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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 264 February 29, 2016, © 2016 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 20th Year. The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online. It was founded by Gerald Berghold (who retired from the BB in the Summer of 2008 and died in August 2008). |
Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 2416 * Surname Entries: 7790 * Query Board Entries: 5497 * Staff Members: 17 |
This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) DIVORCE IN CIRCA 1900 HUNGARY 3) COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW ANCESTRY.COM 4) DISCOVERING THE BURGENLAND OF OUR ANCESTORS (by Kathie Everhard) 5) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: - CHANGES AFFECTING MY STATUS AS BB EDITOR & COORDINATOR (Gerry Berghold) - SACHERTORTE VS IMPERIALTORTE VS STRUDEL (Gerry Berghold) 6) ETHNIC EVENTS 7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  Happy
Leap Year Day (if I can call it that)!Have you ever wondered what the Divorce Laws in Burgenland (or, more precisely, Hungary) were at the time our ancestors were emigrating? After the bits and pieces here in my "Corner," I address that question (specifically for the late 1890s period) as Article 2. Our newsletter continues in Article 3 with some reader Comments About the New Ancestry.com (a related "bit" is the third "piece" below). Article 4 is a trip report where-in Kathie Everhard writes about Discovering the Burgenland of Our Ancestors. She and husband Larry found much success in exploring Larry's family origins... and she tosses out, in passing, a "trick" that helped the trip be such a success... enjoy her story! The remaining articles are our standard sections: Historical Newsletter Articles, and the Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries sections.  Viennese Concert and Ball: Longtime bandleader, Walt Groller, asked that I announce this year's Viennese Concert and Ball, subtitled "an evening filled with music and dancing!" Walt and his family have organized the Viennese Ball for 39 years to raise funds for many charities in Pennsylvania. This year, his son Joe and daughter-in-law Ellen are taking over the lead role in organizing the popular event.  The 2016 Ball, a "black tie / formal attire" affair, will be held Saturday, April 23rd, at Sunnybrook Ballroom (50 Sunnybrook Road, Pottstown, PA), with doors opening at 3:30 pm, the Grand March at 5 pm, dinner served at 7 pm, and dancing to 11 pm. The cost for the dance and dinner is $75 per person ($55 for students) and reservations are required. A cash bar will also be available. You may contact Joe or Ellen Groller at 610-435-7726 or visit online at http://www.VienneseConcert.com to register and purchase tickets. The website also has the dinner menu, information about area hotels, directions to the ballroom, and pictures from last year's event. Providing the musical entertainment and dance music will be The Main Line Symphony Orchestra, The Walt Groller Orchestra, George Batman on the Theatre Organ and Keyboards, and The Millhouse Trio (performing Island Jazz). In addition, the LeRoux School of Dance will present a ballet performance and Dave and Susan Kim will be giving ballroom dance lessons throughout the evening. The Sunnybrook Ballroom, the third largest in the USA, was
built in 1931 and is one of the few remaining large dancehalls of the pre-WW-II era. |
2) DIVORCE IN CIRCA 1900 HUNGARY  A
recent new member has Burgenland-born great-great-grandparents, where the wife remarried around
1900, though the exact date and location (Burgenland or USA) of the remarriage is yet unknown.
Family lore suggested that the original couple divorced and then she remarried. However, the
most reliable evidence now indicates that the couple remain married until he died of
tuberculosis in 1900, even though they appear to have been living apart for some time before he
died (he in Frauenkirchen in northern Burgenland and she in Gerersdorf in southern Burgenland,
towns at least 75 miles and over 2 hours driving time apart even on current roads and via
current methods of transport). She is named on his Frauenkirchen death record and it clearly
states they were married at that time. Nonetheless, this prompted me to wonder what the divorce laws in Burgenland (or, more precisely, Hungary) were at that time. Thus this article.  Hungarian Marriage and Divorce Legislation Prior to 1894 1894 is the year when Hungary first passed a law that uniformly controlled marriage and divorce throughout the Kingdom. Let me state that it is not my intent to fully explore the complicated pre-1894 laws, though I will give a short overview here: Divorce had been legal for Hungarian Protestants since 1786 and for Hungarian Hebrews since 1863, with questions of divorce or validity of marriage among Protestants being subject to the jurisdiction of the civil courts. By implication, legal divorce was not allowed for Protestants before 1786 nor Jews before 1863. However, before the above-mentioned 1894 uniform law, "absolute divorce" was not allowed for members of the Catholic Church anywhere in the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (I'll say more on the distinction between absolute and relative divorce later). The ecclesiastical court laws of their respective churches applied to the Latin Catholics, Greek Catholics and Orthodox Greeks... and absolute divorce was not part of their laws. In case of mixed marriage, the court of the defendant's confession had jurisdiction. Thus, marriage/divorce legislation in the Hungarian Kingdom, even excluding Croatia and Slavonia and the Kingdom of Dalmatia, was among the most confused and complicated in Europe. In general, each religious confession was governed by separate regulations, so that the 1894 uniform marriage law replaced no less than nine distinct systems: 1. The law of the Roman Catholic Church, based on the canon law. 2. The law of the Oriental Greek Church of Serbia. 3. The law of the Oriental Greek Church of Romania. 4. The marriage patent of Joseph II, dating from 1786, in force for the Protestant churches of Hungary proper. 5. The law of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Transylvania. 6. The matrimonial regulations of 1870 of the Saxon Church (Augsburg Confession) of Transylvania. 7. The law of the Unitarians, fixed in 1889. 8. The law of the Jews of Hungary proper, fixed by an edict in 1863. 