RELAXING BUT HAUNTING : THE ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM : SOUNDS FROM AN ABBEY

Thought this was unique among relaxation music videos...

CHURCH RECORDS : MISSING CHURCH RECORDS? ARE THEY REALLY? : HUNGARIAN GENEALOGY PRO TIP #1

CHURCH RECORDS : MISSING CHURCH RECORDS? ARE THEY REALLY? : HUNGARIAN GENEALOGY PRO TIP #1  

WELCOME TO MAGYAR - AMERICAN BlogSpot and my offerings of Hungarian Genealogy Pro Tips. You will find many topics on Hungarian and Hungarian-American genealogy here. Look in Pages for more information. In order to pull up an entire series on a Google Blogger such as this one, simply click on the label/tag for the series.

THIS SERIES IS INTENDED TO HELP YOU MAKE IT THROUGH CHURCH RECORDS, which are primarily held in the United States through the FamilySearch database, which is free to use via the Church of Jesus Christ -Latter Day Saints, also known as LDS. However, no database has everything and using the National Archives of Hungary is also a good idea: Hungaricana is an ever expanding site. Plus there are regional archives. You may also want to write to the existing parish or church where you believe your ancestors lived for more information.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF HUNGARY START PAGE

Let's say you're looking in a large database that has Hungarian/Slovakian records. You found your immigrant ancestor's native village on a steamship record, or their naturalization papers, or maybe on a World War I draft document. Or maybe someone just told you the name of the town or village they left. You search for a the records for that place that you have reason to believe is where your ancestor was born or got married. And you find them right there on those records on the very date you know.  Success!

How I remember that day years ago when I found my first Hungarian ancestor's baptism, right where it should have been!

So, you start going back in time with those very church records. You make your family groups - children of the same parents, the parent's marriage.

However, you hit into what we call "the brick wall."  Can't get through it or see over it and you start thinking of your way around it.  After spending hours - days - months trying to figure out a way around it, you admit to yourself you're stuck and frustrated. You may go over the microfilmed/digital images book page by page hoping you missed something and even think that maybe the pages are out of order. Hey, It's happened!

Be sure that you check the film to be sure that the filming isn't the problem. Perhaps it was some space saving measure, but I've seen later dates mixed in with earlier dates on some microfilms and when digitalized that error remains. So be sure that what it says on in text description and what it says on the microfilm agree when it comes to what was on a "reel."

Some Church Records are truly missing books or pages. Who knows what happened? It could have been soldiers set the records on fire, or rodents chewed them, or someone spilled their wine on those very pages! We all know that some of those old, lovely books were entirely destroyed by time, by weather, by historical circumstances.

Perhaps some books or missing pages will show up again someday, somewhere. 

You're stalled out because you don't find the ancestors that "should' be there at some point. And then you notice that the records are not available for the period you need to see. They cut off just about the time that a couple you're focusing on likely got married. 

Maybe years ago some person was filming in an archive somewhere and missed those pages?

Oh it said so right on the information about the records, that there was a gap, but until now, you didn't quite pay attention to it. 

In general 1711 is about when churches were committed to write records in books.  (Prior to that records were kept in noble family archives, if at all, though in general the larger the city, the bigger the church - a cathedral - the better chance someone was keeping records earlier. Those records may still be with the Diocese.)

I want to share that with you that it may not be hopeless at all.

Sometimes a church did not exist in a small village, not yet, so you can't expect there to have been records.  Maybe only a chapel existed, or a grotto, and a traveling priest came there to hold services or do baptisms.

Or a church did exist in the village but it was Protestant rather than Catholic, requiring those who were Catholic to travel to a church. (You may have to realize your ancestors changed religions! More than once. I just found a record in which there were a couple marriages in which both parties were listed as Ref (Reform Protestant) so I wonder at the circumstances that they married in a Roman Catholic church.  Maybe they eloped!)

