Jakob and Melchior: Their Descendants

The previous blog post followed Jakob and Melchior Stumpf from Gakowa to Grabatz. This post looks at their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons tracking where the families went after leaving Grabatz.

Villages Full of Stumpfs

There are several villages in the Banat that have large numbers of Stumpf families.  Figuring out how they all fit together, if they fit together, and where they came from might help me figure out how my ancestor Johann (born about 1838) connects to the rest of them.

Jakob’s Descendants

Jakob lived in Grabatz from at least 1772 until he died in 1810.

Jakob's sons' families went to Zichydorf and Stefansfeld.

Jakob's son Adam moved to Zichydorf between 1789 and 1792, before his father’s death. Adam's son, Johann Peter, also stayed in Zichydorf.

Johann Michael is the next surviving son of Jakob. He moves to Stefansfeld between 1819 and 1821. The family stays in Stefansfeld with a few grandsons moving to Sartscha.

Jakob’s last (surviving to adulthood) son, Jakob, married in Grabatz, spent a few years in Stefansfeld, moved to Zichydorf for a few years, but moved back to Stefansfeld to stay. One of his grandsons moved on to Setschan.

Melchior’s Descendants

Melchior lived in Grabatz from at least 1770 until he died in 1818.  His widow died in Lazarfeld nine years later on the same date.  

Only one son is known to survive to adulthood: Jakob (*1770). There are three sons whose fate is unknown. Lorenz (*1766), Johann Adam (*1775), and Johann Adam (*1780). In some family books, Johann Adam (*1780) was assigned as a groom of Elisabeth Unterreiner before she married a son of Jakob. No marriage record was found in the Grabatz church book, so I'm assuming this was a compilation error.

Melchior's grandsons went to Kathreinfeld and Klek.

The one surviving son, Jakob (*1770) who died in 1806 at 36 years old, had two sons: Peter and Jakob. Peter went to Kathreinfeld and Jakob went to Klek. This is also captured in the 1828 Census, which recorded landowners.  Peter's sons stayed in Kathreinfeld.  Some of Jakob's sons stayed in Klek and two moved to Deutsch Etschka with one of them dying in Sigmundfeld.

Please enjoy this graphic

To better visualize the movement of the Stumpf family, I created this graphic.  

Note: Dates of moves are approximate and based on dates of known events. Only males known to have families are shown, since the Stumpf surname was the priority of this exercise. In cases where the year of death is unknown, there are alternating colored and uncolored boxes with a question mark in the final box.  In cases where the year of death is known, the colored bar ends with a cross in the death year column.

 

Here's a link to a pdf version for your perusal.

Update 20 Mar 2023: Corrected spelling of Stefansfeld.

Jakob and Melchior: What's Known from the Banat Side

Summarizing families and movements of Jakob and Melchior and asking questions.

After jumping over the brick wall of my Johann Stumpf (born 1838ish in Kathreinfeld), and I mean jumping over as in the wall remains, I put together hundreds of Stumpf families. Read about my descent into madness in How It Started and How It's Going.

The progenitors of my group of Stumpfs were Jakob and Melchior. They might have been brothers. This blog post is to summarize what I have gathered on these two men.

Where I Found the Pieces of the Puzzle:

Sources that shed light on Jakob and Melchior include Wilhelm & Kallbrunner's Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungsgeschichte in Südosteruropa [Sources for the History of German Settlement in Southeast Europe], the Stader series Sammelwerk Donauschwäbischer Kolonisten [Collection of Daunbe Schwaben Colonists] and family books for the villages of Kolut, Gakowa, Grabatz, Stefansfeld, Kathreinfeld, and Lazarfeld. I hit the jackpot this past year when I found Stumpf entries in a Kolut online family book by searching the Verein für Computergenealogie (compgen.de) website genealogy.net with their online village family books! (All the sources used are listed below in a Works Cited list after the footnotes.)

What I Have Learned and Deduced:

Sketching a Timeline

Based on these sources, here’s a timeline of Jakob and Melchior’s movements:

September 1764 & September 1765 Residence in Gakowa

Heading for the section with Jakob and Melchior, from Wilhelm & Kallbrunner's Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungsgeschichte in Südosteruropa, page 14 (FHL film 897413, image 442)

First appearance is on the Batschka Settlers List (Batscher Ansiedlungsliste) 1763 - 1768 (Wilhelm & Kallbrunner, 16). Both are listed as being residents of Gakova [1].
Melchior is listed with the date September 1764 and Jakob with September 1765.

