|
|
|
|
by Angela Horn
Participants agree that the annual Friends' meeting and dinner on Thursday, May 10, was a positive evening all around.
Everyone appeared to be in good spirits after the officers' elections ended and the annual meeting let out. Fran Luebke, the newly elected President of the Friends, expressed real excitement about the upcoming year and the group of people involved. The other officer positions were filled by new Vice President Robert Bolz, Treasurer Robert Luening and Secretary Susan Stoddard.
There were many enthusiastic introductions
and conversations over drinks as the Pyle Center staff set up dinners of pasta,
prime rib and Cornish hen. Soon, the cozy tables of six to eight were handing
around bread, butter, salad dressing and other dining essentials, as conversations
became more relaxed. Both Joseph Salmons, Director of the MKI, and Edward Langer,
outgoing President of the Friends, stepped up to the microphone to mention the
Institute's bright future and its changing nature—Mary Devitt, former Assistant
Director, received a round of applause as the Friends' long-time tie to the
Institute.
John Gurda, a Milwaukee-born writer and historian, spoke next. Having recently compiled a book that encompasses all of Milwaukee's history and cultural contributions, he presented many statistics and interesting factoids regarding German migration, neighborhoods, institutions, surnames, foodways and other cultural markers. Beginning in 1839, immigrants flooded into Milwaukee to settle, as evidenced by the number of German-American printing presses, breweries and religious buildings and German-language schools in the city. Gurda argues "the simple fact that a non-English-speaking group was the city's largest made it easier, relatively speaking, for later arrivals to resist the melting pot."
Ruth Olson, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, found Gurda's presentation very enlightening. "I was really impressed by Gurda's knowledge, not only about Milwaukee, but also about the city's German population," she says.
The fog horns on the Terrace sounded at least three times to call in tardy boats from the lake while Gurda waited good-naturedly to continue his speech. And as the boats moved in to dock and the sun set behind the windows of the Pyle Center, Gurda moved Milwaukee Germans closer and closer to the present time. No longer as prominent a majority as Germans once were in Milwaukee's western and northern neighborhoods, they have made a lasting impact on the cultural scene in "America's most German-American city."
by Thor Templin
Dennis Preston returned to the University of Wisconsin, where he received his Ph.D., on April 6 to present his recent research on how non-linguists perceive language. Lively and humorous, the lecture overran its time much to the apparent delight of those in attendance.
"Folk linguistics" has existed since the earliest days of language, and equally old is the assigning of value and status to a person or group of people based on how they speak. Preston, a Professor of Linguistics at Michigan State University, is attempting to study both of these phenomena. Looking at how "real people" (non-linguists) rate and understand language, Preston examined the labeling of Midwestern English as "good" or "standard" English, not only by its speakers but by American-English speakers in general.
With this in mind, Preston surveyed a range of people to understand what "Midwestern English" is according to the general population. He found that, as a whole, people seem to agree on three main dialect areas: New York-New Jersey ("bad English"), Southern ("friendly but incorrect") and Midwestern ("good, correct"). The western areas of the United States seem to be divided in different ways by different people. In general, those surveyed assigned Midwestern English the highest status.
People transfer this status onto the English that they hear in general. Newscasters for the major networks, for example, are universally identified as speaking Midwestern English, even though they speak with lighter variants of dialects ranging from western Canada to Texas.
Another area that Preston briefly examined is how "real people" describe American-English dialects; the most commonly used terms were nasal, drawl and twang. "Nasal" was often used to describe either dialects that were too nasal or not nasal at all (which linguistically speaking is wrong); "drawl" and "twang" remain linguistically abstract even though "real people" seem to be able to make sense of them.
Preston's lecture was cosponsored by several departments at the University, including MKI and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures. The more than 100 attendees included both academics and members of the general public.
Arthur Davis Hasler died
on March 23, 2001, at the age of 93.
If there were a Nobel Prize for biology, he would have won it many years ago, perhaps even more than once. He was known around the world for his research on the ecology of freshwater systems, including the discovery of the mechanism by which salmon find their way back to their home streams.
For those of us in German at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, however, Arthur will be remembered as a regular participant in the weekly German-language Stammtisch at the Memorial Union, which was started in 1989 by Rosemarie Lester; Arthur joined a year later. Whether in the Lakefront Cafeteria in chilly weather or on the Union Terrace when it was warmer, Arthur was often the first person there every Thursday at noon. Although hard of hearing and visually impaired for the last few years of his life, he continued to participate in the conversations around him until December 2000.
