In my family, there were several topics that were not discussed - at
least not with "the children". So I did no know that my uncle committed
suicide by taking cyanide. (He was a jeweler and thus had access to
cyanide which is used to purify gold.) I was able to obtain the death
certificate at the state archives.

Nor did I know (until I recently asked my elderly aunt) that my other
uncle divorced his wife (my father's sister) and remarried. I obtained
more details on that one >from his will.

And in my husband's family there was a great-cousin who "worked in a
saloon" in the western part of the US. A mutual cousin of my husband
was reluctant to share any information about her. The important part is
that she died young and may have suffered >from a chronic genetic disease
which we know has affected one branch of the family for over 4 generations.

As genealogists we often uncover details which might otherwise remain
hidden. Some of those details may prove to be highly significant.

Barbara Zimmer
Virginia

In my family, there were several topics that were not discussed - at
least not with "the children". So I did no know that my uncle committed
suicide by taking cyanide. (He was a jeweler and thus had access to
cyanide which is used to purify gold.) I was able to obtain the death
certificate at the state archives.

Nor did I know (until I recently asked my elderly aunt) that my other
uncle divorced his wife (my father's sister) and remarried. I obtained
more details on that one >from his will.

And in my husband's family there was a great-cousin who "worked in a
saloon" in the western part of the US. A mutual cousin of my husband
was reluctant to share any information about her. The important part is
that she died young and may have suffered >from a chronic genetic disease
which we know has affected one branch of the family for over 4 generations.

As genealogists we often uncover details which might otherwise remain
hidden. Some of those details may prove to be highly significant.

Barbara Zimmer
Virginia

"Katz, Itzik" <Itzik.Katz@KLA-Tencor.com>wrote:

My cousin had taken the FTDNA Y37 test and the results that came back
matched several people, one of which is an exact match with us. The DNA
matching indicate that we are all relatives and that our common ancestor
(depending on the level of DNA matchin) lived between 200 to 600 years
ago.
The ancestors of these people are known to have come >from Ukraine and
Poland. My family is the only one >from Hungary.

All the people we match with (exact or partial match) are known to be
Kohanim as the Katz surname would suggest. However, only one of them
carry
the surname Katz. All the others have different surnames like Kahan,
Bloom,
Kaplansky, Feinberg, etc. Most of these people have indications that
thier
surname was changed >from Kahan or Kohen but not >from Katz.

I always believed that Katz was one of those ancient surnames since it
has a
meaning in Hebrew and that it was carried over the generations.

Is it possible that Katz is a germanized name to comply wuth the 1786
Empiral naming Order?

I have seen in other places that Katz was also used as a title and not
as a
surname. For examply, Rabby Shimshon Eliezer Katz Gottdiener who was a
"Av-Beit Din (head of Jewish court)" in Tiszalok (in the book "Shem
Ha'Gdolim" by Pinhas Zelig Schwartz) who is known to have been a Kohen.
Gottdiener is a greminazed name of the Hebrew surnmae Ovadia (server of
God).

Pat,

There are records in the Hungarian state archives, the archives in
Nyireghaza, and in many other locations that have not been filmed by the
FHL. When JewishGen volunteers and staff come across such records they
attempt to acquire such records and obtain permission for JewishGen to
transcribe them. If you are unable to find the records you want in the
FHL catalog, you need to contact other sources, including the closest
regional and national archives to find out if such records exist. It's
always a good idea to first post your inquiry to the Hungarian SIG website
because many researchers have obtained records that have not been filmed
by the FHL. The next step is to contact various sources directly to find
out if the records you seek exist. H-SIG members may also be able to
direct you to the places that are most likely to have the records you seek.

The FHL donated a catalog of its Jewish records to JewishGen several years
ago. That database, which you can find on the JewishGen website, does not
include Jewish records that have been filmed during the time when this
catalog was created. You need to go to the FHL website or your local FHL
branch for more current information.

I hope that this answers your question.

Vivian Kahn

Subject: re:Some Basic Questions
From: Patricia J Weisshaus <patjw28@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005 12:16:32 -0400
X-Message-Number: 3

Dear Vivian,

You mention more records >from Nireghaza. You also say that the FHL list is
dated. Do you know of these other records >from Nireghaza are being/have
been filed and just not included in the list online, or are the the numbers
available a the FHC?

Pat

12:58 AM On 10/28/2005, vkahn@kmort.com wrote:

Dear Peter,

You've asked some questions for which others who have recently begun
researching Hungarian Jewish roots may also need answers.

Hungary began civil registration in October 1895. Before then, vital
records were maintained by the Jewish community and turned over to the
authorities. One copy of these records was kept in the place where the
records were generated and the other was usually sent to the county
(megye). As a result, even though some of the local records were
destroyed during WWII, others that were kept in county, regional, or
national archives may have been preserved. The Mormon Family History
Library (FHL) has filmed many records >from pre-World War I Hungary, which
included areas that are in present-day Hungary as well as places that are
now in Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, and other modern nations
surrounding Hungary. The first step in researching your roots is to find
out in which current nation your ancestors lived.

Check the FHL on-line catalogue to see if they have filmed Jewish records

from the places where your relatives lived. You can search a somewhat

dated version of the FHL collection of Jewish records at
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/FHLC/
You should also search the surnames and places that you are researching in
the JewishGen Hungary Database (JHD)
< http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Hungary >.

If you have family >from areas that are in present-day Hungary or Slovakia,
you may be able to obtain records by writing to the Hungarian or Slovak
National Archives. Check the Hungarian SIG message archives and website
for current addresses. Your research will be more difficult if your
family came >from parts of pre-Trianon Hungary that are now in Romania or
the Ukraine. The FHL has microfilmed most of the 1848 Jewish Census
records that are held by the Hungarian National
Archives, but we continue to find records in regional archives
(Nyireghaza and Satorjaujhely, for example) and archives in Romania.
We know that there are other census and Jewish vital records in Romanian
and Ukrainian archives. JewishGen is continuing to try and obtain these
records and get permission to create indices that we can publish on-line.

In addition to searching the JewishGen Hungary Database (JHD), you should
send messages to the Hungarian SIG mailing list to find out if anyone is
researching your names and/or places or can suggest other resources.
We
have more than 800 members in more than a dozen countries and many of them
are fluent in Hungarian. Make sure to use a meaningful subject line (e.g.
Searching KAHAN/Sziget) and include your place of residence with your full
name. This will help folks to identify resources
that are available close to where you live. Also, make sure to
turn off SPAM blockers to allow H-SIG members to reach you.

Please feel free to contact me off-line or, if your questions might be of
general interest, through the Hungarian SIG discussion group.

Happy hunting!

Vivian Kahn, Hungarian SIG Coordinator