A FELVIDÉKRŐL A BÁCSKÁBA – EGY BÁCSKAI SEBÉSZ ÉS CSALÁDJA ÉLETE A 19. SZÁZAD KÖZEPÉN: JAKOBEY JÁNOS
FROM UPPER HUNGARY TO BÁCSKA: THE LIFE OF A SURGEON FROM BÁCSKA AND HIS FAMILY IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY: JÁNOS JAKOBEY

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study is to present the life of a physician and his family in 19th-century Bácska. János Jakobey (1787–1855), a nobleman originating from Upper Hungary and born in Pilis in 1787, became a municipal physician in Nemesmilitics after completing his studies at the University of Pest, and from 1820 served as district surgeon of the Kula district. Owing to his efforts in combating cholera and to his articles published in Orvosi Tár, he became well known not only in Bácska but throughout Hungary. In 1837, partly for this reason, he was elected city surgeon of Baja. During the great fire of Baja in 1840, he treated patients free of charge, and on other occasions he was also known for his charitable activities. Jakobey, who converted to the Catholic faith in Rozsnyó in 1811, married an Evangelical woman. Seven children were born to them in Nemesmilitics, Új-Verbász, and Kúla, five of whom reached adulthood. Ferenc Pollermann, a pharmacist from Baja, served as godfather to six of their children. Jakobey initially sent his sons to the Evangelical grammar school in Új-Verbász and, after the family’s move to Baja, enrolled them in the grammar school there. His most renowned child, Károly, became a painter and opened his first studio in Baja. His eldest son, Sándor, played a significant role as a lawyer in the foundation and early years of the Baja Savings Bank; in 1858 he was elected a city councillor and later became city prosecutor. From 1861 he worked at the court in Zombor, later serving as a county court juror and subsequently as a judge at the court in Újvidék, ending his career as a lawyer in Óbecse. Even after the family moved to Zombor, his sons continued their studies at the grammar school in Baja. Jakobey’s eldest child, Amália, was a member of the first women’s association of Bácska, the Baja Ladies’ Benevolent Society. His youngest son, József, worked as an iron merchant, fought as a soldier in the War of Independence of 1848–1849, and later became treasurer of the Evangelical Church in Budapest; he also served as auditor and alternate board member of the National Gymnastics Association. From his income, Jakobey was able to purchase his own house and vineyard. In both of his wills, he named his wife, Karolina Koromzay, as his heir. János Jakobey died in 1855 as a respected citizen of the city.

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