Joseph (Joszy) Remenyi (1892-1956)

 
 

Birth

 
Joseph 'Joshi' Remenyi

Most sources state that Joseph was born on 1st. December 1892
in (or near) Poszony, Hungary.

However, in April 2014 a Rootschatter found a baptism record from 1890 (!) for Josephus Remenyi, who was baptised in Trenčianska Teplá, Trenčín, which is about 140 Kilometres N.E. from Bratislava. In this record the parents are given Franciscus Remenyi and Johanna Mayerk.
Source: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V1FV-DN7

And as possible 'circumstantial evidence' ? : I also have a photo of his parents, on their wedding day, and of a very young Joseph, taken by a professional photographer from "Trenchin & Tepplitz" [Trenchin = Trenčín] (see below, and in parents' biographies).

I also have the baptism certificate of his sister Maria, who was born in 1893 in Žilina, which is a further 50 Km. away. In this certificate, the parents names are given as Frantizek Remeny and Johanna Majer.

Shortly afterwards, another Rootschatter discovered Joseph's application for Naturalisation in which he states quite clearly:

I was born in Trencsn Teplic Hungary ... My last foreign residence was Porsony Hungary;

(Poszony is the hungarian name for the city known in german as Pressburg, and which is now in Slovakia and is called Bratislava).

Parents

Father: Frantisek (Franz) Ruml / Remenyi
Mother: Johanna Majer

Siblings

1892 [Self]
1893 Maria Remenyi
1896 Anna Remenyi
1897 Mathilde Remenyi




 
 

Marriage

 

Joseph married Margit Papaloczy in 1918.
She "americanized" her name to Margaret.

Children

None




 
 

Death

 

Joseph Remenyi died on 25th. September 1956, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

On Monday Sept. 24. Professor Remenyi dismissed his class complaining that he did not feel well. He was taken to the Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland. He suffered a heart attack and passed away on Tuesday morning, September 25. [2]

Biographical Notes and Snippets…
When he was 14 Joseph broke a leg while playing soccer for his home team. During the ensuing hospital stay he wrote his first short story for a contest in a juvenile magazine and won the prize. This was the start of his literary career: "If it had not been for that story I might have become a railway official like my father and spent the rest of my days saluting the chief of the railroads."[2] Instead, he published his first book at nineteen and became a reporter.

He studied in Budapest and Vienna. Some sources say he also studied at the Franz Josef Royal University in Szeged Hungary; another source says he received a Ph.D. from this University in 1934 [?].

He worked for several European newspapers before emigrating to the U.S.A. in 1914 to work for the Hungarian Legation in Philadelphia.
Certificate of Arrival--For Naturalization Purposes

US Dept of Labor, Immigration Service
Ellis Island, NY, Mar 17, 1920

This is to certify that the following-named alien arrived at the port indicated, on the date and in manner described below, viz:

Name of alien: Remenyi, Josef
Port of entry: New York, NY
Date of arrival: May 11, 1914
Name of vessel: Carpathia Cunard Line

He probably met Margaret Papaloczy, who he married in 1918, while in Philadelphia, as her family is mentioned as living there. His niece remembers:
He was married to Margit [americanised: Margaret] (whom I never liked very much, she never had any time for us kids). They had no children. I do remember him visiting several times during our summer holidays in the Salzkammergut. He was a wonderful storyteller.

Although an american citizen, he still visited family and friends in Europe. Records of some of his travels (re-entering U.S.A.) can be seen in the Ellis Island Records at www.ellisislandrecords.org.

Joseph Remenyi, Relief at the Hungarian Cultural Gardens, Cleveland
She also recalls:
"He finished up as Prof. of Philosophy at Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. There was a statue of him, (perhaps just a head ?) somewhere in the University. which was knocked down and ruined during riots in the sixties...."


In 1929 he began teaching at the Western Reserve University in Cleveland, "where his lectures on European writers often earned spontaneous applause from his classes"[1], rising to the rank of Professor in 1949.

When he died, in 1952, the Magyar Club of Cleveland donated a plaque to commemorate his work. This was dedicated at a ceremony organised by The Hungarian Cultural Garden Association. The plaque was later damaged and ruined during the student riots.

The program from the dedication ceremony:

Joseph Remenyi, Dedication Ceremony, Page 1 Joseph Remenyi, Dedication Ceremony, Page 2 Joseph Remenyi, Dedication Ceremony, Page 3 Joseph Remenyi, Dedication Ceremony, Page 4


The site of the Hungarian Garden was dedicated on October 21, 1934, upon the occasion of the 123rd anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt, with the unveiling of the bas-relief of the Hungarian composer. [...] Speakers at the dedication included: ... Hungarian Consul Joseph Remenyi, ... www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/tpap/pg61.html
According to another source[2], he worked for the Hungarian Legation in 1914, but I haven't seen any mention anywhere that he was the Hungarian Consul.

On July 23, 1950, at the conclusion of the annual One World Day celebration, marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Cultural Gardens, a bronze statue of Imre Madach, philosophical dramatist and author of "The Tragedy of Man" was dedicated in the Hungarian Garden. Dr. Joseph Remenyi delivered the principal address on the works of Madach. www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/tpap/pg61.html

More about the Hungarian Cultural Gardens here:

www.culturalgardens.org/gardenDetail.aspx?gardenID=14
www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/tpap/pg61.html
The U.S. Census

A RootsChatter found a Joseph Remenyi in the 1920 Census in Cuyahoga, Ohio...

Joseph Remenyi, age 28, B Hungary, parents born Hungary, to USA 1898,
Naturalized in 1915. Newspaper Writer.

Marguerite, 27, emigrated same year, born Hungary, parents born Hungary,

Another RootsChatter found this (mis-spelt ?) Joseph Remenyi in the 1920 Census in Cuyahoga, Ohio...

Name: Joseph Reminge
Age: 28 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1892
Birthplace: Hungary
Race: White
Home in 1920: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
writer - news paper
immigrated 1898

387 E118 St. U.S. Census 1920 United States Federal Census
Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
District 385 Ward 19 sheet 14 B
Roll: T625_1370

Also mentioned at this address are Julius & Rose Lokosy, his wife's parents.

Some details don't look right, for instance

And here they are, mis-transcribed, in the 1930 Census:

Name: Joseph Remenyr
Age: 38
Estimated birth year: abt 1892
Birthplace: Hungary
Relation to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Margaret Remenyr
Race: White
Home in 1930: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Year: 1930; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio;
Roll: 1776; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 457


An Internet-Search for "joseph remenyi" turned up the following literary references:

Some Links and Sources:

  1. REMENYI, JOSEPH - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=RJ
  2. Dr. Joseph Remenyi, http://academic.csuohio.edu/clevelandhistory/culturalgardens/...../DrJoseph%20Remenyi.htm
  3. George J. Maciuszko: In Memoriam Joseph Remeny
    Books Abroad, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Spring, 1957), pp. 135-137, http://www.jstor.org/pss/40097381
  4. Rebuilding Cleveland: The Cleveland Foundation and Its Evolving Urban Strategy, Google Books
  5. The Hungarian-language newspaper SZABADSAG ('Liberty'), http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=S28
  6. Hungarian Cultural Garden : http://www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/tpap/pg61.html
Picture Gallery…

Many thanks to all the RootsChatters, who added various missing "bits" to this story.