Dóka von Réthe and Bustelek

The Doka coat of arms, based on a 17th century precedent. The 1714 re-grant features a coat of arms with a mounted hussar.

The Dóka family was not, as far as is known, an ancient family of Bratislava county. However, since their appearance as nobles in the 17th century, and especially since a further acknowledgment of nobility in 1714 by Emperor Charles, the Dókas have been important landowners in the county until the mid-20th century. In the 19th century, they were feudal lords of Bustelek, a village now part of Janiky in the upper Csallokoz (Rye Island), only about 15 kilometres from Bratislava. They were also, alongside the Prikkel family, the greatest landowners around Senec and Reca. Ladislaus Doka became the viscount of Poszony County in 1837. The family manor house in Reca, still extant, is now a school.

A branch of this family owned the manor house and village of Almosd in Bihar County. The manor house was made part of Hungarian national myth by being the living place of Ferenc Kolcsey, a famous poet and composer of the national anthem of the 19th century revolutionary period.

Klebercz Family Tree

A beautiful rendering of the Klebercz arms, probably from the late 19th century. Courtesy of Mr Deszo Klebercz

Link to the Family Tree of Dezso Klebercz

Here is a link to the Klebercz family tree, kindly provided by Mr Dezso Klebercz. The family tree shows that these co-owners of Reca maintained active social contacts in the region - as their marriages to members of other noble families from outside the village attests, such as the Fodor, Szalay, and Petrovics families.

Also notable is the marriage of Vilma Csemez (1897 - 1967) to a member of the Klebercz family. The Csemez family was an old and respected Bratislava County family, with large estates and a number of their members in county and royal posts. From this family comes the unfortunate Istvan Csemez, who was chief szolgabiro (iudex nobilium) of Nitra County and who was the subject of a rancorous debate on state corruption in the Hungarian Parliament (Gyorgy Smrecsanyi, to great noise in the Upper House, said that Czemez's activity only really begins in the evening, with his gallows assistants) - Seton-Watson, R.W.: Corruption and Reform in Hungary, London 1911.

An entire page of this blog is dedicated to the Klebercz family, which outlines its descent from the medieval kindred of the Elefanthy.

Csiba Family Documents

An early 20th century representation of the Csiba coat of arms. Courtesy of Mr Charles Csiba

The Csiba of Velke Blahovo (Csiba de Nagy Abony) could be seen as representative of a typical medieval curial family of the Csallokoz region. Of antiquity and deeds of which the noblest Western European houses would be proud of, it is a Hungarian speciality that these families gradually became pauperised and over the centuries lost much of their wealth, though maintained their mentality. The canker in the state of affairs was, simply, Hungarian inheritance laws. This stipulated that all sons and daughters inherited equally, and it thus impoverished most of the Hungarian nobility. The exception of pro-Habsburg Hungarian magnates, for whom the Habsburgs allowed to place their property into an indivisible entail. Just to name a few: the Palffy, Esterhazy, Illeshazy, and Nadasdy families (which all originally came from Csallokoz curial background). This of course created yet another source of discontent between the majority of the nobility and the small coterie of "barely Magyar" magnates, who were viewed with suspicion.

The origin of the Csiba family appears to be Czech, as they were listed as Czech noblemen in a document from 1165 A.D. (!). In 1236 Bela IV confirmed these privileges, and reads as follows:

Béla, Dei Gratia, Rex Hungariae, universisi praesentem paginam inspecturis, salutem in vero salutari.Quia labilis est hominum memoria, et rerum turbae non sufficit; idcirco solerti ingenio est expertum, ut ea, quae hic longa post tempora noscuntur recordanda, fideli memoriae litterarum commendentur. Universitati igitur vcstrae praesentium tenore cupimus fieri manifestum, quod Chyba, lbur, Heym, Sid, Pocus, Karachun, Illerus, Sath, Hugel, Nolch, Ioanus, Clemen, Stegun et Omodias, ad nostram accedentes praesentiam, obtulerunt nobis litteras felicis recodationis Stephani Regis, quondam Praedecessoris nostri, filii secundi Geyche, in quibus habebatur, quod proauis ipsorum de Bohemia venientibus in Ungariam, terram, in qua fuerant hospitati, dictus.Rex Stephanus eisdem liberaliter contulisset, ut in quacunque libertate vellent, super eadem possent remanere; oblatores igitur dictarum litterarum a nobis petierunt obnixe:quod ipsos libertate Iobbagionum Udvarnicorum nostrorum donaremus. nostrorum donaremus. Nos igitur petitionem ipsorum affectu condigno attendentes, in hac parte, maxime propter hoc, quod sicut fideli nostro Dionysio Palatino, et Comite Bihoriensi, aliisque quibusdam regni nostri Baronibus referentibus percepimus, per venerabilem Partem nostrum, Dominum Andream, illustrem Ungariae regem, eadem libertate fuerant decorati; ipsos ct haeredes ipsorum haeredumque successores, in terra, nomine Oboni, quam per dictum Stephanum Regem eis collatam fuisse dicimus, libertate praedictorum Iobbagionum Udvarnicorum, secundum petitionem ipsorum, duximus vestiendos; ita quod nullus nostrorum successorum ipsos in aliquo, praeter libertatem ultro susceptam valeat aggrauare. Ut igitur hoc ratum et-firmum habeatur, praesentem paginam dupplicis sigilli nostri munimine fecemus perpetuo roborari. Datum anno Domini Millesimo, ducentesimo trigesimo sexto. Septima idus Novembris, regni autem nostri anno secundo.

