NEW YEAR 2021

original photo by me

Readers,

I want to wish all of you health, wealth, and love in this New Year. 

I'm having a quiet night at home, a couple dogs wrapped in blankets near my feet and some lemon bars and tea.

Though in Southern California, there is snow on the mountains and it's cold. Not as cold as other parts of the country, but cold enough for sweaters and fluffy slippers. 

I've never much enjoyed loud New Years Eve parties, but the main reason for staying home rather than get together with friends is avoiding Covid-19. You may have heard that we are in a terrible crisis here. Like many of you, I seem to be addicted to news reports. The sickness and death is alarming. The hospitals are overwhelmed. The least we can do is stay home and out of harm's way. 

Two of my friends, one in Baltimore, the other in Orange, have had Covid. One had mild symptoms, the other was sick for three weeks. But for me so far so good.

I'm feeling positive about the vaccines but believe it will be spring before I will be eligible to take it myself. And so I suspect my blogging may slow down. 

Our leaders are asking us to avoid even the walks we take for exercise which bring us into contact with others; so if you're feeling a bit crazy with cabin fever, you're not alone.

Outside there are some booms, so somewhere people are trying to make cheer by blasting off Roman candles or fireworks left over from July. As well Christmas lights are decorating houses and apartments all over.

The Christmas tree will remain up a while longer. Usually till the 6th of  January.

I look forward to the day when all is well.

OH COME LET US ADORE HIM

 

HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS MUSIC

WHEN THE SNOWMAN COMES ALIVE

 

ASK YOURSELF THIS

ARE YOU WILLING TO HOLOCAUST THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE HOMELESS?  DO YOU CONSIDER THEM TO BE SUBHUMAN and NOT WORTHY OF BASIC RESPECT or TO BE WITHOUT NEED?  Is it OK with you if they freeze to death?  Starve to death? Die in the street? Give birth in the street? Go hungry? Go without education?  Keep moving?  Do you care if people who not long ago had it all together are now at risk of going crazy? HAVE YOU DUMPED FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY RAN OUT OF LUCK?

If so, please do NOT celebrate Christmas.

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I don't know about your town, but I know that mine has a homeless encampment that keeps getting bigger down by the post office, which happens to have outdoor lighting on all night. There is also a motel that has been temporarily funded as a temporary homeless shelter.  I encounter homeless people everywhere I go, especially in libraries, and I believe the numbers are triple of that counted. I believe this because I believe that a good number of homeless are secretly so.  They have avoided being counted and do not want to go to shelters or other facilities either because they don't want governmental benefits or intrusion into their lives, or because there are horror stories about what it is to be in these places.  In talking to people I meet, I've learned about long wait lists as well and the feeling of despair.  Partners do not want to be separated.  Parents don't want their children put in foster care.  They would rather go on loving each other in a tent.

I thought about this the other day because basically I was reading through my old posts that are genealogy oriented,  I noted that the National Archive of Hungary and the databases that show who owned the land and how many people lived on it - as tenant farmers - as serfs - back in the Queen Marie Theresa's day. As well, the 1828 census counted how many slaves one had. I was thinking about how the land barons who had serfs on their estate owed them some very basics. They were better off than the homeless in the sense that if you were a serf on a baron's estate, you were not expected to be transient.  

You knew where you belonged and you knew what hut was yours for the night.  You probably had a sense of community and some pride in being able to work hard to contribute towards your upkeep.  You may have had rags on your feet, but you had family too. I'm not idealizing serfdom. I'm saying the freeing of the serfs was a great big deal and often they ran for another country and a better life, but how can we free the homeless who are living much like them?

I truly fear what is coming if there is no more governmental help coming, in particular if evictions are allowed to continue.  Even those who have been living on unemployment benefits are at risk at becoming homeless.  So very many here in Southern California live without savings.  And have nowhere else to go.  California has been a destination for people who became homeless in other places, in particular cold places.  You probably won't freeze to death here, but there are still places where you can be overexposed to cold.

I learned that the motel full of homeless people does not house our town's local homeless.  Social workers from all over the city have sent people who are very ill or incapacitated there.  It is full of people with stage four cancer, people who cannot walk without a chair and assistance, people who are recovering from heart surgery who lost their apartments in the process of their illness and recovery.  Some of them are awaiting placement in assisted living or apartments with governmental vouchers.

It was bad before Covid-19 and now it's just horrible.  Though my neighborhood is decorated with Christmas lights, the food bank has been setting up down by the school.  We are all grateful for what all we have but also worried. We have decided on token gifts and donations to charities.

If you are reading this from another place in America or the world, please consider that empathy and understanding of other people's plight is a first step.  Stop protesting the existence of tent cities or the existence of homeless people in your neighborhood. Learn the truth about why they are out there.  I suspect you will find that evil and greed is at the heart of it.

AND TO ALL OF YOU, A GOOD NIGHT!

C 2020 Magyar American BlogSpot

SAINT NICHOLAS DAY IN HUNGARY

 

If you have BIG FEET it's a good thing...

HAVE A HUNGARIAN THEMED CHRISTMAS AT HOME

If you are one of the many millions of us who will be staying home for Christmas and the Holidays, avoiding travel and otherwise staying as safe as we can be due to the horrific challenges of Covid-19, this may be the year when you can bring some forgotten traditions into your Hungarian-heritage home.

First Saint Nick Day is December 6th.  This is the day to fill shoes with small gifts and treats.  (It's up to you if you wish to also gift on Christmas Eve or Day.)

Next, remember that Christmas in Hungary is a religious holiday.  You may or may not be Christian or especially religious, so perhaps this will simply be a time for you to read around the subject.  Or you might want to get out your Bible and read the passages about the Nativity.  Your church might be closed or unable to provide a safe space for an indoor ritual, but you can create your own worship or lessons.

Try to make a Hungarian recipe or two. Goulash (stew) served in bread bowls, sausages, pork and sour kraut, or stuffed cabbages make for hearty meals.  Perhaps you will create a vegetarian themed meal using lentils and rice instead. Or make rolled breads with poppyseeds or walnuts or cookies with apricots.

Then there's wine.  Mulled wine with spices is popular.  Palinka - fruit brandy, also. 

But here are some very American ideas for you.

Have a backyard fruit tree harvest and distribute your excess lemons, oranges, grapefruits, around your neighborhood.  Believe me this will be good for the tree.  You may have grown accustomed to just walking into the yard and picking what your need, but your neighbors will love the gift of fruit. Some shelters and food banks also accept local fruit donations.

