Contact
Glenn Schwartz, President
Mandate
To gather, share and preserve information about Zichydorf and the immediate surrounding area and the families whose histories are associated.
Goals
1) To complete each individual member’s family history.
2) To put these histories in context – pre-Zichydorf, Zichydorf, post Zichydorf, relationships to other families, and what became of those who stayed behind.
3) To create a legacy of information for future generations.
History
The Association was formed online on February 19, 1996 by Barry Anwender and Laura Gyzyb to connect genealogical researchers of people from the Zichydorf area of the southern Banat province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. A couple of weeks later these two, along with Glenn Schwartz, formed the physical organization in Regina. It now boasts well over 100 members from all over North America and a few in Germany. The Association facilitates family research by connecting researchers with common ancestors and compiles and retains a pool of information which can be shared online and by mail with other Zichydorf descendents. Zichydorfers started emigrating in the 1890s and there are groups in Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil and the USA.
An important resource is the two volume Geschichte der Gemeinde Zichydorf, by Johann Achtzehner, which has been translated into the English History of the Community of Zichydorf by Liz Hugel (nee Grob) of Regina. The book describes the life of Zichydorfers from its founding until after World War II.
Many people from southern Saskatchewan, particularly the Regina area, can trace their roots to immigrants from Zichydorf who began arriving around the turn of the century until the recent past. However, with the passage of time, most of them no longer know about their shared history. The ZVA aims to connect people researching their common past and educate them about their common history.