Fraternity-Testvériség, 1995 (73. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1995-04-01 / 2-3. szám
Page 8 TESTVÉRISÉG ALBUM of OUR FOUNDING FATHERS C4s we approach the 100th anniversary of our Federation, we turn our attention to two of our founding fathers, who, in the turn of the century, helped to build and form the Federation, and lived-up to their reputation of “great” fraternalists of their time. EMIL NYITRAY Although Nyitray came from a Jewish background, it did not stop him from joining Hungarians of the Reformed faith to organize and establish the First Reformed Church in New York City in 1895. The Charter of the newly- formed church stipulated that any person of Hungarian descent, firmly believing in the noble cause of the church, could become a member of the congregation, regardless of the person’s religious background. It was also understood that any member of the congregation could serve as officer. In other words, the Reformed Church in New York City was not organized on strictly religious principles, but also on ethnic adherence. It is not surprising that in due time the Charter created friction within the leadership of the church, and Nyitray’s role as one of its leaders was affected. However, this does not mean that Nyitray did not continue supporting the church throughout its formative years. Nyitray immigrated to America from Ungvar, Ung County in Hungary. He belonged to those pioneers who believed that they would soon be followed to America by many of their countrymen. And indeed many did follow, among those were: Markus Braun who served in the Cabinet of Teddy Roosevelt as Immigration Commissioner; Keszler called “the Whiskey King”; Samuel Koenig whose son became the first Interior Secretary of the State of New York; Neuman, a successful tobacco industrialist, and Deutsch, a very successful banker on Houston Street in New York City. We do not know how Nyitray made his first dollars, but we do know that in 1880 he had a very successful supply house in New York City selling his goods to businessmen and peddlers. By 1907 his annual gross income was approximately a quarter million dollars. His store imported and sold close to 200,000 prayer books (in Hungarian and Slovak languages); 600,000 year books (the Hungarian Almanac), and two million “small Biro- type novels” annually. A large number of the books, which he imported from Europe, were sold to Hungarian immigrants, who in turn sent them back as gifts to family members and friends in Hungary. Because of his successful business, Nyitray was able to accumulate considerable wealth. He returned to Hungary with his family where he acquired an estate. However, he no longer felt himself at ease in his native land, and his teenage children threatened to leave him and flee the country. Thereupon Nyitray set sail again and returned to America with his family. Once back in this country, he realized that the increasing Hungarian population in America would eventually need Hungarian institutions and newspapers to advance their social and cultural needs. Although Nyitray never published newspapers, he supported all the fledging Hungarian papers with generous donations, thus helping them to survive the most crucial years. Nyitray was instrumental in starting the Magyar Nemzetőr and the Amerikai Népszava. After his death in 1906, his son continued to support the Népszava for a short while; however, his widow and children slowly turned their backs on the ethnic Hungarian community and stopped supporting the papers that Nyitray was so proud of helping. From the records that Nyitray left behind, it is proven that he donated approx. $8,000 annually to Hungarian newspapers and other altruistic purposes over the years. This was a large sum of money in the days when a room could be rented for a dollar a week, and a delicious lunch could be bought for fifteen cents. Nyitray served as President of the Federation from 1896 to 1899. The Convention in 1899 in Pittsburgh passed a resolution stipulating that only those bom into the Reformed faith were eligible for the Presidency of the Federation. This induced Nyitray not to accept the nomination for the position. GYÖRGY BANDRÉ Bandré belonged to the first generation of Hungarian immigrants, who were to become the great fratemalists of their time. Their goal was to establish Hungarian institutions among the ethnic Hungarians in America to serve their basic needs.
