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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 222 June 30, 2012, © 2012 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. Editor: Thomas Steichen (email: tj.steichen@comcast.net) 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: 2075 * Surname Entries: 7000 * Query Board Entries: 4986 * Staff Members: 18 |
This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) THE AMBER ROAD (by Richard Potetz and Tom Steichen) 3) MEMBER RESEARCH: SCHRANZ 4) MEMBER RESEARCH: TATZMANN 5) KÖRMEND CASTLE (by Hannes Graf) 6) A CHANGING NATION 7) KALCH 8) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: - ROBERT STRAUCH JOINS BB STAFF - BE CAREFUL OF THOSE NAMES - HISTORY OF THE EMIGRATION FROM NEUSIEDL AM SEE 9) ETHNIC EVENTS (courtesy of Bob Strauch, Kay Weber & Margaret Kaiser) 10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  Concerning
this newsletter, the lead article, The Amber Road, is a joint effort by Richard Potetz
and myself, though I must give Richard credit for the bulk of the effort. The article provides
the "deep" background into the historically most-important road through Burgenland and, along
the way, background into the ancestry of Burgenland's people.We follow that with two Member Research articles. The first points out a few of the pitfalls of research, emphasizing the need for care and thorough documentation, working backwards from current generations. The second raises an interesting question about how village Bad Tatzmannsdorf received its German name. We then present another of Hannes Graf's suite of articles written over the past two years for his personal website. This one, on Hungary's Körmend Castle, seemed a great follow-on to the Burgenland Castles article of last month. Article 7 visits the southern-most village in Burgenland. Do you know its name (without peeking at the article title above)? Truth is, I didn't know either, so I thought I should learn. Have a peek at the article and see what I found! Finally, we provide our standard sections, Historical Newsletter Articles, and the Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries sections.  Over the Memorial Day holiday, my wife and I were in Washington, DC, to help celebrate my grandson Arthur's first birthday. On Tuesday, we headed into western Pennsylvania playing tourist (the Johnstown Flood Museum, The Altoona Railroad Museum, Horseshoe Bend, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, etc.) before stopping in Butler, PA, to visit with Anna & Rudy Kresh. As most of you know, Anna was an early BB staff member and became a BB VP when Gerry passed the torch; she retired a few years ago, mainly due to the demands of both her own and husband Rudy's health issues. I'm pleased to report that both are feeling quite chipper now, as they hosted us for two nights and guided us about Pittsburgh during the day between. One treat they served up for us was the Austrian Nationality Room in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning.  The
42-story Cathedral is Pitt's centerpiece and landmark, built between 1926 and 1934 in
Gothic Revival style, and host to the world-renowned Nationality Classrooms and the
massive Gothic Commons Room that fills the center of the 3 lower floors. There are now
29 Nationality Classrooms, with 7 more in the design and funding stage. Each room
celebrates a culture that had influence on Pittsburgh's growth and depicts an era prior to or
just after 1787, which is year of the University's founding and the signing of the US
Constitution.The Austrian Nationality Room has a strong Burgenland tie, as it incorporates the Baroque elements of the Haydnsaal in Schloss Esterházy at Eisenstadt, where Joseph Haydn served as Kapellmeister from 1766 to 1778. As you can see from the picture above, both the Room and Anna & Rudy are looking good!  Last
month, I presented a rather unusual "family tree" along with a challenge
asking you to tell me why it was unusual and to quantify exactly how unusual it was. A number of you took up the challenge, with Mary Sheridan of Elgin, IL, being the first to respond with a correct answer. In addition, Kathleen Kelly of New York, NY, and Ron Markland of The Villages, FL, also responded with correct answers. So what makes the tree "unusual"? ...the branches and trunk hide the outline of faces, ten of them! Mary went so far as to claim 5 each of male and female faces (plus two acorns on the ground), but that was more than I was looking for. Regardless all have earned their "attagirl" and "attaboy" commendations. Great job you three! Further, Bruce Klemens of Oak Ridge, NJ, sent a message giving a technically correct, though ultimately incomplete answer, saying "...there are many faces in it, at least 9. They could be various ancestors." Later, Bruce sent a second message, giving a firm 10, thus elevating himself from an "honorable mention" to a full "attaboy!" Thanks for playing, everyone!  Also
last month, I mentioned that the BB had presented to the Güssing Auswanderermuseum
a second edition of a book containing the Surnames listed on the BB website. This book is now
on display at the Museum to assist visitors in knowing where in Burgenland to look for family.
That effort reminded me that we had another large database that may be of interest to Museum visitors: the Burgenländers Honored and Remembered (BH&R) data. So I created and shared a draft of such a book with Frank Paukowits and his BH&R team. He agreed that providing a copy to the Museum would be a good idea... so it has been done. Klaus Gerger had it printed and bound in book form (click the picture of the book to view its contents) and has given it to the Museum. It is 312 pages long and presents the data from the BH&R website as of May 11, 2012, containing nearly 12,000 names. Perhaps in another six years we will update it too!  Cartoon
of the month: Here is a cartoon making the rounds of genealogical websites, although
this particular version arrived in my inbox about 3 months ago, compliments of BB member Kathy
Middendorf and the Minneapolis Star/Tribune paper. It seems clear that Dennis had not yet
caught the genealogical bug, though he is well-known for catching other kinds of bugs!So, do you recall Dennis' family tree? There is his dad, Henry Mitchell, ex-Navy man and active aerospace engineer, his mother, Alice Mitchell, née Johnson, stay-at-home mother (probably by necessity as no baby sitter will keep Dennis more than once!), his dog, Ruff, and his cat, Hot Dog, and finally his Grandpa, Swede Johnson. Now here is the question: What was Swede's proper given name? For an even tougher question, the Wilsons, next door, had two sons, one daughter, one daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren; how many can you name? Or, if you prefer an easier question, name as many of Dennis' childhood friends as you can. And yes, all of these names have been given in the cartoon strip over the years. |
