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Cousin Connections Via DVHH
& Old Friends Reconnecting
Published at DVHH.org 2013 by Jody McKim
Pharr.
10
Year Anniversary Stories Coordinated by
Rose Mary Keller
Hughes, 15 Jan
2013
To
have your DVHH connection story added to this page, email story to
DVHH
Community.
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Annette O'Shea
Annette O'Shea
Marie Dimitrijevic
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Approximately 2 years ago, I was searching the DVHH
website for any input for my family's home town in Banat
named "Botschar" in German or "Bocar" in Serbian. I
came across an inquiry from Marie Dimitrijevic who was
also looking to find friends and family from Botschar.
I sent her an email explaining that my mother (Anna
Zahari) and family were from Botschar until they escaped
with their lives in October 1944. We found out that
Marie's mother (Kathi Molitor) lived directly across the
street from my mother. My grandfather, Ludwig Zahari
and Marie's grandfather were close friends, musicians
and members of the same band. The Zahari and Molitor
families were in the same caravan when they fled and
they initially settled in Czechoslovakia until they were
separated on their way to Bavaria in Germany.
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We found out that Marie's
mother (Kathi Molitor) lived directly across the
street from my mother. My grandfather, Ludwig Zahari
and Marie's grandfather were close friends, musicians
and members of the same band. The Zahari and Molitor
families were in the same caravan when they fled and
they initially settled in Czechoslovakia until they were
separated on their way to Bavaria in Germany.
Coincidentally, both
families settled in nearby
towns in Bavaria where they |
Kathi Molitor
(Marie's mother)
Both born in Botschar
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Peter Zahari, 82, 2012
(Annette's uncle) |
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they kept in touch for a while and then
lost contact as the years went by.
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Eventually,
my family, the Zaharis, settled in College Point, NY,
and the Molitors migrated to Michigan. Marie and I
exchanged photos of the family and the band from back in
the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's, and had several of the
same photos handed down. We were delighted to receive
"new" photos from each other that we did not previously
have. Marie's mother, Kathi and my uncle Peter Zahari
were friends growing up in Botschar, and only a few
years apart. They are both in their 80's now, and sadly
so many of their family and friends have passed away.
It was SO wonderful that they had a telephone
conversation and enjoyed speaking "Schwowisch" with each
other, just like old times. Marie and I have exchanged
letters, emails, photos, and stories of mutual friends
and family members. My Uncle Peter provided them the
address and phone number of one of their family members
whom they lost contact with. Marie was so gracious to
mail me some of her mothers' recipe books which are in
German. One book has Banater recipes, and the other has
Bavarian recipes. My mom and I are so thrilled to have
the books. Not only did we reunite my uncle and Marie's
mom, but Marie and I have become friends, and share a
bond due to our connection with our Donauschwaben
roots.
I am very
grateful to have the DVHH website. Not only has it
connected me with friends from "the old country," but it
is helping me to connect with the rich heritage. I love
reading the stories and accounts, and I love reading the
Schwowische dialect. Even though I was born and raised
in College Point, NY, I spoke Schwowisch at home. It is
music to my ears, and warms my heart. The DVHH has also
provided me with a wealth of knowledge about our
heritage and history and links to videos, DVDs and
books. Marie introduced me to the book "Bread on my
mother's table" and the DVHH also introduced me to "A
Pebble in my Shoe." Both books were excellent and gave
me a deeper insight and appreciation for our family's
experience.
Thank you
DVHH and everyone who has contributed their stories.
May the legacy of our Donauschwaben live on and never be
forgotten.
Best
regards,
Annette O'Shea |
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Beth Tolfree
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Meeting my
cousin Juliana Sheldrake:
Being the DVHH
Apatin Village Coordinator,
Juliana Sheldrake of Utah first
wrote to me asking about finding
her mother’s Apatin ancestry.
Her mother had recently passed
away and Juliana was still in
mourning. I immediately
empathized with her feelings of
loss and her desire to know
about her mother’s family. My
own mother had died before I was
able to trace her Apatin
ancestry and it was a real
comfort to me when I finally
found her DS family thanks to
the DVHH.
