I've done quite a bit of work on my own family tree, but I'd love to get some work done on my husband's Hungarian side. His father has been very closed lipped about much of his family history (and he doesn't seem to want to help me either, which makes me more interested of course!). I know that he was born Lajos FENYVESI in Szentes, in Transylvania July 31, 1931 and he grew up in Budapest. His father was some type of industrialist who was supposedly involved with a china/stoneware manufacturer for awhile and they seemed to be fairly well off. During the war they weren't as badly affected as my British father, and I assume that my husband's grandfather must have been working with the Germans at that time. After the war ended, some men came to the door and took him away, and he was never seen again. I'm not clear enough on the history to really know what that means, but I have my suspicions. This may be the root of my father in laws reluctance but I'm not sure. His mother remarried a BALINT and had one more son afterwards. My father in law escaped Hungary during his mandatory military service by (so he tells us) stealing a plane and flying it till it ran out of fuel over Germany. His mother was Ilona KIRALY and he had an uncle (Laszlo KIRALY) in Budapest until just a few years ago. I know nothing more about them. His father was also Lajos FENYVESI. Since my father in law was born in Transylvania, they could have been there. My father in law says that after the war a lot of Jews took the name FENYVESI, but that he is from the last remaining "true" FENYVESI's. DNA testing on my DH doesn't indicate any Jewish ancestry, so atleast part of that is true. So where would you start??? Thanks! Siannach

Szentes is in Csongrad megye, south of Budapest. There are extensive microfilmed church records for Szentes available through LDS. As long as you know his religion, it should be an easy matter to find Lajos's birth record. There are 7 messages on the Radix Forum regarding this family (http://www.radixforum.com/surnames/fenyvesi), though they are all in Hungarian. One of them mentions an association with Csongrad, and several mention a Lajos. There are two Fenyvesi people listed in the Szentes phone directory today (see http://www.magyartelekom.hu/english/main.vm). The major problem you may encounter is that Fenyvesi is a fairly common name in Hungary, so there is no assurance that others with that name will be related. Good luck. Janet

Dear Mandy, If Lajos was born in 1931, he will not be in the LDS records as they do not extend that far. However, contacting the Fenyvesi's in Szentes might be helpful. Janet