Grandfather
Our Grandfather, Béla Antal János Török, was born in Szeged on 19 April 1881. He lost his father at the age of seven, when he died of pneumonia at 42. Béla came from a middle-class family that had lost its assets due to the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. In his old age, while living with his daughter, Kata, and her husband Dr. Béla Csabai in Székesfehérvár, he documented his memoirs. (See document to download) During the decades following the World War II, until his death in 1969, he lived in retirement without a pension facing difficult circumstances. Our father asked him to record his memories, which he addressed to his two children, Béla and Kata. Given the political climate in Hungary at the time of writing (Communist rule in the 1960s), it is understandable that these writings focused solely on personal histories omitting contemporary political affairs. Nevertheless, these records were invaluable to his son, reinforcing his memories of Szeged and shaping an image of life from 1920 to the 1960’s.
Our Grandfather also wrote about his father, Sándor Török, a highly sought-after lawyer in Szeged. Sándor built a house in Szeged, purchased a vineyard in Szatymaz, and invested in government securities. He married péterfalvi Etelka Koór.
Grandfather Béla’s mother’s first husband was Lajos (Louis) Czettler a teacher. From this marriage, he had a half-brother Gyula Czettler who became a pharmacist. Béla had two other brothers, Sándor and László and two sisters Etelka and Margit.
Grandmother
Our Grandmother, Katalin Mária Emilia Ilona Kiss was born in Királyhegyes on 11 August 1894. at the ancestral mansion of ittebei Elemér Kiss. Her father, Elemér Kiss, was a wealthy landowner who owned 20,000 acres in Torontál County, in Begaszentgyörgy (now Žitište Serbia).
The Kiss family’s roots can be traced back to the Transylvanian Armenian Hungarians, who took part in the reconstruction of Hungary after the liberation from the Turks.
General Ernő Kiss, a martyr of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution, was a cousin of my great-grandfather on my mother’s side.
Elemér Kiss married ebeczki Gizella Blaskovich, who was accustomed to a privileged lifestyle from childhood. Elemér’s brother Miklós (Nicholas) Kiss, lived in Vienna. He married Katalin (Katherine) Schratt, the famous Viennese dramatic actress. It was well known that Katalin later became Emperor Franz Joseph’s girlfriend. Miklós and Katalin had a son, Antal, who was later elevated to the rank of baron by the emperor. Antal Kiss passed away in 1970.
Elemér died young in 1896. He and Gizella had five children: Ernő, Miklós and three daughters Clementina, Katalin (our grandmother) and Ilona who died aged 3. The still young, educated widow Gizella soon married again. Her second husband was Baron Béla Podmaniczky, the Mezőhegyes State Stud commander. From this marriage was born our half-aunt Judit (Judy).
Our grandmother, Katalin, spent most of her childhood and young adult age in the Béla Podmaniczky household. She was a very beautiful girl, but my great- grandmother kept a strict watch over her, ensuring she did not marry below her rank. In 1912 our adventurous, young grandmother Kata accepted a joy flight with the famous pilot Uzelác in his fragile flying machine.
The family moved to Szeged, where our grandparents Kata and Béla met. Despite opposition from “Grossmama”, the couple married. Their marriage only lasted nine years. At the time of their separation, our father was seven years old and his sister was five. They never knew the exact reason for their parents’ divorce, but several factors may have contributed, including: a 12-year age gap and our grandfather’s painful joint disease.
It was decided that the children would stay with their father, Béla and during holidays they would visit their mother. During summer vacations, they spent many joyful days swimming and splashing in the River Tisza amongst other bathers. Our Grandmother later married Béla Hensch, who became a good friend to our grandfather. His presence enabled the family to enjoy summer vacations together. Many years after the death of her second husband, she had another life partner called Dr Károly Moricz. During the difficult post World War II communist years our grandmother looked after our grandfather’s needs, ensuring his well-being despite the challenging political environment.
Grandfather Dr. Béla Török memoirs is translated to English below.
