Winter Wednesday Wedding: The 110th Anniversary of Ferencz & Ilona Ujlaki

On a cold Wednesday 110 years ago today 25-year-old Ferencz Ujlaki married his bride, 20-year-old Ilona Bence, in the Catholic church of a small Croatian village in Austria-Hungary.

Their life together would carry them to New York City where they would Americanize their names to Frank and Helen, raise six children, and leave a host of descendants.

Yesterday a cousin of mine and I (Hi, Ric!) worked to calculate the current count of just how many descendants Frank and Helen have as of this, their 110th anniversary. We are happy to report that - tada! - the number is actually more than 110!

In honor of this very special anniversary and in hopes that we, their descendants, will not forget the lives of Papa and Grammy Ulaky (as we now know them) and the sacrifices they made that altered the courses of so many of our own lives, I'd like to briefly share their story once again.

~

Ferencz and Ilona were born in different villages just across the Drava River from each other in what is now northern Croatia. At the time Donja Dubrava (formerly Alsodomború, where Ferencz was born in 1879) and Legrad (where Ilona was born in 1884) were considered part of Zala megye (Zala County), Austria-Hungary. Presently this area is in Croatia right on the border of modern Hungary. Read more about the fascinating history of their home villages in Međimurje: Meeting place of rivers and cultures.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Župa Presvetog Trojstva), Legrad's parish, was the home church of the Bence family. That is where Ferencz and Ilona married on February 15, 1905.

Their marriage record includes lots of information, including their birthdates and birthplaces, parents' names, occupations, etc. Both the bride's and groom's fathers are listed as földműves (farmers). Ferencz himself is listed as bognár: a wheelright. I was happy to see that the document has the original signatures of both the bride and the groom (see the right hand side of the photo below).

Within the first year of their marriage, by the fall of 1905, Ilona was expecting their first child. As one of the couple's daughters shared with me, Ferencz hastened his plans to immigrate to America before the baby was born: he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave after his or her arrival. He left the port of Antwerp for New York on April 7, 1906. Baby Ferencz was born just a month later on May 9, 1906. Ilona and her baby stayed behind for almost three years. They left the port of Rijeka (Fiume) on February 13, 1909, joining Ferencz in New York City on March 2, 1909. Theirs was a difficult journey, but the small family was finally reunited.

Following their firstborn, Ferencz (later called Frankie), four daughters were born followed by another son. The girls - Ilona (Helene), Marie, Wilma, and Ethel - were born while the family lived in the Hungarian neighborhood of the lower East side of Manhattan. Their youngest child, Kasmir, was born after they moved to Staten Island into a home built by Frank with the help of friends.

Ferencz and Ilona's days were filled with the struggles of new immigrants trying to raise children, make a living, and somehow fit into the new culture in which they found themselves. Theirs was a difficult life, as I realized with even more clarity when I created a short timeline of her Ilona's sorrows over just a 33-year period. Helen lived to be 97. Sadly, Frank succumbed to tuberculosis at only age 60.

Their marriage had lasted only 34 years, yet today we celebrate the 110th anniversary of their union and the more than 110 descendants that are here today thanks to their love and sacrifice. Their wedding took place a day after February 14. That date has two special memorial celebrations in the Catholic Church: St. Valentine's Day (on which today we celebrate love) and the memorial of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the "apostles to the Slavs" who are known for bringing Christianity to the Slavic peoples (my Ujlaki and Bence ancestors included). The saints we celebrate on this day make it easy for me to remember the anniversary of my great-grandparents on February 15.

Happy 110th anniversary, Papa and Grammy!

Frank and Helen (Bence) Ujlaki

Marriage at a Glance

• Married: 15 February 1905 in Legrad, Austria-Hungary
• Children: Ferencz/Frankie (1906-1942), Ilona/Helene (1910-2009), Marie (1911-2011), Wilma (1913-2014), Ethel (1920-1943), Kasmir (1922-2006)
• Duration of Marriage: 34 years ending at Frank's death on 22 April 1939

Ferencz/Frank Ujlaki
1879-1939

Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: Ferencz Ujlaki
• Parents: Josip Ujlaki and Terezija Globlek
• Born: 17 March 1879 in Alsodomború (Donja Dubrava), Austria-Hungary
• Immigrated: Departed Antwerp aboard the S.S. Zeeland on 7 April 1906; arrived at Ellis Island in New York City on 19 April 1906
• Died: 22 April 1939 in Staten Island, NY at age 60
• Buried: St. Mary's Cemetery, Grasmere, Staten Island, NY

Ilona/ Helen (Bence) Ujlaki
1884-1981

Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: Ilona Bence
• Parents: Stjepan Bence (1857-1939) and Magdalena Bedenica (1860-1957)
• Born: 6 May 1884 in Alsodomború (Donja Dubrava), Austria-Hungary
• Siblings: Katarina (1882-1981), Adam (1888-1915)
• Immigrated: Departed Rijeka (Fiume) aboard the S.S. Carmania on 13 February 1909; arrived at Ellis Island in New York City on 2 March 1909
• Died:  15 September 1981 in Staten Island, NY at age 97
• Buried: St. Mary's Cemetery, Grasmere, Staten Island, NY

This article is included as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 7, in which this article falls, is "Love". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of What's Past is Prologue for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.]

My Catholic, Hungarian and Croatian Genealogy QuickGuides™ now available as Kindle eBooks

If you are tracing Catholic, Hungarian or Croatian roots (or two of those, or all three!), you may be familiar with my Catholic, Hungarian and Croatian Genealogy QuickGuides™. Published in partnership with Legacy Family Tree, these resources were first available as PDF downloads on the Legacy Family Tree website.

I am pleased to announce that all three guides are now available as Amazon Kindle eBooks. Whether you have a Kindle (or use the free Kindle app on your computer, tablet or smartphone) you can now have handy access to these guides in eBook format.

What's the difference? The PDF downloads are in a compressed format and make the guide compact for easier printing and sliding into the rings of a notebook. The eBooks include the same content laid out into book format, so they have more pages. They would use up more paper if printed, yet are easily scrollable using a Kindle or Kindle app.

For more details about each individual guide, visit:

• My new Catholic Genealogy QuickGuide™: Let me help you find those Catholic ancestors
• My new Hungarian Genealogy QuickGuide™: Trace your roots in the land of the Magyars
• My new Croatian Genealogy QuickGuide™: Journey with me back to your roots in Croatia

Happy researching!

My new Croatian Genealogy QuickGuide™: Journey with me back to your roots in Croatia

My family's Croatian roots were originally hidden.
After research I discovered that my grandmother's
"Hungarian" family had actually originated in northern Croatia.

This fall I visited Croatia, but not in the sense that you might imagine. Though I do hope to actually set foot in the country of my ancestors again sometime in the next few years, this "trip" to Croatia was a virtual tour of the country, its history, its geography, and most of all its genealogical treasures.

Croatian genealogy can be a challenging area, yet those who are up to the task can be rewarded with great discoveries.

I am privileged to be able to delve into the heritage of my great-grandparents' who hailed from near the Hungarian border in the northernmost region of Croatia. The country is diverse, and so are the stories of the peoples who have lived within its borders. The historical influence of many different nations, peoples and cultures and the variety of languages found within Croatian records can test the skills of even an experienced genealogist.

My Croatian Genealogy QuickGuide™
is a resource for both experienced researchers
and those new to tracing their Croatian roots

In partnership with Legacy Family Tree, I am pleased to present to you a brand new aid for your quest for Croatian roots: my Croatian Genealogy QuickGuide™, a downloadable resource that includes -

• An overview of the history and geography of Croatia
• Details about the types and whereabouts of available records
• A description of the various types of archives and repositories that house Croatian records
• An explanation of the numerous languages in which Croatian records were written
• A glossary of common terms in several of those languages
• Links to many types of online resources (genealogy guides, translation tools, maps, forums, blogs and more)
• A list of genealogy-related publications in both English and Croatian
• A research strategy to follow for success in tracing your Croatian roots

One of the kind editors who took the time to preview this little guide for me wrote a note on the sidebar during the editing process: "You're practically handing them their family trees!" Well, not quite, but it is my hope that this resource will act as a compass when you're feeling lost in the world of Croatian genealogy.

If nothing else, I hope it will inspire you to take up the project again (or for the first time). Working on this project has definitely done that for me. I am proud to be the descendant of my Croatian-American great-grandparents and am greatly looking forward to digging more deeply into my Croatian roots. I hope you will join me.

~

Update: I am pleased to announce that all three of my genealogy guides are now available as Amazon Kindle eBooks. Whether you have a Kindle (or use the free Kindle app on your computer, tablet or smartphone) you can now have handy access to these guides in eBook format.

What's the difference? The PDF downloads are in a compressed format and make the guide compact for easier printing and sliding into the rings of a notebook. The eBooks include the same content laid out into book format, so they have more pages. They would use up more paper if printed, yet are easily scrollable using a Kindle or Kindle app.

