From BSO to Family History, Part 2

Thanks to the 1921 Czechoslovakian census (the brightest of bright shiny objects discovered during my genealogy research in 2020), I now know more about my Schwartz family in Uzhhorod (formerly known as Ungvar, Hungary).

The census includes enough information to offer a glimpse of the daily life of these ancestors and allow me to connect photos with the names on this page! In other words, this BSO added significantly to my knowledge of family history...and has led to other research possibilities.

Great-Grandpa Herman Schwartz

Great-grandpa Herman Schwartz was the father of my maternal grandfather, Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz. I know little about Herman, but the census gave me two key pieces of information.

First, Herman was shown as the official homeowner according to the 1921 census aggregation page (see previous post). He was also shown as the homeowner on this detail page listing occupants of the home at 45 Szobranci Street in Uzhhorod. See green oval at top right of the image above. This tells me Herman had enough money to own his home or inherit the home from one of his relatives.

However, Herman is NOT listed as one of the occupants of this home. In fact, his wife Hani is listed as the home owner in column 4, and reported as a widow ("vdova") in column 5.

This is the second piece of information: Now I know Herman died before the census was taken, possibly as late as March, 1921.

Great-Grandma Hani Simonowitz Schwartz

From cousin info, I was aware great-grandma Hani outlived her husband. The census says Hani was born in Tasolo, Uzhhorod, on November 20, 1858. Her nationality was Hungarian (Ungvar was part of Hungary before it became a Czechoslovakian city and much later a Ukrainian city).

She had first registered in Uzhhorod 30 years earlier, according to columns 9/10. Hani said she was "Israelit" (Jewish) and could read and write. Not surprisingly, she said she was not working in July 1914 (column 17), at the outset of World War I, most likely because she was bringing up her family.

As a 63-year-old widow, how did Hani keep the household going financially? A quick look below the green line in the census page above reveals the answer: She rented part of the house. The renters (listed as such in the census) were not Hungarian, not from Uzhhorod, not Jewish, not relatives of the Schwartz family. The rental income must have helped Hani a great deal, especially with grown children still living at home.

Three Schwartz Daughters, a Son-in-Law, and a Granddaughter

This 1921 Census included new info about three daughters of Hani and Herman--siblings of my grandpa Teddy Schwartz. There was also a surprise: Hani had a son-in-law (Ferencz Stark) and a granddaughter (Mici Stark) living in her home.

• Paula Schwartz was born in Uzhhorod on May 19, 1898. She was unmarried at the time of the Census, of Hungarian nationality, Jewish religion, and able to read and write. She was not working in July of 1914. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in close touch with Paula's lovely granddaughter, who has memories of the Schwartz house in Uzhhorod where she, her mother, and her grandmother grew up.
• Lenka Schwartz was born in August, 1906 in Uzhhorod. Lenka was unmarried in 1921, of Hungarian nationality, Jewish religion, and able to read and write. Like her sisters and mother, she was not working in July of 1914. Some time after this census, she married Ignatz. Below is a photo of the couple in March of 1924.



Lenka Schwartz, who later married Ignatz

• Etelka Schwartz Stark was born in Uzhorrod on May 3, 1892 in Bereg (then Hungary, now Ukraine). "Etelka" was an affectionate diminutive of her name, Etel. The census shows her married to Ferencz Stark, a tailor who worked just down the street from the Schwartz house on Szobranci Street in Uzhhorod. Etel and her husband could both read and write, were both Jewish, and were the parents of Mici Stark, born in January, 1920. In July of 1914, Etel was working as a seamstress. 

Next Steps

This BSO opened up new avenues of research for my genealogy. Not only has the census enabled me to expand photo captions, it provided Etel's married name and her daughter's name so I can look for more clues.

In addition, discussions of the census triggered my cousin's memories of Blanka, a cousin of Hani, who had a son named Jeno Zeller. I have Jeno's baby picture from 1924. My cousin remembers he grew up to be a baker, came to Israel after WWII, then lived in Brooklyn for a brief time in the 1950s or 1960s before returning to Israel. Of course I'm going to be on the lookout for Jeno as I continue my research!

From BSO to Family History, Part 1

1921 Czechoslovakian Census page - Ungvar/Uzhhorod

BSO alert! (Bright shiny object--something that attracts attention but might ultimately be a distraction.)

My maternal grandpa Theodore "Teddy" Schwartz (1887-1965) was born in the bustling little market city that became known as Uzhhorod, Czechoslovakia. I'm always on the lookout for sources that will help illuminate the people and places he left behind.

