Meeting Kornelia "Conny" Pelz

Genealogists are interested in documenting family who came before us as well as the collateral relatives who came after.  For Americans, much of the historical work very quickly involves another country.  And, needless to say, not everyone in a family emigrated to America so most of us have relatives now living in the home country. Finding those present day cousins seemed too difficult to even know where to look.   But on March 17, 2014 just such a cousin made a contact through the Internet.  This blog is about meeting Kornelia "Conny" Pelz, a Kumshier 4th cousin once removed. 

[Family tree reminder: my maternal grandmother was Rose Kunshier Schotl, a daughter of Joseph Kunshier and Marie Tiller. see the blog here  Joseph and Marie came to Minnesota from Bohemia.]

Conny began her genealogical search in 2009. One of her aunts, her mother's sister, told her of a cousin of her mother's who lived in Germany, 4 kilometers from Neubäuhütten Bohemia (now Novosedelské Hutě, Czech Republic.)  Conny made that call and continued to call all the other Kumshiers in the area. 

Next she found church records from Neubäuhütten on the Internet.  She began the difficult task of translating the records from the Latin and German Gothic script.  At about that time, Wilhelm Kumshier, a cousin of her mother's gave her old photos and documents from Neubäuhütten.  From the documents she discovered that one brother (Michael) of her great grandfather, had emigrated to America when he was 14 years old in 1884.  She also found Anna Kumshier who had married Andrew Irber and emigrated in 1874.  

At this time she found that the name Kumshier was spelled Kunshier in America.  She also discovered another family in Iowa who spelled the name Kumsher.  As she searched for Kunshiers in America she came to my blog site where my great grandfather Joseph Kunshier and his wife were listed.  She made comments on that blog about the family connection.  

Kornelia Pelz, March 17, 2014
Hallo, I am from Germany and I have a question.  Are you Mr. Glaeve, who malke Storys ower the german immigrates to USA. When you are this Mr. Grave than I have nice information over the family Konschier.  I read a report from Mr. Graeve in the internet in Greave Genaalogy Journal August 2013. 

Josef Kunschier and her wife Maria Teller (Tiller) are relativ from me. I make Genealogy from my family and there are another family goes to USA to IOWA. But this name write in USA Kumsher. This ist the self family and they relative too from the family Kunschier. Sorry, but can not good english. I hope, you answer me. Kornelia Pelz

I am very grateful that Conny writes to me in English.  Her English is much better than my German.  

Unfortunately, I did not see the comment for another four months!  But when I did, I sent her my email address so our contact could continue.  She made the connection and we have been in communication ever since.

Conny was born Kornelia Henrich on April 4, 1959 in Breitscheid, Hesse, Germany to Rudolf Henrich and Herta Luise Kumschier.  She married Lothar Pelz and has two sons, Timo and Sascha.  She now lives in Allendorf, Hesse, Germany, 2 km from Haiger.  

Kornelia "Conny" has now started a family face book site,  "Big family with Kumschier, Kumsher, Kunshier, Konschier".  We have been adding members, photos and documents to this site.  

Conny has given us a wealth of information which we will include in a number of the coming blogs. 

Introducing a few more Kunshiers

When I signed the contract I never saw anything that said I had to write only about dead people.  A recent contact, with newly discovered cousin Jim Kunshier yielded a plethora of new genealogical information for the family tree.  Thanks to him we were able to meet additional cousins, Iris and Lorraine.  

James Michael Kunshier and his wife Ila live in a little town called Grandy, five miles north of Cambridge, Minnesota. Their house has a beautiful view of the surrounding marshes.  The frogs and birds are everywhere.  Jim is the son of Norman C. Kunshier and Betty A. nee Biernat Kunshier.  

He and Ila Mae nee Woolcott Kunshier have three children; Jeremy, Joy and Karina.  They and their spouses and the grand children all live in the area. 


Jim enjoys cooking and gardening.  He is an advocate for straw bale plantings and is willing to share any of his recipes, including one for Bohemian Potato Dumplings. 

Grandy Skyline

 Until his recent retirement, Jim was employed in the Cambridge office of the Minnesota Department of Human Services  as a Human Services Support Specialist.   He is an avid and successful hunter and fisherman and has the pictures and trophies mounted on his walls to prove it.  

Jim may already be regretting his searching me out and laying the cousin thing on me. 


