The Konkol˙ Thege Family History

 

 

 

Preface

 

The following genealogical work was done by Miklós Konkol˙ Thege (1914-1989, the son of Elek Gábor) in co-operation with Balázs Konkol˙ Thege (1910-1990, the son of Sándor) in the mid 1980s. The author wrote the following preface:

 

“This modest genealogical undertaking, based on date available in the family archive that is in my possession, is actually a third attempt to present the material that follows. Before the Second World War, the family archive included 15 original documents dated prior to the battle of Mohács in 1526. Sadly, only 8 of these survived the upheaval of 1945 and the subsequent communist regime. Fortunately, 13 of these original documents were  copied by Iván Nagy in 1863 in the “Györi Történelmi és Régészti Füzetek, volume II”. The archive also contains several hundred documents dated after 1526.

The material in the Konkol˙ Thege archive was collected by Dr. Balázs Konkol˙ Thege (1862 – 1928, the son of Márton). The “Elenchus” (list of documents) in the archive indicate that the presently available documents represent only a fraction of those kept by different members of the family in the 19th century.  In addition to collecting and organizing the family documents, Dr. Balázs Konkol˙ Thege also made a considerable effort to document the history of the family. In this endeavor he was substantially aided by Dr. Gyula Alapy, the director of the Museum of Komárom, and by Mr. Sámuel Magyary- Kossa, landowner and genealogist, Mr. Zsigmond Fekete, ministry advisor and genealogist, as well as many others. Consequently, the information presented herein is available primarily thanks to the sincere and enduring work of Dr. Balázs Konkol˙ Thege.

Of further great help to me was the data related to the Konkol˙ Thege family collected by Dénes Edelényi-Nagy, which is based on ecclesiastical records and writing on tombstones. The most recent data was collected, under rather challenging circumstances, by Dr. Balázs Konkol˙ Thege (1910 -, the son of Sándor).

Unfortunately, the type of material we present here will never be perfect. We could have continued indefinitely to search for new documents and unknown facts and to eliminate errors. Our time, however, is limited and as we have come as far as we have with our work, I think we can close this “chapter”. Let the result of our work be a basis and inspiration for the generations following us in their cultivation of the family traditions.

Oslo, June 1985.

                                                               Miklós Konkol˙ Thege (the son of Elek Gábor)”

 

 

The document was translated into English by Miklós (1943-, the son of Miklós, above) with the support of Michel (1952-, the son of Andor). The translator has expanded the sections concerning the first known forefathers and the family properties and added the section related to prominent family members.

 

Content

 

 

 

  1. Introduction
  2. The first known forefathers
  3. The “tribal” relation of the family
  4. The family name
  5. The nobility
  6. The family coat of arms
  7. The family properties
  8. Religion
  9. Prominent family members
  10. The family archives
  11. The family tree (not attached here)
  12. Footnotes
  13. Attachments (copies of old original documents not attached here)

 

 

 

       1. Introduction

 

The forefathers of the Konkol˙ Theges were prominent members of the Hungarian tribes/nations that came to the Carpathian basin in the 9th century.

 

Existing documents show that many Konkol˙ Thege forefathers already had important positions in the kingdom and owned substantial estates in Comorn County (Komárom Vármegye) when the chieftains and later the kings of the house of Árpád ruled Hungary between 900 and1301.

 

In one of his books (A Magyar birodalom statisztikai és történelmi tekintetben. I köt. Komárom megye 82. és 83. lap), Elek Fényes wrote in the mid 19th century: “Rétel, a Hungarian chieftain of the  Kuma tribe captured the lower areas around Vág, along the rivers Nyitra and Zsitva. Of this area, he gave a portion along Zsitva, where today the Ó- and Új Gyalla as well as the Konkol 1) estates are located, to a Hungarian chieftain by the name of Thege, who was also from the Kuma tribe. From this place descends the noble Konkol˙ Thege family”. Elek Fényes does not give any references in his book. However, several documents confirm that the family’s forefathers already lived in the geographical area that Elek Fényes describes in the beginning of the 13th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. The first known Forefathers

 

 

The family archives include a copy of a table of contents related to an older register (Facs 29-1/a) that includes a document dated 1242 (Facs. I.1). In this document the first known forefather of the Konkol˙ Thege family, Máté, is referred to under the name “Mateo de terra Concol”. Altogether this register includes 462 different documents referring to the Konkol˙ Thege family. These documents were kept until the 15th of July 1848 by the friars from Baranya. The judges Miklós Gaál and N. Juhász ordered at this time the archives to be delivered “for safekeeping to Mr János Csúry”. (For the time being we do not know the whereabouts of these documents.) 

