The Search for Number 16, part 2

Read The Search for Number 16, part 1.

The simple effort of joining the Burgenland Bunch led to an almost immediate welcome email from one of the members. I replied back and quickly explained why I was there and what I hoped to find.

A cordial email exchange ensued where I laid out my sob story of how I was looking for Cecilia's mom. I knew Cecilia had immigrated to the U.S. and landed in Pennsylvania. However, all my attempts at research in that state had led nowhere so I was attempting to search in Austria instead.

Fast forward a few more emails and another door opened. In one reply, I was given the names of Cecelia's parents and grandparents. Bam! Just like that. My new Burgenland Bunch friend even provided the FHL microfilm numbers where she found the information.

Well, you know me...even though I had the names, I needed to see them in order for this quest to be complete. So I placed my order for films and waited. Wednesday night, I received the phone call that said my films were in town.

Naturally, I cleared the calendar on Thursday afternoon and moseyed on over to the family history center. Given the area and history of the era, these records were in Hungarian. Still, I had Cecilia's birth date so how hard would it be to find her record and the name of my Number 16? Turns out it was quite easy:

May I introduce you to Cecilia Kurta of Borosgodor, my Number 16 and great-great grandmother.

Also in this set of records was confirmation of a marriage between Cecilia Kurta and Janos Joszt AND the names of their parents. Just like that, this line went from my most troublesome to my most advanced in Europe.

Whew! But now that I have this information, what do I do with it? Well it turns out that my grandmother never knew the names of any of her grandparents. It also turns out that her birthday is Friday. Why not tell her about my discovery then?

That's exactly what I intend to do.

The Search for Number 16, part 3