Stephen Hurray info. unedited

Stephen Hurray                                                                                                                                                8/10/2019

1.) Stephen Hurray (Huray/Hurrei) was born on December, 3, 1883 in Spisske Podhradie Slovakia (Translated into the German/Austrian language, it is also referred to as “Kirchdrauf”, Austria)¹  Stephen was also baptized in Kirchdrauf, Austria.²  His parents were Anna and Joseph (Josephus/Jozef) S. Hurray (Huray)(Hurrei). 3

2.) 1892- Stephen was approximately 9 years old.  (At that time, in 1892, Stephen was the 4^th born of 5 existing children; 2 Sisters and 3 brothers).  He also had, at the time in 1892, a ½ brother (Imre/Emil Zahuranyecz), and at least one ½ sister, (Susan Zahuranyecz).

3.) 1894: Stephen Hurray was approximately 11 years old.  He attended the “School of the Brothers”in the Pittsburgh/Allegheny area (According to the handwritten letter dated Aug. 8, 1898, from Spenner to the Brother Director of that time.)

  3.) 1896-Stephen would have reached the age of 13 years old in 1896  which means he was “of an age” to go to the “Postulate”³([A Postulant+Postulancy=Postulance which is a candidate for religious order).   According to Father John Rauscher (the person in charge of the postulants in 1934 and who had access to records), on July 6, 1896, Stephen “entered the Postulate at Nazareth located in Dayton, Ohio. (The correct term is “postulancy”, which is a candidate for religious order) He arrived at the postulancy from Allegheny, PA. Father John Rauscher, was also the person in charge of the postulants]-It was said that Stephen was considered a “novitiate”,  [A postulant is a term to designate those who are seeking ordination to the diaconate or priesthood. Postulancy is generally considered the first formal step leading to candidacy and ordination, and lasts anywhere from 4 mos. to 2 years. The postulant generally participates as fully as possible in the life of the community, joining the novices and professional members for work and prayer] The purpose of the postulancy is to acquire some knowledge of the religious life and of the particular institute through personal experience. It enables one to become better known to the superiors of the community, and to develop such virtue as will qualify the candidate for acceptance into the novitiate. The length of the postulancy varies, but normally it is not less than six months. Considering Stephen’s death date was so close to the 2 year mark, he would have been a novitiate very close to the time of his death and he would have certainly progressed to be ordained were it not for his untimely death in 1898. 

4.) Below (highlighted in blue) is a record from the Postulant Register, 1875-1965, American Province to 1908, Cincinnati Province from 1908, p. 41

Stephen Hurrei, 1883 – 1898

Postulant at Nazareth in Dayton, Ohio

Recorded in Postulant Register, 1875 – 1965, American Province to 1908, Cincinnati Province from 1908, p. 41

Born 3 December 1883 in Kirchdrauf, Austria. He was also baptized there.

Parents: Joseph and Anne Hurrei

Residence: Alleghany, PA

Admitted to Postulate 6 July 1896

Postulate consecration to Blessed Virgin Mary, 255 March 1897; renewed 29 August 1897

Class III, Class II completed

Died of Consumption at Nazareth 1 August 1898

4.) 1898- On August 8, 1898, There was a written a handwritten letter from an “S”, which appears to be a manuscript or biography of Stephen Hurray, signed by “Ferd. Spenner”.  [Translated that is: Father Ferdinand Spenner , SM].  That handwritten letter was addressed to:?

5.) That handwritten letter, [which is most likely the manuscript prior to the publishing of the typewritten biography] states that Stephen Hurrei**** attended the “school of the Brothers” in 1894.  According to a seasoned researcher at NACMS (North American Center for Marianist Studies, in Dayton Ohio, which as a point of clarification, is NOT AFFILLIATED AT ALL with the University of Dayton) named Teresa Trimboli,  “Stephen would have been 11 years old at that time—the “Brothers”  School may have been a grade school in Allegheny, Pennsylvania called St. Mary’s Grade School.” According to the researcher from NACMS, Teresa Trimboli, there were 5 schools in the Pittsburgh area at the time (1894) that were run by “The Brothers of Mary” in Pittsburgh.   She feels that St. Mary’s Grade School, (not sure where located exactly) “was the most

probable one that Stephen attended.” 