Get out the art supplies.  Children and adults as well can create personal greeting cards (you really can snail mail instead of e-mail) or Holiday art to be hung on string around the house.

Give yourself a news break.  It will be there tomorrow, and chances are very good that if the news is going to impact you, you will hear about it no matter if you check your phone every few hours or not.

Remember the old days when there were no cell phones or the Internet. TALK TO OTHERS.  If you have to stay on the sidewalk to greet your friends and neighbors and wear a mask - oh well - hopefully by next year the crisis will have resolved.

Record memories for family history books and genealogies.

Tell those you love that you do.

See you in 2021!

C 2020 Magyar-American BlogSpot

LET US GIVE THANKS

 

THE RISE AND FALL OF PENN STATION : MAGYAR AMERICAN FILM REVIEW

The history of Penn Station, which opened in 1910, and which no longer exists, is quite interesting.  Trains were the greatest way to travel distances before airplanes and some would say they are still the best way to travel, though often more expensive.  The history of Penn Station is the history of of the Pennsylvania Rail Road which had extensive rails all over the state, a monopoly, but had to stop at New Jersey.  A plan was made to buy up  four blocks of the Tender Loin, a place where poor immigrants lived in tenements, and replace it with a station twice the size as the most beautiful one in Paris, France, the Gare d' Orsey.  An engineering and architectural feat, though partly a gift to New York,  this "civic deed" was also a successful attempt to corner the travel market, by tunneling under two rivers, to bring trains in underground.

Alexander Cassett, a man of wealthy whose sister was the artist Mary Cassett, went to Paris to visit her, and was inspired.  He also came out of retirement to head up the plan and died before the station opened. It started with a $50 million dollar buy - for cash - of buildings above ground but with exclusive access to the tunnels to be engineered, if only they would hold the water and earth above them.  Blow outs of river water happened. In the end this train terminal was awe inspiring.  And then the day came when it had to be torn down.


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If your immigrant ancestors came through New York, there's a very good chance they got on a train to their next destination. They buy of real estate to be torn down to make way for the project began in 1901.  Work was going on until 1910.

Thought this would be an interesting THANKSGIVING time post since so many travel to see their loved ones for the holiday.  With Covid-19 travel restrictions, I guess there are going to be a lot of Zoom Turkey Dinners.

APRICOT COOKIES - APRICOT KOLACHES - A CREAM CHEESE PASTRY and JAM

My mother made these around the holidays and stored them in tins in the cold closet.  They were so irresistible that they didn't last long.  This recipe on the Internet from Lindsey Farr seems to be the one my mother made.  Good photos and easy to follow.  Shes right about some of the sugar carmelizing.

AMERICAN HERITAGE - LINDSEY FARR - APRICOT KOLACHES

MY DOG FOR TRUMP IN THE RAIN

Ah well, Joseph Biden, on his third try for the Presidency of the United States, is President Elect. Meanwhile President Donald Trump is furious.  Some say he was in the shock stage of grief, and is now stuck in denial. I admit, I do want him to accept defeat and step down in the graceful way that a World Leader ought to. 

I used to walk my dog in a fairly wealthy neighborhood where there were lots of houses flying the American flag on a daily basis. I grew up in a household where my dad, a veteran, flew the flag on the important holidays.  Such as Memorial and Labor Days, Veteran's Day, and, if I remember correctly Columbus Day. Now I see the daily flying of the American flag as not just patriotic, but a way of signaling to neighbors that one is a Republican.  There were also average income homeowners in the area, from back in the 1970's when a double income could still buy average people a house there.  All these people are hanging in and on, not wanting to give up their houses until their value will finance their retirements, even when they have long ago become unable to afford the necessary repairs on a house.  So when my dog and I were walking along and a stranger would ask me in a demanding way how I was going to vote, I'd say, "Well, I'm a Democrat, but my little dog here, she's a Republican."

That usually brought out a laugh.

I suspected there were a few "mixed marriages" in the neighborhood, and it was Republican husbands with Democratic wives.

This morning I watched President Elect Biden talk to the nation about the Coronavirus and begin to create his task-force of experts prior to his swearing in. As well, he will soon assemble his Cabinet.  He actually has thousands of people to appoint or approve, most we will never hear of.

Yesterday it rained.  It was as if the sky, so filled with fire, took the sigh of relief that many of us felt.  A relief that there is some positive change that will include us.

C 2020 MAGYAR-AMERICAN BLOGSPOT

All Rights Reserved

MY DOG IS NOW A FRAGILE LITTLE OLD LADY - SHE'S DOING MUCH BETTER - UPDATE

Some of you are wondering how my dog is doing.  Well, she's back to normal.  We had one more incident that had me scared and preparing for the worst.

A friend of mine has adopted four dogs, all from the local shelter.  In each case he was told he was the "last chance" for the dog.  The smallest one, five pounds, was the leader of the troop.  The barkiest.  In fact I would not have met this friend if it were not for this tiny pooch, who usually went around in hand. This dog barked at us as we talked out on the street for hours... And so finally, one day my friend invited me in.  The dog realized I was a friend.  When my friend went traveling, I stayed at his house and cared for them all.  This little one had such presence.  I would wake up in the middle of the night and there he would be, looking up.  I picked him up. He slept with me, much to my own little old lady dog's consternation.  And I grew to love this little five- pounder.  But he had, at sixteen years old, begun to have siezures.  He was on expensive medication for months.  Then one day he had a siezure that went on for six hours.  So to the vet he went to put the dog down.  The dog "knew" death was coming and started running all over the place in fear.  My friend was so upset. But he did it.  He came to tell me that it was all over for this dog.

He left and I went to feed my dog and she had a siezure.  Years ago, just one time, she had an episode of what they call "shaky white dog."  In this case, she looked afraid, and her teeth were chattering. I could hear them clacking.  But her tongue was out.  And the shaking stopped.  For the next couple days I watched her closely. But she ate and pooped normally.

I've resolved that I simply can no longer take her out with me, even in a wheeled carrier, if it is too hot outside.

People tell me that in Hungary a dog is a dog and almost always owned for their expertise at a task such as hunting or protecting property.  I suppose my dog would be considered rather "foo-foo." She has loved me, this I'm sure of, and sometimes I think more than any human, and that is her task.

C 2020 Magyar-American BlogSpot

ELECTION DAY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - WE AWAIT HISTORY

There has been early voting, mail in voting, drop of voting, and today, in person voting. California has a way of checking every ballot that comes in for authenticity and so that there is no duplication. I, and most of my friends, chose to drop ours off in a special box near the closest library, where there is also a security guard watching the library property.  We know this box gets emptied at least once a day by vetted personnel and trust it.

