The Fischls and the de Dirsztays - their original and later Baruch Lousada links
The chart above was first prepared to show how Bela de Dirsztay relates to Istvan and Richard de Dirsztay (see note 6 below) and it is based on a portion of Richard de Dirsztay's tree (ref 31). More broadly, the chart tells the story of a large branch of the Baruch Lousadas, but much variation was necessary to give a credible Baruch Lousada ancestry of Moritz Baruh #1191 (see note 3 below) while at the same time giving a more plausible account of his descendants (as explained in note 5). We show (in pink) the recent Baruch Lousada ancestors (discussed in note 1 below) of Richard de Dirsztay, plus the 4 sons of the Prague Baruch Lousada wife who was the origin of the Fischls - thus Moritz Baruh is shown with a brother Isaac #1196 plus 2 half-brothers Simon #64 and Gedalia #986. Additional Fischls including Lazar #2715 are shown in orange and were found online (see note 5). The 7 people in red were suggested by a DNA match of Julian Land (see note 11) but 2 further people (in blue) were still needed complete a plausible descent of Lajos #166 (see note 5) and Lazar #2715 (see notes 11 and 12).
Richard was distantly related to Erno Letay de Losada, who in 1922 and 1924 obtained the right to use the 'de Losada' title and coat of arms; but this would hardly have happened solely on the strength of the ancestry of his 2nd cousin's wife Ilona #2063 (the daughter of the 5th Lousada Duke and also Richard's grandmother). She may have inspired him, even if it were only that she seemed to be living proof that the Baruch Lousadas had successfully assumed the title of the Duque de Losada. Careful arguments must have been put forward concerning Erno's Hungarian descent from Moritz Baruh (see note 9 below), especially as the de Dirsztay Family Tree shows a misapprehension in arguing that Moritz Baruh's Baruch Lousada ancestry arose in Jamaica (which is where the 5 Lousada Dukes originated), and not from an offshoot of the Livorno Baruch Lousadas just like the Barrows (see note 10 below).
The wives of Moritz Baruh and Simon Barrow are examples of the Italian connection in this family history. Of course before the Risorgimento all of northern Italy progressively fell into the hands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the retreat of the Ottomans created business opportunities to the east of Vienna. No doubt people of Sephardic ancestry from Italy and the Ottoman Empire joined those seeking to exploit these opportunities. At this time Livorno was losing its dynamism as a trading port (see note 15 below), and Jewish Italian banking was in decline since the 1682 decision of Pope Innocent XI (ref 347). Thus it would seem that at the time Simon Barrow (with a brother-in-law - see note 13 below) went west to Barbados with Gedalia remaining in Prague, Moses went to Timisoara presumably after returning from Italy. The Empress' 1744 expulsion edict (see note 8 below) may have prompted Jacob #2417 and Baruch #2350 to flee Prague to join (their uncle and father) Moritz Baruh in Timisoara (see note 7 below). Thereafter they acquired the Fischl name (see note 4 below), and subsequently descendants with this name went to Budapest, where some acquired the aristocratic name 'de Dirsztay'. There were 2 marriages with the Tornyay-Schossbergers (see note 2 below) who like the de Menasche family (see note 1 below) had business interests across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Such families illustrate the influence and cultivation of the Jewish aristocracy of Hungary, but much of this wealth was lost under the Nazis some of whose evil influence is captured in the de Dirsztay tree.
Notes:
Ilona de Losada who married Viktor Adolf de Dirsztay was shown as a daughter of the 5th Lousada Duke Edward Eugene. Of course his appearance in this tree, and death on 5 May 1941, is a considerable surprise, for apart from his parents the only other information we have for him is his 'return' to Jamaica (see ref 6 p27 which however gives no source for this though the author was a reputable historian). Richard de Dirsztay gives no sources either but it is hard to imagine him getting his own grandmother Ilona wrong! Perhaps Edward Eugene remained in communication with Ilona so his death was known to his Budapest and Viennese descendants even if not to English sources. Of course his Jamaican destination itself is quite mysterious, for most of the uncles and aunts of Edward Eugene inhabited an elevated sphere of (mostly) Catholic Europe. Emanuel the 2nd Duke married a somewhat impecunious minor French aristocrat Honorine Scholastique Lejeune, Emma married a Belgian Count Louis van der Burch of military background, Francis was HM Consul for Rhode Island and Massachusetts and was made Marquis of San Miniato by the Grand Duke of Tuscany (his wife was on the Grand Duke's staff in London), 2 of his 3 sons becoming the 3rd and 4th Dukes (Horace Francis and Francis Clifford), Edward Eugene's father married Francoise Tard of Chantilly, Berthe married Gustav Nicolai de Noe of Prussia, while Anna Marie married Edmund Molyneux-Seel who became Chamberlain to Pope Leo and Chamberlain 1st Class to Pope Pius 9. Ilona's mother is given as Baroness Judith Menasche; this raises an interesting question! A further interesting question is whether the Fischl de Dirsztay reconnection with the Baruch Lousadas was adventitious, echoing the adventitious Barrow reconnection with the Baruch Lousadas in Barbados, or whether it was premeditated by one side or the other?
