- ABOUT - the HUNGARIAN VILLAGE FINDER, ATLAS, and GAZETTEER for the KINGDOM of HUNGARY INDEX Atlas, and Gazetteer for the Kingdom of Hungary (see what the HVF offers...) View EXAMPLE pages from the Hungarian Village Finder... software program How the HVF can help with your genealogy research QUESTIONS regarding the HVF... ORDER GUESTBOOK Read what others say about the HUNGARIAN VILLAGE FINDER, ATLAS, and GAZETTEER for the KINGDOM of HUNGARY or add your own comments HOME

Regardless of your being a novice, hobbbyist, or professional genealogist, or whether you are working on a family tree, trying to find relatives overseas, writing your family history, or just curious about your origins, without a doubt, learning the birthplace(s) of your ancestors will prove to be one of the primary keys available to you for unlocking the doors to your past.  Since the majority of records, both in the United States and abroad, have been organized, stored, or archived by place name first, most researchers will tell you that in order for your genealogy project to have any success at all, finding, locating, or identifying a family’s ancestral town, place, place name, settlement, or village of origin will be one of the most important things you will need to do. Unfortunately, as you may already know, identifying and locating the place or place name is not always quite as simple as it sounds and you may have to develop some detective type strategies for tracking down and uncovering the place of interest.  However, if your ancestors emigrated to the United States, by familiarizing yourself with some of the pitfalls you may encounter and the records available to you, as well as knowing where to look, and using the Hungarian Village Finder, Atlas, and Gazetteer for the Kingdom of Hungary (HVF) as a research aid and dictionary of place names, your chances of success are greatly improved. Problems and Pitfalls-- --Since the majority of our ancestors emigrated before the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, most of these birthplaces were recorded in Hungarian (Magyar), however, the official Hungarian name was not necessarily the same as those used by the natives of a particular village. --After the “Magyarization” (making all things magyar or Hungarian) policy was put into effect, many place names may have been changed altogether. --If your ancestor was of an ethnicity other than Hungarian, he or she might have entered the birthplace using a variant name such as German, Croatian, Romanian, etc., and depending on what document the birthplace is obtained from, you might even find several different place names recorded.  For example, it is not unusual to find that the birthplace entered on an immigrants ship’s passenger manifest is quite different than the birthplace entered in marriage certificates, naturalization papers, or on social security applications, even though they are all one and the same place. (The HVF addresses the above three  problems by including official, slang, variant, alternate, old, and new place names). --Rarely, were the officials taking your ancestor’s information of the same ethnic background and with virtually no knowledge of their language or homeland, place names were more likely recorded phonetically more than correctly. (The HVF includes a pronunciation chart to help you recognize the phonetic sounds and determine the correct spelling of place names). --Place names were often shortened or abbreviated.  For example N. Zablath might be Nagy, Nemes, or Nemet, while M. domb could be Mező, Magyar, or Maros.  The place is actually (Meződomb). (Using your computer’s mouse, the HVF allows you to scroll through place names finding those that could be matches, and with the built in FIND tool, allows you to search using identified letter combinations.  In addition, most of these two-word type place names have been entered into the HVF by prefix and suffix.  For example, under the letter “N” you will find Nagyzablath listed and under the letter “Z” you will find the same place listed as Zablath (Nagy-)). --There are several places with the same name.  For example a common place name like “Ujfalu” brings up more than 75 entries of locations scattered across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (The HVF includes major ethnic populations for each village or settlement.  If you know your family's ethnicity, by using this information, you can narrow down which places are more likely than others to be the one you are looking for.  Also included are individual indexes of villages in each district which means that if you find a relative living in another place you can use the index to see if there is an “Ujfalu” nearby).

--Places / place names that no longer exist.  Obviously, this can complicate your search especially if you are trying to use modern day maps and/or atlases.
(The HVF includes all former place names that existed before the Kingdom of Hungary was divided by the 1920 Treaty of Trianon.  It also has the current place names and location for each of those place names.  If the place no longer exists, the HVF gives you this information.  If the place has been incorporated into another place, the HVF shows this information, as well.  And just as important, the HVF has maps for every county, with every district, so you can see where the place was located or is  With this information, you can easily use any current map to plot a location currently located).