From the media I've learned that voting has gone impressively UP for this election.  That's good.  We participate in Democracy.

I'm a little anxious about today.  I will be watching or listening to election news much of the day.  I really have no idea how it will go.

There are some vigorous Trump supporters out there - sailing their boats and driving their vehicles in MAGA caravans. I'm worried about violent clashes.  I know stores are boarding up windows to prevent looting, should that begin to happen.

Last election I was watching the votes come in and states go from red to blue, blue to red, and sometimes back again, and about 6 PM I just knew Trump was to be our next President.  The next day I went to a library and a lot of people were waiting outside to be let in when it opened.  Several of them said things like, "Don't tell me who won. Don't ruin my day."

I believe that the stress of Covid-19 and our economic problems, that being limited in where we can go and what we can do to alleviate that stress, and the time off from the workplace, has meant that more people are willing and able to protest.

But peaceful is peaceful - not violent.  Also protesters whose intention it is to protest peacefully might want to take a little class on what makes that so. How should one behave? Once a peaceful protest becomes an excuse or opportunity for looters and violent people, I believe the leadership needs to responsibly call that off.

I also feel great concern to Europe.  If you're in Europe reading this, we know about the 400 mile traffic jam of people leaving Paris before their month-long lock-down was to begin, the lock-down situation in England, and the situation in Germany.  These European countries seem to be in our news frequently.  When it comes to Hungary - Poland - Slovakia, one must search out news. 

Mask wearing has gotten to us all, and what if it doesn't work?  BUT WHAT IF IT DOES?

I remain masked up.  I now own a wardrobe of hand-sewing, purchased, and gifted masks, including one use masks, and masks that have been laundered repeatedly.

And hand-washing.  We are hand-washing several times a day.  It seems we always did do that first thing, coming in to the house after being out somewhere, but now we never forget.

And so we await history.

C Magyar-American BlogSpot

ALL SOULS DAY IN HUNGARY - ALL SAINTS DAY IN HUNGARY

Perhaps if it is allowed at the cemetery your ancestors are in here in the United States you might want to go and light a candle.  RED VOTIVE CANDLES and YELLOW CHRYSANTHEMUMS are key, but white candles will do, as will the favorite flowers of your loved ones. 

FROM PAGANS TO NOMADS TO CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS

WITCHCRAFT IN ROMANIA (GYPSY WITCHES FOR HIRE)

 This YouTube video is quite interesting.  In Romania this Gypsy witch family makes a lot of business but if you're wondering why the politicians don't make their workings illegal, well, the politicians are afraid of the witches.

At this point I think I can say that the witchcraft of Romanian Gypsy witches is not based in ancient Magyar or Hungarian tribal paganism, that what they do is of their own culture.

Does it work?  It certainly has an effect on the mind of the believer...

HUNGARIAN WOODEN GRAVE POSTS : A THESIS by László Ferenc Novák

This is a PDF file, quite interesting, if you want to learn more about a unique Hungarian - Protestant Hungarian - tradition.

DAVID PUBLISHER : HUNGARIAN WOODEN GRAVE POSTS by LASZLO NOVAK

TELKIBANYA CEMETERY - THE KOPJAFAK GRAVE MARKERS - MAGYAR HISTORY (KOPJAFAS TEMETO)

I invite you to learn more about these unique grave-markers which are carved to tell the tale of a person's life.  Telkibanya translates to good mine. Gold, Copper, and Tin were mined there.

Forgive me as I lost the link to the site that reported the following excerpted information.

This is about the Grave Posts or Markers. The top of the square column is always beveled if the deceased was married.  The front side of a married man's marker is higher.  If it's the grave of a married woman, the front side is lower and the back higher.  Young boys were marked with an orb.  Young girls with a four-pronged crown.  The horizontal scores on the markers front indicated the age of the deceased.

A family marker is a combination of the male and female marker with a top shaped like a roof. 

Some authors say that wooden grave post were embraced by the Protestants but there are posts older than Protestantism, so ???

FIVE REASONS TO LIKE CROWS and A CROW FUNERAL

I like crows.
I once lived near some telephone lines where there was a male, who carried a stick in his beak which he seemed to move back and forth in his mouth, who had two females, one to the left and one to the right. They were out there most mornings - until they weren't.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS of PORTUGAL? - SECRETS and MYSTERIES - AMAZING TREK WITH THE EXPERTS

I just loved this documentary film and with the traditional Columbus Day holiday coming up in the United States on October 12th, I thought I'd tell you about it so you can watch it before then.  Oh the archives, the travel, the experts, the royalty (or aristocrats) involved in tracking down the truth of Christopher Columbus.  Italy has claimed him as one of their own, he is said to have gone sailing to discover the New World (the Americas) as financed by Spain, but Portugal is where he was born.

Would you believe that alive today is Christopher Columbus the 20th or Vasco De Gama the 19th?  Well,  you get to hear them talk about their ancestor while the hunt for DNA that could help convince those for whom the paper trail of archival documents is not enough.

So, most amazing to me is that Christopher was not a Christopher or a Columbus at all.  He is said to be the illegitimate son of a noble and his Jewish Mistress.  Instead the Christopher Columbus translation is more of a salutation such as Peace Dove.  At the time of his suspicious death his two sons were begging to know the truth of their heritage and dad wasn't talking.  He may have been related to the monarch King John II of Portugal and he may have stopped over to talk to him before he went on to Spain to report in when he returned. 

There is so much more to learn so tune in. 

C 2020 Magyar-American BlogSpot
Film Review
All Rights Reserved

GREEN GRAPES

I HATE THE NEW GOOGLE BLOGGER and IT MAY EFFECT MY PUBLICATION : I REALLY TRULY HATE IT

Until this new change, I was grateful to Google for allowing so many people to blog for free - and without owning their own computers.  I have posted from very many places over the very many years as what they temporarily called A LEGACY BLOGGER.  However, the new innards and use of the Google Blogger is just terrible.  It's frustrating.  I find myself wasting so much time looking for the things I used to find in moments - such as posts that I'm still writing or researching. In the past there have been learning curves but I suspect I will never get used to this.  I am turned off.  I'm upset.  I feel like crying.

I really care about my blog and I really care about my readers.  But... If I wish to continue this blog with Google then I will probably not be posting much.  I see that I will have to carry with me stacks of paper and hand-write everything out first and then transfer it over so I know where everything is.

