Enclosed below are 12 general information help/aid pointers that might help
with your Hungarian genealogy research that I have put together through the
years. It is about 6 pages long, so you may want to print it out for future
reference.

1. There is an excellent, most informational research paper back book (81”
X 11”) called “HANDY GUIDE TO HUNGARIAN GENEALOGICAL RECORDS” by Jared H.
Suess, published by Everton Publishers, Inc., PO Box 368, Logan, UT,
84321-0368, Tel: 800-443-6325, URL:
Approximate cost is $10.50 (including S&H) and also helps with translating
Hungarian & Latin (official language of the Roman Catholic Church) you will
encounter in researching Hungarian genealogy records. It has a tiny
history of Hungary, several pages on the language of Hungary with the
alphabet and grammar rules, & examples from parish registers. From the
catalog, personal names and translations for male & female, AND many pages
of Hungarian words translated into English, a couple of pages of (VERY
VALUABLE) Latin words translated into English and a couple pages of German
words translated! It also has the German, Russian, Serbian and Croatian
alphabets! Both have been VERY valuable to me. My copy is 10+ years old,
but I know that they still sell them. One may also order it from Genealogy
Unlimited, PO Box 537, Orem UT. 84059-0537, Tel: 800-666-4363, email:
genum@itdnet.com The price is the same, except there is a $4.50 S&H
charge. By the way, you can also find an excellent “Hungarian words &
phrases” website at:

2. For serious Hungarian nobility researchers, I recommend Mr. Ivan Nagy's
“Magyarország Családai – cimerekkel és nemzékrendi táblákkal” originally
published between 1857-1868. This 12 volume work catalogs all of Hungarian
noble families on 1 CD-ROM. It can be ordered from Mr. Zoltan Kosztolanyi
at email address kosztzez@ihug.co.nz for $33 USD or from Mr. Felix G. Game a
professional Austro-Hungarian genealogist at email address fggame@home.com
for $45 USD. Both prices includes shipping from Budapest.
See website
and
for
additional important information about the CDs. Both researchers are VERY
reliable sources. I own both the 13 volume set in book format for years and
now a registered CD copy too… they are absolutely an excellent resource and
well worth the money.
I just recently found another excellant website that
has both Ivan Nagy & Bela Kempelen Hungarian family genealogy search
capabilities. Type in the correct (accent marks on vowels were needed)
Hungarian surname under “kereses” and hit enter. I found 24 items under my
“Apáthy” family surname. Best part that is free…. “If it’s free, it’s for
me!!” Arcanum also sells nobility & genealogy CDs from Hungary &
Transylvania including Ivan Nagy & Bela Kempelen. I have all of them and
they are outstanding for genealogy & heraldry research.

3. Highly recommend, & it is GRRRRREAT, the HUNGARIAN GENEALOGY website with
search/research list on FEEFHS (Federation of East European Family History
Societies) the URL address is:
There are LOTS of links to other sites on the FEEFHS server. URL address is:

4. I also suggest the following 5 Hungarian genealogy researchers:
A.) Jozsef Berkes, Hungarian National Archives, Budapest, Hungary.
Berkes@NatArch.hu
B.) FAMILY TREE Ltd., Genealogical Research Bureau, c/o George Eotvos,
Partner & Research Director, Tel: 36-1-212-7524 Fax: 36-1-212-6324
Email: familyt@hungary.net Hungarian Roots List – URL:
They are a member of the National Genealogical
Society (USA)
C.) HUNGAROGENS, c/o Dr. Sandor Harmath, 1081 Budapest, Jozsef krt. 50,
HUNGARY
Tel/Fax:361-1- 303-8230 Mobil:36-20-957-1298 Email:
hungarogens@mail.datanet.hu
www.genealogy.hu www.genealogy-hungary.hu
D.) Gordon Hillman, 1059 Camelot Crescent, Sarnia, Ontario Canada N7S 3L4.
Charges$20/hour plus costs of microfilm and photocopies.
E.) Peter Bardossy in Budapest Hungary. Email: bardossyfamily@freemail.hu
www.bardossy.hu
F.) Felix G. Game, 9 E. Healey Ave., Stittsville, ONTARIO K2S 1K1 CANADA
Email: Felix@Felix-Game.com
G.) Yourself… a good starting point is with website:

play=start

5. Hungarian Telephone directory…. That’s right, the entire country of
Hungary names, addresses, telephone numbers, and occasionally occupation,
at your fingertips. The URLs are:
&