2) THE AMBER ROAD (by Richard Potetz and Tom Steichen) Thousands of years ago, an ancient trade route passed through the place that would later become Burgenland. As seen in the map below, the Amber Road traveled from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south, avoiding the tallest mountains by taking an eastern route. Everyone in Burgenland lived within a few miles of the Amber Road.  Amber Road Route in Roman Times, slightly modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Road The Amber Road, called Bernsteinstraße in German and Borostyánko Út in Hungarian, acquired its name from one of the trade items that moved along the road, amber, which was valuable enough to make transporting it long distances worthwhile. It is thought that amber found in the tomb of Tutankhamen (1341–1323 BC) followed this road. Amber mined near the North Sea also traveled this path to become offerings to the Oracle at Delphi in Greece. Coins first appeared about 550 BC, in Turkey. Before coins, amber, like precious metals, was more than a commodity. In the barter system amber facilitated commerce. Roman-era archaeological findings of the last few years have renewed interest in the Amber Road. An article in the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter #191, "Antique Industrial Area In Burgenland," reported on the excavation of three Roman military camps, which were located in the center of an ancient iron smelting area, near the Burgenland village of Strebersdorf. As the article mentioned, the excavation located the path of the Amber Road at that site. One camp dated to the arrival of the Romans, the time of Augustus Caesar (63 BC–14 AD). But the Amber Road was already ancient when it was used by the Romans, so the story begins much earlier. Before the Written Record: Ötzi the Iceman, who lived 5,300 years ago, was found preserved in a glacier 270 miles west of Burgenland. He was well clothed and outfitted, including a woven cloak, copper axe and snow shoes. Ötzi even had stuff for fire making. You might think he would have done well on the television show Survivor, except for the arrow in his back that killed him—the prehistoric version of “the tribe has spoken.” Trade routes connected distant lands, even as long ago as the time of Ötzi. A five-thousand-year-old stone axe carved from a jade boulder located in the Italian Alps, not far from the place Ötzi died, was excavated by archaeologists in Canterbury, England. Similar axes from the same jade boulder have been excavated in northern France. The ancient trade route that passed though Burgenland was not at all unique. If Ötzi had survived to travel 135 miles east-north-east he would have come to the village of Hallstatt, which had been thriving for centuries. In that Austrian village, just 120 miles west of Burgenland, archeologists have uncovered stone tools 5,500 years old. Nearby salt mines are thought to have been in operation for 5,000 years. The village of Hallstatt gives its name to the Hallstatt culture, the dominant culture in central Europe from 1200 BC until 500 BC, characterized by what its people left for archeologists to study: their swords, pottery, jewelry and burial practices. Burgenland thrived as part of the Hallstatt culture. Amazing archeological Hallstatt-era finds in Schandorf were described in Burgenland Bunch Newsletter #191, article "The Barrows Of Schandorf." The Amber Road would have been used to transport iron items described in that article to distant customers. Burgenland Bunch articles have noted artifacts found the length of Burgenland that pre-date the arrival of the Romans: Pamhagen: stone axe head; Neustift bei Güssing: stone age burial mounds; Gamischdorf: stone axes; Burg: bronze-age earthen wall fort. The Hallstatt culture extended for hundreds of miles, covering Burgenland and beyond. Trade ranged far. The biggest deposit of Hallstatt bronze artifacts was found in Romania. The Amber Road, the greatest conduit of Hallstatt culture trade, passed though Burgenland. In many places the exact path of the Amber Road as it existed before the Romans arrived is not known. For example, for the prehistoric path, it is not known where the Amber Road followed or crossed the Raab River, but the bank of the Raab River may have been a likely choice for a section of the path. Prehistoric paths lacked road signs, so travelers followed geological markers such as rivers. The cities closest to southern Burgenland that are known to have been on the Roman Amber Road are Zalalövö, Hungary (called Salla in Roman times) and Ptuj (called Poetovio in Roman times), the oldest city in Slovenia, founded in the Stone Age, just 20 miles south of the Burgenland border. Mogersdorf, which is 40 miles north of Ptuj, could have been the place the prehistoric Amber Road crossed the Raab River. The point at which the Amber Road crossed of the Raab River probably shifted over time, as populations shifted and industrial sites like Schandorf were established. A fording place—where the river slows, widens and becomes shallower—was needed because of the lack of bridges. The Ottoman army in 1664 thought Mogersdorf was a good place to cross the Raab River, so perhaps that place was the ancient crossing point, although it didn’t work out very well for the Ottomans. However, Körmend is the place where the Roman-era Amber Road crossed the Raab (see map below). This makes good sense when you consider the "uplands" marked on the map; sensible, long-distance travelers avoided trekking through such areas! Andrew F. Burghardt (1958) makes a big deal out of the fact that the key "modern" (1921-era) roads in the area also skirted the uplands, which is why the loss of the Sopron plebiscite affected Burgenland travel and commerce so much. Burghardt also says the main road south through Sopron and beyond was the "descendant of the Amber Road" (i.e., it followed the Roman route). If the ancient Amber Road also passed through Zalalövö, as is believed, crossing the Raab near Körmend makes much more sense than Mogersdorf, as Zalalövö is directly south; such a course from Savaria is both shorter and straighter and avoids the uplands.  Amber Road in and near Burgenland, slightly modified from Burghardt, Andrew Frank, "The political geography of Burgenland, Vol 1", 1958. A different consideration is that the prehistoric and even Roman route may not have been just a single route but rather a group of local alternative routes. Ancient trade routes lacked improvements like drainage ditches or pavement—routes could be made or changed easily. It is known that the Amber Road ran on both sides of the Morava river as it headed north of Carnuntum. Such a split is also possible in what became Burgenland. A case in point is the town of Bernstein im Burgenland; it is some 30 km west of the currently accepted route of the Roman Amber Road, yet the town's website says that the village "...takes its name from the Amber Road, a branch of the 'Via Magna' (the great road) that led past it to the Tauchental (the Tauchen valley) in the Middle Ages." Bernstein, which literally translates as "burning rock," is the German word for amber. However, amber is not found near Bernstein; rather, the town was known for mining iron as early as the 1200s and, from the mid-1500s, for sulfur, copper, copper sulphate, silver and even gold. [Ed. note, 2016: The prior sentence is almost completely incorrect, therefore I have added strikethrough to that text. Serpentine comes in two basic types: antigorite and chrysotile. At minimum, we likely meant chrysotile, not chrysolithe. However, the chrysotile crystal structure is fibrous in nature (one variety being asbestos), so is quite dangerous to lung health. The antigorite crystal structure is plate-like, making it the form more appropriate for shaping into gems or artwork. Finally, varieties of serpentine are found throughout the mountain ranges of the world, not just in Bernstein. Nonetheless, the local serpentine, known as Edelserpentin, is somewhat jade-like and is quite useful for shaping into beautiful carved art pieces and jewelry... and such is done in Bernstein.] Written History in Burgenland begins with the Romans: The Romans came to Burgenland a few hundred years after the Hallstatt culture ended. From then on, written history, including maps, informs us of the placement of the roads. Roman roads made use of improvements like pavement, culverts and bridges. The remains of those improvements allow us to know the exact position of those Roman roads. Augustus Caesar conquered the Burgenland area in 35 BC, but sporadic fighting continued until 9 BC when rebelling Pannonian and Dalmatian tribes living nearby were crushed by Tiberius Caesar and his nephew Germanicus. The new Roman province of Pannonia, created at that time, included Burgenland, making the people living there part of the Roman Empire. For a short time, perhaps just a few decades, the Amber Road may not have been the preferred route for a trip from the Adriatic Sea to the Danube River north of Burgenland. A stone bridge built in Sankt Dionysen, Austria, one of just two Roman bridges left in all of Austria, suggests a road to the Danube, parallel to and north and west of the Amber Road. This Roman road to the Danube, shown on some maps but not