Adas Family Medical History

Ever since my father had his stroke last February (2013), I've been increasingly curious about my family's medical history and causes of death. Digging into my paternal grandmother's family revealed some scary and shocking information. My own grandmother, Mary Lou (Adas) Gombash, died from a massive heart attack and from what I understand, her brother had some heart and possibly stroke issues. They are the children of Edward Robert Adas, Sr. I've created a family tree to highlight the causes of death in the Adas family, going back to our immigrant ancestors who came over from Putzig (today Puck, Poland). The text in red is the cause of death on their death certificate. You'll notice that every single one of them died from heart related issues.

(click for larger image)

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: The 1908 Marriage of József Majoros & Anna Tóth in Ó-Fehértó

While doing some work on my Gombash line today, I was looking at the spouses of my great-grandfather's siblings; one of them being Michael Mayors. I know he was married to my great-grandfather's sister, Julia, on 09 Sep 1939 in Guernsey county, Ohio. Thanks to their marriage record, I knew Michael's exact birth date and the name of his parents: 18 Jun 1912 and Joseph Mayors (Majoros) & Anna Toth. Using that information, I tracked down their passenger manifest records via Ellis Island and located where they originally came from in Hungary: Ó-Fehértó, Szabolcs, Hungary. Below is the marriage record for Michael's parents:

Entry Number: 22
Place of Marriage: Ó-Fehértó
Date of Marriage: 05 Dec 1908

Groom: Majoros József
Occupation: carter/teamster
Religion: Greek Catholic
Born: 03 Apr 1885
Residence: Ó-Fehértó
Father: Majoros János
Mother: Kocsán Anna

Bride: Tóth Anna
Religion: Greek Catholic
Born: 12 Dec 1890
Residence: Ó-Fehértó
Father: n/a
Mother: Tóth Mária

Witness: Gebri Mihály
Witness: Gerzten Dániel, Ó-Fehértó

The Hajdu-Pethe Marriage

Back about 5 years ago, I discovered a newspaper article from the late 1910's that stated an Emma Gombash was divorcing an Alex Gombash. This Alex Gombash was my great-grandfather. Not many in my family knew about a first wife, but those who did knew nothing about children from this marriage. They had a daughter, who died in infancy, and a son who I later found out lived to be 79 years old. My grandfather had an older brother!


This marriage record is for the parents of Emma Gombash, who was born Irma Hajdu on 21 Oct 1899 in Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs county, Hungary. Ironically, the Hajdu family and my own Gombash family were from the same town in Hungary. And even more, they immigrated together on the same ship and were listed next to one another on the passenger manifest. Quite an astonishing find, when I finally realized who this family was! Irma Hajdu's parents are András Hajdu and Zsófia Pethe, and this is the extract of their marriage:

Entry Number: 4
Date of Marriage: 14 Jan 1891

Groom: Hajdu András, farmer
Residence: 1051
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Age: 23; born 21 Nov 1867
Marital Status: Single
Father: Hajdu Bálint, farmer
Mother: Balogh Zsuzsánna

Bride: Pethe Zsófia
Residence: 842
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Age: 16; born 01 July 1874
Marital Status: Single
Father: Pethe József, farmer
Mother: Dancs Juliánna

Witness: Gombás Miklós, farmer (coincidentally, my great-grandfather's great-uncle)
Witness: D. Gál Balázs, farmer
Priest: Nyakas Balázs, Reformed parish priest
Marriage Banns: Jan 01, 04, 11
Notes: The groom was a soldier in the 15th Huszár Regiment, Company 3 and was discharged 31 Dec 1890.

Surname Saturday #5: Grządziel

Grządziel is the surname of my paternal grandfather's mother. I don't know too much about this line considering the Roman Catholic church records aren't readily available on microfilm for their town in Poland. Here is what I know about the family:

1. Catherine Anna Grządziel
b. 05 Nov 1906, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
d. 26 Aug 1970, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
m. Alex Gombash (Gombás Sándor); 1920/1922, Illinois or West Virginia
*Children omitted for privacy.

