804," Peter F. Sugar, Univ. of Wash. Press, 1993). The Turks weren't completely removed from the Balkans until the early 1900's, granted that it took some time from 1354 for events to reach western Hungary. As far as the Burgenland area was concerned, it lasted well into the late 1700's (capture of Belgrade in 1789). There was Croatian movement into Burgenland in the early 1500's by refugees fleeing the Turks. In 1525, they were settled in the district of Güssing by the then Ban of Croatia, Franz Batthyany, who was given the Herrschaft of Güssing for his efforts in resisting the Turks. Did those Croatian refugees bring Turkish DNA with them? Likewise, the first siege of Vienna had the Turks taking the northern route, which did place them in the Pamhagen area. During the second siege, they came through both the northern and middle Burgenland (Kozseg-Sopron) areas. During their retreat they retired through the middle and southern portions. Over 8000 Turks were in residence in the district of Güssing during the second siege. The Batthyany were able to retain their villages intact by agreeing to furnish the Turkish forces with food and supplies. After their defeat, the Batthyany forces massacred the 8000 Turks in order to gain Imperial forgiveness for supplying the Turks. You will find this in the two books concerning the sieges of Vienna mentioned earlier as well as Suger's history.

In addition, there were Turkish incursions as far west as St. Gotthard (see 1664 battle of) and even Graz, Styria, well into the early 1700's. There is also the Bocsky (Transylvanian) Rebellion of 1600 and other Kuruzen raids which devastated much of southern Burgenland. In other words, the two sieges were not short isolated instances of Turkish incursion, and they had plenty of time to rape and pillage.

Now, whence comes DNA mutation? There is only one answer: intercourse or rape. The resultant issue was generally raised by the inhabitants. As mentioned previously, the records of Stadt Güssing show baptism of some Turkish orphans and followers with even the Batthyany serving as godparents. Some of these must have survived and had descendants, hence DNA possibilities. In reading of the Turkish Wars, I'm amazed at the size of their army train - many, many camp followers; not all could or did return. The incidence of Turkish blood in the Burgenland could be fairly high as a result.

My question, however, is, how long does it take DNA to mutate? How many mutating experiences are necessary? I doubt if we have definite answers. My DNA has little mutation; although my family had two Croatian marriages in the early 1700's, no Croatian DNA.

I view the Burgenland period 1524 to 1848 as very unsettled; war, famine and pestilence devastated the population; we know much migration took place as a result. I feel, through my studies, that the majority of today's population stems from the migrations which followed the second siege of Vienna. As such, carriers of pre - 1690 DNA must be relatively low except for limited westward migration following the 1848 (Hungarian Revolution) period.

Question: "Another interesting thing about the test was that it pinpointed Kurdish ancestry, and, from what I have read, some Kurds came along on the Ottoman campaigns. My family is otherwise extremely North Western European, so it seems likely that this has come from that region also."

Reply: Suger goes into great detail concerning the makeup of the Turkish invading armies. All areas under their control provided combatants. I'm sure it included Kurds.

Question: There are a couple of words on the LDS film that I cannot decipher. One seems to be "Weor." It is listed, it seems, as a surname for a woman named Eva. But I am not sure that I am reading it correctly, as the penmanship is not fully legible. Are you familiar with this as a surname?

Reply: I do not recognize this as a family name. It is undoubtedly a Latin or Hungarian abbreviation of a surname adjective like widow or loyal, etc. In my use of the LDS records, I find that the baptism and death records rarely provided the maiden names of the mothers or wives. Only in the marriage records do I find those names.

It's interesting to speculate on your DNA mix - all sorts of interesting probabilities exist: Sephardic Hebrew from Spain via Thessalonika, a rape or marriage with a Kurdish Moslem during the early Ottoman period, a subsequent marriage with a Magyar or Transylvanian (the Italian connection), the possibility of involvement with the Hungarian-Austrian wars, finally some issue which settled in northern Burgenland and subsequent local intermarriage with migrants from western Europe. If we could only find the records but, alas, the early ones helped kindle fires! The romance of family history.


2. BB DNA PROJECT?

Correspondent also writes:
We were talking about the DNA test and we wondered if the Burgenland Bunch Web site would ever consider a DNA section). It seems that DNA ancestry is useful and helpful with given contexts. That said, it would be more useful to have a broader scope of results to peruse from a given demographic of people. Do you think the Web site might ever be able to host a searchable database of voluntarily submitted Burgenland-related DNA results? It seems something like this might entail interested people who have done the DNA tests, submitting their results along with certain relevant factors like towns in their family history, family names related to the results, number of family members from the Burgenland area or the particular towns (to give an idea of proximity to the actual DNA of the area, because obviously for immigrant families not everything on the test would be relevant for Burgenland families).