(also note, along with "Chyba" and other noblemen, the name "Karachun", probably the first mention of the Karacsony family, who were subsequently documented later on in the 13th century as Karachon).

The above text courtesy of Mr Charles Csiba.

In the 18th century, Janos Csiba was viscount of Moson County, and Michael Csiba was viscount of Pozsony County (Bratislava). In the 19th century a branch of this family lived in Jelka.

From this family comes Lajos Csiba (1901 - 1966), a celebrated ornithologist, zoologist and ethnographer of the Csallokoz region. Born to a wealthy landowning family in Tejfalu in Bratislava County, his brother was judge of Moson County. Having studied farming and agriculture, he spent his youth hunting and obsessively observing the flora and fauna of the Csallokoz. He had a legendary trophy and bird egg collection, which sadly was destroyed during World War 2. He published widely into respected Hungarian journals about ornithology, hunting, and game management. But he also wrote a number of publications about local customs, beliefs and superstitions. The Benes Decrees stripped Lajos Csiba and his family of their substantial properties (please see my blog www.benesdecrees.blogspot.com) - but he worked modestly in his home village until his early death, and managed to build another great ornithological and zoological collection.

Source: Pomichal Richárd: Csiba Lajos emlékezete. (In memory of Lajos Csiba - a biography) In: Őszi szarvasbőgések, tavaszi szalonkázások. Dunaszerdahely, Csemadok Dunaszerdahelyi Területi Választmánya, 2003.

Szullo de Borsa

Szullo von Borsa, Szullo de Al-Borsa

The Szullos were a truly ancient and great family of Bratislava County. They trace their genealogy to the genus Salomon, a legendary genus of original Hungarian chieftains. The genus originates in the Csallokoz (the southern part of Bratislava County), and some other families traced their descent from it - such as the extinct Illeshazy de Illeshaza family, as well as the Eszterhazy de Galantha.

One branch of the Salomons became the lords of Borsa, a village in the Matyusfold near the town of Senec. In 1238 the lords of Borsa were confirmed in their land holdings by King Bela IV of Hungary. In 1278 the lords of Borsa took fighting part in the Battle on the Marchfeld, a decisive event in the history of Central Europe where the arrogant and powerful Premysl Ottakar II, King of Bohemia and Duke of Austria (also called the "Golden King") was decisively beaten by Rudolph I of Habsburg in alliance with King Ladislaus IV of Hungary. Seeing that this battle facilitated the rise of the Habsburg family in the region (who then became Dukes of Austria), it is ironic that in modern times members of the Szullo family took such an active part in anti-Habsburg rebellion (see below).

The most illustrious member of this family in the middle ages was Thomas of Borsa (Csorba), who was Royal Cup-Bearer and courtier to King Matthias Corvinus. As such, he was one of the small circle of the medieval barones et magnates, the most important individuals in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. In the 16th century, the family of the lords of Borsa divides into three branches, forming the modern Szullo, Farkas, Csorba and Petheo families.

In 1678 Ferencz Szullo de Borsa, who was already a commander of a cavalry regiment, was elevated to Supreme Captain of the Csallokoz. Another member, Georg, was killed in the Battle of Parkany in 1683, fighting alongside members of the Prikkel de Rethe family (see below).

In the 18th century, Sigismundus Szullo was alispan (viscount) of Bratislava, and he was also the County delegate to the Royal Diet. His marriage to Baroness Maria Rzihovsky cause him to move and settle in Thurocz County.

