Rozalia (Rosalia, Rosie) Fialla Hurbanek - Great Grandmother, wife of John Hurbanek

Rosalia Fialla Hurbanek - this picture was taken on 238  Climax Street, Beltzhoover, Pittsburgh, PA.  It's the only picture of her that I have. 

FIALLA spellings:
Fialla
Fiala
Fijala

Rosalia was born Rosalia Fijala in Gbely, Slovakia  on 10/29/1879

Here is her baptism record:

Interesting that they ask if she is legitimate!  How times have changed.

Also looks like a Susanna Hurban was her Godmother.

Here is the full page:

She married John Hurbanek in Gbely - having trouble finding marriage records

LINDA LOOK MORE INTO THIS

She came to the United States with Louis (Ludwig) when she was 24 years old and he was 9 months old.  John was already there in Pittsburgh.

Mom's notes say that John's mother and father came over at the same time that he did. 

LINDA KEEP LOOKING FOR THIS BOAT RECORD

Mom's notes:  Rosalia Fialla (died 1949).  Her family all came to America at the same time.  She had a sister Mary who married John Nedlick and a brother Michael who went to New York state (don't know if there were others).  Nedlick children are in CA, FL, NY and PA. 

There does look like there are several other Fialla siblings including:

Jacob 1881-1951

Michael 1884-1957

Maria 1885-

Angela 1887-1887

Mom's notes:  John Hurbanek and Rosalia Fialla Hurbanek  were separated, I don't remember him at all.  Grandma said that he and Fritz lived at 238 Climax Street in Beltzhoover, in my memory.
Sarah married late in her 30's.  When Fritz went to the Army, Grandma Rosalia  got pneumonia which they said settled in her brain.  Daddy & Uncle Kon took her to Mayview.  She was allowed visitors one day a week.  I remember Daddy going often. 

That's sad that the end of her life was like that. 

John (Jan) Hurbanek - - - great grandfather who came to the U.S. on 5/26/1901

On prior page is John's naturalization papers where he became a U.S. citizen on 11/7/1917.  Wish I had a picture him. 

John was born as Joannes Hurbanek on 5/14/1875. 

From Egbell:

Still looking for his boat record where he arrived in the U.S. on 5/26/1901 at the age of 26. 

The 1910 census shows John working in the coke ovens.  These records really messed up the Hurbanek name as Huerbingk.  Louis was 10 years old.

John's WWI draft record of 9/12/1918 states that he worked at Jones &Laughlin Steel on 2nd Avenue  in the coke drawer.  At that time he lived on 96 Irvine Avenue.  He had brown eyes, brown hair and was tall and slender.

 The 1920 census has Louis already out of the house.  I believe he was in the army then.

Sadly, John died on 4/10/1953 of a coronary occlusion (unfortunately, he saw his son Louis die the year before).

It states on here that John's father's name was John Hurbanek, but we know from Egbell birth records that it was Vincent.  I am finding that birth/death certificates and census records are not always accurate.  I think we should go by the Egbell birth record of Vincent as his father's name. 

Tree so far - lets go on Hurbanek branch! Ludwig = Loius

Here is the tree so far.  How did Louis J. Hurbanek, Sr., come to the U.S.?  He came over with his mother, Rozalia (aka Rosalia aka Rosie) Fialla Hurbanek.  They joined John (Jan) Hurbanek who was already there. 

John came over to America from Gbely, Slovakia (aka Egbell, Austria-Hungary) via the boat named Travo which left Bremen and arrived in the New York port on 5/26/1901.  I've been trying to find this boat record, but am still looking.

LINDA KEEP LOOKING FOR THIS BOAT RECORD

Here is his naturalization papers dated 11/7/1917.  Interestingly, he requests that his name be changed from Jan to John.  Also, Rozalia is called Rosie.

The boat records for Rozalia and Louis Hurbanek were easy to find. 

I never realized that Ludwig = Louis

They are #9 & 10.  Rozalia was only 24 years old and Louis was only 9 months.  She came over with $4.00 in her pocket!  Also, she came over by herself with baby Louis.  No one else from Egbell.  What a brave woman!!!

The ship was the Bremen.

Ship Name:	Bremen
Years in service:	1896-1921
Funnels:	2
Masts:	2
Aliases:	Constantinople (1921), King Alexander (1924)
Shipping line:	North German Lloyd
Ship description:	Built by F. Schichau, Danzig, Germany. Tonnage: 11,570. Dimensions: 550' x 60' (569' o.l.). Twin-screw, 15 1/2 knots. Quadruple expansion engines. Two masts and two funnels. Lengthened from 525 to 550 feet in 1901. Tonnage had been 10,525.
ShipVersion:	II
History:	Served also in Australian trade. Renamed: (a) Constantinople (1921), (b) King Alexander (1924). Sold for scrap to Italian shipbreakers in March 1926.

This is the picture from Ancestry - I hope the Bremen is the one on the right!

More on Uncle Lou Hurbanek- South Hills High School band and U.S. Army during WWII

Thanks Kathy for sharing some memories - love the part when you said there were many family dinner pictures were taken with us sitting around the table with Owens Corning Fiberglass Insulation paper decorating the walls. 

I didn't realize that Uncle Lou was in the high school marching band!  He played the "alto horn" in his senior year of high school.  The below is from Ancestry.com's yearbook collection:

Uncle Lou is the second from the left in the front row.

Here is the entire page

It states that Louis Hurbanek is one of the graduating seniors that year and that he plays the alto horn.

Uncle Lou went into the service after high school. 

From mom's story:  Lou went to the service after high school.  We were all so upset.  He went to Fort Meade in Maryland.  He had a cushy job in the hobby shop.  Every time he came home on leave, we all cried and carried on when he had to go back. 

Cushy hobby shop job or not - when he joined the service he didn't know what he was going to be doing or where he would end up and that is very brave!

I'll never forget Uncle Lou's amazing train platform.  I could spend hours looking at everything.  Christmases there were so much fun - the trains, the cookies (Aunt Flo's cookies blew me away!) and the Christmas tree decoration that revolved and changed colors.

 

Louis J. Hurbanek, Jr. and Florence Bruner - some recollections from Kathy Bennett

Recollections of Kathy Bennett (6/1/2016):

My dad (Louis J. Hurbanek, Jr.)  married Florence Marie Bruner on 9/15/1951. She lived in Pittsburgh on Woodstock Avenue. Worked at the counter of a dry cleaners for a period of time then at a drug store cosmetics counter. Her parents, Martha Zapf and Joseph Bruner had 8 surviving children, Helen, Ruth, Mary, Edward, Joseph, Katherine, Dorothy, and Margaret.

I think when first married my parents had an apartment (Location unknown, Belzer Avenue maybe) and then moved into another apartment in Mt. Lebanon (I know where it is, can’t remember the name of the street) (It is a little bit from Gram’s house south on Route 19). We lived there in 1957 until I finished Kindergarten and moved that year to 2443 Willowbrook Road in Upper St. Clair where I started 1st grade at Johnston School. The house was originally a summer cottage and my dad spent years renovating it. Many family dinner pictures were taken with us sitting around the table with Owens Corning Fiberglass Insulation paper decorating the walls.

My dad was born 7/1/1927 died on 8/5/2000. Mom was born 10/31/1927 and died on 6/27/2005. Like his father, my dad also worked in a steel mill. For a period of time he worked in the chemical lab and then as an electrician. He finished his career and retired from Cyclops Specialty Steel in Bridgeville, Pa. He could fix anything and my mom was a terrific baker.

Janos Suri - - John Schury

JOHN SCHURY - Birth 2/20/1874 • Moderdorf, Austria - - Death 3/4/1954 • Pittsburgh, PA

John Schury (Gram Rose's father) came over to America on 7/24/1906 by himself and sent for the family later.

Mom would like to know if he was related to the Habsburgs as there was something said about that at one time.  She said that Gram remembers a fancy family carriage and Schonbrunner Gardens in Vienna.

From Mom's story:

The Schurys settled on the South Side of Pittsburgh.  John worked in a steel mill which was on Carson Street near Smithfield Street Bridge on the West End Side.

 
The Rivers of Steel website shows that this would be the Clinton Rolling Mill:

Clinton Rolling Mill & Furnace/Clinton Iron & Steel Clinton Furnace

Clinton Rolling Mill & Furnace/Clinton Iron & Steel Calling card

Clinton Rolling Mill & Furnace/Clinton Iron & Steel Correspondence

The Clinton Furnace was Pittsburgh's first successful blast furnace for making pig iron at the Clinton Iron and Steel Company. Operations began in the modern day Station Square in 1859, using Connellsville coke as fuel. The Clinton furnace was a metal-encased vessel, an advanced technology for its construction date. The success of the Clinton Furnace played an important role in establishing Pittsburgh as the center of iron and steel making. The furnace ceased production in 1927.
_______________________________________________________________________________
WWI Draft Registration records show John in 1918 to be living on 142 Brownsville Avenue, and that he was tall, medium build, with blue eyes and brown hair.  It also stated that he worked for the A.M. Byers Co. 

A.M. Byers was apparently the world's largest wrought iron mill.

There is a site:  http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/6359

this has all the employee records, you have to log in to download.  The history includes wage rate, occupation, date of hire, length of time on the job, and reasons for leaving.

LINDA LOOK INTO THIS

Here's a picture of A.M. Byers inside the mill:

John Sury was naturalized in 1922

Sadly, the 1940 census on Montooth Street was without Antoinette. 

