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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 241 March 31, 2014, © 2014 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. Editor: Thomas Steichen (email: tj.steichen@comcast.net) Archives at: BB Newsletter Index Our 18th Year. The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online. It was founded by Gerald Berghold (who retired Summer 2008 and died in August 2008). |
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Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 2238 * Surname Entries: 7411 * Query Board Entries: 5268 * Staff Members: 17 |
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This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) THE BURGENLAND MIGRATION TO THE LEHIGH VALLEY: NATURALIZATION RECORDS OF LEHIGH COUNTY 3) COULD HISTORY HAVE DIFFERED? (by Fred and Peter Schneidinger) 4) C.A. MACARTNEY'S 1937 BURGENLAND (part 1) 5) CROATIAN FOLLOW-UP TO "CAN YOU READ IT?" 6) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: - BOCSKAY REBELLION (1605) and LOSS OF GENEALOGICAL RECORDS - DATES ON OLD CHURCH RECORDS 7) ETHNIC EVENTS 8) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
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1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  Concerning
this newsletter, after my mutterings here in my "Corner," we start off with an article about The
Naturalization Records of Lehigh County, courtesy of Connie Hellerich Schield, who shared a couple
of articles by or about her father, Dr. Mahlon H. Hellerich, the Archivist of Lehigh County, PA, from 1974 to
1984. Mahlon developed an interest in the Burgenland emigration... and this article tells about some of his
research.We follow with a cross-Atlantic conversation by cousins Fred and Peter Schneidinger who wonder, Could History Have Differed? if the Habsburg monarchy had survived WW-I. Thereafter, I offer a review of C.A. Macartney's 1937 opinions about Burgenland. I found his pre-WW-II viewpoint insightful, so much so that my review will be spread across two newsletters; look for the second part next month. Article 5 is a continuation of the member-assistance effort we began in Newsletter 239, wherein we were challenged to read and translate some difficult texts; this month, we resolve the Croatian part of "Can You Read It?" The remaining articles are our standard sections: Historical Newsletter Articles, and the Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries sections.  Changes to the BB Website: We were recently informed that PicoSearch, the provider of the site search capability we use on our website, is "closing its service on July 1, 2014." We had (and still have) "search" boxes on our homepage, the surnames page and the BH&R homepage. While there was not a need to quickly transition our tool given the July 1st date, we did so anyway. The new search capability is provided by www.freefind.com and it allows us to recreate all the search capabilities we had plus add some new capabilities. The "price" for this, however, is that the FreeFind search results page shows some advertising, something our PicoSearch tool did not do (note, though, that my speculation for why PicoSearch is shutting down is that it did not bring in enough revenue... too many free accounts with no income stream). However, so far I have found these ad's to be relatively unobtrusive and mostly for services related to FreeFind. Nonetheless, if you use the search tool and find inappropriate ad's, please let me know so I can complain or even change services. As an example, I'll insert the search tool below and talk about its capabilities. [The above is an active search box so, if you are reading this online, you can follow along with me (or do
an actual search from it).]
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2) THE BURGENLAND MIGRATION TO THE LEHIGH VALLEY: NATURALIZATION RECORDS OF LEHIGH COUNTY Originally published in the "Pennsylvania Ethnic Studies Newsletter" of the Pennsylvania Ethnic Heritage Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh. January, 1976. [Ed Note: BB member Connie Hellerich Schield, who wrote article A Short but Meaningful Trip to Burgenland for BB Newsletter No. 239 (31 Jan 2014), also shared some articles written by or about her father, Dr. Mahlon H. Hellerich (1919-2010). Dr. Hellerich was a history professor and, from 1974 to 1984, also the Archivist of Lehigh County, PA. As you will see from the article below, he had an avid interest in Burgenland, being married to a daughter of Burgenland emigrants. We thank Connie for sharing this article.]  Historically
valuable information on people from villages in the Burgenland and other parts of Austria who migrated to the
Lehigh Valley is being uncovered by Mahlon H. Hellerich, Archivist of Lehigh County, as he examines the
naturalization records in the prothonotary's office of Lehigh County.The collection of petitions for naturalization is kept in bound volumes in the office and the earliest petition is dated December 6, 1907. The petitions contain the following information about the petitioner: date of birth, place of birth, date of emigration and arrival in the United States, marital status, occupation, name of spouse and place of spouse's birth, names and birth dates of children, and place of residence in Lehigh County. Through these records, it is possible to trace the petitioners from their place of birth in Europe to their neighborhood in Allentown or Lehigh County at the time they petitioned for naturalization. Mr. Hellerich has completed a study of the first 150 petitions, which extend from December 1907 to September 1911. Of this number, 35 petitioners were born in villages and towns in the present state of Burgenland, Austria, while an additional 13 were either born in what was then the Austrian Empire or were persons with German surnames born in Hungarian villages, Mr. Hellerich says that this gives us a clear indication of the heavy flow of emigration from the Burgenland and other parts of Austria to Lehigh County immediately prior to World War I. He points out that in this period almost one-third of those petitioning for naturalization came from Austria. The information on petitioners' occupations shows that 1 became a merchant, 1 worked as a brick manufacturer, and 33 were employed in manufacturing. Of these 33, 16 were pursuing traditional trades which they probably learned in their native land. These included bricklaying, cabinet making, carpentry, shoemaking, brewing, tailoring, and cooperage. However, the information on occupations reveals that others were pursuing new trades required by employment in American factories; included were a wire puller, metal polisher, machinist, and brass worker. Mr. Hellerich's research shows that 30 of the 35 immigrants lived in Allentown, with about half residing in the First Ward and some others in the Sixth and Ninth Wards. Mr. Hellerich speculates that many of those who lived in the First Ward became members of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church and were the founders of such social clubs as the Allentown Liederkranz, the Allgemeiner, and the Harugari. Other data indicate that 31 of the men were married. Eleven married women from their native villages while 19 married women from nearby towns and villages. Furthermore, almost all of the petitioners came from villages located in southern Burgenland. Mr. Hellerich points out that, unfortunately, these materials do not provide information about all immigrants. This is particularly true of women who remained unmarried, because during this period no unmarried women applied for naturalization. Moreover, while the records give information about the wives of the petitioners, they do not list the women's family names. Mr. Hellerich concludes, however, that naturalization records are a valuable source of information. He says the records give a unique picture of history, for "they describe an emigrant group whose members lived close to one another, who were successful in using skills learned in the native land in shops and industries in their adopted land, who married within the ethnic group, and who became citizens of their adopted country." Because of the valuable information which Mr. Hellerich was able to discover and examine, he suggests that other students of ethnic history may wish to utilize similar records in other counties of the state. |
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3) COULD HISTORY HAVE DIFFERED? (by Fred and Peter Schneidinger) Editor: BB member Fred Schneidinger and his Austrian cousin, Peter Schneidinger, offered to share with the Burgenland Bunch an "e-conversation" between them concerning whether WW-II history, in the form of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, would have occurred if the Habsburg monarchy had survived WW-I. As Fred says to Peter, “although not specifically about Burgenland, the membership may be very interested in the thoughts of both you, an Austrian, and me, a 3rd generation American, indeed related and with the same last name. After all, we are both relatively the same age (post-war ‘baby-boomers,’ as they call them here; born pre-1964).” With some editing to remove comments unnecessary to the main discussion, I have chosen to present their discussion here:  Fred
writes to Peter: I hope you are well. Do you know that the Church has beatified the last Emperor of
Austria, Karl, for his upright actions at the end of the 1st World War? Maybe the rise of Hitler could have been
prevented had Austria retained a stable monarchy...we'll never know. Peter replies to Fred: I am well, thank you. - Yes, I know. The ceremony took place on October 3, 2004, and caused controversial discussion here in Austria. Your thoughts are very interesting and I would like to discuss this issue further with you. I am interested in history, especially of the time after 1800. Fred: Ironically, I have more interest in European history than American history because my roots are more European than American! (Most of our family arrived here after 1900.) I was always interested in royalty, too, and am very Catholic as well; I still think about the Russian Tsar and his family being shot by the Bolsheviks. Peter: It is an interesting thought of yours to ask if "the rise of Hitler could have been prevented had Austria retained a stable monarchy." At least after WW-I, aristocracy had not so many friends in Austria. You mentioned a "stable monarchy." I think that Austria-Hungary (as well as other nations) lost its stability a long time ago as a result of the many conflicts and crises which were caused by the expansion policy of imperialism during the past decades. Monarchies (as well as dictatorships) generally act without having to worry about the opinions of their peoples. At least, many of the monarchies and all of the dictatorships have been doing so for the past centuries. At the end of the 19th century, Europe and large parts of the world were destabilized. The beginning of World War One only had been a question of time and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was only the trigger. After WW-I, both Germany and Austria (or the remainders of them) found their way into democracy. Better to say: They found their way out of monarchy. Also since Austria and Germany had lost the war, the nations were far away from stability. But no wonder that people wanted to get rid of an Emperor who led the nation into an unwanted war. Monetary devaluation, unemployment and the global economic crisis (Black Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange...) led deeper and deeper into a situation which enabled the rise of a person like Hitler. I think that would have happened no matter if Austria had retained its monarchy. What could have been done by an Emperor to establish stability and to prevent another (the second) world war? Fred: I don't pretend to know all the "ins and outs" of European history, and am not going to second-guess you and your family who lived that history. On the other hand, I, as an interested person from the outside, have some observations. I feel that the horrors and the trauma of the 1st World War had an effect on an enlightened young Karl that, given the chance, he would have accepted a limited constitutional monarchy (like the British have), which allows greater freedom for the people. He would have, then, with public opinion with him, been in a better position to resist the likes of Hitler, who wasn't that popular among good Catholics in Austria. (Of course, the multi-national aspect of Austria and Hungary being a dual monarchy was bound to fail... I think one country was enough.) I never thought you were that interested in history as much as you are in science; it's been a pleasure to discuss these "what ifs" with you! Peter: As usual, everyone who experienced war may have an own point of view as a result of his attitude, his political orientation and if his nation won or lost this war. Same events may be evaluated differently by different people. I agree with you, that Karl would have tried to resist Hitler… if he was in the position to do so. From the end of the war to the beginning rise of Hitler, it only took three years. To calculate the "what ifs," we have to assess many details. After the fall of the monarchies (Kaiser Wilhelm II had to abdicate two days before Karl), the European nations were completely politically destabilized. Because of this vacuum of power, it was quite easy for people like Hitler (and he was not the only one of his attitude) to proliferate. I think it was only a question of time before a person like him came to power. But, I’ve got to admit that this is an insufficient explanation and we should firstly concentrate on the question: "What would have happened if the Emperors retained their power?" Again, this is a VERY interesting question to me. I will try to figure out some scenarios of "what ifs." Editor: It is here that Fred proposes sharing the conversation with the BB. The quote from Fred that I placed in the introduction to this article comes from this message (not repeated here). Peter: I think we should first conclude our considerations. I am sure you are right: Hitler was not very popular among Catholics in Austria. But, Catholic or not, there were many pioneers for Hitler. Many of them without the intention to do so. In 1932, Kurt Schuschnigg became Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Chancellor Karl Buresch or Engelbert Dollfuss. There was already discussed in the federal government openly about the elimination of democracy. In fact, the Christian Social Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss took advantage of a Parliamentary Rules of Procedure crisis and established dictatorship in Austria step by step after March 1933. The death penalty was abolished in 1920. At the instigation of Schuschnigg, it was reintroduced with the state law of 11 November 1933. There were many smaller or bigger steps done to prepare the rise of Hitler, done by both Catholics and non-Catholics. But, what we are discussing now happened 15 years after the end of WW-I and the fall of the monarchies. We have skipped this long period since the end of the war... Editor: The conversation ends here, however, I invite you, dear readers, to comment. Clearly, the changes after WW-I were important precipitating factors that eventually led to WW-II ...and those changes and WW-II had substantial effects in Burgenland (including its creation!). But, do you think the continued presence of monarchs and/or monarchy would have pushed History into a different direction? Please do write and present your arguments either for or against this premise. |
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4) C.A. MACARTNEY'S 1937 BURGENLAND (part 1)  Carlile
Aylmer "C.A." Macartney (1895–1978) was a distinguished British academic expert on East Central European
history and, in particular, on Hungary's history. He was a research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford,
and, from 1936 to 1946, was in charge of the Hungarian section of the Foreign Office Research Department.
From 1951 to 1957 he held the Chair of International Relations at Edinburgh University and, in 1974, was
awarded the Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold for services to the Republic of Austria.In his scholarly works from the early 1930’s onwards, he openly criticized the Versailles Settlement because of its "uneven" application of the ethnic principle and the shortcomings of the minority treaties. With the outbreak of the Second World War, as chief adviser to the Foreign Office and contributor to the Hungarian Section of the BBC’s Overseas service, he, for a time, appeared to be in a position to facilitate the reorganization of the region (he advocated a return towards Hungary's pre-1921 borders).  In
1937, he published the book, Hungary and Her Successors: The Treaty of Trianon and Its Consequences,
1919–1937 (C. A. Macartney, Oxford, 1937, 504 pgs). One chapter of this book was entitled "The
Burgenland," as Burgenland was one of the "successors" in the title. The book had been placed online at
hungarianhistory.com/lib/macartney2/, which
is where I read the chapter on Burgenland. If you are interested in reading the full chapter, you can do so there.
However, because that pdf file had awkward formatting problems, I captured the text and placed a clean, plain-text
HTML copy here: Hungary and Her Successors: The Burgenland;
you may find this version easier to read. While there is not a significant amount of absolutely new information in the chapter, I found many little things of interest and found Macartney's pre-WW-II viewpoint insightful, so I thought it worth reviewing for you. My review is split into two parts, with the intro and first four sections of Macartney's chapter reviewed and presented this month and the last five sections presented next month. Before I start, I'll note that Ágnes Beretzky wrote a review of some of Macartney's work, which she entitled "C. A. Macartney. A Devoted and Frustrated Friend of Hungary (1939–1945); Service in the Foreign Office and the BBC." You will see both his devotion and frustration in the quotes in my review... Macartney opens his chapter on Burgenland with the phrase, "The Burgenland, as the territory allotted to Austria at Hungary's expense is called..." so immediately you see his sympathies. He follows that with a geographical description of the regions within Burgenland. In speaking of northern Burgenland, he does his best to say that, geographically, it is no different than Hungary:
He also notes that, "Northern Burgenland has been an immemorial channel both for trade and invasion."
§ 1 of Macartney's chapter considers The People and History of the Area, beginning with the
Romans, then the Germanic tribes, the Avars, the Franks and finally the Magyars in the 900s. He states:
He backs that last sentence above by describing the temporary changes in the border, all of which eventually
reverted to the "historical" border described in the first sentence. Given this, he argues that Hungary's claim to
most of the Burgenland was unquestioned, and to the few disputed areas, it was at least strong. However, he has
the good grace to say:
So, Macartney argues, as so many historians have, that the Avars wiped out all of the German peoples in the
area, though he adds that any remaining non-Avar population in the south was likely Slovene. Further, he also
states that the Magyars cleared the north of Frankish German peoples before restocking it a few hundred years
later with Bavarian Germans, then restocking it again after the Turks with Swabian/Heidebauern Germans. In middle
Burgenland he believes the Magyars stocked that area with Frankish "Heinzen" (he states in a footnote in
his original text that no "satisfactory" explanation of the "Heinzen" name had yet been given) who differ from
their neighbors in Styria and Niederösterreich. However, the south he claims was repopulated by Germans "akin
to that of Styria."
In passing, he mentions Jewish in northern Burgenland, Slovenes in the south and the Gypsies along the
Neusiedlersee, who he says "adopted the Magyar in preference to the German."
In speaking of the north, he states that "the dairy and garden produce and the wines in which the Counties
of Wieselburg [Moson] and Oedenburg [Sopron] excelled went almost exclusively to Vienna..." and that
immigration of West Hungarians into Austria, especially Lower Austria, was quite significant.
He argues, however, that (speaking of all, not just West Hungarian Germans), the "national reawakening" came
too late for many Hungarian Germans and that "a considerable proportion of them, confronted for the first time
with a choice of loyalties, decided in their hearts for the Magyar ideal, and must be counted henceforward, as
Magyars."
He also says that the "cession of the Burgenland was conducted in a manner very different from that
of Northern, Eastern, or Southern Hungary." He states that what Austria received was "given her grudgingly,
with strict regard for the principle of nationality and with none of the concessions to economic advantage so
generously lavished elsewhere. It is hardly probable that Hungary would have retained Oedenburg had the rival
claimant been Roumania or Czechoslovakia, nor that the frontier would, in such a case, have run so closely along
the edge of the hills." |
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5) CROATIAN FOLLOW-UP TO "CAN YOU READ IT?" In Newsletter 239 (31 Jan 2014) we presented an article concerning the translation of text on two postcards, one in German and the other in what we believed was Croatian. And last month, we printed a short update. We had reasonable success in interpreting and translating the German card but could not get past the salutation line of the presumed Croatian text, despite efforts from several Croatian language scholars. Nonetheless, in the past few months we continued to attack the Croatian text by recruiting additional help from, literally, around the world. I am pleased to report we now have a solid idea of what the card says but, as is true of many of these types of text, we lack the context needed to fully identify the people who are casually named in the text.  Before
launching into the meat of this report about our recent activities, I will again present the images from both
sides of the Croatian card and repeat a little background information.The card came from Kristen Kellick, a BB member and recent 'migrant' from Oklahoma City, OK, to Pittsburgh, PA. She is interested in translating the text, mainly as a gift to her grandmother, who has never been able to read her mother's writing. To the left is the front of the card, believed to date circa 1918/9, with the shorter woman on the left being Kristen's great-grandmother, Maria Kirisits. She was born in Stinatz in 1898, the youngest of five children, all daughters. Maria, or Mary as she was later called, came to Buffalo, NY, in 1922. In 1923, she married Joseph Kirisits (also from Stinatz), and they had three children from 1925 to 1930. The lady on the right was reportedly a close friend of Maria's. However, her name and the occasion of the photograph were unknown. The text in question appears on the back of the card, with original text running left-to-right across the image (as shown below), except for a final few words that were wrapped into the bottom of the address area. [Clicking the thumbnail image of the back of the card will pop up a much larger image.] The remainder of the text in the address area (shown vertically in the image) was added later by Kristen's grandmother. Based on the preprinted text at the bottom of the card, we know the card was produced by Atelier Nordlicht (Studio Northern Light) of Grazbachgaße 7 in Graz (Styria, Austria).  Fritz
Königshofer writes to Kristen: "...the studio was founded in 1898 by an Adolf Pichler III, who had
received an education in painting at the "School of Arts and Crafts" (Kunstgewerbeschule) in Graz. He must have
embraced photography as an art too. Even today, Pichler's photos are offered via the internet (e.g., at e-Bay).
The most important graphics museum of Austria, Vienna's Albertina, seems to own some of the photographs.
The most stunning detail when reading about this man was that he had been born (1865) and had died (1944) in
Stegersbach, a neighbor town of Stinatz! The Nordlicht studio did not survive the death of its owner.Under these peculiar circumstances it is, of course, possible that Pichler shot the photo of the two women in Stegersbach or Stinatz, but I don't think this is likely. In any case, Kristen, what you have is more than an ordinary photo of your great-grandmother. It is an exceptional piece." [Ed: The image is undoubtedly a black and white photograph that was hand-colored and printed onto cardstock, as color print photography was not commercially viable until the 1930s. Durable color photographic images were produced on glass plates as early as 1861, but these did not became commercially available until 1907; and this is not a glass plate image.] Last month I reported that Joe Jarfas had passed the card to a friend, Milvoj Dokmanovic, and that the early word was that the body of text was in Gradišće Croatian dialect (Gradišće being the Croatian word for Burgenland). What motivated Joe to do so was a question from me about whether the text might be Hungarian (I didn't think so, but I wanted to rule it out... and Joe confirmed it was not). My question, in turn, was motivated by Fritz, who had shared the card image with a relative who is bilingual in German and Slovenian. The relative stated that the text "under no circumstances is Slowenian," but added that for him the text looked "as pointing to Hungary." Fritz also asked, "What about Romanian or Slovak ...[or] Friulian, Yiddish, or Roma and Sinti (the language of the Gypsies)?" Some of these additional languages (Romanian, Yiddish, Roma/Sinti) I could rule out quickly, either from a little personal knowledge or a brief web search for examples of the language. So that left me with Slovak and Friulian—languages I could do nothing with—and that lingering "pointing to Hungary" question, which led me to Joe. Joe also sent the card image to what he calls the "genealogical community in Hungary," particularly to the Hungarian Genealogical Research Group (MACSE). Through MACSE, Joe hooked up with Ibolya Pletikosic, an ethnic Hungarian but with knowledge about the Gradišće Croatian dialect. Ibolya provided the first full interpretation. She proposed:
The immediate problem with this interpretation is the names: Grumska Vukova, Najaka Varla, Mary Ignyazova,
and Mitra.
He also said that he still struggled with the rest of the text and suggested that I contact Prof. Dr.
Gerhard Neweklowsky, the "leading specialist on Stinatz and its languages and folk customs."
Professor Neweklowsky is retired from the Department of Slavonic Studies at Universität Wien but is
still active as a part-time lecturer at Universität Klagenfurt, where he currently lives. He is also author
of the book, “Die kroatischen Dialekte des Burgenlandes und der angrenzenden Gebiete: mit 52 Dialektkarten”
(The Croatian dialects of the Burgenland and the adjacent areas: with 52 dialect cards).
However, Rosina also said about her translation, "The problem is that the pretty young lady did not know how
to spell in any language. ...The best would be to find someone who speaks Slovenian. It is not Croatian."
He continues: "The [original] text is written in Hungarian orthography; my transcript is modern Croatian.
