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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 219 March 31, 2012, © 2012 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. Editor: Thomas Steichen Our 16th Year. The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online. It was founded by Gerald Berghold (who retired Summer 2008 and died in August 2008). |
Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 2048 * Surname Entries: 6933 * Query Board Entries: 4929 * Staff Members: 17 |
This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) THE HUNGARIAN EMIGRATION LAW OF 1903 3) THE FORGOTTEN BURGENLANDER (by Albert Schuch & Tony Schedl) 4) STEPHEN MORSE'S ONE-STEP TOOLS 5) DNA TESTING AND FAMILY STORIES (by Richard Potetz) 6) 2012 BURGENLAND GOVERNMENT DELEGATION VISIT 7) LDS FILMS SECTION UPDATED 8) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: GENEALOGICAL INSIGHT OF THE 1618-1648 THIRTY YEARS WAR (by Robert F. Unger) 9) ETHNIC EVENTS 10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  Concerning
this newsletter, we begin with an article about the 1903 Hungarian Emigration Law, a
law that forced much Hungarian emigration through the port of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) and
follow that with Tony Schedl's family story, an emigration that took a 60-year detour
through Croatia before ending up in America.We follow those articles with a note about Steven Morse's One-Step Tools and an DNA article by Richard Potetz that is a companion to Frank Paukowits' DNA article published last month. Next we report the essential features of the 2012 Burgenland Government Delegation Visit to North America (we will report further on the BB-specific events next month) and tell you about improvements to the BB's LDS Films Pages. Lastly, we provide our standard sections: Historical Newsletter Articles, and the Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries sections. I do, though, wish to draw strongly your attention to the article by Bob Unger on the Thirty Years War that is reprinted in the Historical section; it explains much of the motivation behind the early Germanic emigration to West Hungary.  Hannes Graf, retired BB staff member and newsletter editor, wrote in early March to say that he had suffered a heart attack, apparently from a blocked artery. Although he survived this event, he is very weak and does not yet know what the prognosis is. For the time being, he is setting aside his Internet/Burgenland activities to concentrate on getting better. As a result, he is forwarding all contacts concerning Burgenland research to the BB. The most recent message suggests he is slowly recovering strength. If you wish to write him and wish him well, his email address is burgenland.bunch@chello.at. I also have the unfortunate task to report that Heidi Hermann has decided to resign from the BB staff. She had taken on the role of Editor of the Members, Surnames and Villages pages in August, 2011, but the requirements of this task, coupled with a new job, the writing of her Ph.D. dissertation and family commitments proved to be too much. We wish her success in her new job and insight and swift progress on her dissertation, plus we offer our thanks for the contributions she made. Given that Heidi has resigned, I am once again searching for a volunteer with some minimal HTML experience (or the willingness to learn) to take on the job of editing one or more of these pages—a job that, once again, has fallen on me. Given my duties as Newsletter Editor and writer, plus duties as Homepage Editor and President, I would greatly appreciate someone stepping forward. If you have been looking for something to contribute to the BB, here is an opportunity. |
2) THE HUNGARIAN EMIGRATION LAW OF 1903 In March 1903, the Hungarian Parliament passed what was then considered to be the most restrictive emigration law in the world. For the first time, no citizen could lawfully leave the country without first notifying the government of this intention and then receiving permission to do so. The law also placed the business of emigration in the hands of the Government, with rules regulating and supervising every emigration manager and agent and prescribing the ways business could be conducted. Advertising and solicitation for emigration were forbidden, the accommodations furnished to the emigrants by transportation lines were specified, and the ports by which emigrants could leave was placed under government control. This was all done, ostensibly, for the protection of the emigrant, but was in reality for the purpose of enabling the Government to develop its own ports and transportation facilities and to decrease the volume of emigration. Prior to 1870, emigration of Hungarians to overseas destinations was so minuscule that the government did not track or restrict it (it has been reported, however, that emigration from the whole of the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not exceed 1000 per year). From 1871 to 1888, the primary ports of embarkation for Hungarians were Hamburg and Bremen, Germany, with less than 8,000 Hungarians emigrating before 1880 but rising to a total of 147,000 by 1888. Starting in 1889, the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Genova started serving Hungarian passengers, but these five ports only embarked about 137,000 Hungarians from 1889 through 1903; comparatively, Hamburg and Bremen combined for over 460,000 Hungarian passengers during the same period. But this was all to change, at least temporarily, with the passage of the 1903 law.  Data source: Emigration and remigration from the countries of the Holy Hungarian Crown 1899-1913. Budapest: Hungarian Royal Central Statistical Office, 1918. Hungarian statistical publications, vol. 67, p 47. The 1903 law gave the government the right to designate ports of emigration. By early 1904, the Hungarian port of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) was identified as the only government authorized and protected port of embarkation and the Cunyard Steamship Company was given a temporary but exclusive concession for transporting emigrants from Fiume to New York. As you can see in the chart above, emigration via Fiume suddenly exceeded 20,000 passengers in 1904 (the numbers prior to 1904 were so low that they were not tracked)... but emigration via all other ports crashed, with Bremen down over 32,000, Hamburg down over 10,000 and other ports down over 2,000, for a total reduction of over 44,000 Hungarian emigrants from these ports. Nonetheless, there were still some 75,000+ Hungarians who left from ports other than Fiume. Within a year, the population discovered that the new law was not being fully enforced and emigration over the next three years continued its rise to new highs, with 1907 recording nearly 210,000 passengers over all ports combined and Fiume recording nearly 50,000 emigrants in both 1906 and 1907. The opening of Fiume not only provided a new way to depart Hungary, it also caused Trieste, Liverpool, LeHarve, Cherbourg and Napoli to start competing for passengers. Rather than reducing the outflow of emigrants, the 1903 law created both new opportunity and increased competition! It would not be until the US depression of 1907/1908 (led by the 1907 Banker's Panic when Wall Street lost 50% of its value and loans were not available to businesses, causing many job opportunities to be lost) that emigration declined, with under 50,000 total Hungarian emigrants recorded in 1908. Soon, the advent of WW-I brought an end to this great wave of Hungarian emigration. But let us go back and better understand what led to the 1903 law. It was in 1832 that Emperor Francis Joseph the First issued the first emigration patent that recognized the concept of “legal emigration” in Austria-Hungary. That patent gave property rights to legal emigrants but at the price of a loss of citizenship. Totally “free emigration” did not become law until 1867, when the only restrictions imposed applied to potential military conscripts. However, although the Monarchy liberalized emigration, it never passed an all-encompassing law, and emigration continued to be partially regulated by the old 1832 law.  This
was unimportant before the development, starting in 1846, of railway systems in Hungary, since
people seldom had opportunity (except for military reasons) to travel long distances outside
the country. Consequently, there was no need for emigration laws or even a formal passport. A
simple reference written on a sheet of paper was still widely accepted in lieu of a passport
in the 1870s (in fact, that is where the Hungarian word for passport, útlevél, comes
from... it translates literally to road/travel letter). But, by 1880, over 3,500
miles of track had been laid in the Hungarian portion of the Empire, and long distance travel
had became a reality for the masses.The state responded slowly to the new phenomenon of organized large scale emigration. In March 1877, a decree was issued by the Habsburg government requiring the Catholic clergy to preach against mass emigration. Priests were expected to stress the hardships and sufferings which beset emigrants in America. Soon, border guards were ordered to interfere with, and even prevent, departure from the Empire. Then the government banned the instigation and advertising of emigration, including all brochures, fliers and newspaper ads. As early as 1895, travel agencies were explicitly ordered not to recruit emigrants, instigate emigration or sell “cargo hold tickets” on trans-oceanic ships of foreign flags. A law passed in 1897 forbade unauthorized emigration businesses and introduced a prison sentence for anyone encouraging emigration. As for passports, the traditional travel letters were sporadically replaced with formal passports starting in 1856. The passport was a small book consisting of several pages and containing a personal description in Hungarian and German and was valid not just for a single journey but for several. The passport was not necessarily related to foreign travel as it was useful inside the country. Even at the turn of the 20th century, a passport was not always needed for going abroad. It was a period of erratic regulation, characterized by the fact that rules relating to travel passes were based on common law; no detailed written rules existed. However, the futility of the government's efforts to stifle emigration and its lack of regulatory control became increasingly apparent as the economy continued to falter and the number of emigrants continued to rise. The Hungarian government had to modify its emigration policy. The migrant legislation in 1903 (and again in 1909) declared emigration "harmful" to the Hungarian economy but accepted its development as a "necessary evil" in order to alleviate the deplorable economic conditions. The Emigration Act was Law No. IV