István Tóth: The elusive "John Smith" of my Hungarian family tree

In the world of the Hungarian people, a man named István Tóth is as common as an American named John Smith. Take that Hungarian and transplant him to America, and he becomes Stephen Toth - not quite as common as the John Smiths who have become his new neighbors, but still just as difficult for his great-granddaughter to distinguish from the many other Hungarian-Americans named Stephen Toth.

My genealogical search for my great-grandfather has been (and continues to be) a challenge for me. His common Hungarian name has sometimes made it difficult for me to track him down. Born in 1874 in the village of Mezőkeresztes in what was then the district of Mezőkövesdi in Borsod County, Hungary, István Tóth was one of two babies born of the same name to appear in the Roman Catholic Church records of that locality during a period of several years. A few clues such as his birth month (as listed on later records), his family's residence, and the name of one of his siblings helped me to narrow my search down to the right István Tóth. Here he is listed in the Roman Catholic parish registry for Mezőkeresztes in 1874:

As an adult, my great-grandfather traveled back and forth from his home and family in Gelej, Hungary (a village very near to his birthplace of Mezőkeresztes) across the Atlantic several times before finally settling in America with his family.

Here listed within one of his daughters' birth records in 1903 as a törvényes atya (the legal father), it is interesting to note István's lakóhelye (place of residence): "jelenleg Trenton Amerika", meaning "currently Trenton, America".


As far as I have determined, István usually traveled alone - his wife and children made their voyage to America separately on another ship after what I assume was István's last visit back to Hungary. My great-grandfather's common name has made it difficult for me to narrow down his passenger lists from the many other István Tóths that made similar trips during the years that he traveled. Thanks to his children's birth records, I know that he made at least two trips to America before finally settling in Trenton. I have unfortunately not been able to confirm even one ship passenger manifest for him yet.

His wife and children, however, were easy to recognize once I found them. (Read more of their story at A little boy, a big ship and a brand new world, Lajos long forgotten: An immigrant baby's story, Update on baby Lajos: His arrival at Ellis Island, and On babies and trans-Atlantic crossings).

István, who became Steven/Stephen in America, first settled with his family in the U.S. in Trenton, New Jersey. He is one of five Stephen Toths that resided in the city during the year 1908, according to the city directory. Another instance with too many possibilities to narrow down easily thanks to Stephen Toth's common Hungarian name!

My real dilemma with my great-grandfather has been my search for records that tell the story of the end of his life. Various records in the early 20th-century (censuses and city directories) indicate his wife as a "widow". Interestingly enough, these records alternate between other records in intervening years where he is listed with his family or where new children were born into the family.

Note the 1908 and 1909 city directory listings for what may be my Stephen Toth and his family in Trenton, New Jersey. Stephen is with the family in 1908, but Mary, a "widow", appears at the same address in the 1909 directory.

1908 Trenton city directory listings for Toth

1909 Trenton city directory listings for Toth

A year later what is clearly my Toth family appears residing in Trenton, father included, in the 1910 U.S. Census.

This pattern occurred later within city directories for the Toth family in Massachusetts. Mary appears to have sometimes labeled herself a "widow" when questioned about her family, although her husband was probably just absent.

It appears that Stephen Toth was not always "around", although he appears to have remained a presence in his family's lives for many years. He is conspicuously missing from this formal family portrait taken of the Toths about 1929.

I have word, however, from one of his daughter-in-laws that Stephen Toth was alive and well in New Jersey at some point during the 1930s. Although the rest of his family was living in Massachusetts at the time, she remembered visiting him there in New Jersey with her husband, Stephen's son.

My questions: Where did my great-grandfather Stephen Toth spend the rest of his life after he apparently left his family in Massachusetts? How long did he live? Where and when did he die, and where is he buried?

These questions have troubled me for some time. There does not seem to be a Social Security record for him. Because of this and because of his birthdate, I assume that he may not have lived past the 1930s or 1940s.

