Hungarian Genealogy & DNA: An Introduction To Autosomal DNA & DNA Painter

Many members of our Facebook Group (Hungarian Genealogy - Magyar Roots) have either asked or shown interest in better understanding and utilizing their DNA test results. This article will discuss using Ancestry DNA and MyHeritage DNA test results.

Ancestry DNA

Look for "DNA settings"

1. Ancestry ultimately does not provide the segment data for you and your DNA matches, which is necessary to continue forward, so you'll need to obtain that data elsewhere. Download your DNA data file from Ancestry DNA (it should be towards the bottom of the DNA settings page).

Look for "Download DNA data"

2. Once you have downloaded your DNA data file from AncestryDNA, go to GEDmatch.com and create a free account. Then upload your RAW DNA from Ancestry to GEDmatch and allow it to integrate into their system (usually takes ~24 hours or so).

You can upload DNA from 23andMe, Ancestry,
FTDNA, and many others.

GEDmatch also provides step-by-step instructions, though their examples are outdated:

https://app.gedmatch.com/gedwiki/index.php?title=Ancestry.Com_DNA_Upload

You do not need a subscription to use their basic tools, though further down the road you may find some of their subscription-based tools rather useful. The subscription to GEDmatch is currently $10/month and I personally use it ~3-4 times a year; only when I'm trying to figure out something very specific.

3. After that ~24 hour integration period, you'll be able to use either of the two "One-To-Many" tools under the "Free Tools" menu. This will show you all your DNA matches who've also uploaded their DNA to GEDmatch. You may quickly recognize names you've seen on Ancestry, which is beneficial and what you want. Look for DNA matches you already know and copy their KIT number.

Look for the KIT of your identified DNA match

4. Under the "Free Tools" menu go to "One-To-One Autosomal." For Kit Number 1 choose your kit (it should be a drop-down menu), and for Kit Number 2 input/paste your DNA match's KIT number from the previous step. Click "Compare" and the results should show bar graphs and tables for each of the 22 chromosomes.

An example of the "Autosomal One-to-one Comparison" results page.

5. Go to DNAPainter.com and create a free account, then create a new "Chromosome Maps" for your DNA kit. Once that is set up, you'll find a dark-blue "PAINT A NEW MATCH" bottom at the top-right of the page.

Look for "PAINT A NEW MATCH"

6. There you will then copy and paste the table data from step 4. Click "PREVIEW THESE SEGMENTS" and it should show where on each chromosome you and your DNA match share DNA.

Simply copy and paste the entire table, or specific rows of table data,
from GEDmatch; it will sometimes look like gibberish - trust the process!

7. Then you can save that match under whichever settings and colors you'd like. DNA Painter provides a lot of options, so you can be very thorough with organizing everyone into specific family groups and such. Over time, your Chromosome Map on DNA Painter will gradually fill in and this will ultimately help those trying to research brickwall ancestors.

An example of the Chromosome Map that I've
created for my mother's DNA matches.

MyHeritage DNA

The process for MyHeritage DNA is vastly different from Ancestry, while also being significantly easier. MyHeritage already provides the necessary segment data for you and your DNA match, which immediately eliminates your need to download your DNA data (like at Ancestry) and upload it to GEDmatch. As much as I always recommend GEDmatch, it could be entirely eliminated from the process by using MyHeritage DNA.

Towards the bottom of any MyHeritage DNA match's page, unless they have opted-out for privacy reasons, you will see the "Chromosome Browser – Shared DNA Segments." This is essentially the same data that GEDmatch provides. At the top-right corner of this data, you'll see an "Advanced options" drop-down menu which allows you to "Download shared DNA info."

Look for "Download shared DNA info" under the "Advanced options" menu.

The file you download will be a spreadsheet with the same segment data we were obtaining from GEDmatch for Ancestry DNA. With this data you can now follow steps #5-7 for the Ancestry DNA route described above.

New-Updated Databases & Collections: February-April 2026

Each month we will highlight the new and updated databases and collections beneficial to Hungarian genealogy. This post will showcase the months of February through April of 2026.

FamilySearch

During the month of February, FamilySearch updated the following collections:

-Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895 (added 1,051 indexes)
-Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980 (added 249 indexes)

During the month of March, FamilySearch updated the following collections:

-Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895 (added 11,252 indexes)
-Hungary, Church Books, 1624-1950 (added 2,487 indexes)

-Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980 (added 147 indexes)

During the month of April, FamilySearch updated the following collections:

-Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895 (added 130 indexes)
-Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980 (added 191 indexes)

Hungaricana

• 1767 Urbarial Census: There has been ongoing work to improve the indexing of the 1767 Urbarial Census. If you haven't checked specific counties recently, many of the handwritten "settlement" signatures and witness lists are being more accurately transcribed.
  
