Life Story
Bálint Daku was born on 28 November 1887 at Bezdéd, Hungary, now Tiszabezdéd. The local Reformed Church register records that he was baptized two days later as the legitimate son of Daku Károly and Veres Erzsébet. The family belonged to the Helvetic Confession, the Hungarian Reformed tradition, and Károly was described as a farmer.1
In the spring of 1903, fifteen-year-old Bálint came to Canada as part of a larger Daku family migration. A history of the Bekevar settlement lists Károly and András Daku, both from Bezdéd, among the settlers arriving that spring, while Bálint’s obituary says that he reached Grenfell on 3 April with his parents and brothers.213 In Canada, Károly generally became Charles and Bálint became Ben.
The family moved south into the emerging Hungarian farming district around Bekevar and Kipling. Ben’s obituary later said that he took up a homestead in 1904. A Dominion Lands register confirms that a homestead grant under his name, number 127772, ultimately reached patented status.3 A local history associates Bálint with the northeast quarter of Section 24, Township 12, Range 6, west of the Second Meridian, and the 1921 and 1926 censuses place his household on that same section.279 The homestead file itself has not yet been reviewed, so the application date and exact relationship between the grant and the northeast quarter remain to be confirmed.
Ben married Borbála Fónagy, known in Canada as Barbara, at Kipling in February 1911. The later obituary gives the date as 23 February.12 Borbála had been born at Tornyospálca, Hungary, on 22 December 1892, the daughter of Fónagy József and Szántó Zsófia.5 The June 1911 census records Ben with a wife named Julia, however, and that discrepancy remains unresolved.4
By 1916, the household clearly consisted of Bálint, Barbara, and their daughters Barbara and Mary. Bálint was recorded as a farmer working on his own account, and the family was Presbyterian.6 In 1921 they owned a three-room wooden house on Section 24. Bálint spoke English and Hungarian, could read and write, and continued to farm. The household then included Barbara, Mary, Valentine—an English rendering of young Bálint—Joseph, and James.7
The family continued to grow. The 1926 prairie census recorded Ben and Barbara with Barbara, Mary, Bálint, József, James, and Frank, preserving both Hungarian and English forms of the children’s names.9 Five more children—Ethel, Calvin, Ella, and Martha, together with an infant son and infant daughter who died young—completed the family. Ten children survived Ben: five daughters and five sons.12
A 1924 newspaper report likely concerns this Ben Daku. It stated that a man of that name was acquitted of perjury at the Court of King’s Bench in Moosomin after a dispute over whether he had signed a promissory note.8 Because the brief item gives no age, residence, or family details, the identification is probable rather than certain.
Family recollections present Ben as a strict patriarch and a firm believer in physical discipline. They also remember that religious life was inseparable from language. When the Presbyterian congregation replaced its minister with one who did not speak Hungarian, Ben reportedly joined others in leaving for a Baptist congregation that could provide a Hungarian-speaking minister.10 The account adds a personal dimension to the documentary record, but it remains family memory rather than a contemporary church record.
Ben remained on the farm until 1949, when he and Barbara moved into Kipling, although he continued helping with farm work until 1966. He served repeatedly on the Bekevar Presbyterian Church board and also served on a school board and the Neelby Wheat Pool. His obituary remembered his kindness, dignity, friendship, and influence on community projects.13
Ben and Barbara marked their 60th wedding anniversary in 1962 with family gathered around them. A photograph published in the Bekevar local history identifies the children using both Hungarian and English names.2 Family recollection says that the celebration also included a reenactment of the couple’s wedding, with their granddaughter taking Barbara’s part.10
Ben died at Kipling Memorial Union Hospital on 18 August 1970, aged eighty-two. His funeral was held three days later at Bekevar Presbyterian Church, with Rev. B. D. Nagy and his nephew Alex Daku officiating, and he was buried in Bekevar Cemetery.1112 He was survived by Barbara, their ten adult children, two brothers, thirty-two grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.11
Research Notes
The wife recorded as Julia in 1911
The 1911 census records Ben Daku with a wife named Julia, born in Hungary in February 1889. This conflicts with the obituary’s statement that Ben married Barbara Fónagy on 23 February 1911 and with Barbara’s baptismal record, which gives her birth on 22 December 1892. Later censuses consistently identify Ben’s wife as Barbara and place the known children in their household. Julia may represent an enumerator’s error, another name used within the household, or a different woman, but the evidence reviewed so far does not resolve the question. The profile does not silently equate Julia with Borbála.
