SEPTEMBER 1994 NEWSLETTER
Thanks to all of you who attended the Mower Family Reunion held in Payson on July 16th. We had a very enjoyable time. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the report from Trudy SCHENK, our genealogist, who reported how she found Charles GEISSINGER in the Goetzis, Austria records. We all enjoyed the yodel also!!
For those of you who did not attend the reunion, may I repeat briefly the interesting story in the latest saga of Charles GEISSINGER. Trudy reported that the Catholic Church records of Goetzis, may very well have to be returned to the archives because the Catholic Church is furious they were ever microfilmed.
It seems that the archivist in Bregenz, Austria (where these original records are housed) was approached by the L.D.S. Church (someone on a microfilming mission) and was asked if the records of the archives could be microfilmed. He granted permission and the microfilming was done in November 1992. He did not check with the Catholic Church for permission, as he did not think he needed to check (since he is the archivist).
The microfilmed records came to Utah and Trudy through a series of clues found out the records she needed to see were those of Goetzis, Austria and to her surprise those records were at the Granite vaults in Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake. In those records she found our Charles GEISSINGER and has spent the last 18 months extracting all of our relatives of that line, the WALSER line and the BUSCHAUER lines---lines from which we all descend. Over 3300 names have been pulled off the record.
Recently the Catholic Church learned that the microfilming of the Goetzis record had taken place and wants the records returned. To keep the peace and foster good feelings, the Church will do that. Thus these important records will be shut up again and unavailable for research. Trudy informed us at the reunion she has just finished extracting all of our relatives from the records.
It is no coincidence that someone "just happened" to ask permission of the archivist to film those records. It is no coincidence that archivist "just happened" to give permission for those to be microfilmed. It is no coincidence that Trudy "just happened" to stumble on the clue of Goetzis, Austria. It is no coincidence that Charles GEISSINGER "just happened" to be in that Catholic Church record. It is no coincidence that Trudy "just happened" to finish her extraction work in these records shortly before they are recalled and unavailable again.
Trudy reported to me that she has exhausted the funds previously sent to her for the Goetzis research work. I have recently sent her more funds to initiate the work on Michael MAURER. I will meet with her and map out a strategy to systematically search for Michael MAURER.
If anyone has access to or has any high density computer disks of either 5 1/4 inch OR 3 1/2 inch size, I sure could use some. I am sending names to many different temples and each temple keeps the disk sent, so I constantly need more disks. If I can transfer some of our files onto the high density disks which store more information, I can free more of my other disks to be sent to the temples and for ancestral file submissions.
On June 14th, Tedi Jeen and I met with Paul and Rosemary LEYDEN of Akron, Ohio at the FHL in Salt Lake. Rosemary is a GUISINGER-- she descends from Charles GEISSINGER through his son Michael GUISINGER. Michael was a brother to our Catherine GEISSINGER (who married Michael MOWER). Catherine GEISSINGER was the mother of Henry MOWER Sr.
Paul and Rosemary are wonderful people. They reported that Michael GUISINGER's descendants for the most part remained Catholic. We spent a couple of days with Paul and Rosemary and when we parted I gave them a Book of Mormon and a copy of Rex Lee's book, What Do Mormons Believe?
I will enclose a few pictures of Goetzis, Austria as given to me from Trudy SCHENK who went there this last May. I will also enclose some of the LEYDEN's.
The reunion for next year is being planned. Your ideas are most welcomed. Some suggested we have it in Salt Lake and perhaps we can entice some of our Idaho relatives to come down and get to know everyone. Tedi Jeen suggested that we have reports next year on the research that is being conducted on the Almira Jane WHEELER line, the Lucretia HUPPER line, and the Mary AMICK line. And of course, the Michael MAURER line.
I have a couple of people in mind who could do that if they would. I'll see what we can do. If any of you in Salt Lake have a nice bowery at a church that would be great for a Mower reunion, please let me know. We are tentatively looking at a corresponding Saturday in July. We did it this year on the 16th.
Thanks to all for your support. Hope these pictures turn out OK on the photocopy machine. ---Jerry and Tedi Jeen