Some ANCESTRY.COM DATABASES NEW and UPDATED FOR HUNGARIAN and GERMAN-ROMANIAN GENEALOGY

ANCESTRY.COM has SIBIU, ROMANIA MILITARY CONSCRIPTION 1689-1807 as well as SIBIU, TAX LISTS for periods beginning in 1701-1724  and 1787-1878  now, and has updated HUNGARIAN CIVIL REGISTRATION 1895-1978 as well as HAMBURG GERMANY PASSENGER LISTS.

I ran all the surnames in my own genealogy family, as well as some that I've researched for others into these databases to see what, if anything new would come up.

SIBIU is also known as SEBES.  There were at least a dozen German villages in what is now Romania (or Rumania) and in these villages people kept to their German customs, such as cooking, home building, clothing, and language.  Some of them came in the 1600's from German - in wagon trains (Yes, really!).  However, as there were also Hungarians and other ethnicities in the country, many of them were multilingual and eventually, as they identified themselves as Hungarians, there were marriages between ethnicities.  This is one of the ways that so many Hungarians married with Germans, before they ever came to the United States, but also the basis for the mythology that all Hungarians ARE Germans.   I noted that individuals  on the SIBIU DATABASES were coming up from Brasov, Muhlbach, Lebang, and Kerz (Cirta), so keep checking as I believe that the database intends to cover more than one settlement.

One of my ancestors had a Hungarianized German surname and is marked as coming from Sebes into Abauj on other documents.  However I did check the surnames and variations in the databases as is and nothing came up.  (Remember with Ancestry you can use the first three letters and an * to bring up names with various endings.)

For those of you who have an ancestor who came to the United States on a ship from the German Port of Hamburg, you may be aware that there is a passenger list upon docking (in New York, Castle Garden, or Ellis Island, but there were many other ports of entry.)  You may also be aware that lists were made before the ship left port.  Thus, if you have them on the passenger list when they got to the United States (or Canada, or wherever) and it says they left from Hamburg, you may want that document also.  Now you might think, What's the point?  Well, if the handwriting is much better on the German documents than the others you have tried to make out with magnifiers, you'll be rewarded.  

Also, for those of you who had ancestors leaving the German ports, be aware that some people got off the ship in Southhampton, England and decided to be tourists for a few days or weeks, and then boarded another ship to New York or other American ports.  It was about 2-3 days from the German port to the ports of Great Britain, and then about another week to the U.S.  If your ancestor felt they needed some time on land before they crossed the Atlantic, then it's possible they will ALSO APPEAR on manifests originating in that country.

As for the Hungarian Civil Registration, this database seems to me to be very minimal, as I've tried to find how many counties it includes and so far I'd say there are many missing.  But you never know until you try...


C 2016  Magyar American Blogspot
All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights.

I MEET A ROMANIAN- SERBIAN AMERICAN JUST HOME FROM WEEKS IN SIBIU AND MAGYAR TERRITORY

This morning I had a half dozen errands to complete before my day really started.  I decided to take a bus to the center of the next city which allowed me to grocery shop at my favorite Trader Joes, return a pair of shoes I changed my mind about, make a bank deposit, pick up a reserved book at the library, and get some movies for later before 10 am. On the bus I sat near an older gentleman who proceeded to tell me he was from Transylvania.

"Ah!  I have an ancestor who left Sebes (Sibiu) in the 19th century.  I think he was a German Hungarian."

"A Magyar!"

"Yes, I'm Magyar!"

"I just got back from there.  I don't speak English too good.  I thought I would speak Romanian but everyone said to me "Speak English!"

We laughed.

"I understand the Romanians want the Germans and the Hungarians out!  But they've been there for hundreds of years!"

He nodded.

"I have been in America for 45 years," he said.

VIDEO DOWN