Naturalization Records
During our research, we were fortunate enough to come across Sigmond Balarzs' Naturalization Record which provided us with information pertaining to his family origins and immigration. Also included is a photograph of him attached to the records.
Sigmond Dezo Balarzs and Barbara Bodnar were both immigrants to the United States from Hungary. According to one of their living granddaughters, the two met on the ship that the immigrated in on. This ship, the Grof Walderse, sailed into Ellis Island in 1907 where Sigmond's family name was changed to Balarzs, reflecting a misunderstanding due to language barriers. The original last name was likely spelt closer to Balaz (the spelling reflected on Sigmond and Barbara's tombstone) and pronounced "Ba-lage."
Barbara was immigrating to the United States to be with family, including her sister Mary. It is likely, based on the granddaughter's account, that she had more relatives in the US. Three years after the two met on the voyage to the US, on May 10, 1910, the couple was married and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. They would later move to West Virginia, where Sigmond worked as a coal miner and Barbara ran a boarding house.
According to the family, their lives as immigrants were not easy. They faced ridicule early on due to their accents and customs, eventually leading to the decision of the family to fully "Americanize" and adopt non-Hungarian customs and language.