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REISER/RÉCSEI & LIEB
Banat Connection
by John Reiser

Bruckenau to New Brunswick:  A Long Journey

In the first decade of the twentieth century (1900-1910) my four grandparents left the Banat and came to the United States.  They did not come to stay.  They came to earn enough to be able to go back to the Banat and live comfortable lives.  And so they did return to Banat within the same decade. Each returned with a daughter born in the United States, my aunt Elisabeth Récsei and my mother, Catherine Wiener. 

    Nicolaus Wiener from Hodon and Elisabeth Molitor, from Billed, met when they arrived in New Brunswick, New Jersey and married in 1907.  They returned to Hodon in 1910 with my mother who was born in New Brunswick.  In Hodon, Nicolaus built a new house. Still times were not good for Nicolaus Wiener and his family in Hodon.  He was not able to find much work.  One day while walking along a road in search of work and very hungry, he accepted bread from a passerby.  It was at this point that he decided to return to the United States.  The impending war may have also influenced his judgment.   He gave his house to his sister and returned to the United States in April of 1914. Several months later, his wife and daughter (my mother) returned. 

    Stefan Récsei from Bruckenau and his wife Elisabetha (geb Lieb) also came to the United States in 1906 in hopes of earning enough to return and live comfortably in the Bruckenau. They did return to Bruckenau with my aunt, Elisabetha, in 1908.  Stefan, subsequently, operated a carpenter shop in Bruckenau.  Some relatives called him a master carpenter. My father, Stefan’s son, said he was a cabinet maker.

I always had trouble understanding this.  Near the time of my father's death I asked what my grandfather made.  “Stefan Récsei made mostly coffins”, he replied.  He stored them in every corner of his shop and the living space which was attached to the shop. 

     Stefan Récsei, would never return to the United States.  World War I  broke out & Stefan would serve in the K.u.K. infantry 61st regiment.  Records indicate that he perished in April 1915 in Galicia. Oral history says he was captured in 1915 and placed in a Russia POW camp, contracted tuberculosis, was released and died in Bruckenau in 1918.

     His wife Elisabetha and his three children would come to the United States from Bruckenau in 1922.  Récsei was originally Reisser. It was Magyarorized to Récsei sometime in the latter part of the 1800’s.  When Elisabetha, my grandmother, and her son Johann, my father, came to the USA in 1922 it was changed back to Reiser. 

The three grandchildren of Nicolaus and Elisabetha Wiener and Stefan and Elisabetha Récsei all graduated from Rutgers. Some of the great grandchildren were fortune to graduate from Stanford, Dartmouth, Georgetown and hopefully soon Yale. 

My father Johann Récsei had a saying “Ich kann alles, einschließen hochdeutsch:"  We all questioned (among ourselves) whether he actually believed that, nevertheless it accurately expressed his attitude.

John Reiser

Lieb Passenger Records

Reiser / Récsei Passenger Records
 

Passenger	Last Residence	Year	age	Joining	View
Recsci, Elizabeth (widow). b. Bruckenau. Prev in US 1906/08 College Point, NY. Sister Eva Maurer in Bruckenau.	Bruckenau, Roumania	1922	28	brother Peter Lieb @ 420 Main St. NYNY	Record
Recsci, Elizabeth (b. College Point, NY)	Bruckenau, Roumania	1922	15	Uncle	Record
Recsci, Johann b. Bruckenau.	Bruckenau, Roumania	1922	13	Uncle	Record
Recsci,Eva b. Bruckenau.	Bruckenau, Roumania	1922	10	Uncle	Record

My grandmother Elisabetha (Lieb) Récsei and her children (L-R) Eva, Johann (my father) and Elisabetha, abt 1918 after the death of my grandfather, Stefan, in WWI. They would stay in Bruckenau for 4 more years and then come to USA in 1922. (click image to enlarge)

REISER/RÉCSEI Family Photos

Click images to enlarge

Stefan and Eliszbetha Récsei, 1904 - about the time of their marriage. Prior to WWI he operated a carpenter shop in Bruckenau. His primary product was coffins. They were stored in every corner of the shop and the living space. In one of the postcards he was sent he is addressed as "master carpenter."         Franz Récsei, (my grandfather's brother) wearing his Station Masters Uniform, on his wedding day. Oral history says he was station master at Lugos. This was all prior to WWI.         Elisabetha Récsei (geb Lieb) in about 1905, my grandmother.                   My father's original baptism certificate: Johann Récsei Born Nov 6, 1908 Bruckenau Baptized Nov 8, 1908

LIEB Family Photos

		Franz Lieb my Grandmother's brother (2nd from left).
		Récsei/Lieb extended family members from Bruckenau, prior to WW1. However, neither my grandfather nor my grandmother is present.
		My grandfather Stefan Récsei (top left) in 1914 in the K.u.K. Infantry. (61st Regiment). All the family documents used Récsei until 1923. When they arrived in the USA they changed back to Reiser. A small picture of him in uniform is in the Bruckenau History Book.
		My grandmother Elisabetha (Lieb) Récsei and her children (L-R) Eva, Johann (my father) and Elisabetha, abt 1918 after the death of my grandfather, Stefan, in WWI. They would stay in Bruckenau for 4 more years and then come to USA in 1922.
		Johann Récsei, Stefan's brother. The round brass disk indicates he is in an engineer battalion, K.u.K. army.  In civilian life, a carpenter.
		Franz Weisgerber (Barabara Lieb (geb Dreier) nephew. While in he 61st K.u.K. infantry regiment[construction company] Reuoffizier Baucompagni 2/61
		Peter Dreier, 1916 K.u.K infantry regiment. My great-grandmother's (Barbara Lieb (geb Dreier) nephew.