others, passed through the Roman province of Noricum on its way from Aquileia (a Roman town on the northern shore of the Adriatic Sea) to Vindobona (today Vienna). A secure route to the Danube was essential at this time. The Romans held fortified positions all along the Danube to guard their border against Germanic tribes. Why would the Romans choose a new path to the Danube River despite the Amber Road’s superior route that avoided tall mountain passes? The answer may be that the Amber Road ran too close to unfriendly Germanic tribes for it to be the main Roman passageway to the critical Roman northern defensive line. Certainly by the time of Trajan, who was the Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD, Pannonia was safely part of the Roman Empire, making the Amber Road again the preferred route to the Danube north of Burgenland. Travelers going between Rome and cities in Pannonia may have passed through Roman towns over the road on which our ancestors lived as follows: • Traveling from Rome to Aquileia (just above the Adriatic Sea); • Through Celeia (today the Slovenian city of Celje, settled in the early Iron Age); • Through Poetovio (today the Slovenian city of Ptuj, dating back to the Stone Age); • Passing to the west of Sala (today the Hungarian city of Zalalövo); • Passing to the west of Savaria (today the Hungarian city of Szombathely, the capital of Vas county, and the oldest city in Hungary); • Through Strebersdorf in Burgenland (the site of Roman military camps and ancient iron making furnaces); • Through Scarbantia (today the Hungarian city of Sopron); • To Carnuntum on the south bank of the Danube (the Roman road did not cross the Danube, but the unpaved trade route continued to the Baltic Sea and into Russia as it had for the previous thousand years.) One of the travelers at the time of Trajan would have been Hadrian, at that time the governor of the province of Pannonia Inferior with Aquincum (Budapest) as his capital city. [Note: In 103 AD, the Roman province of Pannonia became two provinces, Pannonia Superior (Upper Pannonia) and Pannonia Inferior (Lower Pannonia). Savaria (Szombathely), the capital of Pannonia then became the capital of Pannonia Superior. Aquincum (the Buda half of Budapest) became the capital of Pannonia Inferior, with Hadrian as its first governor.] Hadrian would later succeed Trajan as Roman emperor. Perhaps some of our ancestors watched him pass.  During
the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, battles with the Germanic
tribes north of the Danube were constant. Marcus Aurelius spent nearly all his time in the
Danube garrisons, mainly Vindobona (Vienna) and Carnuntum, which was built where the Amber
Road crosses the Danube River. Founded in 10 BC as a Roman military outpost, Carnuntum today
is Petronell, Austria, halfway between Vienna and Bratislava. Carnuntum’s ruins include an
amphitheater from the time of Marcus Aurelius seating about 15,000 spectators, the fourth
largest amphitheater in the whole Roman Empire. A website describing the Roman ruins and
continuing archeological work there is:
http://www.carnuntum.co.at/visiting-carnuntum/your-visit-in-carnuntum.Archaeology magazine credits the Carnuntum gladiator school as one of the top 10 discoveries made in 2011. The words of Jessica Woodward in that magazine show the importance of that Roman city, located a short Amber Road walk from the modern Burgenland border: “What was once a vibrant city of 50,000 residents is now the site of an immense archaeological park. The newly discovered fourth-century A.D. gladiator school, the fourth largest ever found in the world, located just west of the largest amphitheater outside of Rome, is a self-enclosed complex that includes an inner courtyard, circular training area, living quarters, and a cemetery.” If we had ancestors who performed in the Carnuntum amphitheater, they could have come from almost anywhere in the world. Romans from everywhere in the empire served as frontier guards along the Danube.  For
example, an Egyptian garrison on the Danube built a temple dedicated to their goddess Isis.
The town today is Ybbs an der Donau, named after Isis. Along the Amber Road there was also an
Egyptian presence, just across the Hungarian border from Burgenland, where the Hungarian city
of Szombathely preserves its Roman-era monument to Isis as a tourist attraction.The stone Roman road from Aquileia to Carnuntum was hundreds of years old when Constantine the Great passed by our ancestors’ homes, which he did several times, going to and from Savaria (Szombathely), at that time the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia Prima. [Note: Pannonia Prima was one of four provinces created by dividing Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior, which occurred under Diocletian (Emperor from 284–305 AD). Savaria (Szombathely), which had been the capital of Pannonia Superior, became the capital of Pannonia Prima.] Constantine was the Roman Emperor at the time he passed by, so maybe some of our ancestors clapped and cheered. The Amber Road Becomes an Archeological Artifact: The importance of the Amber Road ended when the Roman Empire collapsed. That collapse also ended stability in the Burgenland area. For good reason, historians call the next few centuries the Migration Period. In the middle of the 5th century, what had been Pannonia was controlled by the Huns, a nomadic people who traveled with their livestock and plundered the locals who farmed by planting crops. Visigoths had fled before Attila the Hun, and many settled in Spain; Ostrogoth groups who had fought on the side of the Huns took control of the area after the death of Attila. Lombards controlled the area after 530 AD, losing control to Avars about 560 AD. In 788 AD, the Avars fought all the way to Bavaria, yet the Franks under Charlemagne re-conquered the area in 790 AD, according to history books, “...pushing the Avars back to the Raab.” At that time the Amber Road still functioned. Charlemagne used the Amber Road when he passed through Burgenland in 795 AD on his visit to the Szombathely birthplace of Saint Martin of Tours—a tourist destination. The area that became Burgenland deteriorated into a borderland, too unstable to flourish as it had in the past. Moravians, Franks (like Arnulf of Carinthia), Magyars, Ottomans and more would keep it so, preventing the Amber Road from regaining its usefulness as a conduit for international trade. Thus it was that our Burgenland ancestors lived in the margins for many centuries, at a place that only today has found stability again. Our Burgenland Ancestors Descend from People Who Lived on the Amber Road: Despite all of the migrations and “population fluctuations” as successive newcomers took control, it is likely that people who live in Burgenland today have some ancestors who lived there during the Hallstatt, La Tène and Roman eras, when Amber Road trade was at its height. This belief goes against earlier thinking that nomadic conquerors replaced the people they overtook. Historians now believe people were more resilient to traumatic upheaval than previously thought. For example, historians were surprised to learn from science that the DNA in today’s Europeans mostly descends from Cro-Magnon hunter-gatherer ancestors, with just 20% of today’s Europeans’ DNA being from the later settlers who brought farming from the Near East. For another example, historians once believed the English people were mostly derived from Anglo Saxons, but modern science showed 70% of their genetic source to be the earlier Celtic people. [Note: In his book, "Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, the Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland," author and geneticist Bryan Sykes gives a region-by-region breakdown of genetic group distribution for the British Isles. He concludes that the genetic source of the people in the British Isles is mainly Celtic, with less than 20% Viking and Saxon genes and very little Roman and Norman genes.] As scientists plot the migration of anatomically-modern humans out of Africa sixty thousand years ago, the DNA mutations that were passed on to descendants are used as markers, establishing groups of related descendants, called haplogroups. The distribution of these haplogroups show scientists how Europeans spread from whichever southern refuge they used at the height of the last ice age, 18 thousand years ago. The mix of haplogroups disproves the concept of total population replacement. So, although our ancient Burgenland ancestors lived on an international thoroughfare that brought people from other places, many of our Burgenland ancestors likely lived in the area from the time it was first settled. The Hallstatt-era and Roman-era artifacts found in Burgenland were left by our ancestors. Current-day Remnants of the Amber Road in/near Burgenland:  The