Homestead chronology and location
The obituary says Ben took up a homestead in 1904, when he was sixteen. The homestead register proves that a grant in his name was patented but does not show the land description or a clear application date on the reviewed page. The local history and later censuses associate him with Section 24, Township 12, Range 6, west of the Second Meridian, probably the northeast quarter. The Dominion Lands file should be obtained before stating the original application date or exact grant land as fully established.
Borbála, Barbara, and “Borcza”
Barbara’s baptismal entry records her formal Hungarian name as Borbála Fónagy. Canadian records use Barbara, while two captions in Peace and Strife call her Borcza. The repeated use suggests a family or local form rather than a single typographical error, but its linguistic status has not been independently established.
Children who died in infancy
The 31 August 1970 obituary says Ben was predeceased by an infant son and an infant daughter. Their names and dates have not been identified. They are included as established but unnamed children because the obituary directly reports their existence; no further details should be supplied without records.
Family recollections
The accounts of Ben’s disciplinary practices, the change from the Presbyterian to a Baptist congregation, and the anniversary wedding reenactment come from family memory. The reenactment was remembered by a participating great-granddaughter. The original informants for the discipline and church stories should be added to the private notes if they can be identified.
Photographs
The local history publishes a Daku family photograph on page 98, a Fónagy family photograph on page 103, and an anniversary photograph on page 115. Davis has family-held copies of several Daku and Fónagy photographs. The website should use family-held originals rather than photographs of copyrighted book pages. The Kovacs captions can be cited as published identification evidence.
Evidence Timeline
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Birth and baptism in Hungary
Bálint was born at Bezdéd and baptized two days later in the local Reformed Church as the son of Károly Daku and Erzsébet Veres.
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Arrived in Saskatchewan
The obituary places Bálint at Grenfell with his parents and brothers during the Daku family migration from Hungary.
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Homestead reported south of Kipling
The obituary reports that Bálint took up a homestead; a Dominion Lands register later records a patented grant in his name, while the exact grant parcel remains unresolved.
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Marriage reported with Borbála Fónagy
The later obituary reports that Bálint and Borbála married at Kipling. The 1911 census nevertheless records a wife named Julia, an unresolved discrepancy.
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Farm household on the Saskatchewan prairie
Census records place Bálint and Barbara with their growing family in Hazelwood and on Section 24, Township 12, Range 6 west of the Second Meridian.
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Moved from the farm into Kipling
Obituary accounts say Bálint and Barbara left the farm for town, although he continued helping with farm work until 1966.
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Fiftieth wedding anniversary
A local-history photograph shows Bálint and Barbara with their ten surviving children; family recollection also remembers a wedding reenactment.
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Death at Kipling
Bálint died at Kipling Memorial Union Hospital and was buried in Bekevar Cemetery after a funeral at Bekevar Presbyterian Church.
Family Group Sheet
- Parents
-
- Károly Daku
- Erzsébet Veres
- Spouse / family connection
- Borbála Fónagy, known in Canada as Barbara and also recorded as Borcza; marriage reported at Kipling on 23 February 1911
- Children and direct-line notes
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- Barbara Daku
- Mary Daku
- Bálint Daku Jr. - direct-line child
- Joseph Daku
- James Daku
- Frank Daku
- Ethel Daku
- Calvin Daku
- Ella Daku
- Martha Helen Daku
- Unnamed infant son - reported predeceased
- Unnamed infant daughter - reported predeceased
Photographs
Photograph Index
Images embedded in the story are gathered here with the additional family photographs connected to this profile.