One of Arthur's most memorable attributes was his store of German poems, which he would recite by heart at the slightest encouragement. Indeed, when the rock and flower garden behind the Center for Limnology was dedicated to him in September of 1998, instead of giving a speech, he surprised those of us in the audience from the Stammtisch by reciting Mörike's "Septembermorgen":
Im Nebel ruhet noch die Welt,
Noch träumen Wald und Wiesen:
Bald siehst du, wenn der Schleier fällt,
Den blauen Himmel unverstellt,
Herbstkräftig die gedämpfte Welt
In warmem Golde fließen.
At the funeral memorial for him, his son recited two more of Arthur's favorite poems, Mörike's "Er ist's" and Heine's "Du bist wie eine Blume." The latter reminded me of times when, at Stammtisch, Arthur would kiss a lady's hand and sometimes recite the poem.
Arthur Hasler will be missed, not only by his family and friends, but by those of us who spent a pleasant hour every Thursday in his presence.
We miss you, Arthur!
by Jack Thiessen
Joakob Panna wea een ellra Wätmaun, enn de Doft Henritjsche wea eene ellre
Wätfru. Vleicht jefft daut soowaut dartijch Mol den Dach enne Welt, oba
daut see Nohbasch weare, soohnt pesseat nijch aule Dach.
Panna wea een ziepauagja Jietsbiedel, oolt enn eitel, enn siene Uage spälde Rejchta, je noh dem sien aun Unjerajchtijchtjeite gewahnded Hoat ahm daut väasäd. Enn de Henritjsche? See haud dem Predja enn dem Diakoon jesajcht, see sulle ahr nijch mett Paulus kohme, hee wea nijch befried jewast, enn tjand vleijcht välet, vleijcht sogoa aules, oba enn eene Fru äah Hoat haud hee noch nijch nennjetjitjt, enn aus hee daut vleijcht eemol deed, haud hee doa noch lang nijch aules jeseehne. "Enn daut ess dann fe vondoag uck aules," haud see jesajcht. Enn see fuahre auf.
Enn daut wea dann uck de Dach aus see toohm easchten Mol sijch lange Betjze äwre Lenjd streepd, enn aus see eene Wäatj lohta noch emma tjeene beese Folj erfoahre haud, schneet see sijch de Lempe auf. Eascht bette Wohde, dann een poa Doag lohta meist bett aune Tjnees. Joh, de Doft Henritjsche stald sijch mett ähre wiet äwa zäwentijch Joah verrem Speajel enn lacht enn weppad sogoa een bät, enn jintj em Goade oabeide enn besorjd ähre tjliene Wirtschauft noh de latzte Mood.
Panna wea, soo's jesajcht, nijch bloß ziepauagijch, hee wea uck ernoa kortsejchtijch, enn toom sijch eene niee Brell too tjeepe, wea hee too jietzijch. Oba kratjcht eendoohnt, hee kunn uck mett siene oole Brell meea aus jenuag seehne, enn waut hee sach aus hee mol wada, soo aus nu aul meist twalw Joah Tuntjitja späld, jefoll ahm goanijch. Joh, de oola Joakob klackad mett dem Jebiss, enn entschlooht sijch Misjoon opp siene Oat too driewe.
"Etj woa woll nijch meea bie die de Rebbeoabeit doohne tjenne,"säd hee fuats aus hee de Henritjsche enn ähre niee Mondua sach, "wiels de Schreft enn etj habe doch uck hanenwada een bätje bie Die mett too rede. Enn uck ohne ons enntoomische."
"Waut fe Warm satte Die dann nu too?" fruag ahm de Henritjsche.
"Diene Oat Tjleedie wudd Dienem Obraum nijch mol em Grauf jefaule," säd Panna.
"Hee haft bett nutoo noch nuscht nijch jesajcht," gauf de Henritjsche ahm too Auntwuat.
