GRAPES and PEARS

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

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