In 1869 an all-country population census was conducted in the Kingdom of Hungary. It included representatives of all religions and social status, making it a valuable source for family history. This census can be used to bridge a gap in the vital records, or to add
depth to the known facts about your ancestors' life in the second half
of 19th century.
Like most censuses, the 1869 census lists members of the household,
their relationship to the head of the household, years and places of
birth, as well as some details about their possessions. The questions with translations are provided on this FamilySerach
Wiki page.
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| Cover page of the questionnaire |
For most of the present-day Hungary, however,
only statistical data from the 1869 census has been preserved, with the exception of several towns (Győr, Hajduszoboszló, Nyiregyháza, Szentes). Personal data of this census is only available for those counties that are now completely or partly in Slovakia, and several towns in Hungary. They can be researched online on
FamilySearch, as well as in a
JewishGen database.
Here I would like to highlight a collection containing records of the 1869 census, available at the
State Archive of Transcarpathia Oblast in Ukraine. More specifically, it is located at the local branch of this archive in
Berehove (historically known as Beregszász).
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| The name of the archive in Ukrainian and Hungarian languages |
According to the
archival catalog of the Berehove branch, this census, listed as "Анкети та відомості перепису населення і худоби в селах жупи" (
Census questionnaires and data on population and cattle in the villages of the county), covers the former
Ung county.
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| Soviet-era cover page |
These records are not available online, and can be accessed in person at the research room of the archive. One should sign up in advance and obtain permission from the director of the archive in Uzhhorod. If travel is not an option for you, you can use a local researcher.
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| Research room at the Berehove branch of Transcarpathia archive |
Here are some examples of the census data from
Korláthelmec, a.k.a. Putka Helmec, now Khomlets, Uzhhorod district (rayon) of Transcarpathia region (oblast).
So, from this documents we can infer the following.
The family lived in house nr. 166, with one room, one ante-room and one stable.
The household members:
1. Őri Pál, male, year of birth: 1814, Greek Catholic, married, day laborer*, place of birth: Hungary, P. Helmec, illiterate;
2. Homas Éva, female, year of birth: 1814, Greek Catholic, married, day laborer, place of birth: Hungary, Hosszumező, illiterate;
3. Őri Pál, male, year of birth: 1843, Greek Catholic, single, at military service, now on leave, place of birth: Hungary, P. Helmec, can read and write;
4. Őri Mária, female, year of birth: 1849, Greek Catholic, single, day laborer, place of birth: Hungary, P. Helmec, can read and write;
5. Őri Erzsébet, female, year of birth: 1853, Greek Catholic, married, day laborer, place of birth: Hungary, P. Helmec, illiterate;
6. Őri Jozsef, male, year of birth: 1854, Greek Catholic, married, day laborer, place of birth: Hungary, P. Helmec, can read and write.
*Day laborer means that they were landless and hired to work on somebody else's land, paid by day of work.
As you can see, quite a valuable information for a genealogy researcher. If you have ancestors from Transcarpathia, I highly recommend you benefit from this collection, if it has records from your particular town.
