Seventh Generation

120. István TOLNAI was born about 1690. When our family came to Szekszárd is unknown. It was a thriving medieval city, but during the Turkish occupation it went into severe decline, despite being a Turkish military headquarters and seat of a Sanjak. At the time of the recapture in 1686, it is said that only 12 Magyar families remained in the city. Probably most of them were of the Reformed faith, since that was the only Christian denomination tolerated by the Turks. We know our Seres and Tolnai ancestors were in Szekszárd by the early 18th century, and were closely associated with each other by 1750. But, there is no evidence whether they were or were not longtime residents of the area. After the recapture, immigration to the area was encouraged, especially of German Catholics, and the city rapidly became overwhelmingly German and Catholic.

As noted below, the dearth of records makes it difficult to definitively define the relationships between the various Tolnai people identified. There may be an explanation for the many records of this Reformed family that seem to be missing from the Szekszárd Roman Catholic registers. During the period of anti-Protestant repression which, in Szekszárd, went from the recapture of the city until Joseph II's 1782 Edict of Toleration, they may have also used Reformed churches in other area towns (Öcsény, Décs, Dunaszentgyörgy, Fadd, or Szemerle -- all of which functioned during parts of the repression) for events that could be planned, such as marriages and the baptisms of healthy children.

In the early days, Tolnai was spelled in several variations including: Tolnaÿ, Tolnayi, Tolnaj, and Tollnai. In the earliest record that is positively associated with our direct ancestral line, the 1755 marriage of Adám Tolnai, the name was spelled Tolnaj.

At present, we cannot prove that the four people shown as children of István and Zsuzsanna are indeed siblings or (except for György) even their children. But, these four were the only Tolnai's of child-bearing age found in the Szekszárd Roman Catholic records in the mid-1700s, so they are all shown here for completeness. Here is what we know about the four of them:

First, and most importantly for our family line, Ádám and Judit were undoubtedly siblings ... though we can't be certain of who their parents were. But, it seems likely that they were the children of István and Zsuzsanna ... and there are absolutely no indications to the contrary. György is certainly their son. István -- if we have the correct death record for him -- clearly is not their son ... though he may be the son of István (born c1690) and a previous wife. The most important records relating to the people are the marriage records of István and György. They were married on the same day, to sisters. The same witnesses were involved in both the marriages. This normally would lead to the conclusion they were brothers ... at least, half-brothers. But, the priest spelled their family names differently: Tolnaÿ and Tolnai respectively.

Zsuzsanna NAGY and István TOLNAI were married on 17 January 1718 in Szekszárd, Tolna m, HUN.¹⁹⁰ Due to duplications in the Roman Catholic records, it is indeterminate whether this marriage took place in 1718 or on 12 Jan 1720. There is a distinct possibility that this was the second marriage for István.

121. Zsuzsanna NAGY was born (date unknown).

Children were: