Andras Khazar

* Jólész, June 15, 1745 – † Rozsnyó, January 28, 1816 / lawyer, initiator of the foundation of the Vác deaf-mute institute, the localizer of potatoes in Gömör ; ; He came from an impoverished Lutheran noble family. He was raised in his native village until the age of eight. He began his school studies in Berzéte in 1753, moved to Dobsina in 1755, then completed them in Prešov from 1757, and in Késmárk from 1762, where he studied philosophy, logic, metaphysics and theology. In 1765, he studied law in Bratislava and completed it at the Fodor law firm. In 1766, he became acquainted with the Hungarian legal system in practice at the Tiszapataki law firm in Győr. In 1768–1770, he worked as a lawyer's clerk at the Toperczer and Lipovitzky law firm in Prešov. In 1771–1773, he worked at the Parnitzky office in Pest. In November 1773, he settled in Rozsnyó and worked as a practicing lawyer. In the meantime, he became a judge of the Torna, Hont and Abaúj counties, and later of Gömör counties. When Joseph II made the use of the German language mandatory in court work, András Cházár gave up practicing law. He generally objected to the ruler's various decrees restricting Hungarians, but unlike many, he supported the decree issued in 1784 that a census should be held and houses should be numbered. He also stood up for the serfs, and even summarized their grievances in a document consisting of 44 articles submitted to the Diet. In it, among other things, he advocated the introduction of compulsory education, the improvement of public health care, free trade, the development of the road network, and the regulation of rivers. He was the one who spread the consumption of potatoes (“grulya”) in Gömör. The peasants simply called the mansion where the potatoes were stored in the winter Grulya Castle. At the encouragement of Pál Magda, in 1799 he visited the Vienna institute for the deaf and dumb, and inspired by what he saw there and his conversation with the director Joseph May, he initiated the establishment of a deaf and dumb institute in Hungary. He originally planned this in his own house at 49 Jólészi Street in Rozsnyo, and he reported on his idea in a very popular article in a Viennese newspaper entitled To My Friends. He also submitted an application to the imperial court about the founding and operation of a school. This was received favorably, and he was even entrusted with raising the funds, on the condition that the institution would operate in Vác. On January 27, 1800, he sent out a trilingual appeal at his own expense to the country's significant personalities. Finally, 5,000 forints were collected from 334 donors, and the National Royal Deaf-Mute Institute was opened in Vác on August 15, 1802. ; Antal Simon became the director, but András Cházár was not even invited to the opening or involved in the work. The reasons for this omission are unknown. He himself only visited the institute he had initiated and largely established with his participation on May 20, 1803. His private life was also fraught with many complications. He was married three times. He divorced his first wife when it was discovered that he was suffering from some hidden illness. His second marriage to Krisztina Márjássy in 1793 lasted only a week, as she left him. The Gömör court decreed the divorce, so he married for the third time in 1795. However, his marriage to Terézia Semberi was declared null and void by the royal court after his second wife appealed the divorce decree for financial reasons (due to ticket prices and maintenance). Thus, Cházár lived in a “wild marriage” with Terézia Semberi until her death six months later. His son from his first marriage, Gábor Cházár, although well-educated, led a dissolute lifestyle. András Cházár was laid to rest in the family crypt in Jólész. However, this was not granted to him, after a local young man spent a night there many decades later out of virtue. Because of the cold, he made a fire out of the bones. The remaining bones were carried away by dogs. Count Dénes Andrássy had the saved cheekbone and cheekbone of the deceased placed under a glass dome and had the following German text written on it: "Kinboke des Advokaten Jólészi Cházár gefunden in seinen Geruft in Grulyavár". Many of his philosophical and public law works remained in manuscript. His birthplace is marked by a memorial plaque: the first one was placed there in 1902, later, in 1995, it was replaced by a bilingual plaque, which was placed in the framework of a multi-day celebration jointly organized by the municipalities of Jólész and Vác. ; ; His main works: ; Gömör County's response to the decree issued by the Governor-General's Council on freedom of the press, 1793, ; Letter of appeal, which was sent by the collector of aid on behalf of the Váczi Deaf-Mute Home for the purpose of providing aid, 1802, ; To the Hungarian nation, 1806, ; ; Address to the Gömör-vármegye, 1807, ; Analysis opelle: De lingua, adminiculis, et perfectione ejus in genere, et de lingua hungarica, in specie, commentatio historico politica, hungarorum ruminationi dicata, per Johannem Fejes. Quam concivibus suis sacram facit, 1807, ; His reflections on the Hungarian language and the possible compliance with the reward questions announced by M. Kurír, 1807, Three articles of the laws on the noble uprising, 1809.