 

In the “Hazai Okmánytár” (The National Document Collection, III. Volume, page 8 and 9) the division of the estate of Káva, in Comorn County (Komárom Vármegye), among the brothers Tamás, Bálint and Opour of the Koppán family in 1247 is accounted for. In this document, a witness by the name of “Paulus de Concol from the nearby Concol estate” is mentioned.

 

Regrettably the exact relation between Mateo de terra Concol and Paulus de Concol is not known. The unbroken, direct lineage of the presently living Konkol˙ Theges can, however, be documented from Barnabás and onwards. Barnabás is mentioned in an original document from 1306 which is kept in the family archives under Facs 1A. This document confirms that “comes András”, the son of “Barnabás nobilis de Concol”, handed over his estate as a consequence of “blood relation” to his brother-in-law Tamás Hindy. The family archive document under Facs 1B tells that the widow of Tamás Hindy, born Elisabeth de Concol, and her children Péter, Benedek, Klára and Sebe sold the estate Concol, which they had received from “comes András” to fortress-captain Pál Magyar of Gimes.

 

The above mentioned documents Facs 1A /1B and the documents Facs 1C, 1D and 2 through 15 in the family archives establish the unbroken lineage from Barnabás nobilis de Concol in 1306 to Blasius Thege de Konkol in 1417. These documents describe and prove that the family lived and held estates in the northern part of Comorn County (Komárom Vármegye), an area that today is part of Slovakia.

 

Furthermore, thanks to the material in the family archive, the multiple branches and relations of the family can be documented and proven after 1417 until the era when the official, ecclesiastical and/or governmental registration of individuals commenced. 

 

A family saga that is told but not documented and is also partially repeated in Iván Nagy’s “The Families of Hungary” (Magyarország Családai), published in 1850, goes as follows:

Mateo de terra Concol was appointed “minister of finance” (Tavernicorum Regalium Magister), which was the fourth highest position in the kingdom of Hungary, in 1242 by king Béla IV. The appointment came in recognition of Mateo’s help to the king when the royal forces were again defeated by the Tartars near  Comorn. The king was about to be taken prisoner when Mateo attacked the Tartars, making it possible for the king to get away.  Mateo salvaged the royal treasures and the holy crown and also received as an expression of appreciation from the king the right to place on top of his existing noble coat of arms a crown and a white rose.

 

 

  1. The “tribal” relation of the family

 

 

When one works with the history of the Konkol˙ Thege family, one cannot avoid the question of which Hungarian “tribe” or “nation” 2) the family was part. The above mentioned documents strongly indicate that the family was part of the “Koppán nation”. In several cases the documents point to relations between members of the Konkol˙ Thege and the Marczalházi Posár, Harcsa and Keszeg families. The latter families were proven members of the “Koppán nation” and lived as well in Comorn County. These families are today unfortunately extinct. Some examples of these indications are:

 

  • As mentioned above, Paulus de Concol was in 1247 a witness in connection with the division of an estate among the brothers Tamás, Balián and Opour of the “Koppán nation”. Furthermore, in 1357 members of the Harcsa and Keszeg families (Fehér Codex Dipl. Tom. IX. Vol. VII page 75) as well as the Konkol˙ Thege family (Hazai okmánytár Vol. I, page 296) negotiated the ownership or alternatively the collective management of the estates of Concol, Aba and Veyk.

 

  • In 1344, Miklós Kemey of the “Kopán nation” committed himself to sell the Concol estate, to which he had the right of inheritance, to fortress-captain Pál Magyar of Gimes. This sale depended on his ability to get the ownership of the estate transferred from István Konkol˙ Thege, the son of Pál, who in an earlier legal proceeding had obtained the  right to buy back the estate from Pál Magyar. (Anjouri Okmánytár IV volume page 446)

 

  • The curator of Nyitra issued a document in 1610, (family archive Facs 21), that confirms that “hajdú” captain Péter Konkol˙ Thege gave his Konkol, Gyalla and Aba estates as collateral for a 500 Hungarian forint loan from his cousins György and Mihály. The document also states that the subject estates were partially owned by Lukács Posár of Marczalháza, who here is identified as the “senior” of the Konkol˙ Thege family. When Lukács Posár died in 1655 the estate of Aba that was a part of the Konkol estate was transferred to Dániel Zsibke by royal decree. In connection with this decision, György Csajághy, the husband of Borbála Konkoly Thege, protested. He claimed that his family was the rightful owner of these lands.