  
• Probate Records: A push to digitize 18th-century probate inventories (hagyatéki leltárak) from the trans-Danubian counties has seen new batches added to the Hungaricana portal. These are incredibly detailed, often listing every single item in a household upon death. This is valuable for social history as much as genealogy.

Hungarian Genealogy & DNA: Comparing Ancestry.com & MyHeritage.com

There has been considerably discussion in our Facebook group regarding DNA testing and which companies are the most beneficial in regards to Hungarian research. While both Ancestry and MyHeritage offer powerful tools, they serve different strategic purposes for those tracing roots in Hungary. This post will highlight the pros and cons of the DNA tests and matches available through both Ancestry and MyHeritage.

DNA with Ancestry.com

Pros:

• Database: Because Ancestry is the market leader in the U.S., Canada, and the UK, it is the best tool for finding "cousin matches" among the Hungarian diaspora who emigrated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  
  
• Ethnicity Origins - Regions: Again, because Ancestry is a market leader with DNA testing, their ethnicity estimates are superior to MyHeritage. Ancestry's last update from Oct 2025 significantly expanded their regions and sub-regions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Clusters: Ancestry introduced an enhanced version of their "custom clusters" tool in October 2025. This tool allows you adjust the filter to include matches as low as 20 cM, which is vital for deeper research, and proceeds to automatically sort your matches. This is very similar to the "Auto Clusters" introduced by MyHeritage in 2019, though with greater filter capabilities. The example below is my most recent cluster created at Ancestry for a branch of my maternal great-grandmother's family.
  
  
  
  
  

Cons:

• RAW DNA: While Ancestry provides the option to download your RAW DNA with their settings, they do not allow you to view or download matching segment data with your DNA matches. This is crucial information for determining proper DNA connections, as well as triangulated matches (3+ individuals sharing the same segment, thus indicating they all descend from a common ancestor.).
  
  Ancestry also does not allow you to upload your RAW DNA from another company - you must test with Ancestry.
  
  
• Filters: Ancestry allows you to filter your DNA matches by Tree details (private, public or unlinked trees) and Shared DNA (close matches, distant matches, custom centimorgan range). They furthermore allow you to filter by Groups (user-created), Journeys (Ancestry-created) and Parent. From a genealogical standpoint, I personally feel these tools don't particularly help us well with accurately narrowing down our search.
  
  
• Pricing: DNA tests through Ancestry are undeniably the more expensive option. They regularly have sales throughout the year, however, those sales can vary between $29, $39 and $59; while the non-sale test goes for $99 (including shipping).
  
  

DNA with MyHeritage.com

Pros:

• Database: More people currently living in Hungary and neighboring countries (Slovakia, Romania, Serbia) tend to test with MyHeritage. Testing with MyHeritage will increase your chances of finding local matches whose ancestors and immediate family remained in Europe.
  
  
• RAW DNA: MyHeritage is a step ahead of Ancestry, and has been for many years, in that they do provide and allow you to download the matching segment data with your DNA matches. This is crucial and extremely important data when analyzing and conducting DNA research. This segment data allows you to see (and download) on which chromosome you share DNA with a match. You can then take that downloaded segment data and input it into an application, such as DNA Painter.
  
  

  

  Advanced options > Download shared DNA info

  
  
  

  

  Screenshot of my personal DNA Painter account, using the
  downloaded segment data from MyHeritage and GEDmatch.
  This significantly helps with triangulated matches (a shared common ancestor).

  
  
  
• Filters: MyHeritage allows you to filter your DNA matches by tree details (user-submitted family trees), relationships (close family, extended family, and distant relatives) and locations. The locations filter may be the most beneficial, in that you can specifically narrow down your matches to only individuals presently residing in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, etc.
  
  

  

  Filter by Location > Hungary

  
  
• Pricing: The standard price for DNA kits at MyHeritage are $89 (including shipping), which is already $10 cheaper than Ancestry. While they have sales, the prices of their DNA kits can range from $25, $29, $36 and $59. MyHeritage currently has a sale for DNA tests at $36, ending at midnight on February 24, 2026 PST (early morning February 25th for those on the East Coast or in Europe).

Cons:

• RAW DNA: MyHeritage previously allowed users to upload their RAW DNA from other companies, for a small fee, however, during the summer of 2025 this unfortunately came to an end. MyHeritage now requires you to purchase their DNA kit.
  
  
• Ethnicity Estimate: Because of the smaller user-base at MyHeritage, their ethnicity estimates are not as accurate or reliable as Ancestry.com.

