WELCOME NEWCOMERS
Many of you will be receiving this newsletter for the first time. I obtained many of your addresses through the distribution of Ray Borschowa’s Georgshausen history book translation. Although our group is named after the town of Zichydorf, we have learned through the years that there were very close ties between Zichydorf, Georgshausen, and Setschanfeld and we welcome members from the other two towns. Most of our resources are applicable to all three towns. I hope that you enjoy our newsletter and that you will consider joining our group, which is dedicated to discovering and preserving the history of our towns and families. Annual dues are $10 plus we ask that you contribute an extra $25 to our library fund in the first year only (Total $35 for year one). You can learn more about us at our old web site (URL at the end of the newsletter). Although this site is quite dated, all the information except the researcher list and some addresses is still current. That site will be downsized to remove members only information in the near future. Look forward to a new and greatly expanded site around October 31.
We issue our newsletter in April and September and, sometimes, during the winter if we have something to report. I will keep you on the mailing list for two or three newsletters unless you ask to be removed. At that time, if you have not shown any interest, I will drop you from the list. If you receive this by regular mail, please email me so I can obtain your email address for quicker communication and reduced expenses.
Once again, welcome to the gang and I hope that you will join us as members.
ZVA MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
People have overwhelmingly told us that they are willing to pay dues, but they forget. Here is a reminder to pay your 2008 dues of $10 if you have not already done so. You may also pre-pay your 2009 dues at this time. You may want to consider paying for more than one year at a time to avoid the yearly task. If you think you have paid, but do not see your name, please drop me a line.
Paid for 2008: B. Fritz, B. Anwender, E. Mildenberger, E. Flichel, K. Hohban, J. Schwarz, M. Borkan, E. Hugel, J. Devine, T. McRoberts, T. Dash, T. Franks, J. Novak, B. Harle, J. Mayer, A. Niesner, C. Ortman, M. Dormuth, J. Haehn, Maxine Jones, A. Ritter, A. Fulford, G. Allison, J. Molyneaux, D. Nielsen, J. Busch, R. Schmidt, J. Miller, T. Novak, E. Foulks. J. Frass, S. Gibbard, H. Kaiser, B. Daniels, E. Phillips, W. Campbell, N. Kainer, S. Kragh, D. Halliday, F. Sprager, D. Giroux, J. Molter, S. Erdman, S. Pringle, S. Weishuhn, M. Peller, N. Stettner, R. Borschowa, J. McNeil, D. O’Shaughnessy, D. Giroux, P. Pudloski, L Knibbs, D. Connelly, C. Conrad, S. Moore, L. Klewinowski, J. Lang, J. Stoeber, K. Niedermayer, T. Schmidt, P. Novak, J. Hugel, M. Hueser, F. Dornstauder, J. Tretter, M. Burton, P. Engler.
Paid for 2009: B. Fritz, E. Mildenberger, E. Flichel, K. Hohban, J. Busch, M. Borkan, E. Hugel, T. Dash, T. Franks, J. Mayer, J. Schwartz, M. Dormuth, H. Kaiser, J. Frass, B. Daniels, J. Molyneaux, S. Gibbard, A. Fulford, J. Miller, J. Molter, S. Weishuhn, N. Stettner, L. Klewinowski, J. Lang, J. Stoeber, T. Schmidt, P. Novak, M. Hueser, F. Dornstauder.
INTEGRITY OF PURCHASED INFORMATION
Many of us have purchased the Zichydorf church records on CD or the Zichydorf Familienbuch compiled by Helmut Kaiser. I am sure that we have all shared some information from these sources with other genealogists. I have no problem with sharing a little bit here and a little bit there or doing look ups for people. One of the most pleasant aspects of genealogy is the community of sharing. But I hope that people are not allowing others to copy the whole package. This is clearly not fair to the people who produced or paid for their CDs. ZVA took a big risk in financing László Rudolf to obtain the records and should be entitled to the reward now that we have them. The people that put up the seed money took a risk too and should not have their contribution devalued by giving away for free what they paid for on speculation. And Helmut has invested his own cash and thousands of hours of labour in his product.
ZICHYDORF CHURCH RECORDS
Previously I explained that, when we made the church record CDs, an error was made in the conversion of the original .jpg files to .pdf. Most of the records from 1869 to 1871 were missing from the CDs. I posted the missing pages on a temporary web page in October along with an updated and more detailed version of the ZVA CD Companion file that was included on ZVA CD 1 . If anyone missed this posting, or if you do not have an Internet connection, please contact me to get your copy of the missing pages.
HELMUT KAISER FAMILIENBUCH
Helmut has produced a new 2008 version of the family book. To refresh your memories, this is a grouping of family members extracted from the church books. It has some additions and corrections to the 2005 version from Ken Hohban, Ray Borschowa, and some others. There is also some new data from Kathreinfeld, Nakodorf, Grabatz, Deutsch-Stamora, Molidorf, and Bogarosch. I would not expect any great revelations unless your pre-Zichydorf ancestors come from one of these villages. Helmut has sent me some copies for those who do not yet have the previous version or for those who wish to upgrade. They are $40. You may order from ZVA at the address at the end of this letter.
ZVA WEB PAGE
As previously explained, Steve Herold at Banaters.com is working on updating our web page. Unfortunately, he is a very busy guy and he encountered some health issues and a car accident which put him even further behind. Steve has set October 31, 2008 as a goal for launching the new site.