6. HUNGARY-L & Hunroots– A mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or
historical interest in Hungary including the lands that were formerly part
of Hungary within the Austria-Hungary Empire. To subscribe, send email to:
HUNGARY-L-request@rootsweb.com & hunroots@euroweb.hu

7. The BANAT GENEALOGY website mailing & research list:
or

also:
are "devoted primarily to the German settlers (1748-1835) in the Banat area,
formerly part of the Austrian Empire and now divided among Romania,
Yugoslavia and Hungary. The Banat comprised the Hungarian counties of
Torontal, Temes and Krasso-Szereny, which lie north of the Danube, east of
the Tisza/Tisa and south of the Maros Rivers." This is an extremely well
organized site with a Map Room, name-search engine, and other
information-packed features compiled by dedicated genealogists.
BANAT-L — A mailing list for those doing research in the Banat region of
what was formerly Hungary. To subscribe, send email to:
banat-l-request@rootsweb.com

7. In May 1999, Mormons offered Family Records Online. The church put its
400-million-name genealogy database on the Web. Your best bet is to start
with a new site developed and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (LDS) Church. The site provides free access to the
church's genealogy database of more than 400 million names, making it one of
the largest family history research sites on the Internet. Ancestry.com,
for example, lists some 240 million names; it also charges fees to access
its database. At FamilySearch, you can narrow your search by entering the
name of a relative as well as the names of his or her parents. The site
searches through the Mormon Church's online database as well as thousands of
other genealogical Web sites. The results are listed together for easy
review. The external sites are prequalified by the church for their quality
and content, according to Mike Otterson, director of media relations for
Mormon Church in Salt Lake City. "This is the first time we've put our
family history data online," Otterson says. Previously, the church's
genealogy resources were available on CD-ROM or from any of its 3600 Family
History Centers located around the world. The database is not confined to
members of the Mormon Church, Otterson notes. "We've been forerunners of
family history research for a century or more and have always believed in
making our records available to the public as well as to church members,"
Otterson says. The FamilySearch site is financed by the LDS Church. While
access to its resources is free now, the church has not decided how long
that will be the case. The site has already received more than 250,000 hits
during its testing phase, putting it on track to be one of the Web's most
popular sites. The URL is:
We have found the Family History Library Catalogue online version quicker
and more easily understood than the CD version as well. I have learned
about references to materials which I would have never found trying to use
the CD version – and I could do it from the comfort of my home at a time
that was convenient for me, without watching the clock and wondering if my
allotted time on the FHC computer was about to expire. To get to the Search
Catalogue, so to URL:
A.) PLACE SEARCH: Cataloging system used by LDS is based on knowing what
place you are interested in (as opposed to a topic like most indexing
systems). Therefore, for any town, village, country, county etc. just
click on the PLACE SEARCH icon. When the page opens, type in the place. I
have found that leaving the "part of" option blank, gets better results. I
have used this feature in fact to learn just what country a village was in –
since as we all know those European borders moved quite a bit. The rest
should be fairly self-explanatory, except for one item. After you find an
item of interest, for example, CHURCH RECORDS, always click on the VIEW FILM
NOTES icon at the top of the frame. This will provide a detailed listing of
each microfilm and its contents. Print this list and use it for ordering
your films/fiche at the FHC.
B.) SURNAME SEARCH: Fairly obvious, but remember this is not the IGI or AGI
database. The library catalogue is a separate library of information….think
of it as the old library card catalogue file system in all those tiny boxes.
C.) ALL SEARCHES: This screen gives you all the options – just click on the
icon that matches your needs – author search, or use the microfilm/fiche
search if you have a film/fiche number you want to look up, or search for
books and films by place or surname etc.
D.) Structure of the LDS Family History Library Catalog (FHLC): All the
1869 census records that have been microfilmed are on the LDS website
www.familysearch.org However, you have to understand the structure of the
Family History Library Catalog collection to make full use of the material.
Basically, the collection is laid out according to the jurisdiction ofthe
original author of the material. If you are researching an ancestor in a
settlement in Hungary you should be looking at the settlement name, the
megye (county) and the country for resources (3 levels of government).
Because church records originated at the church in a specific settlement
they are filed under the name of the settlement or origin. Often the
records of a settlement will be located in a neighboring village because
that is where the church was located. You may also find vital records,
local histories, muster rolls and other materials related to the village
under the name of the village.
If a record is originated by the megye then it would be found under the name
of the megye. For example, if you were looking for nobility records, history
of the county, maps and others you will find them listed under the megye.
This applies to Zemplén (Hungarian spelling) or Zemplin (Slovak spelling).
Records that originated at the country level are found under Hungary or
Slovakia. This would include histories of the country, bibliographies,
feudal land records, emigration and immigration records and others.
If a village is now in Slovakia but was in Hungary, the resources are found
under both countries. However, the structure of the FHLC is better, in my
opinion, under the Hungarian structure. Census records, for example, have
been listed under both the country and the megye. You will find all the
1869 census records listed under Hungary but only the census of Zemplén
under the megye.
The bottom line is that when you are looking for the resources of a
particular village in old Hungary check all levels of government and check
all the countries that it has been in historically. Remember to use the
various spellings of the settlement and the county when doing the searches.
There are thousands of resources available and a system had to be developed
just to list them and I have outlined above (simplistically) the way that
was developed. The system is being modified to be more inclusive and will
time you may even find the census listed under the village name like they do
in England.
The 1869 census of Hungary is found at the following site on the FHLC

