Gayk-Seibert Genealogy Blog

Welcome To The Gayk and Seibert Genealogy Site!

 Caroline Gayk

I'm involved in a search for ancestors, descendants and relatives of my parents, Dagobert Gayk and Helena Seibert,who was previously married to Ignatz Kapp.If you had the birth surname of Gayk, Seibert, Szeibert, Realich, Bergman, Bergmann, Schnittger, Rockwell, Kapp, Kap or Crowley, please contact me via this site or e-mail and we can compare notes and share information.

Locations of family residences in Germany: Essen, Berlin & Ruegebeith.

In Austria-Hungary residences include Gakova (Gakowa), Brestovitz, Backi Brestovac and the Federated People's Republic of Yugoslavia, In The United States residences include New York City, White, Flushing, Bronx and Sea Cliff New York and IndianaPennsylvania.

THE GAYK FAMILY

                                                          Dagobert Gayk

                                                

Dagobert in Recklinghausen: Back row right, also Emil Eduard Gayk, relationship unsure, (Grandfather of Heike Ueki) lower left hand corner.

My father, Dagobert "Bert" Gayk (b.12-24-1907; d. 7-10-1954), immigrated from Germany to Ellis Island, New York, when he was a young man. Born out of wedlock in Essen, Germany to Charlotte Gayk (b. 2-15-1885; d. 5-1971) Essen,

                                 Charlotte Gayk: Passport Photo

and Carl Realich, of Ruegebeith, Dagobert was an only child. He was raised as a Lutheran. He had a half-uncle, Stanley Rockwell (b. 6-12-1882; d. 5-17-1959) and an uncle, William Gayk (b. 4-7-1875; d. 1-9-1947) who both migrated to the United States from Germany and resided in Pennsylvania. William was married to Dorothea (b. 2-12-1865; d. 1-28-1943).

Dagobert Gayk

Bert's maternal grandmother's name was Karoline Gayk, my namesake.

Karoline Gayk  

FRENCH, PRUSSIAN OR FRISIAN?

One opinion of where the Gayks came from, is that they were exhiled from France because of their Protestant religion (Hugenotten). They are said to have migrated to Prussia, where the King was relatively liberal. Some Gayk families actually did come to Germany from East Prussia, "Ostpreussen", when they were forced to leave their beloved homeland

where many of them had lived for generations. However; there are different opinions about where the name Gayk came from. Some say that the Gayks came to Germany from the Netherlands, or Flandria and that

the Gayk families traveled east during the middle ages, the time of the "colonization" of the east.

Another opinion (and the most probable), is that the name Gayk (or Geik or Geiko, etc) is of Friesian origin, Friesian being a Germanic tribe in the area of the North Sea.

There are currently many Gayk families in the region around Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Undoubtedly a lot of Gayks came from East Prussia and left there during the 19th century, to find work in other countries and in Germany.

Many of the Gayks traveled, as other East Prussians did, to

the"Ruhrgebiet" in West Germany to work in the coal mines or in other industries.

Dagobert Gayk, my father, was born in Essen, which is a part of the "Ruhrgebiet" and it is highly probable that his father, or his grandfather, was born in East-Prussia. In fact, although the research is not complete, it appears that our Gayk history does go back to East Prussia, where records show that Michael Gayk gave birth to a son, Johann Gayk, who was born June 24, 1804. Johann Gayk and Maria Dudeck gave birth to children Regina Gayk in 1826, Johann Gayk in 1829, Michael Gayk in 1832, Gottleib Gayk in 1835, Fritz Gayk in 1839, and Charlotte Gayk in 1841. All were born in Alt Kaikutt, East Prussia. Charlotte Gayk, b. 3/26/1841; d. 2/3/1918 married a Michael Gorny (date unknown). Although my research continues, the names coincide with what what I heard as a child. My grandmother, another Charlotte, said that her father's name was Michael. The search continues.

THE SEIBERT FAMILY

Helena Seibert Kapp Gayk

My mother, Helena Seibert (Magyar:Szeibert) (b. 5-20-1907; d. 2-28-1988) was born a Roman Catholic in Gakowa, or Gakovo, in the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia, (Austria Hungary) (the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Banovina Dunavska). She married Ignatz Kapp, of Backi Brestovac (Brestovitz), two years after Ignatz immigrated to New York City with her and her parents, Matthias Seibert and Catherine Bergmann Seibert.

Helena had two brothers and a sister who also migrated with the family; Martin, Tom, and Katherine (b. 8-27-1897; d. 1-1975)

who later married Fred (Fritz) Schnittger.

Left to right: Catherine Bergmann Seibert, Michael G. Crowley, Katherine Seibert Schnittger in Herkerma, New York.

After the move to New York, Helena and Ignatz had two children, John Joseph Kapp (b. 5-19-1924; d. 1-8-1995) and Mary Katherine Kapp Crowley (b. 1-12-23 d. 11-25-2014).

Mary Katherine Kapp Crowley,

Helena Seibert Kapp Gayk and John Kapp

Circa 1928, when his son John was about 5 years old, Ignatz returned to Brestovitz with John to visit his parents. John stayed in Brestovitz with his father and paternal grandparents until late 1929 when he sailed back to New York City on the "Bremen" alone. Ignatz was refused passage back to the United States and died on January 23rd, 1934, never to see his wife and children again. Matthias Seibert's mother's name may have been Helen also. Catherine Bergmann Seibert's parents were named Margaret and Thomas.

Helena Seibert obtained her United States Certificate of Citizenship as widow Helen Kapp on December 11, 1939. At that time she lived in Bronx, N.Y.. Dagobert married Helen in 1942 and had three children, Caroline Gayk (b. 1-19-1943) Charlotte Gayk (b. 5-17-1946) and Helen Gayk (b. 12-27-1947).

Dagobert Gayk, John Kapp: Back Row

Tom Seibert, Mary Kapp, Katherine Seibert

Mary Kapp and Caroline Gayk

Charlotte and Caroline in Sea Cliff

Helen Seibert Kapp Gayk

                       Mary Kapp, Mother, Helen Gayk and Helen Driscoll

Helen Gayk and Daughters Helen and Charlotte

Mary Kapp

Mary and John Kapp

Mary Kapp (photo for try-out for Little Rascals)

Matthias and Catherine Seibert

with John and Mary Kapp

THE DANUBE SWABIANS - WHO ARE THEY?

18th Century

Danube-Swabians are ethnic Germans, originally from many areas in Germany (primarily Würtemberg and the Palatinate), who settled in an area known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 18th century during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. Settlements were established east and west of the Danube river in territories now known as Hungary, Rumania, Croatia and Serbia.

Under frequently difficult conditions, they cultivated the land with hard work and perseverance. Having come from generations of strong industrious peasants, their villages included scholars, educators, tradesmen, craftsmen and artists as well. They valued their culture's rich traditions and customs; faith in God and the Church were central to their community. Loyalty and pride in their heritage were strong qualities of this unique ethnic group that would sustain them regardless where destiny and fate would eventually take them.

In 1944 and following World War II, the Danube Swabians were driven from their homeland. They were exiled, suffered persecution and sustained great personal and economic losses. Many perished. The survivors of the death camps where many had been interred, attest to their ultimate sacrifice.

Present

Our common bonds are our origin, our history, and our faith. We cannot forget the hardships and tribulations endured by our forefathers, although we now share a new homeland, embrace new generations, and welcome new ideas. Our goal is to encourage future generations to honor and treasure the heritage of their ancestors. This heritage comes from a people who faced hardship, suffering and loss with individual and collective strength.

Today's generations of Danube Swabians can learn to maintain their cultural heritage and ethnic identity, while adopting the customs of their new homeland. America, the "melting pot", has manifested itself even in the new Danube Swabian community. The Danube Swabian heritage is a heritage to be proud of!

Today the Danube Swabian life can be found in numerous organizations under the banner of the Danube-Swabian Associations.

Please check out additional Donausswabian-Homepages at

http://www.moser-deutschland.eu/kontakte.htm

GERMAN HISTORY

IN THE BATSCHKA AND BANAT

My historical information comes from excerpts of Bela Pomogats' book "A Short History of Hungarians and Serbs - Past and Present."

The Banat is a region in southeastern Europe, which includes the Batschka region where our Seibert ancestors lived, and extends over an area that is present day western Romania, northeastern Serbia, and southern Hungary. It is approximately 100 miles by 100 miles. The name "Banat" is derived from the word "ban", the local name for a provincial governor.

The Banat is bordered by the Danube River on the South, the Marosch River on the North, the Thiesse River on the West, and by the Carpathian foothills on the East.

Because the Banat was a vast plain, and because it was bordered by the Danube River, the primary river of central Europe, the Banat has had the misfortune of being a primary route of transportation, and as a result, has been historically a cultural crossroads. From it's complex history, we find that even before the region was known as Banat, this plain was known as a place of long-vanished people.

The earliest unrecorded history is imagined to be a wave of nomadic tribes first settling and then being pushed off the plain by other nomadic tribes that were either greater in number or stronger in battle. The Romans used Banat as a staging area to launch attacks against the Dacian Empire. The Romans were forced to leave by an influx of Germanic tribes, who themselves were never able to establish permanent residence.

In 100 AD, the Hungarian King Saint Stephen established dominion over Banat making it a part of the Hungarian monarchy; however, after approximately two hundred years of relative peace in the area, Banat was invaded by Ghengis Kahn and the towns and villages were destroyed. The region barely had time to recover before it came under the threat of the expanding Ottoman Empire.

The rest of Europe thought of Banat as a defensive wall of Christianity against the warring Turks, however, in 1526 it fell to the Turks in the battle of Mohacs and remained under Turkish control until freed by Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1718. The rebuilding of the land was then entrusted to the Imperial General Count Claudius Foorimund Mercy.

Mercy executed a plan developed by Prince Eugene to transport German Catholics into the invasion corridors and establish Banat as a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Between 1722 and 1726, 15,000 settlers were transplanted into 46 German villages. Those people who chose to migrate to Banat did so because of the extreme taxes imposed by Germany to support the frivolities of the nobility. Also, the benefits of the move were exaggerated to the people. But by far the strongest incentive to migrate was the promise of a free homestead, free passage, and three years free of taxes and assessments.

It was during this time frame, probably early in the 1700's according to family oral history, that the Seiberts migrated from Alsace Lorraine in Germany to Gakova in the Batschka region of Banat. During the next decade the Germans in the Banat established a thriving civilization; however, in 1738 the Turks returned to the area, setting off yet another siege of terror. The non-German populations joined the Turks in pillaging the German towns along the Danube during a period of time when the settlers were already experiencing an epidemic of the plague that reaped additional devastation upon the settlers. Following this destruction, it took another decade to reestablish security and initiate another German migration.

In a new colonization decree, Maria Theresa also invited commissioned and non-commissioned soldiers to settle in Banat. The Theresian settlement proved successful for the next 125 years. During that time the Germans drained swamps, worked the land in the fertile regions, and built villages. They succeeded in establishing many farming communities, while suffering through major epidemics of swamp fever and cholera in the process. In Gakova, where the Seiberts worked the land, they eventually became wealthy farmers, owning threshing machines that were used to thresh wheat on farms throughout the region. In 1788 the Turks returned once again and destroyed over 100 villages. ---In 1777, the total population of the area was 320,000, of which only 43,000 were Germans. There were approximately double that amount of Serbians, and the majority of 181,000 were Romanians. During this entire time period, the Austro-Hungarian Empire held things together in the Banat, but during the next 40 years the Empire began to turn more governing responsibility over to local kingdoms.

In the case of the Batschka, this meant Hungarian rule, and an increasing influence from, and friction with, the Hungarian Kingdom. The Hungarians instituted a Magyarization attempt, which tried to replace German city and region names with Hungarian names. The Hungarians also tried to suppress the use of the German language in the Hungarian Banat including the Batschka region and replace it with Hungarian. The Germans struggled against Magyarization and even petitioned the Empire to have their own German Count assigned and to be placed under the direct protection of the Empire. For the German people to make this request was unusual and extreme, because the Germans had a tendency to avoid politics and focused primarily on village life and the day to day business of farming.

In 1920, at the end of World War I, the Treaty of Trianon officially broke Banat up into parts of Romania, Yugoslavia and Hungary.

Large numbers of South Slavs - Serbs, Macedonians, and Montenegrins - were settled in the Vojvodina in the inter- war period. The end of the Second World War saw a huge influx again, and the population grew to over 2 million. The Serbs quadrupled in number while the number of Hungarians fell to nearly half of the 1910 figure. At the end of the Second World War, when the Wehrmacht withdrew from Yugoslav territories, almost all the Vojvodina Germans fled with the retreating troops. Those remaining behind were largely massacred by Tito's Partisans.

Some members of the Seibert and Bergman families, and Katherine Flotz and her family (see the Katherine Flotz homepage listing in the links section) were among those Germans who remained in Gakowa after Tito's forces arrived. After the end of the war Tito and his supporters, after massacring not only Germans and Hungarians, but also Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Bosnians, simply turned over a new leaf and forbade any public mention of the blood-stained past. The Germans were practically wiped off the map of the Vojvodina. No mention was made of the tens of thousands of Serbs in the Krajina either, whom Ante Pavelic's Ustasha had massacred.

For those who have an interest in the ethnic cleansing during this period, "Barefoot In The Rubble" by Elizabeth B. Walter, Pannonia Press, is a story of those Donauschwaben who stayed on in Yugoslavia. It is the true story of "surviving the detention camps, the hunger, the forced labor, the destruction of villages, and the attempt by a brutal Communist regime to erase all ethnic Germans as a people, to scatter them to the winds.")

Gakowa was a small farming town on the Hungarian border. On a current map the area can be located in Yugoslavia or Serbia, just Northwest of Sombor, but the town exists no more. Prior to World War II, life in Gakowa was filled with tradition and custom. The Seiberts were Roman Catholic and feast days such as Corpus Christi, Epiphany, and also elaborate weddings and feasts held to honor the Saints and Mary, were traditionally celebrated. According to second-hand accounts the town of Gakowa is in ruins at this time but up to about 5 or so years ago the local cemetery still contained the headstones of Seibert ancestors.

My mother, when reminiscing of her childhood, spoke about the farm once owned by her family and the prosperity they enjoyed. She told us of her religious family life there and taught us how to cook the traditional German and Hungarian food she was accustomed to eating as a child in Gakowa. She also told of a lake near her home in Gakowa, between the Tisa and the Danube Rivers. According to Magdelene (Lenchi) Erg, my mother's second cousin, this was a small man-made lake near Gakowa. It was formerly a sand and gravel pit and all of the children of Gakowa went there to swim. Life was filled with hard work and rich rewards.

Circa 1918, one branch of the Seibert family emigrated to America; Gertrude Bergman, Matthias Seibert his wife Katherine Bergman, and their children Helen, (my Mother) Katherine, Thomas and Martin. Later, Gertrude was to marry Martin and raise a family in New York. Other relatives, including the family of Magdelena Seibert, my Mother's first cousin, and Barbara Seibert, who married a son of Stefan Seibert, Matthias' brother, remained in Gakowa. Prior to 1944, the town was prosperous and harmonious.

In 1944 the Russians along with some of Tito's Partisans arrived in Gakowa and the town soon became one of the most inhumane yet unpublicized concentration camps in the history of Southern Europe. In December of the same year, all men and women from the ages of 17 to 35 were transported to Russian labor camps, leaving the children and elderly at the mercy of the Partisans in the newly formed concentration camp in Gakowa. In the early months of 1945 Donauschwaben from the Batschka and Banat were driven out of their homes into Gakowa like herds of animals with only the belongings they could carry on their backs. The once-peaceful town of 2,500 inhabitants soon grew to 20,000 or more.

As the town became filled with more and more people, Typhoid Fever struck and soon the corpses outnumbered the available gravesites and burial was done in mass graves, about a half a block long, six feet deep and six feet wide. Every morning corpses were wrapped in sheets and laid in the yard until a horse-drawn wagon came around to make its collections. During this time 75-100 people died each day. Eventually the cemetery could not hold any more so it was enlarged. Soon afterward, filled to capacity, the cemetery was closed. Church services were not allowed and religious life was discouraged although some services were held in private. Suicides abounded with women attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the 25' wells. Rats and mice were prevalent and malaria soon swept through the area. There were no doctors for the Donauschwaben and no medicines were available.

In August 1947, a group of approximately 100 people, including Katherine Flotz and her family, gathered to make their successful escape into Hungary. There, thousands of other refugees were also attempting to travel into Austria and Germany. Some of the previously detained Donauschwaben, including Barbara Seibert who had been sent to a Russian prison camp, were eventually allowed to go back home, but "home" was not there anymore. The Seiberts who did survive found refuge in the United States, Germany, Austria, and other countries. The Donnauschauben would never return to the Vojvodina. Tito's liquidation was complete, however the ethnic cleansing continues today.

This ends the historical portion about the Vojvodina.

GAKOWA - TITO'S CONCENTRATION CAMP

My information about Gakowa comes mainly from the autobiography of Katherine Flotz.

Large numbers of South Slavs - Serbs, Macedonians, and Montenegrins - were settled in the Vojvodina in the inter- war period. The end of the Second World War saw a huge influx again, and the population grew to over 2 million. The Serbs quadrupled in number while the number of Hungarians fell to nearly half of the 1910 figure. At the end of the Second World War, when the Wehrmacht withdrew from Yugoslav territories, almost all the Vojvodina Germans fled with the retreating troops. Tito’s Partisans largely massacred those remaining behind.

Some members of the Seibert and Bergman families, and Katherine Flotz and her family (see the Katherine Flotz homepage listing in the links section) were among those Germans who remained in Gakowa after Tito's forces arrived. After the end of the war Tito and his supporters, after massacring not only Germans and Hungarians, but also Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Bosnians, simply turned over a new leaf and forbade any public mention of the blood-stained past. The Germans were practically wiped off the map of the Vojvodina. No mention was made of the tens of thousands of Serbs in the Krajina either, whom Ante Pavelic's Ustasha had massacred.

For those who have an interest in the ethnic cleansing during this period, "Barefoot In The Rubble" by Elizabeth B. Walter, Pannonia Press, is a story of those Donauschwaben who stayed on in Yugoslavia. It is the true story of "surviving the detention camps, the hunger, the forced labor, the destruction of villages, and the attempt by a brutal Communist regime to erase all ethnic Germans as a people, to scatter them to the winds."

Gakowa was a small farming town on the Hungarian border. On a current map the area can be located in Yugoslavia or Serbia, just Northwest of Sombor, but the town exists no more. Prior to World War II, life in Gakowa was filled with tradition and custom. The Seiberts were Roman Catholic and feast days such as Corpus Christi, Epiphany, and also elaborate weddings and feasts held to honor the Saints and Mary, were traditionally celebrated. According to second-hand accounts the town of Gakowa is in ruins at this time but up to about 5 or so years ago the local cemetery still contained the headstones of Seibert ancestors.

My mother, Helen Seibert Gayk, when reminiscing of her childhood, spoke about the farm once owned by her family and the prosperity they enjoyed. She told us of her religious family life there and taught us how to cook the traditional German and Hungarian food she was accustomed to eating as a child in Gakowa. She also told of a lake near her home in Gakowa, between the Tisa and the Danube Rivers. According to Magdelene (Lenchi) Erg, my mother's second cousin, this was a small man-made lake near Gakowa. It was formerly a sand and gravel pit and all of the children of Gakowa went there to swim. Life was filled with hard work and rich rewards.

Circa 1918, one branch of the Seibert family emigrated to America; Gertrude Bergman, Matthias Seibert his wife Katherine Bergman, and their children Helen, (my Mother) Katherine, Thomas and Martin. Later, Gertrude was to marry Martin and raise a family in New York. Other relatives, including the family of Magdelena Seibert, my Mother's first cousin, and Barbara Seibert, who married a son of Stefan Seibert, Matthias' brother, remained in Gakowa. Prior to 1944, the town was prosperous and harmonious.

In 1944 the Russians along with some of Tito's Partisans arrived in Gakowa and the town soon became one of the most inhumane yet unpublicized concentration camps in the history of Southern Europe. In December of the same year, all men and women from the ages of 17 to 35 were transported to Russian labor camps, leaving the children and elderly at the mercy of the Partisans in the newly formed concentration camp in Gakowa. In the early months of 1945 Donauschwaben from the Batschka and Banat were driven out of their homes into Gakowa like herds of animals with only the belongings they could carry on their backs. The once-peaceful town of 2,500 inhabitants soon grew to 20,000 or more.

As the town became filled with more and more people, Typhoid Fever struck and soon the corpses outnumbered the available gravesites and burial was done in mass graves, about a half a block long, six feet deep and six feet wide. Every morning corpses were wrapped in sheets and laid in the yard until a horse-drawn wagon came around to make its collections. During this time 75-100 people died each day. Eventually the cemetery could not hold any more so it was enlarged. Soon afterward, filled to capacity, the cemetery was closed. Church services were not allowed and religious life was discouraged although some services were held in private. Suicides abounded with women attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the 25' wells. Rats and mice were prevalent and malaria soon swept through the area. There were no doctors for the Donauschwaben and no medicines were available.

In August 1947, a group of approximately 100 people, including Katherine Flotz and her family, gathered to make their successful escape into Hungary. There, thousands of other refugees were also attempting to travel into Austria and Germany. Some of the previously detained Donauschwaben, including Barbara Seibert who had been sent to a Russian prison camp, were eventually allowed to go back home, but "home" was not there anymore. The Seiberts who did survive found refuge in the United States, Germany, Austria, and other countries. The Donnauschauben would never return to the Vojvodina. Tito's liquidation was complete, however the ethnic cleansing continues today.

For information about Katherine Flotz' book 'A Pebble in My Shoe' and for her historic account of her ordeal in Gakowa please visit her website at:

http://www.dvhh.org/batschka/history/Post_WWII/leidensweg/flotz.htm

---

DANUBE SWABIAN COAT OF ARMS

(Das Donauschwäbische Wappen)

The coat of arms of the Danube Swabians was created by Hans Diplich in 1950. The imperial eagle is a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire under Germanic kings. The wavy line symbolizes the Danube River, on which or along which, the German settlers traveled to Hungary. The crescent moon is the symbol of Islam, representing the Turkish occupation of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The sun is the symbol for Christ. The fortress represents the city of Temeschburg (Timisoara). Its six towers represent the six main settlement regions for the Danube Swabians: Central Hungarian Highlands, Swabian Turkey, Slavonia-Syrmia, Batschka, Banat and Sathmar. The fortress stands on the fertile farm land made arable and productive by the Danube Swabians.

The inscription reads "Semper atque semper liberi ac indivisi" or "Forever Free and Undivided." This motto probably refers to the fact that the Donauschwaben were free persons and no longer peasants bound to a lord. "Undivided" refers to their feeling of being "one people" despite being separated into different countries after WWI and after the diaspora around the world after WWII.

Das Donauschwäbische Wappen

Das Wappen wurde 1950 von Hans Diplich entworfen. Der oberhalbe rot bewehrte Adler hält seine Schwingen schirmend über die pannonischen Landschaften an der mittleren Donau und symbolisiert die Schutzpflicht der römisch-deutschen Kaiser auch für diese Reichsteile. Der blaue Wellenbalken symbolisiert die Donau, auf oder entlang welcher die deutschen Siedler ins damalige Südungarn kamen. Inmitten fruchtbaren Ackerlandes steht die Festung Temeschburg, flankiert vom abnehmenden islamischen Halbmond und der aufgehenden Sonne, dem Symbol für Christus und auch für Prinz Eugen von Savoyen. Die sechs Festungstürme stehen für die sechs donauschwäbischen Hauptsiedlungsgebiete: Südwestliches ungarisches Mittelgebirge, Schwäbische Türkei, Slawonien-Syrmien, Batschka, Banat und Sathmar.

Der Wappenspruch lautet: "Semper atque semper liberi ac indivisi" ("Für immer frei und ungeteilt"). Er bezieht sich wohl darauf, daß die Donauschwaben einst freie Menschen in einem ungeteilten Land waren, wonach sie sich wieder sehnen (was angesichts der Folgen der beiden Weltkriege für immer ein Traum bleiben wird).

Bibliography / Bibliographie

Senz, Josef Volkmar, Geschichte der Donauschwaben / Von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, 1955, Salzburg-Freilassing; 1987, München oTafferner, Anton, Josef Schmidt & Josef V. Senz: Die Donauschwaben im pannonischen Becken 3. edition. München 1981.

---

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Der Sommer Newsletter

June 13, 2007

This will be my last regular newsletter. I will continue to do research on our family ancestry but will discontinue the quarterly update.

The purpose of the newsletters was to keep us all in touch, bond us together as a family, bring back happy memories, and create a connection to our mutual pasts. I hope that I have not offended anyone in any manner and pray that, in some way, these newsletters have succeeded in bringing us all a little closer to each other and sparked an interest in finding out more about ourselves by learning about our past.

Einen schönen Tag allerseits!

Caroline

Fall 2006 Newsletter

Greetings to Family and Friends:

Apologies for the lapse of time between newsletters.

I hope all of you are enjoying the summer, wherever each of you are! Weather in Washington has been excellent this year. Very little rain, and temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s except for a few days in the 80’s when the rest of the country was sweltering. It’s been a perfect year to work on the new gardens and landscaping.

After spending a few months in Arizona I returned to the Pacific Northwest earlier this year – April - and I immediately started back to work at my seasonal job full-time and began working on the new farmhouse on weekends. Stan, in addition to the construction being done by the contractors, has been working on the house to enable me to move in at the end of this month.

The 2,000 square foot 1905 ‘Chinook Indian’ built original farmhouse had been poorly added onto over the course of many years and ended up as a 4,000 square foot rambling monster maze! Contractors tore off all of the additions and rebuilt them with a second story along with a two-car garage, and also built a huge shop and garage for Pete and his equipment (at his expense and for his use). The two-story original farmhouse was professionally worked over from the foundation, all the way up to the second-story supports, and the roof. I've ended up with a very sturdy and up-to-code farmhouse, what I am calling ‘Country Rustic’, as close as the contractor could come to the original look, and I am pleased with the results. The main floor and upper story of the original house is still being worked on, and probably won’t be completely done until 2007 or later.

Pete and I put some used tile (freebies) in the little pantry, and cobble-stoned hearth and front entry. The house itself is now only 2,000 square feet, but has a huge room upstairs over the garage, that, if it is ever done, would bring the square footage of the house itself to about 2,500. Too big for me.

The Koi fish have a new pond – this one about 5,000 gallons compared to their former 100 gallon tank! What a job that was, but what happy fish! I also have 13 chickens, mostly Jungle Fowl, all but the roosters laying eggs. (Four roosters are free for the taking, by the way!) I have already moved most of my things in but I am still living on the Peninsula and Pete is staying at the farm instead of here at Surfside this summer.

I bought Stan a house on the island in the small town we are moving to. It’s darling and has a nice garage and a shop too. He’s a very short distance from the farm, with a view and access to Willapa Bay and the Pallix River, where he takes his daily walks. Nature is all around him, he is happy and making friends, and I don’t think he misses central Oregon at all. I am keeping him busy as a plumber, electrician, tiler, carpet layer, carpenter, landscaper, caretaker, mechanic, woodcutter, and repair man, and he is definitely earning his keep!

For privacy reasons, I will send our new addresses and phone numbers in the attached e-mail instead of the newsletter.

I guess everyone knows that Linda Jean is now back in Idaho, working again and seemingly doing well.

My son Mike is still living in central Oregon in Crooked River Ranch and is well and happy. One of these days I hope to get him moved to Washington too, but he is not ready for that move yet. He still has hopes of farming on the 84 acres in Culver, but it looks like the land zoning there may be changed to destination resorts.

Grandson Stanley is still in central Oregon also, working and apparently living on his own. The last I heard was from Ruth, who spoke with him at his workplace in Bend. She says he seems well and happy. Lately no response from my e-mails to him. Ruth, my late husband Stan’s first wife, has not been well and has been going through chemotherapy. Please keep her in your prayers.

We missed having sister Mary for a visit this year. Amtrak stopped service to our area and she would have had to take a bus…and, with her eyesight failing, that was something she didn’t want to do. We are all looking forward to seeing her in Arizona in the spring if I go there next year, or maybe before then. She had a very nice visit to Oregon and is now back in California, safe and sound.

Sister Charlotte has moved back to her former home in Vida. Please let me know if you need her address or phone number.

Grandson Johnathon and Nikki and great-grandson Andre are doing well also. I just got a note from John this morning.

I have not heard from sister-in law Fran and Bob and family in Florida in some time. I hope the tornado season is short this year! Nor have I been in touch with cousin Margaret and Dick or Jennifer in California. My apologies.

Pete goes back to Arizona on September 20th to return to his home and play with the symphony for another season. I will stay here, in my own home, and fly back to visit him for a few months this winter. I'll be working at Ocean Spray again this winter. After five years, I think this will be my last year of working there. I am looking forward to spending a little time with Pete. Eventually, I plan to retire to the farmhouse full-time except for shorter winter vacations, but for now I am enjoying winters at Pete's home in Arizona .

BIRTHDAYS:

In August, the only family birthday was my grandson Johnathon’s on August 3rd. Happy Birthday Johnathon!

September birthdays are: Grandson Cody on September 2nd, Grand-Nephew Matthew on the 18th, ex-husband Ken on the 20th, and Nephew Michael on the 25th. Happy birthday to all!

Namaste and Love to Each of You,

Caroline

Spring 2006 Newsletter

Die Zeit fliegt! (Time Flies!)

It’s time again to leave Pete's Arizona winter paradise. What a warm, beautiful , sunny winter it has been. Nary a day has passed that I have not been able to enjoy the pool and other outdoor activities, but in a matter of weeks I will be back in the spring rain again. Hopefully some of the storms that the Northwest has been experiencing will have passed by then. The timeline is to leave somewhere between April 3 and April 15, depending on whether Pete decides to perform in the final concert of the 2005-06 series. I am anxious to get back to work on the 'new' old house in Bay Center, and I am anxious to get back to my regular job and 'home'.

Pete’s mother had hip replacement surgery in January, and we have been busy tending to her needs, so I have not worked at all this winter. Several weeks ago she suffered a fall and now is recouperating in the care center where she lives, but hopes are to have her home and better than before the surgery in a few days. I've been cleaning house for her, changing bedding, ironing, doing laundry, tending her plants, and cooking while I'm there. Was lange währt, wird endlich gut! (Good things are worth waiting for!)

Linda had her surgery on February 17th. She is recovering at home with Fran and Bobby in Florida. Keep her in your prayers. The family plans to travel back to Idaho in April.

Sister Mary is doing well and is now living with her son Dennis and his wife Jan and their children. E-mail or call me if you would like her contact information. She will be coming to Arizona for a visit next week, and we have lots of activities planned, including a BBQ, concert, St. Patrick's Day with Pete's family, and maybe I will take her on a bus trip to Mexico.

Margaret has had some recent surgery. When I last spoke to her she was recovering but has since gone back to work. Please keep her in your prayers.

More genealogical research is on the way. I discovered a book by Nicholas Roosevelt entitled ‘A Front Row Seat’ that details the Germans plight in the Batchka after WWI. Hopefully it will shed more light on our ancester’s life in Gakova prior to their emigration in 1920. Pete actually located the book in reference material in a book he was reading, called ‘Paris 1918.

When I was a child my mother appeared confused about her nationality. When asked she would either say she was German or Austrian but when questioned further she said she lived in Austria-Hungary or Hungary or Yugoslavia. I was confused by this, but her native Austria was divided several times after WWI, each time under a new governmental system, and the Batchka was a prized farming region that several countries vied for. What difficult times these must have been for the Seibert’s. Now of course, although not universally recognized, the area has been claimed by Serbia.

As per our last conversation, Charlotte is readying for a long vacation this spring and is planning a visit to Southern California, Reno, and parts unknown!

News from Charlotte is that Helen and Ed have started up a nursery business in Oregon. Good luck to them in their new venture!

SEASONAL BIRTHDAYS:

A special happy birthday to all of you whose birthdays I missed since the last newsletter.

This month, February, Ron celebrated his birthday on the 22nd. Jan celebrated hers on February 11th.

March birthdays will be: Ryan C. on the 4th, Rob on the 27th, Ryan G. on the 29th and Nyah on the 23rd.

April birthdays will be: Bobby on the 22nd, Jill on the 18th and Emily on the 16th.

May birthdays will be: Charlotte on the 17th and Linda on the 22nd.

May all your birthdays be filled with good wishes and the love of family and friends!

Wie Immer, (As Usual)

Caroline

November 2005 Newsletter

Happy Thanksgiving To All of You!

Since my last newsletter in March of this year so much has happened in our lives. The past months spent in Washington have passed so swiftly, and now here I am back visiting Pete in sunny Arizona again.

Our lives are filled with happy moments and times of great sorrow.

My new great-grandson was born on November 10th at 11:57 pm. He was supposed to arrive during my one-week stay in Oregon, and we were hoping that he would be born on his father Michael’s birthday, the 7th, (also Sydney Charlene’s birthday!) however that didn’t happen. Nikki and John and new baby Andre are all healthy and doing fine. Please keep this young family in your prayers.

While still working in Washington in late October, Pete, who was already in Arizona for several months, informed me that his father, Bob, was ill. Just before I left for Oregon to be with my family for a week before traveling back to Arizona, Pete informed me that his Dad was diagnosed with an aggressive case of leukemia and had only weeks to live. Five days later, before I arrived, Bob died. We are all still in shock and deep in mourning here. Please keep Pete and his family in your prayers.

OTHER FAMILY NEWS:

Fran and Bob once again survived another tornado season in Vero Beach. Fran has been staying with Linda in Idaho for the past month or so to be with her daughter during her chemotherapy. Bobby, who had to go back to Florida to attend to business, will be returning to Idaho in December to bring both Linda and Fran back with him. Please keep Linda in your prayers for a quick and total recovery!

Grandson Stanley spent several months here at Pete's home in Arizona before driving back to Oregon with Pete in April to be with his father. He is now living in central Oregon near Stan.

Sister Mary visited us again in Washington for a week. It was a glorious week for us despite the fact that Pete and I were both busy working regular jobs and I had contractors working on the new home I purchased last year. Although we did not get to see my sister Charlotte at all and only saw my sister Helen for a few minutes when we met to bring Mary to her, Mary enjoyed visits with both of the and their families before traveling to Southern Oregon to be with Michael and family.

Dick, Margaret’s partner, is still recovering from his stroke. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Reconstruction and repairs are in progress at my ‘new’ 1905 Bay Center house. Work on the house and property is continuing and I now plan to move in next summer. Pete, of course, will be spending summers here too. At my contractor's recommendation, I finally decided to demolish all of the additions to the house - about 2,000 sq. feet of structure – and ended up with a 2,000 square foot home, to which contractors added on a two-car garage, mudroom, laundry room, additional upstairs bedroom and (possibly) a yoga room. We also had built a huge separate shop that Pete needed for his business. The last time I saw it in October, the shop was almost done and the house was sheeted and getting ready for the new roof.

