Dear Lajos,

Thank you again for your most interesting reply.

At this time I cannot say with absolute certainty that my patriline is of noble extraction. My only points of evidence thus far are the recollections of my great grandfather, passed on to me indirectly via my grandfather and my uncle. Apparently he often spoke of our surname as "going back to the kings." No one in my family was ever really sure what that meant since he himself was a tool and die maker by trade, and his father was trained as a blacksmith.

Among the interesting points relating to my great grandfather were that he spoke fluent German (related to an undocumented and slightly suspect family story about his apprenticing as a blacksmith in Berlin), and that he was well-versed in the art of wine-making. This information lead me to believe that my modest immigrant ancestors might not always have been humble blacksmiths from Budapest.

The only concrete item that I can point to thus far as pertaining to nobility is the notation on the church register for the marriage of my great grandparents. In that entry, the term "nemes" precedes my great grandfather's name.

As a scientist myself, I am very wary of relying on statements made without any supporting data. Consequently, I am prepared to build my genealogical research generation by generation and will allow the data to lead me to my conclusions about any possible noble status my family may once have held.

In the coming weeks I will be continuing my research after a lengthy hiatus and hopefully, if my family remained in one geographic location for long enough, I will begin to bridge the gap to my (possibly) noble roots.

My sincere thanks once again for the information you have provided, both now and in the past.

Kind regards,
Brian Szente