This is The Hungarian Living Podcast. And today is going to be all about exploring your ancestral addresses. Stick around!
In the last 15 years or so I have been curious about a lot of different things regarding my ancestors and relatives as well as my husband’s. Why did they leave where they were? Why did they go where they went?
Between my husband and I, our families lived from coast to coast and all around Europe. It isn’t practical to just travel around the country or the world visiting places and cemeteries. But, through the years we have been able to visit some important addresses and it has been very interesting. It really isn’t practical to travel to all these places so we have also used Google street view because offers some great opportunities to see recent information on street addresses – even if it is just an empty lot.
Find a Grave (.com) is a way to see a gravestone without traveling to the cemetery. Now, it doesn’t help in every situation, but it can be a good start. What might be harder for city folks to imagine is that sometimes, there are unmarked graves. Sometimes there are graves that are on private property or aren’t really known about beyond the area where they live.
Let me share two different examples from my family line.
One time, my uncle was telling me about his mother – my grandmother – and that she had 4 children (out of 7) who died. I only knew about the three who were alive when I was born.
In my younger years, I might not have thought too much about this information. But, by the time I learned this, I already had kids and the thought of experiencing the death of one of them, let along 4 of them, was difficult. But, for some reason, I never really made the leap to the next idea which would naturally be, “Where are they buried?”
Several years later, we were discussing this topic again. My uncle was very good about chatting about this kind of stuff. He knew he was oldest of the last living direct line and made sure he was available to share information. My husband, Don, and I were in Cleveland on business, but I remembered my uncle had lived with his parents and grandparents in the Cleveland area. So, I asked my uncle for the address and Don and I drove around and found the place. The house was still standing. Hooray!
This address is a place where my dad lived as well as my grandparents and great grandparents. So, even though all of this occurred way before I existed, it was important to me. They were in that place. They were from that place. That place was a part of their history. The house was their home.
Don and I drove around the cemetery during that visit, but we had no idea where the little ones were buried. We visited a few other cemeteries that day to see where my other grandmother and great grandmother were buried.
And, for a side note: I have another set of great grandparents buried in Los Angeles, CA. Of course, when I was in Los Angeles 10+ years ago, I never really thought about the fact that my great grandparents were buried there even though I faintly knew something about them living there at one time. I guess I just don’t pull all these pieces together very quickly! It takes me a while to digest the information.
But, back to these little ones – my dad’s siblings — A year or two ago I called the cemetery where the little ones were born and talked with the cemetery sexton. I asked if he could look up records for these children who died as they were in unmarked graves. We met up and he had marked out their resting places for me. They were relatively near one another. I took some photos and took a moment to honor their brief lives. Instead of 2 uncles (and aunts) I might have had many more of them and, possibly, many more first cousins than the 5 I have. It’s always interesting to wonder how things would have been if……
But it is also important not to stay there. I don’t know if my brothers know or even care about these stories, but I do feel I should write them down. Slowly but surely, the dots are filling in and the story of our family has more depth.
Sometimes, for me, being in a place helps me think about things a little bit more deeply. Today, I had the opportunity to visit a town in Hungary where my great grandmother was born. I don’t know how long she lived there. Maybe she actually lived in a neighboring village – I don’t know these things yet. But, there is something about being in that place where they were. It’s kind of like every time I visit Ellis Island in New York. My people were in that place. I cannot fully imagine the journey but the museum there helps me get a deeper sense of their journey.
What are you doing about your story? You don’t have to focus on the ancestors – there is value in focusing on your own timeline. Where have you lived? What have you worked on? What kinds of things are you involved in or passionate about? It’s time to write a few things down so a generation or two from now your relatives are wondering about you and why you ended up where you did. You don’t have to write a book. Just start gathering a story here and there. And either share it or let someone know you are writing it and you will share it when the time comes. Think about your first and second-hand experiences with aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandparents. What traditions did you participate in? Think about the important experiences in your life. If you gained some wisdom, share it!
We’d love to hear more about your story. If you are willing to share, email us at [email protected] and share an important story from your life. We’d love to read it!
In the meantime, find a notebook or start a document on your computer. But, think about printing it out or making sure someone knows how to get into your computer to get it. Your story is important because it is uniquely yours. No one else can tell it like you because no one else has lived it like you!
We have included some links in the show notes. Be sure to visit the podcast area of HungarianLiving.com to see the show notes and be sure to explore the website as there are a lot of great resources there!
I hope to see you sometime soon!
