Ireland and Hungary

The title covers everything—both sets of grandparents. This post is mostly about Hungary, but starts with a little of interest on the Irish side.
For a long time I saw no reason to test for mtDNA. That was because I already knew the area where my mother's mother's mother's mother was baptized, having visited the parish while in Ireland 13 years ago. But curiosity got the best of me, and so I ordered the full sequence test, which provided the details that place my branch within H1am1. But that's not all. There are two more markers, besides the H1am1 markers, on which I am a full match with several people. Those additional two markers distinguish an as yet unlabeled sub-branch, apparently confined to Ireland, with names like Sullivan and Murphy. So it's interesting to see that the full sequence mtDNA test, at least in this case, narrows things down to a relatively small geographic area.
Having failed so far to obtain a baptismal record for my Hungarian grandfather, attention turned to his Hungarian mother-in-law. Fortunately my grandmother had obtained a copy of her own baptismal certificate back in 1927. Otherwise the record might have been lost forever, because my grandmother's r.c. parish, like my grandfather's g.c. parish, is now located in present-day Ukraine. Her certificate records the birthplaces of her parents, and it shows that my great-grandmother was born in Záhony, belonging to the parish of Mándok, which is in present-day Hungary. (Záhony is just across the Tisza River from present-day Ukraine.) The records for Mándok after a first glance this week revealed no obvious entry for my great-grandmother. But I will be taking a second look, partly to enjoy seeing again the label on the title page: Mándok, Archdiocese of Eger.

My first trip to Hungary did not extend to my grandparents' birthplaces, but I did go to Eger, seat of the r.c. diocese for the region. Above is a view taken on June 2 from the castle grounds. The yellow building in the background, a little left of center, is the Cathedral of Eger. The closer church building, under restoration on the outside, is the Minorite (Franciscan) Church. It faces the white-and-gray-terraced Dobó Square. Behind the Minorite Church, extending above the church's roofline is the white, green-capped astronomical tower of the Lyceum. The 18th-century astronomical instruments on display in the Lyceum building are said to exist nowhere else in Europe except for the observatory in Greenwich.
It's been said that the Eger Castle is Hungary's Alamo, but I think a bettter analogy would be Fort McHenry. Even though Eger Castle did not inspire a Hungarian Star-Spangled Banner, there are books and poems celebrating the Stars of Eger (star having a double connotation, being a reference to the heroes who defended Eger, as well as a nod to the famous old astronomical observatory).
The guidebook recommended an overnight stay in Eger. I should have done that, instead of a day-trip from Budapest (two-hour bus ride each way). Maybe next time.

John Brooks and Philadelphia

Before visiting last week, I had been in Philadelphia only twice before, and that was when the Presidents were Ford and Carter. So I'm not qualified to call it Philly. Stlll, the people and places felt familiar. I took full advantage of the $11 Independence Pass, which provides all-day riding on the SEPTA transit system.
Information on Brooks families compiled in folders at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania revealed no connection to my ancestor. Probably he would belong to one of the "no more is known about this branch of the family" branches in one of their folders.

One thing that did catch my eye was in the HSP collection of Philadelphia City Directories. The 1833 directory lists a Lewis Brooks, Blacksmith, at 54 Noble St. His name had been spelled Brooke in 1825. He does not appear in the 1835 directory. The picture above documents my pilgrimage to the intersection of Noble and Front Streets, located in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, on the Delaware River side of I-95, just around the corner from the Spring Garden station on the Market-Frankford line. The Ben Franklin Bridge spans the distant skyline. The street sign with an arrow pointing left indicates that the present-day numbering begins at Front Street. (I-95 obliterated whatever portion of Noble may have once extended to the right.) I imagine that back in 1833 a low street number like 54 would have been located nearby.
Of all the theories I've considered about what the L.W. may have stood for in John L. W. Brooks, the simplest is that it stands for Lewis, especially if one were to emphasize the two syllables in pronouncing the name. The 1820 census for Northern Liberties has a George Brooks, which would fit the traditional naming pattern for John(Lewis)'s oldest son. On the other hand, the maternal grandfather was George, and he may have been the namesake. It isn't much to go on, but that's all I have for now. At any rate, the cobblestones/bricks make it easy to imagine this section of Front Street back around 1830.