How long have I been blogging?  Since I used HTML code to slightly change the formatting so as to control the design of this blog.

There are now these big fat blocks - rather than nice slim lines with the concise and needed information. I just hate it, hate it, hate it.

Also there is an emphasis on the hits you're getting on your latest post.  THE POSTS I GET THE MOST HITS ON ARE USEFUL ONES, SUCH AS ALL THE GENEALOGY ADVISORIES AND INFORMATION AND LINKS I've provided my readers. I have never chosen to reveal hits because I don't write for hits, and I don't write to get hits for myself or Google or their "ADSENSE" scheme to make money on my content.

You have to wonder what extremely well paid crazies came up with this version.  My guess is that they had nothing to do, so they figured they'd screw it up good.  THIS IS NOT AN IMPROVED BLOGGER.  IT LOOKS LIKE A BLOGGER FOR DUMMIES, but it's plainly stupid.  (And yes, I was smart enough to graduate college with honors.)

If you happen to be another Blogger reading this, and you agree with me, please send a message in FEEDBACK (oh yea, that's moved too) to GOOGLE.

MAGYAR AMERICAN BLOGSPOT

FOUR POUND BUNCH OF GRAPES : CURRIER and IVES

MY DOG IS NOW A FRAGILE LITTLE OLD LADY - HEAT SICKNESS IN DOGS

The fires raging in California have thrown ash and particulates into the air.  The heat wave hit - and we didn't have the worst of it.  While other places in Southern California went up to 112 - 115- 120, we were at about 93.  I took my dog outside for about five minutes.  It was "you can fry an egg on the hood of your car" time.  I regretted it.  My dog did not look good.  She looked disoriented.  The prior week she had thrown up.  The first time a tinge of blood.  A few hours later a profuse amount of clear what looked like saliva with a few streaks of white.  It occurred to me that she had never thrown up like this before.  It occurred to me I had done the same during a bout with food poisoning.  It was clear to me that she had probably eaten something outside.  I try to keep the floors clean.  Unlike some other dogs, she is not adventurous about fruit.  However, she has been known to be attracted to another dog's poop.  Then, the next morning, to my complete upset, she tried to waken me by dancing all over my body, and when I didn't wake in time, she had diarrhea. It was stinky and all over some paperwork I had left on my bed.  I cleaned it up.  I had to throw away some applications I hadn't finished.  I took her outside.  Many times.  When I got home she had made a big poop on the living room floor.

My dog has only been sick 1 -2 - maybe 3 times in all the years I've had her.  She almost never poops in the house.  I knew that she had just not made it outside in time.  I cleaned it up.

The heat wave hit and she was panting.  She was panting and her tongue did not look right.  I looked a little purple and curled.  She seemed disoriented.  I got on the computer and researched.  She had all 10 signs of heat exhaustion.  The warning was it could cause internal organ damage and kill a dog quick.  She was in trouble.  Quickly I got her in the tub and proceeded to shampoo her with mildly warm - luke- warm water.  (You can also wrap a dog in wet towels - do not use ice.)  She slept.  Finally her breathing seemed deep instead of shallow.  The instructions said not to force a dog to drink water.  For the first time I took spoons full of water and dropped in on her lips and into her mouth and she lapped it.

Thoughts were going through my head - she's going to die.  She is dying.  This is it.

I'm glad to report we are almost back to normal and maybe it's because the sky is so dense with smoke that the sun has been blocked and the temperature is way down.  She is eating slowly.  She is pooping normally.  She is drinking lots of water.  She is barking at the cat she puts up with and the dog who is always after her food.  She is walking - slower than ever - a little limpy - but still interested in life. Other people are noticing she is old.  I can't deny it.  A friend called her "A FRAGILE LITTLE OLD LADY."  I had to agree.

I LOVE her so much!


C 2020 Magyar American BlogSpot

THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD : MAGYAR AMERICAN FILM REVIEW

This wonderful documentary made by Joker Films, with Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator, is full of photos, art inspired by the devastating Johnstown flood of 1889, film!, and enacted testimonials sourced from books and letters - all in black and white.

This review is here at Magyar American - BlogSpot because the Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania area, especially the Cambria Iron Works, was the destination and workplace of so many immigrants from central and eastern Europe, including Magyars, Slavs, and Ruthenians.

Over 2000 people died. Poor people, who didn't know what hit them as the flood waters took them away, to be struck by logs and trees, floating houses ripped from their foundations, detached roofs, factories, and locomotives, lost their lives in minutes.  Some people floated on debris a while, praying or singing hymns. A memorial cemetery, the Grandview, in Johnstown is the higher burial ground of many who were never identified.

The Conemaugh Valley was the home to 30,000 people and it was a bustling place to live and work. The Fishing Club upriver was the exclusive social club for men like Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Phipps, people you may have heard of as Robber Barons or the founders of Pittsburgh institutions such as the Carnegie Library, Carnegie-Mellon the university, or the Phipps Conservatory, owners of steel mills. The Pennsylvania Railroad ran trains all around Pennsylvania, and from Johnstown to Pittsburgh there were trains that ran like commuters - The Daily Express.  One of my ancestors took this train for work in Allegheny Country before moving the family there from Johnstown.

The South Fork dam was built years earlier in 1852 of clay and earth and the lake filled with more water and was more vast than had been expected so maybe it was just a matter of time. Heavy rains pushed it to the limit and when it broke, there was near no escaping the violence of rushing waters.  Cambria Iron Works was wiped out. Then caught fire. The train roundhouse and the trains in it were carried away though each weighted many tons.

The people had been warned.  Men on horseback had ridden through town shouting warnings.  These warning were ignored. Trains blew whistles and still, many people stayed put.  Commuters got off trains that had been waylaid and ran for the hills.  Entire towns were wiped out in Conemaugh Valley.  Eventually Clara Barton who founded the Red Cross made a personal visit to the disaster site and it became the law to shoot and kill looters, who were cutting fingers off the dead to take the rings.

I sat glued to my seat watching this one, and I think you might too, especially if the Johnstown area was the destination of your immigrant ancestors.

C 2020 Magyar American BlogSpot
All Rights Reserved.

PURPLE GRAPES

ENERGY LINES and HEALING STONES IN HUNGARY : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #4

DAILY NEWS HUNGARY - SEVEN CURING MYSTERIOUS SPECIAL HEALING PLACES IN HUNGARY

Lines of energy around the earth, energy vortexes, stones with special powers - if you're into being healed by being in the right place at the right time, this article from Daily News Hungary will fascinate you.