play=topicdetails&subject=836327&subject_disp=Hungary_-_Census_-_1869&column
s=*,180,0
You will have to click the individual megye to find the details.
Hopefully, this will give you a little better ideas of the way resources are
listed on the FHLC and make resources available to you. The LDS web site is
a very powerful tool – and the FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY the most powerful of
all. Knowing how to do searches for information may provide you with
research materials that you may not have thought about using.

8. You may want to check your telephone book for a Family History
Center/Library (FHC/L). They are listed in the White or Yellow Pages under
“Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (LDS/Mormon). Ask them if
they have a library, if not; ask where the nearest one is located. These
are all over! Even if it is an hour trip to one, don't hesitate. They have
Hungarian Church records on microfilm! You can order the record you need,
after checking their catalog, for about $3.50 mailing cost. It takes about
2 to 3 weeks and then they contact you that it is in and you get about a
month to look at the microfilm. If you need more time, the microfilm can be
renewed for a small fee. The volunteers will help you. Check for the
hours, some are open on Saturdays and some have evening hours as well. The
Hungarian Collection of microfilm is quite extensive so using the center is
extremely worthwhile. Costs do increase – Canada is more expensive than
U.S. and I can understand that Australia would be higher still. But it is
better than the old way of dealing with the Archives and before that not
having access to the records at all. Don't pass up a great opportunity to be
able to view the old records yourself. It is a major rush when you find
them! You only need to learn a few words here and there to get you by in
Hungarian and Latin to be able to know what each record are/is.

9. Again, may I strongly suggest/advise that you contact the nearest branch
"Family History Center (FHC)" located at the closest LDS Church. There are
over 600+ branch libraries in the USA. They have a ton of
information/data, much of it on CD-ROM, microfilm, microfiche, etc. To find
the nearest branch library, look in the yellow pages under "Churches, Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, & FHC". Again, it IS an EXCELLANT resource,
and I highly recommend you check them out. The people are extremely helpful
and courteous. There is no cost to use the facilities, computers, CD's,
microfilm/microfiche, etc. The only cost is if you order microfilm from the
main genealogy library from Salt Lake City Utah. It is the LARGEST
genealogy resource in the world… by far. The cost is minimal and well
worth the information.

10. Finally, IF you have a bit of an idea where your places are and what Old
Hungary county it was in, there are very good and detailed maps of old
Hungary , and its counties at:
Go to green WebWorld section, then click onto Maps on the Hungarian Web, the
maps are large and take a minute or two to download but are well worth the
wait.

11. In conclusion, if you are looking for a genealogy program to record all
your vital statistics, notes, etc., I suggest “Personnal Ancestral File
(PAF) v5” offered by both the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormon or LDS) Church & FamilySearch. It is GRRRREAT! Personal Ancestral
File is a very popular genealogy program. One reason for its popularity is
its price: the program is free. You can download it directly from (just
point-click or copy-paste… trust me!):

rmenbr=1402&CGRY_NUM=373032&RowStart=1&LocCode=FH
If that does not work then go to Click –
Click – Fill out the form – Download. I got the full d/l (26MB , docs and
all ) in about 15 minutes. Now to try it out! I've been using PAF since
version1. All you need to do is type in this address and then click on the
download tab on the top of the screen.