Subheading for the village of Gakova (Gakovo), from Wilhelm & Kallbrunner's Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungsgeschichte in Südosteruropa, page 15, (FHL film 897413, image 442)

Jacobus Stumph [sic] and Melchior Stumpf on the list, from Wilhelm & Kallbrunner's Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungsgeschichte in Südosteruropa, page 16, (FHL film 897413, image 443)

Immigrants from southwest Germany, western France (Alsace and Lorraine), and even Luxembourg to the Hapsburg-held lands in Hungary were asked to register in Vienna, where they would be assigned to a village and given means to start a life in a new home.  Many immigrants for various reasons did not register in Vienna.  When I first found Jakob and Melchior in this work, I thought it was telling me they registered in Vienna on these dates. Upon further reflection while translating and pondering over the footnotes, I think this is actually a list of residents of Gakowa and not a Viennese registration.

Feb 1765 Marriage in Kolut

The Kolut online family book lists a February 1765 marriage of Melchior to Anna Maria Forvitt. Kolut is next to Gakowa. This was especially exciting because no where else in the other family books is her last name or their marriage date listed!

1764 & 1766 & 1767 Births in Gakowa

The online Kolut family book lists Jakob and Anna as having children born in Gakowa:

1. Margaretha in 1762
• Margaretha is probably born elsewhere, including before they immigrated
2. Johann Adam in August 1764
• Johann Adam was baptized in August 1764 in Kolut
3. Martin in 1767
• Martin was born approximately in 1767, but cited from a Status Animarum and not a baptism record

Melchior and Maria Anna have one son listed in the online Kolut family book and one son is listed in the Grabatz family book and church records:

1. Lorenz (born June 1766 in Gakowa, baptized in June 1766 in Kolut)
2. Johann Adam (born approx. 1767 in Gakowa from his death entry in 1775 in Grabatz)

Gakowa Family Book lists:

• Jakob with wife Katharina and the three children (other sources list Jakob's wife as Anna)
• Melchior and wife Maria Anna with no children
• Eva Elisabeth, with unnamed parents, born about 1754; perhaps a sister to Jakob and Melchior?

1769 in Grabatz

The Stumpf families had moved to Grabatz by August 1769 when Melchior’s daughter's baptism is recorded in the church book. Jakob is noted in the Grabatz church books with his marriage to Sabine in 1772.

Stader’s Sammelwerk notes that Melchior is on the Grabatz settlers list in 1770 as 1 man, 1 woman, and 1 child age 11-17. His living sons, Lorenz and Johann Adam would have been 5 and 4 years old, respectively. Perhaps they didn’t count the little ones? Not sure if he had older children?? Perhaps not his child, but a foster or servant? But really, his estimated birth year of 1742 would eliminate him from having a child between the age of 11-17 in 1770. This could be Eva Elisabeth from the Gakowa family book, approximately age 16 in 1770, and possibly his sister.

The two men spent the rest of their lives in Grabatz. Jakob died there in 1810, his wife Sabine died there in 1811. Melchior died there in 1818 and his wife Maria Anna died in Lazarfeld in 1827.

The last Stumpf family event in Grabatz happened in June 1819. The families moved on.  More on this in my next blog installment.

Where did these men come from?

Jakob’s Birth and Origin Clues

Birth is estimated to be 1745 in the Grabatz family book (most likely based on his recorded age at death) but estimated to be born in 1739 in the Gakowa and Kolut family books. The 1739 date is from earlier records, so likely more correct.  Sources list his origin as being from the "Reich" and from "Pfalz."

Melchior’s Birth and Origin Clues

Melchior is estimated to be born about 1742 across all the sources. The Grabatz family book lists Pfalz as birthplace, but the Stefansfeld family book and the Kühn Lazarfeld family book list Schwaben as birthplace. Stader's Sammelwerk only lists "Reich."

Family Groups Based on All the Clues

In family group form, here is a summary of what I have discovered and determined [2]:

STUMPF Jakob
  *abt 1739 or 1745 “Pfalz”/"Reich"        †16 May 1810 Grabatz
  Ꝏ
  NN Anna or Katharina
  *abt 1746
    1. Margaretha     *abt 1762
    2. Adam           ~15 Aug 1764 Kolut    †24 Jan 1822 Zichydorf
    3. Martin         *abt 1767
  Ꝏ 06 Oct 1772 Grabatz
  LONGIN Sabine

  *abt 1741  Lorraine                       †21 Oct 1811 Grabatz
    4. Margaretha     *28 Jul 1773 Grabatz  †18 Feb 1778 Grabatz
    5. Elisabeth      *19 Sep 1775 Grabatz  †24 Aug 1776 Grabatz
    6. Jakob          *03 Jun 1777 Grabatz  †11 Jun 1777 Grabatz
    7. Johann Michael *22 Jun 1778 Grabatz
    8. Jakob          *25 Oct 1780 Grabatz  †       1859 Stefansfeld
    9. Anton          *17 Jun 1783 Grabatz  †06 Jun 1784 Grabatz