 

There is no doubt about the fact that the Marczalházy Posár, Keszeg and Harcsa families were members of the “Koppán nation”. The above mentioned, and other documents, describe the kinship between these families and the Konkol˙ Theges. These are strong indications but not proof that the Konkol˙ Thege family was also a member of the “Koppán nation”.

 

 

  1. The family name

 

 

Unfortunately Elek Fényes (please see introduction) does not give a reference for his description of the family’s origin. Therefore one has to take the available documents in the family archive – and existing material in other archives – as one’s starting point to understand how the family name came about.

 

The existing material clearly proves the currently still vigorous Konkol˙ Thege family’s forefathers already lived on and around the estate of Concol when the kings of the house of Árpád ruled Hungary. The family name can consequently be linked to the place where the family lived – to the “nest”. This is exemplified by the use of the name in the available documents from 1247 until 1327. Here Paulus de Concol, Barnabás nobilis de Concol, comes Pardán de Concol and comes Paulus de Concol are mentioned.

 

Comes Paulus de Concol’s son is the first who is referred to in documents with the “Thege” name. In a document from 1323 he is referred to as “Stephanus de Concol dictum Thege”. Later, in another document, he is called Stephanus Thege de Concol. The sons of Stephanus are mentioned in other documents from 1357 and 1377 as Nicolaus and Petrus Thege de Concol. This is the way the family name was written in all Latin documents until the end of the 17th century.

 

As Hungarian replaced Latin in official documents such as contracts and mortgage deeds, the relevant family members started to sign as [given name]Konkol˙ Thege which is the Hungarian way of writing [given name]Thege de Concol. In English, this means  [given name]Thege from Konkol.

 

Over the years, mistakes have been made in the way the family name was presented both by the writers of documents as well as by the signatories. Often the name Thege has been omitted to simplify matters or just forgotten. When writing the name “Konkol˙” the double point over the “y” was forgotten or replaced by a horizontal line. Sometime the name was wrongly spelled as “Konkolyi Thege”. It should be noted by those readers who do not speak Hungarian that in Hungarian these mistakes totally change the content or meaning of the name.

 

In this respect reference is made to the Transylvanian genealogue Dénes Szabó’s comment: “The family name Konkol˙ Thege has no relation to the plant “konkoj” 3) but rather it originates from the village Konkol, which was located on the land of Matyus in Comorn County before the village was devastated by Turkish occupants. Consequently the name should be pronounced as “konkoli” rather than as “konkoj”.

 

The Hungarian Academy of Science issued in 1930 revised rules of orthography. Here the letter “˙” was used and the correct pronunciation was illustrated with the name “Verebél˙”. According to these orthographic rules, the “l˙” should be pronounced as “li”. In the old Hungarian orthography for family names, one used “˙” instead of “i” when the previous consonant was “l”, “n” or “t” 4). In these cases the “˙” should be pronounced “i”.

 

It should be noted by those readers who do not speak Hungarian that there is a further element of distinction in the use of “y”/“˙” instead of “i”. The use of “i” at the end of a place name means  “from” as well. However in most cases this does not indicate nobility.  However, when “y” or “˙” is added to a place name to signify  “from”, then, almost without exception, we are talking about a noble family.

 

Thus the correct spelling of the family name is “Konkol˙ Thege” and it should be pronounced as “Konkoli Thege”

 

 

  1. The nobility

 

 

None of the Konkol˙ Thege family members have ever received a patent of nobility. The family has been regarded as one of the relatively few “ancient” aristocratic families of Hungary. The family’s nobility has never been in doubt thanks to the family’s ability to document its lineage back to prominent individuals in the 13th and 14th century.

 

Nevertheless, in 1818 the nobility of the family was confirmed and publicized by the Comorn County administration (Komárom vármegyei bizonyságlevél) 5). Similarly Elek Gábor Konkol˙ Thege, the son of Márton and Antonia, had his ancestry and consequently his nobility confirmed by the royal Hungarian Ministry of Interior in 1897 (ref. nr. 74123/1897 sz.) in connection with a royal appointment 6).

 

 

  1. The family coat of arms

 

 

The family coat of arms is used and accepted based on common law. The seals on documents kept in the family archives show that since the beginning of the 18th century the shield in the family coat of arms has featured a standing unicorn that lifts a curved sword. There are a limited number of variations on this motif. For  example, in 1704 István Konkol˙ (the family name was written without Thege) used a coat of  arms that shows a curved sword lifted by an arm. The known variations however were used by individuals and not necessarily adopted by others.