9. The law of the Jews of Fiume and Transylvania, based on the provisions of the Austrian Civil Code. Not all of these systems applied to the region that became Burgenland, however, 1, 4, 7 and 8 likely did apply. Nonetheless, throughout the greater Hungarian Kingdom, this multiplicity of systems created a clash and confusion of interests that eventually became intolerable. This resulted, after a long and bitter effort, in the course of which the bill was once completely rejected by the Hungarian House of Magnates, in the passage of the 1894 comprehensive law that established a uniform system controlling matrimonial affairs for all Hungarian subjects without distinction of creed. The 1894 Hungarian Uniform Marriage Law My source for the 1894 Hungarian marriage law is a 1909 Special Report by the US Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census, titled "Marriage and Divorce, 1867-1906: Summary, Laws, Foreign Statistics." The publication provides an English translation of a German translation of the original Hungarian law. I will directly quote most of that translation, though I will, where possible, shorten some of the longer sections and may insert [in bracketed italics, like this] some personal comments. When we speak of marriage and divorce, it is appropriate to divide the reasons for terminating a marriage into three parts: impediments to a marriage, annulment of a marriage, and divorce. Impediments to marriage:  Under
the Marriage Law of 1894, impediments to marriage fall into two classes—the absolute
impediments and the prohibitions. Marriages contracted in spite of the existence of
any of the absolute impediments either are absolutely void or else may be declared void
upon petition of the proper party. Marriages contracted in spite of the existence of any of the
other impediments, the prohibitions, are considered valid, but severe penalties are
imposed upon those who knowingly enter into such marriages.Absolute impediments — the following impediments affect the validity of the marriage: 1. Lack of capacity. Such persons are: (a) all who are under 12 years of age; (b) those who, on account of mental disorder or other cause, are deprived of the enjoyment of their reason, so long as this condition endures; (c) minors [those under age 25] and persons of full age whose minority has been continued, or who have been placed under a curator on account of mental disorder or of being deaf-mutes unable to make themselves understood. 2. Lack of marriageable age. A man can not marry before the conclusion of his eighteenth year; a woman, before the conclusion of her sixteenth year. Dispensation from this requirement can be obtained from the minister of justice. 3. Lack of consent of legal representatives or parents. A minor cannot conclude a marriage without the consent of his/her legal representative. 4. Consanguinity and affinity. The following persons cannot conclude marriage with each other: (a) Blood relatives in the direct line; (b) Brother with sister; (c) Brother or sister with offspring of brother or sister, though the king may grant a dispensation; (d) A person who has been previously married with a blood relative in direct line of that person's former consort [= his/her former marriage partner], even after the end or annulment of the marriage. 5. Existing previous marriage. No one can enter into a new marriage whose earlier marriage has not been dissolved or declared invalid. 6. Conspiracy against the life. Two persons can not conclude a marriage if one of them has made an attempt upon the life of his/her own or the other's consort. Annulment of marriage:  Marriage
may be annulled for violation of various provisions in reference to marriage impediments
or the formalities necessary to conclude marriage. The Hungarian law, however, makes a precise
differentiation between the grounds for annulment, the marriage being, in some cases,
absolutely void and, in others, simply impugnable. In the former case, the impediment
is perpetual in its effect, and the couple themselves, the royal prosecuting attorney, or anyone
who can prove that he/she has a legal interest dependent upon the annulment of the marriage, may
institute an annulment action. In impugnable marriages, however, the right to take legal
action is subject to extinction [termination], and belongs only to the injured party or
the authority legally empowered to act in his/her behalf. A marriage, however, is not to be
considered as annulled until a judicial decree to that effect has been rendered.Absolutely void marriages — Marriage is void in the following cases: 1. If the marriage was performed before an incompetent official, except in cases where the supposition was that the official was competent and neither party to the marriage knew the contrary. 2. If the provisions relative to declaration of consent were not observed. If, however, the parties have declared consent in person before the proper official, they conclude a marriage with each other, and having thereafter lived together for a year as man and wife, the marriage is not rendered void by failure to observe any of the other provisions relative to the conclusion of the marriage. 3. If one of the parties was incapacitated for the performance of acts in the law. The voidability of the marriage on this ground, however, ends if, after the cessation of the incapacity, the person affected thereby, before the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, declares his/her approval thereof, provided that in the meantime the absolute impediments under 4d, 5, or 6 above have not arisen. Whether continuance of cohabitation constitutes such approval is to be decided by the court. 4. If the marriage was contracted despite the absolute impediments indicated under 4, 5, and 6 above. A dispensation can be obtained from impediment 4c if dissolution or annulment has not already taken place. Impugnable marriages — Marriage is impugnable in the following cases: 1. If contracted before reaching the marriageable age. 2. If contracted without the necessary legal consent. But the marriage of a minor who had completed his/her twentieth year and had received the consent of his/her legal representative is not impugnable even if contracted without the consent of his/her parents. 3. On the grounds of force, if either party entered into the marriage in consequence of a well-grounded fear induced by threats. 4. On the ground of error, in the following cases: (a) If the victim of the error did not intend to conclude a marriage, and was unaware that by his/her declaration he/she was doing so; or (b) If he/she concluded the marriage with another person other than the one he/she intended to marry, and at the time was not aware of this fact. (c) If either party was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage, and the other party was not cognizant of this fact. (d) If either party had been condemned to death, or to a sentence in prison or penitentiary, or to jail for a crime arising from love of gain, provided condemnation occurred before marriage, and it can well be supposed that the other party would not have concluded the marriage had he/she been cognizant of the facts. (e) If at the time of the marriage the woman was pregnant by another, and the fact was not known to the husband, provided that this pregnancy was not the result of a previous legal union. (f) If the former consort of one of the parties, who had been legally declared dead, appears after the conclusion of the new marriage, and neither party to the marriage knew at the time of marriage that the former consort was yet alive. 