For more details about the other QuickGuides™ I've authored, see: My new Hungarian Genealogy QuickGuide™: Trace your roots in the land of the Magyars and My new Catholic Genealogy QuickGuide™: Let me help you find those Catholic ancestors.

Happy researching!

What a surprise! Great-Great-Great-Grandfather's "Doors of Faith"

About a month ago I was happy to find the name of my 3rd great-grandfather in a history book about my ancestral village of Legrad, Croatia. The discovery that he had held the post of mayor during the middle of the 19th century confirmed a family story and gave me hope that I might eventually reveal more clues about my ancestor, who was supposedly a Jewish orphan raised by Catholic religious sisters.

Two weeks later, I planned and announced a special "Doors of Faith" blog carnival over at The Catholic Gene. Its purpose: to highlight articles by bloggers that tell stories and share photos of Catholic churches in which their ancestors worshipped. The round-up of all those articles will be published on the opening day of the new Year of Faith 2012-2013 declared by Pope Benedict XVI.

Only two days after I posted that announcement, I received an amazing bit of news about the very doors of my own ancestors' Catholic church in Legrad, Croatia.  Here's the story.

The Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Župa Presvetog Trojstva) is a beautiful late-Baroque one-nave parish church serving the village of Legrad. It was built around 1780, and by the middle of the 19th century the church needed renovation. That project was taken on in the year 1857. In addition to the renovation, a few other improvements were made.

Guess who provided for them? My 3rd great-grandfather, Josip Bence.

What were those improvements? The inside of the church was repaired, painted and tiled; two more bells were purchased for the church bell tower; and one more item was upgraded - you won't believe this: new entrance doors for the church.

I have loved this beautiful little church for many years, ever since I was given a picture postcard of it that was formerly in my great-grandmother's possession. Now I've learned that her grandfather was instrumental in preserving and updating the church. Talk about a family heirloom!

I haven't yet had the opportunity to visit Legrad, but you can be sure that once I make it to the village one of my very first stops will be to the Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Župa Presvetog Trojstva) to visit the place where my ancestors worshipped for so many decades and to admire its beautiful interior, its bells, and of course, the church doors.

~

A very special thank-you to Mike, a current resident of Legrad, for sharing this bit of history with me and for providing these photographs of the church. The news about Josip Bence's contribution to the church was taken from Josip Đurkan's Legrad i Njegova Župa Kroz Stoljeća (Legrad and its Parish Through the Centuries), published in 2005. Here is the English translation along with the original text:

"In 1857, the tower of the parish church was renovated through gifts from the Legrad municipality and the Varaždin general command for the sum of 2,000 forints. That same year, a new entrance door to the church was made, by care of Legrad Captain Joseph Bence. Then two more bells were purchased and placed in the tower. One weighing 230, and another 170 kg. The church inside was painted, tiled, also cared for by gifts of the captain."

 "1857. godine toranj župne crkve obnovljen je darovima legradske općine i varaždinskog generalata za svotu od 2.000 forinti. Iste godine načinjena su nova ulazna vrata u crkvu, brigom legradskog kapetana Josipa Benceja. Potom su nabavljena još dva zvona i smještena u toranj. Jedno od 230, a drugo od 170 kg. Crkva je iznutra okrečena, popločena, također brigom i darovima kapetana."

~

Legrad's Holy Spirit Catholic Church (Župa Presvetog Trojstva) is once again undergoing renovation as funds become available. An upcoming article here at 100 Years in America will highlight the details of the current restoration project. In the mean time, you may view some of the conservation work done on the St. Joseph altar by the Department of Conservation at Zagreb University. Visit their Facebook page (Odsjek za restauriranje i konzerviranje umjetnina ALU Sveučilište u Zagrebu) or go directly to their photos of the restoration and assembly of the altar. If you'd like to make a donation to go toward the restoration, please contact the church: Župa Presvetog Trojstva.

~

More articles (including photos) here at 100 Years in America about Legrad's beautiful little Catholic church:

• A is for Assembly: "The angels were singing"
• The church on the postcard and the faith of my ancestors
• To the guardians of 100 Years in America: Happy 105th Anniversary!
  
• Međimurje: Meeting place of rivers and cultures
  
• Happy Easter from Croatia
  
• If only a church could tell stories

Found! A small clue to my family's Jewish connection

For many years I've been intrigued by a story in my family of a brother and sister, young Jewish orphans, who were taken in and raised by Catholic religious sisters. From his tenuous beginnings, the little boy went on to become the mayor of the town in which he lived. This young man was possibly the grandfather of Ilona Bence, my great-grandmother.