Also it seems that privacy is an issue, because sometimes people are upset by the diversity of DNA results and don't want to share all the data. However, an option to have contact info could be included for those who don't mind. Even the DNA testing center's name could be used to limit the search. It would also be interesting to see where many mutated DNA and paternal line DNA from Burgenland originate, and people with certain common ancestors could thus cross-reference tests and other data.

So an example I guess could be our own family. It would be great to be able to pull up the DNA results of other families with Fleischhackers in Pamhagen. It would really be something interesting to be able to type in, for example, "Fleischhacker" "Pamhagen" and to see what other results came up and then also to see what other family names were associated with the other results related to Fleischhacker. Would Fleischhacker in combination with certain family names have certain DNA results? Would there be less of some results consistently when certain families were not included?

On the Web site now, there are lists of what families are connected with certain towns. It would be so wonderful to get to get a more detailed of those demographics with DNA.

The implications could be up to the reader/researcher to interpret, but the information would provide a great way to collaborate fairly detailed information that otherwise might not be able to be even hypothesized. It might take a while to get many submissions, but it would seem like a worthy pursuit. Anyway, if you ever decide to do something like this it could probably be very useful and a great way to expand on Burgenland family research already accomplished.

BB President Tom Steichen replies:
There has been some discussion among BB Staff about DNA data but we have yet to consider it as a formal BB project. Nonetheless, I have blind-copied the staff on this reply to see if anyone has interest in pursuing this as a potential project. I have not explored DNA data myself so I have no idea of how much data this might entail, how difficult it would be to build a usable database, nor what the legal and ethical issues might be.

[To the BB Staff: if anyone can enlighten me (and/or other staff) on these or other pertinent issues, please reply with whatever you know.]

As you see, I have asked the BB Staff to respond. I will make no promises on what we might do but I thank you for raising the issue.


3. POPPENDORF & LATIN DICTIONARIES

Ronald A. Madle writes:
I'm so glad to hear that you will be able to continue as Newsletter Editor for the Burgenland Bunch. The newsletter has been a tremendous resource in my attempt to explore my Poppendorf ancestry (e.g., Medl, Jusits, Deuts, Drauch).

I wanted to submit an item for the newsletter if you are interested (and if it already hasn't been included). When I started working on the LDS microfilm records for Poppendorf I knew I would need some way to understand the records that were in Hungarian and Latin. In searching for resources I ran across an outstanding resource that was published by the Genealogy RO Group--a combined Latin-English and Latin-Hungarian Genealogical Dictionary. It covers virtually all the words I needed to decipher the church records, including various causes of death. Hopefully this resource can be announced to other members. The web address is http://www.genealogy.ro/dictionary/.

(ED. Note: The newsletter archives also contain articles that provide help in reading those LDS church records. See index republished in newsletter 164A.)


4. BURGENLAND OBITS - NOTIFY FRANK PAUKOWITS

As reported in previous newsletters, Frank has joined the BB staff. He is the founder of the web pages called "Burgenlanders Honored & Remembered" (click on BB Homepage title). These are cemetery records showing immigrant names, age, residence at time of death, where buried, village of origin, parents if known, etc. Space is also available for pictures. Along with other BB data, this can provide a fairly complete family history, but only if you provide the data. Contact Frank via email Paukowits(a)aol.com.

5. BURGENLAND RAILROAD REBORN

One of the major problems following the creation of the Burgenland was the lack of north-south transportation facilities. It is only since the late 1950's that this has been rectified. There were railroads and major roads, but the hub was at Sopron, which remained in Hungary, and branch lines withered and died.

BB membership editor Hannes Graf is a man of many talents. He has spent a lot of time helping resurrect a former branch line. He says, "The railway goes from Oberwart to Oberschützen, 8 km long with stations Unterschützen and Bad Tatzmannsdorf. There is a 'Bunch' of people, who want to clear the mud, rebuild some stationhouses, buy some engines and wagons and resurrect them. We've been working for the last 3 years. A little picture-gallery from last year: www.frowos.com

"Some of the wagons and engines are the last to be found in Austria (Europe). I'm a member of the group. We will try to get a permission to operate this summer. I hope it works and becomes a nice tourist attraction. The only historic railroad in Burgenland."

Newsletter continues as number 164A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 164A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 12th Year - issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold)
June 30, 2007
(c) 2007 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved


The second section of this 3-section newsletter features
an Index to the first two years of the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter. During this period we covered a lot of territory of interest to new members. If you've joined since then, print it and hold for reference.


ALPHABETIC INDEX TO BURGENLAND BUNCH (BB) NEWSLETTERS
(December 31, 1998)

Listed are the major subjects appearing in the 1997 and 1998 issues of the Burgenland Bunch newsletter. The subjects are in alphabetical order followed by the volume numbers of the newsletters in which they will be found. Village names denote extracts from the Pater (Father) Gratian Leser series of southern Burgenland village histories, first published in the 1930's and partially extracted and translated by Albert Schuch, or village data researched by the BB staff. Use volume number to copy subject newsletter from the archives by clicking on Burgenland Bunch (BB Archives) topic from Homepage.

NEWSLETTER TOPIC - VOLUME NUMBER

Abbreviation ING. DOM. - 31
Abbreviations - see Terms and 37B
Allentown & Northampton, PA - 38A, 40
Allentown, PA, Immigrant Changes - 51A
Alter Sprach (dialect) - 44B, also see Hianzisch, dialects
Amtlicher Ausweis - 33
Andau Emigrants - 30
Antwerp Ship Source - 31
Apetlon - 10
Apetlon & Thell Family - 38
Archives, downloading - 30A
Austrian American Newsletter - 29
Austrian Cookbook From Chicago - 39B
Austrian Flag - 41
Austrian Links - 21
Auswanderer Museum, Güssing - 47B
Auswandererschicksal, emigrant stories - see family name
Bakony Region in Hungary - 35, 38
Bankerlsitzer (news) - 30, 46
Baptism & Conversion Records, availability - 37
BB Coverage on ORF (Austrian Radio) - 31
BB Members, Contacting - 44B
BB Picnic - 39, 42B
BB Procedures - 21, 45B
Berghold, Alexander- "Land und Leute" - 41B
Berghold Auswandererschicksal - 39A
Berghold Name, distribution - 56B
Berghold Name, Volksfreund - 47B
Bergen Villages - 37B
Bergwerk, village inhabitants of - 32A,
Bezirks, see Burgenland Districts
Bildein (Ober & Unter, BB) - 10
Blaufrankisch Wine - 24
Blochziehen - 49
Bocksdorf - 38
Bocskay Rebellion - 20
Books, Burgenland - 1, 11, 25A, 30, 39, 42B
Book, German Migration - 41
Borderland, (book) - 1
Bremen Port of Departure - 41B
Bubendorf - 54
Burgauberg - 44
Burgenland Books - 1, 25A, 30, 39, 42B
Burgenland Bunch, formation of - 43A
Burgenland Castles & Genealogy - 13A
Burgenland Data Sources - 26A
Burgenland Depopulation - 14
Burgenland Districts (Bezirk) - 44
Burgenland Dwellings - 26, 30
Burgenland Emigration (from Königshofer, Der Volksfreund) - 37A
Burgenland Featured on TV - 26, 30
Burgenland Flag - 1
Burgenland Folk Customs and Tales - 26
Burgenland Food at Turn of the Century - 14A, 15, 16, 17, 47A
Burgenland Glimpses From The Past - 53B
Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft - 6, 48A
Burgenländische Gemeinschaft (link with) - 23
Burgenländische Gemeinschaft Recipes - 39B
Burgenland Genealogy URL List - 33A, 37B
Burgenland Gypsies - 28
Burgenland Jewish Names - 40
Burgenland Jewish Population - 35
Burgenland Kitchen Food - 34, 47A
Burgenland Music - 13, 17, 27A, 38B, 53
Burgenland Organization, Another - 36
Burgenland Political Subdivisions - 29
Burgenland Records (location of) - 18
Burgenland Schools - 53
Burgenland Settlers Origns - 25A
Burgenland Taxes - 26A
Burgenland Village Fires - 53A
Burgenland War Year Memories - 44B
Burgenland Wine - 24, 27A, 28
Burgenland Word Picture (poem) - 20
Cabbage Strudel - 47A
Canonical Visitations - 16
Catasauqua, PA History - 40A
CatholicRecords, LDS Copies of - 41A
Census - 2
Chicago, enclave - 37A, 41A
Chicago Fasching - 33
Church Names - 51A
Church Records - 39, 41A, 42B
Civil Records - 41A 54A
Copyright - 21
Croatian Dictionaries - 21
Croatian History - 35, 52, 55, 56A
Croatian Movement - 42, 42B
Croatian Origins - 48A
Croatian Translations - 51B
Cseke (Eisenberg) - 52
Deutsch Beiling - 29
Deutsch Gerisdorf - 54
Deutsch Jahrndorf - 10
Deutsch Kaltenbrunn - 45
Deutschkreuz and Oberwart Jewish Records - 28
Deutsch Schützen & Eberau - 47B
Deutsch Tschantschendorf - 31
Deutsch Tschantschendorf Research - 40A
Diacritical Marks (the Umlaut) - 29
Dialect, Defense of - 45, 48A
Dialect Geography - 41B
Dica tax - 29
Dictionaries - 1, 21
Diocesan Archives in Eisenstadt - 21
Districts - see Bezirks
Dobersdorf - 10, 51
Donations, 1924 Immigrants, Szt. Kathrein - 37
Donau Schwabians - 17
Donors' Names - 32
Eden, SD, enclave - 13
Editor's Newsletter Method - 22
