ROM-SIG NEWS

Transcription

ROM-SIG NEWS

ROM-SIG NEWS
A Special Interest Group Journal for
ROMANIAN JEWISH GENEALOGY
Fusgeyer Group from Town of Roman in Romania on journey to Hamburg, 1900
Inside This Issue:
From the Editor
Letters
2
4
Jews Leaving Romania (NY Times, 1900)
ROM-SIG Cemetery Project
5
5
The Romanian Jews in America
Book Review: The Holocaust in Romania
6
10
Shtetl Project: Burdujeni
A History of the Jews in Ploesti
The Jewish Population of Jassy from 1755 to 1860
Lists of Jewish community members from various towns, 1940s
Searching for Records of My Grandfather
11
17
18
24
29
Book Review: Vie World Tliat Was
Romanian Court Documents
Bukovina
Soldiers in 1877-1878 War Records
The Pogrom of 1907, Recalled
31
32
34
43
54
A Story of Amazing Mazel
Sephardic Community in Timisoara
Jews of Braila
The Holocaust: Transylvanian Records
Transylvanian Population Record
Romanian Sources in New York City
55
57
Volume 8, Number 1
;
58
64
70
71
Winter, 2000
ROM-SIG NEWS, Volume 8, No. 1, Spring 2000
A message from the ROM-SIG coordinator:
Dear Members:
Sincere thanks for your patience during this lengthy year-long wait between issues of ROM-SIG News. Sam Elpern's
legendary efficiency is sorely missed! Despite this protracted hiatus, ROM-SIG has flourished remarkably overthe
course of this year. A host of new volunteers have become involved and an impressive array of new projects are in
progress. The lack of printed matter has been offset by the building of an infrastructure that will help to yield a rich lode
of new material for members of ROM-SIG andfor the wider community of Jewish genealogy in the months and years to
come. In 1999 we welcomed 49 new members, bringing ourtotal membership to 325 from 9 countries. OurFamily
Finder now contains over4100 entries from 1100 researchers covering 400 towns. Thanks to ourfamily finder on-line
webmaster Bruce Kahn, the on-line family finder is now searchable by soundex.
ROM-SIG has blossomed thanks in part to the leadership efforts of the indefatigable Ellen Renck, [Phrasesl@aol.com].
Ellen carried out a tremendous effort resulting in the creation of the Shtetls of Romania database. Withthe help of Ed
Rosenbaum-who prepared the web pages-andAlan Grant[asgrant@primus.com.au] in Australia-who will be the shtetls
database manager, Ellen's work has produced a searchable online database that contains notonly latitude and longitude
but alsocounty and region for hundreds of towns within the areacovered by ROM-SIG. Each townnameis in turn
linked to a town/shtetl webpage-most of whichstill need to be created by you! Over 600 visitsto this new sectionof the
ROM-SIG website were logged between Nov. 6 and Jan. 9!
As our County Research Coordinator, Ellen has managed to organize "county" (judeti) research projects, to be managed
by individual county coordinators who gather materials relating to each county, coordinate research relating to thecoun
ty and support the development of town/shtetl webpages for localities within each county. Australian Mitch Selleck,
[ponyxpress@axon.net.au] will be the counties website manager. Todate, the following individuals have volunteered to
serve as countycoordinators. We welcome more volunteers! Diane Goldman, [dgoldman@nas.edu], SATU MARE;
Mona Friedman Morris, [GenieMona@aol.com], IASI; Ruth Gavis, [gavis@worldnet.att.net], NEAMT; Irwin Kaufman,
[i.kaufhian@worldnet.att.net], BRICENI, KHOTIN; Cherie Korer, [korerc@earthlink.net], MURES and MARAMURES; Ellen Renck, [phrasesl@aol.com], GALATI; Jerry Silverbush, [jsilverbus@earthlink.net], SUCEAVA; Roberta
Solit, [rsolit@erols.com], KISHINEV/CISINAU; Nancy Weinberg, [marvin@qletter.com], RADAUTI &
CERNIVTSI/CERNAUTI; Irving Osterer [irvoster@magma.ca] and David HartWilder [nivonim@compuserve.com],
PRAHOVA
Ellen Renck has also been responsible forthe growth of the "resources" section of the ROM-SIG website on Jewishgen.
Ellen has ferreted out related websites from far and wide. ROM-SIG's new website review committee, coordinated by
Kathy Keane [kkfish@earthlink.net], is reviewing every site available that relates in some way to Romanian Jewish
genealogy and is developing a rating system to help ROM-SIG members and others navigate theirway through the
abundance of materials available on the internet. Volunteer members of this committee include Hilary Henkin, Harold
Heyman, Ken Kalstein and Robert Strumwasser.
Several ROM-SIG members have volunteered to do translating work, including German translators Jack Bloom
[JackHBloom@aol.com], Rene Steinig [rsteinig@suffolk.lib.ny.us], and Susan Brown [Stevebrown@aol.com]. Bruno
Segal, Monica Talmor and Josephine Nagelberg have helped out with Romanian Translation, while Marcel Bratu is
involved in a massive Romanian translation project that should provide us with most of the materials for the next couple
of issues of ROM-SIG News.
Leon Gold, [ljg218@worldnet.att.net], is coordinating theROM-SIG cemetery project, an ambitious undertaking with
the goal of creating a database of every burial in every Romanian section of Jewish cemeteries in North America and
Israel and of every Jewish cemetery in Romania.
Monica Talmor, a stalwart volunteer contributor to ROM-SIG, will be coordinating our master database project, which
will involve compiling a database of names (and sources) from all lists and articles everpublished in ROM-SIG News
and from all databases being compiled by ROM-SIG members. Monica will be helped out by Adam Lowe and needs
more helpers!
The ROM-SIG Romanian Jewish genealogy forum-open to any interested email user-has been up and running for the
past couple of months. Bev Rayburn is the forum moderator. She reviews every incoming message and decides whether
or not to post them.
A very exciting project has been under negotiation for the past year and should
yield material as soon as this Spring. Prof. Gyemant will be coordinating tran
scription, translation and creation of a database of censuses of Jewish mer
chants from Iasi and elsewhere in Moldavia from the 1850s. Co-sponsored by
the Diaspora Research Institute in Israel, this project will eventually include
transcription and translation of all censuses from Moldavia, Wallachia and
Transylvania from the mid-18th thru mid-19th centuries. Your dues will help
to provide partial funding for this project, but additional contributions will be
necessary in order to carry out the entire project.
Administration;
This summer, at the Jewish genealogy conference in New York, I delivered
three workshops on Romanian topics—and participated in a panel together
with Ruth Gavis and Irwin Kaufman. We hope to offer at least one workshop
on Romania and we will be holding a ROM-SIG Luncheon at next summer's
conference in Salt Lake City. We encourage all of you to attend.
'Ativ'mm Bwrtf?
..Ellen Renck
.. Ruth Gavis
•.
.
* '••
-., •,, • \
Paul Pascal
Gene Starn
NatAbramowitz
Nora Banner
CarlUMch
GaryPalgOn
Joel Ives
MarleneZakai
Rosanne Leeson
Rita Margolis
Irene Saunders Goldstein
Besides these activities, numerous other volunteers have been actively
involved in helping ROM-SIG to further its mission. I would like to take this
opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to the following individuals, and to
encourage every member-old and new alike-to find out how you can pitch in
to help move our work ahead. Jody Dudichum, her sister Beth, and their mom,
Elaine have done a tremendous job doing all of the editing and layout work for
this issue of the newsletter. Needless to say, without their help you would not
be sitting and reading this. Jody and Beth were also helped out by Arlene
Edwards and by Irv Oppman. Attorney Don Solomon, the Secretary of ROMSIG, has handled pro-bono all legal matters for us—including incorporation of
ROM-SIG, Inc., early in 1999 and filing our application for 501(c)3 status.
Don is also and active member of the ROM-SIG Advisory Council. Mark
Heckman has worked hard as the ROM-SIG webmaster and has provided
valuable contributions to the ROM-SIG Advisory Council. Rae Barent has put
"ROM-«lG!!«EW/!-•:••
£
ROM-SIG Hews is published quarterly
by ROM-SIG Inc* the special interest
for RomanianJewish genealogy.
ROM-SIG is a membership-based
organizationrun entirely by volunteers.
Our purpose is to aid individuals
researching their Romanian Jewish
roots by providingthem with informa
tion, analysis and documents relating
to RomanianJewish genealogyand
Romanian Jewish history^j &
Annual dues are $25 for US, $28 all
in many hours as membership chair, membership and family finder database
manager and Advisory Council member. Rosanne Leeson and Ann Oppman
monitor Jewishgen and the ROM-SIG forum for potential new members.
Marilyn Newman writes welcomeletters to new members. Steve Goldsmith
willbe helping to manage contentand edit materials for future issues of the
others, payablein US funds. Back
newsletter. Jim Hecht mails out back issues of ROM-SIG News and sends cur
ROM-SIG/Inc. •;
rent issues to new members. Larry Herman handled the re-printing of our last
newsletter. Gene Starn has generously helped with the mailing of the last three
newsletters. Nate Edeson will be managing requests for copyright permission-a very important task.And thanks to members of the Advisory Council
and to all other volunteers for your ongoing contributionto the well-being of
c/o Rae Barent,Membership Coord.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 t
email;.sagittaria@aol.com
our enterprise!
PC-compatible disk. Please do not send
A final note regarding dues: Since ROM-SIG News was not published during
1999,we will be extending the period covered by 1999-2000 dues through
issues covering 1992-1998 are avail
able for $15 per year. All communi
cation regarding.membership enrollment, including dues payments
should be sent to:
'^V'*/'
4257 Saline Street \
Articles and information for ROM-SIG
News should be submitted on an IBM
original photographs or documents;
sendcopies. Any material submitted
will be returned uponrequest. All edi
Dec. 31, 2000. New members since October 1, 1998 will not have to pay a
torial material should be submitted to:
dues renewal until January, 2001.All other members are kindly requested to
mail in your checks for dues renewal immediately. Checks should be for $25
ROM-SIG News
for those in the United States, $28 for those elsewhere, payable to ROMSIG,
Inc., and mailed c/o Rae Barent, 4257 Saline St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Your
dues will cover at least two issues of ROM-SIG News in 2000, along with one
copy of the Family Finder. 1/3 of your dues will be used to support special
projects such as the census transcription project. Any questions concerning
dues shouldbe addressed to [romsig@attglobal.net], or mailed to ROM-SIG,
c/o Rick Bercuvitz, 1889 Workman Street, Montreal, QC CANADA, H3J 2P1.
Rick Bercuvitz, ROMSIG Coordinator
c/o Steven Goldsmith
2217 NW 64th Street
Seattle, WA 98107
email: minosgold@aoI.com
All other inquiries and correspondence
should be sent to:
ROM-SIG, Inc.
c/o Rick Bercuvitz, Coordinator
1889 Workman Street
Montreal, QC CANADA, H3J 2P1
email; romsig@attglobal.net
£ett&t6 to tfie
Dear Mr. Oppman,
A number of years ago, I wrote a brief
vignette for ROM-SIG News about a
as virtually all Jewish signatures on
merchants, residing in this village, who
these Romanian state documents do, in
signed together with us Gavril
Bancianu, mayor and Registrar of
both Hebrew and Romanian. It was a
discovery that Al Leeds and I made
concerning our grandfathers. Al recently
thrill to see, even in photocopy, further
evidence of Zalman's being, and his
Storesti.
died. Circumstances dictated that we
obvious closeness to Froim Lebovici,
Rick:
would not meet one another, though Al
Al's grandfather. I do have a photo of
I noticed in the Newsletter you had a
would come visit each summer, close to
Zalman in an 1899 wedding, and a pic
list of Romanian Jewish writers. David
our home in Connecticut. Yet we signed
our e-mails to each other, Al
Frumusican and Jack Frumusican.
Recently I received from Professor
Gyemant, my fathers birth certificate,
with an earlier birthdate than any of us
knew of. I have added it to complete
this story, in tribute to Al.
Leeds Lead Leads to Prize
by Jack H. Bloom
[jackhbloom@ aol .com]
A number of years ago on the Romanian
Special Interest Group's Family Finderwhich is a list of people with genealogi
cal interest who are looking for relatives
with a certain last name and from a spe
cial city or town in Romania. I had post
ed that I was looking for Blum or Segall
in Frumusica or Hirlau. (Segall was my
mother's maiden name). A Mr. Al Leeds
of DelRay Beach, Florida contacted me,
to say that his grandfather, Froim
Leibovici, was from Frumusica. After
some discussion, the best we could come
up with was together concluding that our
grandfathers, living in that hamlet, prob
ably knew one another. That was some
thing but not very much. Well, one
thing lead to another and Al Leeds hit
pay dirt. Professor Gyemant forwarded
to him a copy of a birth registration
from Frumusica dated March 22, 1895.
The document recorded the birth, to
Froim Leibovici and his wife Hudla, of
a daughter; Esther Ruchel Leibovici.
I Who should be signed as a witness but
my then-38-year-old grandfather,
Zalman Blum! Zalman was at that time
the father of 3-month-old Samuel
Blum, my father. (Calculated from the
birth date he had always told
us-December 28, 1894. Actually from
the actual certificate he was a year and
some months.)
ture of him as a local honcho with a
Isaiah Silberbusch, the editor and short
group of fisgeyers of Botosani County.
Fisgeyers (literally, those who go by
foot) were Romanian Jewish emigrants
who walked across Europe to Hamburg
where they took ships to America.
Family stories about Zalman, which I
heard from his daughter Leah in Israel
in 1976, indicated that he was an impor
tant figure in the little town. Leah, in
story writer was born in Zaleszczyki,
Galicia and wrote primarily in Hebrew
her nineties when I interviewed her,
described him as the unofficial mayor.
published a Hebrew monthly, Ha-Or in
1882. He wrote a story, Dimat Ashukim
(The Tear of the Oppressed) dealing
with the oppression of the Romanian
Jews. I got this information from the
Encyclopedia Judaica. By the way, I
found soc.genealogy.jewish.
So now Al Leeds and I know, thanks to
Jerry Silverbush
the Family Finder and Al's careful
perusal of his document, and my noting
From Bruce Reisch:
my father's, that our grandfathers really
To those interested in ancestors from
did know each other well.
Radauti/Radautz, Bukowina (part of
Attached for your viewing and
genealogical pleasure are translated
a group known as the Organization of
copies of the evidence:
Registration, for births No 30
1895 March 22; 10 am; Birth Certificate
of Esther Ruhla, Jewish, female, born,
yesterday, 8 a.m. in the house of her
parents from Frumusica. Daughter of
Froim Leibovici, 50, and Hudla, 47,
merchants, residing, in this village.
Declaration made by the father who
presented the child to us. Witnesses:
Zalman Blum, 38, Herscu Feler, 32,
residing in this village, who signed
together with us.
Romania since WWI). In Israel, there is
Former Radautz Bukowina Residents. It
is a philanthropic society providing aid
to those in need, with roots in Radautz,
both in Romania and in Israel. This
group was responsible for the 1987 con
struction of a significant memorial to
the Jews of Radauti who perished in
Transnistria. This memorial is located
not far from the main entrance to the
cemetery in Holon, Israel (Gush 15,
Ezor 3, Rows 16-17). This same
Organization was also responsible for
the publication of a Memorial (Yizkor)
Book about Radauti, as well as a video
Theodor Lupaceanu, mayor, and
tape honoring the community. The
Registrar of Storesti. (Storesti is a vil
lage about 8 miles north-northwest of
Frumusica).
Yizkor Book consists of over 200+
pages , with many photos and illustra
tions, and was written primarily in
State Archives in Botosani-Frumusica
Hebrew, as well as German. Not many
Register for Births No. 72
copies of this Yizkor book are left. For
contact with this Organization, and
information on how to obtain copies of
this Yizkor book, write to: Organization
1893 Dec. 4,10 a.m. Birth certificate of
Smil Solomon Blum, Jewish, male,
born in Dec, 2, 12 at night, in the house
of his parents in Frumusica, son of
Zalman Blum, 45, and Marim, 40, both
Just a few months ago, I received my
merchants, residing in this Village.
fathers birth certificate. And there was
Declaration, made by the father, who
presented us the child. Witnesses; Froim
Leibovici, 40; Moise Sfarti, 30, both
Froim Lebovici's signature as witness.
