Terezia Leabu and Nicolae Boia

Terezia Leabu was born on 10 Jul 1892 in the village of Netotu, Transylvania. The village, now called Gura Vaii, is located about seven miles from the larger town of Fagaras, up in the Transylvanian Alps in what is now Brasov county, Romania. Her father, George Leabu, may have been a constable or mayor. She had two sisters, Maria and Zenovia. Terezia's mother, Eva Nimereiti, is said to have died at a young age. George may have been married three or even four times, possibly producing children by several of his wives.

Terezia was probably living in Bucharest by 1915, working as a housekeeper. On 07 Jan 1916, she gave birth to a son, John. She worked for the Romanian Red Cross in Bucharest during World War I.

Nick Boia was born in the town of Palos, Transylvania, probably on 06 December 1892. At the age of 19, he immigrated to the United States, aboard the French Line steamer La Bretagne, departing Le Havre, France, on 16 March 1912, arriving in New York on 27 March. The ship's passenger list (NARA Microfilm T-715, Roll 1826) identifies him as "Nicolae Baia," a Roumanian workman, five feet six inches tall, with thirty dollars to his name. He was going to join his cousin, Petru Stancin, in Newark, Ohio. The online database for Ellis Island lists him as Nicolas Bain.

According to the 1920 U.S. Census, Nick was then 27 years old and living at a boarding house in Yorkville, Ohio, where he worked as a "catcher" at a "hot mill." This would be the Yorkville Works steel mill operated by the Wheeling Steel Corporation. Several other Romanian men also lived at the boarding house and worked at the steel mill.

Immigration from Romania to the U.S. was halted because of the war. On 04 June 1920, Transylvania was given to Romania by the Treaty of Trianon, which dismembered the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the war. Romanians again began to head for the New World.

At age 28, Terezia, with her five-year-old son, John Leabu, left the port of Trieste aboard the British steamer S. S. Calabria on 25 January 1921. The ship stopped at Patras, Greece on 30 Jan, Gibraltar on 06 Feb, and arrived at New York on 22 February 1921. The ship's passenger list (NARA Microfilm T-715, roll 2936) lists a relative and residence in the old country: "FATHER GEORGI LEABU FOGARAS COMUNA NETATA" and final destination as "OHIO MARTINS FERY".

The person she was going to join was listed as: "BROTHER VICTOR LEABU MAIN STR 613 MARTINS FERY OHIO." Victor probably paid for their passage and/or sent them the money to travel. Terezia and John had $90 between them upon arrival, which probably got them from New York to Martins Ferry. Terezia moved in with Victor and his family in Martins Ferry, Ohio, just a few miles south of Yorkville, and across the river from Wheeling, West Virginia. (We know that George Leabu was Victor Leabu's father, but at this time we are unsure of the identity of Victor's mother.)

Within a very short period of time, Terezia Leabu met Nick Boia. They were married on 19 Nov 1921 by the Rev. Charles A. Mulhearn, probably at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Martins Ferry. (Interestingly, the civil record of their marriage was kept in the Ohio County Courthouse in Wheeling, West Virginia, just across the river. John Leabu was given the Boia family surname, and became known as John Nicholas Boia. Terezia Leabu became Teresa Boia.

This unusual photograph shows the funeral attendance of a woman named "Eugenia" or "Eugenea." At left are Nick and Teresa Boia; standing above them is Victor Leabu. (These two old photographs had been in the possession of Victor Leabu's step-daughter Zinovia, who recently passed away. I am deeply grateful to her family for sending them to me.)

Eugenia Bontea Recent investigation has yielded the identity of the deceased woman. She was Eugenie ("Jenny") Bontea, married to Joseph Bontea, who is standing directly behind Teresa and directly in front of Victor Leabu in the photo. She died of lobar pneumonia in Canton, Ohio, on 15 Dec 1927, and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery on 17 Dec. The church was probably St. George Romanian Orthodox Church in Canton, Ohio. Jenny's death certificate, obtained from the Ohio Historical Society, names her parents as Geo. and Eva "Lebeau," probably the same as Terezia's parents, so Jenny was Terezia's full sister.

Soon after Victor Leabu died in Follansbee WV in 1940, his family resettled near Detroit. Around 1942, Nick and Teresa moved to Baltimore. Nick ultimately worked for the Baltimore City Electrical Dept. and Teresa worked for the Crosse & Blackwell Co.

Nick and Teresa both died in 1975. They were buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore, MD. The birth dates engraved on the headstone are probably not correct. The dates mentioned above are taken from their SS-5 (Application for Social Security) forms. (John N. Boia died in 1974.)

Teresa's sisters Maria and Zenovia both died in 1985, about six months apart, and they are buried in a cemetery in Gura Vaii. There are descendants of Maria Leabu, my distant cousins, currently living in Romania today.

Last updated 08/25/2004. Go back to the Boia Genealogy page.