Roman Amber Road, in its inner-city, stone-paved form, is best preserved in Savaria,
present-day Szombathely, Hungary (see picture at right). In
its metalled form (aka, graveled form), there is a section in the Großmutschen area that is
considered the best preserved; it was marked in 1931 with a historical monument (see picture
at left).The term "metalled" is derived from the Latin metallum, meaning both "mine" and "quarry", and refers to the crushed surfacing rock used to make the road strong and traversable in all weather conditions.  There
also remain a few original Roman road milepost marker stones (see picture at left) that
identified the road builder and gave distance information, much like modern road signs. In
addition, Mittleburgenland has a series of modern all-weather road-side display stands
(Schaupulte) that speak to the history and function of the Roman Amber Road. The Association
for the Preservation of Roman Amber Road (Der Verein zur Erhaltung zur Römischen
Bernsteinstraße) was responsible for the development and installation of these displays. Their
website, at
http://www.borg-op.asn-bgld.ac.at/RoemischeBernsteinstrasse/index1.htm, shows these
displays and speaks to why they were created.Displays are found in the following Burgenland villages and describe various topics: Strebersdorf: Roman Trade and Travel Großmutschen: Roman Military and Weapons Nebersdorf: Roman Roads Großwarasdorf: Roman Gravestones, Clothing and Housing Raiding: The Roman Empire Horitschon: Roman Industry and Trade Neckenmarkt: The Roman Estate (villa rustica) Deutschkreutz: Roman Graves and Gravestones |
3) MEMBER RESEARCH: SCHRANZ New Member, Mark Schranz, of Palatine, IL, provided a new member information form that epitomizes the need for care both in supplying information and in doing research. Part of Mark's submitted information read as follows: surname_1: ERNST SR. text: Grandson of Ernst Sr., son of Ernst Jr. Ernst Sr. was from Steuben, born in 1900, passed in 1970 (Chicago). Emigrated to the US in 1923 (Milwaukee, WI). Settled in Chicago. Children include Irma Bones, Doylestown, PA and Ernst Jr., passed June 14, 2005.  This bit of information prompted Margaret Kaiser to write to me, saying: "Tom, this place is west of Innsbruck. - not Bgld. Margaret." She did that because she knows I'm the one who writes to tell certain potential new members—those who list towns that are not in our area of research—that the BB is not the appropriate group for their research. (We do this to avoid wasting both their time and ours and to avoid filling our pages with entries that have nothing to do with Burgenland.) However, in this case, I did not write to Mark to give him the gentle boot...  Instead,
I wrote the following: Hi Mark, you list Steuben, a village far from Burgenland, for
your “Ernst” family. First, did you mean Stuben in Oberwart, Burgenland? Second, did you mean
surname Schranz and given name Ernst? There are Schranz’ who emigrated from Stuben, including
an Ernst Schranz, son of Samuel, heading to Milwaukee in 1923 (see image to right). I suspect both of my suppositions are correct but I’d like you to confirm them. Please ”reply all” so the full BB team is informed. Thanks, Tom Mark replied, saying: Hello Tom, yes, you are correct. Ernst Schranz, Sr., my grandfather, came from Stuben, (he) was the son of Samuel, I believe, if my memory serves me. He still has nephew's living there. I visited Stuben 10 years ago and my Grandfather's brother (Karl) was still alive at the time and in his 90's. He has since passed. Trying to gather as much information as possible for my kids. My dad Ernst Jr. passed on June 14th 2005. Any additional information you could pass to me would be grateful. While we often get misspelled village names, it is quite rare that one of those misspelling throws Margaret, so that was a surprise. However, helping sort out the correct village names is something the BB staff often does for new members, so getting Stuben from Steuben was not unusual. What I found more curious (and what almost threw me) was Mark's use of the given name, Ernst, in the surname slot of our form. I only sorted that out because of some additional text Mark included (but which I redacted from this article because it contained birth dates of living family members). Having sorted out the village and family name, I did a little quick research... I wrote to Mark: OK, I found Samuel’s marriage record. He married 4 May 1896 in Stuben to Elisabeth Kainz. He was born in Aschau (Hamvasd) on 24 May 1862 to Matyas Schranz & Terez Butz? (last name is hard to read). She was born 31 Oct 1866 in Stuben to Matyas Kainz and Rozina Schranz. Janos Schranz and Joseph Koller were witnesses. And Mark replied: Thank You very much for this information. Always interesting. Wonder if it's possible to go back any further? I wrote again to Mark: After sending you that record, I dug deeper into the birth records. Still did not find Ernst but I did find what appears to be two Samuel Schranz’ having children recorded in those records after 1896 (plus a Rozina having illegitimate children). I have not sorted this out yet but I think their ages say these are two different Samuels (rather than a remarriage; the other wife is a Maria Böhm). Finding the marriage record for the second Samuel would be a first step). I mention Rozina because she is the only one with a child named Karoly (Karl) so far. All of this indicates why we need every detail you have. Can you confirm Elisabeth or Maria as mother of Ernst? It would be quite possible to take this back at least a few more generations (but probably via microfilm rather than online). Beyond that, you would need research done in Burgenland (microfilm records only go back to ~1828). First, though, you must establish the correct parents for Ernst & Karl. Without that, this is just an exercise. And Mark replied again: Hello Tom, thanks again for the information. I will see what I can dig up. May take some time. Thanks again for all your help will get back to you asap. As a final note to this sequence, I'll mention that I looked just a bit more in the Stuben records and found a third Samuel Schranz having children at that time, as well as his marriage record (also to a Maria... but not Maria Böhm)... I did not find a marriage record for the second Samuel Schranz. Clearly what this says is that it is very important to do sufficient research on our side of the pond before attempting research in the Austro-Hungarian records. It also says that, once in the Austro-Hungarian records, one should carefully record lots of details about the parents to make sure that everything is logically consistent. |