Documentary Base
Sources
church-record
[1] Bálint Daku baptism, Tiszabezdéd, 1887
Strong support Back to first citationCitation: Tiszabezdéd Reformed Church baptismal register, entry 41, Bálint Daku, born 28 November and baptized 30 November 1887, son of Daku Károly and Veres Erzsébet; digital image supplied by Davis W. Simpson. Full FamilySearch catalogue citation not yet recorded.
Access: Digital image supplied by Davis W. Simpson; register image reviewed directly.
- Bálint was born at Bezdéd on 28 November 1887 and baptized on 30 November 1887.
- His parents were Daku Károly and Veres Erzsébet.
- He was recorded as legitimate and of the Helvetic Confession, corresponding to the Hungarian Reformed tradition.
- The father’s occupational notation appears to indicate a farmer.
- The full archival and FamilySearch image citation remains to be completed.
local-history
[2] Martin L. Kovacs, Peace and Strife, 1980
Needs caution Back to first citationCitation: Martin L. Kovacs, Peace and Strife: Some Facets of the History of an Early Prairie Community (Kipling, Saskatchewan: Kipling District Historical Society, 1980), Sándor Daku recollection, 12; arrival list and Magyar School discussion, page numbers not captured; Daku family photograph and caption, 98; Fónagy family photograph and caption, 103; fiftieth-anniversary photograph and caption, 115.
Access: Photographs of selected pages from a privately held copy supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- Sándor Daku's published recollection describes his father's bootmaking work, his mother's farm work, and the political conversation he heard in the family workshop.
- Károly and András Daku, both from Bezdéd, appear in a list of spring 1903 settlers.
- The Magyar School discussion associates 'Balint Daku, Jr' with NE 24-12-6; the timing and meaning of 'Jr' require caution.
- A published caption identifies Bálint with his parents Erzsébet Veres and Károly Daku Sr. and brothers Károly Jr. and Berti.
- A published Fónagy family caption identifies Bálint with Barbara/Borcza Fónagy and members of her family.
- The fiftieth-anniversary photograph identifies Bálint, Barbara, and their ten surviving children and preserves several Hungarian and English name forms.
- This is an authored local history and published photograph-caption source; it is not a substitute for original immigration, land, or vital records.
land-record
[3] Bálint Daku homestead grant register entry
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Canada, Dominion Lands, homestead grant register, grant no. 127772, 'Balint Daku,' marked patented, volume 1791; Library and Archives Canada, R190-75-1-E; digital image, Ancestry.com, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, Homestead Grant Registers, 1872–1930, https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/9209/images/42589_83024005549_1023-00127 (subscription required), accessed 15 July 2026.
Access: Ancestry image viewer; subscription required.
- A Dominion Lands homestead grant under Bálint Daku’s name, number 127772, reached patented status.
- The reviewed page does not display the legal land description.
- The application and patent dates cannot be read confidently from the isolated page and should be obtained from the underlying file.
census
[4] 1911 Canada census — Ben Daku household
Needs caution Back to first citationCitation: 'Recensement du Canada de 1911,' FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27XR-NFP : accessed 13 July 2026), entry for Ben Daku and Julia Daku, 1911; Saskatchewan, district 213 (Qu'Appelle), subdistrict 5, page 1, dwelling 7, family 7, lines 30–31.
Access: FamilySearch database entry and linked census image supplied by Davis W. Simpson on 13 July 2026. The image was reviewed directly rather than relying only on the derivative index.
- Ben Daku was enumerated in Saskatchewan in 1911 as a married male household head born in Hungary in November 1887.
- The original schedule appears to record 1903 as Ben's year of immigration, independently supporting the immigration year reported in his obituary.
- Ben was recorded as Hungarian in origin, Canadian in nationality, and Presbyterian in religion.
