Note that the easiest way to access parish records may be via an Ortsfamilienbuch, when available.
Usually, parish records are kept confidential for up to 100 years. Most parish registers start with the founding of the village (St. Hubert, for example, circa 1772). They end between the 1830's and 1860's, with the birth records ending earliest, and death records containing the most recent dates. Parish records are principally Roman Catholic, and are in three major groups: Baptism, Marriage, and Death. (See Archives for other sources of church records.) Use the Family History Library Catalog on computer or microfiche to look for the order number of the microfilm for the village you are researching.
To find the order number, go to Locality Search and look under Hungary. Then look for the regional sub-heading, then look for the name of the town in the alphabetical listing. (Or if you feel sure you know the version of the name of being used, simply enter this name at the start of Locality Search.) The town names and some of the description of the contents of the microfilm will usually be in Hungarian, although there maybe some cross-references or further description in German and/or English. The index will list the years for which records are available. For example, the microfilms for Johannisfeld begin in 1806, the year the village was founded, and end in 1852. The records for small villages will be contained on a single roll, but larger towns will have two or more rolls. The microfilms will usually arrive in two to three weeks.
Warning: parish registers are sometimes filmed out of order, film quality is poor, and always, always, the handwriting is in script. The literacy and legibility depend on the educational level of the parish priest who was making the entries. However, besides being a wonderful source of data, it is fascinating to read the life of a community through its parish. Equally intriguing is the evolution of names and their spelling.
Entries are made principally in German script. During periods of Hungarian rule, given names are often "Magyarized" (Johann becomes Janos, for example), and surnames are listed first, as is the Hungarian custom.
Some birth registers will list mothers by their maiden names (of immense value), and sometimes without, for example "Catharina, uxor" (frustrating). Be cognizant of the witnesses and godparents: they not only may be relatives, but they give clues to the spellings of names, when other entries might be illegible. Some parishes list addresses (Haus #73 is the total address -- no street names and zip/postal codes as is the current practice).
Records from 1850 to 1900 are the most difficult to locate. One can usually find relatives to fill in the pieces from 1900 to the present. Parish records will cover the period from the founding of the village until 1830-1850. The interim period is slowly being uncovered in Romania and Hungary. More information on the current state of microfilming can be read at this FEEFHS web site.
See also this guide to foreign language terms used in the parish records.
Roman Catholic Church records for 1825-1920 are also held on record at the Kalocsa Archdiocese in Kalocsa, Hungary which may be used instead of the Archives in Vojvodina. One of the results of the Treaty of Trianon, which occurred around 1920, was that many of the former Hungarian villages suddenly found themselves under the government of Yugoslavia. Having some foresight, the Catholic church ordered the affected parishes to send a copy of all entries for the years from 1825-1920 to the Kalocsa Archdiocese in Kalocsa, Hungary. Held on file in Kalocsa are Baptism, Marriage and Death entries. For information on how to access these records, please see Diocesan Archives.
Records subsequent to 1920 are held on file at the Archdiocese of Subotica.
There are number of German towns in several counties. This series of films can be found in the FHL under "Hungary - Taxation, Urberi Tabellak". Some FHL film numbers are 1529753 (end), 1529754, 1529755.
Several counties have been indexed in typewritten book form for easier reference by Ms. Martha R. Connor. The books are a replication of the names listed in the census, in the order they were entered, and cross-referenced with FHL microfilm numbers. Names are listed by village. To order, write her at: 7754 Pacemont Court Las Vegas, Nevada 89117-5122, USA. The books are also listed at the FHL Salt Lake City archives at catalog number G 943.9 Cen 3.50-n where "n" is the volume number.
Counties currently available include:
Note that some places such as Glogon and Pantschowa (in the area between the Danube and Karas Rivers less than 50 km north of Belgrade) in frontier regions did not participate in the 1828 civil census because they were under military government until the year 1872. See this FEEFHS map to see which settlements south of the orange line were part of this region.
Listed below are the geographic subtitles in German, the language of the document with FHL microfilm numbers included.
The purpose for writing the SKR was twofold. The Austrian government who had called the new settlers into the Banat before their new homes were ready, had the newcomers move in with the already established settlers. The hosts were paid one "Kreuzer" (a small denomination of Austrian currency) per person per night for the length of stay of their guests. Hence the coining of the name "Schlafkreuzerrechnung".
The records vary considerably in content, but can be helpful to genealogists because they usually contain the name and housenumber of the host in the particular village, dates of arrival and departure of the new settlers, number of members in each family, and may contain ages and occupations, history of births, deaths, marriages, and the name and housenumber of the new residence of the settlers.
Towns mentioned in the SKR include:
Albrechtsflor,
Arad, Beschenova, Billet, Blumenthal, Bogarosch,
Bruckenau, Charleville, Csakowa (Tschakowa), Detta,
Engelsbrunn, Fatschet, Freidorf, Gertianosch, Gladna
(Deutsch and Rumänisch), Gottlob, Grabatz,
Groß Betscherek, Groß Jetscha, Groß
St. Nikolaus, Guttenbrunn, Hatzfeld, Heufeld,
Jahrmarkt, Königshof, Karansebesch, Klein
Betschereck, Klein Jetscha, Kutritz (Gudriz), Lenauheim
(Csatad), Lippa, Lowrin, Lugosch, Marienfeld, Mastort,
Mercydorf, Neu Arad, Neu Petsch, Neudorf, Ostern,
Rekasch, Sackelhausen, Schöndorf, Segenthau,
Soultour, St. Andreas, St. Huberth, Triebswetter,
Uybecs-Ulmbach, Werschetz.
Some settlers went to
the following towns:
Apatin, Adelbach, Daruvar,
Denta, Fabrique (Temesvar District), Köveresch,
Kreuzstätten, Liebling, Moravitza, Nitzkydorf,
Orcydorf, Reschitza, Rittberg, and Temesvar.
Alternatively, one may also consult the book Die Banater Schlafkreuzerrechnungen / The German Emigration and Settlement in the Province Banat in Austro-Hungary 1766-1804 by Hans J. Prohaska-Schöndorf (1982: Park Ridge, Illinois, USA. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-99978).