6.) Father Hackett, ”, [As far as I can ascertain this person was not a member of the Society of Mary – possibly a priest of the diocese charged with the procedure for having a person canonized]

6.) According to that same letter dated 10Feb1934***, there was a movement to canonize Stephen to be a saint.  However unusual that may sound to us now (because of Stephen’s young age), that’s actually just what was done at that time in history.**

7.) Stephen Hurrei is buried in the Marianist cemetery located in Dayton, Ohio.  Rumour has it (As Don Hurray has heard perhaps from his Uncle George) that in order to not spread the disease that took him, he was buried far away from others at the time.  His official cause of death was consumption (Being buried further away has not been confirmed, however a look at the cemetery burial dates around him may substantiate that)

8.) another rumour has it that there is a big plaque that was posted in honor of Stephen.

 to “Father Hackett”, [As far as I can ascertain this person was not a member of the Society of Mary – possibly a priest of the diocese charged with the procedure for having a person canonized] who apparently said at one point “…and there was a movement to canonize him.”

P.S. Don Hurray said that his Uncle George Hurray told him that  “Stephen was a priest in Steubenville, Ohio (or maybe it was Dayton) at a University and that he died there and they had a big plaque in his honor there.” [It’s possible, but I’m not aware of one].  No record of Steubenville has been found, it's probably an error.  According to the researcher, Teresa Trimboli : (“For a few years (1855-1858) the Society of Mary (marianists), in Louisville, Ohio was in the Steubenville Diocese.” )

Evidently what he knew about Stephen was from his father Emil and that was hazy.   Rumor has it that he was a novitiate and that he had typhus and died and he could not be sent home because it was a contagious disease so they buried him right on the college campus.  

Great-grandmother Anna came from  Spišské Podhradie, also known as Kirchdorf amongst German-speakers where the letter said Stephen came from. 

*[Scholastics & postulants are young men with 1^st vows & therefore a member of the Society of Mary] & postulants [young men, some as young as 14yrs. old, who are exploring whether or not they want to be members of the Society of Mary] – the Society of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious order of men comprised of both brothers & priests)

**Researcher NACMS

*** Father Hackett”, [As far as I can ascertain this person was not a member of the Society of Mary – possibly a priest of the diocese charged with the procedure for having a person canonized] who apparently said at one point “…and there was a movement to canonize him.”  Unclear as to whether the movement was immediately following his death or a period of time afterwards (between 1899-1934).

****The spelling “Hurrei” could be possibly one of translation.  The pronunciation of Huray (H-U-R-A-Y), is said to vary, but that the original pronunciation had the last syllable pronounced “eye”,  phoenetically like “her-eye”, with the accent on the second syllable.  It’s unclear how they came up with the spelling “Hurrei”, but that is one theory.  Another theory is that Stephen was very young when he died and far away from home and no one was around to give the correct spelling. 

*****Nazareth is a term used to refer to the “community” (an enterprise) of St. Mary’s and the Marianists, which is located on a former large farmland in Dayton.  For an overview of some relevant information see this video (which concentrates on the University of Dayton mainly, but Nazareth and St. Mary’s were separate from the University and considered a pre-cursor ).  Started in 1850 with 4 men (marianists).

******The Postulate was probably housed in (St. Mary Convent   1865 edivace to house normal school then renamed zaylor hall.  1866 building built liberty hall.  Chapel of the imm 1868 chapel of the immaculate conception built).  1870 St. mary’s hall built.   St. Joseph Hall built 1883 (This was probably a residence hall.  Known as the “boys of St. Mary’s” they labored

