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The Bukovina
Society of the Americas P.O. Box 81, Ellis, KS 67637, USA Martha McClelland , President info@bukovinasociety.org |
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BUKOVINAFEST 1998The dates have been set for August 13-16, 1998 in Ellis/Hays, Kansas. The schedule of events will follow prior years with a combination of formal presentations on historical and contemporary Bukovina, cultural and folk demonstrations, and social gatherings. A program schedule and information on the festival will be in the next newsletter. Registration forms will be sent with the Spring 1998 newsletter. BUKOVINA GERMAN CHRISTMASThe first Christmas program of the Bukovina Society will be presented at the headquarters chapel on Sunday, November 30th. Bukovina Society musicians, singers and performers join with members of the Sunflower Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia to present early day German Christmas songs and customs. The Sunflower chapter has been presenting similar programs to their members for a number of years. The Volga Germans settled in Ellis County some 10 years before the arrival of the Bukovina Germans. Though the ethnic German groups originated in many cases from similar locations in Germany and Austria, both were involved with a 100 year life in Eastern European lands. The Volga Germans answered the call of Catherine the Great to populate the Volga Region of Russia. There were very many similarities between the two cultures in Ellis County and some marked differences such as the German dialect. The Sunflower Chapter program, narrated by president Leona Pfeifer, begins with the men's quartet singing Ihr Kinderlein Kommet and Schönstes Kindlein. A skit follows which illustrates the role of der Belznickel and das Christkindchen among the Volga Germans in Ellis County. During the skit the traditional little brown bags with Christmas goodies will be handed out and the songs, Still, Still, Still and O Tannenbaum will be sung. A demonstration of the New Year's customs will also be presented. The Bukovina Society program begins with an appearance of St. Nicholas in full costume who came to each home on December 6th. The Bukovina singers perform the traditional New Years Song in the Deutch-Böhemish dialect. An enactment of the Three Kings who visited the homes in January will be followed by the final song by everyone in the gathering, Stille Nacht. The society appreciates the work of the many people who are performing or helped to bring back this part of our heritage. ELLIS OKTOBERFESTThe day was rainy and cold, but a good crowd came to the seventh annual Oktoberfest celebration in Ellis for the good food, music and friendship. The society board of directors and spouses were on hand to present the opening ceremonies. After a welcome by Mayor Dave McDaniel, welcomes were given in the German language by Joe Erbert and in the Bohemian German dialect by Ralph Honas. The keg was tapped for the official opening followed by German singing. The Bukovina booth featured pastries which were donated by the board and friends with the specialty again being Hemetschwengers. The proceeds are being used for the society copier fund. Donations of pastries and funds were provided by: Irene and Bernie Zerfas, Wilma and Jackie Fox, Shirley and Erwin Kroeger, Pat and Oren Windholz, Alice Fox, Ethel and Ray Haneke, Mary Agnes and Paul Wagner, Julie and Ralph Honas, Martha Armbruster, Madeline and Ray Schoenthaler, Betty and Artie Deutscher, and Vika Kinderknecht. SURNAME AND RESEARCH EXCHANGEWe were very pleased to receive an e-mail message from João Nelson Hoffmann who lives in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. He learned of the Bukovina origins of his Hoffmann and Schuster ancestors and found us on the internet. His earliest ancestor was Wenceslau Hoffmann who emigrated to Brazil in 1887. The migration to Brazil was from the village of Buchanhain (Poiana Micului). These Bukovina Germans originated in Bohemia, also a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire. Werner Zoglauer is planning to incorporate the Hoffmann and Schuster family tree into the Bukovina Society data base. Anyone interested in writing to João can do so at Rua Ulisses Vieira, No. 294, ap. 303, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil 80.320.000 E-mail to: Hoffmann@mail.copel.br Al Schmidt would like to hear from anyone with information about Rev. Franz Gaschler, date and place of baptism and death/burial dates and location. Responses can be to 7897 Decarie Drive, Gloucester, ON K1C 2J4, Canada or his e-mail address of: alschmidt@cyberus.ca Al is seeking the parents and ancestors of Fr. Gaschler. The Rev. Norbert Gaschler of Regensburg, Germany, who was also born in Bukovina, states that Fr. Franz was not related to their family. He states that Fr. Franz was born in Arbora, Pfarrei Solka 13 Aug 1887, ordained 14 Aug 1915 in Vienna and studied Theology in Lemberg for 3 years. He