We had the opportunity to spend a couple of very delightful days visiting with Jim and Ila, meeting relatives and touring the countryside.  One evening we were treated to a home cooked meal at their home. After dinner, Jim pulled out his violin and played a few tunes.  The instrument has been in the family for generations but neglected for quite some time.  Jim rescued the instrument and had it carefully restored.  He decided it was time to get on with some violin lessons.  Now he is in demand at family gatherings, senior citizen centers and events at his church.  If he keeps it up, he may need an agent.  

Iris nee Kunshier Baran

The next relative we met was Iris Mae Kunshier who is also my 2nd cousin.  Iris was born April 15, 1925 in Columbus Township, Anoka, Minnesota.  She is the daughter of  Edward Kunshier. 

At age 19 she went to work as a bookkeeper for the First National Bank in Minneapolis. She married Theodore John Baran and they had two children, Gary and Diane.  Her husband died in 1964 and she never remarried.  

We had a chance to meet and visit with Iris, a week before her 89th birthday, at her home in suburban Minneapolis.  She has compiled a 3 Ring Binder that bulges with family photos, memoirs, and documents.  It has been her labor of love for many years.  Particularly exciting was Iris' info on Wassersuppin, a Breakthrough for research in the Czech Republic Archives

Gary Baran

A page form the note book compiled by Iris

Her son Gary and his wife Diane were also there for our visit.  Gary has retired recently from employment with the State of Minnesota.  He also has the genealogy bug and was able to share some family anecdotes and sort out family facts.  

Two days later, Jim drove us to Grantsburg, Wisconsin, to the  home of  Lorraine nee Kunshier Baker.  Lorraine is a daughter of Alexander Kunshier and Esther nee Evgen Kunshier.  Lorraine is my first cousin, once removed.

Lorraine with children, Joan, Janet and Loren

Lorraine nee Kunshier Baker

We spent part of the day with Lorraine and her daughter Janet nee Baker Roberts.

Health issues this past year kept Lorraine in a nursing home for a few months during the winter. She is home now and feeling well enough to have company, though she tires 

easily.

That is me standing tall between Lorraine, on the left, and her mother Esther nee Evgen Kunshier on the right. Not sure where the photo was taken but guessing it may have been in Forest Lake, Washington County, Minnnesota about 1945..

Lorraine told us stories about her growing up years. She remembered staying with my grand parents, Frank and Rose Schotl, and fondly recalled my mother Bernice and my aunt Pearl.  She told a story of attending Grandpa Frank's funeral with the casket placed in the front room of the house on Maryland Ave.   

Lorraine and her extended family

Living in the Como Park neighborhood

I thought it was time to say some more about growing up in the Como area of St. Paul.  I have written previously (see that here) about the first house my family owned on Parkway Drive and the move to the house in the Como area on Parkview Avenue.  Officially, the Como neighborhood is bounded by Falcon Heights and Roseville on the North, the Railway on the South, Dale Street on East and Snelling Avenue on the West.  

  


My neighborhood during elementary school years was more restricted.  I was allowed to wander as far east as Dale Street with it's playground.  There was small basement grocery store on the corner of Arlington and Dale, the Ardale, where I was often sent for bread and milk.   My southern limit was Maryland and when I started going to confirmation classes at The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on Carroll and Dale I needed to walk to the very edge of my world to catch the streetcar.  The tracks began at Dale and Maryland.  Though we were allowed to go north of Arlington to Larpenteur, we knew there were only houses and thus seldom ventured in that direction. 

It was the lake, the park or the zoo that received most of our attention.  And there weren't any restrictions as long as the chores were done and we were home at the appointed time. Fishing poles in the summer with brown bag lunches stuck in the bicycle saddle bags, hockey skates and sticks slung over our shoulders in the winter, and we would head west.  Everything was free, no admission fees period.  I know it was one of the best possible places to grow up. Those were great times and I have good memories.  

Patricia Hampl, one of my favorite St. Paul writers, makes a distinction between the Upper Midwest and that other Midwest in her book The Florist's Daughter. "For we didn't just live in the Midwest--ours was the Upper Midwest, as if we had bypassed the regular Midwest and achieved a Siberian ascendancy that gave us a transcendent existence amid the boreal forests and silent stars." Now, how's that for making you feel special.

The Glaeve glacial habitat at 770 W. Parkview Avenue

Yes, the winters lasted half the year and the snow kept coming until there was no place to put it, but that's also part of what made the place and us, special. 