2. Franciszek Grządziel
b. 1872, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
d. 10 Jun 1927, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
m. Amelia Stec; 23 Nov 1904, Barycz, Brzozów, Lwów, Poland
*Catharine Anna Grządziel (above)
*Thomas Grządziel, 1909-?
*Joseph Grządziel, 1910-1976
*John Grządziel, 1912-1981
*Mary Grządziel, 1914-1960
*Walter Grządziel, 1917-1918
*Walter Kenneth Grządziel, 1919-1991

3. Stanislaus Grządziel
b. unknown
d. unknown
m. Maria Sowa; unknown
*Franciszek Grządziel (above)

FamilySearch Find of the Day: My Long-Lost Aunt

A few weeks ago, I was doing some indexing and arbitrating for the Hungarian civil registration records on FamilySearch Indexing. To my surprise, it was my great-grandfather's town of Büdszentmihály, in Szabolcs county! Within the first few batches, I came upon a birth record for a Gombás child. I immediately saw the father's name was Gombás Sándor (the name of my 2nd-great-grandfather), but kind of pushed it off the burner thinking I had all the children for my 2nd-great-grandparents. But then I saw the house number Sándor was living in; it was the house number MY Sándor had grew up and lived in! I went down and looked at the mother's name, and there she was.. my 2nd-great-grandmother, Tóth Eszter. I was blown away that I had found a sibling to my great-grandfather that I hadn't known about. I stopped indexing and analyzed the whole record, extracted the information and went and saved the actual image off FamilySearch. To my delight, the record gave mention of the child's date of death and the record number! The two records below are the child's birth record and death record, respectively.

Entry Number: 73
Place: Szentmihályon (in Szentmihály)
Date of Registration: 30 November 1895
Name of Informant: Schwart Fáni
Occupation: Midwife
Residence: Szentmihály
Father: Gombás Sándor
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Occupation: Farmer
Residence: Szentmihály, House Number 1041
Place of Birth: Szentmihály
Age: 23
Mother: Tóth Eszter
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Szentmihály
Place of Birth: Tiszadob, Szabolcs county
Age: 21
Place of Birth: Szentmihály, House Number 1041
Date of Birth: 26 November 1895, 9am
Gender: Female
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Name: Eszter
Notes (bottom):
Schwartz Fáni was the midwife.
Notes (top left):
The child died on 14 December 1895, entry number 47.


Entry Number: 47
Place: Szentmihályon (in Szentmihály)
Date of Registration: 15 December 1895
Name of Informant: S. Nagy Sándor (who is this man??)
Occupation: Farmer
Residence: Szentmihály, House Number 352
Name of Deceased: Gombás Eszter
Religion: Evangelical Reformed
Residence: Szentmihály, House Number 1041
Place of Birth: Szentmihály
Age: 19 days
Father: Gombás Sándor, farmer in Szentmihály
Mother: Tóth Eszter, homemaker in Szentmihály
Place of Death: Szentmihály, House Number 1041
Date of Death: 14 December 1895, 8pm
Cause of Death: Congenital disease
Notes: S. Nagy Sándor was the informant of the death.

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)

Genealogy Find Of The Day: Baptism of My Great-Grand-Uncle, Albert Dudash

For a while now, I've been doing the blogging theme of "FamilySearch Find Of The Day", highlighting new finds I stumble upon and discover for my family tree. I came across a great find today on Ancestry.com and I came to the conclusion I could change the title of my theme: Genealogy Find Of The Day.

Today's "Genealogy Find Of The Day" highlights the baptism record of my great-grand-uncle, Albert Dudash. He was married to my great-grandfather's sister, Elizabeth "Betty Gombash". Below is an extract and image of the record:

First Hungarian Reformed Church, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Entry Number: 96

Date of Birth: 01 November 1908

Date of Baptism: 07 November 1908

Name of Child: Albert

Gender: Male

Legitimacy: Legitimate

Father: Dudás György, csömöri szül. (born in Csömör), ref. (Reformed), bányász (miner)

Mother: Diószeghy Juliánna

Residence: Whitsett, Pa

Sponsor: Fazekas István

Sponsor: Bóczán Jánosné (Mrs. János) szül. (born) Gyüre Erzsébet

Priest: Kalassay Sándor

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - List Your Matrilineal Line(s)

Here are the rules, as posted on Randy Seaver's blog, for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!!:

1) List your matrilineal line - your mother, her mother, etc. back to the first identifiable mother. Note: this line is how your mitochondrial DNA was passed to you!

2) Tell us if you have had your mitochondrial DNA tested, and if so, which Haplogroup you are in.

3) Post your responses on your own blog post, in Comments to this blog post, or in a Status line on Facebook or in your Stream at Google Plus.

4)  If you have done this before, please do your father's matrilineal line, or your grandfather's matrilineal line, or your spouse's matriliuneal line.

5)  Does this list spur you to find distant cousins that might share one of your matrilineal lines?  

Here's mine:

My matrilineal line is:

a) Nick M. Gombash
b) Réne Rodgers
c) Elaine Florella Stuempges (1926, Polar, WI -1987, Chicago, IL) married Thomas Thurman Rodgers
d) Sylvia Maria Bertha Hedwig Martin (1909, Polar, WI - 2008, Antigo, WI) married Walter John Stuempges
e) Maria Summ (1883, Antigo, WI - 1972, Antigo, WI) married Herman Wilhelm Gustav "Gust" Martin
f) Maria Blum (1860, Gutach, Germany - 1951, Norwood, WI) married Johann Georg Summ
g) Barbara Schneider (1824, Gutach, Germany - 1864, Gutach, Germany) married Georg Blum
h) Barbara Brohammer (1788, Gutach, Germany - 1856, Gutach, Germany) married Jacob Friedrich Schneider
i) Catharina Beilharz (1761, Hohenweg, Germany - 1818, Gutach, Germany) married Christian Brohammer
j) Barbara Winkler (? - ?) married Johann Jacob Beilharz
Similar to Randy, I also had my DNA tested and I came up as mtDNA Haplogroup K. We're cousins, Randy! :)

On my Gombash side, the matrilineal line of my father is:

a) John E. Gombash, Jr.
b) Mary Louise Adas (1940, Chicago, IL - 1986, Chicago, IL) married John E. Gombash, Sr.
c) Martha Violet Czarny (1911, Chicago, IL - 1989, Chicago, IL) married Edward Robert Adas, Sr.
d) Rozalia Sophia Wozniak (1887, Osobnica, Poland - 1959, Chicago, IL) married Wojciech Czarny
e) Agatha Turek (? - ?) married Wawrzyniec Wozniak

My Rodgers grandfather's matrilineal line is:

a)  Thomas Thurman Rodgers (1928, Duck Hill, MS - 1983, Paducah, KY) married Elaine Florella Stuempges
b)  Ellen Inez Martin (1902, Carrollton, MS - 1991, Jackson, MS) married Fred Lamar Rodgers
c)  Samatha Aylene Costilow (1869, Holmes Co, MS - 1908, Carroll Co, MS) married Samuel Christopher Columbus Martin
d)  Martha A. Miller (1836, AL? - 1877, Holmes/Yazoo Co, MS) married James Andrew J. Costilow

My Gombash grandfather's matrilineal line is:

a)  John E. Gombash, Sr. (1935, Caretta, WV - 2005, Joliet, IL)
b)  Catherine Anna Grządziel (1906, Barycz, Poland - 1970, Chicago, IL) married Alex Gombash
c)  Amelia Stec (1887/1888, Barycz, Poland - 1968, Cleveland, OH) married Frank Grządziel
d)  Sophia Zwiszek/Swiszek (? - ?) married Jan Stec

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette!

Here are the rules for any who wish to join in, as well! You can find the original rules and post >>here<<. :)

1) How old is your great-grandfather now, or how old would he be if he had lived? Divide this number by 4 and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."

2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ahnentafel (ancestor name list). Who is that person?

3) Tell us three facts about that person with the "roulette number."

4) Write about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a Facebook or Google Plus note or comment, or as a comment on this blog post.

5) If you do not have a person's name for your "roulette number" then spin the wheel again - pick a grandparent, a  parent, a favorite aunt or cousin, or even your children!


Here's mine:

My great-grandfather, Alex Gombash, was born on 07 Nov 1896 in Tiszadob, Szabolcs county, Hungary. If he were to be alive today, he would be 114 years old. Divided by four is 28.5, so I'll round up to 29.

My number 29 ancestor is listed as Anna Weishaupt (1867-1951); here is her entry:

29. Anna Weishaupt was born on 06 May 1867 in Graber, Auscha District, Leitmeritz, Bohemia. She was the daughter of Joseph Weishaupt and Maria Anna Kasper. She was married to Johann Phillip Julius "John" Stuempges on 28 Sep 1887 at Newburgh's Corner, La Crosse County, Wisconsin. She died on 11 Jan 1951 at Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin. (Picture: Anna Weishaupt with husband John Stuempges and children, circa 1897.)

Three facts about Anna Weishaupt:

1) Anna was an ethnic German from Bohemia, immigrating as a two year old child on 10 Jun 1869 aboard the ship Helvetia.

2) Anna had a total of 11 children, 9 of them living to be adults and have children of their own. If she were to live to see all her grandchildren born, she would have had 28 grandchildren.

3) Anna had diabetes. I don't know which type and the severity of it, though. (I honestly don't know too much about diabetes to begin with). I was told by my great-aunt (sister to my grandmother..granddaughters of Anna), that my great-grandmother (Anna's daughter-in-law) was the family member to give Anna her insulin shots.

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: Death Certificate Of Eszter Tóth Gombash

Today I'm highlight the death certificate of my great-great-grandmother, Eszter Tóth Gombash. She was born in the village of Tiszadob, in Szabolcs county, Hungary. Her parents were Károly Tóth and Mária Tóth. Yes, that was also Mária's last name, they were actually 4th cousins. She was married to my 2nd-great-grandfather, Sándor Gombás, in both Tiszadob and Büdszentmihály (the village Sándor was from), in 1895. They had a few children in Hungary and eventually immigrated to America, settling in Butler County, Pennsylvania, until Sándor's death in 1931.

Here is an extract of the record:

Reg. Dist. No.: 475
Primary Reg. Dist. No.: 4719
State File No.: 23475
Registrar's No.: 3
1a. Place of Death, County: Guernsey
1b. Place of Death, City or Village: Richland Twp.
1c. Place of Death, Length of Stay: 2 yrs
2a. Usual Residence, State: Pa
2b. Usual Residence, County: Butler
2c. Usual Residence, City or Village: Emleton P.A.
3. Name of Deceased: Esther Gombash
4. Date of Death: 4-4-50 (04 Apr 1950)
5. Sex: Female
6. Color or Race: White
7. Married, Never Married, Widowed, Divorced: Widow
8. Date of Birth: Sept 22, 1874
9. Age: 76
10a. Usual Occupation: Housewife
10b. Kind of Business or Industry: Own Home
11. Birthplace: Austria Hungary
12. Citizen of What Country: USA
13. Father's Name: Charles Toth
14. Mother's Name: Mary Toth
17. Informant's Signature: Mrs. Michael Mayors (Julia Gombash)
18. Cause of Death, I. Disease or Condition Directly Leading to Death: (a) Aortic valvulitis, several years
18. Cause of Death, I. Disease or Condition Directly Leading to Death: Due To (b) Syphilis probably
20. Autopsy? No
22. I hereby certify that I attended the deceased from 3/7, 1950, to 4/2, 1950, and that death occured at 4:30pm, from the causes and on the date stated above.
23a. Signature: William W. Bryant MD
23b. Address: Senecaville, Ohio
23c. 4/14/50
24a. Burial, Cremation, Removal: Burial
24b. Date: April 7, 50
24c. Name of Cemetery or Crematory: Old Anadale
24d. Location: Anadale, PA
Name of Embalmer: Charles R. Corwin, (Lic. No.) 3164A
Date Rec'd By Local Reg.: Apr 19, 1950
Registrar's Signature: James Stevens
25. Funeral Director's Signature: Wayne D. Womer, Clintonville, PA, (Lic. No.) 3926

FamilySearch Find Of The Day

I thought it might be a neat theme for any random day of the week, to post a miscellaneous record that I periodically find on FamilySearch. With all the new databases they've been adding, I'm bound to find lots of new information on my family.

This post highlights the updated database "United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942". They recently updated the database on Friday, so I thought I'd give it a try and see what I could find. Seeing that they had an index that covers West Virginia, I immediately thought of my great-grandfather, Alex Gombash. I entered his name and his record was the first result to appear. A bit too easy, considering Gombash is always spelled wrong and butchered by whomever is actually writing the records.

Extract:

Serial Number: 462

Name: Alex Gombash

Place of Residence: Caretta, McDowell, W.Va.

Mailing address: Same

Age in Years: 45

Date of Birth: 11 Nov 1896

Place of Birth: Deegan, Pa.

Name and Address of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address: Anna Gombash, Caretta, W.Va.

Employer's Name and Address: Carter Coal Co., Coalwood, W.Va.

Place of Employment or Business: Caretta, McDowell, W.Va.

Signature-Alex Gombash

Race: White

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 145lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Gray

Complexion: Light

Signature of Registrar: Clyde Oney

Registrar for Local Board:  3, Beckley, W.Va.

Date of Registration: 27 of April 1942

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - the 1940 US Census

This is going to be a fun post. I saw on a website, that the 1940 census will be open to the public as of yesterday, one year from now. Immediately, I began thinking of who I should find first.