was also a Chaplain in the Radautz Pfarrei of Dornawatra until 1937. Up to 1940 he was in the Pfarrei of Solka. He had a brother and sister in Fürstenthal. His parents were already dead by 30 Aug 1966. Al Schmidt also is "seeking information on the Roman Catholic Priests Albert Baumgartner b. abt. 1915 in Buchenhain and his brother, also a priest of the same faith, Rudolf Baumgartner b. 2 Mar 1911. Their father, Karl was from Pojana Mikuli, Bezirk Gurahumora & was originally from Dumbrava. I need to know their mother's maiden name. Also, who were the priests' grandparents?" Steven Pusiak who had an entry in the last newsletter sends his new information, 1049 Avignon Court, Orleans, Ontario K1C 2N4 and e-mail at: Pusiak@sympatico.ca Fay Jordaens received information from Irmgard Hein Ellingson on the Knobloch (Knoblauchs) clan. A newsletter of their own is published in Poland, "Alleum" and the address is: P. O. Box 312, PL-50-950, Wroclaw 2, Poland Felix G. Game wrote to the German-Bohemian mailing list with information on identifying the military uniforms of ancestors. An easily accessible book at libraries by Herbert Knotel Jr. and Herbert Sieg is "Uniforms of the World. A Compendium of Army, Navy, and Air Force uniforms, 1700-1937" published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. He also suggests your own Encyclopedia. BUKOVINA IN CYBERSPACE(Please Note: Many of these links are no longer functioning)
MORAVIAN HERITAGE SOCIETYWe received a copy of the "Morava Krasna" newsletter, the 11th published celebrating Moravian heritage. Some back issues are available which include articles: "Who are the Moravians? Two Great Moments in Moravian History, Moravia's Ethnographic Regions, Jan Amos Komensky, Father of Modern Education, Moravia's Living Folklore, The Origin of the Slavs, Olomouc, Who are the Valachs? Straznice & the Folk Festival, Moravian Christmas Memories, The Amber Route, Ostrava and the Poetry of Peter Bezruc, The Dawn of Christianity in Moravia, and A Page from Moravian History - 1000 years ago." Their data base of ancestral names is over four thousand. Those interested in joining the society or submitting their ancestral family names and villages can contact Helene Cincebeaux, 151 Colebrook Drive, Rochester NY 14617-2215 or e-mail at: helenezx@aol.com BUKOVINA BRIEFSBukovina Nite was held on Saturday, October 4th at the Zion Lutheran Church, North Southey, Sask. Canada. Many of the parishioners from the area have Bukovina heritage. The feature was video and pictures provided by Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Manz and Mr. & Mrs. Clarence Schmidt who just returned from a tour of Bukovina. This is the first of a series of programs to be presented on Bukovina in area churches, according to Rev. Franz E. Nelson. Rev. Nelson has been in e-mail contact with us and the society provided b brochures and material on Bukovina and the society. The second in the series of Family Ministry Programs was held on October 19th and featured Rev. Helmut and Janice Nachtigall who reported on their June 1997 visit to Bukovina, Galicia, Wohlynia and Poland. The third in the series was held on Nov 16th especially for Germans from Russia. A cook book is being assembled of Bukovina favorites. Anyone wishing to contribute a recipe can send it to the Zion Lutheran Church, Lutheran Woman's Missionary League, Deloras Knapp, President, Box 414, Southey, Sask. SOG 4PO Canada. Lifelong friend Dennis Spies is managing editor of the Amarillo News-Globe. He has followed the Bukovina Society and thanks to him and Marleta Childs, the society has made the news there several times. Marleta writes a column "Kin Searching" about genealogy. Also in Texas Michael Matthews airs on radio with a program called the Family History Show in Texas. He talks with 35 to 50 thousand listeners per week. His web site is: www.ridethewave.com/familyhistory Thanks to Victor R. Hrehorovich of Lutherville, MD for the donation of three copies of a book for the Bukovina archives and the museum. It was produced by the Central Association of Bukovinian Ukrainians in New York, Curatory of Fund "Zelena Bukovyna" in Philadelphia and Ukrainian-Bukovinian Society in Toronto. Published in 1984 it is titled, "Ukrainian Sport Club Dovbush in Chernivtsi, Bukovina and Ukrainian Sport in Bukovina 1920-1940." Thanks to Richard Carruthers and Allan Schmidt, members from Canada, who donated a copy of the book, Archival Sources for the Study of German Language Groups in Canada. Printed in both the English and French languages, it will be available at the society headquarters library. The Center for Ethnic Studies at Ft. Hays University has produced "A Guide to the Collections" edited by Dr. Helmut Schmeller. Anyone researching Bukovina topics in the Hays area should visit the center. It is the depository for Bukovina Society books and materials and we would appreciate an extra copy of that book or family history you folks might have available out there for the archives. 