Descendants of the BERECZ Family of Alsoság 11 February 2019 First Generation 1. [Progenitor] BERECZ was born (date unknown). Berecz Family Line Information: The Berecz family is an ancient noble family of Hungary, believed to originate in the Transylvanian village of Bereczk -- now Bretçu, Romania. The village likely was named for St. Brectius of Tours (in Hungarian St. Bereczk) an 11th century missionary to the Székely peoples of Transylvania. Current variations of the name include Bereczk, Bereczki, and Bereczky. Prior to the 1830's, our name was usually spelled Börötzk with many variations -- and in the latter part of the 19th century it was sometimes spelled Berec. These various spellings were used interchangeably in accordance with the custom of the time. For this family history, the standard spelling of "Berecz" is used throughout. The "cz" is pronounced as the English "ts" -- therefore Berecz is pronounced "Beh’-rets." If we believe Endre Németh's "History of the Berecz Family" more than a century passed between the arrival of three Transylvanian Berecz brothers in western Hungary, and the beginning of definitive records. These brothers are said to have fought in the 1599 recapture of Györ from the Turks after which they settled in western Hungary, at which time they proved their noble heritage. We find our branch of the Berecz' early in the 18th century not far from the Rába river, as landowners -- "gazda" -- with vineyards on the slopes of the extinct volcano called Sághegy (“Mount Ság”) . [Some distant Berecz relatives still own small vineyards there.] For whatever reason, the church records no longer identified them as part of the Magyar noble gentry. Following Joseph II's Edict of Toleration in 1781, and the reopening of the Evangelical (Lutheran) churches, many of the men (and later women) of our Berecz line served as Evangelical pastors and teachers in Vas, Sopron, Veszprém and Zala counties. Over the years, the conventions regarding identification of the social status of individuals in church registers changed. Several of these individuals were identified as "Nemzetes" (abbreviated Nz) which means "the honorable" and was intended as a title of respect, rather than of nobility. “Nemes” (abbreviated Ns) was the title usually used by the noble gentry. We do not have definitive evidence that the group of Berecz families living in Alsoság (“lower Ság, the village at the base of the mountain) and producing children in the 1730's and 1740's (when the first reasonably complete baptismal records occur) were all siblings. It seems highly likely though (due to the role of a marriage witness ... a job usually reserved for an uncle) that Benedek, János, and Márton were brothers, and probably all were "cousins." All are shown here in order to put some perspective on the size of the Berecz family in Ság at that time, and to demonstrate some of the earliest indicators of the many links between the Berecz, Zsámboki, Somogyi, Hanzsér, Meszterházi and other families -- which even today provide living testimony of our family's historical role in the region around Ság called Kemenesalja. Seen here is a photo of Sághegy from an old postcard. [Progenitor] BERECZ had the following children: +2 i. István BERECZ, born abt 1695, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Zsuzsanna KOVÁCS, abt 1720. +3 ii. Benedek "Bence" BERECZ, born abt 1700, Hungary; married Katalin SÁNTA. 4 iii. Márton BERECZ was born in 1710 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. He died on 3 Mar 1799 at the age of 89 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. His age at death was given as 89 years. +5 iv. János BERECZ, born 1710, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Éva HORVÁTH, abt 1729; died 30 Jul 1806, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +6 v. Erzsébet "Örse" BERECZ, born abt 1719; married Ferenc CSAJBÓK, abt 1735. 1 Descendants of the BERECZ Family of Alsoság 11 February 2019 Second Generation 2. István BERECZ ([Progenitor]-1) was born about 1695 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. István BERECZ and Zsuzsanna KOVÁCS were married about 1720. He possibly had two wives Zsusa and Jutka Kováts (sisters?). Zsuzsanna KOVÁCS was born (date unknown). István BERECZ and Zsuzsanna KOVÁCS had the following children: +7 i. János BERECZ, born abt 1722, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Erzsébet NAGY, 14 Feb 1745, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN; died after 1766. 