Edlitz - 10
Eisenhüttl (Leser) - 48
Elder Hostel Trip to Austria (Unger) - 16
Eltendorf - 10, 53
Eltendorf - 45A
Eltendorf Church Records - 53A
Eltendorf War Memorial Names - 40B
Elizabeth, St. - 41
Emigration Papers - 41B
Emigration Reasons - 32
Emigration, Articles (A. Königshofer-Volksfreund) - 46, 47A, 48, 49, 51
Emperor Franz Joseph - 21
Empress Elizabeth - 43
Ethnic Mix - 43B
Family Immigrant Story - 23
Farmer, Terms For - 55
Felso Ronok, Hung. - 10
Felso Ronok, St. Emmerich Church - 51B
Feudal tenancy, data on - 27
First Emigrants to US - 25A
Folklore - 48A
Food - see Burgenland Food
Gamischdorf - 38
Genealogy Aids - 45A
Gerersdorf - 10
Gerersdorf - 46
German Newspapers in the US - 16
German Newspapers in Western Hungary - 28A
German Terms - see Terms
German Translator (software) - 15
Getting Started - 40
Gilly Cousin - 43
Glassing - 23
Glatz Emigration-Loipersdorf (Auswandererschicksal) - 27
Gols - 10
Gourmet Magazine - 39B
Grieselstein, village - 16
Grossmürbisch (BB) - 10, 22
Gschorrholz - 44
Güssing - 10
Güssing's Auswanderer Museum - 47B
Guttenbach - 38
Gypsies - 28
Hackerberg - 43
Hagensdorf - 27
Halbturn - 11
Hamburg Ship List - 41B
Hamilton, OH, Burgenländers in - 24
Hannersdorf - Burg Castle Ruins - 45A, 46
Hannersdorf War Memorial - 42B
Hannersdorf War Memorial Donors - 40B
Harmisch - 11
Hasendorf - 22
Health & Southern Burgenland - 42A
Hebraic Research (Tighe Brown) - 37
Heiligenbrunn - 28
Heiligenkreuz - 11, 53
Heiligenkreuz, church record availability - 16
Heiligenkreuz Question - 38B
Heiligenkreuz War Year Memories - 44B
Henderson, MN (Austro/Hungarian Roots in) - 18
Heraldry - 14
Heugraben - 39
Hianzisch Dialect - 31, 45
Historical Village Series (Leser) - see 21-50 inclusive
"Hold", definition of - 32
Home of a Burgenland Schoolteacher - 26
House Names - 35
House Numbers - 51B, 52
Hungarian Census - 54
Hungarian Death Terms - 47B
Hungarian Records, reading - 18A, 43
Hungarian Villages, German Names of - 47A
Hungary, Taste of - 39B
Illmitz, Food & Wine - 46
Immigrant Busy Work - 45A
Immigrant Itinerary - 7, 13
Immigrant Ship Photos - 36
Immigration-naturalization records - 30
Index, to BB News - 49A, 49B
Inzenhof - 25
Itinerary, strange - 36
Jennersdorf - 11
Judaic Links and Names - 40
Judaic Research - 37
Kappeller Name - 37B
Kleinmürbisch - 11, 22
Kleinpetersdorf, House Owners of - 33
Klemens Name - 35A
Klemens Name, Oslip & Passaic - 37A
Kogl - 11, 56
Kohfidisch - 11
Königsdorf - 11, 52
Köszeg, Hungary, Obit from - 38B
Kroatisch Tschantschendorf, (Leser) - 32
Krottendorf - 22
Kukmirn - 11, 48, 53A
Lackenbach - 11
Lackendorf - 11
Landholding Terminology - 53
Langasch, Emil, Poppendorf teacher, death of - 45A
Language, Clue to origin - 44
Language Disputes - 32
Latin Terms - 44, 54
LDS records - 37B
Lebenbrunn - 11, 56
Lehigh Valley (PA) Clippings - 40A
Limbach - 49
Loipersdorf, Glatz Emigration from - 27
Loisdorf - 11
Luising - 28
Lutheran Migration - 19
Mannersdorf - 11
Maps - 4, 5, 15, 27A, 30A
Mariasdorf & Grodnau, Inhabitants of - 31A
Markt St. Martin (BB) - 11
Marriage Records, Hungarian - 15
Marriage Records, Multiple - 45A
McKees Rocks, PA, enclave - 37A
Mei Hoamat, poem - 33
Membership Procedure - 20
Memories, One Immigrant's - 31
Metric Conversions - 39B
Miedlingsdorf Immigrants - 37A
Migration to Burgenland - 8, 56
Migration Reasons - 41
Military Records, Muster Rolls - 47A
Military Service - 38B, 54B
Mini-Hof Liebau, naming - 29
Money, sending to Europe - 15
Months & Dates, (German, Hungarian, Latin) - 5
Moschendorf - 11, 25A
Moson Villages - 19, 23
Mühl Family, Schoolteaching - 40A
Multiple Marriages - 45A
Museum of Remembrances - 34
Nagykanizsa, Hungary - 46B, 47B
Names, Meaning of surnames - 35
Naming Conventions - 38B
Naturalization Question - 34, 37A
Nazareth, PA - 17, 19, 54B
Nazareth, PA Cement Mills - 14
Nazareth Cement Museum - 19, 23
Nemet Csenc (Deutsch Tschantschendorf ) Research - 40A
Neuberg - 38
Neudauberg - 44
Neusiedl - 49
Neustift bei Güssing, baptisms, 1600's - 16
Neustift bei Güssing - 11, 25
Neustift bei Schlaining, inhabitants of - 32A
Neustift Records - 26
Neutal - 11
Northampton, PA & Allentown - 38A
Northampton, PA Catholic Church - 36