46 members of the Armbruster family from Kansas and Nebraska met in Ellis on August 31st for the 15th annual Jacob Armbruster reunion. A potluck lunch started the afternoon of activities. The 16th annual event is scheduled for August 30, 1998 organized by Bob and Beverly Mong, Debbie Armbruster, and N. Buchholz. Books for sale by the Bukovina Society are now available by credit card order as a result of requests by members. Books are listed on our home page in the net. More information by e-mail or regular mail at our address. St. John Lutheran Church, north of Ellis, Kansas, celebrated their 100th anniversary On August 10th. The congregation was founded in April 1897 by Bukovina German Lutherans. The story went out to many newspapers in the country. Dorothy Slaughter sent a copy of the Capper's coverage. Betty Lang wrote an article for the East European Genealogist, Winter 1996 issue, on the Bukovina Tour sponsored by the Bukowina-Institut in the fall of 1996. COPIER FUNDThe few times we have asked for donations for special projects, the response has always been overwhelming. Museum director Ray Schoenthaler went shopping and secured a new Xerox at an attractive price. Again the response for financial help was beyond our expectations. The following is the honor roll of supporters for this project:
The Bukovina Society of the Americas is a non profit corporation with tax exempt status under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations to the society are tax deductible. The society is an eligible organization for corporate matching donations. SOLKA SOURCESRuediger Kelsch, a new subscriber to the
Bukovina-genealogy listserv
available by sending a subscription request (Send the command
There are extant records for the Roman Catholic parish of Solka (Romanian, Solca), Bukovina. I have all that are available on indeterminate loan on the Mormon Family History Centre in Ottawa as part of BREG's in-house collection of over 70 microfilms of Bukovinian parish registers (Lutheran, Reformed and Roman Catholic) and Galician settler cards. For Solka the records consist of the baptismal, marriage and burial indexes from the year the parish was made autonomous from its mother church at Kaczyka in 1856 , along with Arbora, Glitt and Lichtenberg. In 1887, it became, with Arbora, a separate parish and from 1934 it was hived off from its union with Arbora, and made to stand alone. Its parochial dedication (Kirchweih) is unknown at the time of writing. (See Father Norbert Gaschler's "Die Kirchenbuecher der Bukowina" in: Kaindl Archiv (Mitteilungen der Raimund Friedrich Kaindl Gesellschaft), Heft 2, Stuttgart (1979), p. 51.) The Mormon versions of these records are copies of microfilms of
originals held in Leipzig. They can be consulted in any non-European
continental FHC or in Leipzig in the original (and, I believe, at the
Bukowina-Institut in Augsburg whose microfilm copies are, allegedly, of
higher quality). One can consult the Mormon FHLC (Family History Library
Catalogue) or the Leipzig inventory volume that covers Bukovina
("Bestandsverzeichnis DZfG-Leipzig (Teil II): Die archivalischen und
Kirchenbuchunterlagen deutsch er Siedlungsgebiete im Ausland: Bessarabien,
Bukowina, Estland, Lettland und Litauen, Siebenbuergen, Sudentenland,
Slowenien und Suedtirol"), p. 37, col 2. This latter volume reveals
the following info., which I have combined with some of the info. from the
Mormons, and edited, viz.:
N.B. The material for 1856-1887 appears to date from the time of the
events whereas the material in the second listing, where there is a 31-year
overlap of the data, is a later transcription made in the same hand as the
baptismal transcription referred to above. In addition, in the material
that seems to be contemporary with the data recorded, i. e. the marriages
on item 4, the lower portions of every page is missing, damaged perhaps in
W W II. A close comparison with the later transcription of the same events
may reveal the missing entries. A good example of an error of
interpretation was noted in a marriage record where in the original a
surname hailing from outside the Solka area was written as Citron and later
recopied as Kitron. It should be noted that from his own knowledge of
that family, Polish and Roman Catholic in origin Citron or Zitron are
shortened forms of the Polish original Cytronowski (sometimes
Zytronowski), a St Onufry, near Sereth, surname. They were used in as the
family, presumably became germanised through intermarriage with and
proximity to the local German-speaking community. The pronunciation of the
shortened version retained the essential initial sound of the Polish
surname in that the 'c' or 'z' would have been pronounced "ts". The
problem arises when one considers the standard German orthographic rule of
changing 'c' into 'k' since the adoption of the "Rechtschreibung" around
the turn of the century. In changing Citron to Kitron the transcriber
created a new name and a new pronunciation the 'k' is invariably hard.