The family was also involved in the momentous events of the Hungarian anti-Habsburg revolution of 1848. Istvan Szullo of Nagy Abony, judex nobilium, was a honved with the rank of first lieutenant. Geysa Szullo was a commander of a hussar regiment, and later in the 19th century he was a member of the Hungarian Diet (Parliament). Another Gejza was Imperial chamberlain and a member of the Hungarian parliament from 1901 to 1918. After the partition of Hungary, he became chairman of the Hungarian Christian Socialist Party in Czechoslovakia, which vigorously defended the rights of the Magyar minority. He was a famous and respected leader, who resigned in 1932 and who instituted Janos Esterhazy as his succesor as chairman. (Esterhazy was very well known as a somewhat controversial politician in Slovakia, but often portrayed as a hero by Hungarians).

Many members of the Szullo families lived in villages around Borsa in the 19th century, such as Jelka and Reca. Until the 20th century, the family were the greatest landowners in Borsa and Hegysur (todays Hruby Sur).


Sources:


Gorfol, J. et al: Hol sirjaik domborulnak (Dunaszerdahely, 2003)


Pongracz, D. et al: Slachta Bratislavskej Stolice (Bratislava, 2004)
 
Siebmacher: Adels von Ungarn (Budapest, 2002)

Nagy, Ivan: Magyarorszag csaladai: Czimerekkel es nemzekrendi tablakal (Pest. 1863)

Pomichal Family Tree

 The original Pomichal (Pomischel, Pomyschel, Pomykal) coat of arms. Later, in modern times, a branch inherited and adopted the elephant as blazon. For more on this family see here.

Pomichal Family Tree

Above is a link to a family tree of the Pomichal family, who were composessors of Reca in the 19th century.

Ladislaus Pomichal from the above tree distinguished himself as an officer in the original Hungarian force which was formed to resist the Habsburgs during the 19th century revolutionary period (it subsequently became the Honved, the regular Hungarian army to this day). His son Jozsef Pomichal (born 1878, married Zsofia Zamolyi of Zamoly in 1908), was also an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army. Also Franciscus Pomichal (born 1830 and married to Veronica Klebersz in 1859) was an officer of a Hussar regiment (the cavalry of the Hungarian nobility) in the 1840s and 1850s uprisings.

In the mid-19th century, Antal Pomichal (married to Rozalia von Dóka, whose father, Michael Dóka, was Chief Justice of Bratislava County and member of the Hungarian parliament prior to the 1848 revolution) was a significant landowner and co-lord of Reca. The family also owned land in Pozsonyivanka, Boldogfalva, and Senec.

Today, a member of the Pomichal family (along with a member of the Neszmery family) is a representative of the Hungarian minority in the Bratislava Autonomous Region; a somewhat larger successor to the historical County of Bratislava.

As Pomichal de Rethe (or Réthe), this Hungarian family of Czech descent is listed in the most comprehensive and reliable list of Hungarian nobility to date, edited by Prof. Steven Totosy de Zepetnek (Nobilitas Hungariae). For the older, Czech and German, history of this family please see here.


The family tree was provided by and reproduced here with the kind permission of Mr. Joseph Pomichal from his private MyHeritage website.

Noble Families of Jelka

The modern coat of arms of Jelka, combining the crowned lion of ancient Joka with the hind of Ujhely Joka

The village of Jelka on the Csallokoz, the Rye Island formerly belonging to Bratislava County, played host to a staggering number of noble families, diverse in their origin and influence. The village, like quite a number in the Csallokoz and the Matyusfold, is very ancient and dates back to the Magyar conquest in the 9th and 10th centuries. Firstly it was an outpost of Magyar warriors, to guard the borders against the Dukes of Bohemia and Austria; then, in the early middle ages, it was a tributary to the castle of Bratislava - the village contained the castle warriors who had to fight in times of need. These origins explain, as with other villages in the area, the relatively high proportion of nobility. Jelka's oldest aristocratic family, the Ilkays (documented since the 12th century), divided to create the noble Farkas, Panghy and Nagy families, who survived until modern times.

Jelka was at the forefront of Hungary's historical events. On the border of the Turkish empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was razed several times and bloody fights occurred within its borders. In the 18th century, during Prince Ferencz Rakoczi's noble rebellion against the Habsburgs, his field marshal, Count Bercsenyi, was said to regularly hold conferences with his officers under an ancient tree in Jelka.

The following is a list of the noble families who lived in Jelka in the 19th centuries. Many names are of ancient date, some are new, and others of old families from elsewhere who have moved to Jelka. In fact most of those families present are originally from elsewhere in the county or indeed the kingdom - it would point to marriage settlement and the attraction of the village in the wealthy part of the kingdom, near the capital of Hungary, Pressburg (Bratislava). The large number of names is due to several factors:

1) the sheer size of Jelka. The village is formed of originally three independent municipalities, called Nagy Joka, Kis Joka, and Ujhely Joka. Jelka is therefore one of the largest villages in the area.

