Ján Ochodnický and Alžbeta Beňovič

1823 – Ján Ochodnický

Ján Ochodnický was born about 1823 in the small village of Bošáca (pronounced Bo-shat-sa), located in the center of the Bošáca valley in Trenčiansky komitát (Trenčín county) in the Uhorské kráľovstvo (Kingdom of Hungary), which was in turn ruled by the Austrian Empire. When Ján was born, Franz I was the emperor of Austria and the Apostolic King of Hungary.

We currently have no record of Ján Ochodnický’s parents or of his exact birthdate.

Today, Bošáca is in the Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. The Bošáca valley lies south of the White Carpathian mountains.

The meaning of the family name Ochodnický is unknown, but perhaps it is a dirivative of “obchodnický” which means a tradesman or merchant, from “obchod” meaning business, commerce, or trade. According to the birth records of their children, Ján was a miller in village of Bošáca and therefore a tradesman, although the family name most likely went back many generations before his birth. Still, operating a mill is a family occupation passed down from father to son.

1827 – Alžbeta Beňovič

Alžbeta Beňovič was born about 1827 somewhere in Trenčiansky komitát (Trenčín county) in the Uhorské kráľovstvo (Kingdom of Hungary). We have no record of her parents, birthdate, or birthplace. But because people rarely traveled far from their home town in the early 19th century, she may have also been born in in the small village of Bošáca.

Bošáca

The first written mention of town of Bošáca was in 1380 when it was referred to as Bosach. The spelling often changed over the centuries. In 1479 it was Bsacz, in 1506 Bosacz, and in 1773 Bosacza. The Hungarian name of the village was Bosác.

Slovakia

Ancient tools found have been found in Slovakia that date to 270,000 BCE, in the Early Paleolithic era. A Neanderthal skull from about 200,000 BCE was found by archeologists.

The region of Slovakia had first been settled by Celtic tribes around 400 BCE, then by Germanic tribes, and finally by Slavic tribes around the sixth century CE.

Slavic peoples are traditionally divided along linguistic lines into West Slavic (including Czechs, Poles and Slovaks), East Slavic (including Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians), and South Slavic (including Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosniaks and Slovenians).

The early Slavs worshipped a single god, called Perun, who created lightning and thunder and was lord of all.

The major political regions that emerged consisted of three historic lands: Bohemia and Moravia in the west (often called the Czech Lands) and Slovakia in the east.

In 1823, Slovakia had been ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary for almost 1,000 years and was known in Slovak as Horné Uhorsko (Upper Hungary). The Hungarian kingom comprised what we know today as Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia along with a variety of smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary’s borders. In the ninth and tenth centuries, it was known by its Latin name Regnum Hungariae. By the 1840s, it was called Magyar Királyság in the Hungarian language or Königreich Ungarn in German. From 1526 to 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary came under the control of the Germanic Habsburg monarchy, which had ruled areas around Austria since 1276. They took their dynastic name from a Swiss fortress—the Habsburg—which may have derives its name from the Germanic word “hab” which meant a “ford.” The castle was located on a ford of the river Aar, which flows into the upper Rhine.

In the sixteenth century, Hungary served as a buffer between the Ottoman Empire of the Turks and the Holy Roman Empire to the west and the Kingdom of Poland to the north. As the Turks encroached on Hungarian soil, they captured the area that is today the modern nation of Hungary, while another Hungarian region, Transylvania, became a Turkish protectorate. Only Slovakia was left as the remaining independent piece of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1536 it became known as “Royal Hungary” with Bratislava as the capital. From 1526 to 1830, nineteen Habsburg sovereigns were crowned “Kings and Queens of Hungary” in the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. At the time, Bratislava was known as Prešporok (in Slovak), Pressburg (in German), and Pozsony (in Hungarian). Bratislava remained the capital of Hungary until the Turks were finally ousted from Central Europe in 1786 and Buda became the capital city.

The territory of present-day Slovakia was the largest producer of silver and the second-largest producer of gold in Europe.

Hungary

The first king of Hungary was crowned by Pope Silvester II on Christmas day of 1000 CE. Named Vajk at birth, he was baptized at age ten as Štefan. As the first king of Hungary, he was known as Stephan I or Štefan I. Later, he was made a saint, Saint Stephen I or in Slovak, Svätý Štefan I.

From 1526 to 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary came under the control of the Habsburg monarchy, which had ruled areas around Austria since 1276.

In the sixteenth century, Hungary served as a buffer between the Ottoman Empire of the Turks and the Holy Roman Empire to the west and the Kingdom of Poland to the north. As the Turks encroached on Hungarian soil, they captured the area that is today the modern nation of Hungary, while another Hungarian region, Transylvania, became a Turkish protectorate. Only Slovakia was left as the remaining independent piece of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1536 it became known as “Royal Hungary” with Bratislava, as the capital.

From 1526 to 1830, nineteen Habsburg sovereigns were crowned “Kings and Queens of Hungary” in the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. At the time, Bratislava was known as Prešporok (in Slovak), Pressburg (in German), and Pozsony (in Hungarian). Bratislava remained the capital of Hungary until the Turks were finally ousted from Central Europe in 1786 and Buda became the capital city.

marriage and children

Ján Ochodnický and Alžbeta Beňovič were most likely married in Bošáca, but we have no record of the date. Perhaps it was about 1839 since their first child was born in 1840. However, if our speculation on their birth dates are correct—Ján in 1823 and Alžbeta in 1827—they must have married very young. Ján would have been about 17 and Alžbeta about 13, perhaps younger.

Their five sons were born at House #232 in Bošáca.

• Juraj Ochodnický was born on May 16 , 1840
• Štefan Ochodnický was born on April 22, 1844
• Ján Ochodnický was born on July 26, 1846
• Andrej Ochodnický was born on April 22, 1849
• Michal Ochodnický was born on December 6, 1851

Ján Ochodnickýwas a miller in village of Bošáca. Joyce Kolnik reports that the remains of the Ochodnický mill can still be found in Bošáca (Nova Bošáca) behind a newer house at #139. The woman living in this home (at least in 1987) was a descendent of Ján Ochodnický. She confirmed that the mill was known as the Ochodnický mill.

Their fourth son Andrej Ochodnický married Alžbeta Káš on November 4, 1873 in Bošáca. Andrej then moved to the nearby town of Moravské Lieskové, which was Alžbeta’s birthplace. (See Andrej Ochodnický and Alžbeta Káš) Because he had three older brothers, Andrej had little chance of inheriting the mill. So perhaps relocation provided a better opportunity.

deaths

Ján Ochodnický and Alžbeta Beňovič died at House #232 in Bošáca. All of their children lived and died in the Kingdom of Hungary.