Hungary Funeral Notices - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Magyar gyászjelentések, 1840-1995.

Collection Time Period
There are notices from about 1840 to 1995.

Record Description
Printed funeral notices gathered by the National Library of Hungary. About 30% pertain to Budapest and the rest to other places in Hungary. Includes approximately 459,000 individual cards printed in a variety of styles sometimes on colored paper and generally with a black border. A small percentage are handwritten on printed forms. The cards are arranged alphabetically by family name and then by given name.

Record Content



 * Key genealogical facts found in Hungarian memorial cards:
 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Age
 * Religion of the deceased
 * Major accomplishments, occupation, and the like
 * Names of family members announcing the death (this might be parents, spouse, siblings, or surviving children or some combination of these).
 * Names of mourners (living family members)

Place and date of the funeral

How to Use the Records
Notices vary somewhat in the information provided. At a minimum use notices to obtain the name of the deceased, the date and time of death. Sometimes you will learn the age of the deceased, permitting you to approximate the date of birth. Most notices include the names of several surviving family members such as spouses, siblings, and children. Use these details to extend research in those directions. If major accomplishments of the deceased are included, you can use this information to find occupational or school records. Most are written in Hungarian; some are in German; a few are in French.

Record History
Notices were printed and distributed to family members and friends. Over time they were either collected by someone and donated to the National Szechenyi Library in Budapest or were collected by the Library itself.

Notices represent only a fraction of Hungarians who died during the inclusive years, primarily those from well-to-do middle-class families and lesser nobility. Some of these notices are from Budapest (certainly less than half, possibly about 30%) others are from other parts of Hungary and from areas no longer in Hungary (Slovakia, Croatia, Romania). There are approximately 459,000 people represented in these cards.

Why This Record Was Created
Notices were used to notify family and friends of a death and served also as an invitation to attend the funeral sermon.

Record Reliability
Generally these were composed from information provided by close family members and the information is fairly reliable.

Related Web Sites
Sziebert and Berecz Families of Baranya Megye Hungary

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Related Wiki Articles
Hungary Obituaries

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Examples of Source Citations for a Record

 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org): September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org): April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

Sources of Information for This Collection:
“Hungary Funeral Notices, 1840-1995”, images, FamilySearch (http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch), 2010; from National Library of Hungary (Országos Széchényi Könyvtár), Budapest, Hungary. “Magyar gyászjelentések”. Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, Budapest, Hungary. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.