Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1998 (15. évfolyam, 51-54. szám)
1998 / 51-52. szám
BOOKS (Continued) tion research in Hungary. Grouped according to topics the Yearbook includes 13 studies, lust mentioning a few: "Spatial Aspects of the Refugee Issue in Hungary" by Zoltán Dövényi, “Changing Trends, Enduring Questions Regarding Refugee Law in Central Europe," by Boldizsár Nagy. Mária Rédei's report "Internal Brain Drain" describes the recent employment practices of multinational companies in Hungary. Agnes Hárs' article " Migration and the Labor Market" and Zoltán A. Biro’s "The Socio-Cultural Bases of the Migration Process in Eastern Transylvania, 1985-1989.“ He is interested in the social processes that regulate emigration and analyzes the phenomenon via the methods of cultural anthropology. Julianna Puskás McGuire, lames Patrick: THE HUNGARIAN TEXANS . The University of Texas. Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio, 1993. pp 312. This study of the history of Hungarians in Texas was begun during the summer of 1985 at the Institute of Texan Cultures. No attempt had been made to write a history of the Hungarians in Texas prior to that date. Identifying individual Hungarian pioneers involved combing through community, church, county, city, and Texas histories as well as the existing literature on Hungarian Americans in both English and Hungarian. Further, word-of-mouth identification of previously unknown individuals in our history proved helpful. All areas of the state of Texas were searched for Hungarians. The Hungarian Texans is the story of successive migrations of a proud and strong willed people from their homes in the multi-ethnic environs of eastern Europe to Texas-another strongly multiethnic locale. More than nine years in the making, the book chronicles the historical circumstances of the 19th and 20th centuries which influenced the migration, as well as the experiences and accomplishments of many who found a hospitable home in the American Southwest. The Hungarian research files at the institute of Texan Cultures are available to scholars and the general public. Additional information will be added in the future as more data becomes available or is discovered in dusty attics and archives. Photograph negatives of historical Hungarian pioneers and their Texas descendants are also maintained for future use. Julianna Puskás ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY ALBUM. HUNGARIAN REFORMED FEDERATION OF AMERICA, 1896-1996. Ed. George Dózsa. Published by the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, Washington D.C. 1996, pp.336. The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America celebrated one hundred years of service to the Hungarian American community in 1996. On this occasion a collection of descriptive historical documents and some 200 pictures were published in the book. As much as possible in this Anniversary Album history was allowed to speak for itself through pictures and writings of the founders, leaders and members of the Federation. The valuable photographs included in this album come from the collection and the historic publications housed at the Bethlen Museum and Archives. Hopefully they will inspire the members and non-members alike to take the accomplishments of the ancestors as a guide to how one can adapt to the changing times and they will strive to assure that the Federation and the spirit of the founding one hundred years ago will continue to flourish in years to come. Julianna Puskás RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES Hungarians in the Ellis Island Database We cannot stress enough the importance of up-to-date and dependable studies on the history of our people, particularly as it relates to the issues of migration. We must identify, collect and analyze all documents, sources and publications that can provide us with a more precise and historically accurate picture. In light of the above it gives me great satisfaction to inform the readers of the Newsletter about the latest research opportunities for accessing historical sources via modern technology and methods. I would like to familiarize our readers with the passenger lists of the major shipping companies. The older generation of immigrants surely remember the battery of questions they had to answer on board ship as well as on their arrival on Ellis Island. The information collected from each passenger is an invaluable historical resource. It includes a rich storehouse of data about the demographic and sociological profile of immigrants coming to the United States. This is evident even from the questions that had to be answered: What is your name, age, sex? Are you single or married? Where are you from? When did you leave? Did you leave alone or with your family? Did you leave your village as a group or as an individual? What was your port of departure and where did you arrive? Who paid for the steamship ticket? Where/who is your destination in the United States? What is your occupation and how much money do you have? Researchers began to discover the value of these passenger lists for immigration studies in the 1960s. (Some of this research is presented by Robert P. Swierenga, "List Upon List: The Passenger Records and Immigration Research," Journal of American Ethnic History (1991) vol. 10, pp. 342-53.) For many years now the Immigration History Research Institute of Temple University in Philadelphia has been adding the passenger lists to its database on immigration. The director of this program IN MEMÓRIÁM Albert Wass De Czege Paul )onas (Czegei Wass Albert) (Jónás Pál) Peter Hanák Paul Kovi (Hanák Péter) (Kövi Pál) Louis Vincze Alexander Kasza-Kasser (Vincze Lajos) (Kasza-Kasser Sándor) NO. 51-52, SPRING-SUMMER, 1998, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 9
