Fifth Generation

20. [Progenitor] BARÁT¹¹⁰ was born (date unknown). We have been able to trace the Barát family back only to the late 18th century. Our search for the baptism of János Barát in Várpalota, Veszprém and surrounding villages so far has been inconclusive. So, for now, our story starts with János and his brother Ferenc as millers in the town of Csernye in the Bakony hills to the north of Veszprém. Later in the 19th century, Csernye was renamed Bakonycsernye, to distinguish it from other towns in Hungary of the same name. It is located 30 km NNE of the city of Veszprém.

The Barát family was of the Reformed faith, but their christenings and burials were performed in the local Evangelical church, since it was the only Protestant church in Csernye. The fact that some key marriages were not recorded here indicates that for such planned events they used a more distant Reformed church -- usually in Csetény or Csurgó.

The Barát's were middle-class citizens who operated mills, as were their descendants until the end of the Second World War when the Nemes mill in Inota (near Várpalota) was confiscated by the new Communist government.

In the area of Csernye there were six mills on the "Gaja patak" -- the stream that flows in a gentle arc from the Bakony hills to Székesfehérvár -- as well as several others both up and downstream. The Csernye and upstream mills (as well as the windmills of Tés) were in Veszprém megye, the mills downstream from Csernye were in Fejér megye. Several of these mills were controlled during the first half of the 19th century by the intermarried Kovács, Barát, Német, and Nemes families. We know of the following mills owned at one time by family members (individual mill-owners at various times are shown in parenthesis): Csernye (János Barát, István Német, István Nemes, László Német); Sikátor (János Barát, Péter Német, László Német, István Nemes); Tényei (István Német); Sodat -- or Sodahi (János Kováts, Ferenc Barát), and Dvorki (István Barát).

The mill in Csernye most closely associated with our Barát/Nemes ancestors was at Sikátor. Sikátor was a village, which was largely abandoned during the Turkish occupation, on the puszta (plain) east of Csernye. The term "mill" does not necessarily imply a grain mill. Rather, it implies a water or wind-powered factory of any sort. The mill at Sikátor crushed limestone (according to one of the entries in the church register). It is the easternmost of the six mills within the limits of Csernye (see map with photos).

Children were: