| loub: Beres family / Garany | I initially gained an interest in genealogy during my youth when I heard a "family legend" concerning my Great Grandfather, Istvan Beres. Istvan was born 1869 in Garany, Zemplen Megye. Garany is now known as Hran and is in the Slovak Republic.
I have been in contact with other Beres that now live in Ohio, USA that have the same family legend and I have spent countless hours looking at microfilm records from the region. While I have learned much about my ancestry, I have never been able to verify the following legend:
My Great grandfather's ancestry included a Beres, (either grandfather or great grandfather), that was the coachman for the local count. The coachman and the count's daughter fell in love and married against her family's wishes. She was reportedly disowned by her family, but my great grandfather grew up either on or near the count's estate, was well-educated, and came to America with enough money to start his own business. The "countess" lived to a very old age and died as the result of the injuries sustained from a fall.
There's also some mystery concerning my Great Grandfather's middle name "Hyto". I was told as a child that the use of the name was a requirement by the count and that all male descendants would need to include "Hyto" as a part of their full name. This practice was carried through even after emmigrating to the United States.
Within the church records from Novasad (closest Hungarian Reform Church to Garany / Hran), I see the Beres family uses the name "Hajto" in an unusual manner within their records . It appears to me that "Hyto" is the anglicized version of the name "Hajto". To complicate matters, my great grandfather's mother's maiden name was "Hajto". My understanding is that "Hajto" literally translates to the English word "driver" and is used in conjunction with other names. ("Driver" could be the same as "Coachman")
I have searched for years for the identity of the countess' family. Some older family members and Beres in Ohio say that it is "Eszterhazy". In researching the Trebisov area, I have also seen that it could be "Andrassy" or others.
Can anyone help me or connect me to any family members living in the Trebisov area?
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