I was able to
trace Juliana’s Apatin ancestry
back eight generations and also
discovered that we are cousins
through our Strumberger
ancestors. She was so thrilled
and grateful that she wanted to
meet me. Chuck and I met
Juliana and Steve on a beautiful
day in the charming little town
of Solvang. The weather was
lovely enough to sit outside as
Juliana and I poured over all of
my Apatin books, which I’d made
sure to bring with me.
We shared
pictures and memories of each of
our families and after an al
fresco lunch, we hugged each
other goodbye and headed home in
opposite directions.
This is just
one example of the gratification
and reward I’ve experienced in
being a DVHH Volunteer helping
others find their own DS family
history.
Beth Tolfree,
Bakersfield, CA , Jan 15, 2013 |
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Eve
Brown
Eve Brown
Roy Engel
Sophie Souza
Rita Schiwanowitsch
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One
of my cousin
connection started this way - I opened an email on Dec. 26,
2007 to find this letter:
Dear Eve, My
name is Roy Engel and I am responding to your web site
posting regarding requests for information on
publications about Kischker in the region of Batschka of
the former Yugoslavia. I am a first generation Canadian
and my father was born in Kischker in 1934 and lived
there until the forced evacuation in 1944. He is the
only surviving member of his family unit which
immigrated to Canada in 1952 from Graz, Austria.
Of course there
was more written – details of his family and the information
he had on Kischker, but something else was there that
neither one of us expected – a family connection. I already
knew I had Engel in my family so I did a quick look at my
family tree before I responded to Roy with this:
Hello Roy, So nice to meet you!
You are probably a cousin of mine, distant but more than
likely a cousin.
We then
exchanged personal information and talked about what we had
learned from our parents and Roy from his grandparents and
great grandparents also. This was very exciting and as time
went on I made the actual connection and Roy is my 5th
cousin. In April of 2008 Roy and Viv (his wife) traveled
from Pickering, Ontario to meet my family. He delighted my
mother by speaking to her in her native language; the most
she gets from us girls is a mix of Schwowisch with English.
Shortly after
becoming the “mail list” co-administrator with Roy there was
a glitch on the mail list where only digest members could
receive the emails. During that time a post by a new member
was made that I found by checking the archives daily. You
cannot imagine my shock when I saw “Obresch” (my mother’s
hometown) in a post for the first time. This was posted by
Sophie Souza who is also a 5th cousin to Roy and 4th to me, what
a small world! We have yet to meet Sophie, but talk online
and occasionally a phone call.
Because of
working on all things Obresch – it is a good contact place
for meeting fellow Obreschers and it’s always going to be a
good chance they are related.
I have also met
another cousin on my father’s side through the DVHH mail
list when Rita Schiwanowitsch first joined our mail list and
was at the beginning stages of her research. She posted
that she had traveled to Jabuka (Apfeldorf) – where my
grandfather Leopold Sklena was born.
During our private conversations I found out
that the church records had been released on DVD
in their entirety – oh my goodness, this is what
I’d been waiting for to make a “Sklena”
connection with some online connections I’d made
long before I ever joined the mail list.
I had the Ortsbuch
written by Adelhardts but it was incomplete as were the
church records available at the LDS center that I had on
permanent loan, I had hit a brick wall! Rita not only found
my missing links she was added to my family tree since her
mother is my 4th cousin. I am now planning an International
family reunion for my family line and Rita’s to meet this
other group of cousins whose ancestor came here in 1910.
That man, Mathais Sklena was my great grandfather’s
brother.
I'm also related to Norbert
Giesse (husband of DVHH's Noelle Giesse), Robert
Zink and Andrea Ballreich.
What a world the
DVHH website and mail list has opened up for me.
Eve Brown, Jan.
9, 2013 |
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Helga
Kiely
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I find it
totally remarkable that I have
become acquainted with cousins
via the DVHH. When I first
joined and posted an inquiry,
Gabriele 'Gaby' Steger (DVHH
Lookup Guide for Ridjica,
Batschka) replied to my request,
she asked for my family names
and where they were born.
Before I had a chance to give
the correct birth dates, she had
already had so much information
that it blew my mind. She
started off her reply by saying
"Hello, cousin."