I hope you all enjoyed the extensive Kapp family genealogy, which was sent to those family members who requested it. Since then, my research has been lagging and there is still so much to do. Perhaps I will find the time here in Arizona this winter.

BIRTHDAYS:

My last newsletter covered birthdays through April of this year.

In May, Linda Jean had her birthday on the 22nd and Charlotte had hers on the 17th.

June birthdays: Caitlin on the 15th, Cyrus on the 18th, Pete on the 23rd, and Chase on the 19th.

July Birthdays were Willie on the 1st, Stanley on the 10th, Stan and Jennifer on the 25th, and Margaret on the 22nd.

In August, Johnathon had a birthday on the 3rd.

September birthdays were Cody on September 2nd, Michael C on the 25th, and Matthew on the 18th.

There were six October birthdays: Mariah on the 16th, Dennis on the 17th, Ed on the 23rd, Lynise on the 29th, Scott on the 20th, and Charlotte Jewell on the 29th.

Happy belated birthdays to all of you!

This month, November, we are celebrating the birthdays of Michael and Sydney on the 7th, Steve on the 15th, and Christina on the 29th. We had a nice birthday party for Michael while I was in Oregon.

May your birthdays all be filled with the love of family and friends!

Namaste to Each of You,

Caroline

March 2005 Newsletter

Greetings to All,

Time is passing by swiftly, friends and relatives. The past four months have passed like the blink of an eye and soon, in a short two months, I will be on my way back to Washington again and Pete will be coming up for the summer too. Let us all learn to live more in the present and enjoy each moment of our precious lives!

Thank you family members for the new photos of nieces and nephews and other young (and older!) family members. You are all a joy to see. Sister Helen thoughtfully sent a beautiful photo holder for Christmas that now is filled with recent family photos for all our family and visitors to see.

Grandson Stanley may soon be flying into Phoenix to stay with us here in Arizona for a few weeks before we all head back to the Pacific Northwest. Alternate plans are for him to fly directly into Oregon. His Dad Stan, and Pete and I, visited with him in Las Vegas several months ago, and that visit was all we ever expected it to be. Like his dad, Stanley is a highly intelligent and sensitive human being and a joy to be with. We are thankful for his presence in our lives now, after all those years of absence. Hopefully when we once again back in Washington and Oregon, all the family members will share our joy when we gather together for a reunion celebration. We will be making plans for that event in late April and hope to have lodging available for everyone.

Sister Mary will be visiting with us here in Arizona at Pete's home for two weeks early next month. We are looking forward to that trip since it is the first time she has visited us in his new home. As most of you know, she has been having some problems with macular degeneration and is undergoing regular treatments for the ‘wet eye’ syndrome. Her son Dennis, his wife Jill, and grandson Matthew, have all been a blessing for her during these hard times. May they all be richly rewarded for their help and good works! Please, everyone, keep Mary in your prayers for full recovery of her eyesight.

I am happy to report that research into the Kapp family genealogy has produced a lengthy report for all of Ignatz’s descendants thanks to another genealogist who has done extensive research. Two lengthy histories of Ignatz Kapp’s ancestry going back to the 1620’s, and a shorter Kapp family descendant report, were sent to the family last month. I am so pleased that my research has turned up such an important part of the Kapp genealogy. If any Kapp relatives reading this would like a copy of these reports sent to them as an attachment to e-mail, please let me know. The information is too lengthy to print and send as it encompasses over 80 typewritten pages of family history.

OTHER FAMILY NEWS:

Fran and Bob thankfully survived the Fall tornado season in Vero Beach, Florida with minimal but expensive home damage. Close neighbors, Jean and Bob, were not as fortunate and suffered more extensive home damage. I didn’t get any report from Mary and Harold in Port St. Lucie, but evidently no one was injured.

In Oregon, Dawn reports that she had a beautiful Christmas visit with her daughter Caitlin back East where Caitlin is attending University. Dawn recently accepted a new and better job and is very happy with her new position.

Sister Helen and Ed in Oregon had an exciting Christmas with children and grandchildren from both California and North Carolina visiting them for the holidays.

Grandson Johnathon in central Oregon will be graduating from high school this June. Mariah will be sending out invitations to the event in April or May. Please let her know if you would like to attend. If you need her contact information please e-mail me.

Ryan and Tiffaney, who previously cancelled a prior date, are planning a June 2005 wedding in Idaho.

In case you didn't get last month's newsletter, we have a new addition to the family! Sydney Charlene was born on November 7, 2004 in Idaho. She has the same birthday as my son Michael, so that should be easy for everyone to remember!

Bill and Mathilde celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Arizona on January 15th, 2005. Congratulations and best wishes to both of you. I am sure you celebrated heartily!

Jennifer in Southern California and my daughter-in-law Mariah in Oregon are both licensed real estate saleswomen in offices now. May you both achieve much success in your new ventures!

My scheduled trip to New York with Cousin Margaret has been postponed to 2006 due to an unexpected death in the family of friends we were planning to stay with. The tragedy involved the death here in Arizona of their daughter who left behind a husband and young children.

Reconstruction and repairs have begun on my ‘new’ Bay Center house. Work on the house and acreage will continue throughout 2005 and I hope to move in late in the year, or next summer. My new summer address will be sent to each of you when that happy event occurs.

BIRTHDAYS:

Only one family birthday was celebrated in February on the 22nd of the month – Happy Birthday and may you have many more Ron!

March birthdays will include Ryan G. on the 29th, Ryan C. on the 4th, and Nyah on the 23rd. Happy birthday to each of you!

April’s birthdays will be Robert K.’s on April 22nd, Jill’s on the 18th, and Emily’s on the 16th. A very happy birthday to all of you!

My next newsletter will be from Washington! It will be so good to be back home again!

Namaste to Each of You, Caroline

August 2004 Newsletter

Greetings to Family and Friends,

Well into summer in Washington State I am reflecting on how much we all have to be thankful for. The weather here on the Peninsula has been at various times unseasonably warm, and then typically wet! Even though I am working at two jobs this year, Pete has decided to spend every summer here since his construction business is booming, we have found time to kayak, entertain his friends from Arizona and California, and continue our outdoor beautification projects. Many of my friends hired Pete to build fences, decks and arbors and he hopes to start a business in Arizona also. I work with Pete doing construction when I get off my regular jobs and am learning lots of new skills. He compensates me by working on my little projects.

And, after fourteen years and many, many prayers, I have finally made contact with my Grandson, Stanley Layton. We hope to be reunited this fall, perhaps in Arizona or in Stanley’s home state of Nevada. His presence in my life, after all of these years, has made me a very happy Grandma! He just graduated from High School and plans on continuing his education in the Veterinary Medicine field.

Sister Mary came for her annual visit again this year, but only for two days, so we didn’t have much time to visit. It took almost an entire day to pick her up at the Amtrak station in Longview, and another day to make the return trip. Next year I will have her spend part of her vacation with us at Pete's residence in Arizona instead. News from California via Mary is that Jan and Dennis are doing well, as are their children Jill and Matthew. Other news Mary shared about family; Moonkyung spent three weeks in Korea while Mary stayed with Michael to help watch over William. William is doing very well at softball and has even been written up in the local newspapers. Mary says that Caitlen is home from College for the summer and that Helen’s family from California and North Carolina will be coming to Oregon to celebrate Christmas with her this year.

In June I had the opportunity to be a part of a ceremony dedicating the new Lower Columbia Water Trail. Pete (yes, I taught Pete how to kayak!) and I were part of a group of kayakers that paddled from Cathlamet to Skamakowa as a part of the dedication. It was an exceptional experience! In September of this year I will be in the first Baker Bay Kayak and Canoe Race, which takes place on the Columbia River near the town of Ilwaco.

Pete’s brother and the lady he lives with, Yvonne, visited with us for three weeks in July. They spent a good deal of that time sightseeing all over our Washington and North Oregon coasts, but we celebrated an old-fashioned 4th of July here on the Peninsula, complete with fireworks, parade and campfire cookout.

Fran and Bob are spending the latter part of August in Kamiah again. I are hoping that I can spend some time with them at a point halfway between our home and Idaho. Last time Charlotte and I made the trip there. News is that the wedding of Tifaney and Ryan has been postponed.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit with Stan and Mike for four days in central Oregon. Stan and Wendy and Mike and I went out together for dinner and had a very enjoyable time. The snow-capped mountains, blue skies, sun and warmth made me remember why I love that area. It is a beautiful part of the world and I miss it. Mike and Stan still live on opposite sections of their 84 acres of property there.

Still hoping to get back to work on my genealogy research this winter in Arizona. Stanley Layton has expressed an interest in helping me update the website and continue researching his grandfather’s ancestry. Pete is leaving my home in Washington early in September - about two months after that I will be joining him in Arizona at his home.

Birthdays for August & September are: Grandson Johnathon on August 3, Grandson Cody on September 3, Ken on September 20, Michael C on September 25, and Matthew on September 18. Happy Birthday wishes to all of you!

My next newsletter will be from Arizona!

Namaste, Caroline

May 2004 Newsletter

Happy Spring! Happy Easter!

Here it is, mid-April, and Pete and I are once again getting ready to go back to our 'separate lives' when I go North again for the summer. Arizona started getting hot several weeks ago…in the 90’s…but then it cooled down to more comfortable 60-70 degree temperature. It rained quite a bit in the last month too, and the Sonoran Desert is now a panoply of color. Every cacti, shrub and tree is in bloom and the Superstition Mountains create a breathtaking backdrop of greenery to the abundant color here in Gold Canyon. What a beautiful place to be in the springtime! Pete will be joining me in Washington at some point, but will have to endure the Arizona heat until his busy schedule allows him a vacation.

Pete's new home here has provided us with new friends, adventure and recreation. It is good to be further away from the city than he was in Gilbert, and the wildlife abounds in Gold Canyon; Javalina, a wide variety of birds and hawks, coyotes, roadrunners, desert cottontails, bobcat, and numerous small reptiles. From our back yard we are witness to their daytime and nocturnal visits.

Next weekend is Easter and the traditional Easter lamb dinner will be held here in Gold Canyon with Pete's family. We are also celebrating Pete’s brothers’ birthday that day, and Pete will be performing in an Easter church service in Sun Lakes too, so it will be a busy but joyous day. I wish each and every one of you a very happy and blessed Easter celebrated with your families and friends.

I will be flying into Redmond on May 4 to reunite with my sons, Michael and Stan before retrieving my truck from storage and driving back to Washington. Pete will be driving here from Arizona also, meeting up with me in Redmond for one night before we each continue on to Washington. My position at the retreat has been guaranteed again this year, so I am looking forward to another season – my 4th – of kayak instruction and recreation management.

Birthdays for March were: Rob on March/27 and Ryan on March/29. April Birthdays were Robert on April 22, Jill on April 18 and Emily on April 16. May Birthdays are: Charlotte on May 17, and Linda Jean on May 22. My mother would have been ninety seven years old this May 20th! Birthdays for June: Caitlen on June 15, Cyrus on June 18, and Pete on June 23. Birthdays for July: Bill (Willie) on July 1, Stanley Layton on July 10, Stan Jr and Jennifer will both be celebrating on July 25, Margaret on July 22, and Dick on July 11. May each and every one of you enjoy a healthy and prosperous year!

As a reminder, if any family member has a genealogy or family website they would like me to link, send me the URL and a description of your site. There have been well over 3,000 visitors to this site since its inception in 1998, and the site continues to get favorable comments from genealogists and potential family members all over the world.

Love and Light,

Caroline

November 2003 Newsletter

Happy Thanksgiving to Friends and Family!

After what seemed like a very short time in Washington State, I am back at Pete's home in Arizona.