4) MEMBER RESEARCH: TATZMANN Manfred Tatzmann writes: Gentleman - My father, mother and I immigrated to the US in September of 1957 from Graz, Austria. My father and I had always been interested whether there was a connection between the family name and Bad Tatzmannsdorf. In 1976, my father went back and visited a church in Bad Tatzmannsdorf where, allegedly, he was informed that the Tatzmann family at one time were wealthy landowners in the area. Over a hundred years ago, for political reasons, they had to flee the area. Three brothers left. One went toward Vienna, and the lineage went down to a Bernhard Tatzmann currently in Vienna. The other two brothers went towards Graz, the lineage ended up being my grandfather, Franz Tatzmann. There was no record of the third brother. I had been confident that was the lineage of the family until about a month ago, when doing some research that I came across a Johann (John) Tatzmann, born in Baden, in 1885 who immigrated to the US in 1913. His male heir was a George J. Tatzmann (06/11/1918 - 01/1997), and a Mildred Tatzmann (03//03/1929 - /1980). I believe they may have been brother and sister. I was shocked to realize there were other "Tatzmann's" in the US, but have run into a dead end trying to find out more, and cannot come up with a death certificate for George T, who lived in Illinois. So, I have two questions: 1) Is there a way to track back the Tatzmann lineage and confirm the information my father received from the Priest in Tatzmannsdorf in 1976? 2) Is there any way to track down the info on George Tatzmann. I have researched newspaper Obituaries in the Chicago area without any luck. My own family tree still has several members living in the Graz area. I have also found some Tatzmann's in Kartnen and Germany, who I presume are from the Vienna branch of the family (of which we have not had any contact). I would appreciate any suggestions or help any of you could provide. Danke, and thank you, kindly. Manfred Tatzmann I replied (in part): Dear Manfred, you raise an interesting question. However, I find nothing in published histories of Bad Tatzmannsdorf that relates the village name to anyone with the Tatzmann name. There is, however, a relationship to a minor nobility Hungarian family with name that matches the Hungarian name of the village: family "de Tárcsa" with the Hungarian form of the village name "Tárcsa" (see http://www.bad-tatzmannsdorf.at/index.php?id=508). This would have been back in the 1200’s. Since then, the place has seen major change and has been owned by higher nobility. It was resettled by Germans in the 14th and 15th centuries, wiped out by the Turks in 1529 and 1532, and resettled by Croats in 1572. Its history since then is fairly well documented and does not include being owned by a Tatzmann family, though one must wonder where the village name came from. Tracking a family back beyond about 1500 is almost impossible, as only nobility recorded names back further than that. So, if your connection is to the de Tárcsa family, I doubt it can be traced. For Burgenland records, you must go to Europe to view records older than about 1828. As to George Tatzmann, son of John, see:  The SSDI (Social Security Death Index) has George dying in 1967, not 1997. Of interest in the certificate above is that John and wife are from Austria, not Baden. Ah, but I see there is a Baden bei Wein in Lower Austria (halfway between Vienna and Weiner Neustadt)… and there is an interesting emigration record (via SS George Washington, from Bremen, Sept
20, 1913 to NYC, Sept 29, 1913): |
5) KÖRMEND CASTLE (by Hannes Graf) (Ed. Note: Hannes wrote a number of articles over the past two years for publication on his personal site, Spirit of Gradišće - Őrvidék Group. This is the second of a series of his republished articles. We again thank Hannes for making his work available to our readership.) Körmend was first documented in 1238 as "Curmend," seat of kings. King Béla IV granted Körmend town privileges with the right to hold markets in 1244.  After Körmend was in royal possession, it became the property of various lords. Since 1604, it has been the central estate of the Batthyány family. The king gave the castle and estate of Körmend to Franz II Batthyány in recognition of his service. From 1716 until 1945, when the family was dispossessed of the castle and estate by the communists, Körmend had been the centre of their seigniory. After the struggle for freedom under the leadership of Prince Rákóczi, the Batthyánys moved the management of their estates to Körmend. Thence forward it became a prospering small town. The castle changed to a beautiful baroque palace. After 1769, the Batthyánys collected documents over several centuries and the majority of their art treasures were brought here. The castle originally rose on a hill with a broad moat. The road from the town to the castle led through a double moat and over timber bridges. In the castle's bailey was a one-storied residential building. There was an outer staircase which led to the timber gallery facing the bailey. The gallery encircled the whole bailey and led to the loop-holes integrated into the walls. The ground floor included a grain stock, a dry mill, and a common bakery. After 1600 and the fall of Kanizsas, a new time began: Körmend became a border town of military importance. The town's development reached its climax in the mid-17th century. In 1625, Ferenc Batthyány's son, Ádám, inherited the town. He was a well-educated land owner and, not only a great manager of his properties, but also a leading military figure of the country. He assigned the excellent Italian war engineer, and later imperial main architect, Filiberto Lucchese to the alteration of the castle.  Significant
changes came along with the four years of construction work going on. The main structure of
the castle remained, but its look had been changed. Now there were multi-storied residential
buildings on all four sides, the towers were higher and arcades had been built in place of the
timber gallery. The windows were opened to the courtyard. The massive and medieval character
of the castle remained but the interior was made more comfortable. After the Turkish had been
driven successfully out of the country, the castle of Körmend became one of the "dispensable
castles" and the war council of Vienna ordered its demolition on 26.01.1702, but the
Batthyánys were able to prevent that.The town and castle of Körmend suffered during the struggle for freedom under the leadership of Rákóczi. The army of Antal Eszterházy destroyed the town and the castle. Therefore, at the beginning of the 18th century, the castle actually did not exist and the town was utterly destroyed. At the beginning of the 18th century, the coordination of the Batthyány estates was shifted to Körmend. Lajos Batthyány took over the properties from his father in 1720. He served variously as imperial and royal chamberlain, privy councilor, chancellor and as the last Hungarian palatine from 1751 to 1765. His societal importance was revealed even in his constructions. Following his instructions, generous conversion work began at Körmend castle. Thence forward the castle stood in an open park, which, with its dynamic layout and arrangement, strove for pomp; the castle was meant to imitate baroque splendor. The designer of the newly-arranged building was the Italian, Felice de Allio, who had already been an important representative of Austrian baroque in the first half of the 18th century. The construction work began with the dismantling of the gate tower and the filling up of the moat. Then a new floor was built on top of the whole building. The arcades in the inner courtyard were dismantled and replaced by huge corridors with windows. In the second floor, parlours and living rooms were installed. A mansard roof was added and the façade received blue-white-yellow stripes. Among the adjoining buildings in front of the main building was the depot, where the carriages were stored standing west and the horse stable, with red marmoreal feeding troughs, standing east. On the first floor of the building, which also had a basement, was the Sala Terrena (Ed: a large, formal, ground-level room with one side being open to a garden). On the one-room second floor, you could find the archive and library. The ensemble of buildings, built 1730-1745, shows a typical Hungarian style but including, of course, elements of the Austrian Baroque.  About
1800, a six-column balcony and a gable were added to the facade of the castle. The gable was