of 1903. (For an English translation, see page http://www.iarelative.com/hung1903/law_1903.htm.) The major provisions of its first chapter denied emigration to: (a) Those subject to military service, unless given a release by the respective competent authorities; (b) Those against whom either the judicial or police authorities have issued a warrant of arrest; (c) Minors without the written and officially legalized consent of their father or guardian and, if under fifteen year of age, unless they emigrate accompanied by a responsible adult and a future home is provided for them at their place of destination; (d) Those parents who intend to leave children under fifteen years of age at home without providing for their proper care; (e) Those who have not sufficient funds for the journey to the place of their destination; (f) Those who are promised, by the Government of any foreign country or by any colonization or similar company or by a private person seeking to organize colonization, free transportation in whole or in part or any advance of the cost of the trip. The chapter also required a passport and gave the government the right to "prohibit the emigration to any foreign country where the life, health, morals, or property of the emigrants may be placed in jeopardy" as well as to "restrict emigration in particular direction or directions as may seem best from the standpoint of health, or to protect the interests of the emigrant." The second chapter required "any person desiring to engage in the transportation of emigrants" to obtain a license granted by the Minister of the Interior, and laid out the rules concerning licensing. The third chapter laid out the legal relationship between a licensee and the emigrant, stating that a contractor can only transport an emigrant upon the authority of a written contract made in advance and forbidding a contract with a person having no passport. Another chapter addressed establishment of an Emigration Fund for "the relief of members of the families of emigrants who remain behind in poverty, for obtaining information for them as to those who have already emigrated, for providing employment, for founding asylums for them, and lastly, for covering partly or entirely the expenses of the destitute who desire to return to their native country." Yet another chapter defined multiple articles to be added to the Penal Code laying out punishment for anyone who violated the Act. The Passport Act, Law No. VI of 1903, was issued the same day as the Emigration Act, largely because passports were a requirement written into the Emigration Act. Section 3 of the Emigrant Act required that "every immigrant must supply himself with a passport"; section 24, on travel contractors, stated that "it is forbidden to enter into contract with persons having no passport"; section 30 stated that "the contractor is obliged to bring back, without extra charge, such persons as, notwithstanding the prohibition contained in section 24, are sent on without a passport" and section 34 designated "all unexpended balances received from issuing passports after deduction of stamp duty and fees" would go into the Emigration Fund previously mentioned. Still, however, the traveler who was able to pretend that he was crossing the border for some reason other than to emigrate could leave without a passport. Many took advantage, evading the law on emigration, and left the country illegally (i.e., without passports). Not surprisingly, the Emigration Act was attacked from all sides, accusing it, on one hand, of being written only for the benefit of the Cunyard Line and to ship off undesirables, and on the other hand, to unfairly restrict emigration and to increase its cost. An interesting response was written in 1906 by Baron Louis De Levay, the Royal Commissioner of Emigration. It was called The Hungarian Emigration Law (The North American Review, Vol. 182, No. 590, Jan 1906). To read it online, see http://www.jstor.org/stable/25105515?seq=1. As mentioned above, the Hungarian government passed another Emigration Act in 1909. With many provisions similar to the 1903 law, the 1909 Act also created severe penalties for men who avoided military service by illegally emigrating. In essence, it made it unlikely that such illegal emigrants would ever return home. Both the 1909 Emigration Act and the 1903 Passport Act theoretically remained in force until 1961, however, their impact on Burgenland ended in 1921 and likely became meaningless in occupied Western Hungary after WW-II. |
3) THE FORGOTTEN BURGENLANDER (by Albert Schuch & Tony Schedl) Ed. note: A version of the following article was first published in 2001 in the German-language journal "Kultur und Bildung, Die Zeitschrift des Volksbildungswerkes für das Burgenland" (Culture and Education, The Journal of the National Education Institutions for the Burgenland), a publication of Burgenländisches Volksbildungswerk [VBW] in Eisenstadt. The listed author was Albert Schuch, a member of our staff for many of the BB's early years, however, the article was written with the cooperation of Tony Schedl, a BB member, who recently shared the article with me. With Tony's consent and cooperation, I have translated that German article and present it below. Unlike the majority of our emigration stories, Tony's family story took a 60-year detour through the Slavonian region of what is now Croatia before ending up in America, with WW-II being the impetus that pushed the family here. Their story follows... The Forgotten Burgenlander About 120 years ago, many families migrated from the middle of Burgenland to Slavonia. Tony Schedl, a descendant living in the United States, talks about their fate. A 1932 note published by Egon Lendl, called "Burgenlanders among the German colonists of Slavonia," reported that about thirty families from Steinberg, Oberloisdorf, Unterloisdorf and Manner der Rabnitz had emigrated in 1883 to Uljanik. At that time, 1932, the town of about 850 residents was located in the Daruvar district and had, among a majority of Serbs, 170 who spoke German. One of the descendants of the Burgenland immigrants, Tony Schedl, who now lives in the US, learned recently through the internet society "Burgenland Bunch" about his relatives in the homeland of his ancestors, and would soon visit himself. He hoped to meet descendants of his emigrant great-grandfather, and also members of the Kogler, Fajmann, Humpelstetter and Grossmann families who emigrated with him. Tony Schedl's grandfather, Stefan, was about ten years old when he went with his parents, and perhaps a sister, to Uljanik, an ethnically-mixed settlement that was inhabited by Serbs, Croats, Hungarians and Germans. Stefan's older brothers and sisters—there were a total of eight or more Schedl siblings—were left behind in Oberloisdorf, according to tradition. His grandson, Tony Schedl, was born on December 20, 1942, in Uljanik. He grew up with the German dialect brought from the old country by his parents, but had also learned Croatian. His father, Anton, worked for short periods in the 1930s in Wiener Neustadt and, on those occasions, visited relatives in Burgenland. This was the only contact the family had with those "left behind" that Tony Schedl can remember.  Volunteer Fire Brigade of Uljanik, grandfather Stefan Schedl in the middle with the black shirt and big mustache. The ethnically-mixed composition of Uljanik led, before and during World War II, to a series of conflicts. In the summer of 1944, Tony Schedl's maternal grandfather and the older brother of his father were killed by partisans. Two uncles were conscripted into the German army and quickly came into Russian captivity, from which they were released after just two or three years because of their language skills. Tony Schedl's father, Anton, was not conscripted because his grandfather was too old to carry out the farming. The family left their Slavonian home on November 19, 1944, with the last German troops. The escape led initially to Namslau in the Breslau district of Silesia. As the Russian army began the decisive campaign in February 1945, father Schedl succeeded in organizing a horse and cart, with which the family left early in the morning; the place was occupied seven hours later by the Russians. Like millions of other refugees fleeing from the Russian troops, the Schedls rushed to the west. Mid-February, they arrived in Dresden, where they stayed only a few days before the devastating air attack. Tony Schedl says that the family owed their survival for a good part on the language skills of his mother, born a Kogler, whose father probably descended from Bernstein. Her mother was Hungarian and, in the multi-ethnic composition of Uljanik, she spoke a little Polish, Czech and Russian. So she could always organize something to eat. After six weeks, the family arrived in Wels, where a large number of locomotives were parked at the station. The Schedls survived several days at the station before they were taken into a jam and lemonade factory in Lichtenegg. Soon after, the station was bombed by the Americans.  Uncle
Johann Kogler, in Russian captivity since the end of 1944, was released in 1946 and found the
family through the mediation of the Red Cross in Wels. He worked for a time on a farm near
Wels while his health (he had lost half of his weight) was restored. Then he emigrated to
Toronto, Canada, where his son lives today. The Fajman family also went overseas and settled
in Gary, Indiana, while the Ernhardts (Mrs. Ernhardt was the sister of Tony Schedl's father)
later settled in Westphalia.The second uncle, Stefan Schedl, returned from captivity in 1946. Tony Schedl, who was just four years old at the time, remembers that day well: "I was with my older sister and her daughter, Louise Steffi, looking for rabbit food. We went along the road ditch toward Salzburg, where the nettles grow best. There we met a man who wore a dark red hat—it was Uncle Stefan". "Apartments were scarce and so the returnee had to make do for a while with a wooden bench for a bed," says Tony Schedl. "We had a one-room apartment in the turbine building, which was in the direction of Muhlbach at Lichtenegger Road 15. Aunt Midika and Aunt Maria, with her children and grandfather, also lived in one room." Therefore, since there was no place to live, Uncle Stefan and his family were given an apartment on the second floor of the 'Spanish riding school' in Wels. "When I was visiting, he always took me to see the beautiful white horses that he worked with, which were housed in clean stalls with stone floors. I can still remember that there were so many and all white. He called them the 'Dancing Horses'. They were the Lipizzaner." While the white horses remained in Wels until 1955, Tony Schedl's family emigrated to the US in March 1952, arriving in New Orleans after a ten-day crossing on the troop transport "General Blatchford." A farmer in Quail, Texas, gave the family, who spoke no English, work and housing. After six weeks, the Schedls were picked up by relatives, the children of Joe Bauer. This cousin of grandfather Schedl lived in Lenexa, Kansas, where he had settled before the first world war. He probably came from what is now Burgenland, as did the parents of a relative named Cisper (Zschischper), who also lived in Kansas. From Kansas the Schedls moved on to Chicago to live with relatives called Duch (Tuch), who had gone there in 1900, probably also from Burgenland.  Schedl family, 1952, before