In Minnesota, before the days of “wind-chill”, it was either cold or colder.  When you gasped for breath when walking into the wind it was cold, when you couldn’t breathe until you put your nose into your mitten, it was colder.  These days even Garrison Keillor is talking about "wind-chill".  What's up with that?  He grew up here and should know that "wind-chill" was never in our vocabulary.  True Minnesotans still bristle at this foreign concept.  

GFG with Hightops,  age 9, 1950

Also, none of this snow accumulation nonsense.  It was either a lot of snow this year or not as much as usual. No body went out with a ruler to  measure the snow.  Winter was here when the snow was over your black high topped tennis shoes.  Only then was it time to dig out the 5 buckle boots, hoping that a mouse wasn't resident and that the buckles hadn't rusted shut.   

We walked those six blocks to school in adventure, often seeking out the largest snow bank to conquer. No snow days or ice days and therefore no TV scrolling to check for closings.  School happened.  It never didn't happen.

When you got to school, boots were removed, often with the help of a friend pulling and the wearer pushing.  They were placed on the floor under the assigned wall hook which now held your winter parka with wet mittens stuffed in the pockets, and a scarf, if you hadn't been able to get out of the house fast enough before your mother reminded you not to forget your scarf.  Timing was everything.  

 The journey was repeated at lunch time for those of us who lived on the south side of Arlington Avenue.  The classmates who lived on the north side of Arlington had to unwrap their PB and J or baloney sandwiches and missed out on the noon adventure.  Lunch at home meant hot soup and often fresh chocolate chip cookies still warm and gooey.  The mothers were all there waiting for their darlings before commencing afternoon canasta games or shopping trips to the Golden Rule or Emporium department stores.  This was long before the need for two family incomes. The "No wife of mine is ever going to work" rule was still in effect.  This too did pass. 




We weren't aware that the architectural style of our school was Beaux Art, but nowadays it makes one proud that someone cared enough about the room where we unrolled our nap rugs to design it with such elan.  If I had only known, things may have turned out much differently.  I probably would have taken Latin in high school and who knows, maybe even French, though I think I would've been the only boy in the class.   

They have messed with everything surrounding Como Park Elementary School, but the original building is still the anchor.  I can only hope the interior is much the same, and if it is not, please don't say anything.  The recess area, where our ball games were played and where the bookmobile parked, is now a parking lot.  On the other side, the Middle School now sits where the monkey bars provided a macho proving ground, a few cracked teeth and broken arms. 

Wheelock Parkway still meanders past the school as a link in the original 1890's  plan to tie all the parks together.  The grand city scheme was to make it possible to drive one's carriage from one park to the next.  Today the route is used by joggers, walkers and bikers to reach

Como Lake and the path that encircles it.  Now they have "step" markers so you can chart your progress toward a healthy heart.  Our breathing would slow when we spotted a bull frog near the path.  We attempted, with great stealth, to add it to our collection.  Thus our path was marked by our successes and failures not some crazy "step" markers.  

Bloom's Grocery was directly across Wheelock Parkway from the school.  It was there that we bought our baseball bubble gum cards, trading two New York Yankees for a Brooklyn Dodger any day. The building, now sans store windows is an eye sore as it has been converted to a multiple residence.   Better to survive only in the memory rather than suffer such an ignoble fate. 

For me, A big part of the years 1948 thru 1951 was the Cub Scouts.  Our Cub Scout Den mother was Margaret Kuettner, wife of  George F. Kuettner Sr. and mother to George Jr., Mary Ann, my friend Bruce, and Phyllis.  We usually met in the basement  of the Kuettner House on Victoria Avenue, not far from the school.  Mrs. Kuettner always had craft projects, games, and often treats.  Bruce's father, George, was active in the St. Paul Turners, a German fitness organization. On a number of occasions, he took us to their building to try out the various gymnastic apparatus.  After the first night I knew gymnastics wasn't in my future.  Both Bruce and Jim Flueck, however, continued in gymnastics.

Our Cub Scout troop: from left Jack Hawley,  Bruce Geske, Robert Hanafin, Robert Nelson, GFG,
Bruce Kuettner, Duane Grahn, James Flueck, Grey "Bucky" Henderson

Bruce Kuettner as Cheerleader at Murray High. 
the Murray Pilot school yearbook photo

Bruce Kuettner excelled and was a cheerleader and gymnast at both Murray High School and the University of Minnesota.  He eventually graduated from St. Cloud State University, and was employed by the St. Paul School system as a teacher, and a coach.  He passed on in May of 2013,  finally succumbing to a life long battle with childhood diabetes. 

James Flueck MD

 I have tried to track some of the other Cub Scouts without much luck.  Jim Flueck, after medical school, became an Endocrinologist residing in Lexington, Kentucky.

I think Jack Hawley moved out East. Bucky Henderson's family moved to Mounds View where he attended high school. Duane Grahn is listed as deceased in 1998 in Hennepin County. I have no idea what happened to Bruce Geske, Robert Hanafin or Robert Nelson.

Every year, during Minnesota's endless winter, we looked forward to the Saint Paul Winter
Carnival.  The ice palace, an ice sculpture competition, the coronation of the Queen of Snows, the parade, the treasure hunt, ski jump competitions and many other Chamber of Commerce events which were held so you wouldn't feel bad that you couldn't afford to winter in Florida.  

Floyd Bedbury at Como Lake

Some of the Winter Carnival events were held on Lake Como, near our house, including the national speed skating races. Many of the skaters entered were Como Park regulars.  They represented local speed skating clubs.  My local speed-skating hero was Floyd Bedbury.  In the mid-50's, he was always there and competing.  Even though I watched many of the races, I would check out the results in the Sunday paper.  Recently I read In the St. Paul paper of the death of Floyd in 2011. "Floyd Bedbury, two time Olympian, head coach of the Twin City Speed skating Club, and tireless advocate of our sport, passed away...  His wife Janet was at his side.  Over the years, many local speed skaters from every club benefited from his coaching expertise, as he never turned down a skater’s request for technical help." He died of cancer at age 73.  Here's to you Floyd Bedbury. Thanks for the memories.  

Mutt Races, St. Paul Winter Carnival, Lake Como  courtesy MHS ca. 1957

Another popular Carnival event on the lake was the Mutt Races. Any boy or girl with a dog could register and enter.  Nothing fancy, just the family dog hooked up to a sled.  The track was quite long and folks were positioned along the route cheering on their favorites.  Some form of these races started around the turn of the century and may still continue as part of Saint Paul's celebration of winter.  

At least one year my friend Ronnie Schultz was entered with the family dog, Ginger.  Vern Schultz mentions his brother Ronnie and Ginger's race in his book, Memoir of a Left Hander.
I don't remember that Ronnie won the race, as reported by Vern,  but it doesn't surprise me and it certainly makes for the best story.    

Vern Schultz was the 2nd son of Fleurina and Arthur (Art) Schultz.  Art was my Dad's boss at the old St. Paul Fire Department Repair shop on the corner of Rice and Arlington.  I think I met Vern a couple of times at the family home but he was 12 years older and by that time already teaching and coaching at St. Agnes.  His brother Ronnie was 10 years his junior and closer to my age.  Ronnie and I  knew each other from hockey at Lake Como and thought it quite cool that our dads worked together.

In Vern's book, Memoir of a Left Hander,  he tells of growing up in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood.  He says it was the perfect neighborhood for a young kid.  It was near the playground, the Dairy Queen, and the White Castle Hamburger stand where he ate more than his share of the little trademark square burgers.  When Ronnie was born, the family decided on the move to Como though the house they purchased wasn't much bigger than the one they were leaving.  Vern never seemed to make the adjustment to the new neighborhood. He faults weak ankles as a factor in his not fitting in. The Como Park kid culture demanded a religious focus on ice hockey and your ankles needed to be strong enough to hold up through a long after school pick-up game.  

St. Paul Saints game.  MHS 

Lexington Park and area MHS

I especially liked Vern's recollections as a young boy of 12 or 13, working at the Lexington Ball Park. 

 We watched many games there, in the left field bleachers, as members of the "knothole" gang. Sometimes we went as Cub Scouts, but often some of the kids in the Parkview neighborhood would talk an adult into giving us a ride.  I think the only membership requirement for the "knothole gang" was the price of admission, 25 cents.  It was fun to scurry after the home runs and foul balls, but in those days you didn't get to keep the ball.  An usher or ball boy would demand that you turn it in, to be put back in play, scuffed or not.  We cheered on the hometown Saint Paul Saints and booed especially loud when the Minneapolis Millers came to town. 
   

