 His father – also called Sándor – studied law, later became a state official, and, besides his work, wrote lawbooks, in his leisure played the violin and painted.His father, the first intellectual in the family, and his ancestors spelled the family name with a y (Szathmáry).Szathmári's grandfather was a woodworker, who in his time gave 100 forints for the founding of a local music school.