 

There are but a few seals where color identifications can be detected. However the seals of Gedeon Konkol˙ Thege, 14th September 1823, and that of his wife, 25th April 1852, have heraldically accepted color markings which indicate that the shield is green. Similar color indications can be found on the shield that is on the tombstone of Kálmán Konkol˙ Thege, which may be found in the family tomb in Comorn.

 

In connection with the official confirmation of Elek Gábor Konko˙ Thege’s nobility and ancestry the family coat of arms in use was also investigated. This investigation was performed by the authorities in Comorn (Komárom Vármegye Alispánja) on 1st of June 1897. The official document no. 897 of 1897 describes the family coat of arms as follows:

“On a green shield stands a silver colored unicorn lifting a curved sword. Above the shield a helmet with closed visor is placed. Out of the helmet’s crown a unicorn is emerging holding a curved sword. The helm ornament is red/silver on the left and gold/green on the right.”    

 

 

  1. The family properties

 

 

According to available documents, the Konkol˙ Thege family already owned substantial estates in Northern Hungary (now in Slovakia) in the 13th century and most probably before. Certainly in the 14th century, the estates of Konkol, Aba and Ó-Gyalla belonged to the family. King Mathias confirmed the family’s ownership of Konkol in 1471 (Facs 12). This estate was inherited by a female family member in the late 15th century due to the fact that the male lineage died out. Only in 1617 did a male from a younger family branch have the means to buy back this property.

 

In the middle of the 16th century the family got the ownership through marriage with members of the Csajághy family to the estate of Nagy Tagyos, which is located about 60 km. northwest of Budapest. Subsequently the family spread to other parts of Hungary, including the counties of Bars, Hont and Pest. For example from 1785 family members owned an estate in Alsódabas.

 

The estate of ó-Gyalla was kept by the family until 1899. Miklós Konkol˙ Thege, the son of Elek Konkol˙ Thege and Klára Földváry, then gave this property to the Hungarian government under the condition that income from the estate should be used for the advancement of the science of astrophysics. The estate of Nagy Tagyos, although reduced in size compared with the 16th century estate, was owned by the family until 1940. The communists gradually confiscated the properties and expelled the family living in the mansion in 1949. (Facs 53)

 

The estate of Ó-Gyalla consisted, at the time it was donated to the Hungarian government, of approximately 1000 hectares or about 2500 acres of cultivated land (Facs 50). Nagy Tagyos, which in the 17th century was a sizable property, was by the end of the Second World War reduced to about 100 hectares or 250 acres of cultivated land.

 

Thus it can be assumed that in the Middle Ages, when the estates of Konkol, Aba, Gyalla as well as other properties were held by the family, the family controlled several thousands of hectares of land, giving the family considerable influence in the region.

     

8. Religion

 

 

From the 16/17th century the majority of the family members belonged to the Reformed Church of Calvin. The conversion to Protestantism was perhaps not only religiously but also politically motivated as a way for the family to express its reluctance to accept increasing dominance by Austria. 

 

There is however also a Catholic branch of the family.

 

 

  1. Prominent members of the family

 

 

The documents strongly indicate that members of the Konkl˙ Thege family already held prominent positions in Hungarian society when the Hungarian nobility’s rights were laid down in the “Golden Bull” (Arany Bula) in 1222. Over the course of the centuries a number of important members of society came from the ranks of the family, including government officials, members of parliament, military officers and scientists. Without trying to create a complete list, some of these individuals are mentioned below:

 

·        Mateo de terra Concol; Tavernicorum Regalium Magister, royal “minister of finance”

·        Urbanus Thege de Konkol; Vicecomes Comitatus Comaromiensis, 1437, 1438

·        Péter Thege de Konkol; “hajdú” captain during the Transylvanian campaign, 1591/1610.

·        Pál Thege de Konkol; the notary of Nyitra County (Nyitra Vármegye Főjegyzője) ca 1600.

·        László Konkol˙ Thege; Vicecomes Comitatus Comaromiensis, 1702

·        Mihály Konkol˙ Thege; physician and theological scientist, 1745 – 1797

·        Pál Konkol˙ Thege; Vicecomes Comitatus Barsiensis, 1815 – 1884

·        József Konkol˙ Thege; Judge and Member of Parliament, 1835 – 1903

·        Miklós Konkol˙ Thege; Astrophysicist and meteorologist, member of the Hungarian and honorary member of other national Academies of Science, member of Parliament and ministry advisor, the receiver of several national and international orders, 1842 - 1916; a street in Budapest is named after him.