5. On the ground of deception, if the deception relates to essential personal characteristics of the other party, and if it was knowingly evoked. It must appear reasonable, however, that the marriage would not have been concluded without the deceit. Actions impugning a marriage may be initiated by the party affected. In addition, the royal prosecuting attorney may initiate actions on the ground of lack of age, and the court of guardianship, actions on the ground of lack of consent, and for minors on the ground of force, error, or fraud. The right of impugning the marriage is extinguished after a year has elapsed from the time when the party possessing the right of action became cognizant of the facts or acquired the capacity to institute an action. In case of marriage under the legal age or without legal consent, the obstacle may be removed by subsequent dispensation or consent, or by approval of the marriage by the party in question after he/she has attained marriageable age or after consent is no longer necessary. Divorce:  Marriage
can be legally dissolved only by a judicial decree, on certain grounds specified by law. These
grounds are of two classes, absolute and relative.Absolute grounds — The following causes constitute absolute grounds for divorce. A divorce asked for on any of these grounds must be granted if the allegations are proven: 1. Adultery, crime against nature, or willful bigamy. 2. Abandonment, knowingly and without just cause, provided: (a) The party at fault, after the lapse of six months from the date of the abandonment, was ordered by a judicial decree to renew the marital community and failed to conform within the time appointed; or (b) The party at fault, after his/her whereabouts has been unknown for at least a year, was by judicial edict ordered to resume the marital community within one year, and unjustifiably failed to conform to this requirement. 3. Attempt upon the life or willful and serious maltreatment such as to endanger bodily safety or health. 4. Sentence to death or to at least five years in prison or the penitentiary. Relative grounds — Divorce may be granted on the following grounds if the judge, after careful consideration of the individuality and characteristics of the parties, is satisfied that the marriage relation is so sorely disturbed as a consequence of the alleged grounds that the continuance of cohabitation has become unbearable for the one asking the dissolution of the marriage: 1. Serious and willful violation of marital obligations, other than the violations included under the absolute grounds. 2. Inducing, or attempting to induce, a child belonging to the family to commit a criminal act or to an immoral manner of life. 3. Stubborn persistence in an immoral manner of life. 4. Sentence to prison or the penitentiary for less than five years, or to jail for an offense arising from love of gain. Limitations to right of action — The right of action is extinguished by connivance or complicity in the criminal act, and by condonation. But it is not extinguished by the fact that the complainant also has given grounds for the dissolution of the marriage. Except in the case of abandonment, the right of action is extinguished six months after the injured party becomes cognizant of the culpable act or learns of the criminal sentence. The period of limitation does not run, however, during the time the party possessing the right of action is hindered from exercising that right by force or by incapacity for acts in the law. In any event, however, an action for divorce is not permissible ten years after the date of the performance of the guilty act or after the time when the penal sentence entered into effect. Jurisdiction — The court of first instance in matrimonial causes is that circuit court under whose jurisdiction the parties had their last common residence. In cases of abandonment, however, where the residence of the defendant is unknown, jurisdiction is determined by the residence of the complainant. Service — The defendant is ordinarily to be notified by personal service. If, however, the complainant shows by certificate of the local authorities that he/she has not succeeded in ascertaining the residence of the defendant; if the defendant was not found at home, and there was no person in the household to whom service could be made; or if the defendant lives outside the province, and a return of the writ issued for personal service has not been made within a reasonable time, a curator ad actum is appointed. In the first two cases, personal service is made to the curator; in the third case, an edict is issued by the court requiring the defendant either to communicate his/her defense to the curator, or to indicate to the court someone else who shall act as his/her advocate. This edict is to be published in the official journal and, if occasion demands, in foreign newspapers, and is to be posted publicly in the courthouse. If the complainant conceals his/her knowledge of the defendant's residence, the whole proceedings are void, and the complainant is required to pay the costs of the case and a heavy fine in addition. Court procedure — A separation from bed and board for the purpose of permitting an attempt at reconciliation must first be ordered by the judge in actions of divorce brought on any of the absolute grounds other than abandonment, unless such a reconciliation appears absolutely not to be hoped for, and it must always be ordered in actions based on relative grounds. It may also be ordered during the trial, on the petition of either party. This separation must be for a period of not less than six months nor more than one year, and cannot be repeated, but may be prolonged by mutual request of the parties. The right of action on the ground alleged in the complaint is extinguished if the parties renew the marriage relation during the period of separation, or if, within three months from the end of the period, the one bringing the complaint or cross bill does not formally ask for the dissolution of the marriage. In every action for annulment or divorce a defender of the marriage is appointed who is obliged to seek all available means of legal relief from a decree annulling or dissolving the marriage. The court has to make an attempt to reconcile the parties before proceeding with the trial. Hearings are usually