Northampton, PA Census - 34
Northampton Immigrant Days, Memories - 40A
Northampton, PA, Stegersbach - 32, 40A
Northampton Tombstone Names, Our Lady of Hungary Cem. - 40A
Oberwart - 11
Oberwart Jewish Records - 28
Oberwart News Articles, 1920's - 14, 15, 19
Octavalista - 37B
Olbendorf - 39
Older German words and terms - 18, 27A
Ollersdorf - 41
Omaha, NE, Burgenland enclave - 27A
Orphan's Book - 33, 58B
Oslip, Village of - 35A
Our Brother Vitus (song) - 18
Pamhagen - 11
Pamhagen, Early Emigrant - 33
Pamhagen Immigration Story - 47
Pamhagen, village - 26A, 55B
Pamhagen War Memorial - 46A
Paprika - 39B, 46
Passenger Lists - 24
Peasant Land Transfers - 17
Phoenix, PA, History of - 23
Photographs, 48, 49
Pilgersdorf - 12, 25A, 54
Pinka Mindszent, Hung. - 12
Podersdorf - 12
Political Subdivisions - 29
Poppendorf - 12, 39A
Poppendorf Edition - 39A
Poppendorf Emigration - 42
Poppendorf History (A. Königshofer) - 39A
Poppendorf Immigrants - 29
Poppendorf Obituary - 30
Poppendorf School Teacher - 27, 45A
Poppendorf School Teacher, mysterious death - 27A
Poppendorf Thumb Nail Sketch - 39A
Poppendorf Vignettes - 32A
Primer of Diacritical Marks (the Umlaut) - 29
Property Records, Location of - 41
Publishing a Genealogy Book - 46A
Punitz - 22
Rabafüzes, Hung. (BB) - 12
Rauchwart - 38
Reader Poll - 41A, 42A, 43, 44B
Reading Hungarian Records - 18A
Redschlag - 55
Rehgraben - 12, 47
Reinersdorf (Leser) - 29
Riedlingsdorf - 15A
Riedlingsdorf War Memorial Donors - 40B
Robert Unger's Genealogical Experiences - 26A
Rohr - 39
Rohrbrunn - 45
Rosenberg (Güssing. BB) - 12
Rosenberg (Güssing), village - 23, 45A
Rotenturm - 54
Rudersdorf - 12, 25A
Rudersdorf News - 20, 30, 45A
St. Andra (village) - 21
Szt. Gotthard Muster Rolls - 37B
St. Kathrein - 12
St. Michael im Burgenland - 37
St. Nikolaus (Güssing) - 12, 21
Szt. Peterfa, Hung. - 12, 51
Szt. Peterfa, Hung., emigration - 49
Salmansdorf - 12, 55
Schallendorf - 38
Schatz Family Research - 27
Schilling Exchange - 42B
Schlaining, Domain of - 46B
Schwabian Migration - 34
Sister Cities, Northampton, PA, Stegersbach - 32
Social Sec. Applications, Data From - 43B
Sopron, Early Emigrants - 34
Sorger, family auswandererschicksal - 23
Sources of Family Pedigree - 24
South American Immigration - 46
South Dakota, enclave - 13
Staatsangehörigkeit - 36
Starting a Burgenland Search - 47, 48, 51A, 54A
Stegersbach - 40
Stegersbach, sister city to Northampton - 32, 40A
Steinbach - 56
Steingraben - 46
Stinatz - 42
Strem - 12, 29
Styrian and Swabian Migration (to Burgenland) - 41
Sulz - 47
Sulz Bottling Plant - 41
Summetendorf - 29
Szécsény (Hungary) - 38
Szentpeterfa-Northampton, PA - 46B
Tauka - 56B
Tauchen, village inhabitants of - 32A
Taxes (the "dica") - 29
Terms, hist. & gen.. - 18, 24, 27A, 30A, 37A, 39, 40B, 41A, 44
Thirty Years War - 9
Tobaj - 24
Tobaj, village - 38
Translation Software - 15, 17, 29, 56
Transylvanian Question - 28
Travel Guides - 36
Trip, Gols (Portsche) - 45
Trip, Grossmürbisch Sulz (Klucharich) - 40
Trip Report (Griesbacher) - 44A
Trip Report (Lavendoski) - 12,14
Trip Report (Tighe-Brown) - 34A
Trip to the Seewinkel (Weinzatl) - 25
Trip to Vienna (Bob Unger) - 17A, 20A, 34A, 35A
Trip, Burgenland (Unger) - 36A
Trip, Czech, Austrian, German, Hungarian, includes Seewinkel (Rabbe) - 42A
Trips, Finding Ancestors - 53A
Trips, Story of Two WWII (Loeffler) - 28
Tschanigraben - 26
Tudersdorf - 32
Umlaut - 5, 29
Unter Bildein - 19
Urbars - 16
Urbersdorf - 23
Urbersdorf Research - 26
Veszprem County, Book on - 43
Vienna Districts - 52
Views of America & Burgenland - 35
Village Data - 16, 47B
Village Names - 38
Village photos - 18
Village Source, bibliography - 12
Villages - 3
Villages (early BB members') - 10, 11, 12
Villages, clues - 38
Visit, 1955 Reverse - 21,24
Visit Over the Hungarian Border (Hianzen Dialect) - 31
Volksfreund names - 47A, 47B
Volksfreund News Clips (A. Königshofer-also see Emigration & P'dorf) - 44B, 46, 47A
Waldburga, given name - 45
Wallern (BB) - 12
Wallern (village)-30, 45
Wedding, Hapsburg Heir - 22
Wends & Slovenes - 34
Wolf Family - 39B
Wolfau (BB) - 12
Wörtherberg - 43
Zahling - 52, 53A
Zahling Book - 42B
Zip Codes - 8
Zuständigkeit - 36

Newsletter continues as number 164B.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 164B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 12th Year - issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold)
June 30, 2007
(c) 2007 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved

This third section of our 3-section newsletter concerns:

1. Year 2497 - Burgenland Bunch Survives Retirement Of Founder
2. The Best From The BB News - Burgenland Dwellings
3. Holy Trinity Church - Passaic, NJ


1. YEAR 2497 - BURGENLAND BUNCH SURVIVES RETIREMENT OF FOUNDER

Membership Editor Hannes Graf writes:
I am sitting at my desk, listening to some Indian music and thinking to myself: "This is the same music I heard when I first read the Homepage of the Burgenland-Bunch!" So I take a look to the future, because I'm in a mood to dream.

In the year 2497, a couple will be sitting at a computer listening to music. They will search for some small forgotten place called "the Burgenland" and so try to get some answers to family history questions. The woman tells her husband "I know some stories, my grandma tells me about this place, where our ancestors came from. Let us look at the archives, maybe we can find something about this land."

They go to the Mega-Google and find a page called:

The Burgenland Bunch Genealogy Group 500th Anniversary!

Very interested, they read:

"500 Years ago, Gerry Berghold, a small man from Virginia had a good idea and he tried to make it become reality. He found a group of people with the same interests concerning this small province in Europe. He began to send Newsletters to them and today Newsletter number 8000 was published. From 50 members at the beginning, the group grew to 1500 in the first 10 years and today there are 15 million!"

Dear Gerry, it was really a good idea and good work, and I am proud to be a part of it for as long as I am able to help. liebe Grüße, hannes

(2497 Editor's comment: Following the retirement of Gerry Berghold in 2007, a wonderful staff of selected and talented volunteers continued the group, expanding and improving it far beyond its earlier status. With their retirement, they in turn were replaced with even more talented volunteers, ad infinitum, to the point where today the Burgenland Bunch is the oldest and best of all of the Family History Sites found on the new Solar System Internet of Shared Interplanetary Data. The Burgenland Auswanderung continues with interplanetary migration but the haunting melody "The Amerika Lied", heard when the site is opened, continues to be their theme song.)


2. THE BEST FROM THE BB NEWS - BURGENLAND DWELLINGS

QUESTION CONCERNING DWELLINGS
(From BB No. 26, Dec. 32, 1997, edited)

Margaret Kaiser writes: "I also note that in most cases, brides and grooms resided in the groom's parents household. Does anyone know if each house number is really for a particular building or does it represent something else? At times, it seems to me that the house must have been truly filled to the walls with residents."

Reply - Margaret, this question has been posed by others as well, so you have the benefit of getting an answer which I'll later use for an article in the newsletter. The data stems from various books and microfilms I've seen as well my memory and pictures of 23 family villages we've visited.

The houses were filled to the walls. A roof and a place for a bed was all that was necessary for sleeping, but infant mortality was appalling. There were large families, but many children did not reach adulthood. Also primogeniture forced younger children to go elsewhere early (about age 12-14 for apprenticeship or servant jobs). The average house (dwelling) consisted of 3 rooms (Maria-Theresianische Kolonistenhaus) - sometimes four (Josefinische Kolonistenhaus),
(1) a bedroom (father-mother-baby-younger children) - one main bed, crib, truckle (trundle) bed(s), chests, table, chair, wardrobe, lamp;
(2) a kitchen - was often main room (warmest), (grandparents slept here-truckle bed(s) plus more young children or just the girls), wall benches, table, wood stove, dry sink, chairs, chests, cabinets;
(3) a pantry or workroom (don't know if anyone slept there, but why not?) and
(4) on occasion, another chamber. In German, "Stube", "Ku"che", "Kammer".

Of course there were variations on these themes. There were other buildings often attached to the main house - a barn (even in the village), for hay & animals -which could contain a bedroom for adolescent boys. (My grandfather Sorger spoke of sleeping in a room in their barn in Rosenberg with his brothers and two uncles.) A covered front porch often ran the length of the main house (sleeping place for boys in summer) connecting kitchen entrance with barn. Peppers and onions would be strung and braided and hung up to dry there. There were outer sheds (wagon shed, work shop, outhouse, etc.) - some possible sleeping places for servants, if any. Often a wine and root cellar - probably too cold for sleeping. Even in the middle of a village, the houses were often more of a "farmstead" than just a house as we know it. They faced the main road

House numbers (introduced in the 1840's) were assigned to individual farmsteads (house plus barn plus outbuildings, there may also be a wall and a large carriage gate as stated above.) Buildings often enclosed a small court yard or Hof, (many paved today, but dirt years ago), the wagon was brought in at night and the gate locked. Wood would be bundled and stacked against an inner wall near the kitchen or under a roof overhang. These bundles contained branches from nearby woods which fell to the ground and were tied into bundles. Cllecting downed wood from the Count's woods was one of the "hold" rights.

The house number will often be found affixed to the upper right of the wall near the gate or on the upper right hand of the wall of the most prominent building facing the street). It is often stenciled white on blue or green. Many numbers remain the same today (150 years later) in the smaller places. Larger villages have changed numbers somewhat. When looking for a particular older house number, try the center of the village (near the old village well or pre-WW-II water source - water is now piped). During the time of governmental solicitation of settlers (reign of Maria Theresa and son Josef II), the government drew up house and village plans to be used for new construction. These plans show basically what I've just described. The LDS has a microfiche of them (LDS 6001514, German Settlement in Transdanubia, "Die Siedlungen des 18. Jahrhunderts im mittleren Donautal - Siedlungsgeschichtlichte Grundlagen", Prof. T. Miller, Weimar, 1947).

There are a number of period "museum" homes open to tourists in the Burgenland for a small fee. One that is especially nice is in Mörbisch on the Neuseidler See. Others are at the Frielichtsmusem at Gerersdorf near Güssing. Many former "peasant" dwellings are being modernized, some into weekend or vacation homes. I was told they can be bought for around $30-50K if derelict and modernized for about $100-150K! The main beams in one home I visited in Poppendorf were blackened and 14 inches square. Wood of this size is scarce today, indicating great age, although most villages in that region were burned in 1605 during the Bocskay Rebellion.

Some dwelling statistics: (from History of Vas County, 1898; Magyarorszag Varmegye'i e's Va'rosai Vasvarmegye, Sziklay e's Borovszky -LDS1045430)

Poppendorf - 108 dwellings; 805 German inhabitants (average 7.5/dwelling); Muhlgraben - 91; 632 German inhabitants (7); Ko"nigsdorf - 204; 1373 German inhabitants (6.7); Eltendorf - 136; 934; German inhabitants (6.9); Szt. Miklos - 45; 310 Germans (6.9).

