Hungarian Heritage Review, 1989 (18. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1989-01-01 / 1. szám
PRECURSORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: THE ANCESTRY OF JANOS LÁSZLÓ POLERECZKY — By — DR. R. VLADIMIR BAUMGARTEN EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Baumgarten wrote this article while he was still in Hungary doing research for a book about Polereczky. He was a winner of a grant for such purposes with his entry in the International Essay Contest sponsored in 1986 by the Rákóczi Foundation (Canada). Major Janos László Polereczky, a French Hungarian officer, fought with distinction during the American Revolution as part of the Volunteer Legion of the Duc de Lauzun. Major J. L. Polereczky consequently commanded the honor guard of the French cavalry at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781. His older brother, Ferenc András, was a brigadier general of the French hussars. Although Ferenc András was not a direct participant in the American Revolution, he, too, played a certain role. As a member of the French king’s secret ministry under the Duc de Broglie, Ferenc Polereczky visited America as part of a secret mission in the years preceding the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord. He concluded that, with French power already eliminated in North America, it was only a matter of time before the English-speaking colonies turned against the mother country. In the twentieth century, J.L. Polereczky was largely forgotten by American Hungarians and adopted by Slovaks as a folk hero. The Polereczkys were likewise remembered only by a handfull of historians in Hungary as well. Several years ago, the present author began the difficult task of researching and presenting this family’s real history. Brigadier General András Polereczky, father of Janos László and Ferenc András, occupies a respectable amount of space in the French national archives. But this man’s father, Matyas Polereczky, remains a shadowy figure in spite of a daring career as a commander during Rákóczi's 1703-1711 Kurucz war. The present author, currently researching the family papers in Budapest, has witnessed additional material concerning Matyas and his ancestors. The current article addresses itself to these precursors of the Age of Revolution. Since the Polereczky family originated in Upper Hungary, it became convenient to identify its members as Slovaks. The present-day Slovak village of Polerieka draws its name from the chalk pits in the vicinity. But the family draws its name from the Magyar form, Polereka, and was first ennobled by Bela IV in the thirteenth century. In 1262 a certain Albert fia András (Andrew son of Albert) was knighted for his role in overthrowing German knights who had usurped control of Thurocz (today Turiec) county. He was henceforth known as Polerekai András. In the fourteenth century a certain Polerekai László accompanied the Hungarian princess Hedwig to Poland as her bodyguard for the most famous wedding of the century. Hedwig became known as Jadwiga in Poland, and her marriage to Prince Jagiello of Lithuania lay the foundation of the Polish Commonwealth. László likewise married in Poland, and after his grandson returned to Upper Hungary the family spelled its name in the Polish manner: Polereczky. The next Polereczky of note was Peter (born approximately 1598), and there is a legend surrounding him. This Peter had two sons, Illés and Jakab, each of whom had a son named Matyas. The latter Matyas had among his sons one named Adam, who later became a Lutheran minister of some note. This Adam Polereczky, a cousin of the famous French branch of the family, wrote in 1766: “I am 60 years old. I did not know my father. I knew my grandfather Jakab, who was town clerk of Mossocz (Mosovce). The grandfather of my father was very strong, without fear. He would hunt bears sometimes with a rifle, sometimes with only an axe.” According to Adam, old Peter fired a shot at an eagle passing overhead, and the shot landed in the hayloft of his barn in Polereka, causing a fire. If the fire was accidental, why then did Peter (as Adam himself admitted) take to flight? It must be noted here that the barn was no longer his: the Polereczkys were Lutheran, and their property had been confiscated by the Jesuits in the wake of the Catholic Counterreformation. Another document states that Peter deliberately burned the barn as an act directed against the expropriators. Peter thereafter became a hajdú, one of JANUARY 1989 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 15