Early View of the St. Paul Y.M.C.A. building on Cedar St.

During those years, many of my hours were spent at the St. Paul Y.M.C.A.  When folks would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up, my most frequent answer was that I was going to work for the Y.  Could there be anything  better than playing pool, shooting baskets and swimming all day. Progress in the Y's swimming program was made, as I progressed from minnow to fish, to flying fish, and began training for a Life-Saving certification.

During the summer of 1950, as part of the YMCA Summer Fun Club,  tours were taken of various historic sites around the city.  We went on a field trip every day; to Fort Snelling, the Sibley house, the Gibbs Museum, and many more.  My favorite was our trip to the Coca Cola plant.  It was fun to watch the assembly line where bottles were shot with Coke, capped and run along the track for boxing and stacking.  The only human in the room was someone in a white coat who was making sure the machines kept running.  I thought if I didn't get the Y job, maybe I could apply for the white coat job. 

Polio was rampant during those years.  For me, it probably had something to do with the Y pool.  This was before the Salk Vaccine. The disease would put me at home in bed, under heat lamps and heating pads for a good part of the 5th grade.  The treatment, at the time, was massage and water exercise and heat.  The upside was that I no longer had to read under the covers by flashlight as the light was always on.  The downside was that the light was always on.  I was one of the lucky ones who emerged after treatment with minimal paralysis and the ability to do almost everything.

the portables were always too cold or too hot

 It was also the year my class was in the "Portables".  These were temporary rooms placed on a lot behind the main school building.  No cloak room, no bubblers, no bathrooms, nothing Beaux Art about it. I also wasn't too keen on my teacher that year.  It would have been a good emersion year for the study of developing nations, segregation or 2nd class citizenship.  

But, the most difficult was staying in bed and missing the neighborhood games.  No visitors except immediate family.  As it turned out, it was probably the best year to take a sabbatical,  stay in bed and catch up on my reading of the Classics.  Classic's Illustrated that would have been. Lot's of pictures and not too many words. Today they call these books, Graphic Novels but only a fancy label for what we called "comics".  Unfortunately, the text books for 5th grade also showed up at bedside. I wasn't excused from homework.   

1952 Crossing Guard postal stamp

According to the AAA web site, "The national school Crossing Guard movement was the product of the American Automobile Association which started in 1902.  For more than fifty years, Patrol Boys and Patrol Girls, worked together to reduce accidents when children crossed the street. The US Postal System dedicated a First Class postage stamp in their honor in 1952."

Those of us lucky enough to be chosen as Crossing Guards in the 6th grade, were able to leave class 10 minutes early to assume our positions. We wore leather harness belts, with badges as symbols of our ability to hold up that heavy sign until the last 1st grader had crossed.  My usual corner was at Grotto and Wheelock Parkway.  It was protection to the max. 

The highlight of the year for the Crossing Guards was a parade in downtown Saint Paul where banners and marching skills were on display.  This was followed by a picnic in one of the nearby parks with fellow Guards from across the city.  Free hot dogs and soda and ice cream in a Dixie cup with a wooden spoon. 

Thanks to some of the good folks on the Facebook site "Old St. Paul" for help in identifying the building that appears in some of the photos of the march in my album.  

The next year, 7th grade, was at Murray Junior High School which I hope to write about in a future blog.  

Burgenlanders in Columbus Township, Anoka County, Minnesota

Founded in 1919, Burgenland is the youngest province in Austria.  Its name is derived   from the endings of the four German-speaking border districts (or comitats) of western Hungary: Preßburg now Bratislava, Wieselburg now Moson, Ödenburg now Sopron and Eisenburg now Vasvár.  Located in eastern  Austria, the province has the 3^rd smallest area and the 2^nd smallest population. Historically and geographically, it is a borderland region,  a narrow belt of land stretching from Slovakia in the north, along the Hungarian border in the east, the Styrian and Lower Austrian borders in the west, and south to the Slovene border. 

Burgenlanders in Columbus Township, Anoka County, Minnesota

Early in our research, we determined that Gerry's maternal grandfather (Franz/Frank Schotl) came from Monchhof in current day Burgenland, Austria.  We know the Schotls came in two groups.  Sons Michel and Matthias went to Bancroft in Kossuth County, Iowa in 1897.  Their parents and remaining siblings went to Bancroft in 1903.  Then they all went to Columbus Township in Anoka County, Minnesota sometime between 1903 and 1905.