Did Stephen Toth resettle in Trenton, his first American city of residence, after leaving his family in Massachusetts? I may never know the reasons why he made the choices that he did, but it would be nice to at least finally know the genealogical facts regarding the end of his life.

Great-Grandpa, whom so many of your family members never knew: here's hoping that I'll finally find your whereabouts and learn a little more about the missing story of your life.

Sources:

Hungary. Borsod. Mezőkeresztes. Anyakönyvek, 1769-1895. Római Katólikus Egyház, Keresztespüspöki. FHL 623394, page 95. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Hungary. Borsod. Gelej. Állami anyakönyvek, születtek [births], 1895-1908. Gelej (Borsod) Anyakönyvi Hivatal. FHL 2227088, item 5, page 628. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
City Directory (Trenton, New Jersey: The city, 1908), Toth listings.
City Directory (Trenton, New Jersey: The city, 1909), Toth listings.
1910 U.S. census, Mercer County, New Jersey population schedule, City of Trenton, enumeration district (ED) 59, sheet 13B, Stephen Toth; digital images, ProQuest (http://www.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/index: accessed March 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 674.
Toth family portrait. Photograph ca 1929. Digital image. Privately held by the author, United States. 2009

Author's Note:

Thanks to Amy Lenertz Coffin of We Tree for the suggestion of Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt #12: to post a genealogy "brick wall" problem to share with others. This genealogist would be very grateful to anyone who might be able to provide any further clues on the life of Stephen Toth (1874-?) of Mezőkeresztes and Gelej, Hungary; Trenton, New Jersey; and various towns in Massachusetts (including Wilmington, Malden and Cambridge).

Wordless Wednesday: Cemetery in Legrad, Croatia

Photographs of the evangelical cemetery in Legrad (evangeličkog groblja u Legradu) thanks to Z.G.

The "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" in song

Ellis Island, the gateway to America for several of my ancestors, has long been known as the "isle of hope and tears". Here for you to enjoy on St. Patrick's Day is the famous musical tribute to Ellis Island performed by the Irish Tenors.


For more on the celebration of Irish heritage, visit Small-leaved Shamrock for the 12th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture: the 2nd annual online St. Patrick's Day parade!

Beloved baby sister: A tribute to Ethel, 1920-1943

She was the youngest daughter of Frank and Helen Ujlaky. A beautiful baby girl, she was baptized Etelka on March 21, 1920 at the age of one month. A first generation American born of parents who had emigrated from Hungary, she came to be known as Ethel. Two years later Ethel's younger brother Kasmir was born into the family: the last of the six Ujlaky siblings.

Ethel Ujlaky (age one) with her sister Mitzi
riding Buster the horse.
Staten Island, circa 1921.

The Ujlaky family of South Beach,
Staten Island, New York, circa 1926.
Ethel is the young girl standing
at left of her mother (seated).

Born between their two brothers in this closeknit family, the four sisters, who entered the family within the span of a decade, developed a special sisterly bond that grew throughout the years.
Here they are together in 1936 outside the family's South Beach, Staten Island home. Ethel, third from the left, is sixteen years old. Her sisters, all in their twenties, were making their way into adulthood, getting married and having children of their own.

The Ujlaky sisters, circa 1936.
Ethel is the third from left.

Sadly, when Ethel reached her twenties, tragedy struck. Suffering from tuberculosis, she was admitted to Sea View Hospital on Staten Island. Ethel died in 1943, about a month shy of her twenty-third birthday.

Knowing the love that her sisters share, I was deeply touched when I learned the story of their beloved younger sister Ethel. They, her brothers, and her parents suffered a deep loss when she left them at such an early age.