Conclusion

Test with both Ancestry and MyHeritage while they have sales on their DNA tests. Ancestry will help you locate family members from branches of immigrant-line ancestors, while MyHeritage will help you locate family members still in Europe. Because Ancestry does not allow you to download or view specific segment data between matches, it is always suggested to upload your RAW DNA to GEDmatch.com.

New-Updated Databases & Collections: December 2025

Each month we will highlight the new and updated databases and collections beneficial to Hungarian genealogy. This post will showcase the month of December 2025.

FamilySearch

FamilySearch had previously indexed a vast majority of the baptism records for the Catholic Church; they've now begun indexing the marriage and death records.

25 Dec 2025:    Croatia, Church Books, 1516-1994 (7,025,204 total records)

25 Dec 2025:    Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980 (13,080,318 total records)

25 Dec 2025:    Slovakia, Church and Synagogue Books, 1592-1935 (19,479,296 total records)
24 Dec 2025:    Hungary, Jewish Vital Records Index, 1800-1945 (105,717 total records)
03 Dec 2025:    Hungary, Catholic Church Records, 1636-1895 (18,253,083 total records)

Holocaust Era Archives

A major collaborative effort between the Zekelman Holocaust Center and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) has resulted in a new searchable website holding over 160,000 frames of microfilm. The records were sources from the Hungarian National Archives (MNL) and they detail the persecution and seizure of property during World War II. The database is fully keyword-searchable for names, as well as words. While the physical reels were sourced from the National Archives of Hungary in the 1960s, this is the first time the complete collection has been made fully searchable and viewable online to the general public.

Hungarian Documents Microfilm Collection

Hungarian National Archives (MNL)

19 Dec 2025: The Hungarian National Archives (MNL) has expanded their Civil Registrations database and began using AI to interpret handwriting on the documents. They have successfully fully-indexed the Civil Registration records for Aszód District in Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County, covering these localities:

• Aszód
• Bernecebaráti
• Galgamácsa
• Ipolydamásd
• Ipolytölgyes
• Kemence
• Kismaros
• Kóspallag
• Letkés
• Márianosztra
• Nagybörzsöny
• Perőcsény
• Szob
• Szokolya
• Tésa
• Verőcemaros
• Vácegres
• Vámosmikola
• Zebegény

Source Article:
https://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/ol/hirek/forradalmi_fejlesztessel_segiti_a_csaladfakutatokat_az_mnl
Source Database:
https://adatbazisokonline.mnl.gov.hu/adatbazis/allami-anyakonyvek-kezirasfelismeressel

4 Dec 2025: A new database was introduced highlighting civilian and military losses, examining the death registers between 1944 and 1952, as well as war-damaged documents from 1944–1945. There was previously no known compiled database that processed the World War II casualties of an entire country in a similar fashion.

Source Article:
https://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/ol/hirek/uj_adatbazis_magyarorszag_1944_1945_os_katonai_birtokbavetelerol

Source Database: 
https://mo44-45.mnl.gov.hu/

Scientists Just Proved Where the First Hungarians Really Came From

Mt. Yamantau, the highest point in South Ural Mountains.

For over a thousand years, we’ve been trying to piece together the "prehistory" of the Magyars. We had the medieval chronicles (which are half-legend), we had the linguistic link to the Uralic languages, and we had archaeology. But there was always a missing piece: The DNA.

How do you prove that a group of people in the 10th-century Carpathian Basin are the exact same people who lived thousands of miles away in the Ural Mountains just a generation or two prior?

A massive new study just published in the journal Cell (led by Balázs Gyuris, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy, and David Reich) finally settled the debate. Using 1.2 million genetic markers from 131 ancient individuals, they’ve mapped the "smoking gun" of Hungarian origins.
The study used a technique called Identity-by-Descent (IBD). Think of it like a genetic tracer dye. When two people share long, identical stretches of DNA, it means they share a very recent common ancestor.

The researchers found these "long shared haplotypes" between the 10th-century Magyars in Hungary and a group from the Southern Urals called the Karayakupovo culture. It proves that the "conquering" Magyars didn't just pick up Uralic culture along the way; they were literally the descendants of the people living in the Southern Urals.

One of the most surprising things the DNA reveals is the speed of the migration. Historically, some thought the Magyars spent centuries wandering through the Russian steppes. But the high level of shared DNA suggests the move from the Urals to the Carpathian Basin was incredibly fast—likely happening within just a few generations. This was a organized, rapid migration, not a slow drift.