"Eena sull nijch mett de Jnohd späle," säd Panna, enn dreid sijch haustijch wajch, foohdad siene Heehna, gauf sien Schwien vonne Dranktonn, enn veboot siene Uage wiedahans spezeare too gohne. "Waut too wiet jeiht, jeiht too wiet," docht hee bie sijch, enn speajch sogoa ut. "Enn etj haud noch em stellen jedocht, vleijcht mett ahr toop oolt too woare, enn nu tjitjcht sijch dit mol eena aun!"
Daut jintj Wäatjelang soo wieda: Panna plock eascht de Eadschocketniepasch vonne Stieda em Goade auf, enn aus hee daut doch nijch nohkaum, musst hee Priesajreen tjeepe, - daut foll ahm schwoa - enn streie. De Bocklezhane musste jejietzt woare, enn morje de Eadschocke wada jehiept woare, enn weede musst hee sowesoo, oba de Lost wea ahm veschorrt, wiels de Sind soo groot enn soo dijcht bie ahm verrem Schafott lach. Enn de Henritjsche? See deed opp ähre Oat kratjcht dautselwje, oba wann see Panna enne Ead pultjre sach, sung see "Clamentein" enn "Yü are mai Sonshein" enn "Gott ist die Liebe." Panna stald sijch schwoahearijch, enn haud nuscht too saje, oba oajre? Soo seea aus daut mott.
-To Be Continued in the Next Issue-
by Claire Messimer. Kutztown, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 2000. 231 pages.
Reviewed by Dennis Boyer
First, let us not be too hard on the Pennsylvania German Society (PGS) for falling behind on their publication schedule. This annual is XXXII in the series and was slated for 1998. Those of us within organizations that rely substantially on volunteer labor, however, can sympathize with the dilemmas of production and distribution schedules. Of course, the PGS always turns out a quality product in the end.
Known
by the Work of His Hands is an unusual work, focusing on the tombstone craft
of Pennsylvania-German stone carver Joseph Brownmiller. It is a sharply honed
look at life and death in one particular small area served by this artisan:
the northeast corner of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The life and the work
examined here reveal much about the culture, folkways and spirituality of the
people in the crossroads community of Hamlin.
In a sense, this work builds upon the excellent contributions that the PGS has made to "micro-history." The Society's publications are at their best when they zero in on the intimate details of Pennsylvania-German culture in a highly localized fashion. Messimer's account does this in a way that weaves historical accounts with an outlook of craft appreciation and the poignancy of the subject matter. The book is richly illustrated and is a graveyard searcher's delight.
This annual builds upon the local flavor approach established in Volume XXVIII, 1994, Pendleton's Oley Valley Heritage, which many consider the PGS's finest effort to date. Many other ethnic heritage groups would do well to consider this approach. It is too easy to get lost in the broad sweep of generalities, be they historical or folkloric. What the PGS has encouraged through works such as Messimer's and Pendleton's is a closer examination of what we think we know. Under this microscope there is detail and meaning that eludes much historical interpretation.
Messimer has done a remarkable thing here. She has rounded out a picture of a life that left no written accounts. She shows Brownmiller in his nineteenth-century Pennsylvania-German context. And she takes us on a journey that lets us feel like we are treading on the soft grass of those churchyards with her.
by Richard H. Zeitlin. Madison: The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2000. 72 pages.
Reviewed by Antje Petty
In the 1990
census, 45% of all Wisconsinites claimed German as their primary ancestry. In
the rest of the nation, Wisconsin is known as the "Beer, Brat and Cheese
State," characteristics that also fit the German stereotype. But who are
these Germans in Wisconsin? When did they come and where did they come from?
How did their culture become a major part of the state's culture? Did it become
a major part?
For anybody who wants a short and concise overview of the subject, Germans in Wisconsin by Richard Zeitlin is a good place to start. This book addresses the reasons for German migration in the nineteenth century, the experiences of settlers on the Wisconsin Frontier and their social and religious life, as well as their involvement in politics, social change and education. The book concludes with an analysis of the role German Americans and German-American culture play in this state at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
As Zeitlin correctly points out, German-speaking individuals who came to Wisconsin in one of the three large immigration waves of the nineteenth century would not have identified themselves as primarily German, but rather as Hessian, Bavarian, Pomeranian, etc., depending on which region of Central Europe they came from. Their dialects, customs and religions were often very different, and they did not see very much in common among themselves (at least not before 1871, the creation of the German state in Europe).