And you may see something that I have: a cholera or other epidemic hits, and people remarry quickly. They are pragmatic and they start intermarrying - Catholics and Protestants.  As has been the case traditionally, when it comes to marrying two people of different faiths in the Catholic church, a conversion is not usually needed, but marrying in the Catholic partner's church and raising the children Catholic is.

So far the only "Conversion" lists I found were in a Reform church book. Just consider that you should go ahead and look in the other religion's church records when you're stuck.

But another realization was the inspiration for this series.

Perhaps the church that existed got closed for a while it was refurbished or reconstructed.  So, during that period, the parishioners would have to use another church, usually in the Diocese, or a neighboring village that was not too far to travel to for services and therefore what you are looking for is simply in the records of that other church.  

I've seen that, if I go over to the next village's church, during the "missing records period" the people are over at the other church with notations that they come from the other place!  You will see how the priest writes in that they live elsewhere.

I see that the further back I go for a certain church, the more I see people from other villages using it, so they went to this church because they did not have a church where they lived.

I wish there were a database of church openings and closings ...  But you may have some luck by researching the HISTORY of the church or the Diocese, or contact the present Diocese archives for more information!

Also consider that Lutheran (Evangelical), Hungarian Reform (Calvinist), Greek Catholic (more common in Slovak and Carpatho-Rus/ Rusyn families), Jewish and other records were or are held in special archives for that religion. Also a Roman Catholic Diocese may have duplicate records that were hand copied from the originals.

To bring up the series on this subject click on the tag/label Gen Pro Tip : Missing ? Church Records

C 2023-2025 Magyar-American BlogSpot  All Rights Reserved including Internet and International Rights

November 29, 2023  a slight edit for clarity.

October 24, 2024 a slight edit for clarity.

MEN IN LINEN

 

MORE HUNGARIAN MUMMIES REVEALED : EXHIBIT IN BEKESCSABA : HUNGARIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY : NUN WITH MISSING FINGER

HUNGARY TODAY : NUN WITH MISSING FINGER - MUMMY EXHIBIT 

Excerpt:  Visitors to the exhibition in Bekescsaba can see ten mummies in the exhibition hall, including Teresa Sandor, aged around 4o, whose coffin had no name, but it was known that she was buried in 1783 in a nun's habit.

Two of Teresa's fingers were found wrapped around her left leg.  Tests revealed that her fingers had not been cut off in a robbery (the coffin was intact), nor had they been amputated due to illness (X-rays showed no infectious complications or lesions suggestive of healing). It was probably mutilated for unknown reasons after death before the body was placed in the coffin.

LINK TO THE MUSEUM EXHIBIT NHMUS - Natural History Museum

SAINT STEPHEN'S DAY - NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN HUNGARY

Celebrated quite like our Fourth of July, with fireworks, parades, and sports.

FASCINATION

 

COOKIES THAT INCLUDE OATS - NO VANILLA OR FLAVORING? NO PROBLEM! : FOOD BANK RECIPE WITH SUGAR SUBSTITUTES TOO!

When you're on a budget, or just plain broke, you may not be able to buy spices or food flavorings or the basic vanilla that is used in most recipes for cookies and baked goods.  

However, you can nicely flavor a basic healthy cookie by using the zest and juice of an orange or lemon. You can use very little sugar in a recipe and depend on raisins - or other dried  fruits to add the sweet. Looking over standard recipes for most cookies, there really is a whole lot of sugar being used - too much.  

Maybe you picked up free sugar packets when you had coffee out?  *** At the bottom of this recipe there is yet another way to substitute for sugar.

Food Banks give out a lot of oatmeal. Oatmeal as cereal is healthy for you because oats are supposed to lower cholesterol. The oatmeal comes in bags,  boxes, and as instant cereals. It's rather bland by itself.

These cookies are closer to a "health bar" than the usual cookie and have a lower guilt factor if you eat a few at a time!  They also provide fiber to your diet.