adorned with the Batthyány family's coat of arms.In 1945, in the course of the invasion of the Russian army, the outstanding picture gallery, the library, the collection of weapons and a lot of art treasures were destroyed, pillaged or stolen. Even the huge archive was not spared. The remaining documents and art treasures were then expropriated by the Communists and have not, so far, been returned to the family. Nowadays they can be seen, among other places, in the Hungarian National Museum and in the Public Records Office. Opening times of the museum: From April 1 to October 31: 10 am - 5 pm (every day except Monday); From November 1 to March 31: 10 am - 12 pm and 2 - 4 pm (every day except Sunday and Monday); the museum shows periodic exhibitions in the castle chapel. |
6) A CHANGING NATION We BB's are used to thinking about the large impact our emigrant ancestors had on the ethnic make-up of their adopted countries. However, that change continues today and in ways that differ greatly from the time of the Burgenländische Auswanderung.  On
May 17th, the US Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program (PEP) released a report
providing the latest estimates about the population of the United States. Among key findings
were that, for the first time, the proportion of children younger than age 1 who are
considered to be of minority birth exceeded 50%. The precise proportion was 50.4% as
of estimation date July 1, 2011. Correspondingly, the proportion of children younger than age
5 who are considered to be of minority birth rose to 49.7%.The Bureau defines a minority as anyone who is not single-race White and not Hispanic (i.e, is not a non-Hispanic White). More completely, a minority is defined as someone who reported on the census form a race or race combination that was or included a race other than White. Hispanics (an origin, not a race) may be of any race, including white, but this definition places all of them as minority, even if they report themselves as white (which over 88% do) or see themselves as part of the majority white group (percentage unknown and unestimated). The Bureau reported that there were 114 million minorities in 2011, or 36.6 percent of the U.S. population. However, there were five majority-minority states or equivalents in 2011: • Hawaii (77.1% minority), • District of Columbia (64.7%), • California (60.3%), • New Mexico (59.8%) and • Texas (55.2%). A population greater than 50% minority is considered “majority-minority.” On the other extreme was Maine, with 94.3% of its population being non-Hispanic White. Nationally in 2011, Hispanics are the most populous minority group at 52 million, with African-Americans second at 43.9 million. Non-Hispanic Whites, at 198 million (63.4% of the nation), are the largest current group, though projections have them falling to under 50% by 2042. However, if you ignore the Hispanic White / non-Hispanic White divide, Whites number 243 million and are 78% of the US population. This is not an unreasonable thing to do, says Robert Lang, sociology professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas: "What's White in America in 1910, 2010 or even 2011 simply isn't the same." He cites the many different groups of European immigrants in the early 20th century who later became known collectively as White and conjectures that the majority of Hispanics will assimulate into the majority in the future. (By the way, circa 1900, Austro-Hungarians were still considered to be something "less than white" by the "native" white Americans [i.e., by the earlier immigrants].) The other key item in the Census Bureau report concerned the aging of the nation. The nation's median age (the age where half are younger and half older) rose slightly to 37.3 in 2011. However, since the 2010 census, the 65-and-older population increased from 40.3 million to 41.4 million (a 2.7% rise and now over 13% of the population). The bigger concern is that, as the "baby boom" generations ages, this over-64 group will become over 20% of the population before the bulge works through. That means we will have a predominantly non-Hispanic-White majority older population along with a minority-majority younger population. How this discrepancy works out politically and socially over the coming years will be interesting! (Truthfully, though, this nation has been in similar social situations before... I think we will work it out.) |
7) KALCH  How
many of you can name the southern-most village in Burgenland, the one way down in the
pointy end of Burgenland, with Slovenia on one side and Styria on the other? I admit I could
not do it, so I decided to find out. So here is a short article on little Kalch, also known in Hungarian as Mészvölgy (Lime Valley) and earlier as Mészpest. The Slovenians called it Strigarjava. Kalch is an ortsteil of the municipality of Neuhaus am Klausenbach in District Jennersdorf. It is a Catholic, German-speaking, linear village, with a predominantly agricultural economy. It is claimed that the name Kalch is derived from a lime kiln (Kalkofen in German), though I could find nothing to suggest that quicklime production ever took place there. (Quicklime is a cement-like material used in historical construction projects.) However, localized quicklime production was common throughout Burgenland and the Hungarians named the surrounding area Mészvölgy (Lime Valley), which I'm sure they did for a reason, thus I suspect some limestone was mined and quicklime produced in the area. There is an abandoned quarry in Kalch and an active quarry just over the border into Slovenia, both of which have some limestone, but I could not determine whether either of these ever produced quicklime.  Kalch (upper left) & quarry in Sotina, Slovenia (lower right) ~1 mile away (border in yellow dashes). The population in 2011 shows 220 residents, which is down from earlier times. The earliest surviving population count was 88 in 1697 and the earliest surviving house count was 12 in 1720. Statistics since then were recorded fairly regularly so we know the house count has risen fairly steadily and is now approaching 90. The population count also rose steadily until 1890, when it peaked at 397.  The
Auswanderung, however, affected Kalch like it did all of Burgenland. There were some 32 people
who emigrated via Ellis Island between 1902 and 1924 and who listed Kalch as their home
village. In addition, there were 25 more who listed Mészpest as home village, however, none of
the surnames for these 25 people match (even approximately) a surname in the 1859 Kalch house
list (18 of the 32 people listing Kalch had a surname that exactly matched one of the
46 houselist surnames). Since there was another village (now in the Slovak Republic) with
Hungarian name Mészpest, this makes me think that most of these people were from that village.
No person listed Mészvölgy as home village. Regardless, it is quite likely that there were
emigrants to other countries and other US ports during this time so the true count of
emigrants is likely higher than 32. Consistent with this conjecture, the recorded population
of Kalch was 337 in 1923, a loss of 60 residents from the 1890 count (though some of these
were likely lost to WW-I). The population count would drift somewhat lower during the
inter-war years, only recovering after WW-II to reach 384 in 1961. Ever since then, it has
been on a steady decline to its current count of 220 residents.Among surnames from Kalch in the Ellis Island records are Bruner, Halle, Hascher, Janitsch, Knapp, Koller, Lang, Mantner/Mautner, Pfister, Ropposch, Sampel, Schardl, Schwab, Shefner, Spannut, Wanitner and Wolf. Interestingly, we have only one BB member showing Kalch as a village of interest, Denise Talaski-Kern, of Port Huron, MI, who lists surnames Mautner and Pfister. Beyond being the southernmost town in Burgenland, right near the "triple point" where Burgenland, Styria and Slovenia come together, Kalch is also the two-time state champion in the floral competition. The two pictures below show the "Maria Theresa" triple-point border stone on the left and a beautiful display of flowers growing in Kalch on the right. The triple-point stone is well-preserved and so-named because it was placed in 1756 during the reign of Maria Theresa. During the annual flower competition, it is said that a walk through Kalch can be an experience never to be forgotten. 