Have you ever heard of Friar Julian? In the 1230s, this Hungarian monk traveled east and claimed he found a group of people in the Volga region who still spoke Hungarian. For centuries, historians wondered if he made it up. The DNA shows genetic continuity in the Volga-Kama region all the way into the 14th century (the Chiyalik culture). These people were the genetic "cousins" who stayed behind while the rest of the Magyars moved west.

Finally, the study shows that the Magyars weren't a "pure" isolated group. By the time they arrived in the Carpathian Basin, they were a complex alliance. They carried a mix of:

• Uralic ancestry (their core roots)
• East Eurasian signatures (from deep Siberia/Lake Baikal)
• Steppe ancestry (from their time interacting with Turkic and Iranian groups)

For a long time, the "Uralic origin" theory was under fire from people who preferred different historical narratives. This paper effectively ends that debate. It tells us that the Hungarian story is one of incredible mobility, a rapid "leap" across Eurasia, and a deep-seated connection to the mountains of the East that survived for millennia in our genetic code.

If you’re a science nerd or a history buff, this is the definitive paper to read.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396632194_Long_shared_haplotypes_identify_the_southern_Urals_as_a_primary_source_for_the_10th-century_Hungarians

Hungarian National Archives (MNL) Helps Genealogists With Revolutionary Development

The Hungarian National Archives (MNL) has begun using AI handwriting recognition to fully index the Civil Registration records which began in 1895. Their announcement states "the technology has so far been applied to the civil registry offices of some settlements in Pest County, but according to plans, it will be extended to other state civil registry offices in the future."

From what I could find, it appears these localities have been completed for Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County:

• Aszód
• Bernecebaráti
• Galgamácsa
• Ipolydamásd
• Ipolytölgyes
• Kemence
• Kismaros
• Kóspallag
• Letkés
• Márianosztra
• Nagybörzsöny
• Perőcsény
• Szob
• Szokolya
• Tésa
• Verőcemaros
• Vácegres
• Vámosmikola
• Zebegény

The entirety of the documents are transcribed, along with spelling variations (and variance percentages). And I mean the *entire document*.

The article can be read here: https://mnl.gov.hu/mnl/ol/hirek/forradalmi_fejlesztessel_segiti_a_csaladfakutatokat_az_mnl
The database can be found here: https://adatbazisokonline.mnl.gov.hu/.../allami...

Below are two example images:
1) Shows how detailed the AI handwriting recognition is, with every word underlined and providing a transcribed word(s).
2) The search function works incredibly well. I immediately found the death record for my great-grandfather's sister-in-law, which I hadn't been able to previously locate.

Hungarian National Archives (MNL) - Civil Registration Records for Csongrád-Csanád and Somogy Counties

An update from the Hungarian National Archives (MNL) states they've added Civil Registration records from 1895-1980 for Csongrád-Csanád and Somogy Counties. This is in addition to the Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kisun County records that are already available.

Click on "Hierachia" to browse the folders and find specific content: https://adatbazisokonline.mnl.gov.hu/adatbazis/allami-anyakonyvek/informacio

Milestones at MagyarRoots.com & Memorial Day Sale

In light of our website's recent launch within the past month, our name re-branding, as well as our Facebook group reaching 7,000 members and it also being Memorial Day, we thought we would offer a sale on professional research services to help members trace their family history, build family trees, or solve genealogical mysteries.

It took several years to get the website back up, and it still needs some work, but we are now offering the same tens of thousands of indexed and transcribed material that was previously available; there are nearly 70,000 marriage records alone.

Current Projects at Magyar Roots:

Gazetteer Maps

• These are slowly being updated. The Jewish gazetteer map is mostly done, concerning Hungary-proper and Slovakia, with details about content in several Romanian archives.
• The Roman Catholic gazetteer map is currently comprised of Abaúj-Torna, Bereg, Borsod, Gömör, Hont, Sáros and Ung counties.

Surname Database

• Our former website had a Surname Database, where researchers could contribute the surnames and localities in which they were researching, in hopes of making connections with others researching either the same surnames or localities. We are working on bringing this back.

Search Form

• It would be significantly easier to be able to search the mass amount of data presented by our website through a search form. My goal is for it to be a detailed form that allows for many search variables; such as surname, year range, localities, keywords, etc.
  
  

Memorial Day Sale

To highlight this progress and what is expected to come, we have decided to offer our largest sale yet - 50% off! Research is currently conducted at $40/hour, which would make the sale price $20/hour.

All client research projects vary greatly, ranging from small to large, depending entirely on what you're ultimately seeking to discover. Does your family have a story that needs verification? Are you struggling with the language barrier when presented with digitized documents? We can help you!

Send us a message through our Contact Form explaining what kind of research you're interested in having completed. We will conduct preliminary research, free of charge, to determine record availability and get a general idea of the scope of the project. We will then report back to you with a synopsis of our preliminary research and an estimate for the project.

