The Inzenhof Project

Last week I found the name of my 16th great-great grandparent, my maternal grandmother's maternal grandmother. I was very happy and threw myself a party. Not really.

Well the parades are over and it's time to get back to work. I have these three films of Hungarian records from 1800-1895. I might as well use them while the Family History Library will let me have them.

So I know Cecilia Kurta married Janos Jost and lived in Inzenhof, Austria. Sometimes this place was also called Borosgodor, Hungary depending on which way the wind blew. The border changed a bit, the names changed a bit, but Inzenhof and Borosgodor are the same place as far as I can tell. Oh, and I know my ancestors spoke German, but these records are in Hungarian so I've got that going for me.

Did Cecilia and Janos have siblings? I know the names of their parents, but not their grandparents. To extend this part of my family tree further, I'm going to have to study this whole dang village. Luckily, it's a small place.

I went to the Family History Center on Tuesday, and I'm going again today.

On Tuesday, I took film 0601494 and cranked it all the way to the end, which was 1895. Then I slowly went backwards, page by page, making note of any mention of the surnames Kurta, Jost, or Sommer/Szommer.

Each record has at least one name and a house number. I write all of these own as I go from page to page.

These particular records that I'm reviewing today don't look like birth or marriage records. I don't know what they are. Later on, I should encounter records that include parents' names and that will help me group people better.

After I go page-by-page on these three films, I will sort out all the house numbers and names. Then I will group people by house number and type up some notes. Then I will take those notes and go back to the films to try and establish family relationships.

That's my plan for now. It may change in the future. Probably somewhere there's a book that says I'm going about this all wrong, but in my gut this approach feels right.
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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

The Search for Number 16, part 1

In all of my family history research, there has always been a brick wall that frustrated me. I did not know the name of my maternal grandmother's grandmother. That means that on a standard five-generation family tree chart with me at the center and places for the names of my 16 great-great grandparents, there was always a blank at the bottom of the chart where a name should be.

Now there are a lot of wonderful charts and artworks available where genealogists can create five-generation family trees. I've been frustrated for years that I couldn't take advantage of those items (especially the handcrafted ones) because I did not know the name of Number 16. I didn't want to spend all that money only to have a blank space at the bottom.

Back in December, with the encouragement of a friend, I committed to finding that 16th great-great grandparent.  I had a daughter's maiden name as well as a possible Austrian village hometown. What I didn't have was any experience searching this area of the world or any idea how to proceed with this task.

The first effort I made was to list everything I knew about my Number 16's daughter, Cecelia Yost, in a blog post. I didn't get any immediate response, but at least the details were out there.

Cecilia: my great-grandmother and daughter of Number 16

I did receive an email in regard to a post I made on a message board. The person said he/she had lots of information on the village of Inzenhof and the Jost family name. Great, right? Well I couldn't get any questions answered. I don't know if it was a language barrier or what but this lead didn't pan out.

Admittedly, it was the resolution I made (as well as some good-natured teasing from friends) that got the ball rolling. I found this neat website called the Burgenland Bunch, which detailed genealogy information in the area where Cecelia was supposedly born. I joined up for free, gave out all the information I had and hit send.

That simple effort opened a door...

Read The Search for Number 16, part 2.
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Jost Family in Inzenhof, Austria: My Tallest Brick Wall

[Note: One of my genealogy goals for 2011 is to find my elusive 16th great-grandparent. To do this, I need to list everything I know and don't know about my great-grandmother. This is the only way I will find more about her mother.]

My great-grandmother is Cecelia Yost, though I believe her name is really Cecelia JOST.

What I know:
I retrieved the following facts from her death certificate:
Birth: 6 December 1892 in Inzenhof, Austria
Death: 23 Sep 1932 in Nuevo, Riverside, California
Father: John Jost (also possibly Johann Jost)

Federal censuses say she immigrated to Lehigh County, PA in 1909. She was a cigar maker in Allentown in the 1910 census.

By the 1920 census, she is married to Albert Turk. I was hoping a marriage record would list Cecelia's parents' names, but Lehigh County Historical Society has no record of the union. It cost me $30 to find that out, so I've been gun shy about further requests. I have not contacted repositories in the surrounding counties yet. If anyone is able to search in this area, I may consider purchasing your services. Contact me.

The 1930 census provide no clues, and Cecelia died a year later. Her youngest daughter (my grandmother) does not remember her mother. She believes Cecelia had relatives (possibly sisters) in Pennsylvania.

I made an initial inquiry on the Ancestry message boards in October 2010 and received some great leads. I need to follow up on these. I also need to scour the Burgenland Bunch website, especially the list of Jost researchers. There are several people researching Josts who settled in the Lehigh Valley, as well as some who came from Inzenhof!

