HUNGARIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS FEDERATION and the ALBA REGIA CHAPEL

HUNGARIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS ORG 

Excerpt: Hungarian Freedom Fighters Federation, is a non profit established to maintain the Alba Regia Chapel and surrounding memorial park in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.  The chapel is the only independent and non-denominational Hungarian church in the United States.  It is dedicated to the many Hungarian and American heroes who fought for freedom throughout the histories of both great countries.

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Ilona Maria Gyorik, together with her husband, Jozsef and their four children, fled Hungary during the 1956 uprising against Soviet occupation. After narrowly escaping death, when Mrs. Gyorik reached Austrian soil, she vowed to devote the rest of her life to the service of mankind.

WEST VIRGINIA HUNGARIANS : I WANT TO LEARN MORE

Hungarians came to mine coal in West Virginia... and in Fairmont, West Virginia, from 1939-1960 there was a "First Hungarian Day" celebrated, an annual event held by a group of Hungarian Americans. I'm linking to a West Virginia Encyclopedia page that has a bit of a story about this group of immigrants.

"In 1890, there were 236 native Hungarians in West Virginia. By 1900, there were 1,062 Hungarians in the state, with about half of them split evenly between McDowell and Marion counties. Most were coal miners. The 1910 census lists a total of 5,939 Hungarians in West Virginia, although the influx slowed as indicated by the 1920 census listing 6,260, with Logan and McDowell counties with the greatest number. Hungarians were the second most numerous immigrant group in West Virginia mines after the turn of the 20th century, with Italians being first."

Could any of you from a West Virginia and Hungarian heritage tell me more?

September 2019 - Lots of hits lately on this club post!  Welcome all you Hungarian- West Virginians!