Surname Saturday #1: Gombash

Long have I put off beginning this weekly genealogical meme, but it's about time I started! Before I begin with the actual data, I wanted to talk a bit about the history of my surname and some DNA information.

My surname Gombash was originally Gombás, in Hungary. After coming to America, my 2nd-great-grandparents changed the spelling to aid in the pronunciation of the name. Gombás is a form of the Hungarian word "gomba", which means "fungus" or "mushroom". The term "gombás" implies the original fore-bearer of the surname was associated with mushrooms; either foraging for, growing and/or selling them.

I had my Y-DNA tested twice now; once a few years ago and a second time through a generous friend of mine. All results have come back to conclude that my direct Gombash line belongs to the haplogroup I2a2a, on the human family tree. It appears that our Gombash ancestors seems to have migrated to Hungary hundreds of years ago from the Bosnia-Croatia area.


1. John Edward Gombash, Sr.
b. 02 Oct 1935, Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia
d. 02 Jun 2005, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
m. Mary Louise Adas; 30 Nov 1957, St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
*Children omitted for privacy.

2. Alex Gombash; born Gombás Sándor (surnames come first in Hungary)
b. 07 Nov 1896, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 04 Jan 1968, Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois
m1. Emma Hido (born Hajdú Irma); 19 Aug 1916, Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
m2. Catharin Grządziel; 1920-1922, possibly Joliet, Will County, Illinois
*Children omitted for privacy.

3. Alex Gombash; born Gombás Sándor
b. 21 Feb 1872, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 02 May 1931, Goff, Butler County, Pennsylvania
m. Tóth Eszter; 13 Mar 1895, Tiszadob, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
*Sándor; (above)
*Balázs (later Robert); b. 11 Mar 1898, d. Oct 1934
*József; b. 31 Oct 1900, d. unknown (adult)
*Susan; b. 19 Feb 1904, d. Nov 1967
*Gyula; b. 02 Feb 1906, d. unknown (infancy)
*Esther; b. 03 Sep 1910, d. 12 Feb 2000
*Sophie; b. 13 May 1912, d. unknown (infancy)
*Elizabeth; b. 15 May 1913, d. 12 Jan 1948
*Dallas; b. 11 May 1916, d. unknown (adult)
*Julia; b. 31 Jul 1920, d. 22 Jun 2008

4. Gombás József
b. 19 May 1845, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 10 Nov 1886, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
m. Gulyás Zsuzsánna; 15 Dec 1869, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
*Sándor; (above)
*Balázs; b. 23 Aug 1877, d. 07 Mar 1878

5. Gombás Sándor
b. 27 Aug 1814, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 04 Jan 1856, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
m. Sajti Erzsébet; 01 Dec 1835, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
*Miklós; b. 21 Sep 1838, d. 30 Nov 1840
*Miklós, b. 30 Jun 1842, d. unknown (adult)
*József; (above)

6. Gombás József
b. 30 Nov 1793, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 12 Jan 1879, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
m. Mezei Katalin; 06 Jan 1813, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
*Sándor; (above)
*Zsuzsánna; b. 28 Sep 1816, d. unknown
*Juliánna; b. 11 Feb 1819, d. unknown
*Lidia; b. 21 Jun 1820, d. unknown
*Bálint; b. 01 Jun 1829, d. unknown

7. Gombás György
b. about 1762, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
d. 04 Mar 1832, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs megye, Hungary
m. Sára Fodor de Hajdúnánás; 21 Jan 1789, Hajdúnánás, Hajdú megye, Hungary
*Zsuzsánna, b. 21 Feb 1791, d. 01 Mar 1795
*József, (above)
*Miklós, b. 20 Jun 1796, d. unknown
*Sándor, b. 06 Sep 1798, d. unknown
*Zsuzsánna, b. 30 Aug 1801, d. 18 Feb 1858
*Erzsébet, b. 07 Jan 1804, unknown
*Bálint, b. 17 Jul 1806, d.  06 Aug 1806
*János, b. 17 Jul 1806, d. 26 Jul 1806
*Bálint, b. 02 May 1808, d. unknown
*Juliánna, b. 20 Mar 1812, d. unknown

8. Gombás Péter
b. unknown
d. unknown
m. unknown
*György, (above)