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That
Ol' Ujfherto Mill
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This mill on "Vasut
utca" (train street) may be the one owned by Ferenc BREUER
and his brother-in-law Ignatz Katz
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According to family legend, Ferenc received a dowry of a flour mill from
his mother-in-law, the Grunbaum widow. Actually, the mill was half owned by his next door
neighbor and brother-in-law, Ignatz KATZ who was married to Ferenc's sister Regi. Despite the
financial and logistic proximity, apparently Ferenc was not
really on speaking terms with his brother-in-law. Ferenc was a
man known to hold grudges for years. With his prosperity finally
assured by his dowry, Ferenc settled down to a position of
respect within his village community and had 7 children. But, as fortune is
fickle, it was
during the birth of one of his youngest children (probably
Erzebet in 1915), that someone came running in shouting the mill
was burning down. After that Ferencz' connection to the flour
industry was limited to renting out burlap sacks to the peasants
during harvest season; nonetheless he continued to play the role
of country gentleman.
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Agi's Story: Grandfather's Mill and Other
Business Endeavors
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My grandfather went to the United States for a few years. When he
returned from America he married
Mali and received a couple of flour
mills as dowry. A few years later the
mills burned down and since they had not been insured, the fire destroyed their livelihood. While the fire raged on
my grandmother was in the middle of
giving birth to one of their seven children.
What they lived on after the mills perished is a mystery.
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I remember my grandfather was the local gasoline distributor. He kept his stash in tin barrels in a fenced
lot. This was a one car village and
even that one car was owned by my uncle Sanyi.
He used the car to ferry the nobility of the village to the county seat.
My grandparents rented out
burlap sacks to the peasants at harvest
time, not exactly a big moneymaking undertaking. My brother, George, was a great help folding
and sorting the sacks. Another time
they tried to raise rabbits in the
shed and sold their fur for
angora yarn. The rabbits had the nasty habit of eating their small
ones. The shed was stinking and cleaning the cages wasn’t my favorite
activity. I ended up with a couple of
good looking angora sweaters., but the angora farm petered out never turning
any profit.
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While we don't know for sure that the mill was a dowry, Ferenc was certainly
intimately involved with the operation of the mill. In Sandor BREUER's application for repatriation to Hungary,
he lists his father's
occupation as "Mill Warehouseman" and said that 3 or 4
years after his birth (1910) the mill burned down and his father
was out of a job. Ferenc is also listed as a "steam-mill owner" on
his daughter Juliana's 1902 birth
certificate."
Joseph Buzcko's 1998 book on the Jews of Újfehértó lists Ferenc's
brother-in-law, Ignatz KATZ, as the mill owner. The Katz family in general
were wealthy farmers who owned some large farms in the area. Buzcko's book
states that Ignatz KATZ (b. 1871) was a grain merchant since 1925. His
father was a farmer. He had his own business since 1903. Formally
dealt in [burlap] sacks and had a mill. A member of the Katz family told me
that Ignatz's sister Anna Katz had originally purchased the mill from someone
named Aranovits (read as Aharonovich)[9].
Even though Buzcko's book
doesn't mention KATZ's partnership with Ferenc, his daughter Kato remembers that her father and uncle owned the mill
together even though their relationship was bad or non-existent.
She also identified the photo as probably Ferenc's mill.
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Kato-neni on Father's Mill
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When I was a little baby, he got a big new mill. I was 4 years old. It was finished in the first war
(WWI) and my father was very sick...people knocked on the window and
said... Mr. Breuer, the mill is on
fire. My father was very sick. She told them to go to the fire
department. He didn't have any insurance. We had to leave the big
house to go to another
house. We had a gasoline station. He was a grain broker. He
took it easy. He was always a gentleman, he was somebody in a small town. Even though we were not
rich. We lost everything.[8] |
| Isaac
KATZ on his grandfather Ignatz and the mill[9]
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Igantz Katz was my
grandfather’s brother. Anna Katz was my aunt. Anna Katz was widowed about 1938
at which time she returned to Ujfeherto to live with her parents. Anna’s
husband was Nandor Roth from Barand. Nandor’s family owned a flourmill in
Branad and this is how Anna became familiar with the trade. After Anna’s
return to Ujfeherto she rented the flourmill from Aronovitz (I initially thought
she bought it but after talking with some relatives I learned she only hired
it). Aronovics was an old guy who had no kids. Anna operated the mill until the
laws prohibiting Jews of owning lands and key industrial facilities were passed
by the Hungarian government around 1943. Anna had a son, peter. Both Anna and
her son perished in Auschwitz.
In Bucsko’s book there are few references to the Katz family. The first
reference is to Emanuel Katz, b. 1860, who owned farms and also owned a cement
factory. Emanuel was the richest Katz family member and the eldest brother of
Ignatz and my grandfather. Emanuel was also the head of the community and a very
respectful man. He was Eugene’s great-grandfather. Bucsko also mentioned
Emanuel’s son, Sandor Katz, who lived in Patroha were he owned a big farm and
was also quite a rich person.
My great-grandfather, Isaiah (Samuel) Katz, was also a landowner. We know that
Samuel Katz was probably born in Nyirmada. We don’t know where he got his
wealth from. |
Sources:
[1] Frank BANYAI
[2] George SARLO notes (taken from Cila SARLO)
[3] Kato BREUER (oral)
[4] Braunschweig ships manifest for 27 Feb 1893
[5] 1891 Industry & Trade Directory
[6] Újfehértó Jewish
birth/marriage/death register 1852-1895 (LDS Film)
[7] Taped telephone interview of Kato done by Paul on April 12, 1998
[8] Video tape interview of Kato done by Agi & Peter on October 10, 1992
[9] E-mail from Isaac Katz, 9/2003
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