Zalman's and Froim's signatures appear,
and Yiddish. He did however live for
some time in Romania and while there,
of Former Radautz Bukowina Residents
POB 11244 Tel Aviv 61112 Israel (Post
Office Branch Zamenhof) For more
information on Radautz, visit your local
Shtetlink page:
http://www.jewishgen.org/shtetlinks/ra
dauti/radautz.html
From: The New York Times, October 14,1900
matterhow many they employ.
Jews Leaving Roumania
All Government civil employments are denied to Jews, but
they arecompelled to do military duty under theconscription
Wholesale Emigration Owing tothe Severity of the Laws Against the Hebrew
Washington, October 13 - Some months ago there suddenly
appeared at theImmigration Station at New York large num
bers ofRoumanian Jews. They were all, or nearly all, without
money and wererefused landing until bonds weregiventhat
they would not become public charges. The sudden and unex
pected arrival of so many ofthis class of immigrants awak
ened an interest in the question as to what was inducing them
to comeherein suchlarge numbers.
The Commissioner of Immigration at NewYork madea
request ofAssistant Secretary Taylor that an agent be appoint
ed to visit Roumania to ascertain, if possible, the reasons
which were inducingso many of the Jews to leave their homes
andcome to this country. Robert Watchom, a special Inspector
of Immigration, who was then visiting in England, wasautho
rized to go to Roumania to obtain the information.
Mr. Watchom hasjust returned and submitted his report to the
Treasury Department throughthe Commissioner of
Immigration. It says that the Jews from that countryare no
longercoming to the UnitedStates, contracthavingbeen made
by the Jewish Colonization Society with the Government of
law, although equal advancement is denied them ontheground
that they are aliens.
It is stated, however, that under the amended constitution 800
Roumanian Jews, "Heroes of Pleyna", or soldiers of the warof
1877 have been collectively naturalized, yet theJews them
selves state that more than 100 of these are still without their
naturalization papers.
ROM-SIG Cemetery Project
At the annual meeting of ROM-SIG, held duringthe Jewish
Genealogy SummerSeminar in NewYork Cityon August
12, Rick Bercuvitz announced the launching of the ROM
SIG cemetery project The ultimate goal is to compile a data
base containing indexed burials from all Romanian sections
of Jewish cemeteries worldwide, and of all Jewish cemeter
Brazil, whereby large numbers of them, about 35,000, are due
ies within Romania. This project will consist of several com
ponents, which will progress simultaneously. These include:
• Identifying Romanian sections of Jewish cemeteries in
major cities in North America.
• Acquiring existing indices of burials in these sections.
• Creating indices for Romanian sections where none exist
• Gathering information for Romanian sections of Jewish
to be sent to Brazil.
cemeteries outside of North America (other than Romania).
It appears from the report that the laws of Roumaniaare of
such a characteras to make it almost impossible for the Jews
to remain there and provide a living. As showing the status of
the Jews in Roumania and the characterof the hardships which
they are compelledto endure, Mr. Watchom in his report says
that they are practicallydisenfranchised, and that while under
the laws of the country the children of citizens have access to
the public schools, free of charge, the childrenof the aliens are
taxed at the rate of 50 francs per annum each. Much that is
exceedingly humiliating and degrading to Jews is containedin
the textbooks in use in the public schools, such, for instance as
"A Jew never eats before he cheats." "A Jew is a leech and
lives on the blood he sucks from the poor peasants," and
"Never believe a Jew on oath, even when he is expiring."
Not only in matters of education, but in almost every walk of
life the disability of the alien (Jew) is self-evident. His choice
of callingof occupation is restricted very harshly. He is not
• Gathering lists of burials and copies of chevra kedisha reg
isters for all Jewish cemeteries within Romania.
All work will be done in conjunction with the IAJGS ceme
tery project In those areas where IAJGS has already obtained
information regarding Romanian sections of Jewish cemeter
ies, we will be able to make use of their work and where we
obtain new information we will share it with that project
In order for this project to succeed, we need broad volunteer
involvement Here is how you can help:
1) Locate the phone numbers) of any Jewish cemeteries in
your city/area
2) Email the phone numbers to cemetery project coordinator
Leon Gold at [ljg218@worldnet.att.net] or mail them to him
at 1658 Estate Circle, Naperville, IL 60565 or, better yet,
3) Call the cemetery offices yourself, ask whether they have
any Romanian sections. If not, report back to Leon
4) If so, find out whether there is a comprehensive index to
burials in the Romanian sections
permitted to reside anywhere in Roumania except in oneof
seventy-one towns designated as abiding places for Jews, and
5) If so, find out whetherthis is available on computerand if
so, ask them if they could transmit the data to Leon Gold at
he may be dismissed even from these on the representation of
the police officers that his presence is undesirable. He is not
permitted to follow the occupation of an apothecary, a lawyer,
[ljg218 @worldnetatt.net].
6) If there is an index but this is not section-specific try to find
out how difficult it would be to separate out the Romanian
sections and consider visiting the cemetery to do this
7) If there is not an index, consider assembling a team and
visiting the cemetery to create an index yourself.
Please contact Leon Gold before beginning this project to
make sure that nobody has already done this in your city.
a stock broker, a member of the Bourse, the Stock Exchange, a
peddler, or a liquor dealer.
Theseare onlya few of the callings denied him.A still further
impediment is found in the regulation which forbids employ
ers of labor to give employment to a Jew until they first have
employed two Christians, a ratiothey must strictly follow no-
Yourcontributionwill help to make this project a success!
From:
The Roumanian Jews in America
by D.M. Hermalin
I
Previous to the Russo-Turkish war (1877), in which
Roumania took an active part, gaining her independence
from the Sultan's suzerainty, the Roumanian Jew was not
often heard of as an emigrant Sporadic migration, howev
er, brought Roumanian Jews to every port of the globe,
with the exception of America, which, for no particular
reason, did not attract their attention. India and Egypt
seem to have been more favored than other countries, and
Palestine was holy ground, to which rich and pious
Roumanian Jews resorted in their old age to die and to be
buried in its sacred soil. America was spoken of as a coun
try almost beyond reach, and of its material advantages the
average Roumanian Jew knew nothing.
As early as 1810, according to the testimony of a few
Roumanian Jewish residents of New York, some
Roumanians at Bombay, hearing of fortunes amassed in
NorthAmerica and not finding India to their liking, sailed
for New York. Arriving at their destination, they thought
themselves the pioneers of Roumanian Jewry on the
American Continent, but they were told that others of the
same type had been their forerunners.
by her government, and were compelled to seek a perma
nent home elsewhere, they began to take great interest in
the letters of their scattered countrymen. Comparing the
different reports with one another, they came to the con
clusion that America, distant though it was, was best suited
for their purpose.
The records show, however, that their migration to
America continued to be spasmodic. From 1878 until
1882, the immigration gradually increased from 261 to
1052, forty per cent of the whole number being women
and children. In the next year, 1883, there was a decrease
of a hundred, and since that time, though on the whole
there has been a constant increase, the percentage of
increase has varied most irregularly. In fact, if it is desired
to know when the Roumanian Jews are more than ordinar
ily persecuted by their government it is not necessary to
look up the Roumanian edicts against the Jews; we have
but to study the annual variation in the number of arrivals
in this country. In 1888, for instance, there was an increase
of nearly two thousand as compared with the immigration
of the previous year, but the next year showed an increase
of only four hundred over 1887. This irregular course con
tinued until 1900, when the Roumanian Jewish immigra
tion reached amazing proportions.
in
and undisputed fact that even the sporadic emigration of
During all these years, although Roumanian Jews went to
nearly every part of the Union and the Dominion of
Canada, the city of New York was, as it still remains, the
goal of their wanderings. Almost all the Roumanian Jews
Roumanian Jews in the United States did not commence
in America either were residents of New York, or had
much earlier than 1850.
passed through the metropolis in seeking their fortunes
elsewhere. This rule has been broken only since 1900,
when well-known European benevolent associations trans
Diligent inquiry fails to ascertain the exact names, occupa
tions, and dates of the earliest comers. However, it remains
n
As late as 1870, a Roumanian Jewish immigrant might
wander about the country for months without meeting one
of his countrymen. But after 1877,the emigration to
America began to increase, and almost at once the pecu
liarities of the immigrants obtruded themselves in American
life. These peculiarities were not religious and not national
in character, they were chiefly gastronomic - the first
impression made by the Roumanian Jew upon the American
Jewish community was in the culinary department.
The religious cohesion that manifests itself in the forma
tion of separate congregations was very late in coming.
This strange behavior, so unlike the course pursued by
other Jewish immigrants, is susceptible of explanation. The
early arrivals from Roumania were nearly all unmarried
men and rather lax in the matter of religious conformity.
Either they were indifferent to religious practices, or if
they intermarried with the Jews from other countries, they
permitted themselves to be absorbed by the congregations
with which the families of their wives had affiliated.
After 1878, when the Jews of Roumania were hard pressed
ported a considerable number of Roumanian wanderers to
Canadian shores.
After all, however, the bulk of Roumanian Jewish immi
grants still remain in New York, and whateverpeculiarities
of theirs survived expatriation can be studied nowhere as
in the metropolis, in which they have established congre
gations and societies, and developed individual traits.
As has been said, the earliest Roumanian Jewish immi
grants did not attempt to separate themselves from other
Jews in religious affairs. But as soon as the more orthodox
class began to arrive, and some of them became prosper
ous in worldly affairs, they thought of indulging in the lux
ury of a synagogue of their own, and they devoted them
selves to the formation of societies somewhat on the
model of those they had had in their Roumanian home.
But the creature comforts were provided for earlier than
the satisfaction of spiritual cravings. As early as 1884, two
Roumanians occupied a basement on Hester Street, where
they manufactured grape wine, and served it in Roumanian
fashion. Then they installed a complete Roumanian kitchen,
scroll of the Law; they had to hire one of a Hebrew book-
whence issued all a Roumanian palate could desire. Others
dealer on Canal Street. Thecongregation rarely met during
were encouraged to follow suit, and the Roumanian carciu-
the week. If one of the members had to recite Kaddish, he
ma, (wine house) and brularia (restaurant) became a lucra
either had to gather a Minyan himself, or visitthe syna
gogue of another congregation. But on the Sabbath day the
tive business in New York. The first patrons naturally were
Roumanians, but soon other Jews flocked to them and paid
little hall was well filled. If a Roumanian Jew wanted to
homage to Roumanian culinary art.
see any one of his countrymen, he was sure to find him
In the same year, 1884, a few youths established the
there, orat least meet some one who knew his where-
Roumanisch-Ain'eril^^scher BmdCTb'unZfor theTurpose,
as set forth in their constitution, of devoting themselves to
the study of social science. This society can hardly be
called and original manifestation of Roumanian needs and
about^.And mme svnag°gue foKiSa and domestic politics
wer* dt!tscussed' a"d above a11 the fate °fthose left behind
!An me. coumiy ofAmalek" as *e Roumanian Jew in
Amenca 1S fond of callinS Ws native land
character, itrather mimicked similar societies in the neigh- Contrary to expectation, this first Roumanian congregation
borhood, organized for pleasure and entertainment.
IV
At the end of 1885, a score of Roumanian Jews assembled
in a meeting, decided to hire a hall on the Bowery for the
purpose of holding religious service in the manner they
were accustomed to in the old country. They called them
selves simply "The First Roumanian American
Congregation", without the usual addition of a Hebrew name.
Even at that late date the motives that led them to form a
congregation of their own were not of a compelling nature.
The Roumanian Jew in America who clings to his religion
differs from almost all other immigrants of his calibre.
They are eager to have their own rabbis or expounders of
the Law, but he is satisfied with the religious authorities
existing, so long as they are orthodox. The foundation of
the first Roumanian congregation rests on other than pure
ly religious reasons. The Roumanian Jew is wont to pro
nounce the Hebrew language in a manner peculiar to him
self. He differs even from the Galician Jew in this regard,
nor does his pronunciation agree with the Hebrew of the
South Russian, who is careful at least in the matter of
accentuation. A loose and careless way of pronouncing the
Hebrew language became somewhat of a fad with the
Roumanian Jew, and when he hears prayers recited with
precision, he feels repelled. Besides, the Roumanian Jew
conducts divine service according to the Sephardic ritual,
and as most of the East Side congregations consist of
Ashkenazim, it was natural that he should provide for his
own religious need as soon as he could. Again, the Jew in
Roumania is accustomed to resort to the synagogue on
Saturdays at his leisure, as a place at which to meet and
converse with the friends and acquaintances whom he
could not see during the week. Once established in
America, he longed for the old time synagogue which was
his club as well.
The first Roumanian congregation, which met on the
Bowery, consisted of about fifteen members, who were not
sufficientlyblessed with worldly goods to purchase a
did not thrive, and had it not been for the great masses
pouring in from Roumania, and for the benevolent purpose
which it added to its religious objects, it would have
decayed entirely. It continued to meet on the Bowery until
1893, when it took a ten years, lease on the building at 70
Hester Street and established a synagogue at which the
full quota of religious services was held. At this moment
its membership does not exceed two hundred. On a similar
basis, the congregation Kehal Adath Yeshurun, or the
Yassier Sheehl, was established in 1897. It also leased a
building, 79 Hester Street, for a period of ten years, and its
membership runs up to about the same number as the
membership of the other.
Recently a third Roumanian Jewish congregation was
established in the section of Brooklyn called
Williamsburgh, but it is not of more consequence than its
predecessors in New York City.
In short, the Roumanian Jew has not been very successful
in forming congregations in America. They have not, in
fact even exerted the attraction of a club house upon him;
it has been demonstrated lately that he has given up seek
ing his friends at the synagogue. He now looks them up at
the Roumanian coffee-house, wine-cellars, and restaurants.
Such Roumanian Jews as desire to affiliate with a religious
body prefer the congregations formed by the South
Russians or Bessarabians.They have even learned to over
look "short-comings" in pronunciation and liturgy. And the
conditions that prevail in New York characterize
Roumanian Jewish communities wherever they exist in the
United States; no matter in what numbers Jews from
Roumania may have gathered, they are not inclined to
form congregations.
VI
As early as the beginning of 1889, there were a number of
Roumanian Jews in New York who were proud of their
American citizenship. When they visited their newlyarrived compatriots, they would display the document that
entitled them to participation in the political affairs of the
United States. The dream of the Roumanian Jew, to be a
naturalized citizen, was at last realized. When he was able
8
to grasp the novel situation, he not only prided himself on
his citizenship, but looked back with horror and contempt
upon his native land, which had robbed him of his rights.
Besides the oath sworn before the American Judge, he
took another, never to desert the country of his adoption.
It is a fact that in devotion to country, the Roumanian Jew
in America excels almost every other foreign Jew. The rea
son probably is that the Roumanian Jew has suffered more
through being considered and alien in the country of his
birth than any other persecuted Jew of the present day.
The first Roumanian Jewish citizens of New York called a
meeting at 101 Orchard Street, and after a short debate
concluded to form a political organization. A discussion
vn
A prominent figure in Roumanian-American Jewry worthy
of honorable mention is the late Michael Rosenthal, who
arrived here early in the "eighties". Though a cobbler by
trade he plunged into business, first as a peddler; then he
opened a saloon, and in a few years he had accumulated a
little fortune. He was himself almost illiterate, but he loved
men of education, and he sought their society and advice.
With the aid of such, he established, in 1885, a benevolent
and endowment association, called 'The American Star"
The earliest members of the order were Roumanian Jews
exclusively, but later others joined it. It is still flourishing,
and it bears the reputation of being on of the best managed
benevolent associations in New York City.
arose as to the party to which the club was to belong. Not
one of the persons present was sufficiently conversant with
the principles of the different political organizations to be
in a position to advise to which to give their support. Yet
they had been told that unless they took sides with the one
or the other party, their organization would amount to a
a number of societies sprang up with the double purpose
of entertainment and charity. Most of the latter were of
short duration. One of the exceptions is the "Carmen Sylva
mere farce.
