Zsuzsanna Erzsébet Paulina Kossuth (1817 - 1854)

Born 19 Feb 1817 in Sátoraljaújhely, Zemplén, Hungary

Died 29 Jun 1854 at age 37 in New York City, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Maggie N. [send private message] and Hungary Project WikiTree [send private message]

Biography

Zsuzsanna Kossuth was the Hungarian Florence Nightingale, her efforts during the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848-49 predating the English nurse's accomplishments by several years.

She was born in Sátoraljaújhely on 19 February 1817 and baptised in the Lutheran church on the following day.^[1]

She married her new sister-in-law's brother, Rudolf Meszlényi, on 1 May 1841.^[2] They had two daughters and a son, the son born posthumously, as Rudolf passed away in early 1848,^[3] months before the events of March 15th sparked the war. Their son died a year after his father, in Szolnok, while the family (and the entire government) was fleeing from Pest to Debrecen.^[4]

Zsuzsanna's brother appointed her as "chief nurse of all of the camp hospitals" on April 16, 1849.^[5] On April 23, she issued a call for women to volunteer as camp nurses, and in the space of three months, she organized the establishment of 72 field hospitals.

After the defeat of the revolution, Zsuzsanna was imprisoned, first by the Russians, then by the Austrian imperial forces, who took her to the fortress prison in Buda. She was released after Austrian officers who were former prisoners of war gave testimony about the nursing they received as prisoners under her care.^[6]

Despite her release, the authorities continued to harrass her, and she was imprisoned again at the end of 1851. Captivity aggravated her tuberculosis, and she ended up at the prison hospital in Vienna, where the American ambassador intervened; the condition of her release was that she never return to Hungary. She went to Brussels, where she tried her hand at lace-making, but continued harrassment shortly drove her to the U.S.,^[7] where she was already well-respected for her nursing endeavors.^[8]

Zsuzsanna passed away in New York City in 1854,^[9] and she is buried at the First Presbyterian Church there,^[10] in the Douglas family vault provided by Mrs. Harriet Douglas Cruger. This wealthy lady also endeavored to take care of Zsuzsanna's now fully-orphaned daughters.^[11][12]

Sources

1. ↑ Sátoraljaújhely, Reformed baptisms: Kossuth Susánna Ersébet Paulina, 1817 (Film # 004703372 image 152 of 770)

   In the year M.D.C.C.C.XVII.

   Febr. 19, 20

   Status: Resp. [of respected, noble, and common]

   Father: lord László Kossuth

   Mother: r. lady Károlina Wéber

   Child: Susánna Ersébet Paulina

   followers of the Augsburg Confession

   Godfather: His Excellency baron Pál Vétsei, his person represented by r. lord Simon Kosuth.

   Godmother: Her Excellency Countess Sofia Török, life partner of Respected Lord Ferencz Kazinczj, in her place respected lady Johanna Kossuth, widow of the late lord László Etsedi.

2. ↑ Budapest, Krisztinaváros RC marriages: Meszlényi Rudolf and Kossúth Susanna, 1841

   1st of Pentecost-month (=May, see https://macse.hu/society/honapoknapok.php)

   Respected Noble Rudolf Meszlényi, Rom.Cath.

   Unmarried Board Lawyer resident of Pest originating from Noble Weszprém County, Kis Dém

   Noble Susanna Kossúth, of the Augustinian confession

   Maiden young lady born in and residing in Pest

   Witnesses: Respected Lord Péter Benyovszky Board Judge and Board Prosecutor, Respected Lord András Fáy, Board Judge of several counties

   Antal Fanser(?) pastor

   Dismissed here for the purpose of marriage blessing by Right Reverend Respected Lord Domonkos Feichtinger Provost and Chief Parson of Pest.

   Mixed marriage per civil law. According to Roman Catholic precepts.