This Memorial Day sale for 50% off research is active from Monday, May 27th until Friday, May 31st. Please contact us before then to lock in this sale offer

Hungarian Genealogy: Research Tip #14: Additional or Second Surnames

There may be instances during your Hungarian research where you come upon an ancestor, or an entire family (sometimes even generations), listed with two surnames. This practice was common throughout Hungary, though it rises in prevalence as you near Slavic borders to the north and south.

In larger towns or villages with many individuals sharing the same name, such as a common name like Nagy Mihály, it could quickly become confusing on who was being discussed. When they were alive, it would have become beneficial to use an additional or second surname to help differentiate themselves from the other Nagy Mihály in the same community.

The additional surnames that were chosen depended entirely on the individual. You'll see from the examples below that the additional surname could fall into many of the same categories as typical Hungarian surnames. The additional surname could've reflected a place of origin, a family name, an occupation or even describing their physical appearance. A previous article on the meaning of Hungarian surnames can be found here.

Here are some examples that I could find with explanations on their usage:

Multi-Generational:

• Gombás Mihály was married to Gajdos Sára on 14 Jan 1778 in Tiszavasvári, with Sára from neighboring Tiszadob. After their marriage, Mihály became known as Dobi Gombás Mihály to differentiate himself from the other Gombás Mihály in the village - there were many. Dobi is clearly indicative of his wive's origins. Their two sons, János (1782-1850) and Bálint (1800-1829), also continued to use Dobi Gombás, with János passing the name onto his own son Dobi Gombás Bálint (1822-1884).
  
  
• Sometime between 1771-1781, Tóth Mihály was married to Erzsébet Handa in Tiszadob, Szabolcs county. The help differentiate himself from the other Tóth Mihály' in the village, including the below mentioned Tépei Tóth Mihály, he went as Boros Tóth Mihály. Boros is indicative of the family's production of wine in Tiszadob.
  
  Their son, Boros Tóth Mihály (1781-1846) continued to use the name and also passed it on for several generations. All nine of his children between two wives (Tóth Mária from neighboring Kesznyetén and Gorzás Sára from Tiszadob) used Boros Tóth as their surname. Only two of their sons passed the name onto their children: Boros Tóth Károly (1826-?) and Boros Tóth Sándor (1839-?).
  
  All nine of the children of Boros Tóth Károly (1826-?) used Boros Tóth as their surname, however only two sons passed the name on:
  • Boros Tóth Károly (1852-1913): his four children used Boros Tóth and two sons passed the name on:
    • Boros Tóth Sándor (1873-1952): he immigrated to America and became Alex Toth.
    • Boros Tóth Károly (1881-?): his three children used Boros Tóth
  • Boros Tóth Imre (1854-?): his three children used Boros Tóth, though they all died in infancy.

Immediate Family:

• An entirely different Gombás Mihály from the one mentioned above was married to Katalin Sziki on 4 Jan 1797 in Tiszavasvári. Mihály himself, as far as I have been able to find, never took on an additional name himself. However, out of the eight children this couple had (three of them male), one daughter took on an additional name: Sziki Gombás Katalin. This may reflect the number of other Gombás Katalin that were in the village at the same time, considering only she chose to and none of her siblings.
  
  
• Tóth Mihály was married to Márczin Sára on 7 Jan 1767 in Tépe, Bihar county. Sometime after 1774, when their last child was born in Tépe, they moved to Tiszadob, Szabolcs county. He became known as Tépei Tóth Mihály, with the -i suffix on Tépei meaning 'from'. Only one of their children continued to use the name, Tépei Tóth János (1778-1834), however it did not continue with his own children.

There are instances where abbreviations are used for the additional surname and sometimes all you may find is an abbreviation. There are also instances of the additional surname being used individually, without the proper original surname. A great example provided in our Facebook group today can be found below - Nagy is the proper surname, while Zsiros is the additional surname. These are the variations you may come across:

• Nagy
• Nagy Zsiros
• Zs. Nagy
• Zsiros Nagy
• Zsiros

Unless otherwise mentioned within the records, additional or second surnames do not denote nobility.

Joint Archival Symposium of Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár and FamilySearch

On Monday, May 13, the joint archival symposium of the Hungarian National Archives (MNL) and FamilySearch will be held, at which well-known domestic and foreign speakers will discuss the new technologies available in family history research. It is not possible to participate in person, but the conference will be broadcast online by the Hungarian National Archives. The language of the conference will be English. The conference will be broadcast from 4am-9am EST, for five hours.