leaving for the United States. Front and center is grandfather Schedl (with arms folded),
right behind is Tony Schedl.In 1960, the parents wanted to try Europe again but, after six months, they returned to Chicago. Tony Schedl spent three years with relatives in Germany and completed an apprenticeship in Stuttgart as a technical illustrator. For the past 27 years he has lived in Pittsburgh (Allison Park), where he works as an engineer. By 1960, he was able to visit cousins in Kriz and Zagreb and, two years ago, there was another reunion. Both times he was in Uljanik he stopped to see the house of his grandfather, his birthplace. Facing it was the house that his father had begun to build but had to leave unfinished in 1944. In 1960, it was still under construction. The village used to have a dirt main street, the elongated buildings strung on either side, each with its well out front, a small kitchen garden alongside and a barn behind. They abutted the fields and meadows of the village and nearby there was a little forest. The Yugoslav government sold the property of the Germans and Austrians who fled, so now strangers live in the houses. One seldom sees young people in the village, only a few elderly and some children. The fields lie fallow and the livestock is limited to a few chickens. The horses, cows and pigs are gone. "When I and my cousin from Kriz, who accompanied me, asked where their food comes from, they said that it is now all 'imported from other countries.' A sad picture, when once the immigrants from Burgenland produced their daily food themselves," says Tony Schedl. "My grandfather and the Koglers had the largest farms in the village, with meadows, fields, forests, vineyards and cattle, and now everything is imported." |
4) STEPHEN MORSE'S ONE-STEP TOOLS If you search for emigration records on the Ellis Island site using only the built-in search tool, you are doing yourself a disfavor. Why? Because the Ellis Island Gold Form, found on Stephen Morse's One-Step website is much, much, much better... and it is just one of the many tools he provides. Ellis Island's search tool is fine... if the name was indexed in exactly the form you have and the resulting link points to the correct ship manifest. But, if there are spelling, transcription or linkage errors or any other such common thing, my experience is that Steve Morse's tools, given their flexibility, gives you a much better chance to find the record. First, a little background... just who is this Stephen Morse fellow?  Well,
he is an amateur genealogist who, while researching his Russian-Jewish origins, became quite
frustrated because he could not find one particular immigration record. He is also a Ph.D.
Electrical Engineer who worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories, the IBM Watson Research Center,
GE's Corporate Research and Development, Compagnie Internationale pour l'Informatique in
France and Intel Corporation during his career. He also taught at CCNY, Pratt Institute in
Brooklyn, UC Berkeley, SUNY Albany, Stanford University, and San Francisco State University,
authored numerous technical papers and wrote four textbooks. But he is probably best known as
the architect of the Intel 8086 microprocessor that became the core of the first PC's and the
grandfather of many of the PC processors that followed. So you might suspect that he has the
skills to create a great computer-based tool.In fact, he wrote his first One-Step tool during the course of a single night in 2001 after his frustration at the slowness and inflexibility of early Ellis Island searches overflowed. He has since written many other tools, all free and all available on the One-Step website. To emphasize yet again how much better Steve's tools are, you should try putting in a fake, very strange name in the Ellis search and, when it comes back with no hits, check out the "Additional Search Tools" link near the top of that page... it will take you to a JewishGen page that, tah-daa!, links to some of Steve's One-Step tools! Not all of the tools apply to genealogy, but all provide improved access to databases on the web (in some cases, you must have an account with the organization that provides the database in order to see the results; databases on Ancestry.com are examples). The tools of interest for genealogy include 5 search forms for Ellis Island (each do different things; plus 3 forms that add in Castle Garden and other New York ship lists), 5 forms for Castle Garden alone, 3 forms each for passenger landing at Baltimore, Boston, Galveston, New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Francisco, sections with forms for searching US censuses, Canadian & British censuses and New York state censuses, a big section on vital records, a section on genetic (DNA) genealogy, a section specific for holocaust and Eastern Europe, plus sections on phonetic matching, foreign languages, and more. Even if these forms were not so much better, having centralized access to searches of so many collections is valuable in itself. (In fact, this article is taking me forever to write because I keep playing with the different tools!) But let's go back to the Ellis Island Gold Form... why is it better? For two types of reasons, mainly: 1) flexibility in identifying the person you are searching for; and 2) the ability to add qualifiers that eliminate inappropriate hits. For the Surname, you have one-click options for searching for a name that starts with or is what you enter, sounds like what you enter, is phonetically the same as what you enter, or (and think about this), you can leave it blank! This last option is quite useful if you want to see who else emigrated from a particular village or if you just can't imagine exactly how the surname was spelled 100 years ago or was mangled when it was written on the ship manifest and/or later transcribed into the search index. For the First Name, you again have the starts with or is, sounds like and blank options, but phonetic is replaced by contains (the real name contains the characters you entered). A unique feature is that the two next fields allow you to enter the name of a Traveling Companion (especially useful for finding families traveling together or reducing the number of hits for common names). These fields have the same one-click options as First Name field. Next you have fields for Ship Name and Port Name, should you know either of these. Then you have fields where you can enter ranges for Year of Arrival, Age at Arrival, or Year of Birth, as well as Marital Status and Gender. These are very useful in limiting the number of hits... but again, don't expect that what you believe is an exact arrival year, age or birth year will be what is on the manifest... give a short range around your "known" value! The next section provides check boxes for Ethnicity. For Burgenland searches, I usually check the Hungarian, Austrian and Croatian boxes (and only add in German if I fail with this more limited search). This feature is extremely useful in reducing inappropriate hits, so don't fail to select these boxes. The rest of the form lets you indicate what you'd like to see in the resulting listings of hits and how you would like records sorted (but the defaults are usually just fine). I often do searches just by selecting the appropriate ethnicity boxes and entering a few letters of the last name and village name... for Burgenland, you should do separate searches using both the German and Hungarian village names (and occasionally the Croatian name also). Use our BB Villages Pages to get the various names... but don't expect it to be spelled exactly right in the Ellis index regardless of language! The real power of the Gold Form is that it gives you the ability to devise complex search strategies using every bit of information you know, even if those bits are not fully accurate. So, if you have a tough research challenge, don't give up if you fail to find what you are looking for on the first pass; instead, consider how you can creatively define the search to get past potential errors... the Gold Form gives you the power but you need to put it to work! The above is merely a short primer on using the Ellis Island Gold Form... and does not even attempt to tell you about how the other One-Step genealogical forms work. However, Stephen Morse provides much more information at page About this Website and how to use it accessible on his main One-Step page. It is an entertaining read and I do suggest you review it, as it provides great strategies for using the full power of this suite of tools. I'll also note that Bob Unger provided an article in BB NL #152 from 2006, entitled "A Much Better Method for Searching Immigration Records" that reported on the early One-Step tools. |
5) DNA TESTING AND FAMILY STORIES (by Richard Potetz) I’ve crossed the line from genealogy hobbyist to genealogy fanatic—I recently spent four hours searching LDS tapes for an illegitimate birth in another person’s genealogy. It all began with a Y-DNA match in the Family Tree DNA Burgenland Project. Frank Paukowits’s article in last month’s Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, Finding a “Lost” Cousin, pointed out that DNA evidence casts doubt on an old story in my family. The story claims the POTETZ surname came to Burgenland with a French soldier named POTEZ. Y-  DNA
evidence connects me with Spencer Yost, whose most-distant-known patrilineal ancestor was born
in Unterzeming. A patrilineal ancestor is an ancestor in the father-son chain created because
the Y chromosome is only passed from father to son. My most-distant-known patrilineal ancestor
lived in Neumarkt a/d Raab, a village adjacent to Unterzeming. Five DNA molecules differ
between Spencer Yost’s Y chromosome and mine among the markers tested by Family Tree DNA. The
differences are due to mutations that occur naturally about once every three generations. The
most likely scenario fitting the DNA evidence is that Spencer and I share a paternal ancestor
who lived five- or six-hundred years ago, before surnames were adopted by common folks in
Hungary. That would be before France sent soldiers to Burgenland (which did happen in 1664),