We have seen “chain migrations” in other parts of of our genealogy.  We wondered if this phenomena might have played a part in explaining why the Schotls bought farms in Columbus Township.  To determine if there were other Burgenlanders in the area, Shan compiled data in a spreadsheet using the 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920 US Census and the 1895 and 1905 Minnesota Census.  She gathered data in these categories:

1.  Last Name
2.  Maiden Name
3.  First Name
4.  Date of Birth (from our research or the census)
5.  Date of Arrival (as given to census takers, unless we had other documentation)
6.  Country of Birth (as described in the 1910 Census)
7.  Father's Country of Birth  (as described in the 1910 Census)
8.  Mother's Country of Birth  (as described in the 1910 Census)
9.  Village name in Burgenland (as we find them)
10.  Columns for each year's census giving the family number as they appear on the census forms pages

We listed everyone who had at least one parent, in the 1910 census,described as German-Hungarian, i.e. Hungarian-Magyar who spoke German.  We have a second spreadsheet for German-Bohemians and a third for everyone in Columbus Township who was “German” but not identified as Hungarian or Bohemian.  The latter group may moved to the other two spreadsheets as we get more data.

It does look as though there was a relatively large number of German-Hungarian families (and single men) in Columbus township.  There are forty five names from fifteen families in six villages that we have identified so far .  These villages are Halbturn, Tadten, Monchhof, Apeton, Deutsch Jarndorf and Saint Andras.  They were all within 10 miles of Frauenkirchen.  In addition there are two people born in Iowa to German-Hungarian parents.  

We sent an early summary to Cathi Weber of the Anoka County Genealogical Society  and it was included in one of their recent newsletters. It was also sent to Tom Streichen and Margaret Kaiser of the Burgenland Bunch.  Both Tom and Margaret wrote back with additions. The surnames are now included on their website. (see surname search here) 

To verify if they may have known each other in Burgenland (or Iowa) before coming to America, we need the village of origin and the maiden names of the married women.  We will continue to search for details about the families to see if our hypothesis is correct.   

The following list is a summary of the spreadsheet data thus far. The summary includes Last name; Maiden name; First name; Village, when known; Arrival date. We have not used any diacritical marks.  There are question marks after some arrival dates because these dates are often inaccurate on census forms and in some instances have added the spouse which is not a category in the data base above.  

 In some cases, the people are from Gerry's family or are friends of the family and these names appear in red type.  We have not listed all of the children of these people on this list, but they are tracked on the spreadsheet.  THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT of the list, so there may be a number of changes as the research goes on.

People we think are Burgenlanders in Columbus Township:

1. Altenburger, Ludwig/Louis (arrived 1888?)
2. Altenburger, (Danninger) Elisabeth (arrived 1888?)
3. Boehm, (maiden name unknown,) Marie/Mary (arrived 1885?) Married Wenzel Boehm
4. Boehm, (maiden name unknown,) Frances (born in Iowa to G-H parents) Married Frank  Boehm
5. Boyer, (maiden name unknown,) Anna/Annie (arrived 1887) Married Anton Boyer
6. Groess, Michael, from Halbturn (arrived 1884)
7. Groess, (Gefinger) Elisabeth, from Halbturn (arrived 1884)
8. Groess, Anna/Annie, from Halbturn (arrived 1884) child of Michel and Elisabeth
9. Groess, Franz/Frank, from Halbturn (arrived 1884) child of Michel and Elisabeth
10. Hartzi, Johan/John (arrived 1886)
11. Hartzi, Marie/Mary  (arrived 1886)  Daughter of Johan
12. Hartzi, (maiden name unknown,) Theresia (John's mother?) (arrived ????)
13. Hauble, Mattias/Matthew (arrived ????)
14. Heller, Anton (arrived 1888)
15. Heller, (Hersherger) Marie/Mary (arrived 1888)  Married Anton Heller
16. Heller Josef/Joseph (arrived 1888) child of Anton and Marie
17. Heller, (Lunzer) Marie/Mary from Tadten (arrived 1891)  Married Josef/Joseph Heller
18. Horwath, Alexander, from Apetlon? (arrived 1892)
19. Horwath, (maiden name unknown,) Rose, from Apetlon? (arrived 1892) Married to Alexander
20. Koch, Johan/John, from Monchhof (arrived 1896) went first to Bancroft, Iowa  w/Matt  Schotl
21. Koch (maiden name unknown) Lena/Magdelena (arrived 1884) Married  Johan/John Koch
22. Kreishitz/Kreitz, Michel/Michael, from Deutsch Jahrndorf (arrived 1883)
23. Kreishitz/Kreitz, (maiden name unknown,) Magdelena/Lena from Deutsch  Jahrndorf  (arrived 1883) Married Michel Kreishitz/Kreitz
24. Kunshier, (Groess,) Theresia/Theresa, from Halbturn, (arrived 1889) Married Joseph Kunshier, Jr.
25. Lendway (sic?), Joseph (arrived ????) at least one child born in Iowa
26. Litner, (Lidner?) Andrew (arrived 1880?)
27. Nolz, Andrew (arrived 1880?)
28. Nolz, (maiden name unknown,) Marie/Mary (arrived 1881?) Married Andrew
29. Nolz, Michel/Michael (arrived 1881?) child of Andrew and Marie
30. Nolz, Josef/Joseph (arrived 1881?) child of Andrew and Marie
31. Pulver, (Groess) Catherine/Katherine from Halbturn (arrived 1889?) Married German  Pulver
32. Sanftner, Leo (born in Kossuth County, Iowa to German-Hungarian parents)
33. Saxe, (Sachs) Johan/John (arrived 1902) from Monchhof Married Katherine Heller)
34. Schotl, Michel/Michael, from Monchhof (arrived 1897) went first to Bancroft,  Iowa
35. Schotl, (Hoffman,) Elisabeth, from Monchhof (arrived 1897) ditto Iowa.  Married Michel  Schotl
36. Schotl, Mattias/Matt Jr., from Monchhof (arrived 1897) (with Johan Koch)  ditto Iowa
37. Schotl, Johan/John, from Monchhof (arrived 1903) went first to Bancroft,  Iowa
38. Schotl, (Kornfehl,) Marie Theresia (mother of others), from Monchhof (arrived  1903) ditto  Iowa
39. Schotl, Franz/Frank, from Monchhof (arrived 1903) ditto Iowa.  Married Rose  Kunshier
40. Schotl, Marie/Mary, from Monchhof (arrived 1903) ditto Iowa. Married Johan Handler,  Jr.  from Monchhof
41. Thurnbeck, Georg/George (arrived 1886) from St. Andras
42. Thurnbeck, (Trautner) Marie/Mary (arrived 1886) from St. Andras
43. Thurnbeck, Magdelena/Lena (arrived 1886) child of Georg and Marie from St. Andras
44. Thurnbeck, Jacob/Jack (arrived 1886) child of Georg  and Marie from St. Andras
45. Thurnbeck, Marie/Mary Jr. (arrived 1886) child of Georg and Marie from St. Andras
46. Thurnbeck, Johan/John (arrived 1886) child of Georg and Marie from St. Andras    (Married Catherine Hauble)
47. Thurnbeck, Catherine/Katherine (born upon parent's arrival?) child of Georg and Marie

If anyone has additional documented information they would share with us, we will add it to the spreadsheet and credit them when we send the completed project to the National and Midwest Burgenland Bunch archives and the Anoka County Genealogical Society library.

We have already received updates from Thomas Steichen and Margaret Kaiser of the Burgenland Bunch.  Tom sent us maiden names for Elisabeth Altenburger, Marie Heller, and Catherine Pulver.  He also confirmed the arrival date for the Altenburgers.  Margaret  sent us Hungarian Church records and other resources on the Thurnbecks that allowed us to place the Thurnbecks in Saint Andras, Burgenland.  

We wanted  to know more about the Burgenland area left behind by those who emigrated to Columbus Township, Anoka County, Minnesota.   A quick search of the Burgenland Bunch web site and various web searches provided some photos and current information about  these villages.  

Wine seems to be  the common denominator.  Castle viewing, bird watching, cycling, and health spas all add to a growing tourist interest in the area.

Bridge at Andau after restoration Photo by Steindy

Tadten is a wine growing village with 1,355 inhabitants and lies at the transition from the Seewinkel region to the Hungarian puszta. The Burgenlander Bunch web site for Tadten lists house numbers and heads of house in 1856  (see it here)