This story has always fascinated me.  The possibility of having some Jewish ancestry is very intriguing. All of the many branches of my family tree that I have researched thus far have consisted of practicing Catholics like myself.

The Catholic cemetery in Legrad, Croatia where many of my ancestors are buried

I hoped that the fact that he had played an important role within his town might make this ancestor easier to find, and that some day I might find some clues to his Jewish origins.

~

Fast forward to last night. I had requested an inter-library loan of an elusive history book about the little town of Legrad, Croatia (hometown of my great-grandmother's family, from whom the above family story originated). Written in 1971 by Dragutin Feletar, this book is written entirely in Croatian and it is not easy to find a copy in North America. One library kindly offered to loan their copy to me through my library for a small fee. I gladly paid it and picked up the book several weeks ago, but hadn't had time to do much besides flip through the pages.

Knowing its due date was looming, I finally sat down with the book last night. I don't speak or read Croatian, and here I was with a treasure of a book (with no subject index) and no good way to make sense out of it's almost 200 pages besides good old Google Translate - so there I went.

I decided for no good reason to start by translating a few photograph captions, starting with one in the center of the book. I wrote down the translation and the page number, and turned the page to the next photo.

As I did, something caught my eye on page 134. Listed within the text above the photo was a familiar surname: Bence (my great-grandmother's maiden name) and the date 1858. Bence is not a common name, even within this little village, so I knew immediately that this was good news. What was the meaning of this list of names and dates? I turned back to the previous page and translated the beginning of the paragraph:

"Na kraju šetnje kroz prebogatu legradsku povijest valja još navesti (barem približno, koliko to dopušta postojeća I pristupačna povijesna dokumentacija I literatura) I popis predsjednika (kapetana, povjerenika, načelnika) općine Legrad od 1545, do danas. Najprije evo popisa legradskih predsjednika (kapetana) od 1545. do 1912. godine: ...Bence (1858), Boldizar Gacic (1861)…"

This was a list of the mayors of the village of Legrad beginning in the year 1545. Here was my long-hoped-for Jewish-orphan-turned-mayor!

Though all others were listed by both first and last name, he was listed only by surname. Unfortunately, the book has no further details about his role in that position or proof of his early beginnings (that kind of find would be too good to be true!). Yet, finding confirmation that my Bence ancestor actually held the mayoral post is a great success, particularly when I'm researching in a foreign language and living such a distance from his home village.

I've got lots more work to do to further investigate my family's possible Jewish heritage, but I was thrilled to find this little piece of information validating a portion of what was previously an unproven family legend.

Stjepan and his wife Magdalena (Bedenica) Bence. Stjepan's father
(or possibly his grandfather) may be the young Jewish orphan who later
became mayor of the town of Legrad during the years 1858-1861.
Stjepan was born in 1857 and would have been one-year-old at the time.

This story has been submitted to the 121st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. The topic is "Great Discoveries". Visit Jasia's Creative Gene for the carnival.

D is for Donja Dubrava and the Drava River

No matter what continent or country our ancestors called home, many of them found that the river was life. Waterway, food source, center of community life... Many grand modern cities had their start as a small fishing community at the edge of a river.

The confluence of the Mura and Drava Rivers in northwestern Croatia (photo by Filip Lučin)

The little town of Donja Dubrava that my great-grandfather Ferencz Ujlaki came from never became a modern city, yet for centuries it has bustled with the busy-ness of a river's edge village.

"Donja Dubrava is an old crafts and trade centre at the east of Međimurje County in northwestern Croatia, at the meeting place of two grand rivers – the Mura and the Drava. This position, at the confluence of these great rivers, was an important natural factor that influenced the historical and geographical development of this trade city."

Donja Dubrava, Croatia from the air (photo by davorfiles)

The area has seen continuous settlement from as far back as the early stone age, including throughout the Roman period. The Croatian people first arrived in the 7th century, with the first mention of the town's name (as Uj Dombo) in the year 1446.

Though the maximum population (which occurred around 1910) only reached about 3,500 (there are about 2,300 residents today), the town has a proud heritage and a history book of its very own: Općina I Župa Donja Dubrava: Povijesno-geografska Monografija (The Municipality and Parish of Donja Dubrava: A Historical and Geographical Monograph), published in 2007 by Bartolić, Feletar, Feletar and Petrić.

According to the book, "Donja Dubrava developed into the most significant trading and crafts town in eastern Međimurje. The town served the central functions for the geographic region of eastern Međimurje, Legrad Podravina and the Zakan region in Hungary. Craft guilds were established, trade and hospitality developed and the town had a particular role in activities tied to the Drava River – milling, sieving for gold, fishing, boat trade and raft transport. From 1828 to 1940, the largest wood trading company operated in Donja Dubrava, transporting wood along the Drava from Pohorje to Osijek, Novi Sad, Belgrade and Smederevo. Agricultural activities, particularly the production of cereals and livestock breeding, were of great significance for the life and development of the town."

