This series started in the previous issue. By way of introduction, I asked readers to share any information they have on earlier cases of emigration from a particular village than listed in this paper. To my great pleasure I was soon informed that the first emigrant from Oslip left for the United States as early as 1848. Therefore, I would like to restart the First Emigrants lists, as follows: 

Year	Village	Name	(Year of birth)	Destination	~
1777	Neutal	Lorenz Schönbacher	(1752)	North Carolina
1845	Unterschützen	Grabenhofer
1848	Oslip	Franz Kutassy		Tennessee
1849	Oberschützen	Josef Mücke		Tennessee
1853	Eisenstadt	Franz Walter			+
1854	Purbach	Kloiber, Reiner, Trummer		Texas
	Donnerskirchen	Steffanitsch	(1813)	Texas
1855	Breitenbrunn	Josef Resch	(1797)	Wisconsin

.In the revolution year 1848 the priest of Oslip, Franz Kutassy, fled the country for political reasons and eventually settled in the U.S.A. The next emigrants from Oslip were Paul and Anna Schumits, who left their Austrian home in 1856.

In the mid 1850s agents started to offer their services to potential emigrants from northern Burgenland, and a number of families from the lake district emigrated to America. Correspondence with the authorities attests to the dire conditions under which people lived in those years. The following is an extract from a letter of the "Statthalterei-Abteilung" Ödenburg to the "Komitatsbehörde" Ödenburg dated July 31, 1854, on matters concerning Andreas Steffanitsch, who emigrated from Donnerskirchen later in the year: 

"Andreas Steffanitsch, 41 years old, born in Gschiess (today: Schützen am Gebirge near Eisenstadt), living in Donnerskirchen, catholic, married, no children, day laborer, plus spouse Barbara (36 years), military service done. The applicant and his wife are industrious people and lead an orderly life. They plan to travel via Bremen. Their assets (unencumbered) total 474 fr 51, which will pay for their journey via Bremen. The competent administration does not raise any objection to their emigration, which they are bent to undertake despite the attempts to dissuade them made by the Stuhlrichter, the head of the district administration."

Moreover, they are informed that they are requested to sign a statement confirming that they"will not return to the Austrian Monarchy ... because this would only encourage other working age people to follow their example; they would be lured abroad, in their ignorance and at their peril, enticed by grand promises and the ease of obtaining permission to emigrate."

Hans Resch (born 1797) from Breitenbrunn obtained permission to emigrate in April 1855, together with his wife Theresia (born 1814), ten children and one grandchild. To get their 19-year old son Michael exempted from military service, the family had to pay 500 guilders, which was 1/10 of their entire assets. In June 1855 they arrived in New York and traveled onward to Lomira (Wisconsin). Today, the 8th-generation descendents of this family live in Arizona. 
Also in 1855, Anton Händler and his Theresia, together with their nine children, left Breitenbrunn for the United States. 

To be continued.