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We have no
real evidence to support claims that some Kosbab's may have originated in
Hungary. We have not located one Kosbab in hundreds of Hungarian
searches. Coincidently, KOS is a fairly common prefix and variations
of that do exist.
The single
reference we have relating to Hungary:
The
EAST END NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE was
established in Cleveland in 1907 (inc. 1911) by Hedwig
and Anna Kosbab, daughters of Josip Kosbab,
a Hungarian immigrant. Located at 2749 Woodhill Rd., the settlement has
served the BUCKEYE-WOODLAND Woodhill community. Initially, the Kosbabs
offered sewing and cooking classes for neighbors, but soon created a
formal organization to meet the needs of HUNGARIANS, ITALIANS, and other
Southern European immigrants moving to the area.
The first Board of Trustees of the East End Neighborhood
House included SAMUEL MATHER, ROLLIN WHITE, and ORIS P. VAN SWERINGEN. By
Hedwig's death in 1922, the settlement had served nearly 70,000 people
with classes, clubs, and recreational programs. During World War II, the
settlement sponsored scrap drives and blood donations, as well as a
controversial relocation program for Japanese-Americans within its
neighborhood in 1944.
Source
Information
The
following paragraphs provide some interesting reading...
Cleveland
once had the 2nd-largest Hungarian population in the world. Hungarians
came to Cleveland because of job availability, accessibility, and, as more
Hungarians settled here, the proximity of countrymen. Hungarian
immigration to Cleveland occurred in 3 distinct waves: turn-of-the-century
immigration (1870-1924), the largest and most influential wave; post-World
War II "displaced persons"; and post-1956 refugee immigration.
Hungarians who first arrived settled at the easternmost edge of the city,
which became the Buckeye Rd. Hungarian neighborhood, and formed a smaller
settlement on the near west side. Significant Hungarian immigration to the
city began in the 1870s. They came because land was scarce in their
homeland and cheap labor was plentiful. The majority were single men or
men who had left their families behind, because they initially intended to
return home with enough savings to purchase land. They lived in boarding
houses, run by the few women who had immigrated with their husbands. By
1900 there were 9,558 Hungarians in Cleveland.
The Buckeye
Rd. Hungarian community was a transient neighborhood until 1920.
Immigrants known as "migrating birds" came and went--visiting
and helping their families in Hungary at harvest time, and returning to
work in the factories during the winter, living in boarding houses and not
concerned with establishing permanent ties. This situation altered
dramatically, however, with World War I and the Treaty of Trianon, which
imposed harsh economic and political conditions on Hungary. Suddenly the
decision of Hungarian immigrants in the U.S. to return or to remain was
imminent. Moreover, the U.S. imposed the quota system in 1921, curtailing
immigration in any year to 3% of the number of the nationality in the U.S.
in 1900; later this was reduced to 2%. More than half of the 1 million
Hungarian immigrants living in the U.S. returned to Hungary during and
after World War I. In the Cleveland Hungarian community, World War I and
the Treaty of Trianon decided the fate of the ethnic enclave. After 1920,
an increasing number of residents purchased their own homes and became
U.S. citizens. The original Hungarian neighborhood around E. 79th and
Holton Ave. expanded from Buckeye Rd. to Woodland Ave. and E. 72nd St.,
and east along Buckeye from Woodhill Rd. to E. 125th St. Hungarian
businesses soon dominated the entire span of Buckeye. Clubhouses were
built, and churches, which until then were wooden structures, were rebuilt
in stone. In the development of the Buckeye Rd. Hungarian community,
1920-30 is known as the period of expansion, while 1930-60 is designated
as the period of stability.
Cleveland's
Hungarian immigrant population rose from 9,558 to 43,134 by 1920.
Hungarians constituted 8% of the city's foreign-born population in 1900,
and 18% in 1920. The Buckeye Rd. neighborhood became a dynamic ethnic
community. The 7 churches and 8 clubhouses were in constant use. The
community's social calendar included the following regular events: 12
grape
harvest festivals, 11 New Year's Eve dances, 14 picnics, 12 plays, 20
banquets, and over 100 Hungarian weddings. In addition, lectures, forums,
civic and political meetings, bazaars, and card parties were weekly held
at clubhouses and halls. Six Hungarian-language newspapers served the
community. The largest, Szabadsag, reached a daily circulation of
40,612 in 1940. By 1920 there were more than 300 Hungarian-owned
businesses and 81 Hungarian organizations in Cleveland.
