Hungarian Church Records
by Natalie Cottrill and Joseph B. Shumway
Births, marriages and deaths were recorded in church and civil records (after 1895) of Hungary. The earliest records are church records.
Some descriptions of the basic types of church records and descriptions of their content are noted below. Most of church records represent the Roman Catholic faith. This religions was the predominant one for most Hungarians, though there were some others that were fairly significant, especially in Hungary's later history including: Jewish, Reformed (Calvinist), Evangelical Lutheran, and Greek-Catholic. Before 1781, the Roman Catholic Church was charged with keeping records for all the different religions, including Jewish.
Birth or Christening Records
Church christening or birth records include the date of the event, the name of the child, names of his or her parents, the town of residence, witnesses and other information. Some Greek-Catholic records will even include the names of the maternal and paternal grandparents. Earlier records hold less information than more contemporary records. Most church christening records for Hungary have been microfilmed up to 1895. These records are organized by church, then chronologically by the date of the christening. If an exact birth date is not known, these can be time intensive to study, because for the most part, the christening records are not indexed.
Marriage Records
Church marriage records include the date of the event, the name of the groom and bride, their residence of origin, marital status prior to marriage (widow, single, etc.) and the names of witnesses. Some of the records will include the age of the bride and groom, and the more contemporary marriage records will list their parents' names, too. As with the christening records, the marriage records are organized by church and then chronologically by the date of the marriage. Most of the church marriage records have been microfilmed and are available up to the year 1895. If an exact marriage date is not known, these can be time intensive to study, because for the most part, the marriage records are not indexed.
Death or Burial Records
Church death records generally have far less genealogically helpful information in them. However, they are helpful to establish birth years for the decedent, because the decedent's age is sometimes given. The church death records usually only include the decedent's name, age, and residence at the time of death. Less often the death record will include information on the decedent's marital status (widow, married, etc.). If the decedent is a child, the father's name is usually given. Most of the church burial records have been microfilmed and are available up to the year 1895. As with the birth and marriage records, these records are not indexed.
Jewish Records
Jewish records are generally fragmented in Hungary. Some of the earliest records for Jewish synagogues in Hungary begin about 1825 to 1855. There are no Jewish christening records, of course, but other events related to the birth of a child were often recorded. For more information about Jewish research in Europe, please visit the JewishGen Hungary site.