8 ii. Erzsébet BERECZ was born on 23 Oct 1735 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 3. Benedek "Bence" BERECZ ([Progenitor]-1) was born about 1700 in Hungary. Benedek "Bence" BERECZ married Katalin SÁNTA about 1720. They had the following children: +9 i. Erzsébet BERECZ, born abt 1722, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Péter MOLNÁR, 22 May 1740, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. +10 ii. Katalin BERECZ, born abt 1724; married István PETÖ, 11 Feb 1742, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +11 iii. Márton BERECZ, born abt 1726, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Erzsébet TÓTH, 5 Apr 1747, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN; died 3 Mar 1799, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +12 iv. Anna BERECZ, born abt 1728, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married András SZILVÁSI, 16 Jan 1746, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. +13 v. Eva BERECZ, born 20 Feb 1734, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married István PÁLI, 4 Jul 1752, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. +14 vi. István BERECZ, born 12 Dec 1736, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Erzsébet FARKAS, 5 Feb 1760, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN; died bef 1785, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 15 vii. Ilona BERECZ was born on 25 Dec 1741 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. She died before 1743. +16 viii. Ilona BERECZ, born 3 May 1743, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Mihály SZALAI, 22 Feb 1762, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. 5. János BERECZ ([Progenitor]-1) was born in 1710 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. He died on 30 Jul 1806 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. His age at death was 96 according to the church death register. The book "Szot Kérek" by Viktor Berecz says he fell into a vat of wine while tasting, and drowned at age 105. I suspect that was just a bit of exaggeration ... a trait for which my grandfather was well-known. János BERECZ married Éva HORVÁTH about 1729. They had the following children: 17 i. Anna BERECZ was born on 17 Jun 1730 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +18 ii. Katalin BERECZ, born 19 Dec 1734, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married András MATHE, 24 Jun 1752, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. 6. Erzsébet "Örse" BERECZ ([Progenitor]-1) was born about 1719. She married Ferenc CSAJBÓK about 1719. His family were also Lutherans living in Alsoság. They had the following children: 19 i. Ersebet CSAJBÓK was born on 25 May 1736 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 20 ii. Eva CSAJBÓK was born on 14 Jun 1737 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +21 iii. Ferenc CSAJBÓK, born 25 Jan 1740, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Julianna NAGY. 22 iv. István CSAJBÓK was born on 7 Oct 1745 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. He died before 1752. 23 v. István CSAJBÓK was born on 9 Mar 1752 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 24 vi. János CSAJBÓK was born on 13 May 1755 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 2 Descendants of the BERECZ Family of Alsoság 11 February 2019 Third Generation 7. János BERECZ (István-2, [Progenitor]-1) was born about 1722 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. He died after he and his wife served as godparents in 1766. János BERECZ and Erzsébet NAGY were married on 14 Feb 1745 in Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. Erzsébet NAGY, daughter of István NAGY, was born about 1728 in Szompathi, Vas m, HUN. She died after 1766. János BERECZ and Erzsébet NAGY had the following children: +25 i. Anna BERECZ, born 25 Dec 1747, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Ádam SOMOGYI, 5 Mar 1763, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. 26 ii. István BERECZ was born on 13 Jan 1751 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. +27 iii. Éva BERECZ, born 9 Mar 1753, Alsóság, Vas m, HUN; married Ferenc MOLNÁR, 13 Feb 1770, Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. 9. Erzsébet BERECZ (Benedek-2, [Progenitor]-1) was born about 1722 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. Erzsébet BERECZ and Péter MOLNÁR were married on 22 May 1740 in Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. There were at least five children of this marriage born between 1741 and 1763 and baptized in the Lutheran church at Nemesdömölk, and at least one born in 1757 baptized in the Roman Catholic church in Alsöság. We did not trace their descendants further. Péter MOLNÁR was born about 1715 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 10. Katalin BERECZ (Benedek-2, [Progenitor]-1) was born about 1724. Katalin BERECZ and István PETÖ were married on 11 Feb 1742 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. The couple were identified as "acatholica" (non-Catholics) of Ság. The bride was identiied as the daughter of "Benedictus" Böröczk, and János Böröczk was a witness. István PETÖ was born about 1720 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. 11. Márton BERECZ (Benedek-2, [Progenitor]-1) was born about 1726 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. He died on 3 Mar 1799 at the age of 73 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. Márton BERECZ and Erzsébet TÓTH were married on 5 Apr 1747 in Nemesdömölk, Vas m, HUN. Erzsébet TÓTH, daughter of György TÓTH, was born about 1730 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. She died on 2 Dec 1813 at the age of 83 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN. She is identified only as "Ersébet, widow of Márton Böröcz" and her age at death is given as 95 years. This is probably exaggerated, given the birthdates of her children. Márton BERECZ and Erzsébet TÓTH had the following children: 28 i. Katalin BERECZ was born on 31 Dec 1749 in Alsóság, Vas m, HUN.