Although he was a Pole, he fought in the unsuccessful 1848-1849 War of Liberation in Hungary which was led by the charismatic Lajos Kossuth against the ruling Hapsburg dynasty. He was awarded a rank of Major in the Hungarian army and became aide-de-camp to Kossuth. When the war was lost he fled with Lajos Kossuth to Widden, Turkey and was placed under the protection of the Ottoman Empire, but was treated more like a prisoner of war by the Turks than as an excile. He was offered a position as an officer in the Turkish army, but only on the condition that he give up his Christian faith which he refused to do. He escaped from the Turks and made his way to England where he boarded the steamer Washington for the United States arriving in New York on July 4, 1850. He was the nephew of Count Henry Dembinski, a general in the Polish army who came to the aid of Kossuth. Theodor's first wife was Louise Dadiani [Luisa, Countess Dembinsky a.k.a. Luisa Rombauer] married at Temeswar, Hungary. His second wife was Emilie Marie Sophie Hogl. She was the daughter of a prosperous merchant.
Although he was a Pole, he fought in the unsuccessful 1848-1849 War of Liberation in Hungary which was led by the charismatic Lajos Kossuth against the ruling Hapsburg dynasty. He was awarded a rank of Major in the Hungarian army and became aide-de-camp to Kossuth. When the war was lost he fled with Lajos Kossuth to Widden, Turkey and was placed under the protection of the Ottoman Empire, but was treated more like a prisoner of war by the Turks than as an excile. He was offered a position as an officer in the Turkish army, but only on the condition that he give up his Christian faith which he refused to do. He escaped from the Turks and made his way to England where he boarded the steamer Washington for the United States arriving in New York on July 4, 1850. He was the nephew of Count Henry Dembinski, a general in the Polish army who came to the aid of Kossuth. Theodor's first wife was Louise Dadiani [Luisa, Countess Dembinsky a.k.a. Luisa Rombauer] married at Temeswar, Hungary. His second wife was Emilie Marie Sophie Hogl. She was the daughter of a prosperous merchant.
Advertisement
Advertisement