What is the relationship of Emma who married Gutmann Fischl to Anna who married Lajos Fischl? The de Dirsztay tree answers this - Anna was a daughter of Lazar Tornyay-Schossberger and Rosalia Klein, whilst Emma was a grand-daughter of Lazar by his second wife Regina Sachs and son Simon. That is, Emma was a half-niece of Anna. This pair of marriages relinks family branches.
Moritz Baruh appeared in Timisoara in the mid-1700s with an Italian wife according to the de Dirsztay tree (ref 31). Moritz Baruh was shown in Richard's tree linked to the Jamaican Baruch Lousadas via an implausible and no-doubt invented father. Thus, he is shown as a son of Jacob Aaron (shown as son of Emanuel #135!) who married Esther Ximenes but while Emanuel #135 had a son Jacob whom we know as Jacob #139 his will showed no trace of a wife or family. Perhaps Jacob was son of an Aaron instead, but in our Baruch Lousada genealogy the only such Jacob (apart from Jacob #2570 of New Jersey who died in childhood) was Jacob #380 and he married Abigail Lamego of Jamaica and predeceased her. The only male Baruch Lousada who married a Ximenes bride was Emanuel #87 of London who married Rebecca Ximenes of Amsterdam. But the Dirsztay tree gives Rebecca's husband as Aaron another son of Emanuel #135 of Jamaica but while Emanuel #135 did have a son Aaron we know him as Aaron #141 who died in infancy!
Ref 35 chapter 2 provides an account of how the German imposition of surnames occurred.
Richard's tree makes Moritz Baruh (see top line) the father of Lajos #166 which seems impossible. With the help of suggestions from one of Julian Lands' DNA matches (Dena Jenkins - see note 11) we can make Lajos #166 a great-grandson of Moritz Baruh. Further, in Richard's tree (ref 31) the appearance of Ignasz 1845-1917 as the son of Ignasz 1825-1907 raises questions - and we are persuaded Richard's tree is in error by the location by Randy Schoenberg of the younger Ignasz as a half-brother of an older Ignasz - both sons of the Lazar Fischl #2715 (discussed in notes 3 &12 and b~1772 in Timisoara). Lazar is one of the 8 people shown in orange and is a collateral ancestor of another of Julian Land's DNA matches (see note 12 below). The Dirsztay tree (ref 31) gives Lajos #166 as the father of Guttman which appears to be another error as on 22 Mar 2015 Scott MacDougall pointed out that Bela's father Guttman has a father named Moses on geni.com, with the father of Moses being Lazar Fischl. See also note 14 for further uncertainty over dates especially of the birth of Laszlo and Victor Dirsztay.
Bela de Dirsztay (1861-1921) was the great-grandfather of Scott McDougall’s wife, and on 19 Feb 20 Scott was able to confirm some details of Bela's descendants shown in the de Dirsztay tree - Bela's grand-daughter Denise did indeed get to Canada and was married with no children; she died around 2010 and that Scott and his wife used to see her regularly. Emma, Scott's mother-in-law fled to Canada around 1948, and that her mother Luyza died before WW2. Emma's brother Bela may have died in a WW2 work camp. Richard presented Peter Lousada with the de Dirsztay tree after Peter has provided Richard with the tree shown in ref 85; their contact was probably initiated by Istvan observing Peter Lousada on a business trip to Budapest and reporting this to Richard.
Timisoara became associated with the Austro-Hungarian Empire after its conquest in 1716 by Prince Eugene of Savoy except for a brief period of Ottoman rule in 1778-9. Perhaps after the 1716 conquest, there was Italian and Jewish investment in Timisoara.
Ref 66 observes that the expulsion of 1744/5 probably led to an increase in Jewish immigration to England - and perhaps Timisoara similarly gained Jewish population as we suggest here. Ref 66 also argues that English diplomacy had little to do with the partial reversal which was more to do with local reaction and the valuable social role the Jews played in the Empire. We suggest that Baron Moses d'Aguilar may have had something to do with this given his access to the Empress; Michael Silber has spoken on this (ref 386).
Of course, as the lifespan of the Duque de Losada was 1706-83, and his title was created in Naples in 1741, Erno would not have wanted close inspection of his purported link, for at the time at which Moritz Baruh was born ie in the 1700-1710 period there was no Duque de Losada!
To explain the belief of the Barrows that they descend from the Baruch Lousadas, we explored the possibility of an early Barrow link with the Baruch Lousadas centering on a Baruch Lousada wife of Baruch Lichtenstadt, father of Simon Barrow of Barbados. As Baruch Lichtenstadt is not known other than in Prague, it may be that his wife came to Prague from Italy and soon became a widow with 2 sons - Moritz and Isaac - who thus became stepsons of Baruch and half-brothers of Simon and Gedalia. Perhaps Erno's evident belief as to his own Baruch Lousada ancestry derived from a family legend, reawakened by Ilona's marrying into the family! That is, both the Barrows and Fischls seem to have retained an enduring belief in their Baruch Lousada ancestry without retaining knowledge of the supporting evidence! It is also quite possible that the Jamaican Lousadas like Ilona were unaware of the Livorno dimension of the Baruch Lousada story we discovered, hence the concocted Jamaican ancestry we reveal in note 3 above.