## according to researcher Teresa trimboli

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Stefan “entered the Postulate at Nazareth, Dayton, Ohio on July 6, 1896] [2 yrs. later, in 1896 he would have been 13 yrs. old and of an age to go to the postulate].  Was there a Steubenville connection? [For a few years, (1855-1858) the Society of Mary (Marianists), in Louisville, Ohio in the Diocese of Steubenville] (my relatives seem to think so) .  But you mentioned there was a school in Pittsburgh, and that makes much more sense. (there was also a higher-up Brother, Brother John Kim, from that time that I believe came from the same school in Pittsburgh).  Is that the “School of the Brothers of Mary at St. Philomena Church?”  Or was there another one in Pittsburgh? [At one time there were 5 schools run by the Brothers of Mary in Pittsburgh – I gave you the name of the most probable school Stephen would have attended]

On February 14, 1927 

as perhaps inquiring about Stephen through the pen of S.A. Gonda (who is Stephen’s sister’s husband; Stephen’s mother’s son-in-law [Stephen’s brother in law?]), because  Stephen Hurrei’s mother died approx.. a year after this letter of 1927 was written and perhaps needed some closure.   

Per: (in brown text is Teresa's responses!!) Teresa Trimboli at U. of Dayton (a point of clarification:  NACMS is not part of the Univ. of                      trimbotz@udayton.edu                                    Dayton – the Univ. of Dayton is only our ISP provider)     7/11/2019

My responses: July 25, 2019

1.) Attached is a letter dated 2/14/1927 from Rev. Walter C. (Fredtin??) (This is Father Walter C. Tredtin, SM – In 1927 Fr. Tredtin was Director of Scholastics & postulants [young men with 1^st vows & therefore a member of the Society of Mary] & postulants [young men, some as young as 14yrs. old, who are exploring whether or not they want to be members of the Society of Mary] – the Society of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious order of men comprised of both brothers & priests) to Mr. S.A. Gonda.  He said in the letter there was  “little booklet” that someone wrote at the time of my great Uncle’s death, a “biography” he called it as well.   No author’s name is mentioned, but Walter C. (Fredtin??) mentions in the letter that he (Walter) submitted the “manuscript” of the little typewritten book, of which several copies were made,  to the “Superior of the Normal School at that time”  (Which was 1898)  (From the resources we have at NACMS, I cannot determine who was the Superior [Director] of the Normal School in 1898).

2.) I am surmising from the tone of the letter that Stephen Hurrei’s mother “Anna” (Stephen is my great Uncle), was perhaps inquiring about Stephen through the pen of S.A. Gonda (who is Stephen’s sister’s husband; Stephen’s mother’s son-in-law [Stephen’s brother in law?]), because  Stephen Hurrei’s mother died approx.. a year after this letter of 1927 was written and perhaps needed some closure.   The body was never returned to Pennsylvania but buried in Dayton.  I am told by my relatives that Stephen had Typhus, but that is unconfirmed, and it would be nice to know the real cause [check death certificates in Montgomery County – cause of death may be noted there].  The Rev. John Rauscher [At the time he wrote the letter, Fr. John Rauscher was in charge of the Postulants] mentioned in the letter that it was “consumption” [another name for tuberculosis] (I don’t know what that is).

3.) I’ve attached another letter.  Can you have a look at that and determine whether that might be the  “manuscript” of the “little booklet?” [probably] or is there another one available [possibly in the Archives of the Society of Mary in San Antonio, Texas – Mary Kenney, Archivist,  mkenney@sm-usa.org – 210-436-3329]. (Perhaps if I could read the authors name a search would turn something up).  Can you tell from the written letter who the author is??  [This does look like the manuscript of the biography – The letter is signed “S,” and the biography is signed “Ferd. Spenner” – That is:

Father Ferdinand Spenner, SM]

4.) The handwritten letter said that Stephen Hurrei attended the “school of the Brothers” in 1894. [Stephen would have been 11 yrs. old – the Brothers School may have been a grade school in Allegheny, Pennsylvania à St. Mary’s Grade School]  [But, the third letter said he “entered the Postulate at Nazareth, Dayton, Ohio on July 6, 1896] [2 yrs. later, in 1896 he would have been 13 yrs. old and of an age to go to the postulate].  Was there a Steubenville connection? [For a few years, (1855-1858) the Society of Mary (Marianists), in Louisville, Ohio in the Diocese of Steubenville] (my relatives seem to think so) .  But you mentioned there was a school in Pittsburgh, and that makes much more sense. (there was also a higher-up Brother, Brother John Kim, from that time that I believe came from the same school in Pittsburgh).  Is that the “School of the Brothers of Mary at St. Philomena Church?”  Or was there another one in Pittsburgh? [At one time there were 5 schools run by the Brothers of Mary in Pittsburgh – I gave you the name of the most probable school Stephen would have attended]