Despite their cultural differences, Zeitlin emphasizes the many commonalities among German immigrant groups in areas such as agriculture (they kept their land in the family for generations), city life (Germans tended to own and work in mills, breweries and tanneries) and socially and politically. They belonged to a great variety of social clubs (Vereine) that often had political leanings but were fragmented along religious lines. Any given Verein would have either Catholic or Lutheran members but rarely both. Zeitlin describes this schism as well as the development of German Freethinking Societies and political movements (Socialists) in considerable detail. Unfortunately, German-Jewish immigrants and their contributions are not mentioned at all.
The Germans in Wisconsin which Zeitlin describes are almost completely nineteenth-century immigrants. He points out that today "you [can]not pick a German out of a crowd" (55). In his opinion the reason for this is that "Germans have succeeded more at assimilation and Americanization than have most other nineteenth-century, non-English-speaking ethnic groups" (56). Regional customs have been lost and the "German tavern-culture" that Wisconsin calls its own is actually a reflection of European ways of socializing rather than a distinctly German one.
Compare this conclusion with Zeitlin's very first sentence of the book -- "Of all the nations of Western Europe, Germany played the greatest role in the peopling of the United States" (5) -- and the danger of looking at one ethnic immigrant group in isolation becomes apparent. To fully appreciate the role of a particular group, one needs to look at other immigrants, too, not only in the nineteenth century but also today. Doing this, however, would go far beyond the scope of this little book.
Germans in Wisconsin is a good introduction to many aspects of German immigration to this state. However, anyone who would like to explore the subject in greater depth and in a broader context will want to do further reading (a suggested reading list is provided in the book) or even delve into the vast resources of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin itself.
By Eric Platt
Fran Luebke, the new President of the Friends, comes to the position full of enthusiasm, experience and good ideas.
Fran is a relatively new member of the Friends, having joined only in 1998. She first learned about the Max Kade Institute when she served on the Ethnic Heritage subcommittee for Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial celebration with Mary Devitt, then Assistant Director of the Institute. She quickly became interested in the MKI's activities, and it was not long before she was a member. "Meeting Mary and finding out about the activities of the Institute was an absolute delight," she remembers.
In the few years that she has been a Friend, Fran has had a tremendous impact on the MKI. Not only was she elected to the Friends' Board at the first annual meeting she attended, she also became the Board's secretary at that time. The Board voted to make her secretary-treasurer last year.
According to Antje Petty, Outreach Specialist at the MKI, Fran has been extremely helpful to the MKI's staff in these roles. "I just joined the MKI staff a few months ago and am still not very familiar with many aspects of it and the Friends, but I always know that I can depend on Fran for help and advice," she says. "As the Friends' secretary-treasurer, Fran has constantly gone out of her way to support our work. She is full of enthusiasm and innovative suggestions. I am very much looking forward to working with her during the upcoming year."
Fran plans to continue her "hands-on" approach in her new position. She lists her goals as expanding publicity for MKI events at the statewide level, bolstering monetary support and increasing the number of Friends. "I urge everyone who is not a currently a member of the Friends to consider joining," she says. "If you already are a Friend, please check to make sure that your membership is current."
In trying to accomplish these goals, Fran will rely heavily on her professional experience. Among many other administrative and development jobs, she has served as the Assistant Director of the Institute for World Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently the Assistant Director of the Milwaukee Idea.
Although Fran eventually became involved in academic administration, her original training is in history, and she holds a masters in diplomatic history from the University of Iowa. Despite her hectic schedule, Fran continues to be interested in the field and has spent a great amount of time researching her family's genealogy. In fact, she recently took an eighteen-month leave of absence from her position to write a book on the history of her father's family entitled From Rhein Hessen to Chicago: Loeb Footprints in Time 1765-1997. She traces her love for history and genealogy back to the family stories her father used to regale her with as a young child.
When she's not working, helping the MKI and researching and writing about genealogy, Fran is an avid herb gardener. She spends most of what little time she has left serving as the primary caregiver for her mother.
