Metadata: Documents of general and partial congregations 1723-1786
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Csongrád County Archives, Szentes
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Csongrád Megyei Levéltára, Szentes
- Postal address:
- 6600 Szentes, Kossuth tér 1
- Phone number:
- +36 63 562 425
- Web address:
- https://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/csml/mnl_csml_szentes
- Email:
- szentes.csml@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.1.b
- Title:
- Documents of general and partial congregations 1723-1786
- Title (official language):
- Közgyűlési és kisgyűlési iratok 1723-1786
- Creator/accumulator:
- Csongrád County
- Date(s):
- 1723/1786
- Language:
- Latin
- Hungarian
- German
- Extent:
- 9.26 linear metres (80 boxes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection ‘Documents of general and partial congregations 1723-1786’ comprises the records and documents of general and partial congregations of nobilities in Csongrád county. The collection is part of the extensive collection of ‘Documents 1600(1723-1786)1848 of the congregation of nobilities in Csongrád county’.
In 1723 the re-organised Csongrád county held its first congregation in modern times. The Treasury Prefect in Szeged handed over the documents to the sub-prefect (only a dozen of documents). The characteristic feature of the congregation documents is that the collection collected in fasciculi includes the copies of the records as well. Thus, collection ‘b’ plays a key role in assisting research on the records and supplements collection ‘a’. Both the records and the accompanying documents are incomplete. The records include notes concerning both administrative issues and court cases. The collection is rich and covers a wide range of topics, including documents sent by government bodies, other municipalities, their county administrative bodies or private individuals: transcripts, transliterations, drafts, proposals or their modifications, referrals, commands from emissaries, lists of tax assessments, correspondence with other counties, orders or prohibitions. General congregations were held quarterly, and partial congregations once or twice a month. The documents deal with the following: economic issues, bankruptcy proceedings, farming leases, auctions, taverns, quarantine implemented by the judge, disrespect, emigration and immigration, runaways, their descriptions, meat sales, school, matters of horses, the military, recruits, felonies, beatings, manslaughter, swearing, tax arrears, thieves, factories, guilds, naturalisation, agriculture, invalidation of debts, wildfire, wood sales, military uniforms, travel documents, Jewish-related matters, re-acquisition of the right of ownership, nobility issues, obligations of feudal tenants, religious issues, cemetery, books and printings. The documents were written mainly in Latin and Hungarian.
The collection does not exclusively comprise Jewish-related documents. The sources in the collection are not maintained sequentially. Documents referring to the Jews are available under heading 106. The first document in the collection is from 23 July 1727 (No. II. 7.) and discusses the escape of Jacobus Ascherle. These entries are similar to the other records and document types; they comprise petitions, reports, transcripts, transliterations, orders and prohibitions of national government bodies (Council of Governor-General, Chancellery, county administration) and private individuals. The remaining documents are very diverse: petitions for settlement, warrants of caption for escapees, search for foreign escapees, farming leases contracted with landlords and lawsuits related to them, contracts, debt certificates, business relationships with the members of the local community and also with the county, commercial activities (peddling, small and wholesale trading), handicraft trade, cowhide purchase, conflicts with guilds, schedules for debt payment or collection, crimes where victims could also be the perpetrators, horse theft, murders, use of fake money, taxes imposed on Jewish citizens, rate of tolerance tax, the volume and recovery of arrears, issues of inheritance, religious affairs (the beard in order of Joseph II, 1 July 1783 XXXIX. No. 34.), community cases, issues of conversion, conversion, press, the Jewish language and census. The material presents the cases of individuals, primarily men.
Most of the documents comprise scattered data related to certain individuals. However, the lives or business activities of some people are traceable over this period: Alexander Österreicher is continuously present in the sources from 1759 to 1764 (22 02 1759 XVII. No. 11.; 08 08 1761 XVIII. No. 14.; 15 05 1764 XX. No. 6.) Geographically speaking, the period of this collection can be regarded as the initial phase of settlement by the Jewish population (formerly battles were fought here against Turkish troops). The records mostly concern Jews in Hódmezővásárhely and Szentes. At the national level, they also reflect their relationships with the Jewish population in Óbuda, Pécs and Makó. The documents were written mainly in Latin and Hungarian.
- Archival history:
- The historical archives of Csongrád county were destroyed during the siege of Fülek Castle (1682). In 1723 the county archives were reorganised. Subsequently, for half a century, the documents produced in the meantime were kept in the county house rented in Szeged. From there, the documents necessary for the administration were transferred to the officials and/or remained with them. In addition, documents were transported in boxes to congregation meetings and court trials. In 1767 Szegvár became the new seat of Csongrád county; therefore the archives moved here. In 1786 Szegvár also became the seat of Békés-Csanád-Csongrád counties. In 1790, following the restoration of autonomy in the three counties, the papers were sorted by the scope of jurisdiction. In 1794 the archivist in Csongrád county began the categorisation of documents. In 1858 the archives of Csongrád county were retransferred to Szeged. However, in April 1861, the material was returned to Szegvár. In 1878 Szentes became the seat of Csongrád county. In 1884, the location of the records was designated in the Szentes county hall. In 1950, after the nationalisation of the archives, two archives were established in Csongrád county, with headquarters in Szeged and Szentes. After 1968, county councils became responsible for supervising the archives. In 1973, the Szeged Archives of the Executive Committee of Csongrád County Council became the main archive in the county. Szentes became the place where the documents belonging to its collection circle were kept in the branch archive. To this day the feudal records of Csongrád county material are maintained by the Csongrád County Archives, Szentes in the county hall.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The medieval archives in Csongrád county archives were destroyed in the siege of Fülek castle. Some documents were transferred from the chamber to the county in 1723, and then the number of documents increased steadily. Initially, the documents were managed by the notary. The first regestrum is dated in the years after 1743. The records and documents were arranged into fascisculi. In 1794 András Koleda arranged, listed and indexed the collection of documents.
- Access points: locations:
- Csongrád County
- Hódmezővásárhely
- Szentes
- Access points: persons/families:
- Ascherle, Jacobus
- Österreicher, Alexander
- System of arrangement:
-
From 1723 to 1786, general congregation records were collected in 23 volumes in the collection. The documents in question were attached to the original records drawn up in general and partial congregations. The records are often incomplete, several cases discussed were left out [this becomes clear after studying the remaining documents]. Copies and fair copies of the original records were prepared. Prothocollum minus is the copy of the original records, whereas prothocollum maius included the copies of documents.
Serial numbers were not assigned to subjects (nor to the documents) in the records until 1751. Following systematisation in 1790, the points of the original records and their attachments were marked with restarting serial numbers. The documents of the collection were often placed before others and these are not indicated in handbooks. Therefore, the seemingly missing documents may be available elsewhere in the collection (with a little luck). The documents can be found after the copies of the records at the beginning of each year, according to the numbering of fasciculi.
- Finding aids:
- There are 5 handbooks in collection IV.A.1.a, with mixed, alphabetical indices. However, the fact that the documents were placed before other ones in the process of classification complicates efforts to find them and the handbooks provide no indications on this.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2020