STUMPF Melchior
  *abt 1742 “Pfalz” or “Schwaben”/"Reich"   †29 Nov 1818 Grabatz
  Ꝏ 17 Feb 1765 Kolut
  FORVITT Maria Anna
  *abt 1741                                 †29 Nov 1827 Lazarfeld
    1. Lorenz         *   Jun 1766 Gakowa/~24 Jun 1766 Kolut
    2. Johann Adam    *   abt 1767 Gakowa   †31 May 1775 Grabatz
    3. Franziska      *10 Aug 1769 Grabatz  †14 Aug 1769 Grabatz
    4. Jakob          *29 Oct 1770 Grabatz  †25 Jan 1806 Grabatz
    5. Elisabeth      *02 Feb 1773 Grabatz
    6. Johann Adam    *25 May 1775 Grabatz
    7. Margaretha     *16 Apr 1776 Grabatz  †23 Apr 1776 Grabatz
    8. Anna Maria     *28 May 1777 Grabatz
    9. Johann Adam    *15 Feb 1780 Grabatz
   10. Barbara        *15 Feb 1781 Grabatz  †12 Jun 1781 Grabatz
   11. Katharina      *29 Jun 1782 Grabatz
   12. Adam           *22 Dec 1785 Grabatz  † 25 Jun 1786 Grabatz


STUMPF Eva Elisabeth
  *abt 1754

Comment on Johann Adam

Melchior has three sons named Johann Adam.  Yes, three.  Oh, and another son named Adam.  In the Grabatz family book, the death in 1775 of Johann Adam was attributed to the second Johann Adam, but the entry in the church book indicates he was 8 years old when he died, which would mean it was the first Johann Adam.  Stader's Sammelwerk agrees with this assessment.  The fates of the other Johann Adams are unknown.

Missing Info

• The death of Jakob’s wife Anna or Katharina, presumably before Oct 1772.

• The deaths or other information of some of their children, especially Jakob’s son Martin and Melchior’s sons Lorenz and the two Johann Adams.  Did they die on the move to Grabatz, die in Grabatz, or live to adulthood and move somewhere I haven't found them?

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Footnotes

[1] Gakowa is the German name for the village.  It was also known as Gakova.  It is currently called Gakovo and is in Serbia.

[2] I'm using the format used in the family books, including the symbols * for birth; ~ for baptized; ꝏ for marriage; † for death.

Works Used to Compile Jakob and Melchior’s Families

If any researcher would like copies of scans I have or direct links to online sources, let me know.

Awender, Hans, compiler. Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Stephansfeld, Banat, 1796-1945: Vorfahren und Nachfahren. Salzburg, Austria: Stephansfelder Heimatausschuß, 1998.

Bayer, Johann. "Ortsfamilienbuch Kolut." Online family book. Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (CompGen). Genealogy.net. https://www.online-ofb.de/kolut: 2021.

Hl. Maria von der immerwährenden Hilfe [St. Mary of the Perpetual Help] (Grabatz, Torontál, Hungary). Kirchenbuch, 1768-1881. Digitized Microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, http:/familysearch.org : 2021.

Ivanov, Alfred, compiler. Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Grabatz: 1768-2008. N.p.: HOG Grabatz, 2008.

Kühn, Josef. Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Lazarfeld im Banat : und ihrer Filialen Klel (KkL.) und Jankahid (Jhd.): 1800-1834/1852. Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany: Josef Kühn und Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veröffentlichung Banater Familienbücher, 2004.

Schnaterbeck, Johann and Michael Hutfluss, compilers. Ortssippenbuch Gakowa (Gákova, Gakovo, Gádor): Batschka. 2 volumes. Kornwestheim, Germany: Heimatortsgemeinschaft Gakowa, 1994.

Stader, Stefan, compiler. Sammelwerk Donauschwäbischer Kolonisten. 9 volumes. Sindelfingen, Germany: Donauschwäbischer Familienforscher, 1997-2017.

Wilhelm, Franz and Josef Kallbrunner. Quellen zur deutschen Siedlungsgeschichte in Südosteuropa. Munich: Reinhardt, 1936. Digitized microfilm 897413 is available at FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/48684.

This Side of the Brick Wall of Johann Stumpf

For this third installment, I’d like to lay out the evidence I have for this side of my Stumpf metaphorical brick wall.