I never dreamt that I could find
distant cousins nor even connect
with them. But then Gaby told me
of other DVHH cousins such as
Alice Spande (US), Judy Ottinger
(US), I'm not certain if she
told me about Lori Straus (CAN)
and I did find another cousin,
but I don't think she knows that
we are also related - Eileen
Wilson (CAN); and I was also
connected with Eleanor Little
(US) as we have a mutual
cousin. I think the last time I
saw her was about 63 years ago.
Reading the
DVHH guest book I came across a
posting by a Helga Soares
(US). To my great shock, she was
born in 1942 in Ridjica and
listed family surnames she was
researching. I knew immediately
that we were related. Not only
did we share the surname
Muschkat but we were born the
same year and we share the same
first name which is very
uncommon amongst Danube
Schwaben. We might be the only
two females in Ridjica that were
not named after of the the
saints. I emailed Gabriele about
this, and she confirmed that
Helga Soares and I shared the
same 4th great
grandmother. Since she did not
have a viable email address I
posted my reply on the
website. Her daughter Elisa
Ayres (US) (DVHH subscriber)
replied. It was quite exciting
and I think that all three of us
were very surprised. Helga and
Elisa have very few pictures due
to the terrible
circumstances. So this year,
after my return from Ridjica, I
shared some photos with them.
Then there is
Anne Dreer, after coming in
contact and speaking several
times, we came to realize that
she knew my Aunt Vicki Marx, as
she worked with her and her
family in uncle Pete's fields.
Further, I remember my
grandfather paying a visit to a
family that had just came to
Canada and it was Anne's
family. Then Anne and I
discovered that I had a school
photo of a George Riffert, who
is related to her late husband
and I think distantly related to
me.
Presently I am
reading "Pebble in my Shoe" and
I cannot praise the book
enough. It is incredible how I
can relate to what has been
written about Gakowa and the way
of life. I wrote the author
Katherine Flotz to congratulate
her on the book. I mentioned
having a large Danube Schwaben
club here in Toronto. She
responded, that she has a friend
that currently lives between
Toronto and Chicago, who once
went to that club. Not only do
I know her, but I know her
entire family and have several
photos of them. I cannot
remember a time that I never
knew this family. Katherine
mentioned other names and one of
them was my mother's maiden name
of Thebert. (The original
spelling was Thoebert.) Same
name and same town that Ingrid
Andor had in her book "Bread on
my Mother's Table.” I cannot
prove it, but I know that we are
connected somehow to Ingrid's
family.
This is the photo
taken in June of 2012. It
rained for the entire 4 days
while we were in Germany.
From left: Helga, Gaby, Kevin
(Helga's husband) and Renaud
(Gaby's partner)
I should also
mention that since becoming a
DVHH member, it has inspired me
to delve into a lot more
things. It is remarkable what I
have found out and never in a
million years did I dream I
would gain so much knowledge
about my family. I have lots of
stories.
Helga
Kiely, Jan 11, 2013 |
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Helen Remich
Dubas
Helen Remich
Dubas
Betty Mauro |
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Through help from list member,
Diana Lambing, and various
member postings, I was able to
connect with a cousin,
Betty Mauro, who lived in
Philadelphia. Shortly
thereafter, we actually met in
person and have shared time
together over the years. I am
also related to Noelle
Giesse
who is married into my Stahl
family.
Betty
and I served as the DVHH Host at
the 2010 Donauschwaben
Landestreffen, at the United
German-Hungarian (UGH) in Oakford, PA.
Pictured below at DVHH booth
with fellow DVHH folks.
Noelle Giesse, Betty Mauro,
Dennis Bauer, Helen Dubas & Eva Martini
Helen Remich
Dubas |
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Jody McKim Pharr
Werner & Jody me at his
Summerhaus, Ingolstadt 2005
He & Lissi made Goulash!
Ingolstadt
2004:
www.lifesadance.net/ingrisch-marmon/travel/2004-Marmon-Ingolstadt.htm
Ingolstadt 2005:
www.lifesadance.net/ingrisch-marmon/travel/2005-summerhaus.htm
Ingolstadt
2005:
www.lifesadance.net/ingrisch-marmon/travel/2005-munich.htm#COUSINS
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My amazing story begins with
telling Alex Leeb that I wished
I could find some living family,
because we only had 2-3 INGRISCH
families from Mercydorf (Banat)
that immigrated to the US. He
immediately responded saying
that actually he knows a Werner
INGRISCH from Mercydorf, he is
married to Lissi, who is from
Knees, the village Alex is from.
