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     Farther north of Surduk a village called Karoly should exist according to a middle age “Kameral?” (chamber) recording, but in 1717 this was already incorrectly written “Kayragn.”  The Mercy’s map mentions a Pusta* “Karan”, which was settled by Italians and Spaniards in 1733/34 by the governor at the time, Baron Engelshofen, and he named this community in honor of his predecessor, “Mercy-Dorff.”

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Mercydorf 1734-1934 by Peter Schiff

II. SETTLEMENT ~ A.)
ITALIANS & SPANIARDS

    After a 164 year rule the crescent* was forced out of the Banat and on the 13th of October Prince Eugen of Savoy, under Emperor Karl VI (1711-40) had also recaptured the fortress Temesvar, where at his suggestion Count Florimund Klaudius Mercy was named the first governor of the Banat.

     It is generally known that men from the Banat wanted to make it a fruitful, imperial province in a short time and the profitable activity of Count Mercy (1716-1733) had achieved that.  His first goal was already partly achieved, as men advised him to also try growing rice and cultivating silk here in the Banat next to the vineyards already begun and at the same time these cultivations were cared for especially in the imperial province by the Northern Italians and in the sunny south by independent Tirols.  So it was decided to draw Italian settlers from the above mentioned regions for this purpose.

     This plan was entrusted with a certain “De Jean” of the Banat administration for its transition according to an authorized source.  Consequently it was decided to erect a silk factory in the capital of the Banat.  (Note: See this exposé: “The First Silk Factory in the Banat” “Banat German newspaper” – by the same author) and as one searches for a suitable place for the Italian settlers in the Banat the choice fell on the border of the Mercydorf community which appeared until then only under the name “Caran”.  In the meantime Count Mercy had to move again against the Italians, French, and the Sardinians for the emperor in the war, so Baron von Engelshofen was his representative and also later named his successor (1733-1736, 1742-1752).  He had promoted the Italian settlement with love and the village where one made these Italian settlers the main residents was called “Mercy Dorff” by him, which is the single important memorial of the father of the German settlers in the Banat existing.

     So the first 80 Italians were still into rice farming in 1733, and families specializing in silk cultivation were brought to the Banat, who were mostly under the leadership of the later famous Abbate? (abbott) Clemens Rossi from Mantua (Italy), who was a clergyman from the Trient? (Trento) Diezöfe? (Diocese).  This Rossi must not only be the caring father and pastor of his countrymen, but he already must have had a call as a practical man as he came into the Banat, it is understood, that he was to be at the same time the “director” of the Italian colony, to be the first pastor of Mercydorf, and inspector in the first established silk factory which in all probability was placed on what is today called Silk Factory Street.
 
* crescent: Reference to the Turkish Muslims who ruled the area before the Hapsburgs and used the crescent as their symbol.

     Rossi brought his settlers from the Frianl  (Northern Italy) and was already settled here in 1733 and still in the fall of the same year the noble Josef Dal-Avo also sent several families from the Trento region who also for the most part settled in “Mercy Dorff”.

     In 1736 Count Hamilton was governor of the Banat (1736-1737).  At this time they already had the conviction that the attempt with the Italian silk factory succeeded well.  He let this settlement thrive and he also brought more Italian colonists to the Banat who would be placed just under the supervision of Abbot Rossi as silk breeders.

     At the time of the first Italian migration Baron von Falkenstein, a respectable brother of St. Benedict and a relative of Count Mercy, was already the bishop of Csanad and he named clergyman Rossi to be pastor of Mercydorf right from the start, because none of his other priests understood the language of the new settlers.  Pastor Rossi performed only the funerals and marriages, during the baptism and following the entry of people being baptized in the Jesuit or seminary church of Temeswar, as he spoke to us in his “De Italorum in Banatu eristentum Origine et Parochiae Erectione Narratio.”   There was still no church hall in Mercydorf at the time and probably also therefore, because even clergyman Rossi had to live in Temeswar himself, his second practical occupation as “factory director” could go with him.