View the live-stream: HERE

After the conference has completed, we will update this post to provide the recording.

Update: 24 May 2024

The Hungarian National Archives (MNL) has published an article and videos of the archival symposium. You can find the article here.

Quick Viewing of Digitized Hungarian Baptisms Indexed at FamilySearch

     Many are familiar with the Reformed and Roman Catholic baptism index collections at FamilySearch.org, however not all are aware that there is further beneficial information on these indexes other than the genealogical content. The indexes include source material to aid in viewing the actual image. In this article, I will explain the process in locating the digitized images for these baptisms and I will be using my 2x-great-grandfather's baptism index as an example. [All images to the right can be clicked for further enlarging.]
     On the right side of the index, you will see what is listed as the "GS Film number". "GS" stands for Genealogical Society, which is otherwise known as the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Take the newly-found microfilm number and search for it in the microfilm catalog at FamilySearch.org. This search will result in the exact catalog title being found; click on that title and continue onward to review what is available for that collection.

     You can see from the Film Notes, on the catalog title, that the required microfilm number for viewing is the third on the list. The camera icon to the right indicates that the microfilm has been digitized and is available for viewing. Click on that camera icon to pull up the digitized content.
Be advised: you may need to be

signed-in with your free FamilySearch.org account for the images to load properly.

     Now going back to the baptism index, you'll see a section that states "Image Number" and "Line Number". Input that image number into the top left area of the digitized records, as seen on the image to the right, and then navigate to the correct line number. (Note: the line

number is not always provided, depending on the time period and whether there was an actual entry number on the document.) While viewing the digitized record, you can verify the information that was provided on the index for inaccuracies, as well as glean all other information not provided on the index (there's a lot!). As you can see in this record example, they incorrectly indexed the mother's name as Zsuzsána Kabai (one entry below), when it's actually Zsuzsána Gulyás.

Rare Old Hungarian Wines to Be Shown at 1934 Fair

Chicago Daily News, Roll 675
25 Nov 1933, Page 11
[Click to enlarge]

While conducting newspaper research in Chicago several weeks ago, I came across an article on Hungarian wines to be presented at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair. The fair was otherwise known as the Century of Progress, itself being a celebration of the city's centennial. A transcript of the article is below:

"Rare Old Hungarian Wines    to Be Shown at 1934 Fair
By John Drury
    Rare old wines from the former royal cellars of Budapest, some of the villages dating back a century will be on exhibition in a proposed new Hungarian pavilion at A Century of Progress exposition next year, it was announced today.
    The musty old bottles will not be for sale to fair visitor, the announcement added. They will be merely on display and the labels will indicate the ages of the various types of wines. Tokays will be the main feature of the exhibit, but there will also be Burgundies and clarets and other popular continental wines.
      Here to Arrange Details
   Announcement of the this exhibit was made by Victor Unterreimer, prominent merchant of Budapest, who arrived in Chicago a few days ago for negotiations with the world's fair management. He said that the wines are now in the custody of a leading bank in Budapest, which took over some of the effects of the royal household after the revolution of 1918.
   "Our pavilion, which will be located at the north end of the Midway," added Mr. Unterreimer, "will also contain exhibits of embroideries, jewelry, glassware and other articles showing the arts and crafts of the Magyar republic.
   "There will also be a collection of historic watches, one of them dating back to 560 A.D. This collection was formerly owned by the Emperor Franz Joseph. It has been shown at many European fairs and expositions and in 1923 it won first prize at the International Watch exhibit in Berlin."
      Others May Exhibit
   Mr. Unterreimer said he is returning to Budapest immediately to enlist the interest of merchants in showing their wares at next year's Chicago fair. He added that he will be back after the first of the year to start work on the pavilion.
   This will not be the first Hungarian pavilion at the world's fair, as one was erected at the 1933 exposition. It stood immediately south of Old Heidelberg Inn. The leading exhibitor in this pavilion was Nicolas Krausz, proprietor of the famous "Haris Bazar No. 4" in Budapest, which featured historic jewelry from the castles of Hungarian noblemen. Mr. Krausz has moved his exhibit to the Leschin women's wearing apparel shop at 318 South Michigan boulevard, where it is now on display.


Cross-posted from: http://nickmgombash.blogspot.com/2017/08/rare-old-hungarian-wines-to-be-shown-at.html

Hungarian Church Records Now Digitized At FamilySearch.org

Much to the delight of my colleagues and Hungary Exchange Facebook group, many Hungarian church records have become digitized and freely viewable online at FamilySearch.org. You can now browse and enjoy these records at home, instead of needing to frequent your local FHC, and you will spend less money from having to order the microfilm. The Reformed and Roman Catholic baptism indexes, as well as the Jewish Vital Records indexes, don't appear to link up with their proper digitized image yet, so there certainly is still work to be done behind the scenes.