Review Attila - Hill, in Tapioszentmarton,  Frenczy Cliffs in Pilis,  the Virgin Mary Pole in Puspokladany, the Curing stone heads in Esztergom (those ancient sculptures look to me to be a male and a female),  Hegyestu-Hill in the Lake Balton Uplands, Ordogszikla in Plisszentivan (radiation), and the Virgin Mary's stone in Bukkszxentkereszt.

You may want to sit on a stone and be cured.  Those who believe and experience report pins and needles sensations - kind of like when you have acupuncture.  So you see, all the vortexes are not in Great Britain.

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

TRANSCARPATHIA : PEACE AMONG Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, Ruthenians, Slovaks,

THIS VIDEO IS SUCH A FAVORITE OF MINE!

NATIVE FRUITS OF OUR HUNGARIAN ANCESTORS : I GUARANTEE MOST AMERICANS HAVE NOT HEARD OF ALL OF THESE!

DAILY NEWS HUNGARY : NATIVE FRUIT OF OUR HUNGARIAN ANCESTORS

BLACKBERRY - MULBERRY - CORNELIAN - SORB - SEA BUCKHORN -

From the plains to the mountains to the sea....

BOKOD FLOATING HOUSES : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #3

ATLAS OBSCURA : BOKOD FLOATING HOUSES

EXCERPT: ... about fifty miles west of Budapest, there are more than two linear miles of cabins and cottages suspended on stilts over Lake Bokodi.  The little houses are mostly used by locals in the summer months, but they also cater to year-round anglers who take advantage of one weird fact about the lake - despite the frigid Hungarian winters, it rarely freezes over.

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

new video January 2024

THE CAVE BATH OF MISKOLCTAPOLCA: WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #2

THERMAL HUNGARY miskolctapolca-barlangfurdo  - Lots of good information at this site, if you're in the mood for a good thermal soak.

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

CSESZNEKI VAR CASTLE : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #1

So, you don't know if you will ever be able to travel on a plane or ship again, and your plan to go to Hungary is put aside as you, like just about everyone, fear what's going to happen next.

The next several summer 2020 posts are about places you might want to visit in your dreams, or some time in the future when all is well.

 Image from Daily News Hungary and the Hungarian tourist bureau.

WIKIPEDIA - CASTLE OF CZESZNEKI


The castle was constructed after the Mongol invasion of Europe around 1263....  Built by Jakab Cseszneky of the Bana clan....  In 1315 the Csak clan conquered the castle.  But in 1391 King Sisismunch gave it and 31 surrounding villages to the Garai family.....  Then Matthias Corvinus donated it to Stephen Zapolya....

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to get to the entire series on this theme.

TOKAJ WINE MAP

I guess most of us have to just dream about visiting Hungary and traveling the Tokaj wine route, stopping at inns, testing wines in vast old wine cellars with ceilings covered in an important mold, becoming a little tipsy, and happily walking through the towns. But dreaming is a good way to set a goal.

GRAPES and PEARS

THE 1828 HUNGARIAN PROPERTY TAX CENSUS : CLASS - STATUS - IDENTITY : GENEALOGY TIP #5

THE 1828 HUNGARIAN PROPERTY TAX CENSUS : CLASS - STATUS - IDENTITY : GENEALOGY TIP #5

Genealogically, I use the 1828 census when trying to break through some brick walls, searching for the names of people who were adults in 1828 on this census. Then I try to find the same people in the church records for the same settlement.  I also use this census to get more information about individuals and families, to better imagine their lifestyle which was highly depended on class and status. 

Your ancestors may also appear on the Urbarium 1767 - the census that I wrote a lot about previously. Or you may be able to go forward to the 1868 census.  If you're seeking Jewish ancestors, there are also special Jewish census to cross-reference. 

Just remember that this 1828 census is a census of people who are considered taxable - land owners.  The economy is mostly agricultural but your people may not own the land they work on!  Land includes the patch of land that someone owns a home on and vineyards which might be at another location or shared among family members.  

Let's say you found someone on this census who looks interesting. You're going to go to church records for that same habituation.

Let's say you locate someone in a church marriage record who was born in or before 1828. On some records the place that a bride and groom are from (or born) is listed. Some not. If you find the bride or groom (or both) listed with other locations, you want to check that other settlement in 1828 as well.  

A person is listed on this 1828 census as head of household so chances are he or she is an adult. Although it's possible they are teenagers due to inheritance and/or being orphaned, if I see there are 2 "productive" adults at a location, knowing that few people live to be very old, I start out by figuring that it's probably a married couple. Their children are not listed because they are not considered productive or they don't have any yet or they have left home.  I figure that the head of household was probably born about 1810 or earlier.  I might try the surname in a genealogy database such as FAMILYSEARCH along with the location (being careful that records now titled with SLOVAKIAN SETTLEMENT NAMES were once HUNGARIAN SETTLEMENT NAMES) and ask for BIRTH/BAPTISMAL records for years 1750 to 1810. This may bring up one candidate or many. 

More often, because most surnames are common, and it seems that as you get nearer to 1800 the records seem to be less informative and sparse, what you may find is the names of people in a settlement who could be the parents or grandparents of children born to them. 

My experience thus far is that however far they may travel to marry or live, the bride and groom seem most often to be of the same status. For brides this means living an entire life at the status level they were expected to live when they were born, which is their father's status.  This is because noble women who married down did not pass their class or status on to their children. Never the less, I believe that they and their children were given more respect in a community.

Despite the social and cultural restrictions imposed upon people because of their birth class or status, you can get a feel for who may have married "up."  Or "down."

This census takes place in feudal times. Therefore on most records from this feudal era, a mention of the person's status is made on all records. 

You may live your entire life as it was expected to be when you were born including having a limited number of potential marital partners. How could your status change?

Being the especially good "familiar" of a kind and generous nobilis - one who still holds land and is considered rich - might help you stash a little coin away for a rainy day. Bad luck might mean that your house or village burns down and you loose everything but people will still acknowledge who your ancestors were. Crop failure could do you in and take the entire village down. You might show yourself to be especially loyal, valiant, or efficient in a military action and become favored and given the gift of noble status or land. Maybe you're an especially beautiful young woman with natural graces and you get noticed by a man of a slightly higher rank than you whose proposal prevents you from accepting the hand in marriage of the boy next door. Maybe you are a noble woman who has an affair or is raped and you have an illegitimate child but if you're willing to marry a man of lesser status at least you'll have a husband and a roof over your head. Perhaps you become an esteemed priest or member of the clergy or join a monastery or nunnery. (Doing so may prolong your life!) Or maybe you're one of the few who manages to live into adulthood, with many children surviving, and into old age your descendants make sure you always have enough and more.