2) Many families, otherwise ignoble, had members who were documented as being noble, for whatever reason, sometimes only once or twice. Nevertheless, it does seem that around half of the entire population of Jelka was noble. Several illustrious figures rose from the original Jelka nobility, such as the military officers from the Farkas de Joka family and the Counts Takacs de Kis Joka (both Caspar Farkas and Franciscus Takacs, for instance, were viscounts of Bratislava in succession in the mid-18th century: and they were preceded by Sigismundus Szullo in 1743). Likewise, ancient families from other villages such as the Hegyi and the Csefalvay are recorded in Jelka, as well as the Fekete de Galantha family - several branches of this family were baronial, and one branch was comital (from this family comes the legendary 18th century courtier Count Georg Fekete de Galantha, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece).

The Nobility of Jelka

Andrassy Antal Asvanyi Asztalos Baan Banko Barath Bittera Bogy Both Boross Buday Csefalvay

Csenyi Csiba Csomor Czeze Deak Elek Farkas Fekete Gorfoll Gorcs Hakszer Hegyi Hervay

Ignatz Lamos Lanyi Laszlo Lolkos Kallay Kantor Kardoss Kiss Kovats Kozmer Krigovszky

Magyary Marczel Meszaros Molnar Morvay Nagy Nemeth Nyuno Nyuro Olle Panghy Paxy

(Paksy) Petrovics Petteny Posgay Racz Ravasz Rimay Saha Sarkany Sebok Szabados Szabo

Szakall Szullo Tajnay Takacz Tarsy Torok Vargha Viragh Voros Zsebrovics

Baron Ferencz Neszmery

Baron Ferencz Neszmery

Franz, Freiherr von Neszmery, Ritter des Maria-Theresien Ordens

Ferencz Neszmery was undoubtedly the most illustrious member of this family, and indeed one of the most illustrious and gallant characters of late 18th century Austria and Hungary. He was born in Magyar Bel (today Velky Biel), a village adjacent to Reca: his family moved to Reca in the 18th century.

Neszmery was a soldier who moved up the ranks and, due to his extraordinary courage and personal bravery during the last great Ottoman war in the late 18th century, achieved the post of Colonel and was given the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. This knightly order, instituted in 1757, was the highest and most sought-after honour for any Austro-Hungarian military officer. Officially, the order ranked second to the Order of the Golden Fleece; however, the Maria-Theresa Order was seen as even more prestigious because it was given purely on merit - It was specifically given for "successful military acts of essential impact to a campaign that were undertaken on [the officer's] own initiative, and might have been omitted by an honorable officer without reproach." The order was so prestigious, that upon receiving it the officer had a right to either i) being raised to the nobility or ii) if he was already noble, to be elevated to a further rank. Accordingly, Neszmery (who was already a Hungarian aristocract) was raised to the rank of an Austrian Baron (Freiherr) in 1806.

Ferencz Neszmery's son, Baron Johann Neszmery, was also a military officer: he was Colonel of the 62nd Linien Regiment, which was incorporated in 1798 in honour of his father.

Below is a short excerpt from the Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, by Constant von Wurzbach (vol 20, Wien 1869) - the original is in German and goes into much more detail.

Neszmery, Franz Freiherr von (K.u.K. Colonel and Knight of the Order of Maria Theresa, born in Hungary in Magyar Bel in 1747, died November 21 1818). In 1763, at 18 years of age, he joined his elders as a cadet in the Hungarian Infantry Regiment No. 2, where he rapidly advanced through the ranks to Lieutenant and to Captain in March 1783. In 1788, he went with his regiment to fight in the last great Turkish war by Dubicza and Novi. At Dubicza under General Brentano, he was so keen to drive out the enemy that, after three charges, he hurried ahead with his Division and in the heat of battle advanced so far that he was at once alone amidst the Turk.

Eventually, Neszmery and his regiment alone faced the entire force of the Spahis [the heaviest Turkish cavalry]. There was no choice, either escape or death. Neszmery, without reflecting further, decided to keep the position to the last man. Attacked from all sides, he made brave and bloody resistance from the repeated attacks of the superior enemy: he not only held his place but moved up the battlefield until he stormed the enemy positions and gotten possession of three hills, which were very important for our side. He displayed no less heroism a few days later, on the night of 23 to 24 August 1788.

The text continues to elaborate of further acts of (reckless) heroism, especially Neszmery's propensity to storm fortresses and blow up castles by himself in the face of impossible odds and with no help from his fear-struck colleagues and men.