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The Emigration of our
Ancestors
Neu-Pasua,
A Short Homeland
Book
By Mathias Huber
Translated by Henry Fischer,
Edited by Rose Vetter
Two hundred years ago
there was great economic
need in Germany. Those
who had some land of
their own had to work
industriously without
any outside assistance
while those who had no
land had to live on
beggary for months at a
time.
At that time, the
borders of Austria
extended from Baden to
the Banat. As a result
of the wars with the
Turks there was a great
deal of deserted,
unpopulated and desolate
land. The Empress Maria
Theresia was very much
involved in settling and
developing these lands
as was her successor and
son Joseph II. A series
of agents from Vienna
were sent to the
Rhineland.
During the years of
settlement from
1747-1778, over twenty
entirely German villages
inhabited mostly by
Roman Catholic settlers
were established in the
Banat, the eastern
Batschka and the region
west of the Tisza
River. Many
Serbian hamlets were
expanded into larger
communities through the
addition of German
settlers.
The new arrivals
received land
allotments, a house with
all the necessary
utensils, all at the
expense of the State.
This is what attracted
more and more people,
and even though there
were now sufficient
numbers of settlers,
another large group of
Swabians were on their
way around 1790. Most
of them came on foot as
far as Ulm, others as
far as Vienna and then
boarded ships and
traveled down the Danube
River.
Those who
went on ahead received
directions and
instructions either in
Vienna or Budapest as to
which settlement area
they were to head
towards as did those who
followed after them
later but the upkeep and
support they received
for the journey was less
than adequate.
They came down the
Danube close to the
vicinity of Belgrade
which did not prove to
be the Promised Land;
instead they had jumped
from the frying pan into
the fire. The last
major war between
Austria and the Turks
was in full swing in the
area from 1788-1791 and
the Military
Administration in Semlin
had no idea of where to
send the settlers. By
now the people had spent
all of their travel
allowance and the
savings they had brought
with them and were in
terrible straits.
J. K. Soppron, the
historian of Semlin,
reported several
instances related to
these settlers.
“Katharina Wittmann, a
widow, requests that
since her son Johannes
has been taken for
training by a military
officer and she found
herself ill and would no
longer receive the daily
3 Kreuzer support money
in the near future she
desires to be settled in
Serbia.” The
maintenance and support
provisions were only in
effect until May 15,
1791. Most of the
settlers were down with
fever and were unable to
earn their bread because
the only work available
was in the vineyards
which was work with
which they were
unacquainted.
None of the surrounding
Serbian or Croatian
villages took the
settlers in.
Lengthy and protracted
deliberations with the
Imperial Court Chamber
in Vienna followed.
. In the meantime, they
sent the destitute
people to the Slovak
village of Stara Pasova
that lay about an hour
north of Semlin and had
been settled in 1770.
Their co-religionists
(fellow Lutherans) who
spoke another language
received them in a very
friendly manner, became
the Godparents of
several of the children,
and welcomed them with
various acts of
kindness.
The first
entry in the church
records dealing with the
Swabian settlers informs
us that Johann
Ellenberger a bachelor
married Maria the widow
of Friedrich Schneider
on September 27, 1791.
In addition, Kaspar, the
son of Kaspar and
Katharina Lang born on
October 2, 1791 and
Johannes Peter Scheffler
from the Duchy of
Württemberg both died on
October 14, 1791.
They
found shelter in several
half fallen down border
guard posts. Up
until 1781 the southern
border along the Sava
River was constantly
kept under the guard.
There was a citizen’s
militia made up of
farmers in the
surrounding villages
known as Grenzer (border
guards), who took turns
every few days doing
sentry duty.
This is the way the
defense of the border
against the Turks was
organized along the
Danube in the southern
Batschka after 1748.
They consisted primarily
of married Serbs who had
fled northward in 1690
and loved to fight the
Turks.
After the Turks were
driven further to the
south there were those
among the citizen
soldier families that
migrated southwards to
be closer to their old
beloved homeland along
the new Sava River
southern border. That
was also the case at Stara Pasova and they
apparently moved on
after several decades so
that the Swabians took
up residence in their
abandoned mud huts.
[Published at DVHH.org 18 Aug 2009]
Next:
The Settlement of
Neu-Pasua (Nova Pasova or New Pasua)
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