Szirmay Gábor: A szirmai és szirmabesnyői Szirmay család története (Régi magyar családok 4. Debrecen, 2005)
Abstract
According to another theory, both the Ugocsa County Szirmays and the Borsod County Szirmays got their name after the villages called Szirma in their respective counties. The Borsod County Szirmays, after the predicate received from Leopold I, used the title of nobiliy szirmai és szirmabesenyői [of Szirma and Szirmabesenyő]. In other branches of the family, the titles of nobility cserneki és szirmabesenyői [of Csernek and Szirmabesenyő] and tolcsvai és erdőbényei [of Tolcsva and Erdőbénye]. The Ugocsa line used the title szirmai Szirmay [Szirmay of Szirma]. The Middle Ages in Hungary were marked by Christian religious piety, in which the members of the noble class were always in the front ranks. The Catholic devotion of the Szirmay family is testified by the texts of several certificates and diplomas, related to the issues of holding church offices, entering the priesthood, and constructing church buildings. The spreading of Protestantism begin in Hungary in the 16 lh century. The Szirmays were also among the ranks of nobility supporting the issue of Reformation. The Borsod County Szirmays who also settled in Zemplén County founded the Confessionist Evangelical Church in Pazdics in the 1600s, following which they participated in governing the church by holding various offices in it up until the 1900s. Among the members of the Borsod County Szirmays, it was István who first converted from the Protestant faith to Catholicism in 1685. The descendants of István (who was the first member bearing the title of count) were all Catholics, until the branch died out in 1983. József Szirmay (the great-great-grandfather of the author of this collection) was also registered as a Catholic in 1811, and this branch continues to be Catholic to the present day. The rest of the branches of the family belong to the evangelical denomination. The majority of the Ugocsa County Szirmays are Calvinists. According to the testimony of the patents, documents, and last wills in the archives, culture, learning, and education were at lest as important as religious matters, the expert management and enrichment of their landed properties, and active participation in the political and military life of their country. From the end of the 1600s to the end of the 1800s, several Szirmays pursued their studies at universities abroad. The foundation and support of academic institutions, the establishment of academic scholarships, and the donation of libraries are all manifestations of the commitment of the Szirmays to the advancement of culture, just as the political, economic, and scholarly/scientific books written by them. The condition and development of the economy of Hungary was determined by the contemporary members of the landed noble class all through the history of our country up to the beginning of the 20 th century. The Borsod County Szirmays were busy participating in this process, too. Their first landed property in Borsod County was the village of Szirma and its environs as of 1260. There are quite a number of patents and economic documents extant to us, giving an account of the thorough, conscientious, and expert management of their landed properties. As a result of this activity, the Szirmays acquired significant wealth and new pieces of land in Zemplén, Sáros, Abaúj, and Ung Counties. The properties of the Ugocsa Szirmays were located in Ugocsa County, in setllements called Bökény, Dabolc, Mátyásfalva, Péterfalva, Sásvár, Szirma, and Tiszaújlak. The paintings and pictures of Szirmay castles built at various locations on the territory of Hungary before WWI and