Dramatic Association", which, however, is now about to
In the same year, lodges composed entirely of Roumanian
Jews were formed in connection with the older Orders, and
share the fate of the majority. This association was formed
At this juncture a youth asked permission to speak. He was
a studentfrom a Roumanian University, and had but lately in honor of the Roumanian queen, whose nom de plume is
Carmen Sylva, and who bears, among Roumanian Jews,
arrived in America to join his parents, who had left him
the reputation of being a liberal woman. It was composed
behind to finish his studies.
of young men and women, and one of its purposes was the
The young speaker delivered a clever address on Abraham cultivation of Roumanian language and dramatic literature.
Lincoln, dwelling principally upon the efforts made by this Several dramatic performances were given during the win
president of the United States to establish equality among
ter season, which were well patronized by the countrymen
men, to level the barriers of race, religion, and color. The
of the young actors. But as the persecutions of the Jews
speaker concluded thus: "And now, my dear countrymen,
increased in Roumania, hatred of Roumanian language and
this noble American, their friend of the enslaved and
literature grew with them in America, and the perfor
oppressed, was a member of the Republican party".
mances lost their patrons and the society its prestige.
He was warmly applauded for his speech, which was
delivered in the Roumanian language, and many voices
exclaimed in the same tongue: "Traiasca Memoria lui
Lincoln!" ("Long live the memory of Lincoln!"). Without
further deliberation, the association concluded to give its
political support to the party that had produced a Lincoln,
and so "The Roumanian American Republican Club" was
formed. But next year, after the members had had some
political experience, the name was changed into "The
Roumanian American Independent Citizens Association.
Later the association took active part in the political
reform movement in New York City. At the end of 1891,
contact with professional politicians bred quarrels and
disharmony, and the association disbanded. Subsequently
it was reorganized as a Democratic club, but the original
enthusiasm had evaporated, and it degenerated into an
office seekers' society, lying dormant all year, and awaken
ing only whencandidates are in the field, and promise
rewards in return for votes. In short, the Roumanian club
sank to the lowdegree occupied by the typical political
organizations that infest the entire East Side of New York.
vn
It is proper to devote some space to the Roumanian Jewish
actors, who began to arrive in New Yorkas early as 1881.
They played in a concert hall, on the Bowery, at that time
known as the "Oriental Theatre" At the end of 1886, the
best Jewish company of actors and actresses came to New
York and took up their headquarters at another concert
hall, renamed in their honor, 'The Roumanian Opera
House" The company soon attracted the attention of the
entire Jewish population of New York; nevertheless the
income was not sufficient to support the members of the
troupe, and they suffered many hardships.
This company of actors was fully equipped with plays,
wardrobe, scenery, and even playwrights from Roumania.
The authors composed all manner of plays, but the under
taking languished until 1891-1895, when skill began to
command its due price. At present, the three greatest the
atres on the Bowery, the People's, the Thalia, and the
Windsor, are Jewish, and some actors have actually become
rich; all others are making a decent living. One manager, as
poor as a church mouse on his arrival in America, and at
first dependent upon what his wife could earn as a
set themselves free from Spanish sovereignty, and with
soubrette, has amassed a fortune of two hundred thousand
much difficulty they established "The Grand Orient of
North America of Free and Accepted Masons" and the
dollars. His wife only recently retired from the stage.
In fact, it may be said that the Yiddish-press and literature,
though not founded by Roumanian Jews, owe their present
material and literary success greatly to Roumanian Jewish
influence.
order is recognized by almost all European grand lodges.
X
The occupations of the Roumanian Jews in the United
States do not differ materially from the occupations of oth
IX
A movement which attracted great attention throughout the
country was started in 1890 by a Roumanian Jew named
Jacob Ochs. His movement purposed to introduce a new
Masonic Rite in this country designed to oppose the old
York Rite in vogue in England and in the United States.
This Jacob Ochs had been initialed into the mysteries of
freemasonry while yet in Roumania, a circumstance which
goes to show that he was possessed of exceptional intelli
gence and attainments, for in Roumania Jews are rarely
accepted into the Masonic fraternity. When he arrived in
New York, he was recognized as a lawful Mason in good
standing by the York Rite lodges. But according to his
notions, the American Masons did not perform their duties
as such, and he protested against their course. He was
drawn into an altercation with the grand officers, and he
reported their actions to several European grand lodges, at
the same time asking permission to organize new lodges
under a European Rite, in order to show Americans what
real Masonry is.
Strangely enough, of all the European grand lodges only
the Spanish Rite of Madrid seized the opportunity, and
invested Mr. Ochs with full authority as its representative
in the United States. The first Masonic lodge formed under
Spanish jurisdiction consisted only of Roumanian Jewish
immigrants, but later Mr. Ochs invaded American territory
and organized Masonic lodges among native Americans.
His influence spread rapidly, and lodges were organized in
New York by Jews, Italians, Spaniards, Frenchmen,
Germans and Americans. After the field had been so well
covered in New York, he went to Brooklyn and then to
Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and other large towns,
everywhere meeting with great success.
After four years of unceasing labor, he was arrested on the
charge of fraud; he was accused of having collected initia
tion fees for a society, without authorization. The
American press of New York and its vicinity, influenced
by York Rite Masons, was very bitter against him. But the
trail never came off; his credentials showed that he had
acted honorably and lawfully, and the case was dismissed
on motion of the District Attorney. In the meantime the
lodge* he had formed fell into a state of neglect and disor
ganization. However, some of them, consisting of
Roumanian Jews, who knew the integrity of Mr. Ochs,
weathered the storm, were reorganized and became most
efficient agents of charity and benevolence. Recently, they
ers, with the exception of their wine-cellars, coffee-houses,
and restaurants. On the whole, it should be said, the
Roumanian Jewish spirit is inclined towards commerce,
although thirty-five per cent of the immigrants are artisans,
chiefly tailors and carpenters. When they arrive in
America, they speedily find work at their trades; they work
hard, and accumulate as much as possible and after a few
years of industrious labor they nearly all start some busi
ness. If they succeed, they continue to strive; if they fail,
they return to their original calling. Among the others, who
have been engaged in commerce all their life, there is
rarely one to be found who applies himself to the learning
of a trade on his arrival in this country, a practice so com
mon with other immigrant Jews. As a rule, they become
peddlers, dealing in all kinds of merchandise, chiefly
notions, dry goods, and jewelry. In this capacity they jour
ney, not only through the State of New York, but almost all
over the country, and then settle down to a permanent
occupation, either in New York City or at some other
favorable spot. Among them are successful merchants,
with establishments, not only on Grand and Canal Streets
in New York, but also on Maiden Lane and Broadway.
They are engaged in the wholesale diamond and woolen
trades, and some in the banking business on Wall Street.
Roumanian Jews follow similar occupations in the larger
towns of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. In other locali
ties they have not yet succeeded to such a degree as to
attract attention, unless an exception be made in favor of
some noteworthy business establishments in a few
Southern towns. After the recent war with Spain, a consid
erable number of Roumanian Jews went to Cuba and
Puerto Rico and report has it that their business is thriving
on both islands. Some five months ago a party of six
young Roumanians left New York for the Hawaiian
Islands. Nothing definite is yet known about them.
Roumanian Jewish young men who came here with their
parents, after having striven in vain while in Roumania to
attain to one of the learned professions, take up special
studies immediately upon their arrival, and qualify them
selves as physicians, lawyers, dentists, and engineers.
Above ten percent of East Side lawyers and physicians in
New York are Roumanians. It is said that Philadephia
Dental College is always attended by a fair percentage of
Roumanian students. Dentistry seems to be a favorite pro
fession with them, and the famous Philadelphia institution
attracts them. Not a few of the dentists have returned to
10
European countries after graduation and are practicing
During the same year, 269 applications for relief from
their profession there with considerable success.
Roumanian Jewish residents in New York were received;
XI
The Roumanian cafe as well as the Roumanian wine-cellar
and restaurant is being conducted in New York more or
less the same way as in Roumania. The Roumanian Jews
gather at these public houses for many purposes besides
eating and drinking. They serve as meeting places for
friends, where they discuss business and social matters,
and where above all in Oriental fashion, over a cup of
black coffee and through the blue smoke curling up from
their cigarettes, they indulge in a game of cards or chess.
The cafe is a perfectly innocent resort, and it is the only
place at which the Roumanian Jew finds enjoyment.
Latterly the custom has grown up of having Roumanian
music in the public houses, and another touch is thus
added to the homelike surroundings, arousing sweet mem
ories in the frequenters.
The owners of the cafes and similar places are doing a
thriving business on the East Side of New York, some
have even accumulated fortunes. By a moderate estimate
there are in New York one hundred and fifty restaurants,
two hundred wine-cellars, with lunch rooms attached, and
about thirty coffee-houses kept by Roumanian Jews.
During the last three years the Roumanian resorts have
been frequented by all classes of Jews and lately by not a
few non-Jews.
xn
With the growth of the Roumanian Jewish population, the
wealth of the earlier immigrants has increased. The situa
tion of their brethren in Roumania appealed to their gen
erosity and two years ago, under the leadership of the
active and talented Dr. P.A. Sigelstein, one of the promi
nent physicians of New York, the admirable "Roumanian
Hebrew Aid Association" was formed. The association was
called into existence in 1898 by a few Roumanian Jews,
for the express purpose of ameliorating the condition of
the poor immigrants arriving from Roumania. It has quick
ly grown into a powerful charitable institution, and when
the great influx of Roumanian refugees came in 1899 and
1900, it was able to extend a helping hand to the unfortu
nates. It has attracted the attention of many charitably
inclined Jews, and large sums have been entrusted to it for
distribution among its wards. According to the last report
of the association, $1201.76 was expended from dues col
lected from members. But the whole sum disbursed was
twenty-four were denied, and the remainder cost the asso
ciation $330. Of the new arrivals, nearly two thousand
were started as peddlers and for about the same number of
artisans work was procured. The association has already
made a good record for itself and it is continually prepar
ing for the new emergencies to be expected.
By a moderate estimate, there are nearly forty thousand
Roumanian Jews on American soil, twenty-four thousand
of whom are living in Greater New York. On the whole,
they are an industrious class of people, and grasp at every
opportunity to Americanize themselves. They have a prop
er appreciation of American institutions, and learn to speak
and read the English language in a shorter time than other
foreigners. They regard the United States as their perma
nent home and do everything within the bounds of possibil
ity to qualify themselves to be worthy citizens of the great
Republic that has offered them a secure haven of rest.
March 20, 1901
Book Review
The following book review was in "Booklist" magazine a
publication used by librarians. My wife is the librarian at
the Bronx, H.S. of Science. It may be useful for ROM-SIG
members. Apparently, it will be available in January 2000.
I have no connection with anyone that has anything to do
with this book.
Joel Ives
Fair Lawn, NJ, U.S.A.
Ioanid, Radu. The Holocaust in Romania: The Destruction
ofJews and Gypsies under the Antonescu Regime, 19401944. Jan. 2000, 340p. index. Ivan R. Dee, $30 (1-56663256-0). DDC-.940.53 Ioanid, who was bom and raised in
Bucharest, begins this definitive account of the Holocaust
in Romania under the rule of Ion Antonescu by examining
the roots of that nations's anti-Semitism. When Antonescu
came to power in September, 1940, living conditions wors
ened considerably, and Ionid chronicles the fascist antiSemitic legislation that followed. The eventual result was
a series of deportations carried out under murderous condi
tions. The administrative and legal measures authorizing
these deportations, as well as pogroms and the resettlement
of Jews in ghettos, are described in detail. The author
relies primarily on previously unpublished Romanian doc
uments in the archives of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
approximately $30,000.
Museum and the National Archives in Washington, along
In 1900, the association sent 1362 persons to almost all the
with records from the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and testi
monies of survivors. The Holocaust in Romania is a testa
states of the Union; 402 of them were married, and twen
ty-two persons, who had become invalids through their
hard journey and exposure, were furnished with means of
transportation to return to their native cities in Roumania.
ment that such cruelty can and did take place in a modem
civilized nation.
- George Cohen (Reviewer)
"Shteti" Project: Burdujeni
By Ruth Goldsmith
11
of Rumania. Consequently, the station was very large and
elegant and housed three restaurants - first, second, and
third classes.
The Informants:
My informants were my Aunt Becky, my father's only sis
ter who left Burdujeni for Canada in 1921 at age 20, and
my father, Jack Alter, who was brought to Montreal by his
sister in 1928 when he too was 20.
Their immediate family in Burdujeni consisted of their
five brothers, father, a tinsmith and shopkeeper, and
Mother, Freyda, the town's nurse-doctor-social worker-
philanthropist-the one to whom all turned for help and
guidance.
My grandmother was bom in Burdujeni, my grandfather in
Austria. He had come to Burdujeni to work on the con
The town exported eggs and walnuts which the Jewish
merchants collected from the surrounding villages. My
father remembers collecting the eggs, candling them and
packing them into large straw-filled crates which were
delivered to the railway station to be shipped to Braila, a
port on the Danube in Southeast Rumania, for export to
Germany.
Burdujeni consisted of three streets - Stefan eel Mare, the
business street, where the shopkeepers lived and worked;
the Intergas, which was the street of the artisans and
craftsmen; and the Budergas, the street of the workers,
which led to the public bath.
struction of the railway station, a project for which many
foreign labourers had been imported.
Stefan eel Mare had cobblestone sidewalks and numbered
The Shteti:
well, but the houses were shabbier than on the main street:
In 1792, Jews began to settle in Burdujeni, a shteti in
Moldavia which was in northwestern Rumania on the
Austro-Rumanian border. In 1820, there were 183 Jewish
brick houses; the sidewalks of the Intergas were paved as
the Budergas was completely unpaved.
The three streets, extending in an east-west direction,
merged in the countryside to become one highway leading
taxpaying head of families; by the middle of the century the
Jews constituted the majority of the town's population - in
1859,1,140 Jews represented two-thirds of the population.
By 1899, the Jewish population had increased to 2,038'.
to the railroad station.
den to settle in rural areas.
There were two or three families in the town who were
Before 1918, the Suceava River formed the border between
Rumanian citizens. This unique situation had arisen from
the Rumanian revolt against Turkey in 1877, after which
all participants had been granted citizenship. These few in
Burdujeni were referred to as "the Drepnikers" a YiddishRumanian expression meaning "those who had rights" that is, they could vote, own property, and send their chil
dren to university.
Basically, the town was made up of small shopkeepers and
craftsmen who bought from and sold to each other and the
peasants of the countryside. Business with the peasants was
transacted
mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the days
Outsidethe shteti, one was in an overwhelmingly Christian
when
the
farmers
brought their produce to the market
rural environment, for the Jews of Rumania were forbid
Austria and Rumania - it was here that the Burdujeni and
peasant children swam. The countryside was lush and fer
tile; forests and rich farm lands covered with wheat, com,
and fruit and nut trees surrounded the town; chicken and
egg farming was carried on by the peasants.
Certain factors contributed to making Burdujeni a some
what more worldly town than one would expect of a shteti
of this size.
The people of Burdujeni had economic and social contact
with the city of Jassy, the capital and oldest Jewish com
munity of Moldavia2, and with Botosani, only 25 kilome
ters away, the second largest and most important Jewish
community of Moldavia3.
Because of its location almost directly on the Austrian bor
der, Burdujeni was the town from which Rumanian and
Russian emigres, hoping to get to America, stole into
Austria. The townfolk were used to the sight of strangers
coming and going.
The railroad station was the second largest in the country.
It was the first stop for the express train from Vienna to
Bucharest and was the first impression that travellers had
Hasidism was widespread in Moldavia because it bordered
on Galicia and Russia. In the eighteenth century, Hasidism
had spread to Jassy and from there into the rest of
Moldavia4. Burdujeni's Jews were about evenly divided
into Misnagdim and Hasidim, very few of whom wore
beards and earlocks. My aunt and father recall that gener
ally both groups got along well, with limited animosity or
conflict.
Rumanian Institutions:
The town administration consisted of the Mayor - "the
Primar" - who had been appointed by the Governor, a city
clerk, tax collector, notary, and the Gendarmarie. The
"Primaria" - City Hall - which was the town's handsomest
building, held the government offices and the headquarters
of the Gendarmarie.