I've already been able to find my maternal grandparents. My grandfather, Thomas Thurman Rodgers, was born in Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi on 15 Jun 1928 to Fred Lamar Rodgers and Ellen Inez Martin. Here is an excerpt of him with his family in the 1930 census:

Rodgers, Fred L., Head, 30, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Farmer
Rodgers, Ellen I., Wife, 27, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Farm laborer
Rodgers, M. J., Son, 11, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Virginia A., Daughter, 6, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Wilburn H., Son, 4 8/12, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi
Rodgers, Thomas T., Son, 16/12, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi


My maternal grandmother was Elaine Florella Stuempges. She was born 31 Dec 1926 in Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin, to Walter John Stuempges and Sylvia Maria Martin. Here is an excerpt of her with her family in the 1930 census:

Stuempges, Walter, Head, 30, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Bohemia, Mechanic in Garage
Stuempges, Sylvia, Wife, 20, Wisconsin, Germany, Wisconsin
Stuempges, Elaine, Daughter, 3, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin
Stuempges, Eunice, Daughter, 1, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin

As for my paternal grandparents, they were born after the 1930 census. My grandfather was John Edward Gombash. He was born 02 Oct 1935 in Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia and was the son of Alex Gombash (previously Sándor Gombás) and Catherine Grządziel. Along with my great-grandparents and my grandfather, there will be 6 other children listed.. siblings to my grandfather. They're all living, so I won't state names and dates out of respect for their privacy.

My paternal grandmother was Mary Louise Adas. She was born 02 Mar 1940 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois to Edward Robert Adas, Sr. and his wife Martha Violet Czarny. Now knowing she was born in 1940, I'm REALLY hoping she's listed in the census. I'm not sure of the months of which the census was take that year, so I'll have to do some research on that topic. She had one younger brother who was born in 1941.

I'm going to be really curious about my paternal great-great-grandmother, as well. She was Eszter (Tóth) Gombás. Her husband, my great-great-grandfather, had died in May of 1931. She will have been a widow for 9 years now. I'm not sure of the exact location of where she will be, but I believe she may be in Lore City, Richland Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. That's where her daughter Julia (Gombash) Mayors was hopefully living at the time. I do know that Eszter died in April of 1950 in Lore City. Maybe she'll even appear in the 1950 census, too! Boy am I impatient! :)

The Gombash's Very Distant Spanish Ancestry

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know very well that my family, the Gombash's, are of Hungarian descent. Through-out my research I find new documents and records that shed light on the diversity of my Hungarian heritage. Through our Hungarian ancestry we're also Slavic, Swedish and Transylvanian. Now with some new research on our noble origins, I'm discovering that we're very distantly Spanish.

Through Eszter Tóth, we descend from the old and now extinct Nagy-Martoni family. The Nagy-Martoni began in Hungary with three brothers Bertram, Simon, Michael and their sister Tota. In 1198, the four siblings left their home of Aragón in Spain to accompany Constance, who was bethrothed to King Imre of Hungary. Much was recorded about the Nagy-Martoni family as several members of the family became quite powerful and well-to-do.




Modern location of Aragón in Spain

I was able to find an English source that wrote about the family: [At the court there were people who understood Provençal, because Constance had brought some families from Iberia with her. The most famous were the three brothers, Bertram, Simon and Michael, who freed Mallorca and Minorca from the Saracens, and had to leave Southern Spain because of the Almohadian invasions. They fought against the heathen in Hungary too. In 1241 "Simon Hispanus" and Bertram played a decisive role in the successful defence of the Hungarian capital city of Esztergom against the Tartars. In 1204 the Hungarian King gave a village to the sister of the three knights, a "beautiful" Tota and the Spanish family received its Hungarian name from that village. Later they were known as the counts Nagy-Martoni/or the Fraknói or the Bajóti family.] (1).




Seal of Simon Nagy-Martoni's son Pál

There was another additional English source that described in more detail the sister Tota: [Constance brought with her a girl called Tota, the sister of Count Simon and Count Bertram. She was exceedingly beautiful, so fair, indeed, that scarcely any woman in the world in those days was considered her like. This girl was given in marriage to Duke Benedict, son of Conrad, and her dowry was the town of Martinsdorf, a gift from King Emeric and Queen Constance.] (2).

Interestingly enough, I descend from King Imre's sister Margit through my mother's family.