Pete left the peninsula in September, however I stayed to work at my seasonal job with Ocean Spray after my seasonal job at the retreat ended on September 15th. That job ended on November 2nd and I left for central Oregon the following day. I had a very enjoyable visit with Stan and Wendy and Mike before flying into Phoenix from Redmond.

Temperatures in Washington were getting down into the 30’s before I left, so it is nice to be in 60-70 degree weather again. The area Pete's home is in has winter temperatures that are comparable with SW Washington’s summer temperatures.

BIRTHDAYS for September and October were: Cody on September 2nd, Matthew on September 18th, Michael C on September 25th, Dennis on October 17th, Scott on October 20th, Ed on October 23rd and Lynise on October 29th. Happy belated birthday to all of you!

November and December birthdays are: Michael G on November 7th, Steven on November 15th, Christina on November 29th, William on December 3rd, Fran on December 10th, and Helen on December 27th. May you all continue to be blessed with loving families, good health and happiness!

Although he is no longer with us, December 23rd, two days before Christmas, would have been my father’s birthday.

I will be spending the holidays with Pete’s family, Thanksgiving at Pete's home, and Christmas at Pete’s brother Donald’s home. Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season with your friends and families too!

TIDBITS OF OTHER NEWS:

· Stan’s health is slowly improving. He found a specialist who has been able to gradually help him recover.

· Mary took a trip to Oregon and Washington this summer, staying with us and Helen and Charlotte as well as with Michael and family. We had a brief but enjoyable visit with Ed and Helen when we rendezvoused in Seaside during Mary’s visit. Mary went on to spend the following week with them and their family.

· Caitlen started college this fall. We wish her much success as she continues her education.

· Margaret and Dick are planning a visit with us for one week in January. We are looking forward to seeing them and also to visiting with Bill and Matilda during their stay too.

· William has become quite the football star! Congratulations William on your success. Way to go!

That’s it for the quarterly newsletter! I will be mailing out a special newsletter for Christmas

Love and Light, Caroline

June 2003 Newsletter

Hello Friends and Family!

Here it is, the end of June and I have already been back in the Pacific Northwest for almost two months. Pete is here with me once again.

Pete and I visited with my cousin Bill and his wife Matilda in Laughlin, Nevada on our trip back to my home and had a very enjoyable time with them. They are both well, looking great, and enjoying life in rural Arizona.

Work started for me at the Retreat two days after I arrived, so I have been busier than usual - working about 25 hours a week – twice as much as in Arizona. I am now managing all of the recreation and aquatics programs for the summer camps and enjoy it very much. We took our first group kayaking in the bay today – 10 students and teachers from a private Christian school. We couldn’t have asked for better paddling weather and were blessed with temperatures in the high seventies and lots of sun. I also volunteer to instruct aqua aerobics one day a week at the local swimming pool, instruct yoga one day a week at the activity center, and tend the herb garden at the retreat.

I just returned from three days on Vashon Island where I paddled in Puget Sound in between my NAA course, which certified me as an archery instructor.

Pete’s new construction business has been keeping him busy also, but neither of us is too busy to enjoy our many leisurely pursuits together. He is very grateful that the Pacific Northwest provides him with opportunities to expand his new business - Peterbuilt Construction. He plans on spending every summer here in order to work and get out of the heat of Arizona. The wood and fiberglass kayaks we built over the winter have seen, and will see many more, adventures this summer.

The big news this spring was that Rob, Stan’s half-brother made the news. Oregon State Governor Kulongowski honored him in a special ceremony last month for his design of a State recognized central Oregon Tartan. He had spent the last year or so on the project which culminated in a parade in his honor, a full page article and photos in the Bend Bulletin, state-wide recognition, and an Oregon State resolution crediting Rob for his contribution. There was also a special reception in his honor. I hope to include his photo and more information about the story in the Fall 2003 Newsletter. Congratulations Rob! You made it to the big time!

BIRTHDAYS FOR MAY, JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST: Charlotte’s birthday was on May 17, my late mother’s birthday was on May 20, and Linda Jean’s birthday fell on May 23. In June Caitlen celebrated a birthday on the 15th, Cyrus on the 18th, and Pete on the 23rd. July birthdays include Stanley Layton on the 10th, and Stan Jr. on the 25th. Johnathon will be celebrating his birthday on August 3rd. Happy Birthday to all of you! May you all continue to be blessed with loving families, good health and happiness!

TIDBITS OF OTHER NEWS: · Fran is recuperating from surgery. Although we have not spoken with her recently, she was recovering nicely as of last month.

· Mary is tentatively planning a trip to Oregon sometime this year, and we are hoping to have her visit us in Washington during her stay.

· Stan is recovering slowly from his illnesses. It has been a very hard year for him so far but his spirits are up. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

· Caitlen just graduated from high school and her family had a celebration in her honor. She will soon be off for college – one year early. · Mike is doing fine and seems happy to be living on the 84 acres of rural and scenic property.

· Ryan is now eleven years old and is well ahead of his classmates in school! ‘Way to go! Congratulations Ryan!

· On a visit with Stan and Mike last week, Pete and I camped out on my 84 acres on the Crooked River. Our purpose for the visit was to re-roof the rental house, but we were rained out, a very unexpected outcome for central Oregon! I had to hire someone to do the roof at a later time.

· Dick, Margaret’s husband, is recuperating from surgery. Keep him in your prayers.

· Dawn and family are enjoying their new home. She is now working as a principal at an alternative high school, and loves her work, her garden, and life in a small community near her mother.

That’s it for the quarterly newsletter! I will continue working on the updated website and will notify everyone when it is completed.

Love and Light, Caroline

March 2003 Newsletter

Happy Spring! Happy Easter!

It has been brought to my attention that I have been negligent in my duties. It has been over a year since my last newsletter entry on the Gayk/Seibert website. This was due to several factors: the loss of information on my windows program (Microsoft!) and what I had perceived as a lack of family interest in the website. To rekindle some interest in the site I will enhance it with more information this spring.

Last year we celebrated some happy times, including the birth of a new baby daughter to Ron and Shawn in North Carolina. They named her Charlotte Jewell.And Linda Jean in Idaho became a Grandmother (and Fran a first-time Great-Grandmother!) for the first time with the birth of Nyah to Ryan and Tiffany. Thank you Tiffany for keeping us all up to date with photos of your beautiful addition to the family.

My sister Mary celebrated her 80th birthday with us at Pete's home in Gilbert, Arizona this year. We had a birthday party celebrating three birthdays – Pete’s father’s birthday – he turned 82 on February 2nd, my 60th birthday, and Mary’s – a total of 222 years! Our celebration included traditional homemade German fare which I prepared – sauerbraten and gravy, potato dumplings, red cabbage and apples, Pete’s German potatoes, and a wonderful Schwartz Walden Kirsch Torte which Pete’s brother Donald, and Yvonne’s son Eric created. Celebrating Mary’s birthday on the following day, Cousin Bill (Willie) and his wife Matilda drove down to dine with us. It had been about 40 years since Mary had seen her first cousin. It was quite a happy occasion. I will try to get photos of us on the website when I update it with this newsletter.

And our family also mourned. In 2002 Steve and Sandra from Southern California tragically lost Brian, their infant son shortly after his birth. Cousin Margaret and Dick lost a family member also, with the passing of Dick’s father last spring. And Cousin Magdalena (Lenchi) in Illinois lost a son also. Mere words cannot express the sadness felt at these losses.

IN THE LIVES OF PETER AND CAROLINE: Last September Pete left Washington State to return to his home in Arizona by himself for symphony rehearsals. I stayed here in Washington to work for Ocean Spray as their Lead Berry Receiver for the cranberry season. This was a new experience for me, since I had to acquire my forklift operator certification and learn a trade that I was totally unfamiliar with. However, it proved to be a wonderful experience and I will be returning to this same job when my regular summer job at the Retreat ends next fall. In Arizona I have also found work as an aquatics instructor in a women’s spa. I only instruct during the hours I chose to, and it is nice to be able to ‘work’ at things I love to do.

Pete is now seasonally working for a local firm grading math examinations and he is trying to start his business here building garden gazebos. Also he is playing in the symphony. In our spare time we are each building our own kayaks, getting in lots of hiking in the southwest, traveling, and enjoying our leisure time together. It's nice to be able to share costs with a loved one and spend winters in warm climates and summer in warm climates too!

BIRTHDAYS FOR MARCH AND APRIL: Birthdays include Rob (Stan’s half-brother) on March 27, and two Ryan’s; Dawn’s son Ryan on March 29, and Linda Jean’s son Ryan on March 4. April birthdays to be celebrated are: Bob‘s birthday on April 22, Jill’s, on April 18, and Emily’s on April 16. Happy birthday to all!

IN OTHER NEWS: Dawn and her family moved from Southern California to Oregon, near Charlotte. Dawn is working as a principal in an elementary school there and Caitlin is attending college. In January I had the opportunity to spend a day hiking at Picacho Peak with my childhood friends Gisela and Julie. Although I see Gisela regularly, I had not seen Julie in about 50 years. In Sea Cliff, her family and ours were the best of friends, introduced to each other by Gisela and I. Together we recalled our childhoods, reminisced about other childhood friends and neighbors, and shared our adventures. Pete and I spent two weeks in Florida earlier this year, canoeing in The Everglades, Biscayne, and the Juniper Springs run in the Ocala National Wilderness. Canoeing by ourselves near Biscayne we saw our first American Crocodile in the wild! We also had the opportunity to visit with Fran and Bob on our way to Key Largo and had a wonderful two days together.

Please check out the website for other new genealogy information and photos. I will attempt to get these newsletters out quarterly for the remainder of this year.

Caroline

Fall 2001 Newsletter
(July, August, September)

Once again, greetings to family and friends!

What a wonderful summer we have had here on the coast of southwest Washington. My cottage makeover is complete with a new small gazebo including a tiny pond with goldfish, a new deck with skylights and a hot tub, and new cedar siding on the exterior of the house. I hired a contractor to do the exterior work and Pete suggested the gazebo so he could practice his wood working skills. Inside the gazebo are hanging begonias and various ferns, scented geraniums and sages, ivy, miniature roses, succulents, pond water lilies and iris, and annuals. Wisteria, crocosmia, hops and kiwi are planted around the gazebo along with crocosmia, and multi-colored rhododendrons. Various kinds of hydrangea, plum trees, daffodils, canna and cala lilies, Asian and ornamental lilies, ornamental grasses, sedges, carex, wildflowers, ajuga, iris, pampas grass, forsythia, bridal veil, gladiolas, geraniums, along with various herbs, are planted in different sections of the front gardens and in berms. Corsican mint is growing around the stone steps to the gazebo. Around the back deck Niagara grapes are spreading their tendrils around the railings, and red grapes are beginning to climb around the carport trellis. Camellias, roses, azalea, butterfly bushes, ferns, heather, annuals, and newly propagated rhododendrons thrive in the marine climate and protection of the ocean side of the house. Crocosmia and pampas grasses and newly propagated roses are growing on the south side, and camellias, hybrid tea roses, wisteria, and butterfly bushes are on the north side. It is hard to believe that last March there was not one flower or shrub other than sea grasses growing on this property. I accomplished quite a bit during this short time.

Last month I purchased the lot next door to me and in the spring when Pete returns from Arizona, I would like to have him help me build a greenhouse there. Other than cedar and pine trees and native ferns and shrubs, this area will remain natural and park-like.

I have been working most of the summer at a camp and retreat center in SW Washington as the aquatics manager. After becoming re-certified as a lifeguard and taking kayak classes I worked leading kayak tours on the bay, lifeguarding on the ocean beaches, and taking classes at retreats. There has not been a dull moment. Never having attended a summer camp in my childhood I have been most fortunate to spend the last five months at camp! It has been an unforgettable experience and I am happy to have been asked to return to work in the spring.

