PART TWO of WE THREE and our story

Ron, Diane and Anna 

Continued... A Brief 

Family History of the Berger and Binder Surnames.

Catherine Binder was born in what was Yugoslavia (now Palesnik/Hercegovac, Croatia) but her mother Anna Marie and the Binders were born in Hungary and believed also to have emigrated prior to the 1700’s  from Germany as Donube Swabians. 

Germans were recruited to come into the Hungary to help rebuild the country after the Turks laid it waste. The Binders can be traced back to mid 1700s in Somogy Harsagy, Hungary .

LDS micfrofilm

Anna Marie Binder (Bauer) was born in Somogy Harsagy, Hungary as was her father Johan (Ivan, John). She was the only living birth of Johan Binder and Agnes Marie Weingartner. Agnes was listed as native of Switzerland on Anna's death certificate.  Agnes Marie died (?) and Johan remarried Marianna Bauman (Baumann).

LDS microfilm

Of that union there were Kata (Aunt Katie), Ivan (uncle John) who came to America and Teresa Binder Bauer, and Elizabeth Binder Rebic. Of these who remained in Europe I have visited the daughter (Teresia) of Teresa Binder Holowitz (who lives outside Munich) and the grandson (Franjo) of Elizabeth Binder Rebic (who lives in Zagreb, Croatia).

LDS microfilm,  family group sheets of Estella Bacon

Johan Binder (Anna’s father) visited America and at least in 1910 was on the South Dakota census as a hired man. He made several trips to and from America but no other family members followed.

Ree Heights, South Dakota census of 1910

Anna Bauer moved to Ree Heights South Dakota where she married Winfield Scott Bauer.

Marriage certificate of Polo Catholic church document

Kata (Aunt Katie, my half great aunt) came to America registered on the ship as Binder and married Matias Muehl at Ellis Island. 

Ellis Island and passenger list documents

Kata was pregnant at the time. They moved to Reblake, WI. From there they went to South Dakota and then to New York state. Anna Binder and her daughter Kata (my mother) came to America in about 1910. It is believed that at any one time they were all in the same place Reblake, WI or Mitchell, SD as there was a family photo* taken of Johan, Katie, Matt Muehl, little Kata, and two of Katie’s other children (Mathew and John?). Kata Muehl’s first child Anton died at birth in Reblake, WI.

Census records, death record, church records

*The photo then had three of Johan’s children in it (Ivan/John, Katie and Anna).

DNA results of our lineage has been somewhat stunted as not many Eastern Europeans of the Bergers or Szabos are here in America. And of those that may be in the USA it is supposed have not many take the DNA tests.

From the DNA samples from Ronnie and David Berger the DNA reveals a not so surprising German ancestry but also and surprisingly French ancestry as well. 

If you are Danube Swabian I would like to hear from you.

See ya down the road... on the horizon...

Travel on the Danube

 

Danube Swabians or Donauschwaben

The continued study of Eastern European family history is based on the study of geography and political changes and history of Europe itself. 

The Binder family of my mother and the Berger family of my father were Danube-Swabians from Germany.
http://www.dvhh.org/slavonia/esterreicher.htm
Research of birthplaces for the Bergers reflects a second great grandmother had a German birthplace and the Binder dates of birth, marriage, and death going 1) back to the early 18th century in Hungary 2) with Binder not being an Hungarian surname, and 3) the location of Binder family in Hungary being an area needing population by Germans. 
postal research, Eastern European researcher, LDS microfilm

First, A Bit of History
In the 17th century the Turks were defeated outside Vienna. Their occupation and defense of this Danube basin for many years  caused devestation of land and people. Following the defeat they retreated from the area. This left a great area in the Danube basin  and the Banat needing repopulation and development. 

Germans were encouraged to repopulate the area. The Hungarians enticed Germans from the Swabia area in the basin and Banat with the promise of very few restrictions on their religion, culture, and language.
See any good history, geography of the Balkans.

Danube-Swabians travelled the Danube in small boats symbolized here.

And thus the name Danube-Swabians was given to the many Germans of the Swabia areas of Germany (lumped together with tens of thousands from other areas). Many of these came from Ulm, Germany by boat down the Danube. The boat symbolized above.

This repopulation and migration occurred in three waves named for the monarch who sponsored their migration.  

See Tafferner's book cited below.

Small Towns in Northern Hungary

While visiting Hungary in 2016, I was taken to a several small town in the northern part Hungary along the Danube populated by the decendents of Danube Swabians.

Notice the similarity of this boat
to the symbolized boat above

In one of their parks was a statue dedicated to the German Swabians who travelled by boat to the areas populated during those migrations.

Although I did not understand much of the lecture of Swabians history and their population of this area, what was later translated for me went along with what I had read and with my research.

Research of birthplaces for the Bergers reflects a two great grandmother with a Ersingen, Thueringen, Germany birthplace. (translated information from baptismal record of the Roman Catholic Parish in Timisora, Romania) 

The Binder dates of birth, marriage, and death go back to the early 18th century in Hungary on microfilm. 
(LDS microfilm # 2065210 and 2065211)

And this research goes along with my continued query as to:
What nationality am I?
The country where I was born? California
I am a Californian.
The country where my parents were born? Hungary
I am Hungarian.
Or
The country from whence my family came? Germany
I am German.

AND THE RESEARCH GOES ON....next DNA.

__________________________________________________

* Tafferner, Anton, Schmidt, Joseph and Senz, Josef Volkmar, The Danaube Swabians in the Pannonia Basin, a ne German Ethnic Group, S and M Rotogravure Service, Inc New Berlin, Wisconsin, 1982.

*Koehler, Eve Eckertm, Seven Susannahs: Daughters of the Danube

* History of the Danube Swabians,  lecture 2016.


See ya down the road,

If you have Danube Swabian in your family history I would love to hear from you.

Copyright @ 2015-16 Diane McClure Lott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

PART ONE of WE THREE and our story

Recently at the request of my brother Ron I wrote a brief history of the 
Berger/Szabo and Binder families.
This is our  story.
Part One is presented here.

Diane, Anna and Ronald

Diane, Ronald and Anna

It is odd that Leo Berger and Catherine Binder met in San Diego, CA when as it were they were born not so far away from each other in Austria Hungary. It is less than a day’s drive by car from Palesnik, Croatia where Catherine Binder was born to Temesvar, Romania where Leo Berger was born.

Leo Berger was born in Temesvar, (now Romania) Hungary when the area belonged to Hungary but tracing Leo’s roots his great grandmother was from Germany and the Szabos are yet to be researched whereas Berger certainly is a German name and Szabo is certainly an Hungarian name.

Aranka Aurelia Szabo, Leo’s mother, was born in the south of what is now Romania in Buzias/Bazias. Being so the record of her birth was located just across the border in what is Serbia.

I have had an Eastern European researcher investigating the Berger/Szabo line in Hungary, Romania and Serbia. I have the documents of birth for Leo, Etelka (Etta) and Aranka Aurelia and the death records of Aranka's husband Lipot Berger.

There are believed to be Szabo’s still in Romania or Eastern Europe but I have not followed up on them yet.

Grandmother Aranka Aurelia Szabo Berger (Larsen) came to America following an uncle who lived San Diego. Aranka Berger and her son Leo came directly to San Diego. Etta (Etelka) who married Joseph Mattias Prihoda remained in Budapest, Hungary until their son Bela Leo was born and then came to San Diego.

99% of this is information is sourced with confidence.

Part Two is to follow in another blog.

Are you Hungarian and do you have stories to share? I would loce to read them.

See ya down the road.