Sources:
(1) Actes du Deuxiem̀e congres international d'étude des cultures de la mediterranée occidentale, Volume 2
Author: International Association of Studies on Mediterranean Civilizations
Publisher: Société nationale d'édition et de diffusion, 1978
Page 403

(2) Deeds of the Hungarians
Author: Simon Kézai
Editors: László Veszprémy, Frank Schaer, Jenő Szűcs
Central European University Press, 1999
Pae 173

My Berzeviczy Lineage

On Monday, I posted several blogs about the lineages of my four grandparents. Now I'm deciding on posting my lineages to my specific noble families that I descend from.. the ones that I'm constantly posting information about in my blog. Today I'm going to focus on my noble Berzeviczy family.

1) Nick M. Gombash

2) John E. Gombash, Jr.

3) John E. Gombash, Sr.
Born 03 Oct 1935, Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia
Died 02 Jun 2005, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
Married Mary Louise Adas, 30 Nov 1957, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

4) Alex Gombash
Born 07 Dec 1896, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 04 Jan 1968, Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois
Married 1st Emma Hido (Irma Hajdú), 19 Aug 1916, Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Married 2nd Catherine Grządziel, abt 1920-1922

5) Eszter Tóth
Born 22 Sep 1874, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 04 Apr 1950, Richland Twp, Guernsey County, Ohio
Married Sándor Gombás, 13 Mar 1895, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary

6) Károly Tóth
Born 09 Dec 1835, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died after 1895, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Mária Tóth, 09 Jan 1856, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary

7) László Tóth, biró and gondnok
Born 09 Feb 1814, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 23 Nov 1870, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Zsuzsánna Bódogh, 15 Jan 1834, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary

8) Mária Tóth
Born 23 Mar 1783, Kesznyéten, Zemplén, Hungary
Died 22 Jun 1823, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Mihály Tóth, boros, 06 Feb 1805, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary

9) István Tóth
Born 14 Jan 1742, Bőcs, Borsod, Hungary
Died unknown
Married Erzsébet Nagy, 10 Feb 1768, at both Bőcs and Kesznyéten

10) Mária Izdenczy de Izdencz és Komlós
Born unknown, probably in Komlós, Sáros, Hungary
Died unknown, probably in Bőcs, Borsod, Hungary
Married Mihály Tóth, 29 Sep 1715, Bőcs, Borsod, Hungary

11) Borbála Horváth de Perlak
Born unknown
Died after 29 Sep 1715, probably Komlós, Sáros, Hungary
Married Márton Izdenczy de Izdencz és Komlós, military captain

12) Margit Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 14 Oct 1694, Cselfalva, Sáros, Hungary
Married 1st Miklós Héderváry
Married 2nd István Horváth de Perlak

13) János Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died 1604
Married Ilona Berzeviczy de Berzevicze (See below for her line)

14) György Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died aft 1562
Married Ilona Kapy de Kapivár

15) Kristóf Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 1555
Married Katalin Berthóthy de Berthót

16) Miklós Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 1488
Married Potentiana Merse de Szinye

17) Jakab Lomniczky de Berzevicze
Died after 1477

18) Henrik de Berzevicze
Died after 1425

19) Miklós de Berzevicze
Died after 1405

20) János de Berzevicze
Died after 1357

21) János de Berzevicze et Lomnicza
Born before 1296
Died after 1343

22) Rikolf de Scepus
Born before 1246
Died after 1270

23) Rutkér of Mátray, Tirol, Austria
Married to the sister of Adolf, prépost of Szepes county, lady-in-waiting to Queen Gertrude von Meran wife of King András II of Hungary.



(From Above)
13) Ilona Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Born abt 1582
Married János Berzeviczy de Berzevicze

14) István Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 1563
Married Zsófia Gombos de Gombosfalva

15) Frigyes Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 1546
Married Borbála Zombory de Zombor

16) János Berzeviczy de Berzevicze
Died after 1471
Married Ilona Sebessy

17) Szaniszló de Berzevicze
Died after 1479
Married Katalin Buchai

18) Henrik de Berzevicze
Died after 1425

19) Miklós de Berzevicze
Died after 1405

20) János de Berzevicze
Died after 1357

21) János de Berzevicze et Lomnicza
Born before 1296
Died after 1343

22) Rikolf de Scepus
Born before 1246
Died after 1270

23) Rutkér of Matray, Tirol, Austria
Rutkér arrived in Hungary in the 12th century with the arrival of Queen Gertrude von Meran as the future bride to King András II of Hungary. His ancient home was Matray, which was anciently known as Matreium (and also Matrei) and was destroyed by the Bavarians in the 9th century. Rutkér was married to the sister of Adolf, the prépost of Szepes county. She was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Gertrude von Meran, wife of King András II of Hungary. Adolf was at one time the teacher of Queen Gertrude. Rutkér, his wife and Adolf all received vast amounts of land from King András II.

My Father's Maternal Lineage

1) Nick M. Gombash

2) John E. Gombash, Jr.

3) Mary Louise Adas
Born 02 Mar 1940, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Died 03 May 1986, Burbank, Cook County, Illinois
Married John E. Gombash, Sr., 30 Nov 1957, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

4) Edward Robert Adas, Sr.
Born 14 Apr 1911, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Died: 10 Jan 1962, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Married Martha Violet Czarny, 16 May 1934, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

5) Joseph Adas
Born 21 May 1882, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Died 20 Feb 1939, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Married Josephine Domagalski, 11 Oct 1903, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

6) Joseph Vincenz Adass
Born 21 Jan 1853, Oslanin, West Prussia, Germany
Died 21 Sep 1932, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Married Marianna Rosalia Pletzke/Plotzke, 18 Jan 1874, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan

7) Johann Adass
Born 31 Oct 1825, Blansekow, West Prussia, Germany
Died before 08 Jan 1853, Oslanin, West Prussia, Germany
Married Maria Meina, 15 Oct 1850, Putzig, West Prussia, Germany

8) Anton Adass
Born 15 Sep 1788, Blansekow, West Prussia, Germany
Died before 23 Nov 1840, Oslanin, West Prussia, Germany
Married Marianna Kolp, 25 Nov 1821, Putzig, West Prussia, Germany

9) George Adass
Born abt 1750, West Prussia, Germany
Died unknown
Married Anna Hirt, 28 Sep 1777, Putzig, West Prussia, Germany

My Mother's Paternal Lineage

1) Nick M. Gombash

2) René Rodgers

3) Thomas Thurman Rodgers
Born 15 Jun 1928, Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi
Died 11 Feb 1983, Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky
Married 1st Emma Sue Cheatham, 07 Aug 1947, Montgomery County, Mississippi
Married 2nd Elaine Florella Stuempges, 01 Dec 1961, Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana

4) Fred Lamar Rodgers
Born 22 Feb 1900, Carrollton, Carroll County, Mississippi
Died 10 Jul 1958, Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi
Married Ellen Inez Martin, 10 Jun 1917, Grenada, Grenada County, Mississippi

5) Allen Parks Rodgers
Born 29 Jun 1873, Carroll County, Mississippi
Died 14 Apr 1945, Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi
Married 1st Minnie Josephine Vance, 08 Jan 1894, Montgomery County, Mississippi
Married 2nd Fannie Davidson, 23 May 1920, Montgomery County, Mississippi

6) Allen Rodgers
Born 17 Apr 1820, Clarke County, Alabama
Died 11 Aug 1894, Carroll County, Mississippi
Married 1st Judith Walker McGehee, 05 Jan 1843, Lauderdale County, Mississippi
Married 2nd Nancy Abigail Chatham, 08 Aug 1860, Carroll County, Mississippi

7) Hays Rodgers, Sr.
Born 01 Feb 1793, Greene County, Tennessee
Died Dec 1862, Pine Springs, Lauderdale County, Mississippi
Married Mary A. Scott, 16 Dec 1816, Clarke County, Alabama

8) James Rodgers
Born 1767-1769, Virginia
Died before 09 Aug 1826, Copiah County, Mississippi
Married Elly Hays, 20 Dec 1790, Greene County, Tennessee

9) James Rodgers
Born 1730's-1740's, possibly New England
Died between 05 Jul 1794 and Feb 1795, Greene County, Tennessee
Married Margaret ?, 21 May 1766, Augusta County, Virginia

10) James Rodgers
Born before 1718, possibly Tyrone County, Ireland
Died before 22 May 1760, Augusta County, Virginia
Married Ann ?

My Paternal Lineage

I liked the idea of doing my maternal line so much, I thought it'd be fun to do my paternal line. Here it is:

1) Nick M. Gombash

2) John E. Gombash, Jr.