private. If both parties fail to appear, the case is continued for not longer than three years; if but one party fails to appear, the case may be continued for this period upon the petition of the other party. The court decides upon the weight of the evidence. Representation by counsel is compulsory. The decree of divorce names the party on account of whose guilt the marriage was dissolved. If, as a result of a counter complaint, the divorce is granted in consequence of the guilt of both parties, this fact is to be stated. The respondent may, without a counter complaint, ask the court to declare the complainant also guilty if the latter has proved a cause of complaint against himself/herself, even if the right of action that accrued to the respondent on this ground has become extinguished, provided this right was still in existence at the time the grounds alleged by the complainant arose. The guilty party in a divorce on the ground of adultery is to be forbidden in the decree to marry the one with whom the adultery was committed. Alimony and property effects — After a divorce, the guilty party is required to restore to the innocent party all gifts made by the latter before or during the marriage. If this is not possible, he/she is bound to make restitution to the amount of their value. The right to demand restitution must, however, be exercised within a year. The man who is declared guilty is obliged to maintain the innocent woman in a position in keeping with his estate and social position, in so far as her income is insufficient. The parties are, however, free to make any agreement they may desire on the subject. Alimony is payable, as a rule, in monthly cash installments in advance. Under certain circumstances it may be increased. The right to alimony continues after the death of the man, but, at the request of the heirs, it may be reduced to half the amount of the net income of the estate. The right to alimony ceases if the woman marries again. Change of name — The guilty wife cannot retain the name of her former husband, but the innocent wife may, provided she specifically makes a request to that effect at the time of the action. Custody of children — Up to their seventh year, minor children are entrusted to the care of the mother; after that time, to the innocent party. If both parties are guilty, the father receives the custody of the boys and the mother that of the girls. The parties may, however, settle the custody of the children by mutual agreement, and the judge, in his discretion, may make different provisions in the interest of the children, even to the extent of giving them into the custody of a third party. If the income from the children's property is not sufficient, the expenses of the children's bringing up are to be borne by both parents according to their incomes. In general, the interests of children of divorced parents are to be watched over by the court of guardianship. The parents, as a rule, retain the right to visit children not committed to their care and to control their bringing up. Separation from bed and board:  An
action for separation from bed and board can be brought on any of the grounds enumerated
for divorce. Separation may also be asked for in the counter complaint in an action for divorce.
The effects of separation are the same as those of divorce in reference to property, alimony,
and custody of children. The separated parties can at any time renew the marriage relation, and
on announcement of this fact to the court granting the decree, all effects of the separation
cease. After the lapse of two years from the time the decree entered into effect, either party
may petition to have it changed into a decree of divorce. Record of decrees in matrimonial causes: All annulments, divorces, and separations, as well as renewals of the marriage relation after separation, must be reported to the registrar of the district in which the marriage was performed, who must indorse [officially write] them on the record of the marriage. Validity of foreign decrees in matrimonial causes: In matrimonial causes where one of the parties is a Hungarian citizen, the judgments of the Hungarian courts alone are recognized as having effect. |
3) COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW ANCESTRY.COM  Last
month, I wrote a 'bits and pieces" tidbit titled "Ancestry.com Announces Move to the 'New'
Ancestry." In it, I noted that "Not being an Ancestry member myself, I do not have
personal knowledge of how different the versions are... but based on the numerous comments I
read on some Ancestry blogs, it appears that seasoned users are generally not happy about the
change. Rather than try to summarize those myself, I'll ask that BB members who use Ancestry
send me a note about their feelings about the change and I'll share the comments in our next
newsletter."Two BB members took up their pens to comment. The first was Richard Potetz, but he is not truly a full user of Ancestry.com... with his limited, partial usage, he really does not care about the parts that were changed. The second was Donna Stockl, of Warwick in Bucks County, PA. She is a full user of Ancestry and finds the changes useful. I hope you find their comments useful too! Richard Potetz writes (in part): I rejoined Ancestry after Christmas and never got the notification that my Family Tree Maker software, upgraded in 2014, would lose support. I don’t know why they did not send an email about that. I’ll have to think about migrating to something else [now, however, given Ancestry's latest notice, he will not need to migrate]. An Ancestry subscription is useful periodically to see what others
working on shared ancestors have come up with. I found an Austrian second cousin in Leitersdorf
im Raabtal who corrected a bad assumption in my tree. Also on Ancestry I “met” the wife of a
second cousin twice removed who then provided a photo of my mother’s Aunt. A continuous
Ancestry subscription in my case does not appear to be worth the cost. A short subscription
about every year and a half does have value for me. |
4) DISCOVERING THE BURGENLAND OF OUR ANCESTORS (by Kathie Everhard)  In
September, Larry and I finally made our long-awaited trip to Europe, with the special addition
of spending four days in Burgenland. We rented a car and drove from Vienna to our hotel in
Großpetersdorf. Once out of the rush of Vienna, the road was so easy to navigate and our GPS
took us to Großpetersdorf without a hitch. Later in our wanderings there were a few glitches due
to “navigator error”…but it afforded us some very scenic touring of the area. We were
struck by the similarity of the contour of the land and farms with Larry’s family’s area in the
Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. We were fortunate to have warm, sunny days for our excursions.