My attempts to research this name in Pennsylvania so far have been unsuccessful. There are simply too many Yost / Jost folks and I don't have enough details to make my ancestors stand out. As for passenger lists, there are several possibilities for my Cecelia Yost / Jost. I'm wondering if I'm just spinning wheels trying to research Pennsylvania and maybe it's time to cross the pond to Austria in search of an answer.

The next step I'm going to take is to contact some of these Jost researchers and see if they have my Cecelia in their trees. After that, I need to analyze the passenger lists and study all the possibilities for my great- grandmother. I need to look at their destinations, look the contact person on this end and see if there's a paper trail anywhere that could lead to my Cecelia (and possibly other relatives).

I don't believe Cecelia's parents made the trip to the United States, though the answer to the identity of my 16th great-grandparent may be here.

Well, there you go, my tallest brick wall to date. If you have any advice or expertise in Austrian research, please comment below. I'm also interested in any historical resources for this area in the late 1800's. Given Inzenhof's proximity to the Hungarian border, I'm thinking I need a basic history lesson.

Naming Names

Craig at GeneaBlogie had the wise notion to publicize the names he was searching and see if anyone else knows something about them. This is a great idea. I can't believe I never did it before, but I'm posting them here now:

Baerecke, Barecke (WI, IL)
Bean (TN, AR)
Bourgaux, Bourgeaux (Acadia Parish LA, Gilly Belgium)
Bourland (KY, TX, OK)
Brauckman (Germany)
Brigance (TN, AR)
Brigham (TN, AR)
Clingman (AR)
Cloyd (TN, VA)
Colbert (Chickasaw, Indian Territory, OK, MS)
Degreve (LA, Belgium)
Eldridge (St. Landry LA, Milan County TX, KY)
Hood (KY, TX)
Howorth, Howarth (SC, TX)
Jones (Chickasaw, TX, NC, OK, Indian Territory)
Jost (Austria, PA)
Legoffe (France, LA)
Lenertz (IA in 1850's, MN, Luxembourg)
Lockweiler (poss. Luxembourg)
Menou (Acadia Parish, LA, France)
Moore (MS, OK, Indian Territory)
Mitchell (NC, AR)
Neilson (NC, TX)
Perkins (KY, TX, LA)
Quesenberry, Quesenbury (AR, NC)
Shokweiler (poss. Luxembourg)
Shukeveiler (or something like it)
Smith (LeSueur MN)
Sparks (AR, poss. TN)
Tate (NC, AR)
Thibodeaux (Acadia & St. Landry Parishes LA)
Turk, Tuerk (Germany)
Williamson (AR, TN)
Yost (PA, Austria)

Ok, now I have to use the word "genealogy" so search engines will pick it up and people searching for Eldridge genealogy or such will land on this blog.

My challenges are as follows:

Any indication of a Baerecke or Barecke in Chicago in 1892.
A death date for H. H. Baerecke/Barecke.
An idea of what H. H. stands for (I think it's Harry from WI but have no proof.)

Information on the following Lenertz's all born in the 1800's:
Alex Lenertz
Alexander Lenertz
Catherine Lenertz
Frank Lenertz
Henry Lenertz
John Lenertz
Joseph Lenertz
Margaret Lenertz
Mary Lenertz
Michael Lenertz
William Lenertz

Also in search of information on the Pierre Thibodeaux born in Louisiana in 1829, not the one born in 1835.

If you have any information on these folks, or you need more clarification, please email me using the email address provided in the right column of this blog.

Who Are You? 9th Edition of Smile for the Camera

The 9th edition of Smile for the Camera asks:


We are asked to share a picture from our collections. The pictures should contain people whose identities are not known.

Sadly, I have a few of these images. My family is quite small during the photography era, so the chances that I am related to these people are pretty high.

The photograph I've chosen for this edition came from my maternal grandmother's collection. She had one parent come from Germany and the other from Austria. This image could belong to either one, but I'm leaning toward it being from Austria:

I'm guessing this is a wedding photo. It might be the Yost/Jost family. The book the center woman is holding has a cross on it. My great-grandmother was a devout Catholic. Also, if I may be so blunt, the noses on some of the ladies make me feel that this is my great-grandmother's family. Lastly, that baby on the right bears a strong resemblance to my grandmother's brother as a child. They are two different people, perhaps first cousins, but the similarities are significant.

It's possible that the bride and some of the others are siblings of my great-grandmother. I might be releated to everyone in this picture. Are her parents in the photo? I'll never know.

It's very hard to be this close to the answer and realize it will likely never be resolved.