However, the language is not Croatian Standard but Burgenland Croatian with linguistic features that characterize
the local dialect, which cannot be mixed up with any other Croatian village in Burgenland. Specific Stinatz words
are: 'su' = Standard 'sam' = English 'am'; 'sta' = Standard 'su' = English 'are'." |
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6) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Editor: This is part of our series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of 10 years ago. However, I did not find a suitable short article in that edition so I went back to the early days of the BB, Newsletter No. 20 (30 Sep 1997). Therein, I found two articles worth bringing to your attention again. The first concerns the Bocskay Rebellion and its impact on early Burgenland records. The second, is a short caution about dates in the earliest records. THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 20 September 30, 1997 BOCSKAY REBELLION (1605) and LOSS OF GENEALOGICAL RECORDS (Ed. [Gerry] Note: Few Burgenland buildings predate the 1600's and few records prior to this period exist. Searching for an explanation I found that the Bocskay Rebellion was a prime factor. Not since the advent of the Huns was there a period when the area comprising today's Burgenland suffered as much as it did during this time. I found many references to fire and destruction. Since my material concerning this period was very sparse and was virtually ignored in English European histories, I asked Albert Schuch if he could find something for me. This is his report): THE BOCSKAY-REBELLION (1605) AND ITS IMPACT ON WESTERN HUNGARY (from Albert Schuch) What is today called the Bocskay Rebellion (1605) has to be viewed as: a) a national Hungarian uprising against Hapsburg rule (and partly against Catholicism) and b) part of the so-called "long (15 years) Turkish war" starting in 1593. Main events were the fall of the fortress Raab (Györ) in 1594 (in this year the Turks pushed further west and torched at least 10 villages in the "Seewinkel" and the "Heideboden" areas east of Lake Neusiedl), the recapturing of Raab in 1598, and in 1601, the fall of the fortress Kanizsa. In the following years, the war was mainly fought in Transsylvania. As soon as the Hapsburg armies had defeated the Turks in that area, Emperor Rudolf II wanted to reintroduce Catholicism. This, and nasty behavior of the Imperial Army, inspired the  Transsylvanian
uprising in 1604 led by Stephan Bocskay. The Hapsburg armies retreated to the west (partly because they were badly
paid) and the rebels followed, supported by the Turks. Thus the rebel army of 1605 consisted of Turkish and
Hungarian troops. Most of the Christian (Hungarian and other nationalities) soldiers in this unit were known as
"Heiduken". These were no regular soldiers; they were mostly social outcasts, desperadoes with a sort of a
"pirate" mentality, known for their quick surprise attacks and feared for the subsequent looting and torching
(when it came to this, they didn't make much exception between friend and enemy!). Bocskay tried to turn them into
regular soldiers, which was no easy task. After his death, a few Heiduken regiments were even incorporated into
the Imperial army.The rebel forces quickly gained control of most parts of Hungary and soon started to push beyond the borders. Since the fortress Kanizsa had fallen into the hands of the Turks in 1601, they could advance into Styria through the Raab valley quite easily. Lower Austria was in a slightly better position (from a strategic point of view). Because most noblemen of Western Hungary (Batthyány, Königsberg, Zrinyi) and the city Ödenburg (Sopron) had remained loyal to the emperor, Western Hungary - the Burgenland area - was enemy territory for the Bocskay rebels. In May 1605, the rebels roamed through the Neusiedlersee area and the neighboring regions of Lower Austria. They looted and torched houses, killed women and children and enslaved men, or vice versa, and stole the cattle. To give an example of one unfortunate village: 57 inhabitants of Donnerskirchen, mostly women and children, were captured and led away. It has to be added that the villages owned by pro-rebel noblemen - if they were spared by the rebels (for which there was no absolute guarantee) - were not treated with kindness by the advancing Imperial army. As a result many people fled. Quite a number sought refuge in the city of Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria). Soon this city was overcrowded and people began to die of epidemic diseases. The death register of Wiener Neustadt lists former inhabitants from Rust, Pöttsching, Krensdorf, Oggau, Mattersburg, Grosshöflein, Eisenstadt and even Ödenburg. A report of May 1605 says the rebels led away 4000 prisoners (to sell as slaves) and huge numbers of cattle. The rebel army moved back and forth very quickly. Soon it was split up and one part - led by Colonel Gregor Nemethy - turned to the south, entering Styria through the Raab valley. On their way back to Hungary (in early June) these troops devastated many villages belonging to the Batthyány domains, including Güssing, Schlaining, Rechnitz and Körmend. After this, an estimated 4-5000 strong rebel army turned its attention to the Mittelburgenland region. Since they couldn't take the strongholds of Lockenhaus and Bernstein, they looted and burned down the surrounding villages (e.g., Deutsch Gerisdorf, Pilgersdorf, Steinbach, ...). Likewise