Answers to frequently asked questions

• Where did you get all these names?
  Originally we started by collecting anecdotal information by word of mouth from older relatives. It wasn't until 1995 that we actually visited cemeteries and churches in Hungary to collect information. In the mean time there were dozens of amateur genealogists who shared their information with us and in fact the vast majority of the names in our on line data base were given to us by others and we know practically nothing about their sources or their reliability.
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• How is this information stored
  Erika had started collecting family information on loose leaf paper back in the 1960's. In the 1980's we started to transcribe this information into spiral bound notebooks. Then in the 1990's we started to enter it into our computer.
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• What computer programs do you use
  We had looked at many programs which manipulate genealogical information and found that most of them are not suited for the kind of data we have accumulated. Consequently we have written our own programs. The original programs were written in the MS-Dos FoxBase Language and we still use them for most data management due to their speed and functionality. These programs provide us with a very efficient user interface for entering family tree information manually as well as the ability to import GEDCOM data and integrate it with our data base.
  When we decided to convert our files to the internet we wrote a new set of programs using PHP and mySQL. These programs allow us to access and display information dynamically in an on line environment.
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• How is this information available
  In 1994 we published the information in book form with about 2000 names. In 1996 we had added another 3000 names and reprinted the book. In 2002 we decided that it would be better to publish the information on the internet. Not only is it significantly less expensive than printing and mailing books, but data can be updated continuously.
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• How can we submit information for the data base
  We are grateful for any information you can provide. You can send us scraps of paper, copies of hand drawn family trees, or even computerized gedcom files. Another way is to click on the update button on any individual data page and enter your information directly into our web site. Once the information has been reviewed it will be added to our data base.
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• What kind of information can you use
  We are eager to receive any information you may have that can be tied into our database either directly by blood or by marriage. At the moment we are only interested in text based material, in other words, we are not planning on storing pictures, sounds or other media. We would like to have original birth names and dates of birth, marriage and death to enable us to definitively identify individuals. Other than that we have room for some information such as where individuals were born, where they lived, what they did for a living, and where or how they died.
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• Are there other genealogy sites which are related to us?
  Every forest has it's boundaries and our forest of family trees is no exception. Our original intention was to include everyone who is in any way related to us. We didn't have to go very far before we changed our minds.
  • Erika's brother-in-law, John Condit, is a descendant of John Cunditt who came to America in 1678 from Normandy via England or Wales. In 1885 two of his descendants, Jothan H. and Eben Condit, published a book listing all of Cunditt's descendants. This book was revised in 1916 and contains the names of more than 5,000 members of that family. Although we didn't feel like entering all those names, we did include the direct line of John Condit's ancestors back to John Cunditt. Here are some sites that have other Condit relatives:
    • Descendants of Edward Ball This site has Philip Condit, brother of Samuel Condit, G-G-G-G-Grandfather of John Condit. The site also has a Zenas Condit who does not appear to be related to John Cunditt.
    • www.condit-family.com/ ancestors of David Condit descendant of Jotham Condit
  • While surfing the web we came across Ketil 'Ken' Nygaard's web site. It is a fantastic site with over 13,000 names that go back to the 600's. It makes for fabulous reading! One of his cousins, Mable Julie Oashiem, married Alvord Avierre Sundem. Alvord's grandfather, Halvor Sundem, is the great-great grandfather of my son-in-law, Scott Sundem. And thus, two great forests have been linked. You can find Ken's web site at: http://nygaard.50g.com/.
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• Why are birth dates marked as "restricted?"
  We have restricted access to dates of birth. to protect people who are listed in this genealogy from identity theft. This information is made available to genealogists who have registered on this site and whose identity has been confirmed and validated. If you are interested in accessing restricted information, please fill out the registration form.
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