Here's another scenario.

Notice the surnames and relationships. How does a person with Subinquillis status, who has no animals, no vineyard, no orchards or forests or meadows, no house EAT?  They are not going to beg money at the intersection and then go buy fast food. They probably can't afford to dine out every night. Chances are they are related to another family with a higher status or more money such as being the younger brother of the wealthier person.  They probably show up at the old main house for meals. Of course we speculate, but if the speculations lead to a research path that provides certain proofs we can entertain it, if not accept it. Why would this person who seems to have nothing even be on this census?  Perhaps he is a craftsman or in business and owns a studio or a hut.  He is not a serf or slave or sharecropper renting land.

Building the families through births and marriages, also look into DEATHS. Knowing who is ALIVE in 1828 helps you match the names on the census. A recent death might result in someone else owning the house or land.

Using church records against the 1828, I found a young couple, married at 18 listed as servants, in a small settlement.  However, at the birth of their third child they were listed as Subinquillis, and after their fifth, as Inquillis. I believe the status change came with inheritance.  Of the several men listed on the 1828 with the same surname, one of them had the same GODPARENTS for his children as the man listed as being in the Commune/Colony, although of lesser status.  I consider that these two men are related, pending more research, likely the younger is the one with a lesser inheritance.

This post is part of a series.  To bring up all posts click on the tag: Pro tips:1828 Hungarian Census Help

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THE WONDER OF AMERICAN FOOD BANKS - THE CORONAVIRUS-19 EXPERIENCE

So, I'm in frequent contact with a senior I admire, someone who is very picky about what foods she eats.  She can afford to be picky.  On the way over to visit with her, I saw some tents being set up near a school.  Since in California there has been a move towards homeschooling or learning by virtual contact with a teacher and classroom, this same location was where hundreds of laptop computers were given free to students.  I stopped to ask what was going on and it turned out the place had been selected randomly for a major food bank in Los Angeles to give away food because they had "too much."  I was told that this food was not the usual cans and peanut butter.  They had produce.  I decided to accept some food to take to her.

This is what was in the boxes they gave me.

Onions - no brand

Apples - no brand (we assume Oregon)

Nectarines from the FAMILY TREE FARM in Reedly, California

Carrots from FRUTIA - KERN RIDGE GROWERS, Arwin, California

Celery from FOXY USA - Nunes Company, Salinas, California

Potatoes from IDAHO FRESH in Menan, Idaho

Lemons from BELLE OF PIRU, Fillmore-Piru Citrus, Fillmore, California

Strawberries from BEACH STREET FARMS, Watsonville, California

Lettuce from GREEN GIANT, Chuck Brothers, Salinas California

I was AMAZED.  I also worried that the reason that there was so much produce donated or purchased by some entity of our United States of America government was that these things were going to go bad if they were not soon eated.  My friend outright refused the strawberries, saying that they were on the top 20 list for foods that hold poisons and should only be eaten if organic.

I'm APPRECIATIVE.

The celery went into a soup heavy with celery.
The carrots into another soup, heavy with carrots.
She used the lettuce because it was Green Giant.
The nectarines were out of this world delicious.

How WONDERFUL - for now - that so many people are going to food bank giveaways in order to stay in ever shrinking budgets.

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FRUIT BASKET with GRAPES

HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH THE CORONAVIRUS-19, PROTESTS - LIFE?

Comments is on.  How are YOU?

I'm OK, but I realize this is situational.  I currently live far from the protest centers  where violence and mayhem have ruined, in my opinion, the peaceful protest which was supposed to be called for by the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement.  The destruction is abhorrent to me.  I believe these destroyers are criminals and there aren't prisons enough for them.  I don't want anyone like that in my life. 

I'm relatively safe. This doesn't mean I'm not concerned.  I live in a multi racial and multi ethnic neighborhood and I worry that suddenly it won't be peaceful and safe here. Some people in the area have resisted covering their nose and mouth with masks, which I sensed was a protest earlier.  I hate wearing one but I do it. 

I also read about what's happening in Hungary - as well as Poland and Slovakia. 

In general, currently, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, are much more conservative countries than the United States is.

What is conservative or liberal is a question, I realize. I consider myself to be a person who tries to see all sides and tends to be moderate - liberal on some issues and conservative on others. 

In general the United States does accommodate more diversity and has more prosperity.  That said, the United States has not experienced World War I or World War II on it's own turf and is not struggling to maintain a national identity. 

Back in the day, I used to overhear American who considered themselves to be Patriots, respond to destructive people, by saying "They should go back where they came from" or "If they hate America so much, why don't they leave - find some other country that will take them?" 

That is easier said than done.  Most people don't have so much mobility.  And no country wants incoming criminals.

How can you peaceably speak up for yourself, your people, and help guide your country the right way, if you aren't running for political office yourself?

VOTING is something that so many people neglect to do.  This year we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the right to vote for women in the United States.  It was fought for and yet so many people don't bother. The turn out for some elections is a bad joke.  This is a basic right, a basic way of making your needs and opinions heard.  It takes some research and some thinking to decide who to vote for if you do not wish to be dictated to by a political party preference.  As you know if you read this blog, I was/am a Bernie Sanders fan. He left the campaign and Joe Biden is the default Democratic candidate. It's my guess that he will chose a woman as his running mate and I suspect she will be Kamala Harris of California. It would be the politically-correct thing to do, although I hope Biden will make his choice based on a person's ability first.

For those of you interested in African American (Black) voting rights in the United States, here is a good history link: 15th AMENDMENT - AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS

DRYMBA ANCIENT PAGAN INSTRUMENT

MAGYAR CALVARYMAN

THE HU : WOLF TOTEM : MONGOLIAN INSPIRED MUSIC

Hello, some of you are wondering why I posted this video when the song is a modern recreation of a song that the invading Mongols, tribes lead by Genghis Khan, might have sung. I think it has a place here at Magar-American because I know that some present day Hungarians, and Hungarian-American's have some Genghis Khan DNA. Most of his DNA, by the way, is said to have come from descendents of the women in his harem, and there's speculation on just how often it is that the soldiers got around to raping, or settling and taking a bride, but as we know, the origins of the Hungarian language and culture are speculative.

