Previously, I shared the very scarce data to be found on the Patoraj/Patorai/Patoray family in Slovakia.

Here is a map of the villages where Patoraj records have been found:

Andreas Patoraj, baptized on 9 October 1787 in Lipovce, Slovakia may well be the man who married Maria Janoskova and who had the son John, born c1810. This is all speculation, but given the uniqueness of the surname and the fact that Andreas born in 1787 is of an age to be the father of a child born about 1810, I think it’s a distinct possibility. Add to that the fact that there are no other Andreas Patorajs to be found in the records and there are no records that create any conflict with this theory, it is one that I will keep in the back of my mind as I read church registers page by page trying to determine where else the family may have lived.

However, there are most definitely Patorais living in the village of Udol by the mid 1800s. The family remained small and they stayed put until the later 1800s and early 1900s.

The marriage record of John Patorai to Anna Szurgent gives the names of their parents. John is identified as the son of Andreas Patorai and Maria Janoskova.

It is likely that John had a sister, Maria, born c1807, who married John Mudrik, c1827. John and Maria’s marriage is not found in 1828, the first year marriages appear in the Udol parish register, but they had four children baptized there: Michael in 1829, Anna in 1831, Peter in 1834 and Maria in 1839. No burial record has yet been found for Maria Patorai Mudrik, but John was buried on 31 October 1847, aged 40 years.

John Patorai, born c1810, married Anna Szurgent on 22 November 1836 in Udol. They had the following children, all born and married in Udol:

1. Maria, born 5 March 1839; died 27 January 1912; married John Scerbak, 11 February 1861.
2. Anna, born 24 August 1842; died 29 January 1902; married Michael Knap, 20 November 1870; Anna is probably the mother of Elias Patorai, born 17 March 1868, recorded as illegitimate. Michael Knapp was born 15 February 1841; died 9 December 1907. Michael and Anna had three children – Michael, born 6 December 1875, Peter, born 22 March 1885 and died 24 March 1888 and Anna, born 5 July 1887.
3. John, born 18 March 1849; married Anna Fechissin, 27 January 1873.  His marriage record and a couple of his children’s birth records give his father’s name as John Patoray (recte?) Mikulik. I think it is equivalent to the “dit” names in French or, in other words, an alias. I find no birth/baptismal record for John Patoray in 1849, but there is a John Mikulik, baptized 18 March 1849, the son of John Mikulik and Anna Szurgent.
4. Michael, born 11 July 1851, although a baptismal record hasn’t been found yet; died 18 October 1902; married Helen Miklus, 9 February 1874
5. Peter, born c1856; married Maria Buk, 7 February 1881
6. Susanna, born 18 December 1859; married (1) Elias Tidik, 7 February 1881 (2) Michael Miklus, 22 January 1885

Since this post is covering the Patorai surname, only the sons will be continued here. In the future, I will probably revisit this family and add the daughters’ descendants:

3. John, born c1849; married Anna Fechissin, 24 January 1873 and had the following children, all baptized in Udol:

1. Maria, born 11 November 1873; she is probably the one who married John Fechissin and had two daughters born in Udol – Maria, 4 October 1900 and Anna, born 23 March 1905 and died 17 April 1906.
2. Anna, born 8 December 1879; married Nicholas Pruzinski. He was born c1875; died 1923. They had three sons and a daughter born in Udol between 1908-1914.
3. Michael, born 24 December 1884
4. Daughter, stillborn, 8 November 1886
5. Stephen, born 7 June 1888; died 2 October 1889
6. Veronica, born 9 August 1890

4. Michael, born 11 July 1851; died 18 October 1902; married Helen Miklus, 9 February 1874 and had the following children, all baptized in Udol:

1. Michael, bapt. 2 January 1876
2. John, bapt. 16 December 1878
3. Maria, bapt. 1 May 1881; died 24 February 1888
4. Helen, bapt. 5 November 1882; she is probably the one who married John Hrinya. They had three children born in Udol – John, 22 October 1900, Stephen, born 21 February 1909 who married Maria Michalko on 1 October 1932 and Nicholas, born 7 June 1914.
5. Anna, bapt. 28 December 1884; died 25 March 1892
6. John, bapt. 8 November 1886; died soon
7. Maria, bapt. 18 November 1888
8. Nicholas, bapt. 2 November 1890
9. Stephen, bapt. 18 February 1894

5. Peter, born c1856; died 8 May 1934, Plains, Luzerne, Pennsylvania; married Maria Buk, 7 February 1881, Udol, Slovakia. Mary was born c1862, Udol, Slovakia; died 1926. Both are buried at St. Peter’s Greek Catholic Cemetery, Lodi, New Jersey. They had the following children:

1. Peter, born 13 October 1882, Ujak, Slovakia; died 14 August 1894, Udol, Slovakia
2. Elias, born 23 July 1885, Udol, Slovakia; died 2 January 1912, New Jersey; married Susanna Chunda. They had a daughter, Maria, born 11 August 1882, Udol, Slovakia and a son, Stephen, born 30 July 1898, Udol, Slovakia; died 19 October 1926 in the U.S.
3. Maria, born 12 January 1888, Udol, Slovakia; died September 1972; married John Hrinya. He was born 28 April 1888; died April 1978. Maria returned from Ujak to Passaic on 3 December 1903, accompanied by her little sister, Helena, aged 9. Father is named as Peter Patoray and the family lived at 132 Third Street, Passaic, NJ.
4. John, born 3 September 1890, Udol, Slovakia; died 8 October 1890, Udol, Slovakia
5. Anna, born 17 October 1891, Udol, Slovakia; died 31 December 1894, Udol, Slovakia
6. Helena (aka Julia), born 21 April 1894; died after 1910
7. Michael, born 7 June 1905, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey; died 27 July 1955, probably New York
8. Anna, born c1907, New Jersey

There are a few loose ends around, which I will have to investigate a bit more thoroughly to sort them out. As you can see, this family isn’t very big!