12. PPS: Hungarian genealogy research website, books, & organizations
information extracted from:
A.) Ancestry Magazine Jan-Feb 2002 page: 43-44, Genealogical Research in
Hungary
B.) & various internet sites found thru the years.

WEB SITES:
AAA – Apati & Apathy Ancestral Association: www.ApathyFamily.org

Hungarian Telephone Directory:

Romanian Telephone Directory:

Hungarian Genealogical Word List: www.familysearch.org
Click on the Search tab, then Research Helps and H for Hungary.

Hungarian Genealogy: www.xcelco.on.ca/~genealog/hungaryl.htm

Hungary GenWeb: www.rootsweb.com/~wghungar

Hungarian Heraldry: www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hungary.htm

Hungarian Links: www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/9548/links.html

Hungarian Names 101: www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/magyarnarnes101.htrnl

Hungarian Village Finder and Gazetteer: www.hungarianvillagefinder.com
Subscription site of more than 30,000 place names.

Hungarotips: www.hungarotips.com

Hungary Mailing Lists: www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail_country-hun.html

Online Hungarian-English Dictionary: www.freedict.com/onidict/hun.html

Radix: www.bogardi.com/gen

RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Hungarian Family Trees:
www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson27.htm#Hungarians

Writing Letters to Hungary: Dos and Don'ts:
www.austro-hungarian-genealogy-translations.com/dodont.html

The Carpathian Connection: www.tccweb.org

Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogy Web Site: www.rusyn.com

Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base: www.carpatho-rusyn.org

Slovak & Rusyn Roots: Getting Started: feefhs.org/socslav/hudick1.html

Slavic Cyrillic Transliteration Table: www.loc.gov/rr/european/lccyr.html

Counties of Historical Hungary:

Hungary 1910:

Ellis Island:

Canadian Immigration:

Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS):

Családt. Kutatóiroda:

Banat Genealogy:

LDS (Mormon) Search Catalog Records:

Eötvös Loránd Univiversity:

Eötvös Lorand University – Department of Cartography: www.lazarus.elte.hu
Click on Map Pages.

Gesta:

Arcanum:

Records Room:

Sites Collection:

Rootswebb:

Bácska:

Carpatho-Rusyn:

Carpatho Cx:

Rusyn Genealogy:

Carpathian Rusyn Society: Society

Czech & Slovak Forum:

Bárdossy family:

Latin Terms and Phrases:

BOOKS:
Handy Guide to Hungarian Genealogical Records by Jared H. Suess (Everton
Publishers, $6.50).

Contents and Addresses of Hungarian Archives, 2nd edition, by Edward Reimer
Brandt (Genealogical Publishing Co., out of print).

Finding Your Hungarian-American Roots: A Guide to Researching Your
Ethnic-American Cultural Heritage by Robert D. Reed (R&E Publishers, out of
print).

Fighting Troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army: 1868-1974 by James Lucas
(Hippocrene Books, out of print).

The Hungarian Americans by Steven Bé1a Várdy (Chelsea House, out of print).

Our People: Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Descendants in North America, by Paul
Robert Magocsi (Multicultural History Society of Ontario, out of print).

The Rusyns of Slovakia and the Rusyns of Hungary, by Paul Robert Magocsi
(Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center).

The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans, by Paul Robert Magocsi (Chelsea House, out of
print).

ORGANIZATIONS:
AAA- Apati/Apathy Ancestral Association (est.1995)
c/o Laszlo B. Apathy III, 191 Selma Ave., Englewood, Florida 34223-3830,
Tel:941-474-4774
Laszlo@ApathyFamily.org www.ApathyFamily.org

Hungarian Genealogy Society of Greater Cleveland
c/o Gusztav Enyedy, 7830 Sugarbush Lane, Gate Mills, Ohio 44040-9317,
Tel:440-423-3469
GusEnyedy@aol.com

American Hungarian Foundation
300 Somerset St., Box 1084, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, Tel:732-846-5777
www.ahfoundation.org

American Hungarian Library and Historical Society
215 E. 82nd St., New York, NY 10028, Tel:212-744-5298
hungarianhouse.org/owners/library/library-us.htm

Budapest City Archives
H-1052 Budapest, Városház u. 9-11, Hungary, Tel:36-1-317-2033
www.bparchiv.hu/english/english.htm

National Archives of Hungary
Magyar Orzágos Levéltár, Postafiok 3, 1250 Budapest, Hungary,
Te:36-1-356-5811
www.natarch.hu/mo1_e.htm

Carpatho-Rusyn Society
125 Westland Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
www.carpathorusynsociety.org

Good Luck and happy hunting, Udvozol,
Laszlo "Laci/Les"

Hello Laszlo,
May I have your permission to include your 12 pointers on my web site? I would of course give you all the credit.
Thank you for your consideration.
Bill Tarkulich
www.iabsi.com

Hello: I married a man from Romania who's last name is Szilaj. I know that his family name is of Hungarian origin. Can someone tell me more about the family name? How does one link up with others with the same last name as Szilaj?