5.) The handwritten letter also mentions a “notice of the death” enclosed with the letter.  I’m wondering what he is referring to, and can we get a copy of that? [Maybe at the Archives in San Antonio]

6.) There is yet a third letter dated Feb. 10, 1934  written to “Father Hackett”, [As far as I can ascertain this person was not a member of the Society of Mary – possibly a priest of the diocese charged with the procedure for having a person canonized] who apparently said at one point “…and there was a movement to canonize him.”  If we could find that original letter from Father Hackett that would be great.  (Amazing how you could be canonized at such a young age??). [That’s just what was done at that time in history]

7.) Are there any documents saying who both of Stephen Hurrei’s  parent’s were (or Stephen Huray)? [Check public records where he was born]

8.)  Teresa, as you mentioned, he was not a Brother or a Priest at the time because he was too young, but a Postulate of the Normal School(?).  If so, you mentioned those records may be in San Antonio, Texas (I’m willing to travel if I’m required to).

9.) Are there any pictures from between the dates 1894 and 1898? [Maybe at the Archives in San Antonio] If there’s any pictures at all from say, the retreat they mentioned, or of any of the entering “postulates”, perhaps my relatives could pick him out since we do have a look about us.  Plus, Stephen would only be between 13 and 16 years old in any of the pictures.

10.) In my research I did come across today an online book called the Centenary of the Society of Mary  that your library should probably acquire the microfilm or hard copy of.  It gave some superior names of Rev. Meyer and Brother John Kim, but I don’t think that is relevant, just F.Y.I.  The book is quite interesting.  [Thanks for the info -- & yes, I doubt either Meyer or Kim are relevant to your search]

11.) Stephen's name in the Postulate was spelled Stephen Hurrei (H-U-R-R-E-I ).  I’m pretty sure that his birth surname in Slovakia was spelled Huray  (H-U-R-A-Y), but I believe both were pronounced the same at that time (which might be why it was spelled differently, and perhaps no one from the family was able to travel, which would be very sad if true, that would be nice to find out as well).  So, if you are doing a search, you might want to try searching both spellings. [Common happening for names – did check variant spellings]

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¹[“Kirchdrauf”, the german name for Spisske….was the town used when he identified where he was from.  Reason for that?? (could be any number of reasons).  In the Hungarian tongue the town is referred to as : Szepesváralja

² The name of the Church in which Stephen was baptized was called:__

³It is unclear why the “Huray” name is spelled “Hurrei” on Stephen’s gravestone, and in the documents from the Postulant Register. Do you know why?   on the _______ or even on Stephen’s grave.  This is the only time I have found it spelled that way.  Considering there were many translation errors back in the day, that is the only theory I can come up with.   The other theory is that the pronunciation at the time with a Slovak/German/Hungarian etc. accent could have been interpreted as “Hurrei” from the pronunciation.  The Hungarian genealogical expert at the LDS Mormon church says an “aj” (similar to ay) at the end of a name is pronounced like an “eye”.  There are some Hurrei’s in the Pennsyvania and Ohio area, but only a few according to Ancestry.com.

²  [In 1894, there were 5 such schools in the Pittsburgh/Allegheny area at the time that were run by the “The Brothers of Mary”, but St. Mary’s Grade School was the most probably the one that Stephen attended.]## St. Mary’s which may have been a grade school in Allegheny, Pennsylvania called St. Mary’s Grade School .]-This according to Teresa Trimboli  a researcher at NACMS (North American Center for Marianist Studies, in Dayton Ohio).

³As suggested by Teresa Trimboli

⁴A postulant is a term to designate those who are seeking ordination to the diaconate or priesthood. Postulancy is generally considered the first formal step leading to candidacy and ordination, and lasts anywhere from 4 mos. to 2 years (