Genealogical Work Opens Doors

It can be said that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who are interested in where they come from and own it culturally, and those who do not care at all.

On a spring day more than a year ago, I decided that if I didn't attempt to do the genealogical work on my father's family, then no one else would do it for me. I have an aunt on my mother's side who has done all of that work, so that made my job much easier.

All I knew was that my father's father had emigrated from Hungary to the United States and my father had an idea of what his grandfather's name might have been in Hungary. I started with the Ellis Island immigration records, found his, and worked from there. I came up with 7 names in one night, and thought that the rest was going to be easy - but the further back you attempt to go, especially in another country, the more difficult the job gets.

But at any rate, the point is to learn something about yourself because you can't (or, at least, shouldn't) separate yourself from where your family came from. I wanted to discover this Eastern European Jewish side of me, and was hoping that this work would open up names and places and get me better acquainted with the "old country" as it were. I was also hoping that it would reveal names of living relatives all over the world, giving me more places and people to connect with. So far, I have two names of cities in Hungary and am hoping eventually to get there, discover the Jewish communities, ask around, and connect with people. In other words, to take my place in a family with more than one branch.