Hungarian
Genealogy
Resources and ideas for researching your family's
European roots
Tips
| Books | Software | Magazines
| Hungarian language books | Research
Groups & Organizations
Researching your family's history is a bit
of a detective
game. You learn one fact that opens the door to a dozen more possibilities.
Hungary's
history is sometimes difficult to research due to the impact of wars, the
Holocaust
and border realignments. Hungary was heavily
looted, as was much of its treasures. The life and records of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire was forever severed with WWI and WWII.
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It can also be a challenge to wade through web page after web
page in Hungarian if your only language is English. Many of the links on the right
are in English, or have English translations. Google
has some handy site translation options. See Learn Hungarian
for some online dictionaries (both online and books). You'll be able to find some
links for a quick word or two translation.
We've tried to include only
official websites, but if you know of a better one, or of a city we've not included,
please e-mail us.
Included below are some
of the top sites and organizations for genealogical research, especially ones
focused on Hungary and Hungarian genealogy. You'll notice some publications and
other products that will help your journey.
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| 1 | Be
organized from the beginning. Get software to create a database which you'll add
to as you learn more. Get files started both on your computer and in a desk drawer.
Plan to plan. Create a plan of attack, with an outline as detailed as can be.
You might even want to set preliminary goals, like "I want to explore my
father's paternal grandfather's community by next October."
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| 2 | Work
with another relative, and assign tasks. You'll not only be accountable to each
other, but you'll also get more done. It won't be as lonely of a job (ever spend
a few days reading microfiche?). Besides, it'll do your unemployed Uncle Louie
good to get out and do something.
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3 | Load
up your copy card with cash so you can make copies of birth, marriage and death
certificates. Make contacts by e-mail. Consider, after you are well-prepared,
going to Hungary, Romania, Austria and elsewhere. Find your passport. Imagine
yourself sitting in the same church on a Sunday worshipping in the same way as
your great-great-great grandmother did.
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| 4 |
Consider subscribing to a magazine or newspaper from the
town your family is from. Find out what others are doing and what resources are
available. We offer a few here, and larger libraries have some. Learn what day-today
life is like for the people who still live there. Had your family stayed in Hungary,
these people might've been your friends and coworkers. It'll make all the research
more rich, more real.
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5 | Join
a group to learn about the process and to trade notes, and jump into the research
side of things. Some groups are online only, exchanging e-mail, while others get
together at libraries and coffeeshops.
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6 | And,
be organized. That's where you should start, but as the papers and files and notes
all accumulate, you'll be glad you've developed a system. | |