Getting Started--

--Visit the HVF "Hungarian / Hungary Genealogy Charts and Forms"  website to download free printable Family Group Sheets and Pedigree Charts created to help you learn the identity of ancestral placenmaes.

--Follow the “golden rule of genealogy” by beginning with your self and working backwards.  Make a list of family members including their birthdates and birth places.  Do not assume anything and try to document everything.  This is the information that will lead you to the location of the records which in turn, will hopefully lead you to your ancestral village(s). 

--Make a timeline in 10 year increments and enter the name, birthdate, and birthplace of your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc..  This will visually show you who and where each person was living during a given time period, which once again, will lead you to the location and availability of certain records created during that time frame.

--Go on the internet and find a simple but good pronunciation guide for Hungarian and one for whatever was the spoken language of your ancestors.  Print these out.  You do not need to study them, but familiarize yourself with a few of the phonetics so that you are consciously aware of differences and similarities in spelling.
Hungarian Pronunciation Guide

Where to look for a place name--

• one's nationality, place of birth
• ship name and date of entry to the United States
• age, height, eye and hair color
• profession
• place of last residence
• name and address of relatives they are joining in the U.S.
• amount of money they are carrying, etc.

• birth date and place of birth
• immigration year
  
• ship name and date of entry to the United States
• profession or occupation
  
• marital status and spouse information
• names, birthdates, and birth places of children

• birth date and place of birth
• immigration year
  
• ship name and date of entry to the United States
• citizenship / naturalization status
• marriage status
  
• employer information
  

• birth date and place of birth
• current address (at time of  application)
  
• father's name and mother's name (maiden)
  
• present employer and address
  
• signature
  

Social Security (death records) can provide

• Social Security number
• date of death
  
• county/state of death
• where original application was made
  

Social Security search via LDS Family Search
Social Security search via Rootsweb
For genealogy related Questions about Social Security (see Q9)
Information or How To obtain a copy of an original Social Security application through the Freedom of Information Act.

During World War I there were three registrations. The first, on June 5, 1917, was for all men between the ages of 21 and 31. The second, on June 5, 1918, registered those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. (A supplemental registration was held on August 24, 1918, for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918. This was included in the second registration.) The third registration was held on September 12, 1918, for men age 18 through 45.

Original records are kept at the National Archives branch in Atlanta, Georgia
The LDS Online Family History Catalog have the entire collection on microfilm under the following headings:  UNITED STATES -- MILITARY RECORDS -- WORLD WAR I
Ancestry.com (requires a subscription) is currently cataloging the collection.  Check to see what states they already have.
Check county libraries as many of these are acquiring local records for their collection.

Upon their arrival to their new hometowns, many of our ancestors sought out local ethnic churches.  For the most part, these churches kept very detailed records about their parisoners.  Marriage records usually provide the best information but baptism records of offspring may offer the birthplace of the parents, as well.  Try to locate the church where your ancestors would have gone for services and request the information.  Be sure to ask for original records not just certificates and let them know you are trying to find the town your ancestors came from.  Consider making a small donation for their time.

Note--the LDS (Latter Day Saints or Mormons) Family History Library has acquired many local church records including some Catholic records.  Check the Online Family History Catalog by entering the name of the state, county, and town to see what, if any of these records are available.

--Vital Records

The HUNGARIAN VILLAGE FINDER, ATLAS, and GAZETTER for the KINGDOM of HUNGARY program software— Is a comprehensive dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, gazetteer, and directory with indexes of placenames for villages, settlements, towns, communities, and cities in the former Kingdom of Hungary (pre 1918), including those now located in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Serbia / Yugoslavia. Functions as a village finder, place locator, and town seeker when conducting a place name search. Uses official, native, conventional, variant, and current names to make finding a place of interest a more likely probability. Allows for partial name or word searching when available records are difficult to read and only a few letters are legible. Has reference maps for individual countries, megyes / varmegyes (counties), AND for every járás (district) located within each county.  These so-called district maps show the location of the villages that were once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire! Also includes indexed county / megye directories listing local churches and nearby parishes (to help locate ancestor birth, marriage, and death records), information on population and ethnicity of major inhabitants, current country locations with names, as well as other relative information, research aids, hints, and “Links” to online/Internet websites. A genealogical “gold mine” for anyone researching their Austro-Hungarian heritage. Place your ORDER here!! No other resource gives you so much in one place.