the rebel army couldn't conquer the town Ödenburg. Again, nearby villages had to pay the price. One small detail of these tragic times: On 29 May, Mert (Martin) Gieffing got married in the village of Marz. On 30 May, he was killed by the rebels. Quite a honeymoon! In July and August, an imperial army was able to push the rebels back but, by September, they were again devastating large parts of Northern Burgenland and neighboring Lower Austria. On 10 Oct, rebel forces re-entered Styria. On their way there they took the time to devastate several Burgenland villages including Mogersdorf, Poppendorf and Eltendorf. They couldn't conquer the castle Güssing but the villages situated between the rivers Raab and Lafnitz (Rax, Weichselbaum, Grieselstein, Henndorf, Neustift, Hagensdorf, Krobotek, Limbach) were completely destroyed. By the end of October, an Imperial army managed to push the rebels back and, in November, an armistice was signed with Stephan Bocskay. In June 1606, a peace treaty followed. Bocskay became prince of Transsylvania and some parts of eastern Hungary remained under his control. Before he died (later in 1606), he is claimed to have regretted the atrocities committed by his Haiduken and said that these had been done contrary to his orders. Note that the villages mentioned in this brief account are just a small part of those which have suffered during the Bocskay rebellion. Most Burgenland villages did experience a similar fate. Estimates of the loss of life vary from 5 to 20 percent of the population. Events in Styria and Lower Austria were not included in this summary. Main sources: - Leopold TOIFL, Hildegard LEITGEB: Oststerreich im Bocskay-Aufstand 1605. Wien 1990 (Militärhistorische Schriftenreihe Heft 63). - Harald PRICKLER: Verlauf und Folgen der Bocskay-Rebellion im österreichisch-ungarischen Grenzraum. Eisenstadt 1972. In: Internationales Kulturhistorisches Symposium Mogersdorf Band 1, pp 157-174. DATES ON OLD CHURCH RECORDS (from Albert Schuch & John Lavendoski) Harald Prickler, retired archivarian (Landesarchiv in Eisenstadt) and living encyclopedia of Burgenland history, writes in a new article: "often the age-entries in death and marriage records are wrong (up to three years, in some cases even more) until the early 19th century." This would mean that < ... married 20 June 1813: Georgius Milisits and Anna Sztubics ... he is 24 years old, she is 19 years old ... > [implies that] Georgius Milisits is likely to have been born approx. 1786–1792; Anna Sztubics approx. 1791–1797. (Ed. [Gerry] note: this means you shouldn't be too concerned if some of those church records don't exactly match what you're looking for. I also find it rewarding to use a five year spread when looking for other records once I have an age reference.) |
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7) ETHNIC EVENTS LEHIGH VALLEY, PA Sunday, April 27: Spring Concert at the Reading Liederkranz. Choral concert with the Reading Liederkranz Singers and visiting German choruses. Dance music by the Joe Weber Trio. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com. LANCASTER, PA Saturday, April 12, 5-6 pm: Liederkranz Chorus Spring Concert at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 85 E. Brandt Blvd., Landisville. (Buffet Dinner & Dance follows concert at the Club.) Saturday, April 12, 7:30 to 11:30 pm: Spring Dance (& Buffet Dinner). Lancaster Liederkranz ($10 ~ $12 guests). Music by Die Immergrün Musikanten. Buffet immediately follows above Spring Concert (approx 6:30 pm, $14 Adult ~ $7 Child). |
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8) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Theresa Straus  Theresa Straus (née
Berghold), 93, of North Branford, Connecticut, passed away March 1, 2014, at Connecticut Hospice. She was the wife
of the late Joseph M. Straus,Born in Poppendorf, Austria on May 7, 1920, Theresa was a daughter of the late Frank and Julia (Wagner) Berghold. She worked for many years for Silly Putty in North Branford until retiring. She was a member of the North Branford Congregational Church for many years and an avid Yankees fan. She is survived by her son, Robert Straus of North Branford; her daughter, Alice Straus of San Francisco; her granddaughter, Julie Straus; and her great grandchildren, Dillon and Ryan. Her funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the North Branford Congregational Church. Burial will follow in All Saints Cemetery. Those wishing to send condolences online may do so at www.keenanfuneralhome.com Published in The New Haven Register on Mar. 5, 2014 Mary A. Fidler Mary A. Fidler, 89, of
Coplay, Pennsylvania, passed away March 5, 2104 at St. Luke's Hospital, Allentown.She was married to the late Julius F. Fidler for 61 years. Born in Allentown and raised in Rehgraben, Austria, she was the daughter of the late Andreas and Maria (Miksits) Wallusch. She was a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, Coplay. Survivors: Sons, Dennis C. and his wife, Joanne, of Allentown, Julius W. and his companion, Sharon Silfies, of Whitehall; grandchildren, Jessica, Stacey, Kevin, Kyle; great-grandchildren, Ryan and Justin; sister, Theresa Lyons of N. Carolina. She was predeceased by a sister, Gisela Kosek; and a brother, Andrew Wallusch. Services: 10 a.m., Monday, March 10, Robert A. Hauke Funeral Home (haukefuneralhome.com), 327 Chestnut St., Coplay followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m., St. Peters Catholic Church, Coplay. Viewing from 9 to 10 a.m., Monday, in the funeral home. Interment parish cemetery, Whitehall. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, to the church c/o the funeral home, 18037. Published in Morning Call on Mar. 6, 2014 Josef Csandl With great sadness, the