Learning from Other Genealogy Bloggers

Last week, genealogy blogger Lara Diamond wrote about a newly-available online resource: The 1921 Czechoslovakian Census, which included Transcarpathia, now in Ukraine. According to the Hungarian library's intro, the census took place on 1 November 1920 and 31 March 1921. This was a BSO alert for me.

Great-grandpa Herman Schwartz

Lara helpfully linked to the census, offered suggestions for how to proceed, and listed some of the column translations. In short, she gave me a head-start in diving into the census.

I didn't resist this BSO, and if you have ancestors from the same area, I encourage you to dive in, too.

By investigating this census, taken nearly 20 years after my Grandpa Teddy came to America, I hoped to find out about my great-grandfather Herman (photo at right), great-grandmother Hani, and other relatives who remained behind when Grandpa Teddy left.

Step 1: Browse Aggregation Pages

Because the census pages aren't indexed or transcribed, I needed to browse through sections, page by page, in search of my ancestors' names.

All I had to go on was that the Schwartz family lived in Ungvar/Uzhhorod. I began with the Uzhhorod city census pages aggregating the names of homeowners and the number of people reported in each household.

After an hour of browsing pages individually, I felt my heart leap as I saw a familiar name at the top of a page of homeowners: Schwarz, Herman (see snippet of page at top of this post).

If I didn't have a cousin who was born and raised in Uzhhorod, it would have taken me longer to get to step 2--finding the detailed census pages that correspond to this homeowner. Happily, my cousin could see exactly where the Schwarz family home was located, and directed me to the detailed census pages that showed our ancestors.

Step 2: Browse Census Pages by Area

Under Uzhhorod, I navigated to the files for Szobranci, the street where my Schwarz family was enumerated in the Census. (Thanks to the Hungarian library for neatly organizing the census scans into these easy-to-navigate subfolders.)

By clicking the caret at left of that section, I could browse each homeowner page, one at a time.

On pp. 112-113, there was great-grandpa Herman Schwarz's name as the homeowner of number 45.

Step 3: Translate (Yikes)

The hardest part: translating what was on the census pages to learn more. I needed to know both the printed column headings and the handwritten census entries. I blew up images on my screen, and also printed some out on paper to use a magnifying glass.

1921 Czech census headings translated

For the actual translation, I had two trusty tools. Google Translate helped me translate from Czech to English and occasionally Hungarian to English.

I also used the Family Search Czech genealogical word list for handy reference. At right is my translation of the columns.

Now you can see the wealth of detail in this census! Including the profession of each person enumerated, both in 1921 and in July, 1914, before World War I.

I created a chart to fill in the translated answers for each person enumerated in the Schwartz household. Just in case, I kept my handwritten scribbles for extra backup as I uncovered more about my Schwartz ancestors in 1921 (and before).

Cliff-hanger: What Did I Learn?

Part 2 will explain what I learned about my Schwartz family. Sorry, no spoiler alert.

This BSO was definitely worth investigating! I'm grateful to Lara Diamond for blogging about the 1921 Census.

Those Places Thursday: Ungvar's Changing National Borders

My family gifted me with a wonderful reference book for anyone with European ancestry: The Family Tree Historical Maps Book, Europe.

Magnifying glass in hand, I used it to trace the changing national borders surrounding UNGVAR, the hometown of my Grandpa Teddy Schwartz (1887-1965).

Ungvar wasn't always spelled that way on the maps, and today it is known by an entirely different name bestowed upon it by the Russians after WWII. Knowing the names and location on the maps helps me plan my research!

To locate Ungvar, I simply looked for the Carpathian Mountains, and checked cities just south of it along the river Ung. Ungvar was a market town and therefore was always visible on the maps.

Here's what I learned from the book about Ungvar's changing national borders:

1836: Unghvar is part of the Austrian Empire, in the northeast of Hungary, not too far from Galicia (which is over the Carpathian Mountains).

1856: Unghoar is in the northeast of Hungary, part of Austria.

1873: Unghvar is within the borders of Hungary, part of Austria.

1891: Unghvar is within the borders of Hungary, part of Austria-Hungary.

1901: Unghvar is within the borders of Hungary. 

1925: Ungvar is within the borders of Czechoslovakia.

1948: Uzhgorod is renamed (from previous name of Ungvar) by Russians and moved to USSR map.

TODAY: Uzhhorod (Uzhgorod/Uzhorod) is in Ukraine.