St. Margareta Catholic Church in Donja Dubrava, established in 1790 (photo by Filip Lučin)

It's location at the confluence of two rivers has often brought much concern to the town during times of flooding. According to Ivan Vecenaj-Tišlarov in his book To My Homeland, "The Drava has never been timid and humble... The history of continuous changes in the Drava River course are both interesting and tragic." In fact, the neighboring village of Legrad (from which my great-grandmother emigrated) was previously on the same side of the river as Donja Dubrava. A serious flood in 1710 caused the river to change its course and placed the town of Legrad on the other side! For more about that story, and the history of the Međimurje area, visit my article Međimurje: Meeting place of rivers and cultures.

 A monument in Donja Dubrava (photo by Filip Lučin)

I've written this article as part of the Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge.  Follow me here at 100 Years in America as I try to keep up with the challenge to work through the alphabet while writing my family history. I'm way behind getting started, but here goes!

A is for Assembly: "The angels were singing"

A is for Assembly: Those present to celebrate the liturgy; the community, the Church (as in people, not building), the worshippers, the faithful, the congregation.

It is hard to remember when I first saw the photos of my great-grandmother's village church in what is now Legrad, Croatia.  My heart was drawn to the place immediately.  I had known and loved my great-grandmother while she was in her 90s.  Yet here was a picture of her childhood Catholic church helping me to imagine her there as a baby being baptized, a young girl receiving her First Communion, a young bride at her wedding. Later, I learned more about this little church - including its name (the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, called Župa Presvetog Trojstva in Croatian) and more about its three-hundred year history. I was also privileged to receive modern photographs of the building from a current parishioner (a distant cousin) and thrilled to find sacramental records for many special family milestones that occurred there.

One of my favorite glimpses into the church, however, came from a book of fiction. Marija Bango, a citizen of Legrad and a friend of my great-grandmother's, shared the stories of her childhood in her home village through a series of children's tales. One precious chapter in her book King of the Drava (Kralj Drave) shares the story of a little girl's unexpected adventure set in the little church in Legrad. Before the story begins, the author (in the voice of a young narrator) starts with an introduction to the inside of the Holy Trinity Catholic church from the perspective of a little girl whose short stature made the stained glass windows and statues seem to rise gloriously above her. It also describes the Croatian Catholics' customs which dictated where people sat during Mass and what they wore, etc., all from the perspective of this young observer.  Here is an excerpt:

Altar of Legrad's Catholic Church today

"When I was but a girl, three or four years old, I'd go with my mother to Sunday Mass. I used to love that dinner Mass (that is what we called it, probably because we'd all go home to dinner afterward); they sang so nicely there. I'd listen to the sermon about angels on high somewhere in Heaven who had wings; they were good, they watched over children and grownups when they crossed the narrow wooden bridges scattered everywhere in our neighborhood spanning the Drava streams. "I have to describe for you, first, the inside of our church and the order in which the people stood and sat when attending these dinner Masses. On the left - the older women sat in the first row of pews and in front of them stood the girls from 10 to 14. Behind the pews stood bareheaded younger girls; then there were six rows of pews and behind them a great space. Here stood younger women with small children. The darker part of the church under the gallery was where men and women from other villages would stand. To the right of the church doorway was the same order of pews but on this side sat the men.

Young Medimurska Croatian girls (Legrad region) in traditional folk costume, 1915. Legrad children's author Marija Bango was born in 1917.

"The church was always crowded. When women were standing around me I'd feel as if I were at the bottom of a hole; I could hear the singing high up above swelling to the church ceiling. From time to time everyone would kneel. That was the moment when we children could finally see something. I would stand up on my tiptoes. I'd quickly examine everything: around me were countless heads. Something was gleaming at the front of the church. Behind me in the great gallery I could see nothing but hair. Since that was where the pretty singing came from I felt certain that the angels were singing."

  

The beautiful interior of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, called Župa Presvetog Trojstva in Croatian

The little girl goes on to describe the beautiful stained glass windows and the lifelike statues in the church that captured her imagination. Marija Bango's stories about her childhood village and its lovely Catholic church are a treasure for those of us that can visit, but cannot turn back the clock and step into the time of our ancestors. What I would give to be able to step into the assembly during my great-grandmother's First Communion! The little girl in the story tells us:

"I loved to go into the church whenever I saw the door open. On my way to school in the morning before I turned left at the park toward the school house I'd look over toward the back door of the church to see if it was open and if it was I'd walk straight toward it, leaving my schoolward path behind me. I'd have time to stop in at morning Mass and still arrive punctually at school."