Details on the Brick Wall that Sparked the Dive into the Stumpfs in the Kathreinfeld & Klek / Zrenjanin Region

I was lucky enough to get some copies of family papers that were brought from Europe in 1951. Among those papers was a birth certificate, if that is what you would call it, of Michael Stumpf born in 1898. His parents were Michael Stumpf from Klek and Theresia Ritter from Kathreinfeld.

Snippet of a document. Preprinted form in Hungarian print and filled out in German handwriting. A dark cross is on the page, the results of photocopying a taped up document.

There are two Kathreinfed family books, but little new information was revealed. One covers much earlier years 1795 to 1841 (for births & marriages) and to 1873 (for deaths), which didn’t come near the people I knew. The other family book covers much later years starting in 1893 (for births),1895 (for marriages) and 1915 (for deaths) to 1947. Michael and Theresia were in this later book.  Actually, it correctly added a daughter, Anna (born 1894, died 1896) to Michael and Theresia’s family, but it also had some misattributed information, including a son named Franz and Michael immigrating to New Jersey. That took some time and communication with the author to untangle [1]. The immigration to New Jersey actually belonged to a different younger Michael Stumpf and Franz was actually the son of a Nikolaus, a brother to this younger Michael. Since the church books are not available online, the only option I had to get more information was to have researchers in Serbia look at records in the archives, which I eventually did. Over a few years, two different researchers and a few requests yielded some useful information [2].

The first big break was the marriage record of Michael Stumpf and Theresia Ritter [3]:

Michael Stumpf and Theresia Ritter's marriage entry. Entry from church book no. 14; 1893 28. May, Michael Stumpf and Theresia Ritter.

The parents of Theresia Ritter are David Ritter and Magdalena Janzer! With this clue, I have tracked David Ritter’s family back through Nitzydorf to Fejér, Hungary. As for help with the Stumpf side, disappointingly, Michael’s parents are not listed. However, it turns out Michael was a widower and previously married to Klara Wolf. That was new information for me.  (Klara Wolf, what an awesome name!)

Some more searching in the archives finally found Klara’s death and their two youngest kids’ baptisms in Rudolfsgnad. And happily, their third child, Johann, born in Rudolfsgnad in 1889 had a note of the couple’s marriage date! (God bless you, Rudolfsgnad priest.) They married in Lazarfeld in 1887 and the researcher was able to find the record:

Michael Stumpf and Klara Wolf's Marriage Entry. 1887 May Marriage Entry from the Lazarfeld church book with Michael Stumpf, son of Johann Stumpf and Katarina Hoffmann, marrying Clarae Wolf.

Michael’s parents were Johann Stumpf and Katharina Hoffmann! 

Note that in both records, Michael’s birth place is Klek and his residence is Kathreinfeld.

The researchers in Serbia have not been able to find a marriage entry for Johann and Katharina in Kathreinfeld nor in Klek church books in the archives. Their marriage most likely took place in Klek. There is a gap in the Klek records for just about the time they’d be getting married and baptizing their son Michael. 

Mind the Gap

There are gaps in coverage of the family books for Lazarfeld, Kathreinfeld, and Klek. The mid 1800s are just missing from the compiled family books. Sadly, there are also gaps in the records in the archives. The Klek church books have been searched from 1862 to 1864, but there is a gap in the Klek records prior to that timeframe:1858 to 1862. Surely the gap records would include the marriage entry and Michael's baptism. The missing marriage entry is likely the only place the couple's parents are listed, so will I ever know Johann's parents’ names?  Finding a Johann Stumpf born about the right time definitely won’t be a slam dunk.

Honestly, I don’t understand the gap. Were the sacramental entries recorded and then destroyed or lost? For just those 5 years? It seems like that would be less than its own volume. Or was the church without a priest and a neighboring priest performed the sacraments either in Klek or in his home church? Would they then be recorded in the neighboring church? Or a visiting priest took the records with him? It’d be interesting to assess the church books in the archives with these questions in mind.  Sometimes I wonder what would be involved in volunteering to help compile a family book for Kathreinfeld!

Compiling the Family Groups

What I have concluded is that Johann and Katharina’s first son Michael was born in Klek (1861 to 1862, or maybe 1863) and then the family moved to Kathreinfeld and had more kids. With the help of the researchers, the entries for the rest of Johann and Katharina’s kids have been found in Kathreinfeld. I then found the couple and a few of their kids in the Großbetschkerek family book. It seems at some point the family moved from the village of Kathreinfeld to the city of Großbetschkerek.