     Soon the varied population of the Banat was made up of the French-Lorraine element, the German element from the Rhine region and southern Germany, the Italian element mentioned above who came in 1734, and in addition the Spaniards who were apparently under the leadership of the retired “Trinitarier”? (trinity) Father Josef Mugnos.  The Spaniards were also settled in several communities, where already again because of the relationship of two people things may have gone well in Mercydorf.  Mugnos was named as the second pastor of Mercydorf at Rossi’s suggestion because he also understood the Italian language.  But in all probability Rossi had to look after his countrymen more, which at least led to the circumstances in which he was able to build a chapel by his own means when he heard that the bishop had the intention of visiting this very religious community next to give the Holy Sacrament of the confirmation.  This chapel was consecrated on the 12th of January, 1735 by the good-hearted Rossi.  He had personally put it on the church register himself and gave a short introduction to explain the parochial history.  To support the ministry the Italian colonists paid 40 Florints per year, of which Rossi contributed 30 Florints himself.

     The small chapel was consecrated to honor St. Job and Santa Maria (St. Mary), the protectors of the Italians, and served the believers as God’s house until 1788, when the newly built church was finished and consecrated with a cross raising ceremony.  At the time Rev. Mugnos fell ill and left the Banat, but the untiring Rossi took over the pastor’s office and at first Dall-Avo succeeded in finding a pastor named Cosmos Colonna in 1737, who came from the imperial Neapal of Catania. On the 14th of August 1737 he took the pastor’s exam and in the absence of the bishop he was named to his office by the bishop’s general vicar, on the condition that Rossi would leave his place to the newly appointed pastor.

     At the time of the second pastor a large number of Italians came to the Banat, under both Rossi and Colonna.  They were outside Mercydorf still – in Giroda, Omor (here were the rice fields!), Freidorf, Moldova, Kusjiz, Tschakowa, Temeswar – Mehala (Bassabrunn) – to “Mercy Dorff”.  The first Italian settlers in Mercydorf consisted of 32 families and 21 single men, about 137 people altogether, which following the Spanish and later the Italian migration of 1738 already grew to 350 people. Of these Italian-Spanish colonists 69 people died in the plague in 1738, many were snatched away by fever in 1739 – 1752, others migrated back to the original homeland, several of those who stayed back were dispersed to other villages, as a result the only families still preserved here today through their descendants are the Denelutti and Philippi families. Finally it should be mentioned also that the linguistic influence which was certainly predominant in the beginning, slowly blurred under the later French-Lorraine influence and apparently only the two following words remain to the present day: 1. Avanti – which means “out (there), outside” and 2. Bravo – which means “that is beautiful, good.”

     From 1734 to 1736 the church register in Mercydorf listed the following names: 1. Campolongo, 2. Piccola, 3. Scheng, 4. Steraid, 5. Mihelazzi, 6. Savoy, 7. Belloni, 8. Gielmi, 9. Sufadelli, 10. Tomassin, 11. Loppio, 12. Petorlini, 13. Ferre, 14. Dal-Pra, 15. Coradello, 16. Ferrari, 17, Bizetta, 18. Majoli, 19. Torgela, 20. Agostini, 21. Carli, 22. Capra senior and junior, 23. Calarozzo, 24. Volpe, 25. Borgogno, 26, Schmidt, 27. Pelegrini, 28. Furlanelli, 29. Coli, 30. Caretta, 31. Paoli, 32. Cararro, 33. Carpanterra, 34. Marchi, 35. Buchatti, 36. Brizzo, 37. Baecha, 38. Cristani, 39. Sufatti, 40. Dorighi, 41. Dal-Avi, 42. Philippi, 43. Dal-Pezzo, 44. Tonetta, 45. Denelutti, 46. Maggi, 47. Briza, 48. Bour, 49. Modena, 50. Camin.

     Of these the following migrated back in 1736. 1. Volpe, 2. Dorighi, unmarried, 3. Philippi, son of the Philippi who migrated here, 4. Brizzo (Briza), unmarried, 5. Schmidt, mit the whole family, 6. Dal-Avi, unmarried, 7. Maggi, unmarried, 8. Bour, unmarried.

     In 1737 a supplement was added to the register with the following names: 1. Clanzer, 2. Christophori, 3. Catta, 4. Sufari, 5. Cajola, 6. Cepata, 7. Arugua.

     Of the above-mentioned families the following came from south Tirol: 1. Philippi from Gardol, Trento Diocese, 2. Piccola from Terlag, 3. Brizzo, and 4. Coradello, from unknown villages.

     Together with Rev. Mugnos apparently only two Spanish families have settled down in Mercydorf: 1. Dominikus Cajola, 2. Soro.