Fran says that her life's goal is to strive for excellence in everything that she does. She has definitely lived up to this high standard in her work as a leader of the Friends.
|
Sunday, June 24: The Pommerscher Verein Freistadt's Pommern Tag. (Mequon City Park) 12:00 - 6:00 p.m. Call Elsie Mae Arenz at (262) 782-0474 for more information. Late July: Celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hessen and Wisconsin's sister-state relationship at the Capitol Rotunda. Friday, July 27 - Sunday, July 29: German Fest. (Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee). |
The Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures (CSUMC) has received a three-year grant totaling $150,000 from the University of Wisconsin to develop the project "Cultural Maps, Cultural Tours." The grant is funded through the Wisconsin Idea Program Initiative.
"Cultural Maps, Cultural Tours" will establish a state-wide network that explores Wisconsin's languages and expressive culture (foodways, dance, storytelling, customs, material culture and music) via courses, workshops and web-based materials. It will also connect scholars, teachers and classrooms around the state, helping them share cultural material from their local communities. During the project, CSUMC will digitize and make available on the web collections of cultural material as well.
CSUMC will be working with a number of partners on this project, including the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Milwaukee Public Museum, Chippewa Valley Museum, Folklore Village, and the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation. Work begins this July.
-R.O.
MKI Participates in Fund Drive
Volunteers from the Max Kade Institute's staff and Friends answered phones and took pledges on Wednesday, March 14, as part of Wisconsin Public Television's annual spring fund drive.
The MKI was appropriately part of a programming night containing a distinctively German flavor, the station showing a extravagant concert directed by German musician James Last and a documentary detailing the German-American experience in America during the course of the evening. Last was actually in the studio seeking pledges as well, and many of the staff and Friends had the opportunity to meet him.
The volunteers' efforts were part of Wisconsin Public Television's second most successful pledge drive in its history. The station received over $609,000 in pledges.
-E.P.
Klauser Honored by the German Government
James Klauser, a longtime member of the Friends of the Max Kade Institute and former member of the Friends' Board, was honored by the German government this spring with the Bundesverdienstkreuz, or "German Service Cross."
This award, the highest honor a noncitizen can receive from the German government, is given to those individuals who have made great achievements in political, socioeconomic or intellectual work connected in some way with Germany. Klauser received the Bundesverdienstkreuz because of his many years of work on the Wisconsin-Hessen Partnership - a unique relationship, which he personally helped to guide to completion.
The Friends of the MKI would like to congratulate Klauser on receiving this high honor.
-T.T.
By Joseph Salmons
I was surprised a couple months ago when Mary Devitt came in to tell me that she planned to accept a job outside the University. After all, for almost a decade, she had served as an outreach specialist at the Max Kade Institute, first with the working title of Assistant to the Director and then later as Assistant Director. She had been — as former Director Hank Geitz liked to put it — "the glue that held the Institute together."
At the same time, Mary was the
MKI's connection to its past in so many ways, as the only full-time employee
and the longest-serving member of the staff by years. She felt that it was time
for a "new challenge," however, and is now serving as Assistant to
President Charles "Les" Lescrenier, founder and CEO of Gammex/RMI
of Middleton.
Mary came to the MKI in 1992, after serving as part of the clerical staff in the Department of German for several years, to work under then-Director Hank Geitz. Mary's most notable achievement at the Institute, I think, is easy to identify: During Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial, she was appointed to a state committee assembled to plan an "Ethnic Dialogue" video-conference, designed to treat issues of diversity, ethnicity and heritage. The committee included a broad range of notable figures from around the state, and while all the discussions I participated in were positive and lively in the best sense of the word, they ultimately did not lead anywhere.
It was Mary who eventually steered discussion toward a more concrete and useful goal: Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to a video-conference had been the difficulty of identifying representatives of a sufficient number of the state's many indigenous and immigrant groups and the full range of views within those groups. Mary suggested that the committee focus on making a more practical, long-lasting contribution, assembling a Directory of Wisconsin Ethnic Organizations. The committee readily agreed and the project was carried out by the MKI. It turned out, to the surprise of almost everyone, that no real model existed for such a project, making creativity a necessity at every turn.
The Directory contains information on about 200 organizations representing a broad range of groups from Native peoples to the newest immigrants. The new Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures will build on the existing base and expand it to the whole region. In the meantime, the Directory has been used by a range of people, from citizens looking for groups that share their interest, to state legislators who have contacted us about the project, to historians and other social scientists around the state.
As we wish Mary well with her richly deserved new opportunities at Gammex, there is a good side for the MKI as well: Angela Horn has joined us, working halftime, to cover Mary's clerical duties, while Antje Petty is carrying on and now leading the Institute's outreach efforts.