- A woman recorded as Julia Daku, wife, was in the household; she was listed as born in Hungary in February 1889 and as Presbyterian.
- The wife recorded as Julia has not yet been conclusively reconciled with Barbara/Borbála Fónagy, whom the obituary says Ben married on 23 February 1911.
- The FamilySearch index gives Ben an impossible 1873 immigration year; the original image appears to read 1903.
- The habitation column appears to contain a legal-land notation resembling 24-11-6, but that reading and the omitted meridian require confirmation before the location is mapped or published as exact.
church-record
[5] Borbála Fónagy baptism, Tornyospálca, 1892
Strong support Back to first citationCitation: Tornyospálca Reformed Church register, 1892, entry 38, Fónagy Borbála, born and baptized 22 December 1892, daughter of Fónagy József and Szántó Zsófia; FamilySearch digital folder 004707992_004_M9DV-653, microfilm 632305, image 30; FamilySearch, Hungary, Reformed Church Christenings, 1624–1895, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VKNH-TTG, accessed 15 July 2026.
Access: FamilySearch index and linked register image.
- Borbála Fónagy was born and baptized at Tornyospálca on 22 December 1892.
- Her parents were Fónagy József and Szántó Zsófia.
- The original register records Borbála as female; the FamilySearch index incorrectly labels her sex as male.
census
[6] 1916 prairie census — Bálint and Barbara Daku household
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Canada, Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, 1916, Saskatchewan, district 26 Qu’Appelle, subdistrict 11 Hazelwood, page 29, household 253, Bálint Daku household; FamilySearch digital folder 004363971, microfilm 2434957, image 852; FamilySearch, Canada, Prairie Provinces, Census, 1916, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMPT-3W1, accessed 13 July 2026.
Access: FamilySearch index and original schedule image supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- Bálint Daku, age 28, was a Hungarian-born farmer in Hazelwood in June 1916.
- His wife was recorded as Barbara, age 23, born in Hungary.
- Their daughters Barbara, age 3, and Mary, age 1, were born in Saskatchewan.
- Bálint reported immigration in 1903 and naturalization in 1908; Barbara reported immigration in 1902.
- The household was Presbyterian.
census
[7] 1921 Canada census — Bálint Daku household
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Canada, 1921 census, Saskatchewan, Qu’Appelle-Saskatchewan District 224, subdistrict 3, Hazelwood Municipality, page 7, family 58, Bálint Daku household; Library and Archives Canada, RG31, folder 158; digital image, Ancestry.com, 1921 Census of Canada, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8991/images/1921_158-E003219920?pId=7491531, accessed 14 July 2026.
Access: Ancestry image viewer; subscription may be required.
- The original image records the head as Bálint Daku; 'Dalint' is an index error.
- The family lived on Section 24, Township 12, Range 6, west of the Second Meridian, in Hazelwood Municipality.
- Bálint was a 34-year-old Hungarian-born farmer who immigrated in 1903 and owned a three-room wooden house.
- The household included Barbara, daughters Barbara and Mary, and sons Valentine, Joseph, and James.
- Valentine was an English rendering of the younger Bálint’s name.
- The interface statement 'Household Members 14' is not supported by the schedule image.
newspaper
[8] Ben Daku acquitted in King’s Bench, 1924
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Found Guilty of Removing Fixtures,' The Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), 8 December 1924, 3; Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-phoenix-ben-daku-not-guilty/201661821/, accessed 14 July 2026.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- A man named Ben Daku was found not guilty of perjury at the Court of King’s Bench in Moosomin.
- The allegation involved a promissory note and earlier testimony about whether he had signed it.
- The headline concerns a different defendant and should not be read as saying Ben Daku was found guilty.