Readers of: 12 general information help/aid pointers that might help with your Hungarian genealogy research.

Please note that I have changed my email address to:
Laszlo.Apathy@verizon.net

—–
"Én még jól szpikolom a hangerijent" :-))
"Büszke magyar vagyok én, Erdélyben nött törzsöké fámnak" – Mr. Ferenc Kolcsey
=====
Laszlo B. Apathy III
AAA – Apati/Apathy Ancestral Association (est.1995)
191 Selma Ave.
Englewood, Florida 34223-3830 USA
—-
Tel: 941-474-4774(home) & 06-1-555-9198(Budapest)
FAX: 928-484-4774(pending)
Email: Laszlo.Apathy@verizon.net
Mobil: 941-___-____
URL: www.____________ (pending)
—
Proud researcher-archivist of Hungarian & German genealogy & family history.
1. AAA – "Apati/Apathy Ancestral Association" (Osok Tarsasaga) (est.1995)
de Nagytot(1609), Dombos(1722), & Woldorf(1807), Transylvania Region, HUNGARY
2. WWWW / W4 "Wiebelt-Wetzel-Weibel-Wood" Families Association (est.1998)
von Rheinland Pfalz/Palatinate, GERMANY
"Genealogy & Family History is our hobby…, We collect (deceased) ancestors" – LBA
=====

Readers of: 12 general information help/aid pointers that might help with your Hungarian genealogy research.

Please note that I have changed my email address to:
Laszlo.Apathy@verizon.net

—–
"Én még jól szpikolom a hangerijent" :-))
"Büszke magyar vagyok én, Erdélyben nött törzsöké fámnak" – Mr. Ferenc Kolcsey
=====
Laszlo B. Apathy III
AAA – Apati/Apathy Ancestral Association (est.1995)
191 Selma Ave.
Englewood, Florida 34223-3830 USA
—-
Tel: 941-474-4774(home) & 06-1-555-9198(Budapest)
FAX: 928-484-4774(pending)
Email: Laszlo.Apathy@verizon.net
Mobil: 941-___-____
URL: www.____________ (pending)
—
Proud researcher-archivist of Hungarian & German genealogy & family history.
1. AAA – "Apati/Apathy Ancestral Association" (Osok Tarsasaga) (est.1995)
de Nagytot(1609), Dombos(1722), & Woldorf(1807), Transylvania Region, HUNGARY
2. WWWW / W4 "Wiebelt-Wetzel-Weibel-Wood" Families Association (est.1998)
von Rheinland Pfalz/Palatinate, GERMANY
"Genealogy & Family History is our hobby…, We collect (deceased) ancestors" – LBA
=====

I am the individual whom wrote a message about the Makk or Makkos family of Sarvar, County of Vas. I was curious if the book you mention contains within it's text how an individual might be able to obtain copies of Birth, Baptisim and Death Records from a particular Catholic parrish or municipality from years prior to 1890?
I am conducting this genealogical research on behalf of my Late Mother, whom was always wanting to know her Fathers Hungarian family history. My only situation is I only know a few words of Magyar, words only mentioned aboard a cargo ship amongst sailors, so I am limited on my ability to translate from Hungarian to English on my own, so the book would have to be in english.
I can be obtained at the following e-mail address: brianjoycem@charter.net if you can provide me with more details concerning the twelve general information help/aid pointers book.
Thank you.

GRRRREAT Hungarian Genealogy Info.
First posted this in April 2003 and am really happy to see that researchers are still using it. Makes me really proud! Been researching our family genealogy, history, & heraldry for 35+ years and still find new info daily/weekly.

AAA – Apáti/Apáthi/Apáthy Ancestral Association/Alapítvány (est.1995)
WWWW – Wiebelt-Wetzel-Weibel-Wood Families Ancestral Association (est.2000)

Discussion/Fórum