(Editor's Current Additions: Since this was written, I have been a guest in many of the older Burgenland homes. All have been modernized with running water, electricity, baths, modern appliances, additional rooms, etc. I particularly remember the homes of Albert Schuch's aunt near Stegersbach and his parent's home in Klein Pertersdorf. Both of these homes have been expanded considerably, since Albert's father is a retired cabinet maker. His home looks small from the road but a series of rooms leads back to a large modern carpentry shop full of modern wood working machinery. There is now a garage and an apple orchard fills the rear of the property. A modern home in every respect. The Stegersbach home is different in that the Hof no longer exists. It has been replaced by a garden. There are two new bedrooms for visiting children. The home of Klaus Gerger's mother-in-law (Neustift bei Güssing) contains a modern bathroom just off of the entrance to the home as well as other modern additions. This is a stand-alone farmhouse on about 80-100 acres. Often improvements require gutting the entire house. My grandfather's home in Rosenberg still stands empty (partially renovated) and the structure's early days are still evident. One feature that has not been changed in any of these dwellings is an "inglenook" near the kitchen with table and benches that serves as a dining area and a place to welcome guests for some of that traditional Burgenland hospitality. Wine bottles and food appear on the table at all times during visits.)

Old peasant homes can still be found in the border villages - few in Hungary have been modernized. Many still have wells in front of the homes.

In contrast, the modern home of Dr. Walter Dujmovits in Stegersbach is laid out like a typical US stand-alone suburban home except that the lower level contains a large garage, the entrance hall and storage and work areas. A living room (with fireplace), dining room, library-den, kitchen and bed rooms are featured on the next level. Modern in every respect, the woodwork is superb and the design is typical modern Austrian. Hardware is distinctly European and very artistic. A garden and numerous plantings surround the dwelling. A monument in one garden shows the direction and mileage to Chicago!


3.HOLY TRINITY CHURCH - PASSAIC, NJ
   - From Frank Paukowits

Burgenlaenders started migrating to the Clifton-Passaic area in New Jersey around the turn of the century. Most were from southern Burgenland and the Güssing area. Many of the immigrants worked in the wool and textile mills and small factories that were concentrated in the area.

Religion was a very important aspect in their lives. When they arrived in America, most continued to worship and attend services in their new homeland. The church became a place where the newly arrived Burgenlaenders could gather with friends and family to continue the religious traditions of the "Heimatland". It was not uncommon then to establish national churches to accommodate the new immigrant population groups. On June 17, 1900 (Holy Trinity Sunday), several men from Passaic met with the Bishop of Newark to request that a national church be built for the German-speaking people in the area, and the request was granted. Appropriately, the name chosen for the new parish was Holy Trinity.

A temporary church was used for religious services until a permanent church could be built. In the spring of 1903 the cornerstone for the church was laid, and the church opened up for services in September of that year. Its first pastor was Fr. Joseph Hasel from Newark, and there were about 400 parishioners.

Shortly thereafter in 1906 a school was established in temporary quarters in the back of a barbershop near the church. It was very popular and attendance grew rapidly. To accommodate all the students, additional land was purchased adjacent to the church where a permanent school building was constructed.

Having a church where masses were said in their native tongue made the transition to their new homeland that much easier for the Burgenlaenders. Many of the Burgenlaenders who came to this area as young adults ended up being married at the church, baptizing their children there, and celebrating the most important events of their lives in that church.

While I lived in New York, I had many relatives who lived in Clifton and Passaic. As a result, I attended many religious functions at Holy Trinity Church, and even served as an altar boy at my cousin's wedding there more than 50 years ago. Also, since my mom lived in Clifton before getting married, my parents' wedding service was held at that church. Thus, my bond to the church is extra special.

The church is in excellent physical condition. It was renovated for its centennial celebration in the year 2000. The church basement is still used for the annual Weinfest that is held in early November. Walt Groeller from Whitehall, Pa. has been entertaining crowds at this function for the last 30 years. It's a tradition that people are not willing to give up.

More than 100 years have past since those first Burgenland immigrants attended services at Holy Trinity Church. While the neighborhood has changed and most of the old time Burgenlaenders have moved from the area, many still travel to the Church for Sunday services. The 10:00 AM mass is still said in German. The Church's pastor, Fr. Antonio Rodriguez, who is Spanish, speaks fluent German and is supportive of the needs of the old parishioners. The Burgenlaenders show their appreciation with continuing support of the church, in the tradition of the early Burgenlaenders who worshipped there many years ago.


END OF NEWSLETTER

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