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Subject: [BURGENLAND-NEWSLETTER-L] BB News No. 94C dtd Mar. 31, 2001
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 11:56:44 EST

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS -No. 94C
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(now issued monthly by )
March 31, 2001
(all rights reserved)

**IS ONE OF YOUR ANCESTORS A FIRST IMMIGRANT? SEE ARTICLE**

***LEHIGH COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY GENEALOGICAL WORKSHOP-APRIL 28, 2001***
PRE-REVOLUNTARY WAR PENNSLVANIA GERMAN CALL 610-435-1074


This fourth section of the 4 section newsletter contains:=20

* Continuation Of Notes On The Genealogy Of Franz Liszt=20
* First Immigrants**
* Searching For Franz Leitner

NOTES ON THE GENEALOGY OF COMPOSER FRANZ LISZT (by Fritz=20
K=F6nigshofer)continued:
The family of Liszt's mother

Liszt's mother, (Maria) Anna Lager, had been born in Krems an der Donau in=20
Lower Austria, house no. 314, on May 9, 1788, as the daughter of the baker=20
Mathias Lager, born September 5, 1715 in Palt and Franziska Romana Schuhmann=
,=20
born about 1752 in =D6ttingen, Bavaria. Mathias and Franziska had married o=
n=20
May 26, 1877, when Mathias was nearly 62 years old, but his bride only 25. =20
Despite the rather advanced age of Mathias, the couple apparently had severa=
l=20
children. At the birth of Maria Anna, Liszt's mother, Mathias was nearly 73=
=20
years old. He died in Krems on December 9, 1796, and his wife followed him=20
on May 9, 1797 (also in Krems). Therefore, exactly on her ninth birthday=20
Anna found herself an orphan. As soon as it was possible, Anna went to Vienn=
a=20
to work as a chambermaid from job to job, until she moved to Mattersdorf to=20
join brother Franz who had meanwhile established himself there as a=20
soap-maker. As was already mentioned, it was there where in 1810 she met=20
Adam Liszt during his visit of father Georg.
Mathias Lager was the son of Mathias Lager, a peasant farmer in Palt, born=20
about 1660 and died on December 28, 1718 in Palt, and Anna Maria St=F6ckl, b=
orn=20
on December 7, 1688 in Paudorf and died some time after 1742. This couple=20
married in the parish of Mautern on September 10, 1709. The parents of=20
Franziska Romana Schuhmann were Andreas Schuhmann, a watchmaker in =D6ttinge=
n,=20
but born 1724 in Krems, and Franziska Riedl, believed to be the daughter of=20=
a=20
watchmaker in =D6ttingen. It is an interesting detail that similar to the=20
following generation, at about age 55, Mathias senior was a relatively old=20
when he had son Mathias junior, and also soon died, making Mathias junior a=20
half-orphan at youngest age.

Krems lies about 45 miles to the west of Vienna, on the left bank of the=20
Danube river just after its passage through the famous Wachau valley. =20
Mautern lies opposite Krems at the right bank of the river, and Palt is=20
nearby. Paudorf is a short distance south of Palt. =D6ttingen is in Bavari=
a,=20
northnorthwest of Augsburg, about midway on the main road from Augsburg to=20
Rothenburg an der Tauber.

As to siblings of Anna, besides brother Franz and his crucial role in gettin=
g=20
Anna to Mattersburg where she met future husband Adam Liszt, a younger siste=
r=20
of Anna with name (Maria) Theresa (1790-1856) appears to have played an=20
important part in young Franz's life as she paid visits to her sister Anna=20
and brother-in-law Adam, and during one of these visits nursed the young boy=
=20
Franz through a life-threatening illness. Theresa later lived in Graz.=20

Franz Liszt's own family

When Liszt attained fame as piano virtuoso with his home being in Paris, he=20
entered a close liaison with Marie, wife of the Count d'Agoult. Marie left=20
her husband to be with Liszt, and bore him three children, Blandine, Cosima=20
and Daniel. From about 1834, she accompanied Liszt to temporary homes in=20
Geneva and Upper Italy, but their union started to disintegrate from about=20
1838 onwards over the aspirations of Liszt himself (who did not want to be=20
known merely for his piano virtuosity, and at the same time remained=20
sentimentally attached to his rather humble origins) and the way Marie would=
=20
have liked to see him develop. After their relationship eventually broke up=
,=20
Liszt managed, at great cost to him, to obtain custody of the children, to=20
whom he was also able to convey his family name. As was already noted,=20
Liszt's mother Anna, despite her lack of any French, followed her son's call=
=20
to settle in Paris to look after the adolescent children.

