Welcome to the first edition of the ZVA (Zichydorf Village Association) News. The ZVA was formed on the Internet by Barry Anwender, Laura Grzyb, and Glenn Schwartz with the assistance of John Movius and Bob Madler in February, 1996. Barry, Laura, and Glenn are all descended from Zichydorfers who settled near Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada around the turn of the century. All three are researching their Zichydorf roots. We hope to update ZVA progress once per month in future.
ZICHYDORFERS AROUND THE WORLD
We know that Zichydorfers emigrated all over the world from the late 1890s until the recent past. In particular, we know that there are Zichydorfers in Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil, and the USA. We hope to link descendants from all of these areas through the Internet to collectively reconstruct our history. Also, we are attempting to establish contact with a Zichydorf association in Germany, if we can find one . If you can help us establish some links, please e-mail us through the ZVA home page.
MORE ZICHYDORF PAGES ON THE INTERNET
We have laid out a blueprint to expand the Zichydorf information on the Internet. Although it will take time, we hope to eventually post a number of surname databases. If you would like to contribute something, please contact Barry at the address on the ZVA home page.
ZICHYDORF VILLAGE HISTORY TRANSLATION
Geschicte der Gemeinde Zichydorf, the history of the community of Zichydorf, by Johann Achtzehner, is being translated into English by a Regina lady who lived in Zichydorf. She has almost completed her work and we are hopeful that she will share it with all of us in the ZVA. She is somewhat hesitant at present, but we hope to convince her in the future. This valuable little book provides a complete picture of life in Zichydorf from its founding until after World War II. It describes the founding and growth of the town, complete with local customs, population statistics, and names of municipal office holders. More on this as events unfold.
ZVA REGINA CHAPTER
Many Zichydorf families settled around Regina, and very many of today’s Reginans can trace their roots back to these early settlers. Unfortunately, most of them do not know their shared history. We hope to remedy that situation in the near future. We are distributing posters advertising our group’s existence at sites around the city where genealogists or German people gather and hope to establish a network of Zichydorfers that will cooperate in recapturing their past .We will have a table at an upcoming Family History Fair sponsored by the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society. We also hope to interest the local newspaper in doing a story on our group and encouraging people to join us. We may even initiate a phone or mail campaign to contact local people with Zichydorf surnames.
ZICHYDORF NAME INDEX
Glen and Shirley Gibbard have volunteered to prepare the index of baptisms found in FHL microfilm #1190365 for posting on the Net. When complete, this index will be linked to the Zichydorf home page.