3. ↑ Székesfehérvár, RC cathedral, deaths: Meszlenyi Rudolf, 1848

   Januarius

   13. Rudolf Meszlenyi de Meszleny, Husband of Susánna Kossuth

   age 34 years, RC

   noble Board Judge

   residence: Fejérvár

   cause: "lung stroke" (pneumonia, breathing difficulty)

4. ↑ Szolnok RC deaths: Meszlényi Rudolf, 1849

   January 9th

   Deceased: Rudolf, son of Rudolf Meszlényi and Susanna Kosúth

   Age, religion: 1 year, Rom. Cath.

   Civil status: noble landowner

   Place of death: traveling through Szolnok

   with medical certificate

   Burial: in Szolnok, in the church crypt

5. ↑ Complete Works of Lajos Kossuth, volume 15: 16 April 1849, Debrecen, Naming Zsuzsa Kossuth as Nationwide Chief Nurse.".... Thus to assist in ameliorating these deficiencies as much as possible, and so that our fighters suffering in camp hospitals may receive, beyond the medicines ordered by physicians, the help that a woman's hands can best give: I hereby name You, my dear Sister, as the chief nurse of all of the camp hospitals."
6. ↑ Kapronczay Károly – Szemkeő Endre: Kossuth Zsuzsanna országos főápolónő működése az 1848–1849. évi szabadságharcban. Honvédorvos, 1979. pp. 133–141.
7. ↑ New York Passenger Lists / 128 - 18 Jun 1853-16 Jul 1853 / Image 249 of 723: Baltic, 27 June 1853; Susan, Gizele, and Helen Meszeleyn and Ladislas Zsulauszky

   Port of New York, Steamship Baltic, 27th June 1853

   Names, Age, sex, occupation, the country to which they severally belong, the country in which they intend to become inhabitants

   Susan Meszeleyn, 35, female, , Hungary, United States

   Gizele Meszeleyn, 11, ", , ", "

   Helen Meszeleyn, 10, ", , ", "

   Ladislas Zsulauszky, 16, Male, , ", " (Zsuzsanna's nephew, son of her sister Emilia)

8. ↑ Internet Archive: Memorial of Madame Susanne Kossuth Meszlenyi. Boston, sold by N.C. Peabody, No. 13, West Street, 1856.
9. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F69S-8Q9 : 3 June 2020), Susanna Mary ... Koruth, 5 Jul 1854; citing Death, Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 447,557.
10. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6Z5T-JVP9 : 10 June 2021), Zsuzsanna Kossuth, ; Burial, Manhattan, New York (Manhattan), New York, United States of America, First Presbyterian Church; citing record ID 223924677, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
11. ↑ Vajda Emil, Kossuth Lajos: élet- és jellemrajz. (Budapest, Franklin-Társulat, 1892.) 227. oldal. [Meszlényiné Kossuth Zsuzsanna] "[h]ült tetemeinek egy dúsgazdag amerikai nő Mrs Douglas Cruger adott nyugvó helyet saját családi sirboltjában. Ő vállalkozott gondoskodni az elhunyt árvái felöl is."
12. ↑ Monday, August 24, 2015: "The Lost Harriet Douglas Cruger Mansion -- No. 128 West 14th Street", by Tom Miller. The article states, among other things, that Kossuth Lajos stayed at the mansion in 1851, so it seems this must be the same "Mrs. Cruger" or "Mrs. Douglas Cruger" who is mentioned in multiple biographies as the person who took on Zsuzsanna Kossuth's orphaned daughters in 1854.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zsuzsanna_Kossuth

• "Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8LC-K5Z : 18 February 2021), Susanna Kosuth in entry for Rudolf Meszlenyi, 06 Feb 1848, Baptism; citing Sárszentmiklós, Fejér, Hungary, Tolna Megyei Leveltar (National Archives), Budapest; FHL microfilm 622,549.

• In memory of Zsuzsanna Kossuth

See Also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #223924677

• From Kossuth’s Twin-Soul to the Nation’s Chief Nurse: The Legacyof Zsuzsanna Kossuth Meszlényi By Nóra Deák