This little girl is probably much like my great-grandmother was as a child in Legrad. Though she left her homeland as a young bride, she kept a strong faith and found herself at home at other Catholic churches in America, helping to inspire the faith of many of her descendants, including me.

Marija Bango's second book of children's stories (pripovijetke djecu) about her native Legrad was published in 1993. The text is in both Croatian and English.

This article was written in response to the "Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge" suggested by Australia's Gould Genealogy and History News blog.  Follow me here at 100 Years in America as I try to keep up with the challenge to work through the alphabet while writing my family history. I'm way behind getting started, but here goes!

The church on the postcard and the faith of my ancestors

The picture of this beautiful church was truly a gift to me.

Its yellowing photographic postcard passed down to me from my immigrant great-grandmother: a link to the past.

Its facade: a reminder of the connection that my ancestors and I share across language, cultural and geographic barriers - our mutual Catholic faith.

Postcard image of Legrad's Holy Trinity Catholic Church,
c. early 20th-century

Years ago when photographs of the little Catholic church in what is now Legrad, Croatia (in Koprivničko-Križevačka County) came into my possession, I didn't know much about the place. The church's name was a mystery, as was the Croatian handwriting.  With a little bit of time, research and help from a translator, I was able to unlock a few of the clues that gave me some insight into this beautiful little church that figures so largely in my ancestral history.

The village of Legrad, now in northern Croatia, has at
different times been part of both Austria-Hungary and Yugoslavia

The Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Legrad (Župa Presvetog Trojstva) is a charming late-Baroque one-nave parish church.  Built around 1780, it was the site of many sacramental rites of passage for my Ujlaki, Bence and related ancestors in the little village.  The photographic postcard, which was sent to my great-grandmother Ilona (Bence) Ujlaki by loved ones in the old country, shows the church as it looked in the early 20th century.  Here you can see how it looks today:

Legrad c. 2008
(Photos thanks to a current resident)

In addition to the postcard shown at the beginning of this article, I have in my possession a photograph of the church sent to my great-grandmother following World War II.  Inscribed on the back in the Croatian language is a plea for monetary help to assist in repairs because of damage to the church during the war.

A native Croatian speaker and Legrad resident kindly translated the inscription on the back of the photograph for me back in 2007. The blue writing reads:

Dear Lady Miss,

I'm sending you the picture of our lovely church, which was destroyed in World War II and is very damaged. No one is starting to do anything about it or starting repairs. We are afraid that the church tower is very damaged and that it can't stand in this condition longer. It can crumble any time and destroy four church bells and the organ. Please ask the generous Croatian people there who can send us some money for the first necessary repairs. I hope in God's and in your help.

According to the translator the church was still in need of some repairs back in 2007, although it certainly has recovered much since its difficult days during World War II.

According to the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Holy Trinity Catholic Church (called Župa Presvetog Trojstva in Croatian) has a "harmoniously fitted belfry rising from the main front", several late Baroque-classicist altars, and a "Holy Sepulchre". The wall paintings within its sanctuary date back to 1793, while its pulpit dates to around 1798.

Outside in Legrad's main square resides a group of five 18th-century columns.  The central column features the church's namesake: the Holy Trinity.  A column next to the center featuring St. Florian dates to 1735.

Legrad's Pilovi Svetog Trojstva

Legrad resident turned Canadian immigrant Maria Bango had a strong love for her home village and its church.  She returned home for several months each year and continued to be a part of the community until her death.  Within her charming children's books she has shared some sweet stories of the church and its holy celebrations from a child's eye view.  (I'll share more about those stories later.)

I enjoy thinking back to the many special family occasions that were celebrated within the walls of Legrad's Catholic church.  My great-grandparents Ferencz and Ilona (Bence) Ujlaki, the patrons of this blog (you see their faces on the banner of 100 Years in America), were married there on what was probably a frosty winter day in February 15, 1905.  Because of the step they took that day together in the sacrament of matrimony, and the gift they gave me by passing down their beloved Catholic faith, I am who I am today.  And I am passing the light of faith down to my own children - the same faith that was sparked in so many of my ancestors' lives within the walls of the little church of Legrad.

Legrad's Holy Trinity Catholic Church today
(Photo courtesy Filip Lucin)

This article was written for the 109th edition of Carnival of Genealogy.  The theme is Places Our Ancestors Worshipped and it is hosted for the first time at the brand new blog The Catholic Gene.