And said he communicates with
them often because Knees had
reunions; and today they live in
Ingolstadt, German. (What!
-You've got to be kidding me!)
Alex then called Werner for me,
because they do not speak
English and I don't speak
German.
Not very long after that
discovery, I received an email
from Axente Marmon, who found my
family website:
www.lifesadance.net and read
all about my MARMAN family who
immigrated from Mehala (suburb
of Timisoara) to the US, and I
was looking for family. He
said he had in his possession
the same photo of my family last
taken in Timisoara before they
immigrated.
I was shocked, and of course was
very skeptical, the photo I had
posted was cropped and didn't
show the photographers name at
the bottom. I wrote Axente
back and asked if he could scan
and send me the image. He not
only send me the original photo
but the back of it! That
was a shoe in for me. And
to boot, he lived in Ingolstadt!
Amazing twist of events going on
here.
I asked Axente if he knew Werner
Ingrisch, he said no. I
gave his Werner's address and he
said that was very very close to
their home. Well - a meeting had
to happen! I booked a flight!
Via Alex phone communicating
with Werner and Lissie, we made
arrangements for me to stay with
them. Axente and his wife
Renate took vacation from work,
and we were all together all day
and some evening, with was great
because Axente and Renate speak
English, and were able to
translate for me.
What an exciting time it was
meeting my two new cousins
Werner and Axente and their
wonderful wives. We had a
blast. Since our first
meeting in 2004, I've visited
again and again. Axente
and Renate have been to the US
for 2 visits.
This could not have happened,
without Alex Leeb! God bless you
Alex!
Werner and Axente at the
INGRISCH Summer house, 2004
2005, we're in Munich!
Lissi, Renate, Axente, Jody,
Werner
Never would I have known my
cousins in Europe, without the
DVHH!
Jody McKim Pharr |
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Rhonda
Friedl Staudt
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A couple of years ago my
daughter called to say that she
had Googled my grandparents
hometown of Mercydorf, Hungary
and was directed to a site at
DVHH.org. When she went
searching on this site she read
about a family story for the
Herz & Wilhelm family and at the
end of the story was a mention
of Anna Herz, who married Martin
Friedl and lived in College
Point.
She said to me "Mom I'm not sure
but I think you need to read
this story, it sounds like
'your' family and the stories
you told us." Lo and behold it
was my connection to our lost
family and their
history. Through this article I
contacted Susan Thomas, the
author of the story and she is
my relative because her
grandfather and my grandmother
are siblings.
Through Susan, I met another
relative on my grandmother's
maternal side and this year he's
going to Eger to meet relatives
who are a lost branch of the
family and we will finally know
what name to put with the war
story we were told. We might
even find out more about our
great-great grandfather Peter
Wilhelm and other siblings who
stayed in Europe.
All this because Jody, Susan and
others decided to put their
stories online. Since then I've
been more willing to type in a
name and search online and have
found many more relatives for
many other branches. Thanks to
all those who chose to share at
DVHH.
Rhonda
Friedl Staudt,
Jan 09, 2013 |
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Robert "Bob" Wolf
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The Donauschwaben
community has been
very helpful in
resolving when my
grandparents
actually migrated to
the States as I had
conflicting dates,
many thanks! Through
the Donauschwaben
community, I was
also able to
reconnect with a
first cousin
I haven't
seen in 60 years,
Catherine Wolf
Holtzclaw.
I continue to seek
information on my
great grandfathers,
Josef Wolf and
Johann Stoffel from
Kleinbetschkerek.
Both were born in
Kleinbetschkerek in
the 1850's and I
believe died in
Kleinbetschkerek.
Josef Wolf married
Katherine Baer and
Johann Stoffel
married Magdalena
Jost from
Grossjetscha. The
marriages probably
occurred in the late
1870s.
I also noted a
Michael Wolf family was one of
the original settlers in
Kleinbetschkerek listed in 1786.
Does anyone know if this family
has created a tree? Given my
surname of Wolf, I am, of
course, curios if the dots from
1786 connect with my great
grandparents Josef and Johann.
Robert Wolf,
Chicago, IL, 2012 |
Robert Wolf
Catherine Wolf, Holtzclaw,
MN
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