family announces the passing of beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle Joe Csandl of Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, on March 18, 2014 at the age of 79 years.Joe will be deeply missed by Maria, his loving wife of 54 years, his son Joe (Terry), granddaughters Cassidy and Jessica, his brother Gaby (Trudy), his sister Frieda in Austria, and several nieces and nephews. Joe was born June 21, 1934 in Güssing, Austria and grew up on the family farm. Along with farming, he also worked for the forestry service. In 1956 he met the love of his life and Joe and Maria were married in 1959. Despite not knowing any English or French, Joe, together with Maria and their son Joe, immigrated to Canada in 1967. They lived and worked in Montreal for two years before moving to Edmonton during the summer of 1969. In 1973, Joe seized an opportunity to work for Labatt's as a machine operator and continued working there until his retirement in 1999. Joe was a kind, gentle and easy-going person. His granddaughters were the light of his retirement years and he spent many days escorting them to various places he thought might interest them. The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at Grey Nuns Hospital for their outstanding care and compassion during Joe's final weeks. In accordance with Joe's wishes, cremation has taken place and a Funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 10826 - 62 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes for your support of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, #710, 10123 - 99 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 3H1. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.hainstockedmonton.com. Published in The Edmonton Journal on Mar. 21, 2014 |
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END OF NEWSLETTER |
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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 © 2014 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. |
News
button is what you click
to initiate the search.
Update
on book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": As I will do for a while, here is this month's update on
purchases of the English issue of the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book “Die Amerika-Wanderung Der
Burgenländer.” 
On a related
note: As speculated, due to the nearness of their publication deadline, the "Österreich Journal"
delayed their presentation of Walter's book until Edition # 129, published April 1. Their article appears in the
subsection called the "Burgenland Journal" and is, of course, in German, as this is a
German-language online and pdf monthly magazine. Again, if you are interested in seeing their magazine,
downloadable pdf-based editions can be found at 
Button
Accordian Jam Session: Bob Strauch reports that the weekly Friday night Button Accordian Jam Session
in the Lehigh Valley has moved from the Coplay Sängerbund to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall
in Northampton (1204 Main Street). 
The
particular (composite) map presented on the page is a three-layer map consisting of an underlying modern Google
map, to act as a guide, a middle layer consisting of the Second (also known as Franciscan)
Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary (1806-1869), scaled 1 to 28.800, and a top layer of the
more-detailed cadastral maps, scaled 1 to 2.880.
Tanya
Hamlin and John Karpyn purchased the bar from Joe Unger, who in recent years would only unlock the doors on
Saturdays to keep the liquor license current. His parents, Theresia and Alois Unger, Austrian immigrants from
Strem, bought the bar in 1972 and named it Edelweis Haus. Alois died in 1991 and Theresia in 2006. 
New
Genealogical Board Game: Michael Spahitz, owner of MJS Creations (
Joke
of the Month: This one has nothing to do with genealogy or history... but if you are from Minnesota (like
me), or live there now (not like me), then you know about the Ole and Lena jokes, so I'm sure you will
appreciate it (but if not, I'll blame Margaret Kaiser for sharing it with me!).
My
question for you readers is: what are the letters in this line of text? Is it noivotokroifigi,
navotakroifiji, nocvotockrafiyi, navotakrafiji (or even something else)? This is what Ibolya
means when she says she had difficulty working out some of the letters. In addition, is this one word or multiple
words? (hint: it is two words... but where do you divide it?) This text also fits the categories of "words not
familiar" or "misspelled words" since we later concluded that the words were na votakrafiji and the second
was a phonetic version of the Croatian word fotografiji (together, where the first word is "na,"
they mean: "on the photograph").
Nedavi =
Neudau, is a Styrian village close to Stinatz. A spinning mill and textile factory is there (Borckenstein
GmbH, founded in 1789 in Burgau but expanded into Neudau in 1845, and currently "producing high quality yarns
and threads," according to their website). Many inhabitants of Stinatz and other surrounding villages used to
work there a hundred years ago (and some current inhabitants likely still do).