Baksheesh was the name of the game in dealing with gov-
12
eminent officials. It operated in the following manner.
Taxes had to be paid in person, by a certain date. However,
to ensure that the tax collector would receive the payment
withinthe specifiedperiod, so as to avoid a penalty for
late payment, one had first to bribe him so that he wouldn't
be too busy to receive you on yourappointed day.
It was the City Hall's responsibility to maintainthe gravel
roads in the shteti and to provide night watchmen for secu
rity. Every male was obliged to give his service for a cer
tain number of days per year for these jobs. The wealthier
Jews were able to bribe the officials so that only the nonJews and poor Jews were forced to do this work. The
Gendarmarie, a Chef and eight or ten gendarmes, kept
order in the town, particularly on market days when the
peasants frequently became drunk.
The Chefs appointment in the shteti generally lasted two
years, so that delicate, preliminary contact had to be made
with each new Chef. The crucial issue to be determined was
They simply climbed aboard the train and waited for the
conductor to begin his rounds. When he called out in a
bastardizedYiddish, "half for me, half for you," they knew
they were safe and would be travelling for half-fare on that
trip.
The Non-Jewish Population:
An economic interdependence existed between the shteti
Jews and the peasant population surrounding them. The
peasants sold their farm produce to the Jews and in turn
bought the Jews' shop goods.
This business relationship was the sole point of contact
between the two groups, and in the following situation one
feels how condescendingly the Jews viewed the peasants.
My family often went directly to the peasants' dwelling for
their milk. They always brought with them a bucket of
water to ensure that the peasant could have no excuse for
not washing his hands before he began the milking.
whetheror not he was "good" - that is, did he accept bribes? Burdujeni had two pork butchers whose clientele was the
Usually, however, all Chefs turned out to be "good" by the
end of their service, so good in fact, that it was incumbent
on every shopkeeper, according to the size of his business,
to pay a certain sum to keep his shop open on Sundays.
On the whole, relations between the Jews and the
Gendarmarie were amicable - the latter, in most dealings
with the Jews did not walk away empty-handed.
The notary notarized the innumerable documents which
one was required to have - birth, marriage, and death cer
tificates, passport applications and the like.
The state hospital was staffed by two doctors, both of
whom were Jews who had converted to Christianity in
order to practice medicine in a state institution. The Jews
regarded the hospital with dread, fearing it as a place from
which one did not return.
There being no dentist in the shteti, the people from
Burdujeni went to Suceava for dental work.
peasantry, the government officials, and the few other
Christians of the shteti. The pork shops were open for
business on Saturdays, although generally, there was little
traffic. For the peasants, there was no inducement to come
to town because all other shops were closed.
At one time, rumors circulated amongst the Jews that a
certain Jewish matron, who employed a Christian maid,
was a customer of the pork butchers. It was never quite
ascertained whether the maid was buying this meat solely
for herself or for her mistress' household.
The Christian saloon was owned by one Botez (from
"botezat',' meaning christened) whose grandfather had con
verted many years before from Judaism. It was somewhat
ironic that when the Jewishchildren wanted to antagonize
Botez, they called his children "dirty Jews'.'
Relations between the Jews and the non-Jewish population
in and aroundBurdujeni were generally stable.Although
the government passed harsh, restrictive legislation against
the Jews, and anti-semitism was rampant, there were few
The public telephone was located in the post and telegraph
office. (There was only one private telephone in the shteti.) pogroms in Rumania. One exception was the revolt of
1907 during which the peasants turned against the land
To receive a telephone call, the procedure was as follows:
lords
and subsequently against the Jews. Burdujeni found
The caller sent a telegram to the Burdujeni post office say
itself in a uniquely fortunate position because of its prox
ing that he would telephone Reb Laster at 3 o'clock. This
imity to the Austrian border and Franz Josefs generally
telegram was then delivered to Reb Laster, who would
favorable attitude to the Jews. Franz Josef opened Austria's
appear at the post office at 3 o'clock to receive his call.
Despite the elegance of the railroad station, it was often
the scene of hysteria, for it was only minutes before a train
was due to arrive that the clerk got around to opening the
ticketoffice. People who mighthave been waiting for
hours to buy a ticket would push and shove at each other,
yelling excitedly, only to discover that the train had
already departed.
Many Jews, however, nevereven tried to buy a ticket.
doors to Burdujeni's Jews and the entire town fled to Itjcan,
a town close to Suceava. During the mad scramble to
escape, my father's brother was left behind. Fortunately,
his absence was noticed before the family had gone far,
and he was retrieved.
When the townspeople returned to the shteti, they found
their shops smashed and pillaged, but all in all, considered
themselves lucky to have escaped without any loss of life.
Jewish Institutions:
In 1898, the Jewish Colonial Association founded a Jewish
school for boys3. There were also three heders in the town,
and those children who attended the Rumanian schools
had lessons with the melamed after their classes.
Children did not start school in Rumania until they were
seven, so until they became of age boys attended heder.
The Chevre Kadishe Society took charge of all aspects of a
funeral, which included the washing of the bodies, supply
ing shrouds if necessary and carrying the deceased to the
the Federgas, the business street. The front room consisted
of the shop and a partitioned area which was the kitchen;
the second room was the bedroomand dining room, used
for Shabbos and holidays; the third room was the "salon"
and storage room.
My grandparents, helped by their oldest son, sold glassware,
dishes,cutlery, and tin goods.The shop did a lively business
which enabled the family to live relativelycomfortably and
placed them among the town's more prosperous.
The kitchen consisted of two shelves, one each for the
Wealthy people who had notfulfilled what thecommunity
milk and meat dishes, and a small wood stove which my
grandmother rose to light at 5:30. It was the children's
responsibility to take turns to blow on the wet wood so
cemetery where they were buried without coffins.
13
deemed to be their responsibility were not buried until the
that it would catch fire. Near the stove was a small alcove
deceased's family gavea contribution to the community chest
with a table and some chairs.
The shteti was relatively well-offand had few paupers or
beggars, for most weretoo proud to beg even if they were
in need. However, beggars did come from Suceava to
The bedroom containedtwo beds in each of which slept
and sick were able to be cared for.
four people, a long chair which unfolded to become another
bed, and a long-table. There was also a large, built-in brick
oven which was used for baking and cooking, and only
rarely just for warmth. During the winter, the children
looked forward to Thursday and Friday with great anticipa
tion, not only for the delicious Shabbos food that emerged
from the oven, but also for the warmth that it provided.
From my father's recollections, charity often took the form
of a woman like my grandmother who would send her chil
dren out on Thursdays to collectchicken, vegetables, can
The "salon" was rarely used; for one thing, in winter it
was far too cold to be livable. This room held a large
armoire with mirrored doors, a hand-woven carpet, and
dles, and the likefrom the neighbours. She thenmade up as
many parcels for the poor and widows as were required and
and linens were stored.
on Friday her children delivered the Shabbos baskets.
At the back of the yard was a small hut which was the out
Burdujeni from time to time,
There was a charity drive once or twice a year and at holi
days as well, every home had a charity box into which a
few coins were dropped on Fridays. In this way, the poor
Burdujeni had two shoktim, each with his own following
who claimed that the other shokhet wasn't kosher enough.
Before someone could have his chicken slaughtered, he
had first to buy a "ticket" This represented the tax which
was levied on kosher meat, the proceeds of which were
used to pay the shoktim and Rov. This "ticket" was
brought to the shokhet who then tore it up and slaughtered
the chicken.
The bath was privately owned by a man called "Der
Bader" by the town. It was a Turkish bath in which a nonJewish attendantwas employed to pour boiling water over
the stones. There was also a Jewish woman employed to
attend to the women in the mikve and to cut their nails.
The shtetl's Rov - the VisniSer - was a Hasid from Visniâ, a
town in the Bukovina. He had no children, much to his
some trunks of assorted sizes in which clothes, underwear,
house, the barrel of which was regularly emptied by a
peasant who was unceremoniously called "der Drekher".
At night, the children were often too frightened to cross
their yard to go the outhouse. They preferred to use
"Eleazak's wall" which partly surrounded his house and
which was conveniently located near number 92. No mat
ter how late Eleazak stayed up to surprise a culprit, he
never was able to catch anyone in the act and in the morn
ing frequently found near the wall little reminders of the
nocturnal adventures.
Shabbos:
Friday afternoon, of course, was a very busy time. Shops
closed early, the men were off to the bath, and the women
put the final touches to the children, the house, and the
My Family's House:
Friday evening meal. For the women, the day had begun at
4 or 5 a.m. when they rose to knead the challah dough. My
aunt recalls that she was so upset by how much work her
harried mother had on Friday, that instead of returning to
her job at the dressmaker's she would stay at home after
lunch to help her mother, much to the dressmaker's dis
pleasure.
My father lived in a three room house at number 92, on
At shul, my grandfather would immediately look around
and his followers' sorrow, but he had a nephew living with
him. He was the leader of the Vi§ni{er Shul where my fam
ily prayed. Some of the other shuls were the Big Shul,
which the tradesmen attended, the Old Shul, the New Shul,
and the "Plub" Shul.
14
for a stranger spending Shabbos in Burdujeni. If so, he
was almost always the guest for Shabbos at my grandpar
ents' home.
Carp, soup, and chicken were the fare for the Friday
evening meal, which was spent in a leisurely fashion with
much talking and singing, After supper, the boys of the
family visited with their friends, and their parents usually
went to bed. When the Shabbos guest stayed overnight,
one or more of the children slept on the floor.
Saturday morning, many of the religious men went to the
mikve before going to shul. Then it was the women's turn
at the mikve, after which some of them gathered with my
grandmother in her home where she led the women's
cellar until Pesach. The cracklings were then used to make
varenikes for Chanukah.
During the winter, the young girls frequently gathered
together to sing and to strip the goose feathers of their
down to be used for the making of pillows and comforters.
At Purim, the children masqueraded from house to house,
putting on little plays and receiving small gifts; the few
beggars went from door to door collecting coins, which in
my grandparents' house had first been stored under the
tablecloth. Shalakhmones, containing hamantashen, strudel
and sweet challah with raisins, was sent to the friends and
prayers.
neighbours. All went to shul to hear the reading of the
Megillah and where the children tried to make as much
noise as possible with their graggers.
There was no emv around the town, and my aunt recalls
the men badgering the children to carry the talesim and
siddurim to shul. My ever-watchful grandmother would
stand outside her house on the lookout for anyone stranded
without a child to help him. When she spotted a helpless
The baking of the matzos was begun after Purim in the
hekdesh which was emptied, and thoroughly cleaned and
whitewashed. The matzos were sold and carried away
immediately for there were no storage facilities; it was then
up to each family to store its matzos at home until Pesach.
soul, quick as a wink, she rushed into her house to quickly
dress one of her children who would carry the man's talis
and siddur to Shul.
After lunch, the boys and girls went walking in the woods.
Often they walked barefoot to Suceava, at the outskirts of
which they again put on their shoes, to stroll through the
public gardens while listening to a band which played in
the square.
When a family had a Shabbos guest, it was customary for
the neighbours to send nuts, cakes, or puddings in honor of
the guest. Towards the end of the day, after all had rested,
it was expected that the neighbours would visit and par
take of the sweets that they had sent.
Shabbos ended quietly and again friends came together,
often to discuss their children in America and to read their
As Pesach approached, an air of expectancy developed in
the shteti. In my grandparent's home, the walls and oven
were whitewashed, the tables and benches kashered.
Because of the nature of their shop, my grandmother usu
ally had enough dishes, and pots and.pans for Pesach, so
that she didn't have to kasher her everyday ones. However,
on more than one occasion, to please a customer, my
grandmother had to sell a certain item from her kitchen
because the store's supply had run out.
If a child was especially lucky, he had a new suit or pair of
shoes to wear for the seders, which my father recalls as
joyous and boisterous occasions, for Rumanian Jews loved
wine as much as the rest of the Rumanians.
Simchas Torah was the happiest time of all. Rumania was
a wine-producing country and this was the time of year for
letters to one another. Mothers cried and sang sentimental
the new wines. The afternoon of Hoshana Rabba marked
songs which told of their children far from home. Two
the beginning of the festivities, when the neighbours began
to congregate. First, they ate sour pickles to work up their
thirst, and then the drinking, singing and dancing began in
songs that my father remembers in particular are "Paper
Children" and "A Letter to Momma"
Finally, with thoughts once again turning to the new week
earnest.
and its worried, all went to bed.
In the evening, the whole town participated in a candle
light procession, after which each set off for his own shul
and the Hakafos. Drinking and singing resumed at ser
vice's end and continued late into the night.
Holidays:
The Sulijer Rabbi, from Sulija a town near Botosani, used
to spend Chanukah at the house of my father's UncleMayer,
where the Rabbi's followers gathered nightly for drinking,
singing, and dancing. During the day, the Rabbi was avail
able to the women, dispensing advice and guidance.
Around this time of year, the women of the shteti began
their preparations for Pesach. Fattened geese, bought from
the farmers, werekilled by the shokhet, then cleaned and
skinned. The Pesach utensils were taken out of storage in
order to render the goose fat, which was then stored in the
Some Customs:
Weddings were of course, joyous occasions in the shteti.
From the time of the groom's being called to the Torah, he
was not left alone until the time of the wedding. The cere
mony took place most often on Tuesdays and Sundays in
the shul courtyard in summer, or inside during the winter.
Poor people were married early on Friday afternoon to
avoid having a wedding party, which they couldn't afford.
After theceremony, the bride and groom walked at the
head of a procession to the feast, which was usually held
in the large room of the Jewish school. The couple was
preceded by the water carrier who spilled water in their
path as a symbol of good luck.
15
She was fondly referred to as the "Doktorke"A sick per
son would first call on Freyda; if she thought it necessary,
the doctor was then summoned, and he knew that if Freyda
wanted him, he was really needed.
When she died in 1941, two months before the Jews were
As the guests approached the school, they were greeted by
♦u« musicians„ - ihired
~a cfrom Botosani,
t>«*
•__ *from .,the
the
or gypsies
transported to Transnistia, her funeral was the largest in
me jjjgjjjjy 0fme town, and a eulogy, which was an
surrounding areas who played little marches in their honor.
unheard of practice, was delivered by the Rov.
The banquet was prepared by the mothers of the bridal
couple and their friends, or by a woman in the shteti who
was hired by those who could afford this luxury. It was the
Kandle, the "Gonif', the owner of the dry goods store was
notorious for his stinginess and for the fact that he cheated
his customers, in particular the peasants. His wife was a
custom tohave a long table set with assorted jams and jugs good and generous person who had to resort totrickery to
of cold water at the entrance of the hall. This sweet was
the first refreshment served to the guests and to the bride,
and groom for the breaking of their fast. The well-to-do
observed the custom of feasting for seven days after the
wedding, with the traditional seven blessings recited after
every meal.
Women gave birth at home, aided by a Christian midwife
and her assistant, my grandmother. (Her predecessor had
been hermother). A doctor was summoned only if compli
cations arose.
The new mother stayed in bed for a week after the birth,
covered by a white sheet and red ribbons as protection
against the evil eye.
On the eve of a male baby's circumcision, young heder
boys were brought to the room of the mother and infant to
read prayers, after which the boys filed out in order and
were given sweets. A humorous anecdote about one of the
townsfolk is told in connection with this custom: Kandle
was a rich but stingy man. Rochel Kandle's had given birth
and the heder boys had been summoned to her house.
However, as the boys marched out to receive their sweets,
Kandle chalked a mark on each lad's back to prevent him
from returning to the line and getting a double portion.
On the Friday night following the birth of a boy, the fami
ly and friends celebrated the ceremony of Sholem Zokher,
at which guests were traditionally served chick peas,
kichel, and cake. The Bris was a more formal affair, with
guests being seated at dinner after the ceremony.
The custom of giving a very sick child the name of "Alter"
stemmed from the hope of deceiving the angel of death
who would find it less tempting to carry away an old man
hide her charitable deeds from him.
My aunt recalls that on one Shavuous the smell of my
grandmother's bagelach made Kandle so envious, that he
actually became physically ill. Finally, his wife was forced
to ask Freyda for some bagelach to please a sick man.
Kandle's son, Rivele, was the town crier. He was some
what retarded, which explains his lowly position, although
he came from a family of the town's upper class.
One of the town's two doctors caused somewhat of a scan
dal when his housekeeper bore his child. Eventually, the
matter settled down, and the housekeeper and the child
continued to live in the doctor's house until she married
and moved away.
Some Political Developments:
Burdujeni was a prosperous shteti, consisting mainly of
artisans and small shopkeepers. The area had no factories
and there were virtually no apprentices or employees.
There was simply no grass roots base here for Socialism to
develop, and very few rallies or meetings were ever held.
Zionism, however, took profound hold in Burdujeni, as it
did in all of Rumania. In 1873, the first pre-Zionist groups
were established, with participants emigrating to Palestine
and dedicating themselves to agriculture6. In 1896, Herzl's
Der Judenstaat was translated into Rumanian and appeared
in Botosani7; soon, this book and Hebrew newspapers from
Jassy found their way to Burdujeni. Zionist speakers who
appeared in the shteti were greeted enthusiastically by
most, except for the most orthodox.
than a child.
With the publication of the Balfour Declaration the activity
increased - a youth movement developed and not a week
passed without some meeting or rally being held.
Some Interesting Persons:
The War Years:
The best known and most loved person of Burdujeni was
my grandmother Freyda. She was wise, good-looking,
witty, efficient, energetic, a strong businesswoman and an
excellentcook and baker, it was to her that the poor and
rich alike came for guidance, be it for monetary or "psy
chological" help, or just for a comforting word.
In 1916, when Rumania entered the war, my grandfather,
because he was Austrian, and his oldest son were interned
in a camp deep in Rumania. For the next two years, my
grandmother carried on alone in the shop and at home, and
reported to City Hall weekly.
Because most of the peasants had been drafted, farm
16
labour was in short supply. My aunt recalls that for the
women and girls the war years were spent living in fear of
the Russian soldiers who might rape them or kidnap them
for enforced farm labour or to sabotage the railway tracks
to slow the German advance.
Before the Russian advance, the Rumanian government
had ordered that all whiskey from all saloons be spilled
into the streets. Children lined up with pails to catch the
whiskey as it trickled down the roads, and this is what
saved many families from starvation during the war
years, for they were able to trade the whiskey for the
Russian soldiers' bread, coffee, tea and sugar. All food
and merchandise had been appropriated by the Rumanian
government and officials ignored this brisk trading.
However, it was implicitly understood that all trade was
to be an exchange of goods, not one of money.
The war was an ever-present reality for Burdujeni.
Russian soldiers had marched through here on their way
to Vatra-Dornei in the nearby Carpathians; in the shteti
one could hear the gunfire, and wounded soldiers were
brought to Burdujeni's hospital, homes, and schools
which had been converted into hospitals. The town had
also become a centre for refugees who had fled from the
fighting in the Bukovina.
Immigration:
After World War 1, the population of Burdujeni was
1,244 Jews8, a decrease of almost 50 per cent in 20 years.
Mass migration from Rumania had begun in 1900 due to
increasing persecution and internal economic crisis, and
the revolt of 1907 speeded up the process9.
For my grandparents, emigration meant losing their only
daughter and two sons, only one of whom they ever saw
again. The period prior to departure was filled with deep,
conflicting emotions excitement and fear on the part of
those who were leaving; relief and hope on the part of
parents that one's child would find a better life in
America and would prosper sufficiently so that other
family members could follow, and despair that one's child
was gone forever.
My Father's Visit:
In 1935, after having lived in Canada for seven years, my
father set sail on the Normandy bound for Le Havre.
From there, he travelled for several days by train, arriv
ing finally in Burdujeni at 2:30 in the morning. By 3
o'clock almost the entire town was awake to greet him,
having been awakened by Rivele the Town Crier calling,
"Alter is here from America!" One can imagine the
excitement that met him, for it was a rarity for an emigre
to visit his home town.
By the following day, however, my grandmother's equi
librium was sufficiently restored so that she was ready to
resume her role as town guardianand she proceeded to
tell my father of the misfortune that had befallen the
town water carrier. His horse had died, and the poor man
had no means of transporting the water. That was all she
had to say - without another word, my father pulled some
bills from his pocket and handed them to her.
My father's immediate impression was that "to me it
looked like the town sank". In addition to this depressing
reality of the shtetl's size and appearance, he saw the eco
nomic repercussions of the repressive legislation being
passed by the Rumanian government. A recent law stated
that a Christian need pay only 10% of any debt owed to a
Jew, and that this 10% was payable over 10 years. This
placed the Burdujeni shopkeepers, the majority of whose
clientele was the peasantry, in a frighteningly precarious
position.
Added to this unrest, was the hitherto unknown problem
of unemployment which was the result of a law proclaim
ing that only 5% of a factory work force could be Jewish.
Many of the shteti sons who had worked in factories in
the cities had been fired and forced to return to
Burdujeni.
By this time, many of the people with whom my father
spoke were desperate to leave, but few countries would
have them. A handful from Burdujeni were able to get to
Palestine and South America. My grandparents were anx
ious for my father to marry a town girl, a pharmacist, to
enable her to leave with him, but after much agonizing,
he found himself unable to marry her, and shortly
returned to Canada.
FOOTNOTES
1. Encyclopedia Judaica
Volume 4, page 1510
2. Ibid
Volume 9, page 1294
3. Ibid
Volume 4, page 1271
4. Ibid
Volume 9, page 1294
5. Ibid
Volume 4, page 1510
6. Ibid
Volume 16, pages 1133-34
7. Ibid
Volume 16, pages 1133-34
8. Ibid
Volume 4, page 1510
9. Ibid
Volume 14, page 393
History of the Jewish Community
of Ploesti from 1690 to 1906
Translated by Josephine Nagelberg
To His Majesty Carol with our deep devotion, respect
and loyalty from the Jewish Community ofPloesti
When did the Israelites settle in Ploesti? We can tell by the
age of the Jewish cemetery. The first Jewish cemetery was
established either at the end of the 16th century or the begin
ning of the 17th century. We don't really know where this
cemetery was, supposedly it was somewhere on the outskirts
of Bucov, where today a huge hill still stands south of the gas
After the building of this synagogue, the Jews decided to build
a cemetery. It took 40 years. It was bought in 1818 and opened
in 1821 on Vlad Tepes Street. Between 1780 and 1821, all the
burials were done at the cemetery on the Bucov Way.
A very interesting thing happened in 1804. Two Jewish peo
ple died on a Friday night. Because there was no time to
transport this man and child to the cemetery on Bucov Way,
the two bodies were buried in the synagogue yard. The stones
for these two graves could be seen until the last decade. Some
of the synagogues leaders were also buried here. Aron Wolf,
Luca Moise, Jacob Solomon, Nahmauskohn. Solomon Sin
(son of) Jaracu Koppel, Baruch Sabetai (caldarar-the one who
uses buckets in construction to carry the cement or the mor
factory, and is marked by a stone cross. The Jews were buried
there until 1818 when the new cemetery of Vlad Tepes Street
tar), Rafail Eechaskel Goldenberg, Iehuda Sin Isac Dreath,
was established in ISIS.
on this land Today the synagogue is administered by Mr.
The church ofOrli Valley, near Bucov, had stone steps made
Moise Brenner.
from the Jewish grave stones taken from the old cemetery.
On June 17, 1818, the Jewish community bought and paid
Only a few of the old stones survived the destruction of time.
These stones had been previously used for the Jewish people
who lived in small towns that didn't have a Jewish cemetery.
17
Avram Leib Gmnberg> and Wolf Spiwack ar£ a,so sequestered
700 talere to Qonita Geauta for a house and two and a half
Early Jewish communities had four major institutions: the
pojoone of land for a new cemetery. This was at the outskirts
of the town. Today the cemetery is close to the center of it.
The last burials were done here 20 years ago. Many of the
synagogue, the cemetery, the school and the communal bath.
stone graves were removed to make room for the new build
Through the decades, the Jews rented houses to pray in differ
ent parts of the town. At the beginning of the 17th century,
they built a synagogue on Bazau road, today the Postal Office
Road, which could be seen until the beginning of the 18th
century. At the middle of the 17th century, the Jewish people
ings around the cemetery. The markers that were put there in
built a synagogue on Vlad Tepes Street and in 1780 built a
new synagoguecalled the Old Synagogue which was later
named the Little Synagogue. Today, this synagogue bears the
name The Rabbi's Synagogue. It was restored in 1891 and is
still standing today.
place of the stones are hard to see and find. Here and there
are little raised mounds of dirt that might be a Jewish grave.
One standing grave stone has written in Hebrew an inscrip
tion that says, "There rests in peace a tightous and pious man,
Mr Eliazar, son of Ghedaliachu, who died on a Saturday, the
18th day of the month of Yiar in 581 (1825)"
The Jews had their own Hevrat Kadisha for both
Ashkenovrim and Sforadim. But in June 1830, the Sforadim
requested from the Grand Rabbi of Bucharest to have their
own. The request was denied. The only thing they were
allowed to have separate from the Ashkenovrim were the
"rohateiu" or the washers. The Grand Rabbi decided that the
cemetery should be under the Ashkenovrim leadership
because it was the Ashkenovrim who bought the land and
they should also have the control over the Hevrat Kadisha. If
there was a death amongst the Sforadim, then the rohateiu
would prepare the body and bury according to the Sforadim
rituals. The middle class would pay the Ashkenovrim for their
graves, but the poor would be buried for free. If there was
something to be sold, the two sides voted together at the same
level. There was to be no separation as for the good of the
Jewish community.
Signed by Haim from Focsani, the Grand Rabbi, Tevi Heis,
son of Israel Manking, David Hoffman, Iuda Leib, son of
Solomon, the year of 570 (1810).
The Committee of the Jewish Community of Ploesti
President-Max Shapira
Secretary-A.D. Rosen
Editor-A.D. Rosen
18
The Jewish Population of Jassy
From 1755 to 1860
DUMITRU F/ANESCU
In recent decades, demographic studies in Romania have
become a constant concern of researchers in history. The
large and rich bibliography, which includes a great many
undertakings, special reviews, thematic volumes, collec
tions of documents, etc., emphasizes the usefulness of
knowing more about the evolution of Romanian society.
Most studies of the principalities looked at the population
as a whole in terms of jobs, sex, age, social categories,
density, territorial enlargement, etc., and examined minori
ties only tangentially. They were not numerous until the
end of the 18th century; then studies of the Jewish popula
tion increased in the first half of the 19th century.
The main sources for the demographic studies were the
population statistics. There were other sources as well;
unfortunately, they were mostly tax records and other fis
cal documents-so people who were exempt from those fis
cal obligations were not included. Thus, we must be cau
tious in drawing conclusions about population numbers
and composition based on fiscal sources. In addition, dates
are sometimes missing because of the intentions or condi
tions of those who drew up the statistics.
When discussing minorities, it is difficult to establish their
exact number, their social functions, their jobs, etc.-especially before the Organic Statutes (1831-32) were put into
operation. Some of the Jews were foreign subjects, who
were omitted from the documents. Foreign subjects includ
ed not only people who were actually foreigners, but also
many natives who, for economic reasons or to avoid the
feudal system, opted to become foreign subjects. The num
ber of foreign subjects in Moldavia increased significantly
after 1829, when foreign trade was no longer blockedby
the Turkish monopoly; many foreign merchants and crafts
men moved into Moldavian towns, including an important
number of Jews.
The earliest internal document in which we can find the
number of inhabitants of Jassy dates from 1855.
Information from before that time, coming from notes
written by foreign travelers who passed through the old
capital of Moldavia, was scarce, sometimes overestimated,
and even contradictory. The 1755 document recorded the
houses in Jassy at that time, not the people. Most of the
recorded 66 Jewish households were concentrated on two
important trading streets; 23 on Ulija Ruseasca. (Russian
street), and 28 on Ulita Hagioaei (Hagi street). Their
names are without any fiscal details, except for nine peo
ple who belonged to the Jewish guild.
Jassy had 1353 houses in 1775; Gh. Ghibanescu, the first
annotator, estimated the population at about 7,000 peoplemuch below the actual figure. Among the 94 foreign fami
lies, there must have been some Jewish families; otherwise
we cannot explain why the Jews were estimated at about
400 people, compared to 60 Armenians, 120 Albanians,
200 Greeks, 20 Lipovenians (a Russian group), 60 Serbs,
80 Hungarians and 500 other foreigners. Ghibanescu men
tioned that he had the 1760 document organizing the
hahambashi (the dwelling of the kosher butcher) and the
Jewish school of Prince Alexandra Ilias. The text, which at
that time (1921) was owned by Albert Daniel, provided
major details about the beginning of the Jewish communi
ty in Jassy and defined its rights and obligations.
Another important document from the 18th century cov
ered all of Moldavia. It is the Catagraphy of 1774, written
to serve the interests of the Russian occupation. As in
other sources of this type, the people were recorded
according to their financial obligations to the Treasury e.g.,
the landlords with their houses and shops, including the
shops belonging to monasteries. Despite these imperfec
tions, the figures in the Catagraphy shed light on the
demographic and economic evolution of Jassy. Of the 171
Jewish families, 12 settled on Ulija Mare (Large Street),
10 on Barboi, 44 on Uli{a Ruseasca, 16 on Ulija Veche
(Old Street), and 43 on Ulija Hagioaiei. No Jewish fami
lies lived in any of the 18 residential quarters and main
streets of the town. The 171 families owned 13 houses and
144 shops; none owned a tavern. Of the shops owned by
Jews, 12 were on Ulija Mare, 44 on Ulita Ruseasca, 10 on
Barboi, 16 on Ulija Veche, 8 on Ulija Tirgul Fainei (Flour
Townlet Street), 43 on Ulija Hagioaiei, and 6 on Ulita
Strimba (Crooked Street) and Ulija Sirbeasca (Serbian
Street). For the most part, the Jewish families lived where
their shops were located.
Unfortunately, the Catagraphy of 1774 did not identify the
Jews among the foreign subjects, although there were
many. The only mentioned subjects were the 113
Armenian families owning six houses and 75 shops. Still,
even though it was incomplete, the Catagraphy recorded
the contribution of the allogenous people to the economic
and commercial development of the town and the sur
rounding area; in 1774 it had 934 houses, 695 shops and
68 taverns. The document's omission of foreign subjects
and those who had no fiscal obligations make it difficult to
evaluate population and economic power of the most
important town in Moldavia.
Through the end of the 18th century, there were several
accounts by foreign travelers about Jassy and its popula
tion. Most of these were referred to in studies by M.
Costachescu, RP. Panaitescu, Gh. Platon and Ecaterina
Negruti. Among internal sources, on the other hand, we
have an 1803 document that is important to our problem. It
is Condica Vistieriei Moldovei pe sfertul octombrie 1803
(Register of the Moldavian Treasury in the First Quarter of
October 1803), published by Theodor Codrescu in his col
lection Uricariul under the title Condica liuzilor (People's
Register). By giving it that name, Codrescu clearly indicat ed the number of Gypsies and servants belonging to the
ed that he intended to use it as a register of the inhabitants
(liude) of Moldavia-i.e., a catagraphy.
The treasury compiled four quarterly registers each year.
This one included year-to-year changes as well as quarterto-quarter changes, which gave the treasury a fairly accu
rate picture of the number of taxpayers and the economic
stateof the villages and towns. The treasury categorized
each village as rich, average or poor; this, plus the resi
dents' jobs, formed the basis of the tribute levied on the
village by the treasury. It was paid in cisla (in common),
with the community taking into account the number of
people in each household, the number of cattle it owned,
and the size of its vineyards. A vineyard possessed by
adscripts was viewed as quasi-property.
After 1831, when the Organic Statutesprovided for the
declaration of goods, it was no longer necessary for catagraphies to mention the economic state of villages. We can
presumethat before 1803 there was a catagraphy of
Moldavia on which the Treasury based its registers, and
that this is what Codrescu named Condica liuzilor. Such
registers still exist-one from 1814, and one from 1827.
Condica liuzilor, which is in the Library of the Romanian
Academy, is not much differentfrom the Catagraphy of
1774. It lists the same streets in Jassy, and includes only
the residents who were obliged to pay the tribute. It also
gives the number of people who were absolved of fiscal
obligations and the names of those who absolved them..
The document lists 3,199 family heads, which enables us
to estimate the population of Jassy at the beginning of the
century at approximately 16,000. The same source states
that Jassy had 367 Jewish families and 532 families of for
eign subjects. The appearance of consulates in the capital
of Moldavia caused a spectacular increase in the number
of foreign subjects, including many natives who wanted to
avoid the abuses of the local administration. The 532 Sudit
families included 232 Russian Christian families and 141
Jewish families. The total of 508 Jewish families account
19
landlords. The figures are approximate, since it was impos
sible for the messengers of the treasury to enter the land
lords yards. The treasury instructed its men to be cautious
at the courts or properties of the landlords, and to get the
figures mostly from the people's accounts. Records of the
private Gypsies showed which landlord's court or
monastery they belonged to-so, indirectly, we learn of the
masters who were usually not recorded in the statistic doc
uments. The 1808 register was also the earliest known
document to record the total number of inhabitants-not
only the taxpaying heads of families. Consequently, the
figures of 3,307 families and 16,410 people appear to be
close to the actual population.
In 1808 the growth rate of the Jewish population was accel
eratingpartlybecause of natural increase and partly
because of immigration from Galicia and Podolia. In 1808,
according to the register, 452 Jewish families with 1,926
people had fiscal obligations to the state. There were 80
merchants, 71 craftsmen, 20 journeymen, 4 apprentices,
104 servants, and 22 people with other occupations. The
variety of vocations among the Jewish populationshould
not surprise us; the 1808 document recorded 429 merchants
in 23 differenttrades and 1,125 artisans in 77 differentjobs.
To the above figures on the Jewish population in 1808, we
must add 53 Jewish families with 261 people who were
Russian subjects, and 147 families with 682 people who
were Austrian subjects. The foreign subjects also included
nine French families with 61 people. The figures suggest
that the Jewish population increased by 20%.
An important source on the population of Moldavia is the
Catagraphy of 1820. It was compiled during a time of
widespread public dissatisfaction and unrest in the princi
pality. Scarlat Alexandra Calimachi's reign ended on June
20, 1819, leaving a treasury weakened by the tax dodging
of a population alienated by the arbitrary way in which the
tribute was established and raised. The abuses of the
There is also a register from 1808 named Scrierea
administration were exposed in complaints to Caimacamia
(the Prince's substitute) and then to the Moldavian Prince
Mihai Sutu, whose reign began October 29 of that year.
sufletelorsi afamiliilor a starii de gios din targul Esi
(Recording of the People and Families of the Poor in the
Town of Jassy). It recorded only the poor inhabitants of
Jassy, and it had no tables (the existing table was created
The Catagraphy of 1820 was not very different from pre
vious documents of this type. It omitted those who were
exempt from paying imposts, and added a greater coeffi
cient of error for the massive tax dodging. In a letter dated
by the archivists of Jassy to make research easier).
February 15, 1820, the treasurer Iordachi Roznovanu
Compiled in April 15, 1808, it had many features in com
mon with the Catagraphy of 1774. For example, after each
person's name, it gave his occupation; this eventually
became the family name, which possibly was used by the
Russian army. Such statistical tables may have existed for
other towns and small towns in Moldavia; if so, they were
lost during the great fire in 1827 in Jassy.
wrote that one of the abuses "les plus desastreaux qui se
remarquaient sous le gouvernement precedent etait la
multiplicite des letters d'affranchissement d'import", and
that this category included only the richest taxpayers. He
emphasized that in the Putna district alone there were
2,500 absolved families who were ordered to pay im
Unlike other catagraphies, the register of 1808 also record
as well.
ed for one-sixth of the families living in the capital.
posts, and that the situation was similar in other districts
20
Despite the lack of accurate records, it is certain that Jassy
experienced a significant increase in population and that
the increase was much greater among Jews and foreign
subjects than among other categories. The number of
craftsmen also increased, as did the number of practiced
professions-which jumped from 77 in 1808 to 87 in 1820.
The native Jews included 664 family heads, of whom there
were 63 merchants, 235 artisans, 35 journeymen, and 43 in
other professions such as kosher butchers, coachmen,
French teachers, etc. The foreign subjects included 1,145
family heads, of whom there were 105 merchants, 347 arti
sans, 63 journeymen, and 27 in other professions. Among
the foreign subjects were 489 Jewish families, of whom
141 were Russian subjects, 294 were German, 50 were
Prussianand 4 were French. Of the 4,166 families having
fiscal obligations to the state in Jassy in 1820,1,153 fami
lies were Jewish-more than a quarter of the total.
Most of the Jewish families in Jassy lived in the trading
area-187 in the Lower Town, 126 in Brosteni, 139 in the
Hagioaia residential quarter, 154 in Majilor, 125 in
Muntenimele, 60 in Podul Vechi and 57 in Barboi. A gen
eral abstract of Moldavia from 1820 provides similar sta
tistics for the Jewish population of Jassy: 1,050 families
with fiscal obligations amounting to 3,000 lei; of these,
770 families were foreign subjects.
pation, etc.-and, for some, information about their parents,
in-laws and children. Most of them resided in towns and
small towns.
In 1825, by order of Ion Sandu Sturdza, a catagraphy was
made of all inhabitants of Moldavia. All that remains in
the archives, however, is a general abstract completed in
1826. The abstract is convincing proof that the 1825
recording was not limited to fiscal categories; it included
those "without tribute"-i.e., landlords, Gypsies and clergy
men. The population of Moldavia between the Prat River
and the Carpathians was estimated at 1,115,325, including
about 25,000 Jews. More than three-quarters of the Jews
(3,779 families) lived in towns; the rest (1,142 families)
settled in villages. Jassy had 1,050 Jewish families of the
5,000 in the entire principality, which meant that they rep
resented a little more than 20% of the total population.
Their fiscal obligations for three months totaled 4,398 lei.
More than 1,000 families were foreign subjects.
The investigations into the absolved landlords, who out
numbered the taxpayers, produced a number of statistical
works on fiscal categories. Some of these have been pre
served and used for comparative purposes with subsequent
catagraphies.
Up to 1831, when the first demographic statistics conform
ing to the Organic Statutes were completed, many such
On May 24, 1823, the new native prince, Ion Sandu
Sturdza, ordered a new catagraphy to be made. Its purpose
studies were made. They were plentiful in the 1828-30
was "the correction of setting the tribute and the correction
of the absolved lawful members of guilds and servants of
anybody, and other good decisions and laws for the com
mon welfare". Thus, this catagraphy not only had a finan
cial interest; it was meant to be a documentary basis for
they were made for the Russian armies of occupation.
period of the Russian-Turkish war, which indicates that
Allowing for errors, these documents were close to the
actual demographics of Jassy at that time.
The archives of institutions subordinate to the treasury-the
"other good decisions and laws". For this reason, the prince legislature and the district prefects-contain an important
asked those charged with its implementation to investigate number of files and registers from the census and statisti
cal work performed by these bodies during 1828-30.At the
carefully and inform the court about "robberies and other
time, there was a great deal of correspondence among the
oppressions suffered by inhabitants from high officials of
institutions
in regard to demographic problems. The basic
the districts or from anyone else'.' Unfortunately, who were
sources
used
by treasury employees in setting and collect
entrusted with this work-the landlords-were themselves
ing
imposts
included
lists of landlords, the census registers
the major tax dodgers, so they procrastinated. Ion Sandu
of
the
privileged,
guild
members, servants, foreign sub
Sturdza, who had threatened to use the sword and mace
jects, Jews-plus complaints of those dissatisfied with the
against the recalcitrant landlords when he became prince,
fiscal category to which they were assigned.
sent a new order on October 9, 1824, in which he set a
deadline of October 25. The catagraphy was finished in
A bulky file from 1828, containing lists of "numbers of
1824, but was completely destroyed by the fire of 1827.
inhabitants living in towns, guild members, servants, the
Other documents indicate the importance assigned to it: a
absolved, tribute payers and all other strata living there
committee in Jassy coordinated the work, and each district
with their names and nicknames',' is another source on the
had a committee that cooperated with the prefect and the
populations of the towns and small towns of Moldavia. Put
together in a very short time, it does not offer much infor
mation. According to the file, Jassy had 424 families of
highest financial official.
In the state archives of Jassy is a very important register
from 1824with an accounting of foreign subjects. The
work was begun in 1822 but the time it took to investigate
each person and his documents postponed its completion
until 1824.The catagraphy recorded names and nick-
names, place of origin, date of arrival in thecountry, occu
foreign subjects in the residential quarters of
"Muntenimea," Tatara§i, Brosteni and Feredeile, and 634
Jewish families of whom 254 were in Muntenime, 132 in
Tatarasj, 174 in Brosteni and 74 in Feredeile.
21
This 1828 file was compiled by employees of the district
administrations and, in Jassy, by the police, to fill in miss
ing information that had been lost the previous year or had
The treasury worked out rales based on those in Wallachia,
appointed committees for each district, printed forms, gave
the committees the population documents in its archives,
not been sent in. Since the file contributed to the 1828
and set deadlines.
abstract for the principality, it contains the same figures
mentioned above: 424 families of foreign subjects and 634
Jewish families.
The committees that worked on the catagraphy in 1831-32
left 650 files of correspondence, the original registers of
districts, towns and small towns, and various summaries.
For the years 1829-30, documents included a new category The lists prepared by landowners give an indication of the
called statistical sciences. Two of these documents are
socio-economic status of the villages before the reforms
especially important sources of information on the popula
were applied. The activity of the committees was periodi
tion of Jassy. One was made for the Russian administration cally checked by treasury representatives, and even by the
headed by General P.D. Kisselev. The accompanying
minister of finance, Alexandra Sturdza, who sent orders on
report of the legislature dated September 1, 1830,
how to act in various cases. These orders show that the
addressed to Kisselev, noted that the population statistics
committee members favored some landlords by not record
for the towns and small towns of Moldavia were based on
previous catagraphies; new information from prefect
offices would be sent in later.
Of the 3,646 foreign subjects in Moldavia, 1,772 lived in
Jassy; of the 7,535 Jews, 4,138 lived in Jassy. Only the
administrative residences of the prefect offices were
recorded as towns; the other urban settlements were
recorded as small towns. Some small towns were not
recorded at all, such as Sulijoaia, (Botosani district),
Namoloasa (Covurlui), Tg. Frumusjca (Harlau)-even
though their prefect offices sent in the necessary docu
ments. The figures in this statistic work (with the excep
tion of the total for Jassy, given as 59,880) were the same
as those in the second document, "Summing Up the
Statistical Sciences of the Town of Jassy"
The latter document is a comprehensive statistical picture
of Jassy in 1830. It recorded 7,437 houses, 4,274 small
shops, 10 monasteries, 48 churches (Orthodox, Armenian,
Catholic, Lutheran and Mosaic), many workshops and
shops, 274 landlords, and all fiscal categories except for
merchants and craftsmen. It set the total population at
37,047. Every one of the 21 streets or residential quarters
mentioned in the document contained at least one family
of foreign subjects or Jews. The 4,138 Jews were concen
trated in Tg. Cucului (496), Ulita Sf. Vineri (499), Ulija
Tg. de Jos (498), the Brosteni quarter (499), the de pe Iaz
quarter (346) and Podul Lung (296). The 1,772 foreign
subjects were grouped mainly in the Tg. Cucului area
(196), Podul Lung (168), Podul Vechi (156) and Tg. de
Sus (155).
Five synagogues or Jewish schools were located on Sf.
Vineri, Cacaina, Tg. de Sus, Rufeni and Tatarasj; they had
about 350 fathoms of land for the buildings and their
cemeteries. Jassy also had a new residential quarter named
Mahalaua with 149 Jews and 59 foreign subjects.
Beginning in 1831, the catagraphies were compiled
according to provisions in the Organic Statutes concerning
the taxation systemand the administrative organization.
The first septennial census took place in February 1831.
ing "all the souls means to be recorded"
The orders also called attention to people "who we not set
tled or are jobless" and who worked for various masters;
their names were unknown in the past, even though they
filled the landlords' yards and courts. The committees were
instructed to record "all souls, and then the others like ser
vants, butlers, coachmen, gardeners, house domestics,
those married and who are paid for different jobs, either in
courts or outside, and to note the names of the landlords
they served'.' The committees were repeatedly advised not
to omit anything, since the catagraphy was an official doc
ument and therefore should record all those who had jobs
and were members of corporations, as well as the farmers
who lived in towns.
This first statutory catagraphy was especially important
because it was to be the main source for subsequent sur
veys. In Jassy, the committee recorded useful information
such as whether a master had a shop or worked at home,
whether he rented or owned the shop, whether he worked
alone or with others. There were also some details about
journeymen and servants who worked in small shops. The
word "apprentice" was used only once, since it was not in
widespread use; the concept was expressed by the word
"servant". It was seldom shown who a journeyman worked
for, but it is plausible to assume that he worked for the
master who was listed in the records before him. Most of
the masters were corporation with up to eight journeymen,
making clothes or feeding the town. There was consider
able specialization in all branches of activity, expressed by
the great number of corporations: more than 90 specialities
involving 5,609 masters.
The orders were very specific concerning the minority
population. For example: "In the chart marked "S" are to
be recorded all townspeople who pay tribute, and the Jews
or other merchants as well, belonging to any nation, who
have a trade or other job, having shops or not". There were
also minute details about foreign subjects: name, parents'
names, nickname, place of residence, trade or occupation,
etc. Foreign subjects were divided into three categories:
22
1.Those natives who are under foreign protection;
2. Those foreigners who were born in Turkey, settled in
Moldavia, and are under foreign protection;
3. Those coming from abroad, having proof of their citi
zenship.
The 1831 statistics for Jassy compiled from many files and
registers, indicate a population of about 45,000-50,000
people. These included 1,123 foreign subjects-685
Of the 1,345 foreign subjects, 369 were merchants and 654
were artisans. The 1,326 Jewish merchants and traders
included 161 petty traders, 68 publicans, 58 sellers of alco
holic drinks, 21 mediators, 10 haberdashers, 2 dealers in
cotton fabric, 27 peddlers, 2 timber dealers, 15 merchants
of luxury items from Leipzig, 5 tobacconists, 46 brokers, 4
billiard hall owners, 22 butchers, 22 dealers of animal legs,
Austrians, 100 Prussians, 60 French, 232 Russians and 46
16 landowners and other capitalists, 6 glass sellers, 20
journeymen dealers, 1 cook, 1 barrel manufacturer, 2 deal
British. It is difficult to discern how many of them were
ers in women's winter dresses, 1 confectioner, 1 furrier,
Romanians, Jews or other ethnics, since there were no
114 tailors, 73 shoemakers, 12 capmakers, 1 caramel con
fectioner, 3 lantern makers, 4 bathhouse attendants, 6 jew
elers, 2 carpenters, 9 stone masons, 2 bread bakers, 41
glass manufacturers, 3 saddle dealers, 11 adze carpenters,
7 house painters, 3 dyers, 3 clockmakers, 5 tinsmiths, 5
silver jewelers, 6 braziers, 23 fur cap makers, 3 book
binders, 2 hat makers, 5 cotton makers, 14 rack wagon
owners and 143 journeymen and servants.
details of this kind. The "Catagraphy of Foreign Subjects
in Towns and Small Towns", covering Moldavia between
the Carpathians and the Prat River in 1831, notes that
there were 3,063 family heads-of whom more than one-
third lived in Jassy. We lack an account of the Jewish pop
ulation in 1831, but there are statistics from 1832 that
show how attractive the Moldavian capital was to the
allogenous population. At that time, Jassy was a strong
trading center with a solid base of crafts. Another docu
ment, concerning the entire principality, reinforces this pic
ture: of the 5,602 merchants, 857 lived in Jassy; of the
5,080 artisans, 926 lived in the capital.
Prior to the appearance of the next catagraphy in 1838,
other documentary sources provided information on the
Jewish population of Jassy. When the town's administra
tion planned to pave 17 of the main streets in 1833, it initi
ated a special survey of the houses, workshops and shops.
The documents related to the first official catagraphy pro
vide some explanation for the peasants' uprisings in 1831.
They show the abuses of the high officials who perpetuat
ed the tax dodging by failing to record many people. At
On the streets C.A. Rosetti and Ghica Voda, 54 of the 115
the beginning of 1832, there were 138,611 recorded heads
of families; the survey completed in November 1832
Cizmariei, 4 of 30 (13%); on Unirea, Universitatea Veche,
Gh. Marzescu, C. Negri, and col. Langa, 13 of 120 were
counted 152,401 heads of families.
Jewish (10%).
The Organic Statutes made important progress in adopting
Between 1832 and 1838, the treasury was confronted with
complaints from the people, which made them change
some things in the next catagraphy.
periodic catagraphies, a characteristic of the modem cen
sus. The organizing structure, the orders, the committees,
the printed forms, the publicizingof the project, and the
publishing of the results synthesized the experience in the
Romanian principalities in the 18th century and in the first
decades of the 19th.
In 1832, a survey was made of all 40 towns and small
towns, using a special printed form. It was triggered by an
exceptional situation: the epidemic cholera of 1831, which
claimed 1,783 victims in Jassy alone. The files contain the
correspondence and a very relevant statistical chart. The
population of Jassy was given as 48,148, plus an estimated
1,000-1,500 temporary residents. The 1,345 foreign sub
jects included 715 Austrians, 70 French, 109 Prussians,
303 Russians and 68 British. The 11,612 Jews accounted
for about 23% of the population. Jassy had 5,704 houses,
20 monasteries, 43 churches (39 Orthodox, 1 Armenian,
OneCatholic, oneLutheran, one United and 5 synagogues
or Jewish schools), 11 mills, 33 factories and 13 distil
leries. Jassy had an active population; in addition to the
5,609 traders and artisans mentioned in the catagraphy of
1831, the 1832 statistical project counted 11,185 journey
men, people without specific jobs, and servants.
houses and shops were Jewish (i.e., 47%); on Anastasie
Penu, 22 of 77 (28%); on Cuza Voda and Elena Doamna,
16 of 72 (22%); on I.C. Bratianu, 22 of 156 (14%); on
Documents related to the catagraphy of 1838 illuminate
the new methods for collecting data and taxes, the abuses
of committee members, the flight of peasants from one set
tlement to another because of the infractions of some
landowners, the changes in fiscal categories, and the largescale tax dodging by natives who became foreign subjects.
Contrary to expectations, the 1838 catagraphy had short
comings similar to those in previous years, even though
the authorities gave explicit orders not to pass over the
allogenous population. The 678 heads of families of for
eign subjects included 14 Russians, 452 Austrians, 115
Prussians, 43 French, 29 British and 25 Greeks. Of these,
46 were natives, 79 came from Turkey as foreign subjects,
and the rest arrived from different European countries with
proof citizenship. An 1839 abstract concerning taxes to be
paid by artisans and journeymen mentions that there were
3,675 heads of Jewish families in Jassy involved in trading
and crafts; they had to pay 220,500 lei to the state, almost
a half of the 518,418 lei paid in the 13 districts of
Moldavia and Jassy.
During the years 1838-44, new problems arose for those
who compiled the fiscal accounts, in addition to the con
tinuing organizational deficiencies. The Gypsies and cler
gymen who were exempted from tribute by priests and
privileged people had to be settled in towns or villages.
Some small villages with families were merged into larger
communities. Some people did not have specific jobs;
some people moved from one estate to another or to towns
in order to escape their obligations to landlords; new
towns appeared. The treasury began working on the catag
raphy 1844, starting in Jassy.
The catagraphy of 1845 holds special importance for us.
The methodology was not uniform throughout the princi
pality; statistics were drawn from many situations and doc
umented in Many files.62 The population of Jassy was
estimated at nearly 63,000 inhabitants (using the common
formula of multiplying the number of families times 5);
nearly 50% were Jewish. These included 1,188 native mer
chants and 1,620 native artisans; 995 foreign subjects
wanted it to be done earlier, for two reasons. First, he
wanted the "setting of the tribute" to start at the beginning
of 1852. Second, he wanted to hasten the resolution of
"the needs and hardships suffered by some villages, espe
cially those with smaller populations'.' So from May 30,
1851, he ordered that the work begin as soon as possible.
The forms were printed at the Albina Institute and distrib
uted to the committees along with the state order.
The 1851 catagraphy represented a degree of progress, due
largely to the contributions of specialists such as N. Sut,u
and C. Negrazi, the manager of the treasury. The activity
produced a rich documentary record; unfortunately, much
of it-the census registers and the abstracts-disappeared.
Some of the missing material can be reconstructed from
other documents, giving us an idea of the population of
Jassy. In 1851, there were 1,349 native artisans who
worked in 23 professional branches, and more than 800
merchants. Of 5,936 Jewish families, only 532 (fewer than
10%) were foreign subjects; 3,195 worked in 35 trading
worked in these fields, while 197 worked in other fields.
Of the 6,178 Jewish heads of families, 5,160 were traders
branches and 69 crafts.
or craftsmen.
Austrians, 175 Prussians, 34 French, 32 British and 194
the leadership of Ion Ionescu de la Brad. At that time, a
memorable one in Romanian history, Jassy had a popula
tion of 65,745. Among the heads of families were 3,024
artisans, 462 traders, 1,092 foreign subjects and 6,865
Greeks) were advocates (3), architects (4), chemists (19),
Jews. There were 34,183 men and 31,562 women, includ
The allogenous population was an important part of the
economy. The 995 foreign subjects (78 Russians, 482
clockmakers (2), sculptors (2), engineers, teachers of for
eign languages, doctors, milliners, guitar teachers, dance
teachers, house painters, musicians, singing teachers, piano
teachers, pianists, booksellers, pubowners, shoemakers,
coachmen, locksmiths, confectioners, jewelers, silver jew
elers, torch makers, writers, coachmakers, etc.
Of the Jewish families, 785 were foreign subjects and
5,393 had dual loyalties. All of the heads were artisans or
merchants, active in 23 branches.
The tax obligations of foreign subjects and Jews were dif
ferent from those of the natives, who paid in proportion to
the volume of their business. Even though the foreign sub
jects paid the same taxes as did the natives, they were
absolved from many obligations that could have reduced
the profitability of their businesses. For the Jews, the situa
tion was more complicated; they had a separate fiscal
regime and paid taxes in a special manner.
An important 1849 document was the "Abstract of
Authorized Merchants and Artisans with their Journeymen,
and of Escaped Greek Serbian-Bulgarians from over the
Danube, and of Jews from the Towns of the Principality".
The information does not change much of what we already
knew about Jassy: 2,000 native artisans and merchants,
and 4,528 Jews. The number of Jews in Jassy was almost
half the total (10,509) in the other 43 Moldavian towns.
The catagraphy for the fourth period was to be made in
1852. However, the new prince, Grigore Alexandra Ghica,
23
The last census-a modern one-was made in 1859 under
ing 3,300 foreign subjects and 30,460 Jews (about 46% of
the total). A "chart of the merchants in Jassy" lists 469
natives, 533 foreign subjects and 2,998 Jews. The taxes
paid by these 4,000 traders in three months brought the
treasury 92,790 lei.
The foregoing data prove that during the century from
1755 to 1860, the demographics of Jassy made notable
progress. During that time, Jassy became an important
trading and craft center which attracted the allogenous
population. Foreign subjects arrived in the Romanian prin
cipalities mostly after 1774 when the monopoly of the
Ottoman economy was loosened; their presence increased
after the 1829 declaration of liberty for foreign trade. The
new economic importance of Moldavia and Wallachia
made the Romanian territory a focus of interest for the
great powers, who saw it as an attractive source of trade.
When the principalities' agricultural production was chan
neled into trading, a sizable population of foreign mer
chants and artisans appeared in Romanian towns; together
with the natives, they contributed to the establishment of
contacts abroad and to economic prosperity at home.
From the data, we can see that the principality's highest per
centages of foreign subjects and Jews were in Jassy. Their
presencewas also advantageous from a social perspective.
Among the foreign subjectsand Jews were architects,teach
ers, engineers, artists and lawyers who contributed to the
cultural development of the Moldavian capital, and were
easily integrated into the Romanian way of life.
24
Jewish Communal Leaders from the Town of ROMAN, 1943*
Name
Age
Rorhlich Leon
44
Profession
Bacau
Dozemberg ?aciricus
64
Horovitz, Josif
58
Dacher Josif
65
doctor
Istein Iulius
65
merchant
Leibovici Iosef
46
39
61
Iancovici Iosef
Schwartz,Izrael
Actual Domicile
Number & Street
Petrodova 8
Miron Costin 61
PetruRares8
Place of Origin
Industrialist
Bacau
Iasiz
Siret (Bucovina)
cor. Mogosesti jud. Roman
'
Roman
Roman
Bogdan Dragos 6
2
Roman
3
'
Stein Iosif
Rozen Ian
47
furrier
Botosani
Sucedova 143
Stefan Cel Mare
KatzLezier
44
merchant
BateniBalsjud. Roman
Aprodul Arbore30
Fuchs Moise
59
Bena Tecuci
Stefan Cel Mare 42
45
Reznic Meier
48
doctor
calorasi (Capcom) Basarobai
Sucedava 174
Schweitzer Weloet
45
accountant
Roman
Laufer, Dejvid
Bercova Vigder
45
Agt on comm.
brief/bero cie?
56
52
merchant
dentist
Roman
PinslerIsaac (Iaricu)
56
merchant
Buzolanci Iosub
44
doctor
Roman
?tape THascal
?tape?
?tape
?tape?
?tape?
33
doctor
Roman
41
doctor
Roman
Stefan cel Mare 232
Stefan Cel Mare 232
Stefan Cel Mare 197
Stefan Cel Mare 213
Stafan Cel Mare 186
Stefan Cel Mare 169
Stefan Cel Mare 135
Sucedava 145
Stefan Cen Mare 251
Stefan Cel Mare 29?
Gh. Asache 3
Gh.ASache3
I.C. Brateanu 3
36
doctor
dentist
doctor
Barajud. Roman
Podul Iloaei jud. Iasi
Todiestijud. Vaslui
Radauti (Bucovina)
Caza Vada 4
J.C. Brateanu 5
Stefan Cel Mare 29
Bran or Brau Lubu?
Daniel Mauriciu
Knitel Moise Marcel
47
36
Kessler Bernhard
47
Kessler Iosif
Neuman D. Meier
45
53
Friedman Oscar
Ghetnerlacob
Abraham Iosef
43
35
Roman
-
Bucresti
merchant
Harba (Botosani)
merchant
merchant
Roman
dentist
Botosani
Chisinau
Roman
40
32
39
t
Asprodul Arbore34
Stefan Cel Mare 145
Sucedciva 76
Stefan eel Mare 139
Roman
merchant
Observations
l
2
2
2
'
2
'
Dr.Kiegler7
Aproducil Arbore 22
Carmen Sylva 2
Roman
Roman
Leizer Bercu
36
Roman
Leiba Moise
36
Roman
Alexanre Lahovare 1
Leiedava 161
Moser Gluck
38
Guta Heimaratan (Bucovina)
CazaVoia 9
*TABEL NUMINAL from Fond 7633, Folder 1compiled and according with (? the ruling) 12 S741 from June 1943 bythe Regional Police of IASI
t The original table contained alimited listing for "function performed for the Jewish community'.'
1Didn't belong to any political party
2Belonged to the Masonic league Progresul
3Member ofthe National Peasant Party
Misc. - Piatra Neamt
#
1
3
2
4
5
6
7
8
Name
Age Profession
Katz Hascal
60
Iancovici Cheudel
Wexler, Mendel
Abramovici, Lazar
38
53
48
Origin
County
Address
PiatraNeamt
Neamt
M. Cagoluneanu 54 Not active in pol.
Accountant
Piatra Neamt
Neamt
Cal. Loznoraim
merchant
Tg. Neamt
Neamt
Sublet Gh. Papa
furrier
Dorohoi
Dorohoi
Casa Vada
merchant
Calmanovici Ianna
Calbeci, Iani
44
merchant
52
Lumber merchant
Piatra Neamt
Piatra Neamt
Neamt
Neamt
Cal. Roznoraiu
B. Co escu
Ipcar Felix
41
Office worker
PiatraNeamt
Neamt
C. Sparce
David HS.
Salemonzis/
Salamonica
46
Fara
Piatra Neamt
Neamt
CuzVada
#
Political activity
30
4
138 Idem
13
26
296
Idem
25
List of delegates who collected for the Zionist organization Keren Hayessod, 1940
County/Judetul
Name of the delegate
Falticeni
D?na Rosa Bresis
Region
Whole country
Falticeni
D-l S. Rosenblatt Roda
idem
46
Falticeni
D-l av. B. Schacter
idem
47
Nr. Of Permit
41
Falticeni
D-ling. Ionas Spindel
idem
49
Falticeni
D-l dr. H. Ivanier
idem
50
Falticeni
D-l Michel Leiba
idem
51
Falticeni
D-l av. M. Rubin
idem
48
Falticeni
D-l av. S. Rosenhaupt
D-l dr. Imannuel Olsvanger
idem
126
Falticeni
idem
125
?Falticeni
H. Coiler
Iasi county
13?
"Falticeni
C. Sterman
Besarabia
51
?Falticeni
H. Landa
•i
?Falticeni
Dr. P. Baltan
•I
?Falticeni
it
?Falticeni
G. Cogan
M. Sterenberg
?Falticeni
S. Polomovski
ii
53
55
54
ii
56
57
11 Dec 1941: Members of the HUSI Jewish community
#
Name
Position
Age
i
Sternberg User
President
Profession
Place of Origin
36
36
Doctor
Husi
Attorney
Husi
Tailor
Merchant
Husi
Dranceni
Farac.
Epureni Falciu
40
Attorney
Husi
68
Merchant
Husi
40
Tailor
Husi
2
Carniol Hers
Vice President
3
Apfelbaum Moisa
ii
4
Seiton Saul
Gesier
58
53
5
Brand Herman
Membra
39
6
it
7
Segal Daniel
Cesner, Moise
8
Michel Nucham zis Natan Mihalovice
9
Cupferberg, Saul
Steinberg, Carol
10
12
Volf OisieHerscu
Barac Herman
13
14
Greisler Simon
Bichman Haim
15
Iticevici Berou
11
•t
"
H
ii
ti
Cenzor
ti
ti
ti
33
Merchant
Codnesti Vaslui
38
Tailor
Husi/Negrecti/Vaslui
Negresti Vaslui
48
B rater
57
Merchant
Husi
50
C?ssor
Vatra Dornii
30
Comerc
Husi
32
Comerc
Husi
The Jewish community of Tirgul Frumos
#
Name
i
Freitag Solomon
2
5
Froim Nachman
Matius Catz
Feldzohn Moise
Caufman Iancu
6
Moise I. Moise
3
4
7
Postelnicu Lazar
8
9
10
11
Beren H. Beer
Mareu L. Alter
12
I. Leib Cunea
13
Barehat, Faibis
Popper Iosef
Braunstein David
Place of Origin
Harta Dorohoi
Tg. Frumos
Tg. Frumos
Domicile
Profession
Age
65
Verdeanu 3
Liber
C. Voda 144
Liber
6?