Most of my summer has been spent enjoying life and the beauty of this special wild place. A 12-14 mile hike to Leadbetter Point in the Willapa Wildlife Refuge was a highlight of my summer hiking. At the farthermost point of the peninsula Black bear and Roosevelt Elk tracks were etched in the ground of the Reserve and numerous Great Blue Herons, Caspian Terns and Brandt were on the shoreline near the closed Snowy Plover areas. I plan to take a kayak trip from Nahcotta to the north part of the preserve before leaving for Arizona, if I go there this year.

Peter’s parents stayed for a part of the summer with us in our mild 68 degree temperatures but Pete and his parents will be returning to Arizona tomorrow. After avoiding the hot Arizona temperatures for three months they will soon be in 106 degree weather. Not something I would look forward to!

My sister Mary reports that she had a wonderful August vacation visiting with her son Michael and sisters Charlotte and Helen in Oregon, and with me in SW Washington and in Ashland. She arrived safely home this afternoon.

Just a reminder that my genealogy album is complete now and I would be happy to share it with any of you via digital camera and e-mail attachments. My genealogy progress is almost at a standstill now and will soon be put on hold until next spring. The only thing I have to report is a recent contact from a Michael Gayk in Rochester New York. ( the name of my great grandfather on my father’s side) I will be doing some research on information he sent which may lead to another family tie. Genealogy is much like detective work!

Birthdays: June birthdays included Caitlen, Cyrus, and Peter. July birthdays celebrated were: Stanley Layton, who turned 15 years old, and Stan Jr. In August my grandson Johnathon celebrated his 14th birthday. Happy belated birthday to all!

This month my grandson Cody has a birthday as does Mary’s son Michael and her grandson Matthew. In October Tim has a birthday, as does Mariah, Dennis, Ed, my granddaughter Lynise, and Scott, Linda Jean’s son. Happy birthday to all!

If anyone wants to reach me during the next month or so I will be in Scottsdale staying with Pete at his parents apartment and can be reached via my genealogy address carolinegayk@hotmail.com or at carolineharding@hotmail.com, which is my permanent traveling e-mail address! Until Christmas or early in 2001, blessings to all of you!

Caroline

Early Summer 2001 Newsletter
(May, June)

Greetings to family and friends!

What a wonderful spring we have had here on the coast of Washington State! The weather has been very cooperative with my gardening and landscaping plans, and my cottage here on the beach has become a place of real enjoyment. I am planning to make a trip to Arizona in June to visit a friend, and probably again in the fall/winter to celebrate the holiday season.

I have been taking classes related to the history of the Ottoman and Austria–Hungary Empires and I also manage to work a few hours each week on our genealogy. I now have a family history center a few miles from me, and after mid-term exams, I hope to spend some time at the center researching records.

Sister Charlotte recently made a trip to see her California family and is home once more. She reports that her family is doing well, and that she took her grandchildren to Disneyland while she was there. Sister Helen also made a trip south to see her family around Easter time.

Grandson John spent a few days here in Washington during his Spring Break. I took many digital photos during the visit. We took advantage of the wonderful weather here to do some hiking on the bay and beach, kayaking and biking, then traveled to Lincoln City to visit Grandma Marilyn. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory on our way to Lincoln City and had a wonderful weekend there.

My genealogy album is complete now and I would be happy to share it with any of you via digital camera and e-mail attachments.

I have been trying all month to access the new Ellis Island archives without success, but this week I have been able to do some extensive searches. Finally, I have found the manifest for the ship, on which my mother and her siblings, parents, and her betrothed Ignatz Kapp arrived! They sailed from Le Havre France on the La Lorraine and arrived in New York City on January 3, 1921. Listed as relatives were cousins of Mathias’ with the name of “Stein”. From the manifest it also appears that this same person was Ignatz’ Uncle. Another area to research! As for the Gayk branch, the only Gayk’s I have been able to find a record for are Wilhelm, Charlotte’s half-brother, and his wife Dorothea, who arrived in 1914. There is nothing like a little success to make one search harder!

The ship manifest lists everyone on board and the place of origin for each passenger, so it is easy to see all of our relatives who traveled together…the Kapps, Seiberts, Stefans, and Webers.

The Ellis Island website is a difficult site to access, and because of the volume that is processed and the number of people attempting to access the site, it becomes frustrating at times. I hope that I will be able to access information that is more recent as it made available.

Birthdays: May Birthdays include my mother, Helena Seibert, was born on May 20. Born in 1907 she would have been 94 years old this year. She is always with me in my memories. Charlotte’s birthday is on May 17…Happy Birthday Charlotte! Linda Jean is celebrating her birthday on the 22nd of this month. Linda is also recovering from a surgery she had last week. Please keep her in your prayers. Get well soon and happy birthday Linda! In June, Charlotte’s granddaughter Caitlen, and my step-grandchild Cyrus both have birthdays – I wish you both a very happy birthday and many happy returns.

Until later this summer, or until I have more news to report,

Caroline

Spring 2001 Newsletter
(March, April, May)

Spring Greetings to Family and Friends!

I hope you enjoy the new addition to this Newsletter Archive - weather conditions here on the coast of Washington! Just click on it for lots of information on our maritime weather here.

The long winter months are almost over, and spring has arrived on the Washington coast! Busy with remodeling and landscaping, I’ve also started my vegetable and herb gardens in raised cold frame beds outdoors. The maritime weather is teasing me to begin my planting early. It may be a mistake.

Not much family news to report in this newsletter. No recent news from relatives in southern California – what’s happening down there?

Sister Charlotte has been doing some major remodeling of her home and is planning a trip to see her family for Easter. Sister Helen will be making a trip to see her family in April also. Charlotte recently had some family members up for a visit and is expecting her daughter Dawn to spend some time with her after Easter. For those of you who have asked about my son Michael, I have recently heard from him and he is doing fine in Texas. I am planning to have my grandson John here on the coast for spring break next week. It will be a week of beach-walking, kayaking, birding,and hiking.

My genealogy album is complete now and I would be happy to share it with any of you via digital camera and e-mail attachments. Please let me know if you want to view it in this manner. An alternate way would be for me to place photos of the album on the Internet – specifically Snapfish - for all to see. That option would not take up valuable space on personal computers. Technology is wonderful! Just a few years ago I would have had to make copies of all of the photos and make individual albums for everyone.

March birthdays include Stan Sr.’s son Rob. Happy Birthday Rob! Ryan in southern California, and Ryan in Idaho, both have birthdays in March– I wish you both the best! In April, Robert in Florida, and Jill and Emily in California, all have birthdays – I wish you all many happy returns.

Until the next newsletter!

Caroline

Winter 2000-2001 Newsletter
(December, January, February)

Wishing all Friends and Family happy holidays and cheer! With the extra time I have had on my hands since I am no longer working, I have been doing some traveling – mainly to the southwest, Florida again, and Mexico – and had the opportunity to visit a first cousin in Arizona. This newsletter will let everyone know how my search for relatives in the Gayk and Seibert families is progressing, and of my recent contacts with relatives. I have moved from the state of Oregon to Washington State where I have had a cottage since 1982 – and will now have more time to devote to the family genealogy research. Please e-mail me if you would like my snail-mail address and phone number.

I received a very nice Christmas card from Corpus Christi with photos of my granddaughter Lynise Joy. At three years old, she is talking a lot, is potty trained, and is now sleeping in a big bed! Mariah sent photos of my grandsons John, Cody and Cyrus from central Oregon. They are all growing like weeds and doing well in school. My sister Mary in southern California is well and recently returned from a trip to Toronto, Canada. She is 78 years old now! From our family in Chicago, I received a nice Christmas photo of “Oma” Magdalena, Lenchi, Steve, Susi and Erich. First cousin Margaret in California sent a beautiful photo of her and her daughter Jennifer. Linda and her boys from Idaho report that they are all doing well. We are in touch frequently. In Oregon, sister Helen and her husband Ed are both still working full time. They just planted 11 new fruit trees on their property in Oregon. From our Florida relatives, Fran, Robert, Jean and Bob, it is reported that everyone there is fine. Sister Charlotte in Oregon is remodeling her home and had her family from California up for the holidays. Also, nephew Michael and his family from southern Oregon visited there during Christmas holidays. That family is also doing well there and William, my Godchild, just turned 6 years old.

While in Arizona visiting my friend Pete during December and January I visited with Mathilda and my first cousin Bill. I had not seen Bill since I was about 10 years old. When my father died in Indiana Pennsylvania it was his father, my Uncle Martin, who came to pick us all up and take us back home to Sea Cliff. Bill was in the service during this time, and we moved to California several years later, so we had not seen each other in many years. His accent in still there – very strong - and he looks like his father. I could also see the Seibert family resemblance to my Mother, sister Mary, sister Charlotte, and brother John. We had a very nice visit with them in their home and had lunch where Mathilda works. We had hoped to get together for a second visit in Sedona Arizona where Pete and I were staying for the week, but a snowstorm prevented us from traveling. We plan on keeping in better communication in the future.

If anyone in the family would like me to e-mail photos or address of distant relations, let me know. I will have photos online at Snapfish by the time the Spring 2001 newsletter is out.

Happy birthday to all of you who celebrated a birthday in December: William, Fran, and Helen. And happy birthday to the those who celebrate a birthday in January---Dawn, Mary, and Tammy. Ron has a birthday in February and I wish him a very special day also!

Until the next newsletter!

Caroline

Spring 2000 Newsletter
(March/April/May)

Greetings Friends and Family! This newsletter will serve to bring everyone up to date on what has been going on in my search for relatives in the Gayk and Seibert families. I’m working full time again at a regular job, but took a one-month vacation to visit Florida relations in January and February, so my research has not been as perseverant as previously. I’ll probably work through May of this year, and then be able to have more time to devote to the family genealogy research.

As many of you are aware of, some of our Seibert relatives are living in Illinois. I have photos of my mother’s first cousin and her family there if any family members would like me to scan and send them. I have located second, third and fourth cousins living in the Eastern states and can now trace Seibert family history back to 1837 in Gakova, as far back as the Catholic church has recorded births, deaths, and marriages of Seibert relatives there. My great-grandfather, Grandfather Matthias Seibert’s father, was also named Matthias. He was born in 1837 in Gakova and married Theresia Sehn my great grandmother.

Also, I have strong reason to believe that I have located living relatives of my grandmother Charlotte Gayk in the Eastern United States. There was a family feud between Charlotte Gayk and other Gayk relatives many years ago. Whatever the cause for the fighting and breaking of family ties, the reasons are strong enough in the mind of the now elderly relative, to keep him from talking about it or acknowledging that he is related to Charlotte Gayk. Anyone have any clues as to what happened? I was too young to remember, but I do remember that Charlotte was feuding with other relatives from Germany. I’ve sent for some death records and hope to find a link there. I have family photos of this branch of the Gayk family. If anyone else has unidentifiable family Gayk photos and would like to compare them, I would be happy to scan these and send them via e-mail. Any help is always appreciated!

March, April and May “Gayk” & “Seibert” birthdays: Robert Kapp, Jill Marie Crowley, Emily Bonsall, Charlotte Archer. Magdelene (who is 93 years old this year – same age as my mother would have been) and Linda Conant. Happy birthday to all!

Until the next newsletter!

Caroline

Winter 2000 Newsletter
(December-January-February)

Greetings Friends and Family! This newsletter will serve to bring everyone up to date on what has been happening in my search for relatives in the Gayk and Seibert families.

Also, I have a new physical address, so be sure to give me a call or e-mail me for an update.

Just a reminder - Be sure to note the "Website Navigation" at the top of this page and you may click on the highlighted links throughout this site for more detailed information. I have received many requests for information from people who are researching their family names. I have already done a lot of research and have made a good part of it available on this site, but NOT on the first page.