This census gives us more clues though.  John was 66 and retired.  He lived with Pauline, Steve and Betty. 

 - John only had a 4th grade education

 - Pauline worked as a seamstress and had two years of high school

- Steve worked as a waiter in a night club and had an 8th grade education

- Betty worked as a manicurist in a department store and it's hard to say if she had an 8th grade education or more as it's kind of scratched off

How about if you look a few names below theirs, my other great-grandparents are there on the same street, Charles and Maude Albitz.  Charles was a laborer in a road project. 

I'm not liking some of what Mom said about John Schury:

- He beat his wife and children frequently.

- He was a playboy.

This is interesting, though: 

His family in Austria considered him a "black sheep". because he came to America. 

He died of larynx cancer at the age of 80.

Great-Grandfather Schury worked hard all his life - a life where he was first named Janos Suri and died as John Schury and in between was also known as John Sury.

 

Mom's story - Mostly about Gram Rose

First of all, I loved Gram Rose so much!  She was so upbeat and kind to us grandchildren.  She always made me feel special, for example one time I had on an old shirt and she told me how nice I looked and I told mom on the way home that it was one of my stained up old shirts and mom said Gram just liked to make her grandchildren feel special and good about themselves no matter what they were wearing. 

When I got older and wrote a poem, she couldn't stop complimenting me on it.  We all should have such a Gram!

Every summer we went to Kennywood Park during Uncle Jimmy's USS picnics where Gram would go and play Fascination, mom would play Skee ball and Dave, Jeff and I rode the rides.  Aunt Sue loved going on the roller coasters with us  :)  LOL!

Hope you all enjoy mom's memories as much as I have enjoyed typing them.  These are the last pages:



SCHURY
John (also Jan), born in Presburg, Austria on 2/20/1874 and died in the 1950's. Married Antonia (also Antoinette) Yadernick, born on 7/7/74 and died at age 60 in early April 1934.

Name has been spelled: Sury, Suri, Shury, Surij.

John and Antonia came to America from Vienna, Austria via Bremen, Germany in late 1906. He came first and sent for them and Frank, who was 1 or 2. They settled on the South Side of Pittsburgh. John worked in a mill which was on Carson Street near Smithfield Street Bridge on the West End Side.

ROSEe was born on 1/16/1901 in Vienna, Austria, Married Louis J. Hurbanek in November 14, 1923. Lived awhile on Gearing Avenue, 2nd Floor.

The landlady was trying to seduce Louis so they moved.

Lived at 89 Lafferty Avenue, Beltzhoover from 1926 to 1946.

Moved to 1463 Dormont Avenue, Dormont. Phone Lehigh 1-4608.

In 1966, Rose moved fo 747 Artvue Avenue, Scott Township.

Then she bought a condominium at the Pines in Clearwater, Florida and moved in June 1980.

In 1985, she bought a house at 203 Magnolia Drive, CLearwater, FL.

In 1986, she sold the house and moved to Nob Hill Apts, Swallow Hill Road, Scott Township.

In Sept 1989, she moved into Rolling Hills Manor, Baldwin Township.

Rose's siblings:

Frank Schury: Born Feb 21, 1905 in Austria-Hungary. Married Elizabeth prior to August 1930. Divorced prior to 1946. Died in the 1950's or 1960's. No children. Waiter at William Penn.

Anna Mae Meister: Born Feb 1910 in Pittsburgh. Married th Charles Meister. Had 2 daughters, Shirley and Janet. Both married. Charles worked for Westinghouse

Agnes C. Wilhelm: Born 2/16/12. Married to George Wilhelm. Had daughter Lois born 10/31/1931 and son George orn 2/1933. Husband George died in 1933 of diabetes before son was born. Married Louis Adams around 1950

Pauline V. Wacker: Born 4/1/1914. Married Fred Wacker. Had daughter Paula and son David who died as a child.

Stephen Schury: Born 4/14/15. Married Nellie? No children. Divorced 1970's. Waiter. Nellie was a beautician.

Charles Schury: Born 12/24/191?. Married ? Divorced. Married Libby and had two sons and a daughter. Died in 198

Elizabeth Kelly: Born 191? Married Samuel Kelly. Had daughter Patricia. Betty died in 1986? Married a second time after Samuel died. Name of John? Lived near South Park.

Rose started first grade at Monongahela School on West Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA. Then the family moved to 142 Brownsville Avenue and she went to Knox School through eighth grade at which time she had to go to work to help support the famiuly. She started washing glasses at _______ Hotel. Then she was a food checker, then a food checker at Donahue's. She worked as a waitress at the William Penn Hotel, several country clubs such as Shanapin.

When widowed in 1952, she worked in St. Bernard school cafeteria for a year. She worked as a dietician in Dormont Hich Schol cafeteria until 1966 retirement.