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The best way to find your parish is to search the microfilm catalog, under the Place category, at FamilySearch.org/catalog/search. Most localities will come up this way, however not all villages or towns had a church or synagogue for each religion - hence requiring the citizens to travel to the nearest neighboring village. There are several gazetteers that help guide you to the correct parishes and many of them are now online. Here you can find the 1877, 1888 and 1893 gazeetters. The Hungarian National Archive's church record microfilm catalog, which was edited, compiled and prepared by Dr. Kálniczky László in 1998, is a gazetteer which may reflect earlier parishes. You can find here Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Once you find the parish you need and pull up the microfilm catalog title, you will be able to determine if the content is digitized and available. On the catalog title, under Format and next to the microfilm number, you will find a magnifying glass icon (indicating the microfilm is [partially] indexed) and a camera icon (indicating the microfilm is digitized). Here is an example of a catalog title, with the camera icon circled in red to the right of the microfilm numbers: 

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The last thing to do is click that camera icon to begin viewing the digitized content! As always, you can print or download any record. We're also provided with options found under Tools, to help tweak an otherwise unreadable image.

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Digitization efforts are still underway, so not everything is digitized and viewable yet. We should hope to see updates to these collections regularly, until they're completely digitized. I have been able to view Evangelical, Greek Catholic, Jewish, Reformed and Roman Catholic registers. Happy researching!

A Hungarian In The American Revolution & An Independence Day Weekend Sale

Many of our ethnic or national Hungarian ancestors immigrated to America in seek of the freedoms and liberties that our country offered. Hungarians have been finding their way to America for centuries and one of the earliest, if not the earliest, was a Hungarian cavalryman named Mihály Kováts de Fabriczy. He provided faithful military service during the American Revolution, which ultimately took his life, along with Casimir Pulaski and are known for being the founding fathers of the United States Cavalry. Mihály came from a noble family, their name in Hungarian being 'fabriczi Kováts', and rose through the ranks during his military career to gain the title of Captain of the Huszárs. Mihály had offered his military service to the American ambassador in France, Benjamin Franklin, and one particular portion of his letter written on January 13, 1777 to the ambassador proclaimed his desire for independence and his knowledge of war:

"Golden freedom cannot be purchased with yellow gold."

"I, who have the honor to present this letter to your Excellency, am also following the call of the Fathers of the Land, as the pioneers of freedom always did. I am a free man and a Hungarian. As to my military status I was trained in the Royal Prussian Army and raised from the lowest rank to the dignity of a Captain of the Hussars, not so much by luck and the mercy of chance than by most diligent self discipline and the virtue of my arms. The dangers and the bloodshed of a great many campaigns taught me how to mold a soldier, and, when made, how to arm him and let him defend the dearest of the lands with his best ability under any conditions and developments of the war."

Mihály Kováts perished during the American Revolution at the battle of Charleston, South Carolina, and the British had buried his body where he was found. It is claimed that Joseph Johnson, a doctor in Charleston, knew the exact location of where Mihály Kováts' remains lay and that it was at the corner of Margaret John's estate, which later became Huger Street.

Hungary Exchange is offering a holiday weekend sale of 20% off professional services*. Detailed information about what research you can be assisted with can be found here at the Hungary Exchange website. Free estimates and references are always available and I can be contacted directly at my email address: nickmgombash@yahoo.com. The sale ends Monday, July 4th, 2016, so make sure to get in contact before it expires to take advantage of the sale.

*Cannot be used towards Romanian photography or existing projects.

Hungarian Funeral Notices & Family Relationship Terms List

An often overlooked Hungarian collection on FamilySearch holds a treasure trove of genealogical information. Hungary Funeral Notices, 1840-1990 are printed funeral or death notices, similar to obituaries in other counties, and the originals are currently held at the National Széchényi Library (Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, or OSZK) in Budapest, Hungary. Over a quarter of the collection covers Budapest and the remainder for the rest of Hungary, although I have seen notices for individuals in Austria, Germany and what is now Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The funeral notices were preserved on microfilm by the LDS between 2003-2006 and consists of 582 microfilm and can be reviewed in the microfilm catalog. These were later digitized (accessible through both links above), but 9 microfilm still remain to be digitized. It's unclear why Syatmárz, Syecsez, Syeibert, and Syékely are spelled with SY, when it should be SZ.