Hungary Exchange: A new stop on the web for Hungarian genealogists

A new resource for Hungarian genealogy has set up shop on the web this week.  The Hungary Exchange website, put together by Nick Gombash, hopes to become a stopping point for many a researcher in search of Hungarian roots.  Nick created this new online resource in hopes of helping Hungarian genealogists to make new connections to further their research. He writes that the "main objective of the new website will be the sharing and exchanging of records and documents". Among its amenities are a surname database where genealogists can submit names and corresponding locales of research, and an online discussion forum and message board for those researching Hungary and countries formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Hungary Exchange website includes the following webpages:

• Hungarian Marriage Project
• Hungary Exchange Forum
• Databases
• Surname Database
• Links

The Hungarian Marriage Project, Databases and Surname Database pages are works in progress that are off to a good start and will become useful to more researchers as Nick adds data over time.  As Nick states on his blog, "The most important of these databases, a major project that I have undertaken, is the Hungarian Marriage Project. My plan is indexing the marriage records from pre-WWI and including them in a database. I'm hoping to eventually have help down the line, as well. I already have records from four parishes, soon to be five and with an estimated total near 5,300 marriages."

My Hungarian surnames are listed within the surname database - add yours today!  As Nick states in his announcement of Hungary Exchange on his genealogy blog, "Let's knock down all those brick-walls and find family!"

The Hungary Exchange website’s Links page includes both national and regional Hungarian resources helpful to genealogical research. It lists web addresses for archives (national archives and at least one for each county), maps and gazetteers, online databases, a Hungarian family tree website, genealogy societies, research aids/guides, translation services, and Jewish resources.

Nick Gombash was recently the subject of an edition of Gini Webb's "May I Introduce You to..." series on Thomas MacEntee's GeneaBloggers blog.  To learn more about Nick visit the article, stop by his blog, or visit his Gombash and Rodgers Family Website.

Don't forget to stop by Hungary Exchange Forum and also take a few minutes to send your Hungarian research locales and surnames to Nick for the Surname Database at Hungary Exchange.

This article has been posted as part of the Follow Friday series.  Visit Thomas MacEntee's GeneaBloggers for more suggestions for good online reading.

To the guardians of 100 Years in America: Happy 105th Anniversary!

They were married one-hundred-and-five years ago this week, on the day after Valentine's Day: February 15, 1905.  Regular readers will recognize the couple whose photo graces the banner of this blog. They are truly the stars of 100 Years in America.  Residing here online, their photograph welcomes you, the readers, and watches over the many family stories, photographs and genealogical details that I have shared.

I have written much about this couple: my great-grandparents Ilona (Bence) and Ferencz Ujlaki. They were both born in the Međimurje region of Hungary, which is now Croatia.  Along with many other Hungarian citizens of their generation, they left Europe in search of a new life in America.  The stories of their journeys to the new country are the stuff of legends, yet those experiences were just a part of life for them.  Their childhoods in an ethnic Croatian village in Hungary and their beginnings in America as foreign immigrants formed them, and have become part of the fabric of our family, inspiring those of us who have come after them.

It is sometimes easy to forget that our ancestors were once young men and women with their lives ahead of them, sorting out who they would be and dreaming big dreams for their lives.  This photograph puts my great-grandparent's lives in perspective for me in that way.  I am told that it was taken shortly after they were married, and it is the closest thing our family has to a wedding photograph of the young 20-year-old bride Ilona and her new husband, 25-year-old Ferencz.

I was thrilled to be able to view microfilmed copies of the civil marriage registry from the town of Legrad where my great-grandparents were married.  Legrad is located today within northern Croatian on the Hungarian border.  At the time of Ferencz and Ilona's wedding, the village was part of Zala County, Hungary, so the civil records were written in the Hungarian language.

Ferencz and Ilona were both born and raised in this area - Ferencz in Donja Dubrava (formerly known as Alsó-Domború) and Legrad; Ilona in Legrad.  They began their life together as a married couple one-hundred-and-five years ago in Legrad's village church.  The Holy Trinity Catholic Church of Legrad (Župa Presvetog Trojstva), a beautiful late-Baroque one-nave parish church, was built around 1780.