3) John E. Gombash, Sr.
Born 02 Oct 1935, Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia
Died 02 Jun 2005, Joliet, Will County, Illinois
Married Mary Louise Adas, 30 Nov 1957, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

4) Alex Gombash
Born 07 Dec 1896, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 04 Jan 1968, Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois
Married 1st Emma Hido (Irma Hajdú), 19 Aug 1916, Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
Married 2nd Catherine Anna Grządziel, abt 1920-1922

5) Sándor Gombás
Born 21 Feb 1872, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 02 May 1931, Goff, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Married Eszter Tóth, 13 Mar 1895, Tiszadob, Szabolcs, Hungary

6) József Gombás
Born 19 May 1845, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 10 Nov 1886, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Zsuzsánna Gulyás, 15 Dec 1869, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary

7) Sándor Gombás
Born 27 Aug 1814, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 04 Jan 1856, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Erzsébet Sajti, 01 Dec 1835, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary

8) József Gombás
Born before 1793, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died unknown
Married Katalin Mezei, 06 Jan 1813, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary

9) Péter Gombás
Born before 1737, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died unknown
Married Erzsébet Balogh, before 1771, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary

10) György Gombás
Born abt 1696, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Died 19 Apr 1776, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary
Married Mrs. György Gombás, Born abt 1703 and Died 17 Feb 1771, Büdszentmihály, Szabolcs, Hungary

My Maternal Lineage

I'm a day behind with mother's day and the trend with posting our maternal lineage, so I figured I'd better hurry up and do mine! Here we go:

1) Nick M. Gombash

2) René Rodgers

3) Elaine Florella Stuempges
Born 31 Dec 1926, Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Died 19 Jun 1987, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Married 1st: James William Felton, 14 Jun 1948, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Married 2nd: Thomas Thurman Rodgers, 1 Dec 1961, Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana

4) Sylvia Maria Bertha Hedwig Martin
Born 28 May 1909, Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Died 12 Jan 2008, Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Married 1st: Walter John Stuempges, 21 Sep 1927, Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota
Married 2nd: Ewald Ferdinand Flemming, Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin

5) Maria Summ
Born 23 Jul 1883, Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Died 06 Apr 1972, Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Married Herman Wilhelm Gustav "Gust" Martin, 23 Jul 1907, Polar, Langlade County, Wisconsin

6) Maria Blum
Born 06 Oct 1860, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Died 14 Oct 1951, Norwood, Langlade County, Wisconsin
Married Johann Georg Summ, 16 Oct 1882, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin

7) Barbara Schneider
Born 06 Sep 1824, Knappenacker, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Died 04 Mar 1864, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Married Georg Blum, 17 Apr 1851, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany

8) Barbara Brohammer
Born 24 Sep 1788, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Died 13 Aug 1856, Knappenacker, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Married Jacob Friedrich Schneider, 24 Sep 1820, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany

9) Catharina Beilharz
Born 16 Jan 1761, Hohenweg, Hornberg, Ortenau, Baden, Germany
Died unknown
Married Christian Brohammer, 26 Sep 1787, Gutach, Ortenau, Baden, Germany

My First Hungarian Document

The first Hungarian document I ever found was the marriage of my paternal great-great-grandparents, Sándor Gombás and Eszter Tóth. I found this record in February or March of 2003, and it's what began all my research into my Hungarian ancestors. They were married on 13 Mar 1895 in Tiszadob, Szabolcs megye, Hungary. From this union they would have eleven children, eight of which surviving to become adults.



In the marriage record it gives their town of birth/residence as well as their birth dates in the "notes" column to the right. Sándor Gombás was born 02 Feb 1872 in Büdszentmihály and Eszter Tóth was born 22 Sep 1874 in Tiszadob. The witnesses to the marriage were an Mihályi Enyi from Büdszentmihály and a Sándor Porkoláb of Tiszadob, a brother-in-law to Eszter's sister Zsuzsánna. Zsuzsánna was married for a short time (until they divorced) to László Porkoláb, who was the brother to Sándor.

Tombstone Tuesday - Tiszadada WWII Memorial

This and next week (and possibly the week after that), I thought I would do something different for Tombstone Tuesday. Today's post is the World War II memorial in Tiszadada, Hungary. It lists the names of all the fallen soldiers, or "heroes" as the memorial states. It's very sad to see 81 dead men just one from small village in Hungary alone.. very sad. Even more so seeing the name of a relative of mine, Miklós Gombás, which ironically means Nick Gombash.

At the top of the memorial, it states: "A Második Világhaború Névsora Hősihalottainak" which translates literally to 'The WWII list of Heroic Dead'. Rest in peace, men. You definitely will never be forgotten.