The new site will have all the best content from the previous two sites, plus updated newsletters, plus additional new content, including extractions from St. Mary’s Church in Regina, SK. The researcher list will be password protected to help ensure your privacy. I hope to have different levels of access as described in previous newsletters.
NEW AT THE LIBRARY AND ON THE WEB
Schriften über Stefan Jäger (Writings on Stefan Jäger) by Maria Schulz, Emanuela Macovel, and Sorin Fortiu. See review below.
Lost Homeland Georgshausen: The History of a Village In Banat, translated by Henry A. Fischer and edited by Ray Borschowa and Barbara Hebenstreit. See review below.Check the pages on Brazil & Argentina created by our member Joan Molyneaux at http://www.dvhh.org/network/ds_worldwide/
Banat pictures by the priest at Etschka at http://community.webshots.com/user/janezmu/
Current details on Romanian Banat churches at http://www.banatergottesheuser.ro/index.htm
BOOK REVIEWS
Schriften über Stefan Jäger (Writings on Stefan Jäger) by Maria Schulz, Emanuela Macovel, and Sorin Fortiu, is a collection of three essays about the most famous Donauschwaben painter. Although he painted many different subjects, his specialty was depicting the daily life of the Donauschwaben people. Unfortunately, this book does not reproduce any of his paintings. It is more a study and analysis of his life and times and influences. Also unfortunately, it is written in Hungarian and German. The attraction of this book for us is the last section by Sorin Fortiu which lays out Jäger’s family tree. One lady I know found that Jäger’s family tree contained two of her main surnames. Maybe you are related too!Lost Homeland Georgshausen: The History of a Village In Banat, translated by Henry A. Fischer and edited by Ray Borschowa and Barbara Hebenstreit, permits us unilingual anglophones to access Verlorene Heimat Georgshausen by Josef Wüst. Ray has done a masterful job of pulling together Henry’s translation with Barbara’s (the author’s daughter) insight and wrapping it all up in high production values. It is a magnificent volume with superb pictures. If your family history passes through Georgshausen you must have this book. Forpeople in the Regina area, I have a few books priced at $52 including postage at a bulk rate. Others can order the book from Ray at Georgshausen@peoplepc.com . It is $46 USD plus postage.
SASKATCHEWAN ZICHYDORFER HISTORY BOOK
I have made some progress on the book, but there is still a long way to go. I hope to come very close to completion over the winter. Please continue your work of writing your family’s story and contact Glenn to coordinate your efforts. Submit your ideas for a book title and win a FREE BOOK! Please submit your old family traditional recipes to Tim Novak, 2903 Quinn Drive, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4P 2W2, Phone: 306-522-2558, E-mail: tnovak@accesscomm.ca
2008 GROUP TOUR
Our Banat trip this past summer was a tremendous success eliciting comments like, “It was truly the trip of a lifetime” and “the tour itself far surpassed my expectations”. The strategy to spend more time in the Banat and less in the rest of Europe paid off in spades. You can review the trip at zichydorf08.blogspot.com/. I may put together another tour for 2010 if there is sufficient interest.
YOUR FAMILY HISTORY LEGACY
What will happen to your legacy? You have worked hard to grow your family tree to its present state. Who will preserve and build upon your work when you are no longer able? Will the next generation have to start all over? Or will they be able to find the foundation that you have laid?
I would like to encourage everyone once again to leave a copy of your work, preferably on CD or DVD with ZVA.. At the very least, send a gedcom file or family book file on CD to Glenn. Also, consider leaving instructions to send your research to ZVA in the event of your passing. You don’t want it to be thrown in the garbage because no one else in the family is dedicated to furthering your work.
MEMORIAL PLAQUE
I still have one more option in mind for a memorial plaque, but it awaits completion of the fall harvest. In the meantime, the City of Regina is erecting a monument to immigrants. It will be supported by selling plaques on a wall for $250 each. I have purchased two plaques on behalf of ZVA. They will say
GEORGHAUSEN/GYÖRGYHAZA              ZICHYDORF/FALVA MARIOLANA
  BANAT AUSTRIA-HUNGARY                     BANAT AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
I have also purchased one for my family and I encourage others with roots in Regina to do the same. It would make quite a statement to have a dozen or so Zichydorf families on the wall. The first line should be the family name and the second line should be the place of origin. You are limited to 26 characters per line. For place of origin, I abbreviated to ZICHYDORF BANAT HUNGARY, knowing that this could be tied back to the plaque for the village. For more information and to download the application form, go to http://www.regina.ca/Page1497.aspx (This is a new address.)
SETSCHANFELD AND URMENYHAZA RECORDS
We have obtained the Gross Gaj and Urmenyhaza church records on CD. Several people with Setschanfeld interests have had good success finding their people in the Gross Gaj records. If you are interested in either of these sets, order from ZVA at the address below. They are $25 per set.
ZVA REGINA BRANCH MEETING
Regina Branch will meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 21, at Access Communications, 2250 Park St. (north door by the ball diamonds). Glenn will show pictures from this summer’s Banat trip.
Zichydorf Village Association News
edited by: Glenn Schwartz
2274 Baldwin Bay, Regina, SK, S4V 1H2
Internet: http://feefhs.org/zva/frg-zva.html
email: gschwartz@accesscomm.caÂÂ