The people we met were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Before we left, we had a letter of
introduction translated into German for us by a friend. We stated who we were and that we were
looking into the Eberhardt, Schrammel, Brunner, and Lorincz families. We added some facts we had
on specific relatives and the flax farm in Neuberg that may help identify the family. That
letter proved to be the most valuable item we had taken with us!  Our
first venture was to Hannersdorf, where we knew Larry’s great aunt had been baptized. The church
was easily found high on the hill in the center of the village. The grotto to Mary, carved out
of the rock, was impressive. We had been told to find “the keeper of the keys” in the
small villages in order to get inside the churches. So we went next door to a hair salon and,
after several people read our “letter,” we were directed to go up the hill three houses to the
pink house. There, an elderly woman met us and, with a bit of sign language and the word “Kirche,”
she said she would meet us at the church. She was delightful and so very proud of her church. We
spent quite a bit of time taking pictures and taking in the beauty of the church. Larry and I
were both impressed that the church, though relatively plain from the outside, held amazing
sculptures and artwork, just like the large churches we had seen in the big cities. There was,
what we suspect is, a very, very old baptismal font in the corner in the back of the
church….perhaps used long ago when his great aunt was baptized? That day we continued our journey down toward Pornóapáti, Hungary. We were concerned what we would find, as we knew we needed to cross into Hungary. Before we left Vienna, the trains were stopped intermittently from running between Austria and Hungary and the border crossings were being monitored. We just happened to be there as the largest influx of immigrants from Syria were making their way toward Germany. It was before the countries really had a handle on how to process the large numbers who were streaming in to Hungary, Austria and Germany. So we made sure we had our passports and hoped we would be able to get to Pornóapáti. Much to our relief, as the road into Hungary was coming up, there was no indication of any monitoring, etc. In fact, we turned left onto the small road with a small sign saying “Pornóapáti” and a bombed out building on the left caught our attention. We stopped and Larry took pictures. There was a statue of Mary and we were thinking it perhaps had been a monastery. We continued across the Pinka River, past a few homes, and were there in the center of town with St. Margaret’s Church in front of us. We walked around and got a feel for the village and were able to find the “keeper of the key.” We spent time inside St. Margaret’s taking pictures again and absorbing the ambiance. Thanking the woman who had helped us, we left in pursuit of house #71. John Eberhardt, of the BB, had contacted us previously since he has done extensive research on the Eberhardt families. We also learned while in Burgenland that the Eberhardt and Schrammel families were huge, with many branches. Perhaps we will never know definitively which branch we are but John had a hunch that #71 could be related to us. Looking very much like tourists, we parked our car along the row of homes just before the Pinka.  Just
then a woman drove into her driveway, stops to get her mail, and says hello. The infamous
“letter” is whipped out and shown to her. She smiled and said, “My grandmother, a Schrammel!
Come, come in!” We followed her into her home. She offered “Zuppa” and wanted to feed
us. We declined though accepted a welcome glass of cold water. We learned she was Dr. Ihász
Miklósné [ed: = Mrs. Dr. Nicholas Ihász]. She spoke a little English, as her son is a
doctor in California and she has been to the States. She brought out her genealogy file and
showed us the picture of her Schrammel family. She also had an article about the structure we
had seen on the way in. We spent close to 2 hours enjoying her company and hospitality. She told
us her grandmother had lived at #71 and she was there often as a child. She directed us a few
homes up the street back toward the village. We drove up there and, as we got out and looked
around, we saw her walking up the street to meet us. A dog had come out to the fence at #71 and
was barking.
 She
said he was really very friendly and went inside the fence and petted him and went to see if
anyone was home. Unfortunately, no one was home so we could not go in, but she described the
outbuildings as the blacksmith shop where her grandfather had worked. It was a most amazing
find! The second day we went to Neuberg knowing that the Brunner Flax Farm #149 was there and hoped to see the church and walk the cemetery and perhaps find some family buried there. When we arrived, someone was going into the church but we headed to the cemetery behind. Unfortunately we did not find any Brunner plots and, by the time we got back to the church, we were unable to get inside. We found the WW-I memorial at the center of the village and then went across the street to the village hall. As we were studying the map outside and looking for #149, a gentlemen came out of the building and asked if we would like a map. I gave him our letter and he took it inside and showed it to another man as he got us the map. He informed us that #149 was now #94 and gave us directions to Neuberg Bergen area. He told us that the current owners were tearing down the old barn but the blue main house remained.  As
we were getting in our car, the second man came running across and said to us “Konrat… here…
I show you!” He had a picture of a family plot. We had been told that Larry’s great aunt
married someone named Conrad or Conrath or something like that. So this was
intriguing. We followed him to the plot and, indeed, the dates were correct and we knew Maria
had married Michael. As we took pictures, he went back to the village hall and returned with
another paper. He told us there was “one Konrat left… just one... Johann Konrat, but he lives
in Großpetersdorf.” The paper had Johann’s address. Talk about exciting!!! We
continued on to the flax farm. It is high on a hill with an outstanding view of the valley. No
one was home but we did wander around the outside and took pictures of the barn and house. Larry
was fascinated with the construction of the old barn. Then, in a patch of weeds, we found an
abandoned old rusted hand plow and rake. It may very well have been used by his
great-grandfather and his grandmother. We continued that day to St. Michael and were able to find the person with the key to get inside the church. This is the church we believe where Larry's grandparents were married. Again, we were impressed with the interior beauty of the church and took an abundance of pictures. The next day, since we were staying in Großpetersdorf, we decided to try to find Johann Konrat. The street was close to our hotel, so we set off in the morning winding up the hill. It was curious that, after a while, the numbers were out of sequence and there were A, B, C designations. We later learned that was because a family may have had a large farm and then subdivided to children as they married. At a cross street, someone was pulling in to park. So I took the letter to him and asked if he knew Johann or where the address was. He said he did and took us further up the hill and showed us the house. We started through the small gate and a little dog came barking around the corner and then a man.  I
asked if he spoke English and he shook his head “no.” I showed him the picture of the family
Konrat plot and he shook his head "yes." I then gave him my letter in German. He invited
us back to his patio and offered coffee. His wife (and I am so upset with myself for not writing
down her name) came out and spoke a bit of English. We were able to communicate with a lot of
hand signals and pointing and discovered that this plot was his grandmother and grandfather.
 He
showed us [Larry's great aunt] Maria and [husband] Michael and below was his
father Franz. His mother was Franz’ second wife, Ida. Yes, he had been on the flax farm, and
yes, his grandmother had been the village midwife. Amazingly, we were talking with the grandson
of Larry’s great aunt!I wish we had more presence of mind to ask more questions, but I think we were so overwhelmed with our discovery it became hard to think straight. He called a step-sister (or someone named Helga) trying to figure out who the Aloisa in my letter was but had no luck. No one in the family doing research has been able to find out more about Aloisa. Perhaps she died young, like Anna. He said this was so long ago… maybe 100 years so... he did not know. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten Helga’s name and address too. But again, we were the recipients of warmth and kindness from strangers who wanted to help us discover more about our family. This was definitely the highlight of the trip!  We
continued on to Güssing and, since it was the weekend, we were able to go to the Auswanderer
Museum. Our tour guide was none other than Dr. Walter Dujmovits. We spent hours with him
in conversation about Larry’s family and the history of the emigration from Burgenland. It was
fascinating having him explain all of the artifacts and pictures that have been preserved there.
We came out understanding much more about life in Burgenland and the reasons for the exodus. It was an amazing journey through Burgenland. We had originally thought we would spend some time at the Szombathely Archives doing research but our discoveries and limited days took us in other directions. We hope someday we can go back and, with more questions and direction, perhaps find more information. But it was incredible to be in the villages and churches where his grandparents grew up and see it for ourselves. The warm and welcome hospitality we felt from all the Burgenländers we met made it the most memorable trip. And the discovery of his cousin was beyond description. So we will continue researching and see where it leads. |
5) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Editor: This is part of our series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of 10 years ago. In reviewing that newsletter of 10 years ago, I was surprised to discover that February 2006 was when Gerry Berghold first publicly revealed that his days leading the BB were numbered due to cancer... but I'll let you read what he wrote. Not surprisingly, he lightened the mood a few articles later with a piece on his favorite topic: ethnic food! I share that one too! THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 148 Feb. 28, 2006 CHANGES AFFECTING MY STATUS AS BB EDITOR & COORDINATOR (Gerry Berghold) My health has deteriorated. A recent body scan shows that cancer has spread to my hip and pelvic area. Doctors give me one or two years more if the cancer cells don't suddenly move to other regions. My chemo treatments now involve a fairly new drug that protects bone from the invasion of cancer cells. It is time to put my house in order. I want the BB to continue with or without my guidance, so I have asked the BB staff to discuss this among themselves and attempt a solution. Short term changes to the BB may become necessary, such as freezing the Homepage and/or membership for a period or suspending the newsletter for awhile or changing the format. Main concerns must be the survival of the BB. I will continue to head the BB, initiate memberships and changes, edit the newsletter and respond to queries as long as I can, even in a supportive role if that comes about, but the time for those options may be shortened suddenly and irrevocably. I am thus advising you of the possibilities of sudden changes in the availability of the BB. SACHERTORTE VS IMPERIALTORTE VS STRUDEL (Gerry Berghold) Having recently returned from France, I can tell you that I ate a lot of pastry. It was all tasty but not on a par with Austrian pastry. I felt the same way about Italian pastry a few years ago. My wife doesn't agree, she feels Italian is still the best (something called "tiramisu"). So it goes, we all have our preferences. During the days of the Empire if you were a craftsman, a sure way to success was to attract the Emperor's attention with a superior product. If he expressed satisfaction with it, the entire aristocracy would follow suit. A little like the way corporations go after the sports champions, getting them to endorse their products. The English and other remaining monarchies also still have their "purveyors to the crown." Thus we have "Kaiser this" and "Kaiser that," in case you wondered.  In
1832, so one story goes, a Viennese master sugar baker (a pastry chef / Konditor, as
opposed to a bread baker / Bäcker) called Franz Sacher invented a cake to attract the
attention of Prinz Klemens von Metternich. It was a round chocolate sponge cake filled or
layered with apricot jam and covered with a firm glaze. Eating a piece is a must experience for
all of those visiting Vienna for the first time. It's a tradition. Had Metternich been lucky,
he'd be memorialized by the name "Metternichtorte", this name never caught on, but "Sachertorte"
did. The Sacher family went on to operate Sacher's Hotel in Vienna, now priced out of existence
except for contracting plumbers, prince-bishops, US Congressmen or those on Fortune 500 expense
accounts. Walter Cronkite stays there when he hosts the New Year Gala.