Oven temperature 375 degrees. Time to bake depends on how large you scoop the cookie.  A cookie lump using about a fourth cup of batter takes 20 to 30 minutes. Baking sheets do not need to be buttered or oiled but the bottoms of these cookies will be browned so lightly greasing them won't hurt. Since ovens have variations just watch the first batch you make and take notes.  These cookies will not spread out, so you can fit a lot of them on one sheet. The baked cookie is not hard, but dry, but for the sweet fruit.  The crunch comes from the nuts. You may not notice the oatmeal at all!

****

Wet Bowl Ingredients:

One egg.

1/3 cup liquid oil.  (soybean or vegetable OK)

1/2 cup water (plus more set aside to be added gradually, as needed.)

1/3 cup sugar - brown best - or less.***

The juice of one lemon. Or the juice of one half orange. Before squeezing make zest from outer skin of the lemon or orange and add to this mixture. I use the whole lemon peel or half orange peel.

Wisk these in a separate bowl gently to blend. 

Dry Bowl Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup wheat flour

3/4 cup dry oatmeal  (instant is fine)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder (not soda)

Any dry spices you wish to add such as pumpkin, allspice, or cinnamon, instead of the lemon or orange juice and zest.  Use one teaspoon or less.

Stir around with a fork to blend these dry ingredients well.

Fruit and Nut Bowl

Half a cup of raisins, small cut figs, cranberries, or as you like.  

Three fourths cup of nuts such as peanuts, almonds, walnuts.  Coconut flakes can be used. 

****

NO OIL?

Substitute in 1/4 up peanut butter or 1/4 cup mashed banana (blackened best).

***

Turn the oven on to preheat.

Gently pour the wet mixture into the dry and, using a fork.  Add extra water bit by bit as needed. You want a thick mixture, not too gooey or runny. Once you are satisfied that there is no dry flour - oatmeal remaining, fold in the nuts and raisins. Scoop out on baking sheets...  Do this by hand.  It only takes a minute, if that.

 ***

With this basic recipe, whatever you got at the food bank will work, just vary it as you want.

Some suggestions include peanut butter and walnut with raisins, almonds with banana and raisins using lemon zest and juice, orange and raisin or orange and cranberry - whatever combo you come up with.

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES:

Now, if you are low on sugar you can also add one flavored packet of instant oatmeal. For instance the MAPLE flavoring usually also has a lot of sugar in the packet, enough to flavor the whole recipe. The APPLE flavored instant oatmeal may be nice with some cut up apples and you can use apple sauce instead of oil.

You may also use 1/4 cup of jam or jelly instead of sugar.  Wisk it in with the Wet ingredients.

Be creative!

I made a batch of these cookies for a picky friend who usually takes one of those store bought healthy bars with him on the road and he loved them.  Two or three of these with tea can be breakfast.

C 2023 Magyar- American - BlogSpot

HUNGARIA

 

THE KING OF THE GARDEN

 

THE ISEUM : A TEMPLE TO GODDESS ISIS - ARCHAEOLOGY - THE ROMANS IN HUNGARY : WONDERFUL PLACES IN HUNGARY #19

As so much of what is now Hungary was part of the Roman empire expansion, we find archaeology sites such as a Roman temple of Isis. But what's interesting about Isis is that she started out as an EGYPTIAN GODDESS, and eventually the Romans believed in her too. The temple is from the 2nd century AD.

After initial excavation in the 1950's one temple was significantly reconstructed.  There is also a museum. 

ISEUM DAVARIAMUSEUM HUNGARY Some people think this is the finest museum in Hungary.

After four years of excavation, a large complex of buildings was discovered. In more recent history there is a museum of historical religion. The Savaria Carnival is an event held usually in the summer in which tourists can get a feeling for what life must have been at the time when Roman's were living in the area and worshiping Isis. 

If you go to this website on Google, you'll be invited to translate it into English.  You'll find that there is a database featuring magazines of interest such as the Vasi Review - cultural studies.

Click on the label Wonderful-Hungary to bring up all posts on this theme.

STRAWBERRIES

 

LIPTO as a HUNGARIAN PLACE

This video presents postcards of Hungarian Lipto County, which is now Liptov, Slovakia, but still has a Hungarian majority. Beautiful mountains and interesting architecture!  Part of many a Hungarian-American's heritage. The poster, Sicambria, has some other videos up that are also interesting.