 Maria Theresa Stone at the triple border of Styria, Burgenland & Slovenia // Flowers in Kalch Below are the nearby border signs, both just a brisk 5-minute walk from central Kalch. Given the area's rural nature, Kalch is known for being a bicycling region, allowing short excursions and longer tours along the countryside roads and also into Styria and Slovenia, with crossing at small, stress-free border stations. 
 Border signs on the roads from Kalch into Slovenia and Styria. While there is a war monument, some roadside crosses and chapels, one Gasthaus and a unique well (see below), that largely exhausts what I could learn about Kalch. On the web, there is a striking, rotating 3D view of the Kalch valley, provided by Maplandia and Google Earth (click here). Given what it shows, Kalch's greatest asset is likely its native beauty, with rolling hills, tree-covered ridges, and great seasonal color. If you have more information you would like to share about Kalch, drop me a note.  Well in Kalch |
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. From the June 2002 Newsletter, I have chose to reprint parts of a number of articles... the first, welcomed Bob Strauch to the BB Staff ten years ago, the second was a little gentle correction by Hannes Graf on the spelling of his surname, and the last speaks to why emigrants left Neusiedl an See. THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 108 June 30, 2002 ROBERT STRAUCH JOINS BB STAFF Bob Strauch has agreed to join the staff of the BB as a Corresponding Editor and the Lehigh Valley (PA) Burgenland Enclave area representative. Bob has been active in Burgenland ethnic affairs for many years. He is a contributor to the BG News and has served as Allentown BG representative. His knowledge of ethnic subjects, particularly music and German dialects and culture, as well as his various contacts will add to BB development. Bob spent two years in Graz, Austria under a Fulbright exchange program teaching English. He is also director of the Hianzenchor, a Lehigh Valley Burgenländische choral group. He recently received his second Burgenland award for his work advancing Burgenländische ethnicity. The Lehigh Valley area already has a number of BB members and there is great potential for increasing that number. Bob's ethnic background involves the southern Burgenland villages of Inzenhof, St. Kathrein and Punitz, and the immediate Hungarian border villages of Felsörönök and Pornóapáti. His immigrant family members settled in the Allentown and Nazareth, PA areas. I am extremely happy to add Bob to our masthead. The BB is indeed fortunate in having such a great staff of volunteers. I hope someday, we can all meet as a group and perhaps by then, we will have a representative from all Burgenland enclaves. BE CAREFUL OF THOSE NAMES (with thanks to Hannes Graf) I remember reading "By their names you shall know them;" I don't remember the connotation but, in effect, it reinforces the fact that few of us leave anything permanent but our names in some article or document. It thus behooves us to get them right when we mention them. The only thing worse than not having your name mentioned is to have it misspelled. So often I receive mail from members that have incorrect spellings of family names or villages. It isn't easy to get them all right given the changes that take place between generations as well as language translations. One favorite of mine was mentioning the song Wien, Wien, nur du Allein (Vienna, Vienna, only you alone [are unique]) in an article. I transposed the "ie" to "ei" making Wine, Wine, only you alone. This "ie-ei" business is something you learn in beginning German class and Gerhard Lang quickly told me about it. I passed it off as a joke, which didn't do well! That particular transposition is easy to make, but double letters can be just as bad and easy to do, given a sensitive keyboard. Now Hannes Graf mentions my latest: Please write my name correct at the newsletter (Graf not Graff), normally it does not matter but there are two different translations: Graf=count & Graff=junk. It is more important to be a count (or have that name) rather than a junk (dealer). (:-))) My reply: Hannes - Es tut mir leid - was kann ich sagen! Zu viel "clique-clique" - (I'm sorry, what can I say - too many clicks) Gerry Had I written "Lied" instead of "Leid", I would have implied "I am singing" instead of "I am sorry!" See what I mean? HISTORY OF THE EMIGRATION FROM NEUSIEDL AM SEE (Written by Tamara Gosch and Brigitte Horvath) [Summary & Translation by Albert Schuch] This article states that the emigration from Neusiedl am See must have begun before 1881, as on 22 May 1882 the municipality was asked by the Stuhlrichteramt to submit a "specification of those who emigrated to America from October 1881 till 1 June 1882, plus information about their motivation to do so." Mayor Anton Treppo answered that 3 men, 2 women and 4 children had left Neusiedl during this period, thereby increasing the total number of emigrants to 44. As to the reasons for their emigration, he gave the following information: 1. Most inhabitants make a living from the wine growing business. But the taxes and the amounts of money they have to pay as a consequence of the abolishment of the "Weinzehent" (the tenth of the harvest that used to be owed to the landlords) are so high that not much is left for themselves. Many vineyards are already deserted. 2. The way the land tax is collected (4 times a year) is an additional burden for people whose income is concentrated on the harvest season. 3. The taxes to be paid by heirs are too high. 4. Apart from these, there are additional burdens to bear: A special duty for the regulation of the Raab river, contributions to public welfare, the compulsory housing of soldiers, etc. 5. The 12 years of military service are "a mighty factor", as well as the "Militärbefreiungstaxe" (the money one had to pay to be released from military duties). 6. The inefficient and expensive legal system. 7. The annual increase in taxes and the constant invention of new taxes, which can only be paid in years of good harvests. Although the emigration of more than 50 inhabitants of Neusiedl before 1900 seems to be a fact, the municipal archive has no record of them. |
