Opportunities in Online Genealogical Research
Curiosity is a fundamental human trait, and who wouldn’t want to know who they are, where they come from, who their ancestors were, or what occupations they held in the distant past? Were they farmers or perhaps nobility? Today, in addition to archives, extensive research can also be conducted in online databases to answer these questions. Our exhibition touches on the methodology and possibilities of genealogical research and, as an aid to research, offers access to our database containing thousands of portrait photographs, group pictures, and other written documents to help discover possible relatives.
Getting Started with Research
One of the first steps in genealogical research is to have a conversation with elderly relatives about the ancestors they remember, significant dates, and to review old family photographs. Recalling interesting stories and anecdotes and taking notes is also invaluable. These pieces of information are treasures in themselves and serve as a link to our ancestral roots. If we have names, dates, and locations, we can begin our search using the available sources. Many families also preserve old records, birth and marriage certificates, and lineage verifications, which may contain previously unknown data.
Moving backward in time, we can trace our family tree several hundred years and across multiple generations, identifying hundreds or even thousands of distant relatives. Naturally, some branches may be difficult to trace due to missing or incorrect data or an unknown ancestor. In such cases, persistence, patience, and the continuous expansion of databases can yield results. However, if an unknown ancestor appears - such as one registered as an illegitimate child - tracing the paternal lineage may become nearly impossible.
The so-called "ancestor loss" phenomenon is inevitable as we go further back in time. This means that some of our ancestors on different branches are actually the same individuals. Even when examining just ten generations of a direct-line family tree, we are looking at over a thousand direct ancestors: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, 32 third-great-grandparents, 64 fourth-great-grandparents, and so on. By the 30th generation, this number reaches a billion, and by the 40th generation, a trillion - far more people than have ever existed in human history.
Civil Registers
Civil registry records have existed in Hungary since October 1, 1895. These records are maintained by local municipal offices, while duplicate copies are stored in archives. Records past their protection period are available in free online databases. The most well-known of these is FamilySearch, where users can freely browse digitized records and build their family trees after registering. According to a 2024 legal amendment, the protection period is 110 years for birth records, 86 years for marriage records, and 30 years for death records - although late entries may complicate this.
Church Registers
For the period before civil registration, church records are the primary sources of genealogical data. However, identifying the denomination of the family branch being researched is essential. Church registration in Hungary dates back to the 16th–17th centuries. As early as 1515, the Synod of Veszprém emphasized the importance of recording baptisms. By the 16th century, such records were kept sporadically, but in 1563, the Council of Trent formalized the practice. In Hungary, the 1611 Synod of Nagyszombat set out regulations, which became mandatory with the 1625 Rituale Romanum, specifying the recording of baptisms, marriages, deaths, confirmations, and Easter communion attendance. The creation of duplicate copies for added security was only mandated in 1827. For the Jewish population, registry documentation was made compulsory much later, in 1851.
Researching records from the 16th–18th centuries is challenging due to significant gaps and lost documents. One major obstacle is that before the mid-19th century, marriage records rarely included the names of the parents, especially for the groom. The bride’s father was sometimes mentioned, but not always.
Church records of modern-day Hungary have been microfilmed with the support of the Mormon Church and are preserved at the National Archives of Hungary. This religious movement requires its members to learn about their ancestors and actively supports genealogical research worldwide. They also manage FamilySearch, a key resource for family historians aiming to create a global family tree collaboratively.
Additional Sources
Beyond registry records, other sources can provide valuable information. Death notices, for example, often mention not just immediate family members but also distant relatives. The National Széchényi Library maintains a database of obituaries. Cemetery records and cadasters, such as the tombstone inscriptions published by BillionGraves, can also be useful, mainly for information from the past hundred years. Additionally, searching historical local newspapers may yield short mentions or, in fortunate cases, detailed articles about ancestors.
For dedicated genealogists, the Hungarian Society for Family History Research offers a wealth of information, much of which is accessible through membership. This is particularly beneficial for those researching ancestors in 20th-century Budapest, where many records have been indexed by volunteers, making searches more efficient. Diocesan archives also offer online genealogical services, which can be useful if the religious affiliation of the researched family branch is known.
If noble ancestors are discovered, various publications can provide information about their lineage and history, sometimes spanning several centuries. Hungarian Noble Families by Béla Kempelen is a key resource, as is Counties and Cities of Hungary, edited by Samu Borovszky, though the latter does not cover all counties comprehensively. These and other genealogical reference works are available online. Historical censuses, urbariums, and land records can also be invaluable sources of information.
As additional research tools, our database offers a large collection of portrait and family photographs, obituary collections, and tombstone images. While not our primary focus, we also maintain a small collection of browsable registry records. For local history research related to ancestral origins, our ethnographic documents, detailing regional customs and validated by local informants, can be particularly useful.
TEJ
Translated by László Gönczi
Sources:
Genealogical Information on the Hungarian National Archives website
