After World War I and the fall of the Hapsburg Empire parts of Eastern Europe were chopped up by the Treaty of Trianon. Prime cuts went to the winners and Hungary lost 2/3 of its territory and 1/3 of its population. This left substantial ethnic enclaves on the wrong side of borders. Some people migrated; others stayed and made the best of it.
250 years ago today the most devastating earthquake to strike Hungary hit Komárom on June 28, 1763. Estimated at 6.3 on the Richter scale, it caused at least 63 deaths, over 100 injuries, and heavily damaged buildings.
Aftermath of 1763 Komárom earthquake. Painting by Karl Friedel.
Bertalan Székely – Az Egri Nők
International Women’s Day seems like a good day to write about the courage of warrior women of Hungary. This painting by Bertalan Székely is titled The Women of Eger. It commemorates the 1552 Siege of Eger during the Ottoman Wars in Europe. The citizens of Eger, outnumbered by about 35,000 to 2,200, fought to defend the Castle of Eger from the Turks. The women joined the battle pouring down cauldrons of boiling water and tar on the oncoming enemy. Together they managed to claim victory that day. The story is well known by every Hungarian student. Unfortunately, later the Turks returned and occupied Hungary for 150 years. Continue reading
File this under it’s never too late for love.
1726 Gergely Édes and Catharine Galambos
In 1762, a week before Valentine’s day, fifth great-grandfather Gregory Édes (Gregorius/Gergely) was married for a second time at age 63. His bride was an educated single woman, Catherine Galambos. The marriage register describes Gregory as a widowed grandfather. They were both from Madár. The two witnesses were noble earls or counts.
The early Hungarian census records were primarily a record of property ownership.
This is the 1720 census for Stephanus (István) Édes in Apacza, Komaróm
This image shows the 1720 census for Stephanus (István) Édes in the town of Apacza in Komaróm county. From the information I have been able to piece together from various sources, it says he owned 20 units of land (about 20 acres). It may say that 6 fields are plowed but not seeded. The last column relates to how much of the property is a vineyard.
This István Édes is from the period where our lineage is missing clear connections between Gergely Édes born 1699 in Madár and Gergely Édes who was granted nobility in 1638.
This gallery contains 9 photos.
On March 20 1638 Gergely Édes along with his wife, Katalin Kerekes and his brothers; Vince, Mátyás, György and Ferenc were granted nobility by Ferdinand III Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire for their valor in battle. This document commemorates that event. The title in … Continue reading
Generations of the Édes family had lived and died in the Komárom region now just over the Slovakian border in northwest Hungary. Zsigmund Edes, born in Komárom in 1830 moved 350km south to the city of Vukovar in Croatia.
View of the Danube from Vukovar, 1917.
photo from Wikipedia Commons
There he married Julianna Vill who was born in Apatin, Bács-Bodrog, Hungary. They were married in the Church of St. Philip and Jacob in February 1858.
Why did they move so far away from their family homes? What do you think brought them to Vukovar?
Édes-Orbán Family 