She also worked as a caterer after she widowed.

Children:

Frances Louise: Born 3/2/1925. Married Stephen Grden 5/21/1945. Two children, Nancy and Thomas. Steve died in Feb 1966. Married to Jay Steele in 1970. Divorced. Married Joseph Driscoll and divorced in 198?

Louis J. Jr.: Born 7/1/1927. Married Florence Bruner. Three Children: Kathleen, Carol and Gary

Marilyn: Born March 1932. Married Robert Albitz on 6/20/1953. Three children: Dave, Linda and Jeff.

Albert: Born 3/1935. Unmarried

James: Born June 1941. Married Susan Wachtler 6/17/1972. Two children: Jason and Shana



Rose Schury childhood:
Her Godmother was Cecilia Flinta who was a Godmother for either birth or confirmation for most all of the Schury children.

They had school picnics back then too. The children had to line up and walk to the park not too far away (I don't remember the name of the park). They also went by streetcar to school picnics. On several occasions, a neighbor lady gave Rose a dollar once in awhile for the picnic.

When Rose was a chilld they had to go to confession every Saturday and they weren't allowed to talk until after church the next day. Her mother took her to town when she was working to Frank and Seders and bought her one outfit every spring. It was always of good quality.

Frank was bought a suit also on occasion after he became of working age. Rose and Frank were made to help support the family.

I don't know when the Schury family moved to 904 Montooth Street in Beltzhoover, but I know they lived there around 1930. Also, Aunt Annie went to Beltzhoover School becasue she told me several years ago that they made her change the spelling of Schury to Shury when in school there.

Rose was very popular after she started work. She loved to dance and was very good at the Tango. Some of her friends were Greek and took her to expensive restaurants to eat. One Greek man was very taken with her and wanted to marry her, but she told me she didn't love him and couldn't marry just for money.

One of her dance partners went to New York City to be a professional dancer and wanted her to go, but she declined. Her friends had to promise her parents that they would have her home at a certain time. Sometimes she was given permission to stay out a little later.

I forget who introduced Rose and Lou. It was a mutual friend. Rose's parents were against her marrying Lou because he didn't have any money. They refused to buy her wedding gown so her Godmother paid for it. Her parents also didn't want her marrying because they wanted her wages.

Rose's father was very strict. He drank and played pinochle at the local saloon on the corner near our house (Montooth and Lafferty).

He beat the wife and children frequently.

His family in Austria considered him a "black sheep". becasue he came to America.

He was a playboy.

My mother told me that Grama Schury had 16 babies! 8 lived.

She said she had a brother MIchael buried in Ohio (Bellaire I think). He was only a few years old. A few of the dead girlls were baptized Mary.

Aunt Aggie said some were miscarriages

Antonia died of uterine cancer. John died of throat cancer.

Frank died of an aneurysm. Don't know the cause of Pauline's death. Both Charlie and Betty died of cancer of digestive tract (stomach and colon I think). Betty had cancerous thyroid when I was small.

When Rose worked before her marriage, She sewed most of her clothes. She would look in the store windows downtown and go buy material and make her copies. She was always well dressed.

When I was real young, she worked to supplement the family income. I remember her going to work on Fridays at the William Penn Hotel as a waitress for lunch.

She always worked the Shriner's lunch. There was a store downtown called Donahue's and she brought slabs of butter home and the best Jewish rye bread.

She always brought us leftover filet mignon steaks (untouched) and little French rolls wrapped in napkins. What a treat! Fran said that she her Lou had to miss school often on Fridays to watch the kids. Sometimes Aunt Rosie watched Jimmy.

I remember going to kindergarten both morning and afternoon for awhile. Before Jim was born, Rose was bedridden with neuritis for about a year one time and a lesser period another time. On both occasions, we had a black lady come during the day to help. Her name was Hattie. She was short and fat and jolly. 

 

Had 16 children, 8 lived - Great Grandma Antoinette Jadernik from Cechtice, Bohemia

Great-Grandmother Antoinette Jadernik - born 7/7/1874 - died 4/25/1934

Gram Rose's mother.

-Had 16 children, 8 lived.
Rose
Frank
Antonio
Anna Mae
Agnes
Leonora
Stephen
Charles
Elizabeth
(This is a work in progress!)

- I believe Antionette was named after her father, Anton. 

- My mother's middle name is Antionette.

- Here she is on wash day with Great Aunt Betty

The back of this picture in Gram Rose's handwriting

Antionette was born in Cechtice, Bohemia

She was Bohemian - this is very popular now!

Mom said that Gram told her that her mother was an orphan.  Wondering about that, though, as I found census records from Austria of 1904 that places Anton and Marie Jadernik in Osterreich (Austria), Wein Niederösterreich.  (Parents names of Anton and Mary or Marie are on Antionette's death certificate.)

