Gilicze János: A földeáki Návay család története (Régi magyar családok 5. Debrecen, 2006)
Abstract
compromise he laid down his arm', he never gave up his liberal beliefs and never became a subservient dummy of the regime. During his term in office, Tamás Návay got in contact with Baron József Eötvös, who made his mark as a writer, a reform politician and a statesman alike. Thus, it is no mere coincidence that his son, Lajos (1842-1905) married Baroness Ilona Eötvös, József Eötvös's daughter. At the end of the 19 th century and the beginning of the 20 th century many of the Návays worked for the county, but there were also mining engineers, sailors, bank clerks, secretaries of public endowment, mercenary soldiers and civil servants among them, while others managed their smaller or bigger lands. The most prominent figure of the family was perhaps Lajos Návay (1870-1919), who after obtaining his doctorate in political sciences in 1892, worked for Csanád County as an honorary deputy clerk. The educated young man's career was progressing swiftly, in 1897 he became county clerk and in 1901 he reached the highest county office, as he was elected the sub-prefect of the general assembly. He served in this office until 1905, when he was elected to be a parliamentary representative. Between 1906 and 1909 Lajos Návay served as one of the vice-presidents of the Hungarian Parliament. In the 1905-1906 constitutional fights, he acted as one of the leaders of the county opposition. In 1910 he became the parliamentary representative of Temesvár [Timisoara], and a year later he was elected to be the president of the parliament. He wrote essays on domestic affairs and social issues, which earned him fame and success. His role in national politics is marked by the fact that on several occasions he was nominated for the position of minister of domestic affairs and also for prime minister. During the years of war, as a ministerial commissioner, he was responsible for maintenance of food supply in the county, and for his efforts he was awarded the First Class Civilian Cross of Distinction. After the fall, he gave his last speech in January 1919 at the session of the administrative committee. In his speech he emphasised his deepest worries concerning the current affairs. After the sanguinary events on 23 rd April 1919 in Makó, hearing the news of retaliation, several people asked him to leave Földeák and travel to Budapest. He refused to go and stayed in his castle in Óföldeák. He was carried off from there by the terror soldiers of the commune on the night of 27 th April 1919 and, with his cousin, Iván Návay they were placed on the 'death train' transporting other hostages from Makó as well. The Návay brothers met their fate at the Kiskunfélegyháza railway station on 29 th April, where they were killed with brutality together with Béla Kiss, city clerk of Szentes. After the war and foreign occupation, the members of the Návay family lived a secluded life in their lands in Földeák. Many of them were known to be generous and helpful and they contributed to charity work significantly. They helped in other ways as well, e.g. in Óföldeák, to foster the spiritual life of the community, they had the church rebuilt in 1924 based on the plans of László Návay and with the financial support of the family.