A postcard of Legrad's Holy Trinity Catholic Church, c. early 20th-century

Legrad's Holy Trinity Catholic Church today

(Photo courtesy Filip Lucin)

You can see a small portion of the civil marriage registry listing the names of the bride and groom below.  See the top right on the image for Ujlaki Ferencz and Benczey Ilona (the Hungarian spelling of the bride's maiden name). Below the bride's maiden name is her married name Ujlaki Ferenczne. This means Mrs. Ferencz Ujlaki. (It is the name under which she is listed on the S. S. Carmania's ship manifest - and the reason that I had difficulty finding her listed at first.) On the marriage registry, also notice the seal of Legrad in the bottom right corner and the Hungarian crests in the background.

More than likely it was a cold winter day in Legrad when Ferencz and Ilona were married 105 years ago.  They were married for 34 years until his untimely death at age sixty.

A happy 105th wedding anniversary to my great-grandparents this Valentine's Day!  May the memories of their lives and marriage live on in the hearts of their descendants for another century.

This article has been submitted to the Valentine edition of footnoteMaven's Smile for the Camera carnival.  Visit her Shades of the Departed blog for more "valentine" photographs.

Sources:

Photograph of Legrad's Holy Trinity Catholic Church today courtesy of Filip Lucin.  Special thanks to Filip for the permission to use this great photograph and others in his collection.  Visit his Croatian language blog for more.

Map of Croatia thanks to www.legrad.blog.hr.

Hungary. Zala County. Legrad, Házasultak 1895-1906 from series Állami anyakönyvek, 1895-1919 (Civil registration - births, marriages, deaths - for Légrád, Zala, Hungary). Anyakönyvi Hivatal, Légrád, Zala County, Hungary, Ferencz Ujlaki-Ilona Benczey; FHL VAULT INTL Film 1791809 Item 1. 

"Crossing": A poetic remembrance, 1909

Crossing
A poetic remembrance, 1909 
by Lisa

A young, new mother and her little son.
A village farm. A loving family.
A husband in a distant unknown land.
Her task: to leave and cross the massive sea.

Sad looks and words and tears from family.
Her mother’s broken heart in deepest prayer.
A bag or two, her child, and they must go.
A world to cross before arrival there.

Across the continent by train to shore,
the port looms large and daunting, and right then
a thought suddenly shakes her halting heart:
she’ll never see her home country again.

With husband waiting on the other side,
she and her young son step off of the land
and onto this new vessel of the sea –
but their place is below, so they descend.

In steerage – tossing, shifting, dark and damp –
below the deck they wait and count the days.
In such close quarters her young son takes ill.
She nurses him and counts the hours and prays.

The days pass slowly, painfully – eighteen –

of engine noise and air too stale to breathe.

And fever! Purgatory on the sea!

Her hope is for the day that they may leave.

Amidst her pain and suffering she finds

more travelers in similar despair.

Some countrymen whose ways and words she knows,

but many foreign tongues are from elsewhere.

She finds herself within a strange new world

and wonders where this voyage will yet lead.

Her strength and faith are rising, falling, while

the ship is tossed and pitched out on the sea.

How glorious – the day she hears the news

that land is near; departure eminent.

But joy is short-lived as this mother learns

the place where her ill baby will be sent.

In pain with measles, he must be confined.

Son and his mother forced to separate.

Her salty tears form oceans near her feet.

All she can do is pray and hope and wait.

Then finally the flood of trials departs

when mother, son – and father! – meet once more.

The sea of separation which they faced

is now behind them as they step ashore.

A young, new mother and her little son.

Her husband by her side in a new land.

This family steps into a new life

holding each other tightly by the hand.

© Lisa / Smallest Leaf Press

Written in memory of the transatlantic journey of twenty-four-year-old Ilona (Bence) Ujlaki and her two-year-old son Ferencz. They traveled by train from Legrad, Hungary to the port of Fiume, Hungary (now Rijeka, Croatia). Their third class (steerage) voyage on the S.S. Carmania to New York harbor lasted for eighteen days: from February 13 to March 2, 1909. While on board the ship, little Ferencz became ill with measles.  After the ship docked at Ellis Island, he was separated from his mother and hospitalized. After being reunited, Ilona and her son were able to meet their husband and father, the elder Ferencz, and begin their new life in New York City. Ilona, later to be known as Helen Ulaky, was my great-grandmother.

This poem has been submitted to the 89th edition of Jasia's Carnival of Genealogy whose topic is Ode to My Family's History featuring family history-focused poems. (Thanks to footnoteMaven for this edition's poster shown here).

Want to read more of my poetry?  Check out my parody of Katharine Lee Bates' America, The Beautiful: 100 Years in America the Beautiful, my limericks honoring my Irish immigrant ancestor entitled A poem for Patrick, or the little ditty I wrote to describe myself as an Irish family history blogger: A limerick for the love of Ireland.