Arrabona - Múzeumi közlemények 40/1-2. (Győr, 2002)

Kossuth tanulmányok - Hegedüs Zoltán: Adalékok a Meszlényi család történetéhez

ARRABONA40.2002. TANULMÁNYOK Zoltán Hegedűs: Additional data to the history of the Meszlenyis It is a well known fact that the wife of Lajos Kossuth, Terézia Meszlényi was born in Győr in the summer of 1809. Starting from this, the present paper publishes sources - available in Győr - which refer to the gentle family of the Meszlenyis. Most of these sources come from the legal archives of the cathedral chapter, and the rest can be found from the archives of Győr county. The scope of the published sources range from the end of the 16

f century to the middle of the 19 century, and they refer to many of the family members. Most of the references are to János Meszlényi who collected a considerable fortune in the first three decades of the 18

l century, and also took an active part in the public life of Győr and Fejér Counties. The second half of the present paper deals with introduction of Kossuth and his later wife, their wedding in January 1841, and the questions raised by this marriage from the point of view of the difference of religion, preferably with the help of data from first hand information (the correspondence of Kossuth, contemporary memoirs). Owing to the few sources, the paper deals with the public role of the closer family circle of Terézia Meszlényi only in short. As a closure, the paper mentions another family relationship between the two families: the marriage of Terézia's younger brother, Rudolf to Zsuzsanna, the youngest sister of Kossuth. 395