Moreover, in the original entry another surname, Flamann, appears as
Flahman, an acceptable variant in terms of pronunciation. In the
transcribed form, it is made Flachman, where the interpolated 'h' creates a
new surname erroneously.
a), b), and c) are the DZfG abbreviations for Taufen (baptismal register, i. e. volume), Trauungen (marriage register, i. e. volume) and Bestattungen (Funerals, sic, but recte burial register). N.B. Not all the DZfG cataloguing is correct as to denomination and contents, and these errors have been carried over into the Mormon FHLC which depended on the accuracy of the Leipzig archivists. I am slowly correcting the errors as I find them, but so far I see no problem with the Solka listing. My own connection to Solka is through the Eisenhauers (My late father, Joseph G. Gerow (geb. Zurowski, *1916, Southey, Sask. + 1965, Vancouver, B.C.) told my mother that we were somehow connected to President Eisenhower! Bukovina Germans can tell the odd tall tale, but in them can lie truth, for sure enough there is an Eisenhauer [literally, iron hewer] link). My great-grandfather Ferdinand (*1850, Satulmare +1919, Arat, nr. Edenwold, Sask.; immig. to Canada in 1898 via Hamburg with wife, Rosa "Rosi" Bayerle, and their four children) had a youngest sister, Barbara (*1867, Deutsch-Satulmare). She married Franz Eisenhauer (*1865, Solka) in 1890. They had, among other issue, Franz, who married and emigrated, ohne Frau, to Canada where he married bigamously (it seems). He was born in Solka in 1897, and after emigration eventually lived in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, just across the border from Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Apparently at some point he changed his name to Frank Hauer (Similarly my own father changed his name in 1948 when his brokerage firm employer told him that his name, Joseph Gottlieb Zurowski, would not be helpful in post-war W.A.S.P. Vancouver. He copied his cousin Ernest Zurowski who had already changed his name to Gerow in the 1930s in order to get the teaching position in Tramping Lake, Sask. that he had been refused six months earlier under his more 'ethnic' moniker). Cousin Frank Hauer's second wife was Katharina "Katie" Kelsch, so there may be a connection with Ruediger's line. I looked up Ruediger's paternal grandmother's birth/baptism in the baptismal index for Solka Roman Catholic parish. I found her listed among those baptized in 1911. The notation reads, "Kelsch Helena fil. Josephus et Rosa [Fuerchbaer, crossed out] Fuchs 2/6 [i.e. 2 June, presumably the birth rather than the baptismal date which is probably the 4th as Ruediger lists this latter date for her birth date] III 165 [i.e. original baptismal register volume III, p. 165. N.B. Father Gaschler's article says that the entries were made in the Kaczyka registers, which seems to contradict what he says earlier. Here is the German, in case I mistake its meaning: "HAOs: S, fuer Taufen, Trauungen und Sterbefaelle bis 1856, die in den Matrikeln von Katschyka [sic] eingetragen wurden .." The Bukovina German, but now largely Czech-focused, researcher, Paul J. Polansky Schneller, has photocopies of the registers of the Roman Catholic parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Kaczyka from 1792-1890. [I believe he is willing to make copies, but may charge a fee. Write to him at Czech Research Center, P. O. Box 183, Spillville, Iowa 52138, U.S.A.] It looks as though it would be possible to trace the marriage of Helene Kelsch's parents if it occurred at Solka R.C. parish before 1908 and thereby perhaps push the line back further, possibly finding a link to the Illischestie Kelsch family, who were Lutherans. If Ruediger, or anyone else should wish to contact me privately at my email address or via the regular post to engage me for a deeper investigation of their Bukovinian ancestry rest assured that I can be prevailed upon to work in my professional capacity (see me on the FEEFHS professional genealogists pages at http://feefhs.org). Richard H.B. Carruthers (-Zurowski), B.A. (Hons), Oxon. bukovina@shaw.ca 34a, Acacia Avenue, Rockcliffe Park, Ontario K1M OP4, Canada (613) 749-3825. BAUMAN PAPERSThanks to the generosity of Arthur E. Flegel of Menlo Park, California, the Bukovina Society has received the copies of documents and books collected by Mrs. Eve (Haman) Bauman. Mr. Flegel, a certified genealogist, has been a life long researcher and writer of his heritage and maintains a library of his work and collections. Eve Bauman was born on March 28, 1918 in Mitocka, Bukovina. Mitocka is near Suceava, Romania from which her family emigrated to Naperville, Ill. In her family the daughters were Roman Catholic and the sons were Lutheran. She married a Swiss-German-American, Hubert Fritz Bauman and they eventually settled in Sunnyvale, California where he was retired from Lockheed research laboratories. Mrs. Bauman and her son were in Europe in September of 1984 when a tragic accident killed them, a gas heater in their travel van produced deadly fumes while they slept. She was seeking information to write a book about the Germans who once lived in the region where she was born. It was Art