casting doubt on my family story, a story told in Burgenland Bunch Newsletters # 204 and 205.The genealogy methods taught by the Burgenland Bunch verified Spencer Yost’s Unterzeming ancestry. In swapped emails, Spencer shared his family history; a history stored in memories and passed down by stories. Ellis Island records, census records, a marriage record, a naturalization record, and LDS tapes, together tie those stories to written records. Spencer’s great-grandfather, Joseph Yost, immigrated to Pennsylvania from Unterzeming in 1902. Identical birth dates, 8 March 1883, in Joseph Yost’s naturalization papers and the Unterzeming church record of the birth of Joszef Joszt, prove we correctly traced Spencer’s ancestors back to Unterzeming. One lesson learned from this genealogy search was the importance of checking original documents. The index for Hungarian births found on-line at https://www.familysearch.org incorrectly lists the birth year of Spencer Yost’s great-great-grandfather as 1856. The actual church record, as seen in LDS tape 700907, has the same day and month as found in the index but the year is 1857. Another advantage of viewing the actual record is that the house number is given, allowing the search to expand to other births, marriages and deaths at that home. I admit my first reaction to the DNA match was to search records of Spencer Yost’s paternal ancestors, looking for a surname taken from a mother. That would explain how Spencer Yost and I could have different surnames and still share a patrilineal ancestor who lived after surnames were adopted. A baby takes the surname of the mother in the case of an illegitimate birth. The Unterzeming church records, going back to 1816, show there were no illegitimate births for surname Yost, Jost, or Joszt. Nor were any found in my ancestry. Nor was there any record of an adoption. Illegitimate births are not rare in the old Burgenland area records we use to establish our genealogies. In some decades, illegitimate births are quite common. For example, in the five years, 1855 through 1859, there were 106 births listed in the Unterzeming church records; 17 of those were illegitimate, for a rate of 16 percent—high for those times but far less than the present illegitimacy rate of 40 percent in the United States. Church records can be misleading for a genealogist tracking paternal ancestry with DNA evidence. In a legitimate birth, the surname given the baby comes from the husband, who may not be the biological father. The baby then inherits the husband’s surname but not his DNA, a situation genealogists refer to as “false paternity.”  Some
possible circumstances would allow the story of French soldier to be true. The prediction that
our shared ancestor lived five- to six-hundred years ago is likely as an average, but
not certain for a specific case. DNA mutations are random and can only be predicted as
an average. There is a 30% chance that the ancestor Spencer Yost and I share lived after
1646.An unrecorded adoption, an illegitimate birth before available records, and false paternity are possible reasons the French soldier story could be true despite my DNA match with Spencer Yost. None of these scenarios would remove my link to the Potez name, a name found first in French records. Therefore, DNA evidence has not diminished my family history—the Potez story remains. Instead, another section has been added, the DNA connection with Spencer Yost, and his Unterzeming ancestors. Other DNA testing (using more than just the Y chromosome) has helped build my genealogy. My DNA, compared to the DNA of other people who had been tested, predicted a person named Stefan Steinerberger and I are related, between 3rd and 6th cousins. A long stretch of chromosome nine is identical in Stefan and me. Stefan is an Austrian student, born in Wels (in Upper Austria), working toward a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Bonn in Germany. Our family trees seemed to have no matching surnames but, after exchanging many emails, we uncovered a connection. Stefan learned from his relatives that one of his ancestors had come from what later became Burgenland. Stephan’s Burgenland ancestor was Rosina Mohapp, born in Oberdrossen in 1851, who had gone to Hatzendorf in southern Steiermark to work as a maid, later marrying Stefan’s Kalcher ancestor. Sankt Martin a/d Raab church records showed Rosina Mohapp’s parents to be Janos and Maria Mohapp. Maria was born at Eisenberg a/d Raab in 1824 to Franz and Susanna Taucher. TAUCHER was the missing shared surname! I knew Michael and Theresia Holtzman were my great-great-great-grandparents but I was not sure of Theresia’s maiden name. I had marriage records for their son Franz (born in 1813) and daughter Theresia (born about 1819). Only the birth record of another child, who was likely theirs, gave a maiden name: Sankt Martin church records showed the 1830 birth of Anna Holtzman to parents Michael Holtzman and Theresia Taucher. I was fairly sure this was the same Theresia whose maiden name had not been included in the birth record of her other children... but not sure enough to enter that Taucher name in my genealogy. I only became sure after I saw Stefan Steinerberger’s one solitary family tree branch reaching to Burgenland and the Taucher surname. Stefan and I have not yet found our specific shared ancestor, but we both have Taucher ancestors who lived in the same place almost two hundred years ago. Connections made with DNA science complement conventional genealogy in a very satisfying way. More connections will be made as more people have their DNA tested. Ed. Addendum: Coincidental to Richard writing the above article, wherein DNA results appear to be in some conflict with the family tradition that the Potetz line may have originated in France, I was involved last month assisting Pierre Fortin, of Laval, Quebec (part of the Montreal metro area), who was researching a Sylvester Attleman Fortin whose ethnic origin was in doubt but was believed to have been born in Schwarzenbach, Lower Austria, on 5 Dec 1882. Pierre Fortin traces his own ancestry back to France, so this birth Austrian location was quite unusual. There is a current-day Schwarzenbach within a mile of the Burgenland border (which is why Pierre contacted the BB), being about 2 miles from both Sieggraben (in Mattersdorf) and Kobersdorf (in Oberpullendorf), and another Schwarzenbach (an der Pielach) in Austria that is about 60 miles from Burgenland. A search of available records showed a Silvester Fortin (and a Michael, likely his brother) had emigrated from Schwarzenbach, Austria, in 1906; subsequent records strongly tied this Silvester to the reported birth date. There was, however, a curious thing on the emigration record: the ethnicity was listed as Slovenian. A little research, though, showed that the close-in Schwarzenbach, Austria, had Slovenian ties. However, to complicate matters, the available genealogical records also showed Holland and Italy as reported places of birth for Sylvester! I shared all this back with Pierre and the BB staff, including sources, and the next day received a phone call from Pierre thanking me for my efforts and noting that the family hearsay was consistent with the data I provided but was not based on any documentation... but now it was. He was quite appreciative. A few days later, Pierre wrote again to say there was
a surprise... a big surprise! A Fortin "cousin" from Sylvester's line (a great-grandson) had
just received his DNA results. I'll quote part of the "cousin's" note (my highlights added):
Armed with that information, the "cousin" did some more research and discovered clear
evidence that his great-grandfather was indeed born in Schwarzenbach, Austria, but one that
today is known as the town of Črna na Koroškem, Slovenia, and is located just south of
the current border in what was part of the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia (so the
reported Slovenian ethnicity makes sense); it was in Austria until after WW-I. Although my
1910 Military Map shows that town by the Schwarzenbach name (once you know where to look, you
can find it), the name did not appear in the concordances/gazetteers (like JewishGen
ShtetlSeeker) that I had earlier checked (I looked again), which is why I was not aware of it. |
6) 2012 BURGENLAND GOVERNMENT DELEGATION VISIT As they do every five years, the Burgenland Government recently sent a delegation to visit Burgenland-emigrant enclaves in North America. The 2012 visit ran from March 18th to the 26th and included stops in Toronto, the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and New York City. As in past visits, the delegation was headed by Burgenland Governor Hans Niessl. He was accompanied by other politicians and support staff, plus Walter Dujmovits, the BG’s President, and our own Klaus Gerger, as well as an ORF TV team and an Austrian newspaper reporter. The full delegation consisted of: Hans Niessl, Landeshauptmann [Governor] Mag. Michaela Resetar, Landesrätin [State Councilor] Dr. Peter Rezar, Landesrat [State Councilor] Andreas Liegenfeld, Landesrat [State Councilor] Dr. Robert Tauber, Landesamtsdirektor Wirklicher [State Office Director, Real Councilor] Dr. Walter Dujmovits, President, Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hofrat [Councilor] Ing. Klaus Gerger, Burgenländische Gemeinschaft Veronika Maria, press spokeswoman of Governor Niessl Richard Vlasits, Oberamtsrat, Protokoll [Second Secretary, Protocol] Sandra Reif – trip organizer from travel agency Blaguss Sabine Oberhauser – reporter Kronen Zeitung (the largest Austrian newspaper) Walter Schneeberger – managing editor of ORF Burgenland Josef Pehm – ORF Burgenland cameraman * ORF = Austrian Broadcasting (Österreichischer Rundfunk), the Austrian national public service broadcaster. From Sunday through Tuesday, the delegation visited in Toronto, where they had dinner with delegates of various Toronto Burgenländer Clubs, went on a sight-seeing trip with Toronto Burgenländers, celebrated Heimatabend with the Burgenländer Clubs and closed with a trip to the town of “Niagara on the Lake,“ a visit to a winery and lunch and sight-seeing at Niagara Falls. On Wednesday and Thursday, the delegation was in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, beginning with a lunch with delegates of the Burgenland Bunch and an anniversary event at the Northampton Liederkranz club house on Wednesday followed by a Thursday sight-seeing trip through the Lehigh Valley, a lunch meeting with the Mayor of Northampton and representatives of the Burgenländer clubs and ending with an anniversary event at the Coplay Sängerbund at their club house (the 95th anniversary of the club and the 20th anniversary of the Hianz'schor). Friday though Monday, the delegation was in New York City, with a dinner with delegates of New York Burgenländer Clubs on Sunday evening, a day of official appointments and sight-seeing on Saturday, Sunday morning attendance at a German