Metadata: Documents of bankruptcy cases 1839-1848
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Békés County Archives, Gyula
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Békés Megyei Levéltára, Gyula
- Postal address:
- 5700 Gyula, Petőfi tér 2
- Phone number:
- +36 66 362 173
- Web address:
- https://mnl.gov.hu/beml
- Email:
- beml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.10.b
- Title:
- Documents of bankruptcy cases 1839-1848
- Title (official language):
- Csődperek iratai 1839-1848
- Creator/accumulator:
- Békés County Tribunal
- Date(s):
- 1839/1848
- Language:
- Latin
- Hungarian
- German
- Extent:
- 1.26 linear metres (9 boxes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection ‘Documents of bankruptcy cases 1839-1848’ includes the records and documents of bankruptcy proceedings in Békés county. The collection is part of the extensive collection ‘Documents of Békés county tribunal 1715-1848’.
Prior to the implementation of Article 22 of 1840 on bankruptcy courts, bankruptcy cases were considered either criminal or civil issues, and sometimes temporary special courts convened. (Bankruptcy cases can be found among the document files of the congregation of nobilities.) However, from 1840 the Article mentioned above provided for the establishment of a separate bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy court took up its duties in Békés county in 1841.
The collection covers two main groups: records (boxes 1-2) and documents of bankruptcy proceedings (boxes 3-9).
The dates of the source material documents reveal that the collection includes records from 1841 and documents from as early as 1839. The documentation of specific cases can only be complete if the subjects of civil and criminal litigations are also examined in the collection of congregation documents due to the procedural order in the period.
The collection comprises about 113 Jewish-related entries and case files under 11 headings (they do not cover only a single document, but rather an extensive file). The parties of bankruptcy lawsuits are well-known in the business life of the county: traders Mátyás Spiczer (03. 11.1845 No 23., 04. 17. 1845 No 40.), Mózes Fleisch (05. 02. 1845 No 20, 11. 03. 1845 No 35., 27. 09. 1846 No 109.) from Csaba, and Fai family (23 09. 1845 No 1-3, 7.; 17. 09 1846 No 103-106.; 07. 09. 1847 No 173-174.). The lawsuits deal with property loss, business failure and debts. Numerous original petitions written by the members of Jewish society have also survived. On the other hand, in the bankruptcy cases of certain business partners, members of the Jewish society are sometimes the victims and sometimes the witnesses. Bankruptcy cases in 1839-1848 may offer guidance on the portrayal of business relationships in the county and beyond its borders, concerning the economic and social relationships of individuals within the Jewish community and between Jewish and non-Jewish society.
- Archival history:
-
Békés county was re-organised at the beginning of the 18th century, according to Act 92 of 1715. Several settlements served as the location of the congregations of nobilities: Békés, Szeghalom, Füzesgyarmat, Gyula. As a result of reforms under the rule of Joseph II., Békés-Csanád-Csongrád county documents were maintained in Szegvár, the centre of the integrated counties. From here, documents related to Békés county had to be transferred back to the country after 1790. The documents were transferred to Gyula irregularly, where the materials of the three counties were separated by 1799. Csanád county files were taken away, but Csongrád county did not apply for its materials, therefore these documents were transferred back to the Békés county archives in the 20th century. However, a part of the court files was placed in Makó, from where they were transferred to Szeged (where they are available now). Consequently, archival fonds in the Békés county archives comprise mostly criminal cases.
The composition of the archival collection underwent successive changes. After World War I, territorial responsibility developed according to territorial boundaries. In 1945, the village of Elek, and Battonya, Mezőkovácsháza from the Csanád county district were added to the county. The material of the Sarkad district of Bihar county was also included here, as was the material of the truncated Arad county.
The Archives came under state rule in 1950 and then county rule in 1968. Its name today is the Hungarian National Archives, Békés County Archives, Gyula.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The main judicial body of the noble county in the 18-19th century was the sedes judicaria (county tribunal). Except for the period when ’Novus Ordo Judicaria’ was applied during the reign of Joseph II, it was continuous and constant until the middle of the 19th century. As early as the 17th century, it had a separate section on civil and criminal issues. The tribunal for criminal cases separated from the unified judiciary in 1613. However, factual data on the operation of the tribunal in Békés county have only been available since 1715. Initially, the testimonies and resolutions of the judiciary and the administration of justice were recorded in the congregation records of nobilities, which were included in collection IV.A.1.a. Then, starting in the 18th century, separate records dealing with sedes judicaria cases were established. In addition to the minutes, it is common that the documents related to each case were classified as annexes.
Bankruptcy proceedings were considered either as civil or criminal court cases until 1840. Section 22 of the Act of 1840 established the bankruptcy courts. The records survived from the period of 1841-1847.
- Access points: locations:
- Békés
- Békés County
- Csaba
- Access points: persons/families:
- Fleisch, Mózes
- Spiczer, Mátyás
- Subject terms:
- Financial matters--Debt
- Legal matters
- Trade and commerce
- Finding aids:
- The register lists the persons subject to bankruptcy by name. It is available at the archive in hardcopy.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2020