THE 1828 PROPERTY TAX CENSUS OF HUNGARY - PROFESSIONS and CROPS TIP #4

THE 1828 PROPERTY TAX CENSUS OF HUNGARY - PROFESSIONS and CROPS TIP #4

By reading the village or town information on this census, you get a good idea about how small or large it is, how populated, how many people have enough to live in their own little house or big mansion.  You will see if the village or town has a number of craftsmen who specialize.  Tailors, Weavers, Shoemakers, Coopers, Wagoners.  Mostly you see a lot of FARMERS. If you see one of the farmers in your heritage on this census, you may also learn if he grew grapes or rye, lentils or peas, apricots or apples.

Here are some popular professions:

priest - pap
nun - apaca
carver - farfarago 
gazda - farmer
szabo - tailor
takacs - weaver
cipőkészítő - shoemaker
kadar - cooper
kocsi készítő - cart maker
lo edzo - horse trainer
lótenyésztő - horse breeder
katona - soldier
kereskedő - trader
közvetítő - negotiator
borkészítő - wine maker

Here are some popular crops:
garlic - fokhagymaseeds 
nuts - magok

sunflowers - napraforgók

tomato - paradicsom

peppers - paprika

chilis - chillis
barley - árpa
rozs - rye
búza - wheat
maize - kukorica
peaches - őszibarack
apricots - sárgabarack

apples - almák

pears - körte

almonds - mandula

grapes - szőlő
beets - celka
potatoes - krumpli

This post is part of a series.  To bring up all posts click on the tag: Pro tips:1828 Hungarian Census Help

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PANDEMICS? THIS LIST IS ENLIGHTENING!

DAILY NEWS HUNGARY - TEN DEADLIEST PANDEMICS

The Black Death is still the worst pandemic to ever hit Europe but I had no idea there were other population devastating plagues before it.

All of us alive today have been born to a heritage of people who didn't die from these pandemics that killed off millions without first reproducing.  Sometimes I do wonder if this is nature, or the earth as a living being, shucks off humans when there are just too many people.  Sorry!  I'm not ready to die.  Not ready to go!  I don't want to kill anyone with my presence and I'm so tired of wearing masks and being so isolated.  But sometimes I do wonder.  Certainly climate change - unexpected weather patterns - and crop failures - starvation and malnutrition - make a person more susceptible to any illness.

EXCERPT: Europe needed 150 years to recover from losing 20 million people.  The Black Death entered Hungary around 1349.

A popular image of the plague was this!  Hey, have we started making masks that look like birds beak? Or is this a version of "The Grim Reaper"?

I now realize that my genealogy, one line that has the potential to go back to the 1400's, may be effected by deaths from Plague.  I already know people in my lines died of smallpox, of TB, of child-birth, of long illness, and in mysterious ways. I have seen the documents where a priest writes in cholera - plague.  But maybe someday if I endure and am lucky I will find the provable link to that potential ancestor who lived in the 1400's.  Maybe I will find that some of my ancient relatives died of Bubonic Plague.

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THE BLACK DEATH (BUBONIC PLAGUE) IN HUNGARY

Watching the Black Plague video "Return of the Black Death" made me wonder how people living in Hungary survived during the early 14th century when England was so devastated.  This article from WE LOVE BUDAPEST is quite intriguing.  WE LOVE BUDAPEST : HISTORY OF PLAGUES IN HUNGARY.


Excerpt: Thus, in search of reasons, contagion was considered a divine judgement on people's sins.  Extreme solutions to this were found by the supporters of the flagellation movement, who, during the first plague of 1347-53, wandered around communities enmass in apologetic self-thrashing to put an end to the epidemic.  This happened across Hungary and the rest of Europe.

MUCHA DRAWING #45

ALFONSE MUCHA ORG - OFFICIAL

The painting is from Dover Publishing.

EXCERPT: ALphonseMaria Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, most well known for his images of women.  He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements and designs.  He was born in the town of Ivancice, Moravia (todays region of Czech Republic.)

The site is comprehensive. 

RETURN OF THE BLACK DEATH - THERE'S SOMETHING THE BUBONIC PLAGUE AND THE CORONAVIRUS-19 DON'T HAVE IN COMMON

And that is that the identical Bubonic Plague that killed 60 percent of the population of London within nine months and an estimated five million people in England in the early 1300's is still around now - in rats.  If a rat manages to pass it on to a human, which is extremely rare, antibiotics work.  The Black Death was probably a mutation.

I highly recommend you watch this film, which includes the archaeology of digging up burials to examine the skeletons for possible clues.  It's understood that while this plague started in rats, it transferred to humans and then it was human to human contamination.  What we're trying to avoid with Coronavirus-19.

What the statistic were dependent on was not just the evidence of mass burials but also the fact that documents exists - WILLS and the equivalent of DEATH CERTIFICATIONS - for so very many people, people who were common, such as cobblers and candlestick makers.  People got sick and had maybe 3-4 days to live so they hand wrote their wills while they still could.

Scientists have discovered that CLIMATE CHANGE and the MALNUTRITION that followed were a significant factor in IMMUNITY and who died.  It had rained every day for months, meaning food was scarce.  The bones and teeth of those who died sometimes show evidence of this malnutrian.

A question is, how, with so many people dying all around and so many graves being dug did the living go on? The surprise is that King Edward III took charge.  He managed society so that it remained stable enough for people to continue to obey the law rather than let chaos and terror rule.  For one thing, though the burials are extensive, people were buried with respect and some religious ritual.  They were placed in graves and then a layer of grave was covered over with red clay!  This may have sealed in the disease in the grave.

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THE 1828 HUNGARIAN PROPERTY TAX CENSUS : HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS : GENEALOGY TIP #3

THE 1828 HUNGARIAN PROPERTY TAX CENSUS : HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS : GENEALOGY  TIP #3

IS THE 1828 HUNGARY CENSUS useful?

It may be difficult to know if the person listed really is your relative. At least with the early United States Census that also only listed the head of household there was a statistical analysis of females, males, and ages.  Sometimes you can correlate these Americans head of households to named wife and children in later years. Unfortunately most of the censuses for Hungary were specific to counting Jews, general statistics, or most of the country's documents are not available or missing or lost forever.  (I check every few months even when I'm not hot on my personal genealogy and keep hoping that HUNGARY is going to find and release more 1869 census and other information on the HUNGARICANA / NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF HUNGARY website!  I read a comment on the site that was negative on the "Mormon" (meaning Latter Day Saints - LDS - FAMILYSEARCH) offerings.  It said new documents are received every day!) 

