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I have been researching our Family Tree since 1967. It started out as a hobby and part-time research when my dad asked me to "put it on paper" for the family.
Over the years I've tramped through cemeteries, visited old courthouses, libraries and capitol buildings; gone through boxes of paperwork and talked with many relatives to gather as much information as possible for an accurate summation of our family. The search and updates are never ending because someone is always being born, getting married, having children, or getting divorced and starting another family, making their mark in our society, and dying.
I have four volumes of hard copy containing pictures of family members, birth and death certificates, photos of gravestones, wedding and graduation announcements, newspaper articles, pictures of former places we've lived, passports, ships manifests and so much more - but it still isn't enough. My plan is to include some of that data on this web site. A seperate Family Tree Program on my computer keeps names and dates straight and identifies family members by relationship, i.e., son, wife, cousin, aunt, great-uncle, etc.
The past is always a mystery, but it exists as real today as it was "back then." Going backward in time is fascinating and the excitement it brings with each new piece of data about a relative, heretofore undiscovered, fills my soul with joy and brings them alive in my heart. He or she will forever be etched in my memory as a link to my existance.
My paternal grandparents, JOHN RAGALYI and his wife, LYDIA HIMODY, came to the United States from HUNGARY during the early 1900's. John was from a small village named RAGALY, in Szendro County. The land in and around the village belongs to the Ragalyi family. When the Russians occupied that part of Hungary, Castle Ragaly was taken over and used by the Russians for offices and a nursery. The stables and fields were kept pretty much intact. When the Russians were forced out, the land reverted back to the family. Castle Ragaly is now a museum.
My search is ongoing, so If anyone knows any RAGALYI or HIMODY,or has any information about the family, it would be greatly appreciated if you would contact this writer.
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