·        Sándor Konkol˙ Thege; member of Parliament, advisor to the royal court, 1852 – 1937

·        Elek Gábor Konkol˙ Thege; General, royal ordinary, member of the Order of St. John, receiver of the orders of Lipót and the Iron Cross, 1865 – 1928

·        Sándor Konkol˙ Thege; Dr. juris, notary public, advisor to the royal court, 1876 – 1943

·        Gyula Konkol˙ Thege; Dr. juris, cabinet minister, president of the National Bureau of Statistics, university professor, 1876 – 1942

·        Kálmán Konkol˙ Thege; colonel, member of Parliament, member of the order of St. John, holder of the Iron Cross, 1880 – 1971

·        Sándor Konkol˙ Thege; cabinet minister, university professor , 1888 – 1969

 

The family today is spread throughout the world. The majority of its members live in Hungary; nobody has remained in North Hungary that is under Slovak rule. However, members of the family live or have lived in Holland, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the US and Norway.

 

 

  1. The family archives

 

 

The document archive holds hundreds of original documents as well as attested and not attested copies of relevant documents. These are primarily related to the Konkol˙ Thege family but it also holds documents related to intermarried as well as unrelated families.

 

Evidently the most valuable part of the collection is represented by the documents dated before 1526, that is from before the battle of Mohács. Until 1945 there were 15 such documents. Sadly, as mentioned before, for the time being only 8 are in our possession. This loss is partially compensated for by the fact that all documents were copied and publicized in 1863 in the “Györi Történelmi és Régészeti Füzetek”, 2nd volume. Furthermore, the document of 1471 issued by King Mathias (Facs 12) repeats the content of a missing document from 1328 (Facs 2) and two documents from 1329 and 1332 that were not part of the family archive.

 

The copy of the table of contents of another older register (Facs 29), mentioned earlier under point 2, refers to documents which primarily deal with material connected to legal processes. This material makes frequent reference to documents that are or should have been in the Konkol˙ Thege family archive. Many of the documents referred to here were already missing at the end of the 19th century. This is not surprising when one considers the devastations of the Tartars and the Turks. Additional documents were lost due to difficult conditions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since1919, when two thirds of Hungary was annexed by foreign powers, the family archive, which was then well organized and genealogically maintained, has been damaged repeatedly due to deportations and communist house searches.

 

The material in the present archive is primarily collected by Dr. Balázs Konkol˙ Thege (1862 – 1928, the son of Márton). The document registers (elenchus) referred to in the archive indicate however that the present collection of documents represents only a fraction of the cataloged documents which have earlier been in the possession of individual members of the family.

 

As mentioned, several house searches by the communist authorities and the move of the archive from Nagy Tagyos to Budapest in the 1940s, as well as the transfer from Budapest to Oslo, have caused destruction and disorganization. After these events, Miklós Konkol˙ Thege (1914 – 1989, the son of Elek Gábor) did a major reclassification. In connection with this reclassification and in close cooperation with Balázs Konkol˙ Thege (1910 – 1990, the son of Sándor), he produced the above-translated genealogical work.

 

The family archive is presently safeguarded by Miklós Konkol˙ Thege (1943 - , the son of Miklós)

 

 

  1. The family tree

 

 

On attachment 3 the first 15 generations (only male family members) from the mid 13th until the very beginning of the 19th century are shown. The exact relation between Máté, Pál and Barnabás is not known. We know that they all lived in the 13th century. From Barnabás the lineage can be documented until the 21st century.

 

 

  1. Footnotes

 

 

1.      The area in question lies about 20 km north of Comorn (Komárom) and the River Danube in the present Slovak Republic, where the majority of inhabitants are still Hungarians.

2.      The Hungarians who took position of the Carpathian Basin at the end of the 9th century consisted of seven major tribes or nations and within these several sub tribes/nations. The old families often refer to themselves as well as “nations”. Thus we talk about the “Konkol˙ Thege nemzetség” – the “Konkol˙ Thege nation”.

3.      Konkoj in Hungarian is the name of the plant “agrostema githago”

4.      The letter “˙” or “y” at the end of a place’ name means “from” or in the Latin languages “de”. That is “Konkol˙” means “from Konkol”.

5.      This information is from “ A Johannita Rend Lovagjai 1854 – 1987” written by Szabolcs Vajay, (The Knights of the Order of St. John 1854 -1987)

6.      This title could only be offered to individuals of nobility

 

 

  1. Attachments

 

 

The original genealogical work has multiple attachments. These are organized in three groups:

 

1.      List of the 22 oldest documents with description of content identifying where and by whom they were issued. The list is in Hungarian i.e. they are shortened translations from Latin.

2.      Copies of the most important documents or partially attested copies of documents

3.      The family tree up through the end of 1980s.

 

These attachments are not included here.