The Family of Károly Tóth and his wife Mária Tóth, of Tiszadob

Two weeks ago, I posted an entry about the first Hungarian document I found. That document is what began my entire search on my Hungarian ancestors. I thought it'd would be neat to show my documented work for a single family for each blog entry.

This entry will be focused on my great-great-grandmother's family. Her name was Eszter Tóth, and she was the daughter of Károly Tóth and Mária Tóth (who were 4th cousins). Károly and Mária were married on 09 Jan 1856 in Tiszadob, entry number 5. Károly was 20 years old and Mária was 19, both were from Tiszadob and were listed as földmives - farmers. Fortunately for me, the sister of Károly was married on the same day. Her name was Terézia Tóth and she was married to an Imre Németh. She was 17 and he was 26. Terézia was a földmives, like her brother Károly, and Imre was a mólnár - a miller. Here is their marriage record:



Their first child was named Károly. He was born 22 Nov 1856 and baptized a day later on the 23rd, both in Tiszadob. In his baptism record he is listed as "elsö-születt", which means "first-born". Károly only lived to be 10 years old. He died on 04 Jun 1867 in Tiszadob. The circumstances are quite sad for the death of Károly. According to his death record, he fell into some kind of pit or hole in the ground in the neighboring town of Szerencs, and drowned. Looking more into his death, it seems very odd. Szerencs is about 17 miles north of Tiszadob (where they were living) and would have been a good 5 hour walk. What was little 10-year-old Károly doing in Szerencs? Here is his baptism record:



Their second child was named Lajos. He was born 17 Oct 1860 and was baptized three days later on the 20th. I can only presume that Lajos lived to an old age, as he was married and had children. He was married to Borbála Balogh on 14 Sep 1884 in Tiszadob and had four children that I know of: Lenke (1886), Terézia (1888), Borbála (1891) and Lajos (1894). The record available to me end in 1895, so it's entirely possible that Lajos and Borbála had several more children. Here is his baptism record:



Their third child was László, a name-sake for his paternal grandfather. He was born on 01 Mar 1863 and was baptized two days later on the 3rd. László only lived to be two years old. He died on 25 Sep 1865 of "red smallpox". Here is his baptism record:



Their fourth child was Zsuzsánna. She was born on 04 Oct 1865 and was baptized a day later on the 5th. Zsuzsánna had two spouses and seven known children. Her first husband was László Porkoláb and they were married on 16 May 1883 in Tiszadob. They were divorced within a matter of two years, as László remarried in 1885 in the neighboring town of Tiszadada. He was divorced again and married four years later in Tiszadob. I feel bad for the women who had to deal with him, he must've been a real jerk. Anyway, Zsuzsánna was remarried to a man named Dániel Szuhai on 31 Dec 1888 in Tiszadob. It was with Dániel that Zsuzsánna had her children: Dávid (1889), Dávid (1891), András (1892), Bénjámin (1896), Dániel (abt 1905), Pearl (1908) and Samuel (abt 1909). It is to Dániel and Zsuzsánna that my great-great-grandparents (Sándor Gombás and Eszter Tóth) immigrated to when they came to America in 1909. Zsuzsánna died on 16 Nov 1937, in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Her and her husband are buried in Evergreen Cemetery, in Painesville, Ohio. They have many descendants still living today. Here is her baptism record:



Their fifth child was Mária. She was born 03 Oct 1871 and was baptized two days later on the 5th. Mária was married to Bálint Balogh on 29 Dec 1890. Bálint was the brother of Borbála Balogh, wife of Mária's brother Lajos. Mária and Bálint had a set of twin sons in 1891 named Máté and Bálint. As I stated before, the records available end in 1895, so they could have had more children that we don't know about yet. Here is her baptism record:



Their sixth and last child was Eszter, my great-great-grandmother. She was born on 22 Sep 1874 and was baptized two days later on the 24th. On 13 Mar 1895 in Tiszadob, she was married to Sándor Gombás from the neighboring village called Büdszentmihály. Sándor came to America in 1902. Eszter followed suit and came a year later in 1903. While during her stay she had two children, Susan (1904) and Gyula (1906). She returned to Hungary with her daughter Susan and then finally came to America for good with her children in 1909. Sándor and Eszter had a total of eleven children: Alex (1896), Sándor? (1897), Balázs/Robert (1898), József (1900), Susan (1904), Gyula/Julius (1906), Esther (1910), Sophie (1912), Elizabeth "Betty" (1913), Dallas "Casey" (1916) and Julia (1920). Sándor died on 02 May 1931 in Goff, Butler County, Pennsylvania. Eszter died on 04 Apr 1950 in Richland Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. They're both buried in the "Old Anadale" Eau Claire Cemetery, in Venango, Butler County, Pennsylvania. Here is her baptism record:

Black Sheep Sunday - Alex Gombash

Sunday is almost over.. I better hurry up! lol

My great-grandfather, Alex Gombash, was a character alright. Later on in his life, he was known to always have a bottle of whiskey in hand or a stogie in mouth.

(Note: Both whiskey AND stogie! haha)

He was born 7 Dec 1896 in Tiszadob, Szabolcs megye (county), Hungary, to Sándor (Alex) Gombás and Eszter Tóth (a noblewoman). His father Sándor immigrated to America on 09 Jul 1902 to his brother-in-law Daniel Szuhay. Daniel's wife was Zsuzsánna Tóth, Eszter's sister. Eszter immigrated eight months later on 05 Mar 1903 to her husband. Eszter remained in America until about 1906 and removed back to Hungary. She then immigrated a final time on 16 Nov 1909 with her children Alex (my g-grandfather), Robert and Susan (who was born in America in 1904).