mass with fellow Burgenländers followed by an Agape gathering and an evening 75th anniversary event for the “Brüderschaft der Burgenländer” in the Bronx. Monday kicked off with a visit to the Austrian Culture Forum before catching a plane back to Vienna and the Burgenland. Most events were by invitation only and the few open events had limited space available, which is why I did not advertise the visit in the newsletter. Two of the events directly involved the BB staff: the lunch with BB delegates in the Lehigh Valley and the event at the Northampton Liederkranz, where the Burgenland government honored some of the BB staff for their commitment and contributions to maintaining a connection to Burgenland. Among current BB Staff in attendance were Frank Paukowits, Fritz Königshofer, Margaret Kaiser, John Lavendoski, Bob Strauch and myself. In addition, we were joined by Ed and Frank Tantsits, who have made important contributions to the BB. Like past visits, this event was fun and provided an opportunity for some of the staff to visit in person. Perhaps in five years, we can do it all again... but maybe not. Ed Tantsits tells me that "the Liederkranz membership is dwindling and the membership is no longer of Austrian heritage. At the Sängerbund, the membership is quite large because of the Friday dances for the over 21 group. At both clubs many officers are no longer of the Austrian lineage." It may be that the days of Burgenländer clubs and official delegation visits are coming to an end... but let's hope not! Ed. Note: Most of the above was written prior to the Delegation visit. A more complete discussion about the events involving the Burgenland Bunch will be provided in the next newsletter, as will pictures from the full visit. Family issues in Minnesota require my immediate involvement and preclude adding more to the report right now. |
7) LDS FILMS SECTION UPDATED The BB has had for a number of years a section listing all the known LDS microfilms for Burgenland villages and for some of the adjacent Hungarian villages that served as recordkeeping locations for Burgenland villages (see http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/LDS/LDS.htm). The original pages derived from material developed by brothers Ed and Frank Tantsits of Allentown and Bethlehem, PA, later supplemented by Margaret Kaiser to add the adjacent Hungarian villages. Ed and Frank divided their information by current-day Burgenland district and, within those districts, into two sub-parts: 1) a top section listing villages based on the civil administrative structure in current-day Burgenland, which also included the villages where the records were kept; and 2) a bottom section listing the microfilm numbers for those villages that kept records. The basic organizational/search idea was to go to the records for a district, find the village of interest, observe where the records were kept, then go to the lower section and discover the appropriate film numbers. There is nothing particularly wrong about this approach except that most of us don't know Burgenland's civil administrative structure so had a hard time finding the village we wanted in the upper section, especially if the village of interest wasn't an administrative village. Administrative villages were (mostly) alphabetically ordered but sub-villages were indented under these parents, requiring a manual search of all entries until you found the sub-village you wanted. However, for the purposes of finding LDS film numbers, the civil administrative structure is really immaterial. What we really needed in the top section was a straightforward alphabetical listing of the villages along with the references to the appropriate villages where the records were stored. Creating such an alphabetical listing was the primary purpose of the recent update—and that was done. A secondary purpose was to give the pages a cleaner, more modern look and to add a bit of instruction/help on the use of the pages; this was done too. Along the way, the film number entries were reviewed and given a descriptive bit of text so you would know whether the film documented Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Civil or other types of records; the added descriptive text also included the time-span a particular film covered. This review process led to a few corrections and additions (the additions likely being recent additions to the LDS collection of films). Having done all that, I also added a direct link to the LDS section in the Button Bar near the top of the BB Home Page. Hopefully, these changes will direct users to the appropriate film numbers more efficiently. And, if you want to know, you can still find a village’s administrative village by looking under the Civil (GV) column. Please let me know if you find any errors, missing/incorrect data, etc. Also, let me know if there are some additional adjacent Hungarian villages that served as repositories for records of Burgenland villages and should be included in our listings. |
8) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Editor: This is part of our series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of 10 years ago. In this case, I did not find anything in the March 2002 edition that I wanted to share again so, as I've done in the past, I went back into the earliest editions, this time plucking an article from 15 years ago, edition #9 from March 1997. The article, by BB Staff member Bon Unger, explains and provides one of the more probable causes of German migration to the Burgenland during the post 1650 period. THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 9 Mar. 30, 1997 A GENEALOGICAL INSIGHT OF THE 1618-1648 THIRTY YEARS WAR (by Robert F. Unger) While attending a monthly meeting of the San Diego German Research Association, the guest speaker, Dee Semon, stressed that genealogy can be either dry facts, such as listings of names and dates, or it can become much more exciting when coupled with history, i.e. - what was happening at that time, what stressful situations did your ancestors face, what were their options, what prompted them to do this or that, etc. To emphasize her point, she made a comparison between the World War II holocaust and the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). She indicated that most persons in the audience were probably old enough to have either known about or actually experienced the atrocities of the holocaust. Then she asked if we were aware of the fact that the atrocities during the Thirty Years War were as bad, or worse than, those inflicted on humans during the holocaust. That statement shocked most in the room, so she challenged us to do some reading about the Thirty Years War and learn what our Germanic ancestors faced during that era. The comments [below] about the Thirty Years War were drawn from the following five references: (1) Thirty Years War, by Henrik Tikkanen, ISN 0-88029-296-2; (2) The Rise and Fall of the Habsburg Monarchy, by Victor-Lucien Tapié, translated by Stephen Hardman, (3) Austria, A Country Study, U.S. Government Printing. S/N 008-020-01345-5; (4) The New Cambridge Modern History - The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 940.2; and (5) Germany and Austria, Historical Background Affecting Genealogical Research, by The Genealogical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From the time of the earliest movement of Germanic and Slavic tribes into central Europe until almost modern times, the Germanic area had been the scene of constant migration of people from one locality to another. To a large degree this action was prompted by rivalry among the numerous rulers of small earldoms and principalities which caused considerable unrest. A lack of space was a problem in many Germanic areas, making it extremely difficult for families to survive, and this ultimately became a major reason for the migration of the Germanic populace. The Protestant Reformation also had a major influence on the migration of the Germanic and other European peoples.  The
Reformation began during the first quarter of the sixteenth century, when Martin Luther became
frustrated by what he viewed as corruption and abuses in the organization and doctrine of the
Roman Catholic Church. He then made serious attempts to bring reform to the Church. Luther
failed to accomplish his purpose, but as a result of his efforts, part of the Roman Catholic
Church in Germany broke away from the main body and adopted his teachings. This eventually
established the Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed churches. Rulers of many of the
kingdoms and dukedoms in Germany followed Luther and took their subjects with them into this
new religion. (Ed. [Gerry] note - under Feudal law "cuius regio, eius religio"; "he who
reigns decides upon religion", viz the south Burgenland Lutheran Congregation formed by the
Batthyánys while the north under the Esterhazy's remained Catholic).My ancestors were Lutheran, documented by the fact that their birth, baptismal, marriage and death records are maintained by the Lutheran Church (Martin Luther Kirche) located in a town now known as Eltendorf (Hungarian Körtvelyes), Austria. These records date back to 1780 and serve as the records for at least three generations of Ungers. Thus, it can be presumed, with a relatively high degree of certainty, that my ancestors took part in the Germanic migration and the Thirty Years War. We are fortunate that these ancestral records were found, because during migrations record keeping was difficult. This was especially so during the Thirty Years War, because during that period a great number of churches and records were destroyed. During the period of the Thirty Years War, there were two major classes in Europe. One class consisted of the rulers and land owners. The other was the poor class of dependent laborers and servants, or the feudal serfs. The serfs had no freedom of choice (Ed. [Gerry] note - they were not given their freedom in Austria-Hungary until 1848). They had to obtain permission of their lord if they wanted to move to another place; but in spite of this, many did flee without permission. The Thirty Years War started over religious issues, then escalated to issues of power and political domination. The war essentially started when the emperor, Ferdinand, decreed, "Protestants in the Kingdom have the choice of conversion to Catholicism or to be exiled." This decree caused havoc because Protestants were the majority in many areas. As a consequence, wealthy Protestant land owners and their followers faced the decision of either converting to Catholicism or fleeing to where religious freedom prevailed. However, fleeing would mean giving up land holdings and other elements of wealth. When they fled, havoc became widespread because various Catholic religious orders fought each other for the spoils. In addition, land