Dena Jenkins a DNA match of Julian Land has been in touch and believes the Fischls in the chart above are among her ancestors, because the placenames which appear in Richard de Dirsztay's tree match her family history. Also, Erno #401 and his brother Lajos are central to her family history; on 10 May 2024, she advised that she is certain that she descends from Erno. She has suggested that her ancestors specifically include the 7 people shown in red and gave the dates shown for them. One of the 7 is Jacob Fischl #2417 (Dena's 4*great grandfather). Also Isaac #443 was said to be a son of Baruch #2350, and Jacob #2417 was said to have been a son of an Isaac. Dena Jenkins cited ref 341 in giving Lajos Fischl #166 as a son of Jacob #2417, but is currently unable to provide other sources. Despite these suggestions it would seem that 2 extra Fischls (daughters #3242 and #3243 - shown in blue) are needed for Moritz Baruh to have been an ancestor of Lajos #166, and for Isaac #443 to have been a grandson of Isaac #1596. Dena Jenkins also pointed out another wife of Ignasz Fischl #1409, and it seems that Roza Rosenfeld must have been the 2nd wife taking into account the 1901 death date of Maria Anna Cole de Leto and the fact that Roza remained attached to the memory of Ignasz after his death (which ref 31 shows to have been in 1917). It will be seen that there are 2 daughters named Paula - the younger, Paula Stein who wrote a history of the Rosenfelds, must have been a step-daughter of Ignasz. Also, the 1901 marriage record for Lajos and Irene (as reported by Dena Jenkins) gives Irene's parents as Leo Gara and Lina Schack and the parents of Lajos as Ignasz and Roza (a step-mother being the 2nd wife of Ignasz). The second marriage of Lajos #1593 must have also taken place early in 1901, on a date between the death of Maria Anna Cole de Leto and the marriage of Lajos and Irene which was on 20 Feb 1901. Lajos was obviously a stepson of Roza, but it seems that Irene Gara was the model for the invented twin of Ilona #2063 shown in ref 31 thanks to the misguided creative power of Richard de Dirsztay!
The name of Isaac #443 supports Moritz Baruh having a brother Isaac, who is shown in the chart as the maternal grandfather. The father of Lazar #2715 seems likely to have been Baruch #2350 (given the similarity in birthdate of Isaac #443 and Lazar), which of course links the Fischls shown in orange to Moritz Baruh. What we find online supports this - Julian Land has found a DNA match with someone both connected to Lazar Fischl and to a further son of Simon Michael Pressburg (ie Abraham Simon Pressburg). That is - Lazar Fischl appears to be a fairly close family member. In addition, connections via a brother of Baron Lyon de Symons can be found online between Julian Land and both Lazar Fischl and Baron Guttman Fischl de Dirsztay.
Isaac Levi whose son Jacob Levi produced a daughter Judith Joseph Levi around 1780 in Barbados with his wife a cousin Eve the youngest daughter of the 1st Simon Barrow; Eve was widowed and subsequently married Jacob's brother Joseph, a name shown in the name of the daughter just referred to. Our thinking on who this Isaac Levi was may be found here.
Ref 342 and ref 344 give alternative dates for the birth of Laszlo and we show 1856 above reflecting the 9 May 1856 date given by ref 342, with a date 6 days earlier offered by ref 344, and not the 1860 date in ref 31. We continue to show the Debrecen birthplace of Laszlo given by ref 31 (which also shows Bela born in Debrecen) rather than Budapest which is offered by ref 344, but we favour the Budapest birthplace for Victor offered by ref 342. The 1922 deathdate of Laszlo in ref 31 is rejected in favour of the date of 4 Jun 1921 authoritatively given by both refs 342 and 344. Ref 342 notes the published uncertainty over Victor's birthdate with dates in the range 1883-9 found. For the moment we show the 1882 date of ref 31 but perhaps he was born after his sister Charlotte who was born in 1883.
The Italian dimension may extend to diamonds, but things changed once sea routes to India were established, for few Indian diamonds then made their way through Livorno. As ref 84 p125 points out, in the mid-18th century the London Ashkenasi Jews had few contacts with Livorno and thus did not use Mediterranean coral to trade for Indian diamonds (see note 9). In any event, the Sephardic Livorno merchants in the 1700s progressively concentrated on cross-Mediterranean trade rather than Atlantic trade (ref 64). Of the Italian Jewish families in the diamond trade who moved to London in first half of the 1700s were the Francos (with whom there were 2 Lousada marriages) and the Levy Sonsinos (with Montefiore and Barrow marriages). Another dimension was silver supplies from Genoa (see ref 377).