 Nonetheless,
one can eat a piece of Sachertorte in the hotel tearoom with a cup of coffee (mit
schlag) without mortgaging the farm (although you may have to go without dinner in order to
afford it, you won't lose out calorie-wise). I find it to be like any good chocolate cake, the
Betty Crocker mix used by my wife makes a cake just as good but it has no historical
association. I like apricot jam used between layers but the wife tells me I don't need all that
extra sugar. My grandmother always used jam between her layer cakes, it added something and kept
them moist. My wife doesn't like to hear tales about how my mother or grandmother cooked.The Emperor Franz Josef enjoyed pastry as much as I do. It's said he ate "Plundergebäck" (Danish pastry) every morning and "Kugelhupf" (Bundt cake) every day, supplied, some say, by his mistress, the actress Katharina Schratt.  Some
also say she was just a platonic friend whose company and conversation he enjoyed; she kept him
apprised of the local gossip. Either way, he visited her every morning and they shared some
pastry and coffee. He may even have had a bread roll named after him, the little rolls called "Kaisersemmeln,"
which readily break into 5 or 6 sections without crumbs; the accepted Viennese bread for a
dinner party.In 1873, Emperor Franz Josef was to visit the first royal palace hotel to be built on the Ringstrasse. It was to bear the name "k. u. k. Hof-Hotel Imperial". Its first visitors were to be guests of the Emperor. A "new" torte was in order and all of the best cooks of the monarchy assembled to perform their magic, conjuring up magnificent cakes fit for a king in a fairy tale. A pot and pan scrubber by the name of Xaver Loibner longed to produce his own specialty but he was restricted to the pots and pans. It is said that during the night, unable to sleep, he went to the kitchen and created his masterpiece: a chocolate torte layered with jam, encased in almond paste (marzipan), covered with glazed chocolate bearing the imperial eagle in chocolate. The next day the Emperor passed along rows of cakes made just for this occasion. He spotted  the
Habsburg crest, stopped in front of Loibner's creation and pointed to it. He ate a piece and
supposedly said "das war sehr gute" (that was very good). Loibner's fortune was made.
From then on, the "Imperial Torte," as the Emperor is said to have called it, was
reserved for him.Now, in his memory, it is being baked again at the same Hotel Imperial (another hotel for plumbing contractors and those with money) and can be mailed all over the world. My good friends Albert and Inge Schuch treated me like the Emperor and sent me one for my birthday. Like the Emperor, I can only say "es war sehr gute" (and better than the Sachertorte!). It arrived in a wooden presentation box with red ribbon and the Imperial Seal. A gift to be treasured and remembered. Fit for a king. When we first went to Austria in 1974, we spent a few days in Vienna. One evening, our children were not interested in going to Grinzing to watch us drink wine, so we left them in the hotel with money and instructions to eat in the dining room of the Hotel deFrance. They slipped out to the Ringstrasse instead, went to a nearby "würstel" stand owner who called himself  "Der
Kleiner Sacher" and bought sausages and bread, which they took back to their room to eat.
They acted like true descendants of the Burgenland: to enjoy a wurst snack over formal
Viennese cooking. On a later trip, I passed up a piece of Sachertorte in favor of
apfel strudel. I must now consider whether I will accept Imperial Torte over strudel.
Maybe a piece of each! Although our Burgenland ancestors probably never tasted either torte,
they made it possible for me and you to enjoy what was once reserved only for the Emperor. |
6) ETHNIC EVENTS LEHIGH VALLEY, PA Saturday, March 12: Bockbier Fest at the Lancaster Liederkranz. Music by Heidi & Heimatecho. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com. Saturday, March 19: Bockbier Fest at the Reading Liederkranz. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com. Saturday, April 23: Viennese Concert and Ball at Sunnybrook Ballroom (50 Sunnybrook Road, Pottstown, PA). Doors open at 3:30 pm, with the Grand March at 5 pm, dinner served at 7 pm, and dancing to 11 pm. $75 per person ($55 for students) and reservations are required. Contact Joe or Ellen Groller at 610-435-7726 or visit online at http://www.VienneseConcert.com. NEW BRITAIN, CT Friday, March 4, 7 pm: Heimat Abend. Austrian Donau Club, 545 Arch Street, $3. Music by Joe Rogers and his band. Friday, March 18, 7:30 pm: Heurigan Abend. Austrian Donau Club, 545 Arch Street, $3. Music by Schachtelgebirger Musikanten. |
7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES Franz Funovits  Franz
Funovits, 87, of Glenview, Illinois, passed away January 11, 2016.He was a native of Schachendorf, Burgenland, Austria. Survivors: wife, Mary; children, Peter, Mary Ann (Jim) Hermes, Christina (Bud) Kirby, John, Kathy (Steve) Wohlgemuth, Veronica (Bill) Vogt, Martha (Casey) Model, Anita (Brian) Irwin, Rose, Franz Jr. (Cree), Paul, Matthew and Mark; grandchildren, Mary, Michael and James Hermes, Sabrina and Melanie Kirby, Jessica, Julia and Jacob Wohlgemuth, Patrick, Christina and Ryan Vogt, Matthew, Greta and Caschu Model, Gabbie and James Irwin, Bella, Colette, August and Maxwell Funovits; brother, Josef (Margaret) Funovits. Services: Visitation Friday, January 15 from 9 am until time of funeral mass (10 am) at St. Catherine Laboure Church, 3535 Thornwood, Glenview. Interment All Saints Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to St. Catherine Laboure School, 3425 Thornwood, Glenview, IL, 60026. Arrangements by N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 847-998-1020. Published in a Chicago Tribune Media Group Publication on Jan. 13, 2016 Stella Milisits (née Teklits) Stella
Milisits, 78, of Northampton, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully at home Friday, February 12,
2016.She was the wife of the late Rudolph Milisits Sr., who passed away on January 23, 2016. Born April 12, 1937 in Szentpéterfa (Petrovo Selo/Prostrum), Hungary, she was the daughter of the late János and Johanna (Temmel) Teklits. Stella retired from Lehigh University in 1999 after 19 years. She was a member of Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church, Northampton and a member of the Ss. Peter and Paul Hungarian Society. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend, she loved baking and preparing meals for her friends and family. Survivors: Sons, Rudolph Milisits Jr. and his wife Susan of Northampton, John Milisits and his wife Kelly of Northampton, 4 grandchildren, Rudolph III, Steven, Andrew and Jennifer, brother, Vincent Teklits and wife MaryAnn of New Jersey, brother, Peter Teklits and, sister, Klotilda Timar, both of Szentpéterfa. She was predeceased by her brother István Teklits of Szentpéterfa. Services: A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, February 18th at 10:30 a.m. in Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 1324 Newport Ave., Northampton. Family and friends may call Thursday 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. in the Reichel Funeral Home, 326 E. 21st St., Northampton. Burial will follow in the Our Lady of Hungary Parish Cemetery. Online condolences may be submitted to www.reichelfuneralhome.com. Contributions: Memorials may be presented to the Church c/o funeral home. Published in Morning Call on Feb. 15, 2016 Rosa Binder (née Stangl) Rosa
Binder, 82, of Center Valley, Pennsylvania, formerly of Stiles and Allentown, passed away
February 12, 2016 at Sacred Heart Senior Living, Center Valley.She was married to the late Erich Binder for 48 years. Born in Zahling, Austria, she was the daughter of the late Josef and Aloisia (Wunderler) Stangl and the adoptive daughter of the late Joseph and Anna (Zettl) Dieber. She was a seamstress for local garment mills. Rosa was a member of St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Allentown. She was a member and former cook of the West Coplay Männerchor. Survivors: Daughter, Linda wife of Kurt Shumberger; son, John and wife Susan, all of Center Valley; grandchildren, Kurt E.G., John Jr., James, Jeffrey, Shannon; a sister, Helene Posch of Austria. Services: Viewing from 6:30-8:00 p.m., Monday, Feb 15, Robert A. Hauke Funeral Home (haukefuneralhome.com), 327 Chestnut St., Coplay. Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 920 S. Second St., Allentown. Interment, St. John the Baptist Cemetery, Whitehall. Contributions: To St. Paul’s R.C. Church c/o the funeral home 18037. Published in Morning Call on Feb. 14, 2016 Anna Powell (née Poandl) Anna
Powell, age 91, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, passed to her eternal rest in her home on February
12, 2016 surrounded by her family and friends.Born on July 3rd, 1924 in Steingraben, Austria, she was a daughter of the late Martin and Maria Poandl. She emigrated to Canada in 1954 and then to the United States in 1960 to marry her beloved husband, Charles L. Powell. In addition to carrying for her family, Anna worked in banking most of her career where she met a number of close friends she held dear throughout her adult life. Anna is survived by a loving son, Charles von Breitenbach, her granddaughter, Belinda, the joy of her life, and numerous nephews and cousins residing throughout Austria. Friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday February 19, 2016 at 10:00 AM at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 535 Stratfield Rd, Fairfield. All are welcome. Burial will be private. There will be no calling hours. Published in Connecticut Post on Feb. 17, 2016 Anna Noga (née Milisits) Anna
T. Noga, 94, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, passed away on Friday February 19, 2016.Anna was the wife of the late Peter Noga, who died this past July. Born in Horvátlövo (Hrvatske Šice/Kroatisch Schützen), Hungary, she was a daughter of the late Stephen and Theresa (Cseri) Milisits. Anna was a member of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Allentown. Surviving are her sons; Thomas P. and wife Donna of Emmaus, John J. and wife Nancy of Allentown, and Paul and companion Susan Guy of Garner, NC. Nieces and Nephews. Anna was preceded in death by her husband, her son James M. in 2008, her daughter in law Brenda, and her three siblings. Services: Funeral Services will be on Friday February 26, 2016 at 11:30 am in the O'Donnell Funeral Home, 1064 Fifth St. North Catasauqua. Calling will be on Friday from 10:30-11:30 am. Published in Morning Call on Feb. 21, 2016 |
| END OF NEWSLETTER (Even good things must end!) |
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 © 2016 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. |
News
Ancestry.com
Now Announces That Family Tree Maker Software Will Continue: Ancestry.com
announced in December that it would discontinue sales of its Family Tree Maker (FTM)
software as of Dec. 31, 2015. Given substantial complaints, Ancestry has partially
reversed their course and found a way for FTM to continue.
Update
for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": 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."
MUNDEL
BROTE COOKIES
