This register is from the Reformed Church in the town of Csurgó (now Fehérvárcsurgó) in Fejér county. It is typical of most early death registers -- providing only minimal information and often raising more questions than are answered. With such registers, rarely can you be positive that you have the correct person.
Format: Simple-list with inadequate information for identification of decedents.
Content of Register.
This register is a simple list of death dates and names. In the case of the death of a child, often not even the child's name is given. There is no age-at-death given. Here are some examples, starting at the beginning:
- 23 April - son John of Michael Mód.
- 9 June - daughter Kate of Adam Ketskés.
- 27 August - Martin Nagy.
- 20 September - daughter Judy of Michael Kováts.
- 2 October - son of Michael Zámbo.
- 24 May - old Mrs. Kardos.
- 15 June - Stephen Kováts.
- 29 July - Stephen Kardos.
- 23 December - Mrs. Kecskés the midwife.
- 7 January - Francis Kozma.
- 27 January - daughter of Michael Tseh.
- 31 January - Mrs. Gregory Pupos.
- 1 February - daughter of Stephen Nyikos.
- 18 February - another daughter of Stephen Nyikos.
And so it goes -- it's hard to be certain who anyone is. I think the last entry on the page
is my 6th-great-grandfather, but I cannot be certain. Here's how my argument goes:
- The records seem to show only one Rigo family in this town producing children (14 of them to be precise) in the 1736-61 period -- that was my 5th-great-grandfather Peter Rigo and his wife Katherine Páncél, who I have traced with a reasonable degree of certainty.
- If the Stephan Rigo documented here lived a normal-length life, he was proably born about 1675.
- The adjective "old" was probably used to distinguish him from a younger Stephen Rigo, likely his son.
- My 5th-great-grandfather Peter had a brother Stephen -- they were born respectively in 1710 and about 1700, and both were alive in 1740.
- Given the likely ages of these three men, it is reasonably consistent to hypothesize that Stephen and Peter were sons of the "old" Stephen.
And so I list Stephen Rigo, born about 1675, died 12 Feb 1740 in my database as the father of Peter. I understand that it is a great leap-of-faith to reach this conclusion, so I document both my rationale and concerns in my notes regarding the man. When you reach these situations, you will have to make your own decisions on what to include, or not include, in your family history database. The important thing is that you document those decisions.