owners, i.e., Dukes, Lords, Princes, etc. saw the opportunity to increase their holdings, so they also sought the spoils, creating an even greater problem. During most of the Thirty Years War, fighting took place in the areas we now know as Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, France, Denmark and the Netherlands. One of the major ruling powers in Europe at that time were "The Habsburgs." The Habsburgs are primarily recognized as the rulers of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, but their "family" influence and power extended to other parts of Europe. Many of these other areas became part of the Habsburgs' holdings via dynastic marriages. To comprehend the political environment during the time of the Thirty Years War, it is necessary to understand that Europe was not always totally controlled by kings and emperors. Often many of the "laws of the land" were the results of actions by "Diets," formal assemblies for discussing or acting upon public affairs. There were local Diets who took care of local matters, and the general Diets, who handled the major far reaching laws. For example, when an Emperor or King died without a male heir, the "Diet" would convene and select a successor. Delegates to the "Diet" included representation from royalty and from a group comprising Dukes, Lords, Princes, etc. This later group acquired their titles and land holdings mainly through marriages, rewards for accomplishments, war, wealth, etc. Rewarding land was essentially an early employee benefit or profit sharing plan. Emperors and King often acquired their wealth via taxation or from the spoils of war. To reward their subjects for their achievements, the Emperor or King had the option of paying off with either cash or land holdings. Over time these land rewards created a ruling class of its own and collectively they represented the most powerful influence, but often they were more interested in maintaining or increasing "their individual share." As a result it was difficult to join forces for a common cause. Religious influence was another major factor and the "Papal Court" attempted to leverage its power within the "Diets" to promote rulers or laws that favored Catholicism, and the Protestants did the same type of lobbying. Thus, at the outset of the Thirty Years War, the Catholics succeeded when a decree by Emperor Ferdinand removed the Protestants from high positions and replaced them with resolute Catholics. (Ferdinand took this action because of his dominant character and his military might, versus the weak will of the Diet.) The Protestants, though numerically the stronger, were unfortunately not united. Thus, this "political war" for dominance preceded the fighting war. The fact that the Thirty Years War lasted so long, 30 years, made a major impact on all humanity in Europe. The detail of the fighting and the battles is a topic beyond the scope of this genealogical effort. But the human atrocities during the Thirty Years War do have a place in genealogy, by citing the conditions with which our Germanic ancestors had to deal in order to survive. My Grandfather's brother's wife wrote in her records the following, "Grandparents migrated from Leipzig and Frankfurt areas of Germany during the 30 years religious wars when Protestants had to flee to keep from being killed."  La Pendaison (The Hanging), the 11th of 18 plates in the series, Les Grandes Misères de la guerre (The Great Miseries of War), Jacques Callot, 1632. Les Grand Misères depict the destruction unleashed on civilians during the Thirty Years' War. To conduct the war it was necessary to: (1) impose new levies on all subjects, (2) raise troops at home, and (3) hire mercenaries from abroad. This caused general discontent and resulted in peasant uprisings. At the same time the armies recruited mercenary soldiers from both the men of the towns and the rural communities - people without employment and with a taste for adventure, who responded when they were assured that they would be paid and would enjoy a degree of impunity in their treatment of the civilian population. Often due to poor military morale or leadership and/or troops not being paid or fed, circumstances of invariable confusion prevailed, and some troops resorted to pillage, either in defiance of their officers' instructions or as a result of their complaisance.  One
example of military horror involved Lord Liechtenstein. This former Protestant who had been
converted to Catholicism, and whose treatment of his former co-religionists was therefore all
the harsher, established a regime of terror. As a consequence, a special court was created to
deal first with the rebel leaders. Then in June 1621, twenty-one persons, including three
great lords (the rest were knights and citizens), were executed in the square of the Old Town;
their bodies were mutilated, their heads and limbs exposed for years on the gates of the
city's bridge. The severity of their punishment was atrocious, but, it was reported to be "in
accordance with the customs of the time!"During the Thirty Years War there were a number of terms of peace signed. For example, a peace treaty was signed at Prague on 31 May 1635. At that time it seemed that national sentiment had overcome religious rancor in the hearts of men, as if the people of Germany, exhausted by suffering and violence, desired only the end of war, departure of foreign troops, and the restoration of peace in the Empire. They had seen too many towns burned and pillaged, too many estates abandoned, and too many epidemics and famines. They had witnessed armies of both sides indulging their sadistic inclinations by torturing the peasants with the wicked stupidity which uncouth people of this period showed toward animals. But this 31 May 1636 peace treaty did not last and the war went on for 13 more years of human suffering. A book by Grimmelhausen, The "Adventures of Simplex Simplicissimus", presents an authentic picture of these horrors which is corroborated by the revelations of historical documents. It has been recorded that the civilian population was subjected to horrors beyond imagination. There were too many dead and not enough men to bury them, and food was so scarce that they at times resorted to eating the dead, snails, frogs, grass, or anything they could find. Often when villages were pillaged, all children were killed so that they would not grow up to add to the number of an opposing religion. An accurate number of lives lost during this war was never documented, but a modern historian has estimated that the population of Germany sank 40% in the countryside, and 33% in the cities. Ultimately the war ended with peace in 1648. It is concluded that "all" were so tired and utterly devastated by the long 30 years of war that peace at any price would be better than continuing the war. Protestants regained their right to their religious freedom and they could once again coexist with the Catholics. It was reported that this coexistence "was strengthened when Catholics and Protestants ignored the Pope's solemn protest against the clause in the peace treaties which he considered injurious to the Catholic church. The claim of a supranational religious authority to interfere in affairs of state was rejected." It was very depressing reading about all the hardships our Germanic ancestors had to endure. Now, having some insight of the Thirty Years War, one can reflect back upon what was mentioned earlier in this text, about Grandfather's brother's wife, who wrote in her records, "Grandparents migrated from Leipzig and Frankfurt areas of Germany during the 30 years religious wars when Protestants had to flee to keep from being killed." Considering the fact that she was born on August 9, 1878, 230 years after the end of The Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648), proves that the impact of that war stayed with the Unger family for many generations. She also wrote in her records that "they left Europe because they wanted a better life and did not want their sons impressed into the military." (Ed. [Gerry ] note: The same comments re "religious reasons" were made to me by older Burgenländers of both faiths in the Burgenland. Also, in a Lutheran Berghold marriage record from Kandel, Bavaria in 1659 is an annotation "Father of the groom, deceased, was Jacob Berghold, a cavalryman of the army of the prince of Weimar {a figure in the 30 Yrs. War}. Some time prior to 1693, Bergholds also emigrated to the Eltendorf area. It would be remarkable if we could prove that the Ungers and Bergholds (and others?) migrated together as part of a group fleeing the deprivations following the war. Bob Unger has done a fine job of explaining one of the most probable causes of German migration to the Burgenland during the post 1650 period.) After this historical research, and the writing of this report, I now have a greater understanding of genealogy, related historical events, and the ancestral involvement. The more that you learn about the events that shaped our ancestors' lives, the more history will mean to you. |
9) ETHNIC EVENTS LEHIGH VALLEY, PA (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Sunday, Apr 22: Spring Concert and Dance at the Reading Liederkranz. Music by the Reading Liederkranz Chorus, guest choruses, and the Joe Weber Orchestra. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com LANCASTER, PA First Tuesdays, Apr 3, 5:30-7:30 pm: All you can eat Buffet. Entertainment by Carl Heidlauf on Piano. ~ Open to the Public ~ $10 ($12 guests). Lancaster Liederkranz, 722 S. Chiques Rd, Manheim, PA. lancasterliederkranz@verizon.net, 717-898-8451. Friday, Apr 13: Entertainment. Lancaster Liederkranz. Musical Entertainment by Hans & accordian. Saturday, Apr 14: "Ein Abend in Wien" at the Lancaster Liederkranz. Music by the Walt Groller Orchestra. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com Friday, Apr 20: Entertainment. Lancaster Liederkranz. Music by Ellis Woodward. Saturday, April 28: Spring Concert and Dance at the Lancaster Liederkranz. Music by the Lancaster Liederkranz Chorus and Die Immergrün Musikanten. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com NEW BRITAIN, CT Friday, Apr 6, 7 pm: Heimat Abend. $3. Austrian Donau Club, 545 Arch Street, New Britain, CT, (860) 223-9401. Music by Joe Rogers and his band. Hot food is available from the kitchen (Wursts & Lent Option). Sunday, Apr 8, 8 am - Noon: Sonntag Frühstuck. Austrian Donau Club. Come enjoy breakfast. Friday, Apr 20, 7:30 pm: Heurigan Abend. $3. Austrian Donau Club. Music by Schachtelgebirger Musikanten. Hot food is available from the kitchen. Friday, Apr 27, 7 pm: Heimat Abend. Austrian Donau Club. Food & Entertainment TBA. Tuesdays at 7 pm: Men's and Women's Singing Societies meet. Austrian Donau Club. Thursdays at 7 pm: Alpenland Tänzer (Alpine Country Dancers) meet. Austrian Donau Club.