9) ETHNIC EVENTS LEHIGH VALLEY, PA (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Saturday, July 14: Bavarian Biergarten at Emmaus Community Park. Sponsored by the Lehigh Sängerbund. Music by the Emil Schanta Band and the LSB Festchor. Info: www.lehighsaengerbund.org Sunday, July 15: Jägermeister Day at the Coplay Sängerbund. Music by Joe Kroboth/Johnny Dee. Open to members and their guests. All guests must be accompanied by a member. LANCASTER, PA Wednesday, July 4, 10 am-2 pm: 132nd Club Anniversary Celebration. Lancaster Liederkranz, 722 S. Chiques Rd, Manheim, PA. lancasterliederkranz@verizon.net, 717-898-8451. ~ Members only. Friday, July 20: Parrot Fest. Lancaster Liederkranz. ~ Open to the Public. Music by Jimmy & the Parrots. Reservations required. NEW BRITAIN, CT Friday, July 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 (Special: Wursts). Sunday, July 8, 8 am - Noon: Sonntag Frühstuck. Austrian Donau Club. Come enjoy breakfast. Friday, July 20, 7:30 pm: Heurigan Abend. $3. Austrian Donau Club. Music by Schachtelgebirger Musikanten. Hot food is available from the kitchen (Special: Meatloaf). 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. ST. LOUIS, MO (courtesy of Nancy W Thomas) Friday & Saturday, July 13-14: 2012 Missouri State Genealogical Association Conference, to be held in Columbia, MO, at the Stoney Creek Inn. Keynote Speakers are Pam Boyer Sayre, CG, CGL and Rick Sayre, CG, genealogy experts who will be presenting lectures on various land records and maps. Supporting speakers include Patricia Walls Stamm, CG, CGL, Pamela Stone Eagleson, CG, Beth Foulke and Carole Goggin. Here are pdf copies of the conference brochure and poster; also see website www.mosga.org for more information or contact Nancy W Thomas, Conference Chairman, NancyThomas@Centurytel.net, 573-443-6052. Saturday, July 28, 8:30 am-3:30 pm: St. Louis Genealogical Society, Summer Speaker Series: Exploring Online Resources for Genealogists. Orlando Gardens, 8352 Watson Road, Webster Groves, MO. Early registration (before July 14) is $45 for StLGS members; $55 for non-members. After July 14, $55/$65. Registration includes four talks plus lunch. See press release here for full details. TORONTO, CANADA Sunday, July 22: Burgenlaender Picnic, Toronto Burgenlaender Club, Evening Bell Park. |
10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Frank James Wagner  Frank
J. Wagner, age 90, of Norton Shores, Michigan, passed away peacefully at home, Monday, June 4,
2012.He was born January 11, 1922 in Schachendorf, Austria to Frank and Theresa (Puskarits) Hotwagner. He came as an infant to the United States with his family and lived in Muskegon Heights. He was a 1940 graduate of Muskegon Heights High School. He honorably served his country during World War II as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force in the European theater, receiving the Presidential Unit Citation and five bronze battle stars. He married his life-long sweetheart, Theresa Melin on November 1, 1941 and they remained happily married for over 65 years until her death on January 18, 2007. He missed her deeply ever after. Frank was employed by Sealed Power since 1940 in various positions in the accounting department, eventually becoming the director of national warehousing and distribution operations. He then joined Joy Manufacturing in Michigan City, IN as assistant comptroller, retiring in 1985, whereupon he and his wife returned to enjoy their retirement in the Muskegon area. He was involved in many religious and civic activities. He was the co-chair of the Building Committee of Sacred Heart Church, president of the board of Catholic Social Services of Muskegon and a member of the executive committee of the Grand Rapids Diocesan Catholic Social Services. He was also the director of the Society for Better Hearing of Muskegon, on the board of directors for the Muskegon YMCA and a charter member of the Muskegon Area Development Committee. He served as chairman of the Muskegon/ Muskegon Heights Consolidation Committee, on the Muskegon Heights Charter Commission and was a member of the Muskegon Heights City Council. He was a lifetime emeritus member of the National Association of Accountants. Frank enjoyed traveling extensively with his wife, golfing, bowling and following the fortunes of his favorite teams: the Chicago Cubs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Besides his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Joseph Hotwagner, sisters, Rose Elwell and Ann Schelhas and brothers-in-law, Basil Elwell and Robert Schelhas. He is survived by his four children: Terri (Jim Walz) Wagner, Dennis Wagner, Mary (Dave Barton) Wagner and Mark (Cindy) Wagner; three granddaughters, Jane Barton, Sarah Wagner and Katie Wagner; sister-in-law, Florence; and many nieces and nephews in the Elwell, Lindsey, Hotwagner and Schelhas families. The MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL will be held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church - Marian Chapel, Friday, June 8, 2012 at 11:00 a.m., Rev. Fr. Philip P. Salmonowicz as celebrant. VISITATION will be Thursday, 6-8 p.m. at The Lee Chapel 6291 S. Harvey St. (231) 798-1100 Visitation will also be 1 hour prior to the Mass at church. Mr. Wagner will be laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery. Those desiring an expression of sympathy are asked to consider St. Francis de Sales Church or Harbor Hospice. Share memories with the family at www.sytsemafh.com. Maria Schweitzer Maria
Schweitzer (née Judt), 86, of Chicago, Illinois, passed away Saturday, June 16, 2012.She was the beloved wife of the late Edmund Schweitzer. Born June 13, 1926, in Alsószölnök, Hungary (aka Unterzemming/Dolnji Senik), she was the daughter of the late Janos and Paula Judt, Maria married Edmund on May 18, 1946. They then moved to Landsberg, Germany, where they resided until coming to Chicago in 1951 with their three children. Survivors: children, Ernest (Carolyn), Helmut (Joanne) and Mary (Gary) Aanenson; grandchildren, Lisa, Dennis, Edmund, Steven (Carrie), Thomas, AnnaMarie and MaryEllen; great-grandchildren, April, Danielle, Dylan, Benjamin and Lily; sister Anna Sandor; and sister-in-law Margaret Schweitzer. Services: Visitation will be Wednesday, from 3 to 9 p.m. at Friedrichs Funeral Home, 320 W. Central Road (at Northwest Highway), Mount Prospect. She will be lying in state Thursday, from 9 a.m. until the Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Raymond de Penafort Church, Elmhurst Road (Route 83) and Lincoln St., Mount Prospect. Entombment will be in St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Kids Equipment Network, www.tken.org. Published in Chicago Suburban Daily Herald on June 19, 2012 Stephen Geosits Stephen
Geosits, 90, of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, died Monday, June 18, 2012 at Blough Healthcare
Center, Bethlehem.He was the husband of the late Helen J. (Bartakovics) Geosits, who died April 30, 1998. He was born in Szentpéterfa, Hungary (aka Petrovo Selo/Prostrum) on February 14, 1922 to the late Ferenc and Rozalia Geosits. Stephen worked for the former Frank J. Kovacs, General Contractor, Bethlehem as a master carpenter for many years until retiring. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Bethlehem. Survivors: Siblings, Louis of Allentown, Maria wife of László Remenyi of Hellertown, Johanna Novak and Paula Jurasits both in Hungary, Anna Kerese of New Brunswick, NJ; nieces and nephews. Predeceased by brothers, Adolf, Mate, Florian; and a sister, Paula. Services: Family and friends are invited to call 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. Saturday at the Heintzelman Funeral Home, Inc., 326 Main Street in Hellertown, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church, 416 East 5th Street, Bethlehem. The interment will conclude services at Union Cemetery of Hellertown. Online expressions of sympathy can be recorded at www.heintzelmancares.com. Published in Morning Call on June 19, 2012 |
END OF NEWSLETTER |
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