This is the family group I have reconstructed for Johann STUMPF and Katharina HOFFMANN [4,5]:

STUMPF Johann 
  *abt 1838 Kathreinfeld                      †11 Dec 1919 Großbetschkerek 
  ꝏ 
  HOFFMANN Katharina 
  *abt 1843 Klek                              †21 May 1910 Großbetschkerek 
    1. Michael    *   abt 1862 Klek
    2. Barbara    *25 May 1865 Kathreinfeld    †16 Feb 1867 Kathreinfeld
    3. Margaretha *05 Feb 1867 Kathreinfeld
    4. Jakob      *26 Sep 1869 Kathreinfeld    †24 Jun 1879 Kathreinfeld
    5. Anna       *30 Aug 1871 Kathreinfeld    †02 Jan 1942 Großbetschkerek

    6. Michael    *06 Aug 1878 Kathreinfeld    †01 Mar 1923 Großbetschkerek

Here is the family group I have assembled for Michael, again with lots of help from local researchers [6]:

STUMPF Michael     Sv. Johann S. & Katharina HOFFMANN 
  *abt 1862 Klek 
  1.ꝏ 09 May 1887 Lazarfeld 
  WOLF Klara         Tv. Nikolaus W. & Elisabeth Eck 
   *abt 1865 Lazarfeld                         †19 Oct 1892 Rudolfsgnad
    1. Josef      *   abt 1887 ?Lazarfeld
    2. Eva        *10 Feb 1888 ?Elisenhain     †28 Nov 1918 Großbeschkerek
                                or Torntalvarsarhely
    3. Johann     *25 Dec 1889 Rudolfsgnad
    4. Marianna   *11 Jul 1892 Rudolfsgnad     †22 Aug 1892 Rudolfsgnad 
  2.ꝏ 28 May 1893 Kathreinfeld 
  RITTER Theresia    Tv. David R. & Magdalena JANZER 
  *02 Sep 1868 Kathreinfeld
    1. Anna       *24 Sep 1894 Kathreinfeld    †02 Nov 1896 Kathreinfeld

    2. Michael    *27 Dec 1898 Kathreinfeld    †21 Feb 1936 Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Michael and Klara's first two kids, Josef and Eva, are listed in the 100-year anniversary book for Rudolfsgnad as being born in Lazarfeld in 1883 and 1885, respectively. The book listed residents by house in 1891. However, no baptismal record was found in Lazarfeld and these dates seem too early. On Eva’s marriage record in Großbetschkerek, apparently her birth date is listed and her birth location is listed as Torntalvarsarhely or Elisenhain. I haven't seen the original church records for her marriage nor been successful in finding records for these two villages in the right time frame.  I haven’t found Josef anywhere other than the Rudolfsgnad anniversary book. Therefore these birth dates and locations are not confirmed.

I did find  Michael and Klara's third child, Johann, in Budapest as a barber.  His godfather was a barber, so that must have led to an apprenticeship.  Johann was in the marriage records in Budapest and named in the deaths of his daughter and first wife.

Thus My Brick Wall

The brick wall I am stuck with: the parents of the elder Johann Stumpf as well as the parents of Katharina Hoffman. You can see, dear reader, the seemingly small hurdle I needed to overcome that led me to start the collection of all the Stumpf families discussed in the first and second installment of this blog.

Based on the results of the accumulation of Stumpf families, I assume I connect with Melchior Stumpf, whose descendants went to Kathreinfeld.

The only promising candidate to come out of this project is a Johann who was born in 1841 to Johann [Michael] Stumpf and Anna Maria Putz. Other possibilities are that Johann was actually born after 1841, which is outside the coverage of the Kathreinfeld family book and church records available through FamilySearch, or he was baptized elsewhere.

After all this extensive research, can I declare I have met the Genealogical Proof Standard of reasonably exhaustive search and declare this candidate Johann born in 1841 as the Johann with estimated birth of 1838 who married Katharina Hoffman? I still feel like I don’t have a strong enough linchpin to connect the two sides.  What more do I need to feel confident?

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Footnotes

[1] I recently reviewed my correspondence from 2006 with the author of the Kathreinfeld family book, Roswitha Egert.  In one of her e-mails, she gave me a rough outline of the origins of the Stumpf surname in this area and introduced me to the idea of several villages full of Stumpfs (my words).

[2] The two researchers in Serbia were Marta Istvan and Staša Cvetković.

[3] Michael Stumpf and Theresia Ritter are my 2xgreat-grandparents, in case you’re wondering.

[4] I'm using the format used in the family books, including the German abbreviation Sv for "Son of" and Tv for "Daughter of"; * is birth; ꝏ is marriage; † is death.  I am using the abbreviation "abt." for about instead of the German "um."

[5] Sources for Johann’s family:

1. Marco Leitl and Rudolph Müller, compilers, Familienbuch der katholischen pfarrgemeinde der stadt Gross Betschkerek im Banat: 1753-1945, 2 volumes (Munich: M. Leitl, 2016), v. 2, p. 1965. 