Alex grew up mainly in Butler County, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19 years old, he married a fellow Hungarian named Emma Hido. Her Hungarian name was Irma Hajdú. Coincidentally enough, Emma and her family came from the same village as Sándor Gombás.. Büdszentmihály. And coincidentally again, Emma and her family were listed below the Gombash's on their immigration manifest in 1909. They were obviously family friends, and as research showed, relatives of Sándor through the Pethe family.

Anywho, Alex and Emma were married 19 Aug 1916 in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. I don't know much about their marriage, other than what was in their divorce papers. Alex apparently left the home quite often and wouldn't return for periods at a time. In other words, he would abandon her for a while, then come back and then do it again.

They had a daughter and a son during all of this. As for the daughter, I don't know when she was born or died, but she died sometime after new year of 1919. Their son was named Joseph Anthony Gombash, later changed to Csordas when he was adopted by his step-father. He was born 23 Sep 1919 in Aultman, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He abandoned her one final time, so Emma moved in with her parents, Andrew Hido and Sophia Pethe. Emma later went to court and petitioned for a divorce. The sherrifs of Indiana and Butler counties couldn't find Alex anywhere, so that he could appear at the divorce hearing. He never showed, nor saw his son ever again.

Alex then began to traveling in open railway cars around the midwest, primarily in the PA-OH-IL area. He finally settled in Joliet, Will County, Illinois where he met my great-grandmother, Catherine Grządziel. Catherine was the first born into an arranged marriage, 05 Nov 1906 in Barycz, Brzózow, Poland. Her parents were Franciszek Grządziel and Amelia Stec. I do not know the marriage date for Alex and Catherine, but I assume it to be sometime between 1920 and 1922. Alex and Catherine later relocated to McDowell County, West Virginia, where their children were born and raised.

Alex's mother who was previously mentioned, died on 04 Apr 1950 in her daughter Julia's home in Richland Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. Alex didn't attend her funeral. Because of this and other things, he became very unfavorable with his siblings and family. In 2004, I contacted my great-great-aunt Julia to ask questions for my research. She nicely replied to my questions, but later asked me to stop writing.

She had tons of pictures and information from Hungary that I would've been ecstatic to have copies of. Pictures from Hungary.. with Hungarian writing on the back! Need I say more?! Originals would've been great, but I don't need them. Just to see a decent clear picture of my great-great-grandparents Sándor and Eszter would've been... simply put, AMAZING! Julia passed away in 2008 at the age of 87 years old. Everthing of hers and her sister Esther's (who passed in 2000, before I started my research), has now been passed onto their niece Patricia. She has spoken with me on the phone several times, and I have asked for copies of things.. even said I would reimburse. But her son told her not to share anything with me, so alas.. I have received nothing. It's unnerving knowing the actions of my great-grandfather are having this effect on my interaction with family that I've never met, and have been nothing but nice and courtesy with.

The Gombash Centennial

As of November 8th, our Gombash family will have been in America for 100 years. On that day 100 years ago, our ancestor Eszter (nee Tóth) Gombás arrived at Ellis Island with her three children: Sándor (Alex), Balázs (Robert) and Zsuzsánna (Susan). Alex was listed as 11 years old, Robert as 9 years old and Susan as 5 years old.

The manifest states that they arrived at Ellis Island abroad the S.S. Ultonia. They had emigrated through the port of Fiume, on October 16th. It also stated they were going to their husband and father, Sándor (Alex) Gombás, at Keisters, PA.

Immigration Manifest, Page 1

Immigration Manifest, Page 2

Coincidentally enough, Emma Hido, the first wife of Alex Gombash Jr., is listed on the same manifest as the Gombash's. Her Hungarian name was Irma Hajdú and her and her family were from the same village as the Gombash's... Büdszentmihály. Her father was András Hajdú and her mother was Zsófia Pethe, a relative of the Gombash's. The grandmother of Alex Gombash Sr. was also a Pethe.

As I stated earlier, the family was going to their husband and father, Sándor (Alex) Gombás, in Keisters, PA. Alex Sr. had immigrated to America via Ellis Island on July 9th, 1902. He immediately settled in Butler, PA with his brother-in-law Dániel Szuhay. Dániel Szuhay was married to Zsuzsánna Tóth, Eszter's sister.

A year after Alex immigrated, Eszter went to her husband in Butler, PA on 05 Mar 1903. She stayed there for a period of at least three years, during which time she had two children born here in America. They were Susan, on 19 Feb 1904 and Gyula (Julius), on 02 Feb 1906. Eszter returned to Hungary with her daughter, Susan, sometime between 1906 and 1909. I'm not sure exactly when Gyula died, but I can only assume he died as an infant in Butler, PA, before Eszter returned to Hungary.

Alex and Eszter also had a son named József, in Hungary on October 31st, 1900. As told to me from family, when Eszter and her 3 children immigrated, József was left behind with his grandmother, Zsuzsánna (nee Gulyás) Gombás. She had been widowed 23 years previously, and Alex was her only living child. So naturally, they didn't want to simply abandon her. The family was hoping to save up enough money to bring them both over to America. As the years went on, the family continued to keep in contact with József through letters. He was told about his father Alex passing in 1931, and then his mother in 1950. I can only assume that Zsuzsánna passed away before Alex did, or she would've been 81 years old.

WWII then hit and the Hungarian borders closed. I was told that József married and had a family. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to try to escape Hungary at the time, especially with a family. József never made it to America. I would love to track down József's family one day and make contact. Imagine traveling to Europe and reuniting with them after 100 years of seperation!