LINDA DO MORE RESEARCH ON THIS

My questions are where and how did she meet John Schury?

She came over to America in 1906 on the Oldenburg with Gram Rose, (unsure) and Antonio (click on the picture to make it full screen)

The Schury census records from the 1910, 1920 (John on top of next page) and 1930:

Antoinette was naturalized on 9/1/1927.  Note that she spells her name as:  Antonet Sury.

Sadly, she died on 4/25/1934 at the age of 59 of uterine cancer.

Would love to know more about her and to see more pictures.

Mom's notes transcribed

Mom prepared this sometime in the 1980s-1990s.  This may have been prompted by Jason's school family tree project.  I still have 6 more full pages of handwritten notes yet to transcribe(!). 

Would like to eventually put together a digital scrapbook and pull out different sections of this, i.e., about their house, maybe do a page of mom's descriptions with pictures of the house, something like that to make all of these memories come to life. 

Right now in the gathering of information stage.  It's interesting to hear about Grandfather Louis and his service in the Army,  that he was an auxiliary policeman and that when he won at playing the numbers, he bought the kids ice cream at Annie's Candy Store on Climax Street.

It's close to 90 degrees today and a double scoop ice cream sounds great to me!

**************************************************************************

MOM'S STORY
Grandfather - John Hurbanek (born late 1870-early 1880 - died 1953) was naturalized on 2/6/1918. Certificate #901503 - PLB #22036, Volume 239. Louis was 17 years old. 

He came to America sometime before Louis was 1 years old (1901). Louis was a citizen when John was naturalized.

Grandmother - Rosalia Fialla (died 1949). Her family all came to America at the same time. She had a sister Mary who married John Nedlick and a brother Michael who went to New York state (don't know if there were others). Nedlick children are in CA, FL, NY and PA.

Believe John Hurbanek's mother and father came over to America at the same time.

Have an interrment card from Calvary Cemetary dated 8/20/1907 for John Urbanek, deceased, grave #77, row #4, section #8. Paid $13.50. On back written in my mother's (Rose Hurbanek) writing is 8/31/1911 (Amelia, Aurelia, Auulia [writing looks closest to this last one]) Urbanek. Believe these are Louis' grandparents.

Father - Loius, Jr., was born 9/11/1900 in Egbell, Austria. He enlisted in the Army on 5/22/1919 for 3 years at age 18. His # 6428768. Private CoA 17 Tank Battalion. Discharged 5/22/1922. He served 26 months in the Rhine with the A.E.F. He died 3/1/1952. He was a Tally Clerk or Shipper with A.M. Myers Co. on the South Side for all the time I can remember. My mother said during the depression he was a handy man - doing all sorts of jobs (had to quit school after 8th grade to help support the family.)

Lou was working on roof of next door neighbors (Mrs. Shorn) when he lost his footing and fell two stories to the ground. This was around 1931. The fall is believed to have been the cause of the cancer in his lower backbone of which hd died in 1952. He always had a bad back and sometimes he couldn't stand straight up.

Lou 1900-1952 - age 51

Angelina 1902-1983 - age 81

Fritz 1904-1986 - age 83

Henry 1906-1987 - age 81

Kon 1907-

Sarah 1916 -

Note: Lou buried in Calvary not far from Rosalia. Rose's grandmother grave same as Lou's. Fritz and Frank are in Calvary also. Steve (Fran's husband) too. John and Antonia are in St. Michael's Cemetary in Allentown near South Side. Betty was cremated.

John Hurbanek and Rosalia Fialla Hurbanek were separated, I don't remember him at all.

Grandma said that he and Fritz lived at 238 Climax Street in Beltzhoover, in my memory.

Sarah married late in her 30's. When Fritz went to the Army, Grandma Rosalia got pneumonia which they said settled in her brain. Daddy & Uncle Kon took her to Mayview. She was allowed visitors one day a week. I remember Daddy going often.

She died after I was married as did Grandpap Hurbanek.

Sarah worked at the A&P in Allentown. She always had candy bars for us.

She and grandma bought us Christmas presents. I remember one year getting a little piano and I was "thrilled to death."

I used to take Jimmy to the movies on Saturdays and we had to stop for Sarah to give us candy and sometimes the money for the show.

The house on Climax was a big Victorian frame house. It had a wraparound porch on the front. There was a large side porch with an entry to the basement with a wooden door that lifted up. There was a second floor entry in the rear with a small porch. They had a double corner lot that had a big garden with vegetables and flowers. There was a brick patio on the side of the house wtih low walls to sit on. There was a garage in the rear wtih access from the alley.

Fritz put his car up on blocks before he went to the army.

I remember all the school children had to collect scrap metal and rubber to take to school for the war.

Fritz gave me a lot of junk from that garage. I wrote to him in the service. I have a photo of him in uniform. I was pretty young then.