That said, for hundreds of years people of various ethnic backgrounds, Slovaks, Germans, and others, lived in this area, and many intermarried. Religious differences payed out too.  The Germans were mostly Catholics and many but not all were from Southern Germany. Some of the Slovaks were Greek Catholic, as were the Carpathian Rus (Also called Rusyns) and Ukrainians.

There are controversies over the nobility and who was or was not of original Hungarian ancestry or really Slovak or Czech.  

Lipto is an area where Bogamar, one of the sons of one of the original Magyar tribal chiefs, Hauk Palko, who came into Hungary, spawned. There are a number of surnames associated with nobility coming out of this area and those lineages. You can use Hungaricana databases for the Marie Theresa Urbariam and see.

Most Americans who are "2nd" or "3rd" generations since immigration here are mixed heritage.  I know someone who is 3rd generation on one side and 4th on the other who has claim to 16 different European ethnicities!  (What fun her genealogy searches could be!)

So I tend to think people are the ethnicity they feel themselves to be, that they feel they can relate to and feel comfortable with.  And of course, our surnames tell the world about one of our ethnicities and it is from our surnames that other people assume what our ethnic identity is.

C 2023 Magyar American BlogSpot

PUMPKIN PASTA SAUCE : UP THE NUTRITION ! : FOOD BANK RECIPE

American food banks get and give away a lot of pasta, in particular the typical "spagetti" also called Number 8.  Now this is a lot of carbs for the food value and you can get fat on carbs and still be starving for vitamins and minerals even though pasta does have wheat protein. The best way to add value to any pasta is the vegetables and herbs and spices that go with. Pumpkin adds lots of nutrition value to your meal.

When I was growing up we called spagetti "noodles," a term that seems to only be used now when the pasta is in a soup. Now the trendy term for noodles is pasta, and there is so much fun to be had with different sizes and shapes, all of which can be used for this recipe. I always break my spagetti Number 8 into thirds which makes it easier to eat, although you might have a fork swirling technique that loads the long cooked strands.

The reason you get cans of pumpkin puree in Food Bank bags is that most people only think of pumpkin for the autumn season and to bake pies for Thanksgiving. So stores and people donate the cans. It''s spring and summer time and you can make use of that pumpkin. 

Cook pasta and drain it.  Set aside.

Skillet pan on medium heat and add:

One or two tablespoons of oil; olive oil is best.  If you don't have that you can use butter, lard, or coconut; 

One large garlic clove chopped small.

Let the garlic cook for about a minute.

Should you open the can of pumpkin and find it has settled and it is watery be sure to drain the water with a sieve first.  You want the texture to coat the pasta. Add the pumpkin puree to the skillet.

Also add about one third cup of grated parmesan cheese.

And a couple tablespoons of warm milk or cream. (Room temperature is fine.  You just don't want refrigerator cold.)  Full fat coconut milk is a good substitute and used with coconut oil will give a somewhat flowery taste.

Slowly stir together all the ingredients for about 3-5 minutes. If you notice that the paste forming appears to be too thick you can add a tablespoon of the water from the pasta, which has some starch in it.

Then gently scoop the cooked pasta in and stir to coat it with the pumpkin sauce.

A sprinkle of more parmesan on top is nice.

Makes about four servings but I won't blame you it you eat it all yourself. This should nicely coat about 8 ounces of pasta which is about half a typical box.

You may also want to add onions or celery, chopped small so that it will cook enough in a minute or two. A little salt, a little pepper... 

Pumpkin is noteworthy for having over 200% of your daily Vitamin A. Over 30 % of Vitamin K. and over 25% of your copper.

C 2023 Magyar- American BlogSpot

EMMANUEL PAHUD : FANTASIA PASTORALE UNGHERES

A lovely piece of music from the Italian Academy of the Flute, Emmanuel Pahud, musician.

EIGHT PETALS