At the time of her death a friend of the Ujlaky family wrote a beautiful poetic tribute to Ethel. I treasure the handwritten copy of Ida's poem that I have in my possession. It is a glimpse into the life of a dear family member whom I never had the chance to know. Here is Ida's tribute to her young friend:

To Ethel

You were so lovely, with your figure so slim,
Always, you were smiling, and you would never give in;
Though your pain was severe, still you never lamented
You put on a good front and appeared contented,
We know you had the courage, and tried very hard to win,
But your strength gave out, in your valiant fight
And you just had to leave your kin.
You have gone to rest to eternal peace and may God bless you
For a brave soldier, you were both stouthearted and true;
Your spirit is here although you’re gone
And the memory of you Ethel will live on and on.

~ Written in 1943 by Ida, friend of the Ujlaky family

Rest in peace, "dear sister Ethel".

For more on Ethel Ujlaky's story, including a picture of her bronzed baby shoe, see The footprint of little Ethel.

For more about the Ujlaky family's home on South Beach, Staten Island, see "The Waves' Rippling Song": South Beach, Staten Island.

For more mystery photographs visit the 11th Edition of footnoteMaven's Smile For The Camera Carnival whose theme is "Brothers & Sisters".

Sources of images:

Ujlaky sisters with Buster the horse, Staten Island, New York. Sepia photographic print. Circa 1921. Privately held by Lisa, [address for private use]. 2009.

Ujlaky family, Staten Island, New York. Sepia photographic print. Circa 1926. Privately held by Lisa, [address for private use]. 2009.

Ujlaky sisters, Staten Island, New York. Sepia photographic print. Circa 1936. Privately held by Lisa, [address for private use]. 2009.

America at last! Ilona's arrival at Ellis Island, 1909

It was one-hundred years ago today that my great-grandmother Ilona (Bence) Ujlaki completed her trying journey aboard the S.S. Carmania and stepped onto Ellis Island with her toddler son, Ferencz. The seventeen-day journey from the port of Fiume, Hungary (now Rijeka, Croatia) was surely a trial as she cared for her son, who became ill during the voyage. Upon arrival they were both admitted to Ellis Island's hospital before finally being released to reunite with Ilona's husband, Ferencz, who had not yet seen his first-born child.

The S.S. Carmania ship manifest for this voyage lists the following information about passenger Ferenczne Ujlaki (that's Ilona listed as "wife of Ferencz Ujlaki"):

• She was twenty-four years old
• $10 was all she had to her name
• Her ethnicity is listed as Hungarian/German
• Her father Stjepan Bence is listed as the nearest friend or relative from her home village of Legrad, Hungary

Just what did Ilona experience on her journey to America?

It is not too difficult to gain a picture of what her trip may have been like. The New York Times published an article on December 14, 1909 called Women in Steerage Grossly Ill Used reporting on conditions observed by special agents of the U.S. Immigration Commission. They had traveled as steerage passengers on various steamships for investigative purposes. Their experiences as travelers on these transatlantic voyages were presented to the U.S. Senate along with recommendations for new legislation to improve conditions on the ships.

The article distinguishes between the "old" and "new" types of steerage. Of the old, the members of the commission maintained in the introduction to their report that:

"The universal human needs of space, air, food, sleep, and privacy are recognized to the degree now made compulsory by law. Beyond that the persons carried are looked upon as so much freight, with mere transportation as their only due."

The article continues:

"The sleeping quarters are described as being in many cases dirty, inadequate, and all that is bad. The average berth is six feet long and two feet wide, with only two and one-half feet of space above it, and that is all the space to which the passenger can assert a definite right. In that space he has to sleep and find room also for his baggage, all of his extra clothing, his eating utensils, his towels and other toilet necessaries. The passageways between the berths are so narrow that none of the articles mentioned could be deposited there."

The S.S. Carmania on which Ilona traveled more than likely fit into the category of new steamships since it was built in 1905, so Ilona's trip may have been a bit better than some travelers of her time. However, with a capacity for about 1,000 steerage passengers on board, it was surely no pleasant ocean cruise.