For instance, there are several pages devoted to the Gayk family history, Seibert family history, the Donauschwaben people, and the Donauschwaben Crest. There is also an archive of the past years newsletters, some of which have a lot of detail about our heritage. So be sure to check out the entire site. I always welcome your comments and questions and please sign the guest book before you leave!

I recently added twelve more relatives to the descendant charts for Seibert; also, two new family names - Erg and Rath. My mother's second cousin sent me a letter several weeks ago saying that my first cousin once-removed (my mother's first cousin) remembers distinctly when, as a child, my mother was severely burned by hot fat in a kettle on their farm in Gakowa. Her memory, although she is 92 years old, is clear. She stood next to my mother when her brother (Uncle Martin) pushed her into the hot fat. She says Martin got a big spanking and was not liked by the family much after the accident!

We are fortunate to have living relatives that remember these events. Looking at photos of the Gayk family, my cousin said that I looked like Helen Seibert did as a little girl in Gakowa. How precious and wonderful to be in touch with this family again!

Please remember our extended family members in your prayers in the upcoming months, as I have been informed that some are experiencing health problems. If any relatives would like the addresses of family members, or other information, please e-mail or write to me and I will get you the information you need, as I can not post it on this site for obvious reasons. It would be especially nice for all of us to remember our extended family during the upcoming holidays. I have photos of some of them and would be happy to share them with you also!

On the Gayk side of the family it looks like there may be a connection between the Gayks of Pennsylvania, California, and Michigan. The California and Michigan families are looking for more information on the Pennsylvania branch of the Gayk family---Charlotte Gayk's brother's family. As yet, although I have sent photographs, we have not made a definite family connection. The living son of William (Wilhelm ?) remembers that there were angry feelings between a "Charlotte" and his father, and that his father, William, came from Essen in Germany where our branch of the Gayk's emigrated from. Even though it seems likely we are related, I will need more data to make a positive connection.

Cousin Margaret has helped me a lot with Seibert family names and addresses of living relatives. Many thanks! You will all be getting a Christmas card from me with this website address on it! Hopefully, during the long upcoming winter months, I will be able to get my database current.

Happy November birthday to Stephanie, my son Michael, Steve and Christina!

Happy December birthday to my Godson William, sister-in-law Francis, and my sister Helen. December 23 of this year would have been my father Dagobert's 92nd birthday.

And, a happy January 2000 birthday to Dawn, my sister Mary, and Tammy!

Bis nachster Monat!

Caroline

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

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Fall 1999 Newsletter
(September/October/November)

---Greetings from Oregon, U.S.A.! This newsletter will continue with the second half of a laypersons general history of the Germans in the Vojvodina. The faint-hearted may choose to skip this newsletter as it contains little-publicized information about Gakowa - Tito's concentration camp in the Batschka.

The previous newsletter ended the historical account in 1920 at the end of World War I when the Treaty of Trianon officially broke Banat up into parts of Romania, Yugoslavia and Hungary. My historical information comes from excerpts of Bela Pomogats' book "A Short History of Hungarians and Serbs - Past and Present." My information about Gakowa comes mainly from the autobiography of Katherine Flotz.

Large numbers of South Slavs - Serbs, Macedonians, and Montenegrins - were settled in the Vojvodina in the inter- war period. The end of the Second World War saw a huge influx again, and the population grew to over 2 million. The Serbs quadrupled in number while the number of Hungarians fell to nearly half of the 1910 figure. At the end of the Second World War, when the Wehrmacht withdrew from Yugoslav territories, almost all the Vojvodina Germans fled with the retreating troops. Those remaining behind were largely massacred by Tito's Partisans.

Some members of the Seibert and Bergman families, and Katherine Flotz and her family (see the Katherine Flotz homepage listing in the links section) were among those Germans who remained in Gakowa after Tito's forces arrived. After the end of the war Tito and his supporters, after massacring not only Germans and Hungarians, but also Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Bosnians, simply turned over a new leaf and forbade any public mention of the blood-stained past. The Germans were practically wiped off the map of the Vojvodina. No mention was made of the tens of thousands of Serbs in the Krajina either, whom Ante Pavelic's Ustasha had massacred.

For those who have an interest in the ethnic cleansing during this period, "Barefoot In The Rubble" by Elizabeth B. Walter, Pannonia Press, is a story of those Donauschwaben who stayed on in Yugoslavia. It is the true story of "surviving the detention camps, the hunger, the forced labor, the destruction of villages, and the attempt by a brutal Communist regime to erase all ethnic Germans as a people, to scatter them to the winds.")

Gakowa was a small farming town on the Hungarian border. On a current map the area can be located in Yugoslavia or Serbia, just Northwest of Sombor, but the town exists no more. Prior to World War II, life in Gakowa was filled with tradition and custom. The Seiberts were Roman Catholic and feast days such as Corpus Christi, Epiphany, and also elaborate weddings and feasts held to honor the Saints and Mary, were traditionally celebrated. According to second-hand accounts the town of Gakowa is in ruins at this time but up to about 5 or so years ago the local cemetery still contained the headstones of Seibert ancestors.

My mother, when reminiscing of her childhood, spoke about the farm once owned by her family and the prosperity they enjoyed. She told us of her religious family life there and taught us how to cook the traditional German and Hungarian food she was accustomed to eating as a child in Gakowa. She also told of a lake near her home in Gakowa, between the Tisa and the Danube Rivers. According to Magdelene (Lenchi) Erg, my mother's second cousin, this was a small man-made lake near Gakowa. It was formerly a sand and gravel pit and all of the children of Gakowa went there to swim. Life was filled with hard work and rich rewards.

Circa 1918, one branch of the Seibert family emigrated to America; Gertrude Bergman, Matthias Seibert his wife Katherine Bergman, and their children Helen, (my Mother) Katherine, Thomas and Martin. Later, Gertrude was to marry Martin and raise a family in New York. Other relatives, including the family of Magdelena Seibert, my Mother's first cousin, and Barbara Seibert, who married a son of Stefan Seibert, Matthias' brother, remained in Gakowa. Prior to 1944, the town was prosperous and harmonious.

In 1944 the Russians along with some of Tito's Partisans arrived in Gakowa and the town soon became one of the most inhumane yet unpublicized concentration camps in the history of Southern Europe. In December of the same year, all men and women from the ages of 17 to 35 were transported to Russian labor camps, leaving the children and elderly at the mercy of the Partisans in the newly formed concentration camp in Gakowa. In the early months of 1945 Donauschwaben from the Batschka and Banat were driven out of their homes into Gakowa like herds of animals with only the belongings they could carry on their backs. The once-peaceful town of 2,500 inhabitants soon grew to 20,000 or more.

As the town became filled with more and more people, Typhoid Fever struck and soon the corpses outnumbered the available gravesites and burial was done in mass graves, about a half a block long, six feet deep and six feet wide. Every morning corpses were wrapped in sheets and laid in the yard until a horse-drawn wagon came around to make its collections. During this time 75-100 people died each day. Eventually the cemetery could not hold any more so it was enlarged. Soon afterward, filled to capacity, the cemetery was closed. Church services were not allowed and religious life was discouraged although some services were held in private. Suicides abounded with women attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the 25' wells. Rats and mice were prevalent and malaria soon swept through the area. There were no doctors for the Donauschwaben and no medicines were available.

In August 1947, a group of approximately 100 people, including Katherine Flotz and her family, gathered to make their successful escape into Hungary. There, thousands of other refugees were also attempting to travel into Austria and Germany. Some of the previously detained Donauschwaben, including Barbara Seibert who had been sent to a Russian prison camp, were eventually allowed to go back home, but "home" was not there anymore. The Seiberts who did survive found refuge in the United States, Germany, Austria, and other countries. The Donnauschauben would never return to the Vojvodina. Tito's liquidation was complete, however the ethnic cleansing continues today.

This ends the historical portion about the Vojvodina. If you would like to read more about the history of the Batschka and Banat please e-mail me and I will be glad to forward internet sites and other recommended reading material. Also, if you have a topic you would like me to publish on this site send it to may attention.

Until the next newsletter!

Caroline

Summer 1999 Newsletter
(June/July/August)

For this summer newsletter, I thought I would provide some general information on the history of the Germans in the Batschka and Banat.

The Banat is a region in southeastern Europe, which includes the Batschka region where our Seibert ancestors lived, and extends over an area that is present day western Romania, northeastern Serbia, and southern Hungary. It is approximately 100 miles by 100 miles. The name "Banat" is derived from the word "ban", the local name for a provincial governor.

The Banat is bordered by the Danube River on the South, the Marosch River on the North, the Thiesse River on the West, and by the Carpathian foothills on the East.

Because the Banat was a vast plain, and because it was bordered by the Danube River, the primary river of central Europe, the Banat has had the misfortune of being a primary route of transportation, and as a result, has been historically a cultural crossroads. From it's complex history, we find that even before the region was known as Banat, this plain was known as a place of long-vanished people.

The earliest unrecorded history is imagined to be a wave of nomadic tribes first settling and then being pushed off the plain by other nomadic tribes that were either greater in number or stronger in battle. The Romans used Banat as a staging area to launch attacks against the Dacian Empire. The Romans were forced to leave by an influx of Germanic tribes, who themselves were never able to establish permanent residence.

In 100 AD, the Hungarian King Saint Stephen established dominion over Banat making it a part of the Hungarian monarchy; however, after approximately two hundred years of relative peace in the area, Banat was invaded by Ghengis Kahn and the towns and villages were destroyed. The region barely had time to recover before it came under the threat of the expanding Ottoman Empire.

The rest of Europe thought of Banat as a defensive wall of Christianity against the warring Turks, however, in 1526 it fell to the Turks in the battle of Mohacs and remained under Turkish control until freed by Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1718. The rebuilding of the land was then entrusted to the Imperial General Count Claudius Foorimund Mercy.

Mercy executed a plan developed by Prince Eugene to transport German Catholics into the invasion corridors and establish Banat as a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Between 1722 and 1726, 15,000 settlers were transplanted into 46 German villages. Those people who chose to migrate to Banat did so because of the extreme taxes imposed by Germany to support the frivolities of the nobility. Also, the benefits of the move were exaggerated to the people. But by far the strongest incentive to migrate was the promise of a free homestead, free passage, and three years free of taxes and assessments.

It was during this time frame, probably early in the 1700's according to family oral history, that the Seiberts migrated from Alsace Lorraine in Germany to Gakova in the Batschka region of Banat. During the next decade the Germans in the Banat established a thriving civilization; however, in 1738 the Turks returned to the area, setting off yet another siege of terror. The non-German populations joined the Turks in pillaging the German towns along the Danube during a period of time when the settlers were already experiencing an epidemic of the plague that reaped additional devastation upon the settlers. Following this destruction, it took another decade to reestablish security and initiate another German migration.

In a new colonization decree, Maria Theresa also invited commissioned and non-commissioned soldiers to settle in Banat. The Theresian settlement proved successful for the next 125 years. During that time the Germans drained swamps, worked the land in the fertile regions, and built villages. They succeeded in establishing many farming communities, while suffering through major epidemics of swamp fever and cholera in the process. In Gakova, where the Seiberts worked the land, they eventually became wealthy farmers, owning threshing machines that were used to thresh wheat on farms throughout the region. In 1788 the Turks returned once again and destroyed over 100 villages.

In 1777, the total population of the area was 320,000, of which only 43,000 were Germans. There were approximately double that amount of Serbians, and the majority of 181,000 were Romanians. During this entire time period, the Austro-Hungarian Empire held things together in the Banat, but during the next 40 years the Empire began to turn more governing responsibility over to local kingdoms.

In the case of the Batschka, this meant Hungarian rule, and an increasing influence from, and friction with, the Hungarian Kingdom. The Hungarians instituted a Magyarization attempt, which tried to replace German city and region names with Hungarian names. The Hungarians also tried to suppress the use of the German language in the Hungarian Banat including the Batschka region and replace it with Hungarian. The Germans struggled against Magyarization and even petitioned the Empire to have their own German Count assigned and to be placed under the direct protection of the Empire. For the German people to make this request was unusual and extreme, because the Germans had a tendency to avoid politics and focused primarily on village life and the day to day business of farming.

