The SZÜK Family

Szük Family from Taktaszada (Szada):

Generation 1: Demeter Szük & NN
Generation 2: András Szük & Erzsébet Miskolczi (noblewoman?)
Generation 3: István Szük & Zsuzsánna Fekete (noblewoman)
Generation 4: Pál Szük & Éva Marjai
Generation 5: Juliánna Szük & József Tóth (nobleman)

Juliánna Szük (1810-1837), wife of nobleman József Tóth (1808-1839), was a noblewoman in her own right and it was her 2x-great-grandfather, Demeter Szük, who was ennobled. Our Szük ancestors, at least back to Demeter, all resided in Taktaszada, Zemplén County, Hungary. Researching the nobility of the Szük family was rather straight-forward, as Zemplén County, Hungary had kept a considerable amount of documents regarding the nobility of that county.

The death records for the Taktaszada Reformed church began being recorded in 1773, almost 20 years after baptisms and marriages began. Because of this, we cannot locate the death record for András Szük, husband of Erzsébet Miskolczi. Fortunately, we can place András within many of the nobility investigation documents that can be located for this family.

András Szük last appears in the 1754/55 nobility census for Zemplén County, Hungary and although no locality is recorded, we know he was residing in Taktaszada. From the marriage and death records of his children, I’ve been able to place their births between the late 1730’s and the early 1750’s. András Szük and Erzsébet Miskolczi most likely had their last child a year or two prior to this census being taken. 

In 1750, testimonials were provided for the Szük family regarding their noble status. The investigation was regarding András Szük of Taktaszada. He was listed as having sons named András, István and Pál, while he himself was the son of Demeter Szük. 

A taxation list from January 1737 shows nobleman András Szük residing in Taktaszada. He was in possession of 1 plot of land, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 1 cow and 5 pigs. He had no sheep or bees for honey production. He is also listed as having no sons, which aligns with what we know about his children: the eldest son, András, was born approximately 1738.

A taxation list from January 1736 shows nobleman András Szük residing in Taktaszada. He was in possession of 1 plot of land, 1 horse, 1 oxen, 1 cow and 6 pigs. He had no sheep or bees for honey production. 

Another nobility investigation document from 26 Mar 1732 places András Szük in Taktaszada. He had provided the armalis granted to his father and the court created a complete transcription. Demeter Szük was granted the armalis certificate on 9 Jun 1690 in Vienna by King Leopold I. The armalis was published on 11 Jan 1691 in Nagy Ida, Abaúj County, Hungary. The armalis being published in Abaúj County, Hungary reflects that Demeter Szük was likely originally from the Abaúj County area. Nagy Ida is now present-day Veľká Ida, Slovakia and is a little over an hour north of Taktaszada by modern transportation. 

A taxation list from 1731 shows an András “Szök” residing in Taktaszada. He was in possession of 1 plot of land, 2 horses, 6 oxen and 3 cows. He had no pigs, sheep or bees for honey production. 

On 22 Feb 1724, Demeter Szük provided his armalis and the court created a complete transcription, similar to the one created in 1732. 

A taxation list from 1722 shows Demtrius Szük residing in Taktaszada. He was in possession of 1 plot of land, 3 oxen, 2 cows, 2 pigs and 3 bee hives for honey production.

The earliest mention of Demeter Szük that I have located was his ennoblement information from the armalis transcriptions of 1724 and 1732. As mentioned, Demeter Szük was granted his armalis on 9 Jun 1690 in Vienna by King Leopold I. The armalis was published on 11 Jan 1691 in Nagy-Ida, Abaúj County, Hungary. I have not been able to find physical image of the Szük coat of arms, but this is the literal translation from Latin according to the armalis:

“erect military shield with celestial colors with a human arm wearing a red tunic bearing three coils of wheat facing towards the right, with a helmet and royal crown sits atop an erect yellow lion bearing in its right arm grapes and the left arm outstretched grasping, and a bifurcated tail and red tongue, the lapels or laces on one side are red and white, on the other side gold and blue, adorning it decently.” 

The symbolism within the coat of arms description is rather clear that the Szük family was involved with wheat production, as well as grapevines and the production of wine — very similar to the Tóth family. Abaújszántó, where Demeter Szük was shown owning property, is at the foot of the Sátorhegy, or ‘tent hill,’ and is at the northwestern tip of the Tokaj wine region. 

There is unfortunately no information about Demeter’s wife, or any daughters they may have had. All the nobility information that was located reflects that András was the only child of Demeter Szük.

Other Noble Szük Families 

There were at least two other noble Szük families in the northeastern region of Hungary, where our family came from. 

1. János Szük (some sources cite his given name as Jakab), Simon Boros and Mihály László were ennobled on 18 May 1636 in Vienna by King Ferdinand II. The armalis was published in the same year in Gömör County, Hungary. The armalis states that the three men were relatives, but it’s not clear how they’re related.

2. György Szük was ennobled on 11 Mar 1655 by King Ferdinand III. This family spread into Borsod and Csongrád Counties, although a branch resided in nearby Sátoraljaújhely, Zemplén County, Hungary. Two descendants of this family were brothers Ferencz and István Szük, who were residing in Sátoraljaújhely in 1724.

Szük Surname Origins

The Szük surname is likely derived from the Hungarian word szűköldöd meaning needy, or needful.