2. Katalinfalvai Registry District, (Austria-Hungary), Mihaly Stumpf birth certificate (1898 birth), issued 1910, citing no. 89;, photocopy of the original taken 2003. Certificate form in Hungarian and filled out by hand. 

3. Engber, Friedrich, translator, Katalinfalvai Registry District, (Austria-Hungary), Michael Stumpf birth certificate (1898 birth), issued 1910, citing no. 89; translated into German in 1940, photocopy of the original taken 2003. 

4. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), Marriages, vol. unknown, p. 91, no. 14, Michael Stumpf & Theresia Ritter, Marriage (1893); Historic Archive of Zrenjanin, Zrenjanin, Serbia. 

5. Hans Repp, Familienbuch der Gemeinde Lazarfeld im Banat: ungarisch - Lázárföld, serbisch - Lazarevo. (Villingen-Schwenningen: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veröffentlichung Banater Familienbücher, 2008), 462. 

6. Philipp Lung, Familienbuch der Gemeinden Deutsch-Etschka, Sigmundfeld, Rudolfsgnad im Banat: mit Geschichte de Besiedlung von Reiner Schlotthauer (1999), CD-ROM, Familienbuch Rudolfsgnad im Banat: CD A (Villingen-Schwenningen: P. Lung, 2001), Entry #1822. 

7. Philipp Lung, Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Rudolfsgnad im Banat: ungarisch: Rezsőháza - serbisch: Knicanin (Villingen-Schwenningen: P. Lung, 2011), 600. 

8. "Passenger Record," database with images, Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation (https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ : viewed 20 April 2018), manifest, S.S. Finland, October 1907, p. 48, line 14, Michael Stumpf, age 44. 

9. Catholic Church (Lazarfeld/Lazarevo), unknown volume, page not numbered, No. 8, Michael Stumpf & Klara Wolf (1887); Arhiv Vojvodine (Archive of Vojvodina), Novi Sad, Serbia. 

10. Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun, Budapest (X. Kerület), Házasultak [Marriages], 1924-1926, János Stumpf & Eszter Lőrinczi, 1926, no. 69; digitized microfilm images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 2 May 2020); Archiv der Stadt Budapest (Archive of the City), Hungary. 

11. Josef Queiser, compiler, Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Kathreinfeld-St. Georgen a/Bega (und ihrer Filialen): im jugoslawischen Banat 1795-1841/1873 (Sindelfingen, Germany: Arbeitskreis Donauschwäbischer Familienforscher (AKdFF), 1997), 432, Family no. 3186. 

12. Római Katólikus Egyház [Roman Catholic Church] (Katalinfalva, Torontál, Hungary), Church Books, Vol. IIa, 409, No. 15, Barbara Stumpf, 1867; digitized FHL microfilm 1190308, accessed 18 Jul 2018. 

13. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), Baptisms, unknown volume, unknown page. 

14. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), unknown volume, unknown page. 

15. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), unknown volume, p23. 

16. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), unknown volume, 49. 

17. Leitl and Müller, Familienbuch der katholischen pfarrgemeinde der stadt Gross Betschkerek im Banat, v. 2, p. 1965. 

18. Leitl and Müller, Familienbuch der katholischen pfarrgemeinde der stadt Gross Betschkerek im Banat, v. 2, p. 1686. 

19. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), unknown volume, 138.

[6] Sources for Michael’s family:

1. Katalinfalvai Registry District, (Austria-Hungary), Mihaly Stumpf birth certificate (1898 birth), issued 1910, citing no. 89; photocopy of the original taken 2003. Certificate form in Hungarian and filled out by hand. 

2. Engber, Friedrich, translator, Katalinfalvai Registry District, (Austria-Hungary), Michael Stumpf birth certificate (1898 birth), issued 1910, citing no. 89; translated into German in 1940, photocopy of the original taken 2003. 

3. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), Marriages, vol. unknown, p. 91, no. 14, Michael Stumpf & Theresia Ritter, Marriage (1893); Historic Archive of Zrenjanin, Zrenjanin, Serbia. 

4. Hans Repp, Familienbuch der Gemeinde Lazarfeld im Banat: ungarisch - Lázárföld, serbisch - Lazarevo. (Villingen-Schwenningen: Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veröffentlichung Banater Familienbücher, 2008), 462. 

5. Philipp Lung, Familienbuch der Gemeinden Deutsch-Etschka, Sigmundfeld, Rudolfsgnad im Banat: mit Geschichte de Besiedlung von Reiner Schlotthauer (1999), CD-ROM, Familienbuch Rudolfsgnad im Banat: CD A (Villingen-Schwenningen: P. Lung, 2001), Entry #1822. 