Flegel's custom to check obituary columns for information on Eastern European Germans. At some time later he visited with Mr. Bauman about the research which resulted in the acquisition of the papers. Our appreciation also goes out to the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia staff who transported the material back to Lincoln, Nebraska from their convention in California. Thanks to Leona Pfeifer of Hays who brought them to Hays in October after attending an AHSGR board meeting. The three boxes contain some 25 reams of documents that will be stored in the Bukovina Society archives at the Center for Ethnic Studies of Ft. Hays State University. The center is located in the library and material als available to researchers during regular hours. During the annual Bukovinafest, the papers will be available at the society headquarters along with microfilm and other archival material. Below is a cursory description of the material:
GERMAN GENEALOGY AND HERITAGE CONFERENCEby: Laura Massirer ScottBy all accounts, the 1997 conference was a great success. Held in Waco July 17-19, it was attended by approximately 150 people. Participants came from Waco and the surrounding areas and from as far away as Canada. Eight states were represented by the participants and the speakers. The local host, Van Massirer, welcomed the group Thursday evening and began the program by having representatives present a brief background of the three organizations sponsoring the conference. The Bukovina Society of the Americas, the Texas German Society, and the Central Texas Genealogical Society. Participants were urged to consider membership in these organizations. The keynote address, entitled Unsere Leute, was delivered later that evening by Irmgard Hein Ellingson, who traveled from Ossian, Iowa to participate. She was followed by Karl Micklitz, Director of the Texas German Society, from Brookshire, Texas, who gave a thorough presentation on German and Austrian history. The crowd spent a full morning Friday listening to four excellent speakers. Shirley Woodlock, from Waco, spoke about genealogy for the beginner. Then Christa Prewitt, from Elgin, Texas, and Flora von Roeder, from Houston, presented a session about tracing your roots to Germany and Austria. They were followed by Dr. Frauke Harvey, from Waco, who gave a brief beginning German language lesson, which the audience enjoyed participating in. After lunch, Lois Myers, from Waco, spoke about tape recording family histories, and Steve Parke, from Pueblo, Colorado, presented information on using computers in genealogical work. Next, Patsy Hand, of Victoria, Texas, spoke to the group about the rigors of immigration, and then Theresa Gold, from San Antonio, ended the afternoon with her presentation on German customs and traditions in Texas. After the dinner break, a panel discussion was held on the subject of preparing and publishing a family history. The discussion was moderated by Paul Massier, from Arcadia, California, and panel members included Flora von Roeder, Irene Schulze, from Valley Mills, Texas, and Velma Wiethorn of McGregor, Texas. The evening concluded with a happy hour and cash bar, which allowed participants to meet and discuss the day's program. Participants also were provided with the opportunity to give the family names they were interested in to see if others had information to share. Several participants made exciting contacts with other attendees who turned out to be distant relatives they didn't know they had! Saturday morning began with an enthusiastic presentation by Dr. Sophie Welisch, of Congers, New York. She spoke about the German influence in the shaping of American Society. Then Steve Parke was prevailed upon once again, this time to show slides from his trip to Bukovina several years ago. Originally Oren Windholz had been scheduled to present his slides from Bukovina, but he and his wife Pat were unable to attend the conference because of the arrival of their first grandchild! Oren and Pat were greatly missed in Waco this summer! Steve's slide program was followed by a presentation from Paul Massier, who spoke about the German Baptists in Bukovina and Galicia. Then the set of programs was rounded out by the final speaker, Theresa Gold. She spoke about German courtship customs. A good number of the group then met at a local German restaurant for lunch to share an authentic German meal. After lunch, several dozen people took the bus tour through some of the local German countryside. The conference was brought to a close with a banquet and dance at the
Crawford Community Center Saturday evening. Texas bar-be-que was served
and an authentic German - Austrian band from Dallas performed for the
crowd. Chances had been sold throughout the conference for a beautiful
handmade quilt, donated by Ida Massirer of Crawford. The winner of the
quilt was announced at the dance. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, fun
and fellowship! It is our hope the participants carried away some useful
information on different topics and they maintain the level of enthusiasm
and interest displayed at the conference!
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