In 1920, at the end of World War I, the Treaty of Trianon officially broke Banat up into parts of Romania, Yugoslavia and Hungary.

For the Fall 1999 Newsletter, I will discuss the Banat and Batschka 1818 to present.

---Caroline

May, 1999 Newsletter

Guten Tag Meine Freunde und Familie,

In mid April, during the first part of my three week vacation, my sister Mary and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Los Angeles. After getting lost in the Los Angeles freeway system and going miles out of our way, we found the church on Woodlawn, between Main and 37th Street, located in a Hispanic/German area close to downtown Los Angeles. Mass is held in English, Spanish, German and Hungarian, however we decided to go to the German Mass. We met several Danube Swabians there who freely shared their family histories with us, as we did with them. I felt very "at home" among these people and was strongly reminded of my youth, before my father died, and of growing up in New York in the German culture which we experienced as children.

Following the Catholic Mass we stayed for a genuine Hungarian meal with the Swabians and I took photos of the church and the paintings inside. I also talked with the Priest about the efforts of the Catholic Church in bringing the Swabians to America, and also the owner of the Swabian German newspaper in Los Angeles. I would recommend this rewarding experience to anyone who is seeking to connect with their Swabian heritage! There will be a gathering of Danube Swabians in August, in Anaheim, which I am looking forward to attending.

While I was in California, I also taped my sister Mary's early family memories and will begin to transcribe that information for my databanks. She revealed a rich memory of her childhood and experiences in New York. Together we visited my cousin Margaret and her daughter Jennifer whom I had not seen in many years. We shared many wonderful family memories of New York and of our youth. I taped their comments and remembrances of life on Long Island and their early family memories and reminiscences. I also made copies of an excellent photo of Matthias Seibert and of my cousins and aunts and uncles for my genealogy albums. We had a great visit with them, and find myself fortunate to have a such a loving, caring extended family!

Baby "Emily Helen" was born to my nephew Steven the day I arrived in Southern California. She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl who is named after her grandmother, my sister, Helen. Mary and I were fortunate to be able to see her when she was just a few hours old. Her grandfather, Tim, flew into California from the East coast in time to be in attendance at the birth of his first grandchild. Congratulations to both Helen and Tim and to Steve and Sandra!

While visiting in Florida; between hiking, birding, swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and in Fran's pool, basking in the sun, shopping, meeting new friends and visiting old friends; I recorded the early memories of Francis, her son Robert, and Mary, and got the complete story on tape of how my brother John met and married Francis. This will be a treasured part of my research! We also got to visit relatives on Francis' side of the family and had wonderful "family" times together, including a great Lasagna dinner.

One of the highlights of the trip was our trip to Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. It's a great place for birding, viewing Manatees and Dolphins, and learning about the wildlife in the area and the efforts of the not-for-profit institute established by Seward Johnson, of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company.

On my return trip, I spent several days in So. California again, this time visiting with my son Michael's Aunt Josie whom I had not seen in over 40 years! I couldn't believe that she still looks the same as she did 40 years ago. I was able to get copies of family photographs of Michael's father, and newspaper clippings, and an audio tape of Josie telling of their family history. The family still lives in the home of Michael's grandparents, Edward and Anita, where I visited often when I was married to Michael's father. I also visited the Ash Garden where Michael's father's ashes were placed in the Sierra Madre Cemetery. Memories abounded during my visit!

Next month I will begin a two-part history of the Swabians in my newsletter, while I work on updating the data banks. For any of you who are concerned about confidentiality on the internet, I will never post any addresses, birthdates of living relatives, or confidential information. Be sure to sign the guestbook before leaving this site!

Bis folgenden Monat!

Caroline

April, 1999 Newsletter

Hallo meine Freunde und Familie und fröhliche Ostern!

Yes, a very Happy Easter to you all! I spent many hours trying to sort out the Seibert and Gayk histories last month. A lot of what I have found can now be read on this website. As you can see by going to the links on each of the cities listed on the main page, maps have been added. Also, the Gayk and Seibert families histories have been separated, and additional information about origins has been added. It seems that the Gayks originally came from Freesia, then to East Prussia, and Borbeck - Essen. The Seibert's came from Alsace Lorraine, and probably migrated through Ulm, to Gakova.

By clicking on our Danube Swabian Coat of Arms, you can read information about the Swabians, and what the insignia stands for.

I spoke again to my second cousin in Illinois about the family and updated my genealogy data banks with information that she provided. She and her mother and family escaped Gakova only 10 days before the Russian occupation. Other distant family members were not so fortunate, and at least one relative was sent to a Siberian prison camp. When she was released some years later, she went to Germany where she was treated by doctors there, however; she never fully recovered. I understand that, not many years ago, my mother's uncle Stefan's grave, bearing a black marble headstone, remained intact in the cemetery in Gakova, however I have not located anyone who has been to the city in the recent past. From what I understand the town is in ruins.

For those of you who live in Southern California, you may want to consider a visit St. Stephen's Catholic Church, which is literally and emotionally the central gathering place of Danube Swabians in Southern California. In the late 1940's and early 1950's, Father Lani, a Roman Catholic priest and great humanitarian, succeeded in bringing many Danube Swabians from the refugee camps in Austria and Germany to Southern California. St. Stephens Church became a haven of shelter, security and fellowship. Within it's walls sprang the new aspirations of a proud people far from home. Currently, there are active Danube Swabian organizations all over the world, sharing common bonds of origin, history and faith. Their goal is to encourage future generations to honor and treasure the heritage of their ancestors, who faced hardship, suffering and loss with individual and collective strength.

As a first generation American, I am gratified to say that the Danube Swabian heritage is a heritage to be proud of!

I hope that, by next month, I will have the descendant charts of Carl Realich and Matthias Seibert on this website. Although these charts will include some living family member names and birth dates, no other information about living relatives will be posted on this site.

Bis folgenden Monat!

Caroline

(If you need to translate the German on this page to English, go to Alta Vista Translations. It's a very handy tool!

March 1999 Newsletter

Guten Tag, Und wie geht es Ihnen?

It has been a busy month for me. I have found the addresses of a Seibert family and a Fiorentino family in New York. They are my cousins. Although I have not had the time to make contact yet, any family member who would like to can please e-mail me and I will get you the address information

I have spent most of the past month doing research on Austria-Hungary, Austria, Serbia and the Vojvodina, especially the Batschka and Banat.

I have not been able to find out where the Seibert family emigrated from when they settled in the Batschka. I believe that they came from Germany, traveling South on the Danube to farm the fertile valleys between the Danube and the Tisa Tisa Rivers in the area known as the "Batschka." I have made contact with some Hungarian and Serbian web sites, and have seen photographs of the beautiful Danube hills and valleys, the wheat fields, the architecture, and the simple peasant lives of the Serbians who now occupy that region. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could leave a homeland so bountiful. But the Swabians were forced out of the region during the ethnic cleansing of the 1930's and 1940's. Tens of thousands of Hungarians fled the Vojvodina to escape massacre and have never returned to their homeland. The Seibert family, at least those who came to the United States in the 1920's, were fortunate. Had they waited just a few short years longer, they would have been a part of the bloodbath. I don't know if there are any family left in the Vojvodina. I pray that they have all relocated to more humanitarian countries.

When you turn on your television sets and hear of the atrocities being committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, remember that our homeland lies just a few hours to the North, near the Hungarian border. The ethnic cleansing experienced by the Swabians in the 30's and 40's is still going on in Serbia. For the most part, this is a silent and bloodless cleansing that is taking place in the Hungarian populated parts of the Vojvodina. The number of native Hungarians has diminished by almost a hundred thousand, due to intimidation, and the restrictions the Belgrade language law imposed on the use of their native language. They have moved to Hungary, or dispersed all over the world. There are still over three hundred thousand Hungarians living in the Vojvodina; but due to the massive settlements of non-Hungarians, many of them arriving from Bosnia and Herzegovina, they may find themselves dispersed and diminished to an insignificant minority.

I am sorry to end on a sad note. Please check back in the beginning of April.

Tschüs! Be sure to sign my guest book before you leave this site!

Caroline

February, 1999 Newsletter

Guten Tag Friends and Family, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, the month of January proved to be very rewarding for me in my research. I re-located family members in California and Arizona whom I had not seen in many years, and new details about the families and descendants of the Seibert family is now being entered into my databanks. It was wonderful hearing from all of you who had family history to share. I was grieved to find out that my Aunt Gertie, whom I had not seen in some years, had passed on in 1996, and was flown back to New York to be buried in St. Charles Cemetery beside her husband, my Uncle Martin.

Some of our family are still residing in New York, and with the new information I now have, I should be able to make contact with them also.

The best news of all I have saved for last. I have located my Mother Helen's first cousin and her family in Illinois. She is 92 years old, and doesn't speak English. I have forwarded my name and address to the family there, and expect to soon hear more about the history of the Seiberts in Gakovo, Austria Hungary. Friends of Ignatz Kapp and his parents who lived in Backi Brestovac, Yugoslavia have also been located, and they remember the Kapp family well. They even remember my brother John from his visit to Austria Hungary when he was just 5 years old.

My database on living descendants, especially marriage dates and birth dates of spouses, is still sketchy. Also, few family members have turned in any biographies of their deceased family members. I am writing biographies on relatives as best as I can, but would appreciate additional information on all living and deceased family members. Remember, the information I am compiling is for future generations, so our descendants won't have to go through this process a second time to find their roots. One of the saddest things that I am experiencing, is that we often fail to listen to our older family members when they speak of their past, or make note of important information while they are living, and once they are gone, the information, the stories, the history, is lost---sometimes forever.

In case you have not yet checked out the links on this page, please check out Katherine Flotz' Homepage. Her story, written when she was a teenager about life in Gakovo during the war, will put you in touch with your Gakovian roots!

Auf Wiedersehen! Be sure to sign my guest book before you leave this site!

Caroline

January, 1999 Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends;

Well, Christmas is over, and it has certainly been a wonderful Christmas season!

My son Stan and I spent a wonderful traditional Christmas day with friends in Crooked River Ranch. Our weather here has warmed up a bit for the holidays, up to the 40's from -8 degrees. It certainly makes heating a lot easier, since we have been heating entirely with wood for the last two winters. The Cascades are covered with snow, making a striking panoramic picture outside my windows, and "Moo" the emu is snug and warm in his new house. Life is good in Central Oregon.

As you may know, I have been working on the family genealogy for the past year or so, and have finally had several break-throughs. I contacted a woman who grew up in Gakovo, Austria Hungary (now Yugoslavia) and I may have a trace on the Seiberts/Bergmans who lived there. Evidently the Donnerschwaben area of Austria-Hungary was settled and farmed by Germans who originated from the Black Forest region of Germany in the 1600-1700s. What wonderful stories this "Gakovian" had to tell of Gakovo, and what horrors she experienced during the years that Gakovo was used as a Russian concentration camp. Our families were some of the fortunate few who escaped Austria-Hungary before the war. The area that our families settled in is now farmed by Serbs.

On the Gayk side of the family, I may have located some ancestors in Germany also, but I may need to make a trip to Salt Lake City to further research the history, since I have not been able to get the information at the local LDS Church or on the internet.

Many thanks to the families who wrote to me responding to my Christmas letter asking for current information. I have been able to get some data about the Gayk/Seibert non-bloodline family members also. Hopefully, my database will continue to grow with additional input from all family members. When responding with information, a short bio on deceased family members would be appreciated, as would dates of birth, baptism, marriages, and any and all relevant information. All of this data will be included in the final work.

A very Happy New Year to all! My love goes out to each and every one of you!

Caroline