Blandine later married into a noble French family. Her husband practiced law=
.=20
The couple had offspring who, as far as I recall from Walker's books,=20
remained in France. Daniel went from Paris to university studies in Germany=
,=20
but he died young (at about age 20), in late 1859, from a lung disease, a=20
most tragic moment in Franz Liszt's life (who only two months earlier had=20
received the knighthood). The best-known of Liszt's children with Mme.=20
d'Agoult was daughter Cosima, born in Como on December 25, 1837 who died in=20
Bayreuth on April 1, 1930. In 1857, she married Hans von B=FClow, one of=20
Liszt's closest disciples, but the marriage remained childless, and she=20
divorced him in 1869 after having fallen in love with and joined Richard=20
Wagner much earlier (In 1861, Wagner had separated from his first wife Minna=
=20
nee Planer). Franz Liszt was neither happy with his daughter's abandoning=20
von B=FClow, nor her union with Wagner who was only less than two years youn=
ger=20
than Liszt himself. Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt/v. B=FClow married in=20
1870. Their three children Isolde, Eva and Siegfried had all been conceived=
=20
and born while Cosima had formally still been married with von B=FClow. Aft=
er=20
the death of Wagner, Cosima took over the leadership of the Bayreuth Festiva=
l=20
and is generally credited with not only saving, but firmly establishing it.=20=
=20
The descendents of her union with Wagner are still in charge of the Bayreuth=
=20
Festival today.

During one of his last concert tours which led him to then Russia, Liszt met=
=20
Princess Caroline Sayn-Wittgenstein who had separated from her husband and=20
owned huge landed estates in today's Ukraine. It was in 1848, when Caroline=
=20
followed Liszt to Weimar where Liszt had become the resident Kapellmeister=20
and where he settled for about twelve years after giving up his travelling=20
career as a virtuoso. The couple lived together while Caroline attempted to=
=20
obtain an annulment of her first marriage and also tried in vain to regain=20
access to her wealth after the Czar of Russia had confiscated her estates. =20
The union of Franz and Caroline broke up after the Vatican refused to grant=20
the annulment, a final decision which thwarted the already prepared low-key=20
marriage between the couple in Rome. This was just after 1860, when Liszt ha=
d=20
also withdrawn from his position in Weimar, started his "trifurcate" next=20
phase of his life splitting his time between Germany, Rome and Budapest, and=
=20
decided to receive the lower ordainments of the Franciscan Order. Rumors=20
have persisted that Franz Liszt and the Princess had children in Weimar whos=
e=20
existence was concealed, but in his book, Prof. Walker provides persuasive=20
counter-arguments.


Concluding remarks on family background and identity of Franz Liszt

There is no question that the List family was of German ethnicity, and had=20
been settled in the Western Hungarian border region for at least three=20
generations before Franz. However, their area (Rajka) was one where German,=20
Magyar and Slovak elements intersected, while Croat and Czech influences wer=
e=20
not far away. The Schlesak name of Liszt's paternal grandmother certainly=20
suggests a Slovak or Czech background.

The name of the family had been spelled List. The change to the spelling=20
Liszt was initiated by father Adam and grandfather Georg. It allowed=20
Hungarians to pronounce the name in the correct way, preventing the normal=20
Magyar pronounciation of List as "lisht." The word "liszt" in Hungarian=20
means flour. However, this was likely not the origin of the name which is=20
widely spread in Germanic lands and nearly certain to have a German origin.=20=
=20
A family researcher already mentioned, Bruno List of Switzerland, pointed me=
=20
to an encyclopedic source ("Etymologisches W=F6rterbuch der Deutschen=20
Familiennamen" by Brechenmacher, C.A. Starke-Verlag, Limburg a. d. Lahn,=20
1957-1960) which relates the name to the German word "List" which in today's=
=20
meaning translates to "cunning" or "craftiness" but originally simply=20
described superior knowledge/intelligence. Even today, the verb form=20
"leisten" has retained the meaning of "performing well." As per this=20
etymological dictionary, therefore, the word "List" could easily have entere=
d=20
the inventory when family names started to get established. A possible=20
alternative was suggested by Albert Schuch who mentioned that the word=20
"List'n" was used in the dialects in Southern Burgenland and also in Vienna=20
(where there still exists a place called "an den langen L=FCssen") to descri=
be=20
an elongated piece of land, perhaps equivalent to the word "Leiste" (the sam=
e=20
as the English word list or listel for a "narrow strip" of wood or molding).

Liszt grew up speaking German, and adopted French while living in Paris. Al=
l=20
his writings are in one or the other of these two languages. He never=20
understood Hungarian. Nevertheless, Hungary has always considered "Ferenc=20
Liszt" as one of her's and, already during Liszt's lifetime, showered him=20
with honors and reverence. Liszt very much reciprocated these feelings. It=
=20
is also clear that at least emotionally Liszt had had sympathy for the faile=
d=20
Hungarian war of liberation of 1848. In contrast, Liszt's relationship to=20
Vienna and Austria was and remained much more matter-of-fact. The dichotomy=20
between Liszt's sentimental attachment to his native Hungary, while at the=20
same time speaking only German and French and while leading the so-called=20
Neo-German Movement of romantic music, has always confounded biographers. =20
However, the mindset and character of Liszt can be easily understood by=20
people with family origins in the German speaking Western Hungary, i.e., the=
=20
typical member of the Burgenland Bunch. Until the rise of nationalism in th=
e=20
late 19th century, many of their ancestors cherished living in Hungary where=
=20
for centuries more tolerance existed for thoughts and beliefs than in=20
neighboring Austria. Over the ages, many ethnic foreigners had found new=20
homes in Hungary as religious or economic refugees. In this light, it is=20
easy to grasp why Franz Liszt had little problem with his "Hungarian"=20
identity, and was proud of it.
END OF LISZT ARTICLE



FIRST IMMIGRANTS (DON'T LET YOUR ANCESTOR BE MISSED)

Last issue we asked members to provide name, village, year of birth, date of=
=20
emigration, where settled and source of data for Burgenland immigrant=20
ancestors who emigrated before 1870. We received two and they are listed=20
below (new *). Did we miss any? We'd now like data for any who emigrated=20
between 1870 and 1880.

1777-Neutal-Lorenz Sch=F6nbacher-1752-North Carolina
1845-Untersch=FCtzen-Grabenhofer
1849-Obersch=FCtzen-Josef M=FCcke-Tennessee
1853-Eisenstadt-Franz Walter
1854-Purbach-Kloiber, Reimer, Trummer-Texas=20
1856-Bubendorf- Ignatz Koegler (and family). Winstead, Minnesota*
1858-Lebenbrunn-Ladislaus Grosinger (and family), Henderson, Minnesota*

Susan Peters writes:
Here is my complete information on who I believe are the earliest emigrants
from the village of Lebenbrunn. Ladislaus is my gr-gr-gr-grandfather. They
all arrived in New York on 17 April 1858, and all settled on a farm near
Henderson, Sibley County, Minnesota. My source of emigration is the New
York, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1897, microfilm number M237-183. They
arrived on the barque, Dorette, from Bremen, after approximately 6 weeks at
sea. =20

Ladislaus Grosinger, born 9 April 1802.
His wife, Catherina Weber Grosinger, born 20 Nov 1799.
His daughter, Monica Grosinger (aka Veronica), born 19 June 1830.
His son, Andreas Grosinger, born 20 April 1834. =20
Andreas's wife, Theresa Weber, born 16 May 1830.
Ladislaus's son, Adalbert Grosinger, born 23 April 1839.
His son, Franz Grosinger, born 28 August 1843.
His daughter, Maria Grosinger, born 17 August 1846.
Also, the illegitimate daughter of Monica, Anna, who died at sea.