I remember that Henry and Rosie lived on the second floor after they married. I think before then they rented it out. After Grandma went to Mayview, Sarah and Fritz moved to the second flor.

My Godmother Louise Mander and her three children moved into the first floor. I was about 10 or 11 years old when the house caught on fire. I was in the kitchen with Louise when someone came knocking on the kitchen door. Louise made me run home to tell my parents. I was so scared. I ran so fast that my legs were like rubber. We all ran back to the house. Fritz was on the second floor and had to be wakened. It was some old phonograph records and papers that had exploded into fire from spontaneous combustion. I had nightmares for years.

Sarah played the accordian and taught me how to play. She was very good. She played cards with me and played all kinds of games. Sometimes she took me to the movies in the evening and would walk me home in the dark. We walked everywhere! Once in awhile we took the streetcar.

Fritz was an ice skater. He was always out at Duquesne Gardens in Oakland. I remember he lost part of his finger at work, but I don't know where he worked. In his later years, he worked at Walton Automotive in Allentown. He moved to a room in Allentown as the neighborhood in Climax was becoming overrun with blacks and he was afraid of them. The blacks stripped the house of all the plumbing, doors, etc., and Fritz let it go. It was torn down and townhouses were built. How sad!

I don't recall ever hearing anything about my dad and his childhood except his having to quit school. He was exceptional with figures. His job as tally clerk required him to add long columns of figures without an adding machine or calculator.

When we lived in Beltzhoover, he was an auxillary policeman. During the war, there were "brown outs". His job was to see that people had their lights out or dark drapes drawn over the windows. He had a hard hat, arm band and a billy. I don't know if he had a gun then. He also helped the regular police when needed.

He was never a very stern man. We were all afraid of him and he only had to give us "the look" and we immediately behaved. In spite of his sternness, he was a lot of fun. We used to tease with him all the time. He loved to talk (we all inherited that trait!). He was an intelligent man. It's a shame he had to quit school.
Daddy was tall, 6 foot, handsome, with dark brown, almost black hair, brown eyes and ruddy complexion. He had a rough sounding demeanor. He loved his family and we loved him. He built us a train platform every Christmas that took almost half of our living room. He allowed me to tap dance on it before he put everything on it. I was allowed to tap dance on the hearth of the living room mantel too. I was always singing and dancing and he loved to hear and watch me."
Whenever he won at playing the numbers, he always treated us kids to ice cream cones from Annie's Candy Store on Climax Street. The cone had a wide top for two scoops of ice cream side-by-side.

We had a front porch with wicker furniture on it. Dad hung awnings every summer and every evening after dark, Mother and Dad sat out there talking long after we went to bed.

There was a small back porch which Dad closed in to make the kitchen longer. It had a door into the dining room as well. Both the kitchen and dining room had linoleum on the floor. We were allowed to roller skate round and round through both rooms. What fun!

i remember we had a telephone in the hall. It was a tall black phone with the mouthpiece at the top and the receiver hung on the side. The kids didn't use it. The number: Hemlock 8444

Mother always had birthday parties for us. One birthday when I was very small someone gave me a dress (a hand-me-down). It was red taffeta. The skirt was row after row of narrow ruffles. I loved it.

We got new clothes every Easter. I remember getting white Mary Janes one year and going to church with my Dad. We had a very long walk to church. Mostly we went to St. Canice's in Knoxville and later to St. George's in Allentown. He and I went to church together a lot. (It's strange, but I don't remember anyone else going with us.)

We always had company at our house. Relatives were always there. The coffee pot was always full. We played cards all the time. Mrs. Schubert, the next door neighbor, taught us how to play all kinds of card games.

I had a litle desk in the corner of the living room. I was always writing, drawing and putting notes on music paper. I loved drawing clothes for my paper dolls and had dreams of becoming a dress designer. I had that dream until I graduated from high school.

I always envisioned my name on the credits of the movies.

The real world required one to go to work.

Mother wanted me to go to designer school downtown, but I was eager to earn some money of my own. Little did I know that I wouldn't have any of my own or very little of it. I had to turn it all over to my mother - all $23.16 a week. She gave me $3.16 of that - so much for independence!

For all the discipline in our house, my mother was lax in many areas. We kids came and went as we pleased. She never knew where we were. As for myself, I roamed all over Beltzhoover. I knew all the streets and who lived where. I played with kids everywhere, even colored ones.

We got a bath once a week. No one prodded us to brush our teeth (we didn't). However, our clothes were clean. Mother washed every week and had tons of laundry. We always had plenty to eat and clothes (most of which were hand-me-downs).

We had a couple of dogs. I remember Skippy the best. He was given to us as a puppy from Jewish friends of my Dad's. He wouldn't eat anything with pork in it! He was Jimmy's dog more than the rest of the kids.