6. Philipp Lung, Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Rudolfsgnad im Banat: ungarisch: Rezsőháza - serbisch: Knicanin (Villingen-Schwenningen: P. Lung, 2011), 600. 

7. "Passenger Record," database with images, Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation (https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ : viewed 20 April 2018), manifest, S.S. Finland, October 1907, p. 48, line 14, Michael Stumpf, age 44. 

8. Catholic Church (Lazarfeld/Lazarevo), unknown volume, page not numbered, No. 8, Michael Stumpf & Klara Wolf (1887); Arhiv Vojvodine (Archive of Vojvodina), Novi Sad, Serbia. 9. Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun, Budapest (X. Kerület), Házasultak [Marriages], 1924-1926, János Stumpf & Eszter Lőrinczi, 1926, no. 69; digitized microfilm images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 2 May 2020); Archiv der Stadt Budapest (Archive of the City), Hungary. 

10. Roman Catholic Church (Rudolfsgnad/Knićanin), Vol. 2, p. 102, no. 174, Joannes Stumpf, 1889; Istorijski Arhiv Zrenjanin (Historical Archive in Zrenjanin), Zrenjanin, Serbia. 

11. Johann Kirchner, Monographie der Gemeinde Rudolfsgnad: im Torontaler Comitate in der aufgelösten Militärgrenze (Grossbecskerek, Austria-Hungary: 1891; reprint, Villingen-Schwenningen: Heimartortsgemeinschaft (HOG) Rudolfsgnad & P. Lung, 2007), 124. 

12. Repp, Familienbuch der Gemeinde Lazarfeld im Banat, 462. 

13. Roman Catholic Church (Rudolfsgnad), Church Books, Vol. 6, p. 24. 

14. Marco Leitl and Rudolph Müller, compilers, Familienbuch der katholischen pfarrgemeinde der stadt Gross Betschkerek im Banat: 1753-1945, 2 volumes (Munich: M. Leitl, 2016), v. 2: p. 2178. 

15. Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun, Budapest (VIII. Kerület), Házasultak [Marriages], (nov.) 1919-1920 (dec.), János Stumpf & Mária Anna Bécsi, 1919, no. 4047; digitized microfilm images, FamilySearch (familysearch.org: accessed 5 January 2021); Archiv der Stadt Budapest (Archive of the City), Hungary. 

16. Roman Catholic Church (Rudolfsgnad), Church Book Vol. 2, p. 147. 

17. Lung, Familienbuch der katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Rudolfsgnad im Banat, 600. 

18. Roman Catholic Church (Rudolfsgnad), Church Books, Vol. 6, p. 22. 

19. Heiligen Antonius von Padua [St. Anthony of Padua] Catholic Church (Kathreinfeld, Torontal, Austria-Hungary), Baptisms, p. 10, no. 88. 

20. Roswitha Egert, compiler, Familienbuch der katholischen pfarrgemeinde Kathreinfeld im Banat: 1893/1895/1915-1947 (Teil 2) (Villingen-Schwennigen: Herausgegeben von der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veröffentlichung Banater Familienbücher (AVBF), 2006), 272, Family No. S 368. 

21. Bulgăruș, Timiș Torontal, Romania, birth certificate (1918), Martin Dominic Stumpf, no. 10, Issued 1937, photocopy of the original taken 2003. Certificate form in Romanian and filled out by hand accompanied by an undated translation into handwritten German. 

22. Ehre Maria Himmelfahrt [Assumption of Mary] Catholic Church (Bulgăruș,Romania), Michael Stumpf and Katharina Hof marriage certificate (1917 marriage), issued 1940, citing Vol. V, p. 52, no. 300, photocopy of the original taken 2003. Certificate form in Latin, Romanian, German, and Hungarian and filled out by hand mostly in German. 

23. California, San Diego Department of Health Services, death certificate no. 8000, 1983, Martin Dominick Stumpf, photocopy of the original taken 2003 

 24. "Passenger Lists: Quebec City (1925-1935)," digitized microfilm of manifests, Library and Archives Canada (www.bac-lac.gc.ca : accessed 31 December 2016), Manifest, S.S. Montcalm, June 1929, p. 42, line 14, Mihal Stumpf, age 30. 

25. Ewald Spang, compiler, Familienbuch der Katholischen Pfarrgemeinde Bogarosch im Banat, 1768-2008, 2 volumes (Aschaffenburg, Germany: HOG Bogarosch, 2008), 2:249. 

26. "Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKNV-B51 : 11 December 2014), Michael Stumpf, 21 Feb 1936; citing Windsor, Essex, Ontario, 014904, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,425,865. 

27. "Michael Stumpf," obituary, The Windsor (Ontario, Canada) Star, 21 February 1936; digitized images, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com : accessed 6 June 2019).

How It's Going: to Find All the Stumpfs in the Banat

RootsMagic to the Rescue 

I overcame my aversion to the daunting task of entering all the information from the large notecards with the Stumpf families into a new RootsMagic database [1] and just did it. I'm glad I did. I then scoured the genealogy databases and requested scans from the FamilySearch Family History Library [2] for Stumpfs in family books to add or connect in the database.  I was casting a wide net to find sources for Banat Stumpf folks.  I was meticulous with citing each source, but usually added it to the person’s name as opposed to each fact. That made more sense with a family book entry anyway. 

Thus far, I have cited 105 sources, on 842 people in 254 families in 41 trees, and 149 locations. 

Having it all in the database lets me easily navigate through the families as well as search for a name, including seeing my options for a given name. 

Partial List of Michael Stumpfs in the RootsMagic Database. 

I can see I have holes of missing data in what I have collected. I’m sure there is more STUMPF information in St. Georgen, Kathreinfeld, and Klek in the mid-1800s that is accessible in the regional archives. 

Ultimately, what I found were that two (most likely) brothers Jakob and Melchior Stumpf from "Pflaz" are the forefathers of the Stumpf families in the Kathreinfeld and Klek area. More on this in later posts. 

There are a few other STUMPF men who settled elsewhere in the Banat who don’t seem to be part of this group. I’ll write a post summarizing them as well. 

I uploaded the database to a RootsMagic webpage as well. You can explore here. There are 698 people in 196 families and 31 separate family trees.  By the way, all the citations I added at the person level did not load into the website for some reason. 

I didn't mean to, but I now have a wealth of information on the Stumpf families in the Banat. I started this blog to communicate what I have discovered and maybe even connect with interested family researchers.

Footnotes

[1] RootsMagic is a genealogy database that runs on your computer, as opposed to online trees that are in the cloud on a website (e.g. Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org).  RootsMagic lets you manage your own file with data on people, places, and sources.  

[2] You can make requests from the FamilySearch Family History Library on their online request form. 

How it Started: Piecing Together Stumpf Families in the Banat

Some Background

My grandfather's family are Donauschwabens, ethnic Germans whose ancestors settled in the Banat region of Austria-Hungary in the mid- and late-18th and early-19th centuries. (This Eastern European region is now split between Romania, Serbia, and somewhat in Hungary.) I’ve been researching the genealogy of these families for a few years now and have made some interesting discoveries.

My STUMPF Research

The STUMPF line, however, has been a brick wall for me. From documents the family had, I knew my great-grandfather, Michael Stumpf, was born in Kathreinfeld and his father, Michael Stumpf, in Klek. With the help of some family books and finally researchers in Serbia [1] checking the archives for me and breaking the first brick wall of my 2xgreat-grandfather's parents. The older Michael’s parents are Johann Stumpf from Kathreinfeld and Katharina Hoffman from Klek!

Most likely due to a gap in the records in Klek, however, the marriage record of Johann Stumpf and Katharina Hoffman has not been found, nor has the baptismal record for their first son Michael. I’m stumped at Johann. (Lol, see what I did there.)

On the other side of the figurative genealogical brick wall I can see lots of STUMPF families in these villages and nearby villages, but I didn’t know how they are all connected nor how Johann might connect with them. Many times the families would be in one book with younger kids and in a different book with older kids. To make matters worse, some family books covered early 1800s and some late 1800s, with a gap in the mid-1800s, so that you can’t always connect the older generations across the missing generations to the newer generations. It was super confusing and impossible, really, to follow the families.

My Cut and Paste Job

With the hope of overcoming the record gap in Klek, as well as getting a better visual, I needed a different approach. I made copies the STUMPF families from over a dozen area family books (2 Kathreinfeld, Lazarfeld, Klek, Grossbetschkerek, Rudolfgnad, etc. plus Grabatz), Banat church records, and US immigration (especially Dave Dreyer's ship extractions) and other data. I then physically cut them out and pasted (taped) them onto old fashioned large index cards, organizing by lineage. This was in 2019.

 

My hope was to find a potential family for my 3xgreat-grandfather Johann. Did I just make a different mess? Some families came together really well, while others not so much, while others didn’t connect at all. After some time, the note cards were getting shuffled and a new confusion set in. Also, no family jumped out as being a slam-dunk for Johann.

Footnotes: 

[1] I had help from two researchers in Serbia: Marta Istvan and Staša Cvetković.