From: Stan Kegler ()=20

Here are my first immigrants: =20
Ignatz (Ignaz, ignace) Koegler (Kegler, Kagler) (b. Bubendorf, Dec 15, 1812)=
=20
and Magdalena Posch Koegler (b. Bubendorf, June 1, 1817) (Pilgersdorf Church=
=20
Records FHC 0700715) Sailed in the Spring of 1856, likely from Bremerhaven=20
on the Republik (McLeod County, MN Historical Society) accompanied by five=20
children -- Ignatz (b. Apr 4, 1842,Bubendorf) Anton (b. June 6, 1844,=20
Bubendorf); Ferdinand (b. January 4, 1846, Bubendorf (Mary Margaretha=3Dcall=
ed=20
Anna=3DBubendorf, b. January 29, 1851) and Josephine (Josie) (b. 1854,=20
Bubendorf)McLeod County Historical Society) (Lester Prairie News, MN, March=20
ll, 1976) (Glazer, Ira GERMANS TO AMERICA),(HOLY TRINITY, Winsted, MN,=20
Church Records of Baptisms and Marriages).



SEARCHING FOR FRANZ LEITNER

Hi, my name is Rita Giger and my neighbours are looking for their relatives=20
in Alaska. Elisabeth, Eduard, Wilhelmine, Maria, Katharina, Franziska, Alois=
=20
and
Paul LEITNER from 7441 Pilgersdorf, Nr. 25 (Burgenland, AUSTRIA) are looking=
=20
for LEITNER Franz, born January 1908 in Pilgersdorf. Their parents came from=
=20
Hochstrass (Lockenhaus). He emigranted on May 1927 to his uncle Mr. GRAF in=20
Winnipeg (Kanada).
After a short time he left Kanada to Alaska where he married a girl from
White-Russia. They have two daughters . Mr. LEITNER Franz worked as fur=20
farmer, fur trade or as a trapper. That's all we know. Four of his brothers=20
and sisters are still alive and would appreciate getting in touch with him o=
r=20
a member of his family. For contact you can use my e-mail.
(End of Newsletter Series Number 94.)

BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF Coordinator & Editor Newsletter>=20
(Gerald J. Berghold; Winchester, VA )
Burgenland Editor> (Albert Schuch; Vienna &=20
Kleinpetersdorf, Austria)
Home Page Editor> (Hap Anderson)
Internet/URL Editor> (Anna Tanczos Kresh; Butler,PA)

Contributing Editors:
Austro/Hungarian Research> (Fritz K=F6nigshofer)
Burgenland Co-Editor> (Klaus Gerger, Austria)
Burgenland Lake Corner Research> (Dale Knebel)
Chicago Burgenland Enclave> (Tom Glatz)
Croatian Burgenland> (Frank Teklits)
Home Page village lists> (Bill Rudy)=20
Home Page surname lists>, (Tom Steichen)
Judaic Burgenland> (Maureen Tighe-Brown)
Western Hungary-Bakony Region> (Ernest Chrisbacher)
Western US BB Members-Research> (Bob Unger)
WorldGenWeb -Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland > (Charles=20
Wardell, Austria)


BB ARCHIVES>(can be reached from Home Page hyperlinks) or a simple search=20
facility (enter date or number of newsletter desired) can be found at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~autbur/bbnlarchx.htm

BURGENLAND HOME PAGE>
http://www.spacestar.com/users/hapander/burgen.html

WORLDGEN WEB BURGENLAND QUERY BOARD
http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Austria/Burgenland

Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com,=20
Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798=20

Roots Web BB newsletter archives index and threaded search facility availabl=
e=20
from http://www.rootsweb.com/~autwgw/bbnlarchx.htm

Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide=20
Credit.

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