- The brief item gives no age, residence, or relatives, so identification as Bálint Daku of Kipling is likely but not conclusive.
census
[9] 1926 prairie census — Ben Daku household
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Canada, Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, 1926, Saskatchewan, Qu’Appelle electoral district 30, subdistrict 5, Hazelwood Municipality, page 9, dwelling 54, family 54, Ben Daku household; FamilySearch digital folder 105519967, image 373; FamilySearch, Canada, Prairie Provinces, Census, 1926, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP2W-2JB8, accessed 14 July 2026.
Access: FamilySearch index and original schedule image supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- The original schedule records the household head as Ben Daku; 'Baliut' is an index error.
- The family remained on Section 24, Township 12, Range 6, west of the Second Meridian.
- The household included Ben, Barbara, Barbara, Mary, Bálint, József, James, and Frank.
- The record preserves Hungarian and English forms of family names.
- Ben reported immigration in 1903 and naturalization in 1907.
- Barbara’s reported 1900 immigration conflicts with 1902 in the 1916 and 1921 censuses.
oral-history
[10] Family recollections of Bálint Daku
Family memory Back to first citationCitation: Family recollections concerning Bálint Daku, preserved by descendants and related by Davis W. Simpson, 2026; fiftieth-anniversary reenactment based on the firsthand recollection of Davis W. Simpson’s mother, who participated as a child.
Access: Private family information supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- Family memory describes Bálint as a strict disciplinarian who believed in physical punishment.
- Family memory says he left the Presbyterian congregation with others after it ceased providing a Hungarian-speaking minister and attended a Baptist congregation that did.
- A firsthand family recollection says the 1961 fiftieth-anniversary celebration included a reenactment of Bálint and Barbara’s wedding.
- The original informants for the discipline and church stories have not yet been recorded.
newspaper
[11] Ben Daku funeral notice, 1970
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Daku—Ben Daku, Sr.,' funeral notice, The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), 20 August 1970, 29; Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-leader-post-obituary-for-ben-daku-on/201662238/, accessed 14 July 2026.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- Ben died on 18 August 1970, resided at Kipling, and was age 82.
- His funeral was scheduled for 21 August at Bekevar Presbyterian Church, with Rev. B. D. Nagy officiating, followed by burial in Bekevar Cemetery.
- It names his wife Barbara, five daughters, five sons, and brothers Charles and Bert.
- It reports 32 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
newspaper
[12] Ben Daku obituary, The Leader-Post, 31 August 1970
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Daku,' The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), 31 August 1970, 2; Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-leader-post-obituary-for-da-ku-kipli/87723800/, accessed 14 July 2026.
Access: Newspapers.com clipping supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
- Bálint came to the Grenfell district in 1903 and homesteaded in the Kipling district the following year.
- He married Barbara Fónagy at Kipling in 1911 and retired into Kipling in 1949.
- Rev. B. D. Nagy and Alex Daku officiated at the funeral; burial was in the parish cemetery.
- He was predeceased by an infant son and infant daughter.
- It names the ten surviving children, two brothers, 32 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
- The residence given for James conflicts with the 20 August notice.
newspaper
[13] Ben Daku Sr. obituary, unidentified Kipling-area newspaper
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 'Ben Daku, Sr.,' obituary, unidentified newspaper, probably Kipling district, published after 21 August 1970; clipping in the collection of Davis W. Simpson’s mother; digital image supplied by Davis W. Simpson.
Access: Original family-held newspaper clipping scanned from the collection of Davis W. Simpson’s mother.
- Bálint was born at Tisza Bezdéd on 28 November 1887 and died at Kipling Memorial Union Hospital on 18 August 1970.
- He arrived at Grenfell on 3 April 1903 with his parents and brothers, took up a homestead south of Kipling in 1904, and married Barbara Fónagy on 23 February 1911.
- He remained on the farm until 1949 and continued helping with farm work until 1966.
- He served on the Bekevar Presbyterian Church board, a school board, and the Neelby Wheat Pool.
- It names his wife, ten children, two brothers, 32 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
- The newspaper title, issue date, and page are not visible on the clipping.