Sunday, Apr 15: Annual General Meeting of the Toronto Burgenlaender Club,
held at the Schwaben Club. |
10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Gustav Göllisz  Gustav
Göllisz, a longtime resident of Glendale, NY, passed away on February 27th, 2011, on Long
Island. He was born February 1, 1934 in Güssing, Austria. Mr. Göllisz is survived by his wife Pauline (née Rielich) and 3 children; Gustav, John and Elizabeth Pallone. He was also a loving grandfather of Jillian, Stefan and Renee. A funeral service will take place on Thursday, March 1st at 10:30 am. Final disposition will take place at Fresh Pond Crematory, Middle Village, NY. Theresa Kastelberger (née Karner) Theresa
Kastelberger (née Karner) passed away peacefully on February 24, 2012 at the age of
eighty-five, in a nursing home on the south shore of Montreal.She was born in Wolfau, Austria on March 28, 1926 and immigrated to Canada in 1931. Theresa is pre-deceased by her beloved husband of 50 years, George Kastelberger. She is lovingly remembered by her three children Lydia (Bernard), Ronald ( Linda), and John (Gabriella), her seven grandchildren, Francis (Véronique), Laura (Miro), Sara (Victor), Jenny, Jessica (Jeff), Lisa (Mitchell), and Julia, and her four great- grandchildren, Olli, Miko, Victoria, and Michael, and her two sisters-in- law, Eva (late John) and Maria (late Peter). In her very simple and loving way, mom touched the lives of all family and friends. Visitation will be held on Friday, March 2, 2012 from 5 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A service will be held at the chapel on the same site at 1 p.m., followed by a reception at: Mount Royal Funeral Complex, 1297 Chemin de la Foret, Outremont, Quebec, H2V 2P9, (514) 279-6540 (www.mountroyalcem.com). In lieu of flowers, a thoughtful donation to the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Published in The Gazette on February 29, 2012 John Urbauer John
Urbauer, age 88, born in Buchschachen, Austria, WWII U.S. Army Veteran. Beloved husband of the late Caroline A., née Fencl (2008); loving father of Lynette (Al) Van Koningsveld and the late John (Debra) Urbauer; dear grandfather of David, Lauren, and Jennifer Urbauer and Jon Van Koningsveld; fond brother of Joseph (Carmen) and the late William (Betty); dear uncle of four nieces. Retired lifelong employee of Container Corporation of America. Member of American Legion Evergreen Park Post #854. Visitation Thursday from 3 to 9 p.m. Funeral Service Friday, 10 a.m. at Colonial Chapel, 15525 S. 73rd Ave. (155th/Wheeler Dr. and Harlem) Orland Park, IL with Pastor Gordon Reif officiating. Interment Fairmount-Willow Hills Cemetery, Willow Springs, IL. Memorials to Peace Memorial Church, Palos Park, IL. Express your thoughts and condolences at www.colonialchapel.com, 708-532-5400. Published in Chicago Tribune on March 7, 2012 Margaret Bakan Margaret
(Buchesz) Bakan, age 79, died on Sunday, March 4, 2012, at JFK Medical Center in Edison, New
Jersey.Born in Alsószölnök (Unterzemming), Hungary, she settled in Elizabeth, moving to North Plainfield in the early 1960's when she married her husband Eugen Bakan. Prior to retiring, Margaret worked as a Nurses Aid at McKutchen Nursing Home in North Plainfield. She was a communicant of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield and loved singing in the church choir. She was a past member of Saenger Hall in North Plainfield and enjoyed gardening, homemaking and cooking in her spare time. She was predeceased by her husband Eugen Bakan in 2005, and her brothers, Josef and Imre Buchesz. Survivors: her daughter Lili Bakan of N. Plainfield; a sister in law, Margaret Buches of Bethlehem, PA; a brother, Ferenc Buchesz of Hungary; a nephew Joseph Buches, Jr. of Philadelphia, PA and a goddaughter, Rose Nagy Szabo of Bethlehem, PA. Services: Visitation will be held on Monday, March 12 from 9-10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in North Plainfield, followed by a Mass of Resurrection at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Westfield, NJ. To send condolences go to www.higginsfuneralhome.com Published in Morning Call on March 10, 2012 Gottlieb Burits Gottlieb
Burits of Rockledge, Pennsylvania died on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at Holy Redeemer Hospital
in Meadowbrook. He was 88 years old.Gottlieb was born December 20, 1923 in Grossmürbisch, Burgenland, Austria, the son of the late Johann and Josefa (Lindner) Burits. He is the beloved husband for 51 years of Lotte (Buehner) Burits. Father of Linda Burits (Mike Morris), and Monica Rotzal (Bob). Grandfather of Alex, Adam and Paul Rotzal, and Heidi Morris. He is also survived by his brother, Anton Burits. Gottlieb was born, raised, and educated in Austria. He and Lotte would have been married for 52 years in May of 2012. Gottlieb and Lotte opened the Austrian Village Restaurant in Rockledge on August 26, 1972. The restaurant has been a fixture in the community ever since. Gottlieb and Lotte’s daughters and their families are continuing the tradition of service at the restaurant today. Gottlieb was a member and past president of the Tiroler Beneficial Society and was a member of Austrian Society and Northeast Lions Club. Gottlieb was engaged in most aspects of the Austrian and German communities and clubs in the Philadelphia area and its suburbs. Relatives and friends were invited to a visitation on Sunday, January 8, 2012 from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. at the Austrian Village Restaurant, 321 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046. Parking for the visitation was made available on the restaurant parking lot and was also available at the Wetzel and Son Funeral Home, 419 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046, one block from the restaurant. Relatives and friends were also invited to his viewing on Monday, January 9, 2012 from 9:30 A.M. and to his Funeral Mass at 10:30 A.M. at St. Cecilia Church, 535 Rhawn Street, Philadelphia, PA 19111 www.stceciliafc.org. A graveside service followed at Lawnview Cemetery, 500 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046 www.cemeteryco.com. Donations to the cardiology department of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are preferred in lieu of flowers and may be made in his memory to CHOP Foundation Cardiology Department, Lock Box 1352, PO. Box 8500, Philadelphia, PA 19178. www.giftofchildhood.org. John Neubauer John
“Hans” Neubauer, 73, of The Villages, Florida, died Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.Mr. Neubauer was born in Sumetendorf, Austria. He moved to New York from Austria in 1965, then to The Villages in 2003 from New Paltz, N.Y. He was a retired auto mechanic, enjoyed playing golf and belonged to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, the German Club and had belonged to the Elks in the past. Survivors include his wife, Susanne, and two brothers, Fritz, New York, and Alois, Austria. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Wildwood. Arrangements are under the direction of Banks/Page-Theus Funerals and Cremations, Wildwood. Anna Fleischmann Anna
Fleischmann, age 91, of Sedalia, Missouri, passed away Monday, March 19, 2012 at Fair View