The entire staff of the MKI thanks you, Mary, for all the hard
work and invaluable assistance that you have given to the Institute
over the past 10 years. We will all miss you.
|
The Friends of the Max Kade Institute Board of Directors are: Robert Bolz (Vice President), Madison Dennis Boyer, Dodgeville Charles James, Madison Fran Luebke (President), Brookfield Bob Leuning (Treasurer), Madison Trudy Paradis, Cedarburg Karyl Rommelfanger, Manitowoc Joseph Salmons (ex-officio), Madison Kent Salomon, Appleton Sue Stoddard (Secretary), Wausau William Thiel, Eau Claire Hermann Viets, Milwaukee |
by Beth Long
Thanks in part to the efforts of the Bukovina-Institut in Augsburg and the Bukovina Society of the Americas, this former Austrian Crownland (part of modern-day Romania) is not quite the terra incognita that it once was. The publication (in English) of the book German Emigration from Bukovina to the Americas, edited by William Keel and Kurt Rein, has been particularly valuable in informing North American readers about the progress of research in this area as well as suggesting future areas of inquiry. Unfortunately, there is still a dearth of information about Hungarian immigrants from the region, as I discovered when I started tracing my husband's roots there.
Though the Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) had microfilmed nearly all church book records from the various Bukovina villages, the Catholic church records of Andrásfalva were not among them. Inquiries to several experts on these records brought the response that the books were thought to be either destroyed during World War Two or held in restricted-area archives in Serbia.
My only lead was Dr. Linda Dégh's excellent book, Folktales and Society, through which I learned some of the history of the Bukovina Hungarians, or Székely1. I discovered that there were five different Székely villages in Bukovina, all founded between 1776 and 1785, about the same time as most of the German Bukovina villages. Many Székely fled their homes in Transylvania after their uprising against the Austrian crown in 1764 and resettled over the mountain passes in Moldavia. In the 1770s the Austrian government, seeking to settle colonists in Bukovina (which it had recently acquired from the Turks), offered amnesty to the Székely "deserters" if they would move to the area.
Though in the beginning each family had ample land, as the years went by Bukovina became overpopulated, and the landholdings grew smaller and smaller. The 1880s saw the beginning of emigration from the Székely villages to various locations in Romania and present-day Yugoslavia. About this same time, some inhabitants of the German villages began to emigrate also, but their destinations were in North America rather than Europe. In 1905, the first Székely emigrants departed for Canada, and about 600 of them settled there before this emigration was interrupted by World War One.2
In 1940, many German residents left Bukovina in the Umsiedlung, and in the following year nearly all the Szekély left Bukovina en masse, accepting the Hungarian government's offer of resettlement in Bácska.3 Some 2,828 families (13,198 people) were settled in 28 villages. Unfortunately for the Székely, they could not remain there long. In October, 1944, they fled from the advancing Red Army on only two hours notice, abandoning their homes. They wandered for nearly two years before settling in parts of the Tolna and Baranya counties in Hungary. Because the Székely now inhabit thirty-eight small villages within a fairly compact geographical area, they have been largely successful in preserving their unique dialect and culture.
Reading Dr. Dégh's book was a real turning point in my own research for two reasons. First, it was such a poetic and interesting description of the lives of the Bukovina Székely that it seemed to draw me into their orbit, giving me the idea of going beyond the history of my husband's direct ancestors to focus on the group as a whole. The second was that I now had an exact location on which to focus. By this time, I had located some Canadian descendants, and they were very anxious to know more about their ancestors and their culture. It seemed like a project whose time had come. I was interested to see if we could reconnect with some of the people living in Hungary, despite a gap of forty years or more since the last contact.
So, I searched the Internet, looking in the villages of Tolna and Baranya counties for the Fábián and Sebestyén surnames. Finally, I found a likely candidate: Tamás Fábian, a student, who lived in the town of Aparhant. I sent off an e-mail (in English) to Tamás, explaining the family history, and asking if he had any connection to our family. A month later I received a long e-mail (in German), along with a scanned photo of my husband's great-grandparents! This first e-mail was the beginning of a long (and ongoing) correspondence. Tamás did a great deal of research on the family tree, going around Aparhant and the neighboring towns to interview older relatives. So, we were able to fill it in going back about three generations. Still, the whereabouts of the Andrásfalva churchbooks remained a mystery.