By the
1930s many Cleveland Hungarians were becoming acculturated to the American
way of life, but many retained their native tongue and customs. At this
time a substantial number of 2nd-generation Hungarian-American youths were
active in the community, forming their own social and civic groups. During
the Depression, organizations assisted the community through hard economic
times, including charity committees, such as that established by the
Women's Hungarian Social Club, homeowners' associations to try to prevent
evictions, and several labor organizations, including a Hungarian-language
section of the IWW. The Hungarian community, overwhelmingly Democratic,
evolved into a political voting bloc during the 1930s. Ward 29 was
represented by Hungarian councilmen for nearly 45 years starting in 1921.
In Ward 16, Hungarian representation spanned 30 years, 1939-71.
Approximately 26 Hungarian-Americans from the Buckeye community were
elected or appointed to various city, county, and state offices. From
1931-74, usually 2 and often 3 judges of the 9 on the bench of the
Municipal Court of Cleveland were Hungarian. The most influential
Hungarian-American politician in Cleveland city government was JACK
P. RUSSELL, who became president of the city council in 1957 and held
the position for 11 years.
World War
II disrupted the Hungarian community of Cleveland drastically: many
Hungarian-American youths served and died overseas. In the predominantly
Hungarian 29th Ward, 4,305 men (13% of the population) served in the armed
forces. Most returning veterans did not go back to the neighborhoods where
they grew up, but moved to suburbs to start families, beginning the
disintegration of the Buckeye neighborhood. Following the war, the
community worked with and absorbed a new wave of Hungarian immigrants,
displaced persons obtaining "Home and Job Assurances" needed by
postwar immigrants to enter the U.S., and searching for housing and
employment once they arrived. Between 1947-53, approx. 6,000 Hungarian
immigrants arrived in Cleveland, generally from Hungary's urban centers
and from the middle and upper-middle classes. Most were well-educated,
emigrated with their families, and were established in their careers when
they left. They were handicapped by being middle-aged: losing everything
and having to start anew proved extremely difficult for many. The postwar
immigrants left Hungary because of changes in the political system, not
for economic reasons, and intended to return to Hungary when the Soviet
occupation of the country ended, making them emigres rather than
immigrants. They were the most politically conscious among Cleveland's
Hungarians, even compared to the later Hungarian refugees of 1956. They
founded organizations to maintain their homeland traditions, especially
those undermined by the postwar government, and emphasized educating the
2nd generation in their language and heritage through Saturday language
schools and the Hungarian Scouting movement. They included many writers
and journalists; several new newspapers were founded in Cleveland during
the 1950s and 1960s, and they published more books than any other wave of
Hungarian immigrants.
The
revolution in Hungary in Oct. 1956 brought a wave of approx. 41,000
refugees to the U.S. The revolution was unexpected; the community only
recently absorbed the postwar immigrants, but Hungarians in Cleveland
reacted quickly. Within the first days mass rallies were held, and
organizations initiated relief programs. These refugees were the youngest
wave of Hungarian immigrants and the group least prepared with future
plans and goals. Unlike previous immigrants, these refugees had to leave
Hungary suddenly and unexpectedly; many possessed a technical trade or had
several years of university study. They evoked great public sympathy in
the U.S. because of their fight against communism, and numerous
opportunities, such as scholarship programs, job placement, and financial
assistance, were made available to them. It is difficult to determine the
exact number of refugees who settled in Cleveland because census data
statistics between 1950-60 include many of the postwar immigrants as well,
but it has been estimated at 6,000-9,000. Moreover, it is impossible to
ascertain how many stayed in Cleveland once they familiarized themselves
with English and life in the U.S. Because of their relative youth,
technical skills, and single status, they adjusted with greater ease than
previous immigrants and exhibited less attachment to community
organizations and institutions.
For over
100 years, a distinct and unique Hungarian community has existed in
Cleveland, constantly rejuvenated by new waves of immigrants. The Buckeye
Rd. neighborhood began declining in the 1960s and experienced an alarming
increase in crime during the late 1960s and 1970s. By 1980 few Cleveland
Hungarians lived there; but the local Hungarian community was still
viable. By the 1980s, there were 113,000 Greater Clevelanders of Hungarian
birth or descent. Although the number of Greater Clevelanders claiming
Hungarian descent dropped to 61,681 in the 1990 census and the number of
people of Hungarian birth resident in Cleveland was a mere 924, the
community remained active. Old organizations were replaced by new ones,
founded by 2nd or 3rd generation Hungarian Americans, consisting mainly of
folkdance groups, cultural organizations, and civic clubs. Even within the
old Buckeye neighborhood, which was almost totally devoid of Hungarian
residents, a heritage museum was established at St. Elizabeth's church,
and both remained focal points of Hungarian pride and culture in 1995. All
of these new organizations epitomized an ongoing attempt to preserve
cultural traditions and an awareness of ethnic background among the
American-born children of Hungarian immigrants.
http://ech.cwru.edu/Scripts/Article.Asp?ID=H7
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