Not Quite a Wordless Wednesday - Olympian Johnny Weissmuller

This Date in History:
Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard freestyle record

Johann Peter Weissmüller was born June 2, 1904, to Peter Weissmüller and his wife Elisabeth Kersch, in Banat, Freidorf, Timisoura, Romania (Austria-Hungary).
His place of birth is discussed in the Sports Illustrated article:
Johnny Weissmuller Made Olympian Efforts To Conceal His Birthplace

Weissmuller had five wives: band and club singer Bobbe Arnst (1931-1933); actress Lupe Vélez (1933-1939); Beryl Scott by which he had three children (1939 -1948); Allene Gates (1948-1962); and Maria Baumann of Bavaria (1963- his death 1984).

Johnny Weissmuller died January 20, 1984 (aged 79) in Acapulco, Mexico.

The Village Church of Segenthau

Established in 1771, this Roman Catholic Church in the Banat village of Segenthau, located in Romania, 15km S of Arad, is the place where the majority of my maternal grandmother’s ancestors worshipped.

Some of the Family Surnames from Segenthau that we are related to are:  Stoss, Rauner, Ballner, Menrath, Wild, Leilech, Dissler, Balthasar, Czimerin, Mayer, Bernath, Kraft, Brunner, Brischler, Welsch, Kottig, Matz , Krebs, Morgenthaler, Tenzler , Lambert

For genealogical records:
· Village name in FHL records: Segenthau, Sagu, Nemetsag
· Church records available at FHL: Christenings 1772-1812, Marriages 1772-1849, Deaths 1771-1848
· FHL Microfilm Nr. 0858425, 1271607
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Banat Defined

The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe located between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania, the western part in Serbia, and a small northern part in Hungary.  It is bordered on the east by Transylvania and Walachia, on the west by the Tisza River, on the north by the Mureşul River, and on the south by the Danube.

The term banat originally referred to a frontier provinces that were ruled by bans.  The word "ban" is of Slavic origin meaning lord, governor, or viceroy.

The region (with the exception of some eastern mountains) is primarily an agricultural area of fertile, rolling plains. Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Banat was occupied successively by Romans, Goths, Gepidae, Huns, and Avars.

By the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), the Banat was made an Austrian military frontier zone known as the Banat of Temesvar. Empress Maria Theresa put the region under civilian government in 1751 and brought in thousands of German colonists. In 1779 the Banat passed to Hungary, to which it belonged until 1918, except for a brief period as an Austrian crownland.

Although the Allies in World War I had promised through a secret agreement to give the Banat to Romania, it was divided by the Treaty of Trianon (1920) between Romania and newly independent Yugoslavia, with the Szeged district reserved for Hungary.

Wordless Wednesday - Forget Them Not

Vergesst Sie Nicht - Forget Them Not

Banater Schwaben Memorial, Mannheim, Germany

Established 22 Jul 2001

Dedicated to the Banater Schwaben and Berglanddeutsche who were victims of the World Wars, Yugoslavian extermination camps, abduction to Russia, and Baragan deportation.

http://www.dvhh.org/
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Kirchweih

Elisabeth Rauner with Nikolaus Feisthammel wearing traditional costumes at Kirchweih (church dedication festival) in the Banat village of Segenthau, located in Romania.