The 1909 New York Times article about women in steerage continues, in the words of one agent of the Immigration Commission:

"No woman with the smallest degree of modesty, and with no other conveniences than a washroom, used jointly with men, and faucet of cold salt water, can keep clean amid such surroundings for a period of twelve days and more. It was forbidden to bring water for washing purposes into the sleeping compartments nor was there anything in which to bring it. On different occasions some of the women rose early, brought drinking water in their soup palls for washing, but were driven out when detected by a steward. No soap and no towels were supplied."

You can read more of the article at the New York Times online archive here or read its transcription on the Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives website.

The Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives website provides additional insight into the experiences of steerage passengers traveling during the first decade of the 20th-century. See the page Steerage - The Immigrant's Journey for links to various articles that describe the experiences of third class immigrants on their steamship voyages, including Urgency of Improved Conditions (1906) and The Immigrant Journey: Fellowship of the Steerage (1905).

From the latter article comes the following look at The Day of Arrival, in the poetic words of one who had made the trip at least ten times himself by 1905:

"The [ship] is awake after its restless night and mutely awaits the disclosures of its own and the new world's secrets. The sound of a booming gun is carried across the hidden space, and faint touches of flame struggling through the gray, are the sun's answer to the salute from Governor's Island.

"The morning breeze, like a 'Dancing Psaltress', moves gently over the glassy surface of the water, lifts the fog higher and higher, tearing it into a thousand fleecy shreds, and the far things have come near and the hidden things have been revealed. The sky line straight ahead, assaulted by a thousand towering shafts, looking like a challenge to the strong, and a warning to the weak, makes all of us tremble from an unknown fear.

"The [ship] is still mute; it looks to the left at the populous shore, to the right at the green stretches of Long Island, and again straight ahead at the mighty city. Slowly the ship glides into the harbour, and when it passes under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, the silence is broken, and a thousand hands are outstretched in greeting to this new divinity into whose keeping they now entrust themselves.

"Some day a great poet will arise among us, who, catching the inspiration of that moment will be able to put into words these surging emotions; who will be great enough to feel beating against his own soul and give utterance to, the thousand varying notes which are felt and never sounded."

As the writer states, the glory of the moment of arrival was often short-lived.

"Cabin and passengers alike, soon find the poetry of the moment disturbed; for the quarantine and custom-house officials are on board, driving away the tourist's memories of the splendour of European capitals by their inquisitiveness as to his purchases. They make him solemnly swear that he is not a smuggler, and upon landing, immediately proceed to prove that he is one.

"The passengers have before them more rigid examinations which may have vast consequences; so in spite of the joyous notes of the band, and the glad greetings shouted to and fro, they sink again into awe-struck and confused silence. When the last cabin passenger has disappeared from the dock, the immigrants with their baggage are loaded into barges and taken to Ellis Island for their final examination."

Ellis Island Registration Room

The admonishment from this writer in 1905 stood out to me as I read the account of his observations of many fellow travelers. He wrote:

"Let no one believe that landing on the shores of 'The land of the free, and the home of the brave' is a pleasant experience; it is a hard, harsh fact, surrounded by the grinding machinery of the law, which sifts, picks, and chooses; admitting the fit and excluding the weak and helpless."

Such was the day of arrival for many an immigrant to America in the early 20th-century, including Ilona Ujlaki, who stepped off of the S.S. Carmania and onto Ellis Island one-hundred years ago today and had her first real taste of America. She would make her home in this new land for the rest of her ninety-seven years.

Photograph of the Statue of Liberty in 1909 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Photograph of Ellis Island Registration Room thanks to Greg Krenzelok's Ellis Island webpage.

For more on the history of third class steamship travel, visit the Norway Heritage website, particularly Steerage Passengers - Emigrants Between Decks.

This article has been submitted to the 68th edition of Jasia's Carnival of Genealogy, theme: Women's History Month: One Woman.