Fran married at age 20 in 1945. Steve Grden was 29. They lived in Kittaning for awhile and then moved in with us. They shared a bedroom with me and Al later. They bought me a book while on honeymoon. It is Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I was 13. I still have it.

Lou went to the service after high school. We were all so upset. He went to Fort Meade in Maryland. He had a cushy job in the hobby shop. Every time he came home on leave, we all cried and carried on when he had to go back.

Christmas was always wonderful. Santa always came on Christmas Eve around 7:00 p.m. and he would bang on the side door and leave all the presents. One year he even came in the house. We opened our gifts then. Mother always baked nut rolls and lots of cookies and had a ham.

Our aunts and uncles used to stop by sometimes after we were in bed. I don't recall that they gave us many gifts, but I always bought them all something from my savings.

The Christmas I was 8, Mrs. Rischer, a friend of Mom's, gave me my very own book titled "John Martin's Stories for Children." What a thrill, my very own book. I read and reread it and still have it.

My Grandpap Schury lived down on Montooth Street with Betty, Pauline, Charlie and Stevie. Across the strest was the Koval family. They had 4 kids, Louie was my age. Aggie, Lois and Georgie lived in my Grandpap's house for awhile in 2 rooms on the second floor. Lois was my age. We played over at the Koval's a lot. They had all kinds of games and puzzles. Their mother, Fanny, used to play games with us. My mother never liked Fanny. She smoked and was kind of crude. We kids thought she was wonderful.

Next door to Grandpap Schury's was a family we knew as the Albertses. There was the grandfather Charles and grandmother Maude who was blind. There were Hazel and Dave, Dorothy and Chippy and another sister, Pearl, who didn't live there. They had some other relatives who used to visit them in a car. They were all friends with my mother and her brothers and sisters. Lois and I played with Hazel's kids. We always had to leave when the relatives in the car came. They said they were the rich relatives. (When I grew up and met Bob Albitz, I found out that these neighbors were his relatives and that their name was Albitz. Small world!)     

Schury town of origin? Presburg or Moderdorf?

Could John Schury's parent's parents be from Presburg?  There are lots of Suri's there with many surname variations. 

Trying to remember where I saw the reference that he stated he was from Presburg, but there are many sources (naturalization papers for one) that state that he was born in Moderdorf.   

Here is a link to a cool site that lists common surnames from Presburg and a map of its location which is now a town called Komarov. 

http://www.cisarik.com/0_Komarov_Bratislava_BL_Pozsony_Bratislava_stu.html

Komárov

Komarov is joined to the village (town): Bratislava

OLD NAMES of the village(town): 1773 Posonium, Posony, Presburg, Pressporek, 1786 Preßburg, Posony, Pressporek, Posonium, Pisonium, 1808 Posonium, Posony, Pozsony, Preßburg, Pressporek, 1863, 1877–1913 Pozsony, 1873 Poson, 1920– Bratislava

Grandma Rose's records of immigration from the ship the Oldenburg state that they last lived in Modorfala, Hungary which is now called Trnava. 

Trnava

Trnava includes former villages: | Modranka |

OLD NAMES of the village(town): 1773 Tyrnavia, Nagy-Szombath, Türnau, Trnawa, 1786 Tirnau, Tyrnavia, Nagy-Szombat, Trnawa, 1808 Tyrnavia, Tyrnau, Nagy-Szombath, Trnawa, 1863–1913 Nagyszombat, 1920– Trnava Modranka: 1773 Moderdorff, 1786 Modersdorf, 1808 Moderdorf, Modersdorf, 1863 Moderndorf, 1873–1882 Moderdorf, 1888–1907 Modorfalva, 1913 Vágmagyarád, 1920 Moderdorf, 1927–1971 Modranka

http://www.cisarik.com/0_Trnava_Trnava_TA_Pozsony_Bratislava.html

There are no Suris listed in Moderdorf from 2005 or 1715, but there is a large gap of time that needs researched.

John and Antionet Sury's  naturalization papers state that they last lived in Vienna, Austria.  Grandma Rose was baptized in the Vienna Cathedral.

Could John Schury's parent's parents be from Presburg and then have moved to Moderdorf?  (Since there are several sources that state that he was born in Moderdorf.)  Then did John Schury move to Austria prior to immigration to the U.S.?

Where did he meet Antionette Jadernik, who was from Cechtice, Central Bohemia?

Too many questions - asked too late. 

Surname variations of Schury and Jadernik

There are way too many variations for Schury including:

Sury

Suri

Sura

Surej

Surij

Shury

Oschusi (from 1910 census, waaayyyyyyy off)

Also, with Jadernik:

Yerdnik

Yadernik

Jadelnik 

Musings on G-G-Grandmother Terezia Dojcsán 1837-1902

Here is what I have of the skeletal Hurbanek family tree so far (click to enlarge):

There was a Terezia Dojscan in the correct age bracket who is from a small town called Hurbanovo in Slovakia.  The town is named after Jozef Miloslav Hurban. 