Nursing Home.Anna was born on August 13, 1920 in Grosspetersdorf, Burgenland, Austria the youngest child of Frank and Theresia (Krolick) Steurer. She arrived in the U.S. on Christmas Eve, 1927. One of her most interesting memories was of the arrival hall at Ellis Island decorated for Christmas, a memory she shared with her family during a visit to New York. Anna lived most of her life in St. Louis, moving to Sedalia 4 years ago to be closer to her daughter. She was married to Joseph E. Fleischmann on September 9, 1944 at St. Boniface Church in St. Louis. She and Joe were married for 52 years before his death in 1996. They loved to travel, play cards and had a wide circle of friends. Anna graduated from business school and went to work as a bookkeeper, a position she held at a variety of St. Louis firms until her retirement at age 70. Anna is survived by one daughter, JoAnn Martin and her husband Turf, one granddaughter, Ashley Martin of St. Louis, a niece Mary Ann MacLean of Garden Grove, CA, 5 additional nieces, a nephew and many great nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, a granddaughter Sara Alice Martin, 2 brothers, 2 sisters, a nephew and her parents. A vigil service for the deceased will be held Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 6:30 pm at Heckart Funeral Home followed by visitation until 8:30 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 6:30 pm Friday, March 23, 2012 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Bahner (Junction of V and M). Pallbearers will be Ronald Hoppes, Chuck Kratzer, Robert DeHaven, Mark Homan, Beau Kratzer and Tayler Kratzer. Interment will be in Mt. Hope Cemetery in St. Louis. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Liberty Center Association for the Arts in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be offered at www.heckartfuneralhome.com. Published in SedaliaDemocrat.com on March 20, 2012 Gerhard J. Huber Gerhard
J. Huber, 55, of Leesville, South Carolina, formerly of Coplay, Pennsylvania died suddenly
Monday, March 19, in the Montgomery Hospital, Norristown, PA.He was the husband of Crystal (Hydrick) Huber. Born March 19, 1957 in Reinersdorf, Burgenland, Austria, he is the son of Stefan and Maria (Taker) Huber, of Coplay. Gerhard was a QA Specialist for Ansaldo-STS, formerly Union Switch & Signal Co. in Batesburg, S.C. for the last 16 years. Along with his brothers, he was a long-time member of "The Happy Austrians" band, touring the US, Canada, and Austria. He was a former member of St Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Coplay. Survivors: Wife; parents; daughter, Nina, of Coplay; sons, Jason and Trey; step children, Brandon and Brittany, all of S.C.; brothers, Steven and his wife Debra, of Schnecksville, Anton and his wife Diane, of Northampton; many nieces and nephews. Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, March 23rd at 10:30 a.m. in St Peter's Roman Catholic Church, 4 S. 5th St. Coplay, Pa. 18037. There will be no calling Hours. Burial will follow in St. Peter's Parish Cemetery. Contributions: Memorials may be presented to the church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Reichel Funeral Home, Northampton. Published in Morning Call on March 22, 2012 Pauline A. Rizzotto Pauline
A. Rizzotto 90, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, passed away on Monday, March 19, 2012 in St. Lukes
Hospital, Fountain Hill.Pauline was the wife of the late James L. Rizzotto Sr., who passed in 1997. Born in Rauchwart, Austria, Pauline was a daughter of the late Alois and Pauline (Ernheffler) Yandrisovits. Pauline worked for many years as a sewing machine operator for the former Clyde Shirt Factory in Northampton, the former Highland Fashions in Allentown, and the former D&D Sewing Factory in Coplay. She was a member of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Allentown. Survivors: Sons, James L. Jr. and his wife Patti of St. Petersburg, FL, and Thomas B. and his wife Deborah of Allentown; a daughter, Maria P. Rizzotto of Allentown; sisters, Theresia Meyer in Cherryville, and Helen Rizzotto of Whitehall. Pauline has five grandchildren, Anthony, Valerie, Gina, Heather, and Lee, and four great grandchildren. Pauline was predeceased by sisters, Stephanie and Mary. Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday at 9 a.m. in Our Lady Help of Christians. Calling will be on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Friday from 8 to 8:45 a.m. in the O'Donnell Funeral Home, 908 Hanover Ave, Allentown. Published in Morning Call on March 21, 2012 Frida Koch Frida
Koch, née Prinner, age 82, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, passed away March 20, 2012 at
Bridgeport Hospital.Mrs. Koch was born in Sopron (Ödenburg), Hungary and was a longtime Bridgeport resident. She was a past member of the Germania Sport Club. She was predeceased by her husband Karl Koch. Survivors include her six daughters, Anna Roberts and her husband Richard of Prospect, CT, Elizabeth Duplease and her husband Robert of North Haven, CT, Elvira Cadrin and her husband Joseph of Bridgeport, CT, Isabella Koch of Bridgeport, CT, Veronica Makusevich of Stratford, CT and Jennifer Koch of Chicopee, MA; her son Robert Koch of Deltona, FL; one sister Anna Schweihofer of St. Clarie MI; two brothers John Prinner of Northford, CT and Frank Prinner of MA; seventeen grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Friends and family are invited to attend her funeral services on Saturday at 8:45 a.m. at the Cyril F. Mullins Trumbull Funeral Home 399 White Pains Rd. and at 9:30 a.m. at St. Ambrose Church, Boston Ave, Bpt. Interment in Oaklawn Cemetery in Fairfield. Friends may call on Friday from 4-8 p.m. For online condolences please visit mullinsfh.com. Published in Connecticut Post from March 22 to March 23, 2012 Anna Gaal Anna
Gaal (née Stern), 87, of Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, passed away Monday, March 26, 2012.She was born July 1, 1924, in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland, Austria. She was the beloved wife of the late Otto Gaal; loving mother of William Gaal, Colman (Stevie) Gaal and Eva Gaal; dear grandmother of Otto Gaal, Michele (Shawn) Youngblood, Gretel (Alan) Egan and Michael (Marlo) Gaal; great-grandmother of Cole Egan, twins Maxwell and Montgomery Gaal, Sadie Egan, Shalyn Gaal and Luke Youngblood; cousin of Franz Neubauer; and aunt of Hans and Franz Beutl and family. Anna was a cook for more than 25 years at the Forest Inn in West Park. Family to receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at McDERMOTT FUNERAL HOME INC., 334 Forest Grove Road, Kennedy Township, where funeral prayers are offered at 9 a.m. Saturday followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. at St. John of God Parish, the Church of St. Mary's. The family extends a special thank you to the staff of Oddesey Hospice and Mary Ann and Tom Fenio. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 1100 Liberty Ave., Suite E 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. |
END OF NEWSLETTER |
NOTICE (Terms and Conditions): The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and, toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us (email, letter, phone conversation, etc.) as part of our information exchange and educational research efforts. • If you do not want your communication to be used for this purpose, indicate that it is "confidential" and we will abide by that request. • Correspondents who communicate with the BB without requesting confidentiality retain their copyright but give a non-exclusive license to the BB allowing us to forward to BB members, publish in our monthly newsletter or on our website, and/or subsequently and permanently archive all or parts of such communications. The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at: http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/ Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, copyright © 2012 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. |
News
I
have a question: Why is Neudörfl part of Burgenland? If you look at the map to
the right, you will see that Neudörfl is out on a little peninsula of its own, with a narrow
neck of land connecting it to the rest of Burgenland. At its narrowest, that neck of land is
only about 1/2 mile across. 
Cartoon
of the month: OK, it's not really a cartoon... but it is a funny picture and it ties
to one of this month's articles, # 4: Stephen Morse's One-Step Tools. I think a lot of
us feel this way when we take our first step in trying to find our ancestors... the hill is
steep and we're going about it backwards... no wonder we have a hard time keeping our chin
above water (or above wood for this pup!). This is where Steve Morse's tools come in... they
let us leap to the final step in just one bound! Yes, I know I exaggerate, but they do help us
traverse each step a little easier. So, go ahead, take those big steps... one-step at a time!