Austro-Hungarian Empire Gazetteers

When Austria and Hungary merged together in 1867 to create the Austro-Hungarian Empire, each side retained much of its autonomy. They shared some powers, but most of the administration of the two countries was separate. For this reason, it is necessary to know which side of the empire your ancestors came from—the record types, languages encountered, and the jurisdictions will vary depending on which half they lived in.

GenTeam for Austria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Slovenia
GenTeam is an online gazetteer that covers the current countries of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. It gives former (German) and current names of locations, the name of the parish, the beginning year of the records, and the archive that holds the records. It will also give details on earlier parishes the locality belonged to. It then links to the website of that archive. "How to" Guide: [[Media:1-Genteam_Gazetteer-Instruction.pdf|Instruction]], [[Media:2-Genteam_Gazetteer-Activity.pdf|Activity]], [[Media:3-Genteam_Gazetteer-Answer_Key.pdf|Answer Key]]

Illustrations
1. After registering (free), choose "Gazetteer" in the left sidebar. '''You can type just a portion of the name and the drop-down menu will suggest possible names. This helps when you have American clues to a place that you are uncertain of.''' '''2. After you select a place from the drop-down menu, you will get a list of several possible records. Here you will sort out different locations with the same name. You will also find the larger parish that a small village belonged to. Click on the page icon under "Details" to select a record:''' 3. This is an example of a parish record entry that you will next see:

Crown Lands
Prior to 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided into Crown Lands. This designation is important when using the GenTeam gazetteer. The Crown Land designation is also used in the organization of the Family History Library catalog.

(1877 Dvorzsák) Magyarország helységnévtára tekintettel a közigazgatási, népességi és hitfelekezeti viszonyokra
Magyarország helységnévtára tekintettel a közigazgatási, népességi és hitfelekezeti viszonyokra. (Gazetteer of Hungary with Administrative, Populational, and Ecclesiastical Circumstances). János Dvorzsák, Budapest: Havi Füzetek Kiadóhivatala, 1877. (FHL INTL book 943.9 E5d vol.1-2)

1''' is an index that lists all place names in alphabetical order, followed by the name of the historical county and a set of numbers. These numbers refer to the gazetteer entry in Volume 2. The first number is the sequential number of the county (hung. megye, ger. comitat), the second is the consecutive number of the district (hung. járás, ger. bezirk), the last is the number of the locality. The numbers are followed by the location of the post office or by the various symbols. Many place names listed in the index are followed by "=" or "v". These are "see" references and refer you to another version of the place name. Other place names are followed by " ". This indicates a farmstead (p. or puszta), settlement (t. or telep), mill (m. or malom), or other small settlement and refers you to the larger locality it belongs to.

Volume 2 gives specific information about the locality. It is arranged by county and districts. Use the numbers from the index in Volume 1 to find the entry for your town. Counties are numbered at the heads of the pages. Additional names the locality was known by are listed in parentheses. The names of farmsteads, settlements and mills that belong to the locality are sometimes listed within the brackets. Population figures follow according to religion. The following abbreviations are used:

If the village had its own parish church or synagogue, the abbreviation for the religion will be in BOLDFACE capital letters followed by the diocese, also in Boldface type. If the people attended church elsewhere, the abbreviation of the religion will be in lowercase. The location of the parish or synagogue follows the population figure. If "-" follows the population figure, it means that the specific parish was not known.

Both volumes are available online via FamilySearch Books: Volume 1, Volume 2 Also available on-line at http://www.iabsi.com/gen/public/dvorzsak_gazetteer.htm.

(1913 Gazetteer)
Lists civil registration office location...