• Hurbanovo (until 1948 Stará Ďala, Hungarian: Ógyalla, German: Altdala) is a town and large municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. In 1948, its Slovak name was changed to Hurbanovo, named after Slovak writer Jozef Miloslav Hurban.

• Jozef Miloslav Hurban (19 March 1817 in in Beckov, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire, now Slovakia), was a leader of the Slovak National Council and the Slovak Uprising in 1848/1849, a Slovak writer, journalist, politician, organizer of Slovak cultural life and a Protestant priest. He first supported Ján Kollár, but later turned to Ľudovít Štúr. His son Svetozár Hurban-Vajanský followed his father's footsteps both as a writer and nationalist.  The city of Hurbanovo in southern Slovakia and asteroid 3730 Hurban are named after him.

An ASTEROID named after him!!!!  Wow!

Joef Miloslav Hurban was a leader in the Slovak uprising of 1848/49 - how did that impact Terezia?  If this is her, she was born during the end of this.

• The Slovak Uprising (of 1848/49) or Slovak Volunteer Campaigns was an uprising of Slovaks against the Hungarian rule in Upper Hungary (now Slovakia), within the 1848–49 revolutions in the Habsburg Monarchy. It lasted from September 1848 to November 1849.

Wikipedia link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_Uprising_of_1848%E2%80%9349

This uprising, among other things, called for the abolishment of serfdom, the abolishment of the privilege of nobility and to make all persons equal before the courts, abolish tax exemption for nobility and inheritance, ensure commoners the right to serve in public office and ensure freedom of the press.

The Wikipedia article is interesting.  Not sure how much impact this uprising had, but would need to explore that further. 

Jozef is possibly not a  relation, but it's interesting that it's a possibility G-G-Grandmother Terezia Dojcsan may have come from a town of the name Hurbanovo.  Here are the distances between Hurbanovo and Gbely - see below.

 

 

 

 

If she did live in Hurbanovo and moved to Gbely, wonder why they moved?  Also wonder when they moved.  What is in Gbely that is not in Hurbanovo? 

Below is what is on Family Search for Terezia Dojscan's birth records.  Could not find any others who come close, but maybe there are more records in Slovakia which are not recorded online.

Here is the record in Slovak:

I'm thinking the names in the fifth column are the godparents?

Tried to get marriage or death records of Terezia Dojcsan Hurbanek on Ancestry and Family Search, but no luck.  Will have to explore online how to get records in Slovakia.


Other random thoughts:

• Our Hurbanek American migration began with Terezia and Vincentius Hurbanek's son, John (Jan) Hurbanek and his family including my grandfather, Louis Hurbanek, Sr. in 1901 who was their only child (out of 6) born in Gbely, Slovakia.

• Louis Hurbanek, Sr. is also the oldest child from a large family like Gram Rose Schury Hurbanek.

NOTES TO SELF: 

1.  Find out if there is a place to write to online or snail mail on how to get Slovak marriage and death records

2.  Look up more info on the Hurban name.  G-G-G-G-Grandfather Michael had a last name of Hurban.  What does the "ek" mean and when was it added?  Well, while I'm at it, what does Hurban mean? 

3.  Maybe I should start from the back and work to the front.

• Michael Hurban, DOB:  unknown
• Martinus Hurbanek, DOB;  11/12/1797, Slovakia
• Vincentius Hurbanek, DOB:  1844, Gbely, Slovakia
• John (Jan) Hurbanek, DOB:  5/14/1875, Egbell, Hungary (aka Gbely, Slovakia)
• Louis Hurbanek, Sr., DOB:  9/11/1900, Egbell, Austria (aka Gbely, Slovakia)

4.  Need to cite sources!  While working on another tree for a friend, I went down the wrong branch and didn't realize this until the wee hours of the morning after thinking her family had a huge part in the history of Virginia.  Still, the work wasn't completely wasted as they are some of her cousins and I learned some history, but the findings were not her actual G-G-Grandparents.  Need to have something to back up dates and findings!

5.  Is Hurban a common name in Slovakia?  Like Smith? 


As I end this, I ponder if we are cousins/relations to Slovakia uprising leader  Jozef Miloslav Hurban who was born in 1817 in a town by the name of in Beckov (82.8 km from Gbely, Slovakia,(about 1 hour 20 min minute drive).  Well - probably unlikely.  Also, if Terezia Dojcsan is from Hurbanovo, the town named after Jozef Miloslav Hurban.  More research needed.

In any case, I learned a little bit of Slovak history over a cup of excellent blueberry coffee on this rainy Sunday morning.