Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2000-03-01 / 7. szám

It's the Survivors Who Rebuild!

by Vic Berecz

Neighbors in New Hampshire proudly proclaim, Live Free or Die. Martyrdom is a great symbolic act. But, I’d like to recount the story of a survivor. With it, I hope to convince you that progress is driven by the living — that it’s the survivors who are presented with the opportunity to rebuild a natioa

That survivor is József Osztróvszky, my great-great-grandfather. My mother in New York, because her father had died young and they had no contact with relatives in Hungary, knew very little about her ancestors. She knew only that her Heszlényi grandfather was bom in Szeged, and that his wife was named Mária Osztróvszky. She also knew that her father had been orphaned at age five, and was brought up by his grandfather and his aunt Vilma. She knew nothing else about the family. It was not until recent years, when I began investigating my Roots in Hungary — and when I had some luck on the Internet — that I became aware of all that was happening in 1849, when my greatgrandmother Mária was bom.

József Osztróvszky was bom in 1818 in Szeged. He was the son of a prosperous butcher. Like all the wealthier Roman Catholic residents of Szeged, József attended the Piarist Academy. He went on to study law in Pozsony, where he served as an aide to a member of the 1839-40

József Osztróvszky in 1861. Also his signature on a document of the time

national assembly. This was the Diet which instituted Hungary’s first liberal reforms. After receiving his diploma, József returned to the city of his birth to open a law practice.

His father, also named József, was an outstanding businessman in the meat industry. He was also involved in civic affairs. He first met István Széchenyi in

July 13, 1848 opening of first representative Parliament in Pest

1833. He was so influenced by this liberal leader and dynamo of Hungarian progress that he dedicated his later life to broad civic interests. In the 1830’s and 1840’s the elder Osztróvszky was a founder of the Szeged Savings Bank, a casino board member, and managing superintendent of the Szeged hospital. By the way, Széchenyi’s accounts show that he presented a silver watch to that “Szeged butcher” — so apparently the positive impression was mutual.

Osztróvszky and his father were major players in the politics and public affairs of Szeged in the 1840’s. Politically, the younger József remained a follower of Széchenyi and Ferenc Deák throughout his life — with one short deviation that we

Osztróvszky’s wife Leopoldina Palásty in 1868

will note later. In 1846, the Osztróvszky’s, among others, formally established the Liberal Party of Szeged. From then onward, law and liberal politics were the central focus of my ancestor’s life.

In early 1848, the thirty-year old Osztróvszky was elected leader of the Szeged city council, and on July 2 was one of 415 members elected to Hungary’s new, representative Parliament. He was one of the few middle-class citizens to be elected to that Parliament. When the military situation forced the Parliament to move from Pest to Debrecen, Osztróvszky went along.

As the Parliament became more radical, advocating total independence and

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