Surname Saturday ~ Hollander of Hungary

I am using the Surname Saturday prompt to review the ancestral lines for my husband's family.

As far as I know, the only Hollander who came to America was my husband's paternal grandmother, Lena, after she married her husband, Joseph Handler.

Thanks to the Family History Library, which has been microfilming (and now digitizing) records from around the world, I have been able to trace Bubbie Lena's ancestors for several generations through the vital records found on FHL microfilms. Hungary records before 1895 are still only on microfilm.

Hungary Civil Registration, 1895-1980 is available online at FamilySearch.org, though for Tolna District, the records are not yet indexed; you have to browse through them (which is kind of like scrolling through microfilm).

When I searched the microfilm in late 2011 and early 2012, the earliest Hollander I could find was Samuel Hollander, whose name is mentioned in the marriage record and death record for his son Leopold.

Generation 2: Leopold Hollander was born in the 1830s in Bezdán, Bacs-Bodrog, Hungary, according to his marriage record. He married Babette Kohn on June 9, 1862, in Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary.

The following part of his son's 1886 marriage record has the groom's name on the left: Samu (Samuel) Hollander with his occupation: Pipafaragó (pipe carver) and his birth place: Bonyhád. The next column lists the groom's parents' names: Lipod [Leopold] Hollander with his occupation, also Pipafaragó, and Betti Kohn, and their residence: Bonyhád.

Detail from 1886 marriage record of Samu[el] Hollander and Anna Honnenvald

Leopold's death record lists his occupation as házaló (peddler).

Birth records for Bonyhád, Tolna, Hungary, provide me with the names of the children of Leopold and Babette, born between 1863 and 1883: Samuel, Rosalie, Herman, Hanni, Moritz, Abram, and Ignatz. Another son, Adolf, has Leopold and Babette listed on his marriage record.

I previously shared the death record for Leopold Hollander, who died on February 8, 1907, in Bonyhád of végelgyengülés (old age).

Generation 3: Oldest son, Samuel Hollander, most likely named for his deceased grandfather, as was the custom, was born in Bonyhád on March 24, 1863. He married Anna Honenvald on March 16, 1886, in Hogyész, Tolna, Hungary. (She was born there on November 6, 1861.)

See a map of the area showing where Bonyhád and Hogyész are in relation to each other and to Ilok, Croatia, where his daughter's husband was from.

Samuel and Anna had five children born in Bonyhád: Fanny, a stillborn boy, Lena, Roza and Regina (who died young). I have blogged about Lena's birth record and about her siblings' birth records.

Lena Hollander Handler

Lena's sister Roza married Erno Breuer on February 14, 1913. (I believe this photo is of her family and in-laws.)

I still have to explore the 20th century deaths for Fanny, Samuel, and Anna. Lina's sister and her family died in the Holocaust.

Generation 4: Lena (Hollander) Handler, was born in Bonyhád, on September 5, 1889 (or 1890 - see my blog post about her birth record).

In her hometown of Bonyhád, on March 10, 1909, she married Josef Handler. Ten months later, Arthur was born.

In 1911, Lena immigrated to America to settle in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, returning to Hungary once for an extended visit. One of my favorite blog posts is about finding this family in passenger lists.

The 1940s were a very challenging time for Lena. She lost two sons in World War II and her husband died soon after. When she stopped receiving letters from her sister at home in Bonyhád, she knew that the rest of her family had perished in the Holocaust.

She did live long enough to see several grandchildren become Bar Mitzvah, including my husband, her youngest grandchild.

She died on March 14, 1983, in Akron, Ohio, where she is buried. See her FindAGrave memorial.

Generation 5: My father-in-law (still living).

Generation 6: My husband, whose Hebrew name is Shmuel, named for his great-grandfather, Samuel Hollander.