     Besides the Italian families in Mercydorf, Rossi also mentions: Rardelli in Bassabrunn (Temeswar), 2. Bona and 3. Bevilaqua in Freidorf, 4. Sufati in Tschakowa, 5. Valter, 6. Pessata, 7. Bacca, all three in Beschenowa, 8. Bonedi, 9. Brugna, both from Cussitz.  All of these families are entered into the Mercydorf register also until 1841, probably because they also all migrated here.

     It is apparent from this short treatise that Mercydorf was the center of Italian colonization and in the end when we still mention that silkworm breeding is an important source of employment for the poor population of this community, one has every reason to keep the first Italian settlers in thankful memory!  

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Mercydorf 1734-1934 by Peter Schiff

II. SETTLEMENT ~ b.)
GERMAN SETTLERS FROM AUSTRIA & GERMANY

      Maria-Theresia was very worried about the new imperial province when she heard about the devastation caused by the plague and swamp fever here in the Banat from 1738 to 1752 and when it was decided to acquire it, the caring empress made up for the existing gaps through a quick re-supply, but the great opponent Frederick II should be dealt with sooner.

     The Seven Year War (1756-1763) came into being as a result of a political power struggle, through which the most beautiful years of the industrious empress were lost on colonization in the Banat.  But it was also a hard blow for the German culture, that the Habsburgs were defeated  this time because the Habsburgs and Vienna were in a blossoming period of French influences at the time.   Nevertheless, German remained: the German song, the German stage piece were at home in Vienna, German was spoken in the imperial rose?

     Concerning the colonization of the Banat they soon made up for the neglect by sending many discharged soldiers at the end of the Seven Year War, especially sergeants, to the Banat.  So the first German settlers were received in Mercydorf in 1764, who did not receive a particularly friendly reception from the small flock of Italian settlers here.  Which was interpreted by naming the street “Zigeunergasse” (Gypsy Street) where apparent disputes and quarrels were the order of the day, from which the general expression came: “Gypsy, he is a true gypsy.”  The Banat community, including here, was not generally used to discord, disputes, or quarrels.  But the new settlers married in time with the Italian families and soon they were drawn into the bilingual community if “Sabiner”? peace.  But the naming of the “Gypsy Street” mentioned above we remember as the first difficult period for German colonists in Mercydorf. 

     However, the first actual German colonizations of our community were carried out in 1765.  The chamber administrator Knoll had new colonists’ homes started up and occupied by pure German colonists on “Zigeunergasse” and “Scharfeckgasse” (Sharp Corner Street)! (this is a very strong designation and meant a tangible argument between the different elements of the first settlers).

From the first military era of the German settlers the following names are immortalized in the register:

1. Halinger

2. Hoßki

3. Fries

4. Ziegler – from Sitzkirchen Austria

5. Andreß

6. Neupauer – from Northern Austria

7. Schroll

8. Grünfeld

9. Csaki

10. Keller – Weigkirchen

Lorraine

11. Goßar – Eberstegg Northern Austria

12. Gerhold

13. Miller – with the German legion Böck from Bohemia

14. Staub – with the “Bachiana” from Gaitenburg Bohemia

     Of these Hoßki, Neubauer, Ziegler, Keller, and Gerhold were slowly received and individually moved away until today only Hoßki, Gerhold and the newly arrived Keller which only makes it more difficult to determine if the first colonial family “Keller” came from here or not!

From the civilian era of the German settlers, one finds the following names:

1. Hacker	16. Hierath
2. Roßmann from Würzburg	17. Hügner
3. Pfeifer	18. Blum
4. Reinert	19. Zimmer
5. Teubel (Teufel)	20. Kasper
6. Wick from Regensburg Bavaria	21. Baumgartner
7. Freistrober	22. Schröder from Frankfurt am Main
8. Host	23. Schneider from Würzburg Bavaria
9. Lupperger from Fleischwangen Black Forest	24. Vokal
10. Zengel (Zingl) – from “Imperio Sup. Palati”?	25. Perveller
11. Morgen	26. Freihaut (Freiheit)
12. Harikl	27. Felner
13. Ascher	28. Waltz from French “Affenlohr”? (ape -)
14. Lindner	29. Maltz
15. Krauß	30 Jakobus Gaßner (registered October 29 1766)

     Of these Pfeifer, Teufel, Wick, Lupperger, Morgen, Krauß, Blum, Perveller, Freihaut, and Maltz
survive in our community today. 

      Note: “Sources of German Settlement” history in Southeast Europe by Dr. Fr. Wilhelm and Dr. Josef Kellbrunner – mention in reference to Mercydorf the following settlers, which according to the register of the community itself only part of them settled down there.