Ebeczki-Blaskovich, Ernő-Edelényi Szabó, József 2362003
Füzi, András-Füzi, Szaniszló 2455816, item 1
Gaál, Ádám-Gabler, Anna 2455816, item 2
Kovács, Gabika-Kovács, József 2455817
Kováts, Sándor-Koymári, Imre 2455818
Szász, J. József-Syatmárz, Ede 2455810
Syatmárz, Ede-Syecsez, Ernő 2455811
Syecsez, Ernő-Syeibert, Imre 2455812
Syeibert, Imre-Syékely, Lujza 2455813
Syékely, Lujza-Szél, Juditnak 2455814

  FamilySearch has already provided a great example of what could be found on these funeral notices (above), and detailed explanations of the content can be found on the collection's Wiki page. Apart from the deceased's age, date and place of death and burial, and sometimes how many years they were married, the most beneficial part of the funeral notices are the names of the surviving family members. I have put together a list of terms that are most often found on the funeral notices, which should help with understanding the family relationships being described.

anya mother
anyós mother-in-law
anyósa his/her mother-in-law
apa father
após father-in-law
apósa his/her father-in-law
asszony wife
atya father
dédnagyanya great-grandmother
dédnagyapa great-grandfather
dédunoka great-grandchild
dédunokája great-grandchildren
feleség wife
felesége his wife
férj husband
férje her husband
fia son
gyerek child
gyermeke his/her child
gyermek child
gyermekei his/her children
gyermekeik their children
gyermekek children
gyermekük their child
hitves spouse
hitvese his/her spouse
leánya daughter
meny daughter-in-law
menye his/her daughter-in-law
mostohaanya step-mother
mostohaapa step-father
mostohagyerek step-child
nagyanya grandmother
nagyapa grandfather
nagybácsi uncle
nagynéni aunt
nagyszül grandparent
nagyszülők grandparents
neje his wife
nővér sister
nővére his/her sister
nővérek sisters
özvegy widow, widower
özvegye his/her widow/widower
szül parent
szülei his/her parents
szülok parents
szülött children
született born
sógor brother-in-law
sógora his/her brother-in-law
sógorai his/her brothers-in-law
sógornő sister-in-law
sógornői his/her sisters-in-law
sógornők sisters-in-law
testvér sibling, brother, sister
testvére his/her sibling
testvérei his/her siblings
testvérek siblings
unoka grandchild
unokahúg niece
unokái his/her grandchildren
unokája grandchildren
unokaöccs nephew
unokatestvér cousin
unokaveje his/her grandson-in-law
unokavejei his/her grandsons-in-law
vej son-in-law
veje his/her son-in-law

I've created an example family tree from the information provided in the funeral notice of Borbála Dienes, who is stated as the wife of Lajos Dobay, the Reformed pastor of Nagy-Sármás. Her funeral notice provides the name of her husband, children, sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1896

The FamilySearch database entitled Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1896 documented local residents and travelers living in Vienna for the time period of 1850 through 1896, with the original documents being housed in the Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv (Vienna City and Provincial Archives). These records have been preserved on microfilm through the LDS and consists of 3,173 microfilm, which can be reviewed here in the microfilm catalog. Although there lacks to be a complete index for this collection, a great deal has already been indexed and provided online. I personally found the search form for this database to be rather limiting, with it not providing an option to search for an individual's place of birth, so I figured out a work-around.

Running a basic search for Hungary in the "Any Place" section on FamilySearch pulls back over 31 million results. We can restrict these results to specific Collections through the filter options on the bottom left of the search tools, which is shown in the red square to the left. Clicking on Collections brings up many categories of records, including 'Birth, Marriage, & Death', 'Census & Lists', 'Migration & Naturalization', 'Military', 'Other', and 'Probate & Court'. Scroll down to the second from last category entitled 'Other' and chose Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1896, with over 10,000 results. From here you can narrow the search down even further to your specific surnames and localities of interest, but be forewarned that Hungarian localities may likely be spelled in their German equivalent. One such example is Raab, or Rab, which is Győr in Hungarian. Unfortunately, digitized images of the content is not viewable through the index, so ordering of the microfilm is still necessary.

I have retrieved a copy of one of the documents to highlight important information that is contained in these records. This specific example is for an "Elek v. Eördögh", whose surname was likely Eördöghi/Eördöghy in Hungarian, that was residing in Vienna's district XVIII at Währingerstrasse 113 number 2. It states that he was born in Miskolcz Ungarn (Hungary in German), was a citizen of Maglod Ungarn, was born on 03 August 1863, was of the Evangelical faith (Augsburg Confession Evangelical), and that his wife was Etelka in Ungarn.

Other countries apart from Hungary can also be found in these indexes, including Romania (Rumänien) and Slovakia (Slowakel or Tschechoslowakei).