TRY THESE:

WIDOWS HELP!

When we see the given and surname of a woman listed as a WIDOW, who is now in possession of the estate due to the death of her husband, we may have her birth name or her married name.  Vid. KATALIN LUKACS can be searched for as KATALIN LUKACS.  You can find candidates who MARRIED and who are alive in 1828.  Vid. KATALIN LUKACSNE is a woman named Katalin who married a man named Lukacs who died.  Check deaths of men named Lukacs and see if any of the records mention his bride or widow Katalin.  Vid. JANOS LUKACS is a woman who was married to Janos Lukacs. Look for his death record and see what the name of the woman he married is. We focus on 1828 and before. Using this technique, we can possibly recreate the families and make the connections.

IS ANYONE LISTED AS A Junior / Jr. or Senior /Sr.?  Though rare, I have noticed this on Latin language records and in my personal genealogy.  What this means is that the man is named after his father, and they are BOTH ALIVE.  As soon as a Senior dies, there is no longer a Junior, unless he has a son named after him who then becomes the Junior, while he assumes the Senior. (Further research revealed that not only was there a Junior and Senior but that my Junior was the third in a line of men named Istvan.) So, if your ancestor's father is already dead and had the same given name, the Jr. isn't the man you're looking for.

ALL THE PERSONS WITH THAT SURNAME IN THE LOCATION
But mostly what you see are lists of men.  So, they are men alive in 1828.  If I see that there are 2 productive adults in the household, though it could be a couple people 60 or less, or any variation of householders, I start with an assumption that they are a husband and wife without adult children living with them, just youngsters.  I run a search for that head of household's name in BAPTISMAL databases and I subtract 16 years for a birth date for the youngest and 60 years for the oldest - so a birth range of 1768 to 1812. That narrows things a bit, especially if the surname isn't common in that location.

On the BIRTH RECORDS, MARRIAGE RECORDS, and DEATH RECORDS you want to look for notations of their status such as Commune, and profession, or class.  These may help you make a connection between a landholder candidate and the census versus a landless peasant. (You may also venture to the 1867 census to see if the same families are still in the location. Though populations did tend to stay put in a location for generations there was movement.)

LISTS of the ENUMERATION ARE NOT ALPHABETICAL - nor are there house numbers.

Pending more research on this, I looked over many lists, and I noticed that people who seemed to have about as much as each other were together. Possibly the census taker might have begun with the richest person in town and gone down from there or maybe it was just the neighborhood, just like now when people who own houses about the same size and worth are in a neighborhood together. Or maybe all the farmers were producing peaches to be sold at market are together. Remembering that these are LANDOWNERS who are potential TAXPAYERS, even seeing 300 or more listed, in a town were house numbers go into the 700's, I'm reminded that there are a lot of people who are workers who own nothing, who are serfs.

WHO DO YOU HAVE DOCUMENTED PERSONS AS ALIVE IN 1828?  Following them is probably the most popular tactic.

Here is where your previous research that documents births, marriages, and deaths can be extremely useful. You know who is alive, what the names of the adults are. You know who is widowed. You have a LOCATION and you go to the 1828 for that location, looking for the names. Perhaps this will help you go back in time.  More likely it will help enrich your understanding of your ancestor's lives or help you imagine their place in history.

FOUND A SUSPECT - READ MORE ABOUT HIM and HIS ESTATE
At the end pages for each location there are some written paragraphs. Seek through these for more information on the head of household / property owner and what he's up to!

More advice forthcoming!

This post is part of a series.  To bring up all posts click on the tag: Pro tips:1828 Hungarian Census Help

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RELIGION IN THE OLD COUNTRY - YOU MAY BE SURPRISED BY YOUR ANCESTORS' BELIEFS

This may have happened to you, as you self identify as Hungarian or Hungarian- American.  As you go back you notice that today's map of Hungary doesn't cover the places that your ancestors lived.  They lived in what is now Slovakia, possibly Ukraine, or Poland (Galicia - Austrian Empire).  Maybe today's Romania. That's why trying to be sensitive to changes in borders and finding old maps that show the names of villages and towns in different languages is important. 

You may start reading around it and realize that borders were also not as solid as they became, that people traveled between countries, especially for business, and that you are seeing some of the same surnames in these various countries.

What spawned this post?  I was reading records for Galicia, Poland, and found a note that a priest had written that a certain person near Dukla, Poland, had gone to marry a Hungarian in Zemplen!

As well, you may find that ancestors in your family lines did not necessarily self identify as Hungarian, but German or Ruthenian.

I've noticed that intermarriage happened between people of different ethnicities more often if they were the same religion.  Discovering that some of my ancestors were not of the religion I was raised in felt freeing to me.

Years ago I talked on the phone with a man in Buffalo, New York, who I found in an interesting way. I was scanning the internet, playing around, and put in the name of my great great grandmother.  Up came an obituary for a woman who lived in Buffalo with the very same name.  Not only that, but she wanted any money sent to celebrate her death to the church that my great great grandmother had been baptized in!  What if we were related?

I realized that this woman who had just died in America was not my great great grandmother.  However, I was excited to learn the name of the church in that town because I'd been reading those records on microfilm off and on for months and there was no mention of the name of the church.  Also, when I did not find certain records I was looking for in those church records I read the history.  There had been a small chapel there that belonged to a different Christian denomination and Latter Day Saints had no records from that chapel.  At the time I wondered if a change in religion had something to do with not being able to find what I needed.

Well, this obituary I was reading also said that the woman had a son in California.  Believe it or not, I found his number in the phone book, called him on a land line, he answered, and when I told him the reason for my call, simply gave me his dad's number in Buffalo.  He too answered the phone without knowing who was calling.

I had done extensive genealogy on the people with this surname and after he explained that we were NOT related and why, I was able to tell give him information about his siblings and parents from my research.  He was so impressed with my knowledge of the town he invited me to go there and visit with him.  I wish I had.  Live goes on and I lost contact with him.

One of the things he told me is that the people from that town were not very religious.  He said that they had changed religions over and over again over the previous hundred or so years, depending on who owned the place.  I've heard this before, that when a certain big land owner or person who owned a town converted to be Protestant, it was expected that the people who lived there would to, and back again to Catholic. This person "owned" the place and in a sense the loyalty of the people, kind of like the way your boss owns you.

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UPDATE September 2022  You may be interested in my Genealogy Tips.  You can use the term Genealogy in the Search feature embedded in this blog to bring up a variety of topics of research interest.