Magyar News, 2003. szeptember-2004. augusztus (14. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-06-01 / 10. szám
sold the church to the Hungarians and built another church. Now I began to understand who I was. Margaret: The jury is still out on our Krajnyiks. They seem to have been HR for generations. Prospecting Strategies Suppose your name is Takacs, and you are searching for your roots but with little success. Yes, you know your ancestors' names, and maybe the general area of Hungary where they originated. Maybe a search of the MATAV white pages will help (www.matav.hu/). MATAV is the Hungarian telephone company, and you can conduct a name search in either English or Hungarian. Simply type in "Takacs", and all of the Takacs in Hungary who have a telephone will appear, with phone numbers and addresses. Perhaps one of these is a relative of yours. You can call him or write him to ask whether you are related. Before you call, bear in mind that there is a seven hour difference between the U.S. and Hungary. If you call at 12 noon, it will be 7 p.m. there. And, check out rates and calling times, because you can run up a substantial phone bill. If you write, supply the family with all relevant names, locations, dates, and information. Supply a self-addressed envelope with a small amount of cash for the respondent to purchase stamps in order to facilitate a response. If you know the town, you can write to the local high school, asking if there are any Takacs enrolled. By supplying the relevant family information, perhaps you will get a response. An alternative strategy is to write to the mayor (polgármester) of the town with the same request. Supply your email address if you wish to facilitate things. You will find that many Hungarians and others in nearby countries have access to email. This can greatly help your effort. However, bear in mind that English is not spoken by the majority of people. So, you either need to learn basic Hungarian, or find someone who is already fluent. Occasionally you will be surprised by finding a contact who is able to communicate in English, and is interested in doing so. Bob: I am fortunate that my cousin is the Polgármester of Viszlo, birthplace of my paternal grandmother, so we are in the process of getting all available informtion, directly from villager sources. Our communication is enhanced since the Polgarmester's son, an engineering student, has access to email. He practices his English, and I practice my Hungarian. It works out well. Margaret: I was successful in putting Krajnyik into the Google search engine and actually finding a Krajnyik family in my great-grandparents' village. There was a Krajnyik on a list of graduates from a school in Slovakia. I contacted the director of the school who put me in email contact with the Krajnyik who grew up in Vojany, formerly Vajan, my family's village. The young man himself not only speaks English but has been to the United States with a travel/study program. His younger brother was in the U.S. for the second time this past fall. Again we are not certain we are related. He said that his mother who does not speak English knows the Krajnyik family history back 200 years, but she said it was complicated, and we needed to figure this thing out together, so I needed to go there. Going There The ultimate genealogical experience is getting on a plane and going to the place from which your ancestors originated. Travel in Hungary and adjacent countries is getting better. Things have improved. There is better transportation, and there are better places to stay. Find a good travel agent who knows Hungary and can work out the details for you. Take with you all the relevant information about your family - names, dates, family trees, etc. Take an Hungarian field guide with important Hungarian words included. If you have time, learn basic Hungarian. Out in the villages, especially, there will be fewer English-speaking people. This will be less difficult in the cities, but then it will be harder to locate relatives or identify ancestors, because you will be dealing with large numbers of people. Once you find "the" village, you can speak with people about your family. They will likely know something, and perhaps will be able to point you to someone who is related. If you find a relative, and that is not out of the question, you will have a wonderful, though often tearful time (tears of joy in making connections with relatives you have never seen before). They will be able to fill you in on some family history. Perhaps they can take you to the church to look at family records, or to the local graveyard where generations of your ancestors are buried. It will be one of the great experiences of your lifetime. Margaret: At age 66 my mother who had never been on a plane took the journey of her life to the land of her grandparents. She did not know any family there in advance but wrote to the postmaster who put her in touch with a Viliam Csutoras who turned out to be the great-grandson of her father's cousin. She and another Csutoras descendant of the family who lived in our area spent a month visiting with the family and meeting over 100 Krajnyik, Gyure, and Csutoras relatives while there. Viliam drew a family tree for my mother which detailed descendants of the Csutorases that remained in the Old Country as well as indicating which ones had come to the U.S. My mother stayed in touch with Viliam's family, and when she died, I began writing to them in English. One of the teenage granddaughters in the family is studying English and helps her grandmother to craft the letters to me. The granddaughter recently has gained access to email. Bob: I had the name of the village and four family names. As we approached the village by car, we stopped at the first house, where I introduced myself in simple Hungarian to a woman out in the front yard. She smiled and told me to go to the next house and repeat my story. I had no sooner done so than she took me by the hand, and we went walking out to the middle of the village. She pointed to the house in which my grandmother was bom, and soon I was surrounded by relatives. It was like an American Express ad. Tears of joy flowed. Food appeared. Relatives hugged. It was the experience of a lifetime. Conclusion: We were both motivated to seek out our Hungarian roots, so that future generations will come to know who they are and where they came from. We also believe that by seeking out our family origins, we honor those who came before us. So many of them sacrificed so much, so that we could be here today, and those sacrifices merit our recognition. The search, itself, is intriguing. It is much like trying to solve any complete puzzle or mystery - challenging, frustrating, enlightening, and ultimately, satisfying. Whatever your motivation, get started. Begin with the basics, nearby. Move on to the library, the historical society, and the many sources on the internet. Contact Hungarian sources, and those of nearby countries when appropriate. Engage other family members in the quest. Gather and organize your material. Create your family tree. Write a family book, complete with photos, drawings, maps and copies of important papers. Spread copies out amongst family members. You will be performing a valuable service for generations to come. |-j Page 3 Many countries issue records in two languages
