Good Morning! I am helping a family member to check his Czech Republic family (neither of us speaks
Stefan Smrtka (Smetyaka)
1883–1931
BIRTH 15 MAR 1883 • Garan Kovacsi, Czechoslovakia
DEATH 4 OCTOBER 1931 • Ohio USA
any help is appreciated!
Thank you so much 💖
Respuestas
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Hi!
I found your tree on Ancestry. Have you ever found the immigration record?
Betseylee Browning
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I do indeed! ( not sure why its so dark hope you can read it!)0 -
I did find his immigration after searching the ship "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" Stefan is under Istvan Szmetka https://tinyurl.com/y3h8kahd. Istvan is the Hungarian way of saying Stefan.
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Place where wife Katalin is residing in the passenger list Magasmart. Stefan came alone.
Detail View: Gazetteer of Austrian, Czech, Slovak and Slovenian Republic
No.72435Place Name:Brehy
Place Name German:Hochstätten / Hochstein / HohenmautPlace
Name Hungarian:Magasmart
Judicial District:Nova Bana (heute Zarnovica)
Crown Land:Ungarn (heute Slowakei) NameBegin of Vital StatisticsRespective Archives
Competent Parish - Roman Catholic:Brehy1784/1784/1784Landesarchiv Banska Bystrica
Former Parish - Roman CatholicNova Bana1648/1648/1662Landesarchiv Banska Bystrica
Competent Parish - Protestant:Banska Hodrusa1812/1820/1812Landesarchiv Banska Bystrica
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His birthplace is given as Garamkovacsi.
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This is where Stefan is from
using Genteam.at as a gazatteer
Detail View: Gazetteer of Austrian, Czech, Slovak and Slovenian Republic
No.73899 Place Name:Kozarovce
Place Name German:Koscharowetz
Place Name Hungarian:Kovácsi
Judicial District:Levice
Crown Land:Ungarn (heute Slowakei)
Begin of Vital Statistics
Respective Archives
Competent Parish - Roman Catholic:Hronsky Benadik1826/1841/1802Landesarchiv Banska Bystrica
Competent Jewish District:Zlate Moravce1850/1856/1857Landesarchiv Nitra
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But I believe this is the correct place
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koz%C3%A1rovce
Kozárovce (Hungarian: Garamkovácsi) is an old village and municipality in the Levice District in the Nitra Region of Slovakia.
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Do you have an ancestry subscription?
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I believe the two places aren't far from each other even though they are in different regions. https://web.archive.org/web/20100919171653/http://cisarik.com/0_Brehy_Zarnovica_BC_Bars_Tekov.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20100919171653/http://cisarik.com/0_Brehy_Zarnovica_BC_Bars_Tekov.html
Names in present town of Kozarovce: Smrťka Smrtka Szmrtyka Smrťková Smrtkova Szmrtykova
Betseylee
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I found some records for Brehy but they are only available to view in a FamilySearch Center, which are not open.
Vol. Nr. 208A Krsty, manželstvá, úmrtia 1852-1896
International B1 High Density
1573450
Item 8
5014234This item is available on microfilm at this family history center.
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What religion were they? The records I mentioned were Catholic records.
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The immigration record is two pages long. Click on the arrow. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer and explain it.
Betseylee
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This is AMAZING!
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The family are Roman Catholic!
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I have nothing to click on, am I missing the link?
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I am glad you appreciate it. I knew it was a name problem. It usually is. I have not been able to find any Catholic records for Kozarovce (Garamkovacsi). It is all confusing as these villages were in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Slovakia and Hungary in different time periods.
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I posted it 5 hours ago. It was a Tiny Url. Here is a complete URL. Two pages. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYT715_1156-0248?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=df4eae8221c16899c77b882a89d79ac6&usePUB=true&_phsrc=yhd984794&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.95054879.2023008529.1607267441-887186073.1607267441&pId=4002028852
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Aha! I thought it was only the first page, the second page does not give much information, he paid for his ticket, he was coming to visit a friend Michael Mayer, 5 ft 4 and blond hair blue eyes, coming from the middle of the country! Is there a way to search the town of Kozarovce (Garamkovacsi)? the name of the parish may contain his family names and information! This is wonderful! To narrow it down to a town is phenomonal!
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Without the second page we would not have his place of birth. I have not found any records for Kozarovce. I think you will have to write the Landesarchiv Banska Bystrica. Hungary is not my expertise. I am good at searching out info like passenger lists. I am more into Czechia and Germany. There is a section in the FamilySearch Wiki that has libraries and archives: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Hungary_Archives_and_Libraries. Also check out https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Hungary_Church_Records. I found some for the birthplace of the wife but you can't view them right now. Usually they are married in the parish of the bride. Her name looks like Katalin to me. She apparently changed it when she moved to the US.
Betseylee Browning
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Why don't you join the free FamilySearch Central Europe Genealogy Research Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CentralEuropeGenealogyResearchCommunity. I help on there too. I know there are Hungarian/Slovakian experts on there and ask them where you can find resources for the two towns. Some might even have access to the archives.
Betseylee Browning
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If you can't find the answers on the Facebook group then you could also post on the Austro Hungarian Empire Community and they might know. https://community.familysearch.org/s/group/0F93A000000LfUCSA0/austrohungarian-empire. Keep me posted please on any further developments.
Betseylee
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Such wonderful clues and help you have given me! I thank you so much for the time you have taken to help me and George Smrtka. We really do appreciate your help!
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You are welcome. I enjoy solving the puzzles. Please keep me posted on your progress. Also, would you do me a favor and update FamilySearch Family Tree with his info so others can benefit from this please? Not everyone has an Ancestry account.
Betseylee
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Of course! I hesitate to change anything but have a good friend who can verify my findings and change it.
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Hi Sheila,
You might have already figured this out, but the Roman Catholic parish for Kozarovce was Hronský Beňadik (now Svaty Benedik). There are Roman Catholic records on FamilySearch for that parish from 1818-1949. You can view them here. This is likely his baptism record (you can view it here: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXWX-BK3): István Smrtka, born and baptized 21 March 1883 to parents István Smrtka and Anna Bencsát.
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Thanks, Mckenna Cooper for helping. We can use all the help we can get. I cannot get the links to work but will try later. The site might be down.
Betseylee Browning
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Try them now--I just tested them.
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Thank you so much McKenna! I will search for the parents from this site! I have wondered if our Istavan was the only member to come over to America. Right now I am reading a book that was recommended "Unlocking the Iron Gate by Catherine Siska. It is a fiction, but based on fact of the socioeconomic and geopolitical background. Slovakia was torn so many times by different powers.
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