A few months after his first e-mail, Tamás wrote me that he had been told of a researcher (also a Székely descendant) in a nearby town who had assembled a computer database of all the churchbook records from the Bukovina village of Józseffalva. This researcher, László Rudolf, was interested in my project, and also apparently had information on some people from Andrásfalva in his database. Of course, my question was, "Where did he get this information, if the churchbooks were lost?"
The answer turned out to be that they were not lost at all; they were in Aparhant, about 100 yards from Tamás Fábián's own house at the local Catholic church! It seems that the Székely had carried their churchbooks with them from Bukovina to Bácska, then on to Tolna County, despite the haste with which they had to leave in 1944.
After that, things progressed rapidly. László went to the church to do further research on my husband's family. In the end, he arranged with the priest to photocopy the entire set of records, so he didn't have to keep making the drive back and forth. László made one copy for himself and one for me. I picked my copies up the following spring when we went to visit Hungary, (since the 3,200 pages would have cost a fortune to mail) and started to transcribe the Andrásfalva records into a database when I returned to the United States.
That was less than two years ago, but our joint project has expanded to a database of about 23,000 Bukovina Székely descendants. We have a mailing list of interested people in Hungary, Romania and Sweden, as well as the United States and Canada. László and I also gave a presentation on the topic at the last Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies convention. We are hoping to make it to the 2002 convention in Regina, Saskatchewan, since the Regina area is home to the majority of Bukovina Székely who emigrated to North America.
This is just a brief outline of a project that we believe has made considerable progress in the short time it has been underway. Some aspects of the project which may be of particular interest to researchers and genealogists studying the German villages of Bukovina include the following:
· It turned out that the "missing" Andrásfalva Catholic books that we photocopied also contained the birth, death and marriage records of Catholics from the neighboring German village of Alt-Fratautz. Since Alt-Fratautz was a predominantly Lutheran village, it had no Catholic church of its own. These records should be of great genealogical interest to Bukovina German researchers, especially since they cover the time period all the way up to the Umsiedlung.
· In addition, we found two separate volumes of birth records which turned out to be Catholic birth records of both Alt- and Neu- (Romanian) Fratautz from 1892-1934. These records were not taken to Leipzig with the other German Bukovina records, and therefore never microfilmed by the LDS.
· We also discovered a 1910 Status Animarium for the town of Andrásfalva and one for Hadikfalva. The Status Animarium is a detailed, house-by-house census which clearly shows three generations of a family on one page. From the Andrásfalva document, I was able to do an analysis of the ethnic composition of the town.4 There would appear to be many other research uses for this data as well. (For ex- ample, how many non-Germans joined the 1940 Umsiedlung, and how many non-Hungarians migrated to Bácska in 1941 and on to Tolna County with the Székely.)
These are only a few of the additional research directions that suggest themselves. My first priority is to complete the documentation of the North American migration of the Székely, and László's is to start research on their Transylvanian origins and connect them to specific towns using church records from the archives in Csíkszereda, Romania. He hopes to make a trip to Csíkszereda this June or July if all goes well.
Naturally, László and I are hoping that some organization will find our project to be of sufficient interest that they will offer us enough funding to allow us to continue to research and give presentations.5
_____________________
1 Székely is the Hungarian name for the group, which sees itself as distinct from the Hungarian Magyars, though its members speak a dialect of the Hungarian language. The German name for Székely is "Szeklers."
2 This estimate is based on information from the Hadikfalva and Andrásfalva Status Animarium, Hungarian sources, Canadian local histories and Canadian ships' passenger records obtained from the National Archives of Canada.
3 This territory had been part of Greater Hungary in times past, but was lost to Hungary under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon, signed in 1920. It is now an autonomous region contained within Serbia, and is known as Vojvodina.
4 Of the 665 households in 1910, both the husband and wife had Hungarian surnames in 523 (77%) of them. In forty-seven (7%), both had German surnames. Forty households (6%) were mixed Hungarian-German while twenty-nine (4%) were Hungarian-Romanian and eighteen were German-Romanian.
5 Another need is for translation resources; there is a large number of excellent books and articles about the Bukovina Székely, but they need to be translated to make the information available to non-Hungarian speakers.
