Metadata: Civil Court Records 1781, 1786-1850
Collection
- Country:
- Hungary
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Hungary, Hajdú-Bihar County Archives, Hajdúböszörmény
- Holding institution (official language):
- Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Hajdú-Bihar Megyei Levéltára, Hajdúböszörmény
- Postal address:
- 4220 Hajdúböszörmény, Dorogi u. 5
- Phone number:
- +36 30 636 7974
- Web address:
- http://mnl.gov.hu/hajduboszormenyi_fiokleveltar
- Email:
- hajduboszormeny@mnl.gov.hu
- Reference number:
- IV.A.505.a
- Title:
- Civil Court Records 1781, 1786-1850
- Title (official language):
- Polgári perek jegyzőkönyvei, 1781, 1786-1850
- Creator/accumulator:
- Hajdú District
- Date(s):
- 1781/1850
- Date note:
- 1781/1786/1850
- Language:
- Latin
- Hungarian
- Extent:
- 0.4 linear metres (5 volumes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The 'Civil Court Records 1781, 1786-1850' collection comprises records of cases handled by the civil court of the Hajdú District. The collection is part of the extensive collection of 'Court documents of the Hajdú District'.
The collection covers the records of the district in five volumes. The time pattern was used as a result of the gradual separation of civil and criminal cases and reforms under the rule of Joseph II. (missing years). In fact, the records became completely available for research purposes after 1788.
The subject matters of the general congregations include the following issues: leaseholders’ lawsuits, cases related to territories, debts, civil lawsuits involving noblemen (successions, pledge, property ownership, inventory, testaments, financial situations); appointment to the nobility, its certification, divorces, cases of infidelity, rents or duties, abuse or misuse, transport, takeover, credit associations, bankruptcy cases. The subject matters of criminal cases recorded here are the following: horse or cattle theft, highway robbery, robbery, manslaughter, adultery, infidelity, despotism and discord among noblemen. The civil and criminal cases cannot be separated. The colourfulness of the criminal proceedings highlights the internal context of the period, the system of relationships among social groups and against one another, the aspects of social life and the situation of individuals living in the concerned society. The records were numbered according to the dates of sessions. The documents were written mainly in Latin and Hungarian.
The collection does not handle the Jewish-related documents separately. The relevant documents available under about 98 record numbers. The first entry in the period is dated in 1788, the case of Fischer Henricus (1788. p.1. No 376 1332.). The date is especially notable as settlement of Jews was almost banned in Hajdú District towns in the related period. However, business activities were carried out in spite of all restrictions. Most of the records are available from the 1820s onwards, that is, from the settlement of the Jewish population in the district.
The records of the collection comprise not only civil court cases, but entries within the jurisdiction of the criminal court, as boundaries between them were blurred in this period. Most of them address individual cases. The source file shows the Jews in various types of roles: victims (robbery, beatings and despotism), offenders (possession of stolen property, theft, and incitement), partners in contracts (farming leases, parties to business transactions, suppliers). The Jewish-related records are usually brief and concise, often written down in 1-2 sentences, or in some cases slightly longer, amounting to one page. The records highlight the economic and cultural aspects of relationships within the Jewish community and with the non-Jewish society. The material primarily addresses the cases of the Jews in the Hajdú District, but records concerning nationwide business relations may emerge occasionally. As for their geographical distribution, the records of the Hajdú District reveal that those of Szoboszló, Nánás and Böszörmény were precisely kept, while it was not typical of Dorog and Vámospércs. In addition to the introduction of the social-economic relationships of individuals, these records also present the powerful players of local economy: Hajdúszoboszló – Fischbein family, Hajdúnánás – Fried Family (the lines of these families were economically successful in Hajdúböszörmény and Hajdúdorog as well), Harstein and Spitz families in Hajdúdorog, where local authorities intervened in their discord.
- Archival history:
- Hajdú District - Districtus Haidonicalis - was established at the end of the 17th century and was responsible for the representation and administration of the area. The archives in the district has maintained certificates and legal documents since 1605. The first records mentioning the archives date back to 1688, when the documents were kept in a small room in Hajdúböszörmény. The privileges of hajduk and the related records are kept in a box in the castle of Kálló. Other relevant documents were maintained by the captain of the district and the county notary. In 1776 the Council of Governor-General ordered the construction of the archives. In 1808 the collection was transferred to the district hall. In 1876 the archives of Hajdú-Bihar County was established (pursuant to Article XXXIII). The events of World War II posed a threat to the collection of documents, therefore the collection was hidden in the Trans-Danubian region at the end of the war. Consequently, part of the documents was destroyed and/or mixed. The administrative unification of Bihar and Hajdú counties affected the history of the archives. In 1950 the Bihar County archives was transferred to Debrecen and included in the archival documents of Hajdú County. It has developed into the Hajdú-Bihar County Archives, and Debrecen became the centre. In 1968, following the period of the “state history” the documents were returned to the relevant counties. In case of documents from the feudal era in Hajdú District it meant that the collection was maintained in the Hajdú-Bihar County Archives of Debrecen. However, a branch archive was established in Hajdúböszörmény in 1981, and it became the place where the historical documents of the Hajdú District were kept.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The captain of the district performed the judicial tasks with the assistance of 12 jurors in the Hajdú district. Jurisdiction was not separated from administration. Until the third quarter of the 18th century no separate judicial and administrative court meetings were held. Subsequently, 4-4 civil and criminal court assemblies were held. As a result of administrative reforms by Joseph II., the judicial right of the Hajdú District came within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Judicium subalterum in Nagykálló. In 1790 the mandates of administration and jurisdiction were returned to the district.
- Access points: locations:
- Hajdúböszörmény
- Hajdúdorog
- Hajdúhadház
- Hajdúnánás
- Hajdúszoboszló
- Subject terms:
- Crime
- Legal matters
- Trade and commerce
- System of arrangement:
- The five volumes of the records were numbered according to the date of former sessions and the points discussed. This means that the serial number of cases do not follow one another automatically. Chronological order was followed on the basis of civil and criminal cases.
- Finding aids:
-
4 volumes were included in collection IV.A.505.b that are related to the records and documents of civil court cases. The handbooks are available at the archive in hardcopy. They are written in Hungarian and Latin. The handbook cycles are as follows:
a) 170. v. 1736-1786
b) 171. v. 1736-1786
c) 172. v. Index actorum sediarium 1786-1790
d) 173. v. 1791-1850. 1861-1864.
- Yerusha Network member:
- University of Szeged
- Author of the description:
- Dr. Tibor Almási and Dr. Erzsébet Mislovics, University of Szeged, 2019