Avram Iancu
Liber
45
Iasi
Avram Iancu
Merchant
55
Tut. Severin
Gh. Cejbuc
Merchant
46
Tg. Frumos
Tg. Frumos
Lespeni
Tg. Frumos
Tg. Frumos
Tg. Frumos
Tg. Frumos
CVoda
Merchant
60
C.Voda
Merchant
Merchant
Merchant
Doctor
52
Podul Iloaei
Verdeanu
A. Iancu
60
46
C.Voda
A.Iancu
A.Iancu
Merchant
54
Liber
74
C.Voda
Merchant
38
35
26
14 Dec 1941: members of the IASI Jewish community
#
1
Name
Iosef Iacob
Place of origin
Old Kingdom
2
D. Grinberg
idem
B. Fischer
4
D. Fruhling
Smil Jagher
H. Stralovici
Isac Popper
8
Domicile
Profession
Age
Sf.Teodor4
C. Voda 23
Industrialist
40
Stefan c. Mare 10
Lozcunchi 6
Palat 43
Brateanu 25
E. Doamna 47
Saulescu 1
C. Voda 6
Rosatty 31
10
11
M. Moscovici
Refill Pocher
L. Marcusohn
A. Hahaun
12
Pincu Segal
Sf. Lazar 47
Peamt51
13
14
15
B. Glantz
Aizin Itic
N.I. Rainobici
Pantelimon 12
16
17
18
19
H. Ghelman
Aron Kaiserman
M. Bercovici
Martin Velt
20
I. Rosenhaupt
Old Kingdom
21
22
23
Aron Stivel
Rafail Haim
M. Salmovici
Basarabia-resided in Iasi 20+ years
Old Kingdom
24
M. Segal
25
26
D. Mitelman
Isac Moscu
27
28
Ionel Fruhling
Iasif Segall
29
30
31
32
L. Lebeibovici
Lazar Klimer
Laon Haimovici
Pincu Lazar
33
Bamoil Baghian
34
S. Frachtman
35
Aron Siegler
36
Saul Fattlich
37
N.I. Braunstein
38
Maior H. Rapaport
39
40
Sami Kaizerman
Adolf Katz
41
Aron Avram (Abramovici)
42
43
Daniel Marcus
Berman David
44
45
46
47
48
49
Die Mandelzen
Smil Waldman
Iosef Haimovici
Sam. Sayan
Iosef Alter
Carol Pizio
G. Negri 53
Tratuanu 14
Basarabia-resided in Iasi 20+ years
Old Kingdom
Sendu 1
Ipsilante 17
Old Kingdom
Brateanu 154
Bucovina-resided in Iasi 20+ years
Cucu 12
Dentist
51
Doctor
Doctor
51
55
Merchant
55
Merchant
66
Procuniat
63
Attorney
48
Landlord
75
Landlord
64
Industrialist
59
Merchant
Merchant
Industrialist
Profesor
Doctor
65
71
76
40
47
Isdustrias
Doctor
Farmacist
49
am. Panu 72
Attorney
40
Nemteasca 2
Merchant
46
Brateanu 112
Merchant
Marzesen 16
C. Vada 73
C Vada 20
Attorney
43
37
Socola 36
45
58
Doctor
34
Attorney
49
Merchant
Industrialist
Doctor
Industrialist
Industrialist
41
50
El. Doamria 17
Merchant
47
An. Panu 6
Landlord
65
El. Doamria 33
El. Doazma 33
Gh. Voda 43
Sf. Sava 14
Merchant
42
Industrialist
67
Saulesen 2
Saulesen 17
Piata Halei
Piata Halei
S-dela Golia
C. Voda 19
Gl. Gerchek 2
Col. Langa 3
V. Lupu 98
C. Negri 37
52
48
46
Merchant
54
Merchant
41
Proprieter
67
Doctor pens.
68
Merchant
Merchant
50
44
Industrialist
Industrialist
63
63
C. Negri 17
Merchant
Sf. Lazar 20
Industrialist
Merchant
Industrialist
53
63
C. Negri 28
C. Voda 20
C. Voda 3
Padurei 12
Zmau6
82
34
Landlord
51
Procurist
44
Procurist
46
27
Jewish Community, compiled by the police of Pascani
1890
Name
Position
Age
B. Herscovici
Smil Brisler
M. Ghemer
President
41
Attorney
Place of Origin
com Sufesti jud. Roman
Vice Presedint
41
Merchant
Etusman
65
Merchant
Roman
Lupu Herscovici
Member
48
42
Merchant
Pespegi
cobbler
Pascani
Profession
David Svartz
Moise Saifer
treasurer
39
Merchant
Saului jud. Dorohoi
Smil Leib Casmara zis L. Lujoivici
Member
Leon Iosub
Haim Herscu Cohen
47
49
Merchant
Merchant
Mihelileui jud. Dorohi
Ruginoasa J. Baia
43
Merchant
Pascani
Iancu Moige Segal
39
Merchant
Pascani
Avram H. Leizerovici
39
Iancu S. Marcus
68
Merchant
Merchant
Husi jud. Falciu
com. 6 Tuiculujud Tecuci
Officers of the Jewish communities of:
BACAU
Name
Grad Misu - Industrialist
Abromovici Misu - Industrialist
Herman Brill - Inustrias
Age
Place of Origin and Domicile"
46
Bacua: Bacau str. Nelel No. 5
48
8
Nachmansohn David - Industrialist
Aizicovici Iacob - Industrialist
Mendelovici Marcu - merchant
42
Moinesti: Bacau Cristoveanu No. 5
Bacau: Bacau Alex, cel Bun 13
Constanta: Bacau G-l Prezan No. 8
Bacau: Bacau D. Cantemir No. 5
Bacau: Bacau C. Marasesti No. 24
Braila: Bacau Florilor No. 34
Braila: Bacau M. Viteazul No. 122
9
Simensohn Simon - Attorney
42
Tg Ocna: Bacau I. Struza No. 6
10
Zalman Schvab - merchant
46
Bacaciuni: Bacau M. Viteaza No. 97
11
42
Bacau: Bacau G-l Averescu No. 14
12
Sulemsohn Leon - Industrialist
Lazarovici Pascal - merchant
49
13
Grimberg David - merchant
14
Drimer Ieriham - Industrialist
Staniseati-Tecuci: Bacau M. Viteazul No. 82
Cucova-Putna: Bacau M. Viteazu No. 105
Dorohoi: Bacau str. Alex, cel Bun. 15
Fainara Beno - inginer
Vatara David - boiangiu
41
38
39
44
43
40
43
TGOCNA
i
Aizengratz Isac - merchant
44
2
Iosef Lazar - merchant
45
Valea Rea: Bacau Busuioc 21
Valea Rea: Bacau D. Cantemir 2
3
Nachman Sender - merchant
Herscovici I. Avram - merchant
38
Tg Ocna: Bacau Bueuioc 16
4
62
5
Grimberg A. Avram - merchant
39
6
Iacobsohn Iancu - colector
44
7
Rosemberg Mendel - intendent
53
Darmanesti: Bacau R. Maria 12
Valea Seaca: Bacau M. Vitsazu 105
Roman: Bacau V. Alexandri 34
Sacel Maramures: Bacau B. Carol 25
MOINESTI
2
Leibovici Sloim - merchant
Haimsohn Manase - Industrialist
3
Litman Moise - contabil
60
4
Argintaru Leon - merchant
42
Moinesti: Bacau Precista 22
Moinesti: Busuioc 39
5
Natansohn Solomon
Hoisie Mendel - merchant
Solomon Hascal - merchant
43
Lucacesti-Bacau: Bacau 15 Aug. No. 10
49
Herta-Dorohoi: Bacau Leca No. 13
Moinesti: Bacau L. Sturza 53
i
6
7
43
55
35
Moinesti: Bacau Oituz 43
Moinesti: Bacau B. Nationala 10
28
Council of Jewish community of ROMAN December 1941
#
Name
Age
Origin
County
Address
1
Berthold Rorlich
44
Roman
62
Mogosesti
Stef. Cel Mare 240
Stef. Cel Mare 145
Sucealava
G. Makarovici 14
Stef. Cel Mare
Stef. Cel Mare
Miron Costin 66
Panaife Donici 17
Stefan Cel Mare
merchant
2
fanet pari.
2
drVcapt. in reserve
Iosub Leizerovici
9
Pinca Iacob
10 Dr. Maximilian Reznie
11 Iosef Horovitz
40
Roman
37
Roman
Roman
Roman
Roman
Radauti
Botosani
Roman
Roman
Roman
Roman
44
Calatesti
Lapusna
Seicedava
56
Copoci
12 Zigmeina Goldenstein
64
Roman
Iasi
Roman
Stefan Cel Mare 92
Gl. Makarovici 17
2
Julius Istein
3
Iosef Stein
42
Roman
4
Davia Laufet or r
44
Siret
5
Leizer Katz
43
Botosani
6
Welwel Schweitzer
41
Roman
7
Isac Fertig
38
Roman
8
13
14
15
16
17
18
Iosef Bentin
Ghidale Marcovici
Iosef Jancovici
Simon Moscovici
Leon Salovici
Iancu M. Goldman
68
Adjadeni
67
Roman
37
70
Roman
Elena Doamina
Stefan Cel Mare
ti
Tg. Neamt
Neamt
Regala
Baia
Baia
Roman
Sucedava
Stefan Cel Mare
"
76
Falticeni
41
Pascani
60
19 Iancu Greinberg
20 Karl Greinberg
50
Roman
Damienesti
21
Iancu Poiliei
47
Roman
Roman
Anapatete
22
Pincu Kaufman
61
it
it
23
Leon Kahn
50
it
Bogdan Vagas 10
Unite
Profession
Industrialist
merchant
Industrialist
Pol. Affil.
'
'
2
accountant
2
accountant
2
pharmacist
2
merchant
merchant
2
2
watchmaker
fancl. part.
!
locksmith
libera
merchant
2
3
2
tt
2
tailor
merchant
2
3
Sucedava
1 National Liberal
2 National Peasant
3 Geoigist
Misc. List from Piatra Neamt, 1941
#
1
2
3
4
Name
Aizic Fischer
Katz Hascal
Iancovici Cheudel
Gutman Michel
5
6
7
8
Wexler, Mendel
Herscovici, Herscu
Abramovici, Lazar
Lupu Iosub
9
10
Rabin Sosfer
Wolf Jean
11
Gartenberg Iulius
Age
12
Mayer Hascalovici
39
60
38
54
53
46
48
65
66
55
70
56
13
Colmanovici Sama
44
14
Filip Rosenthal
42
Profession
Origin
County
Attorney
Piatra Neamt
Neamt
merchant
Accountant
Piatra Neamt
Piatra Neamt
Gheraivi
Neamt
Neamt
Roman
Tg. Neamt
Neamt
Subkt Gh. Papa 4
Piatra Neamt
Dorohoi
Roman
Piatra Neamt
Neamt
Dorohoi
Roman
Neamt
ii
n
Cal. roueraim 24
Casa Vada 138
Casa Vada 214
Casa Vada 5
34
Stefan Cel Mare 20
Cuza Vada 122
Cal. Roznoraiu 13
Cuza Bada 193
merchant
merchant
Piurctianor
furrier
firigar
pat blauar
pictar firme
merchant
ti
ti
ti
tt
ti
ti
ti
ti
ii
it
it
Address
Casa Vada 73
M. Cagoluneanu 54
Cal. Loznoraim 30
Casa Vada 204
29
Genealogical Adventures:
Searching For Records of My
accountant and, like many Jews there, was also a cattle
dealer. To facilitate business relationships with the
Romanian government, he changed his Jewish surname to
Grandfather
Botosaneanu. Isidor's mother. Ana (nee Sindel circa 1860),
By Jay Friedman
As a boy in New York City in
the 40's and 50's I always knew
my mother's father as "Grandpa
Werther'.' He was a pleasant gen
tleman, deliberate of speech with a
slight foreign accent, who always
somehow seemed to be enjoying
life. Sometimes my mother
would take me to visit his
business on 30th Street, which
they called "The Place'.' There
he designed women's under
garments and published a trade
magazine for this industry.
My mother, an editor, greatly
admired her father, and likes to say
that he taught her all she knows about the writer's craft.
When I was young, every so often she would delight in
saying, "your grandfather's name is not Werther at all; he
was bom Isidor Friedrich Botosaneanu'.' But she would say
the name fast, reveling in how outlandish his name sounds
to American ears, and would always add, as if the name
was not enough, that "he came to the United States in 1903
after walking from Romania to Hamburg and Paris'!
As a boy and young man I only gave passing thoughts to
this story, but it lay there dormant, and like every ROM-SIG
member I soon reached an age where genealogy and history
became important and so decided to find out more about my
grandfather and Romania and how he came to the USA.
Before I begin, readers should know that my mother's
maiden and married names are the same, since she, bom
Frederica Friedman, married Howard Friedman, my father,
who was no relation. Now to the story. I began my
research by quizzing my mother at length and found
out
Isidor Friedrich Botosaneanu was bom January 5,
1884. Many years later he stated on his US citizenship
documents and in a preface for an Esquire magazine article
that he was bom in Bucharest, but my mother says he was
most likely bom in Iasi. He was the eldest of 7 or so sis
ters and a brother.
Isidor's father, bom Friedrich Friedman in about 1853 in
Munich, Germany, had a secular education as an architect
and engineer. Friedrich migrated to Romania sometime
before 1883. Why he migrated is not known, but he was
possibly a "Sudit", who, as described in a 1996 ROM-SIG
News article, were colonizers encouraged by the
Romanian government to migrate to Romania in the nine
teenth century. In Romania, Friedrich worked as an
was bom in Romania, probably in Iasi. Isidor, his mother
and his siblings all used Friedrich as a middle name, simi
lar to a patrymonic in Russia. This puzzles me, as tradi
tionally Jews do not name a child after a living relative,
but maybe the Botosaneanu's were different.
I recently engaged the services of Professor Ladislau
Gyemant to do further research on Isidor's family in Iasi.
While doing other work in Pungesti, a small town south of
Iasi, he unexpectedly discovered there the birth records of
three of Isidor's sisters. The eldest of the three was bom in
November 1893, meaning the family had moved there
from Iasi at some point before that date.
Isidor told my mother that until 1899 the family had a
pleasant life and were fairly well to do. Like his father,
Isidor received a secular education, some of which was in
a military school. He also told my mother that among his
activities as a student were writing poetry in the Romanian
language and being a member of a political group that was
in opposition to the right wing government of the country.
In 1937, Isidor told Esquire Magazine that he had attended
the University of Bucharest, though this is unlikely as he
left Romania at age 16.
Isidor's life in Romania then changed dramatically because
of two events. The first is described by the writer Irving
Howe: "In 1899, when economic depression led to famine,
a pogrom was organized in the city of Iasi by its police
chief, violent denunciations of Jews were delivered in the
parliament and Jews were expelled from entire districts."1
The second event my mother recounts with a devilish
gleam in her eye. This was Friedrich's death in 1900, fol
lowing a carriage accident under somewhat scandalous cir
cumstances, as he was on an outing with another woman
(that is, not Ana). It was winter, which can be extremely
cold in Romania, and the carriage had fallen into a ravine.
The pair was exposed to the weather for some time and
Friedrich succumbed to pneumonia.
At this point I must digress from my mother's story, as she
did not know from where in Romania Isidor left for the
United States, nor the name of the ship that carried him to
New York in 1903, which I considered important missing
information. So, in 1995 I began research at the Mormon
Family History Center near my home in Atlanta. At the
center I found out that New York ship arrival records were
indexed on microfilm according to the traveler's last name.
I tediously read through film after film pertaining to
Botosaneanu and Friedman, and turned up several false
leads, nothing relevant.
However, my mother did have Isidor's US Certificate Of
Citizenship. Fellow researchers at the center told me that a
30
Certificate Of Citizenship is preceded by a Petition For
Naturalization, on which my missing information should
story. My friend adds that, no doubt, at a minimum Isidor
On the petitions Isidor reported that his last place of resi
must have walked past the Academie Julian and expressed
a desire to attend classes there, but whether he actually did
requires further research. My mother's opinion is that he
attended the Academie under an alias, as he may have
been wanted by the Romanian police because of his politi
cal activities. The story continues with that reservation.
The Academie Julian, founded in 1868, catered to foreign
ers, as only students who could pass an examination in the
French language and do a free-hand drawing of a nude
model could attend the more prestigious state-run Ecole
dence in Romania was the town of Roman, about 60 miles
des Beaux-Arts.
southwest of Iasi and west of Pungesti. The family must
have moved there from Pungesti in 1899 or 1900, possibly
as a result of the above-mentioned expulsion of Jews from
Isidor stayed in France a year or so and then departed for
the USA. Although he stated on his Petition For
appear. I wrote the Immigration and Naturalization Service2
and found out I couldindeed request a photocopy of the
petition, but for privacy reasons it had to take the form of a
Freedom Of Information Act request, along with evidence
that Isidor was deceased. Research in the NY Times micro
films turned up his obituary notice, enabling me to submit
the request in May 1997. Several weeks later, I received
copies of petitions he submitted in 1913,1936 and 1939.
certain districts and/or the death of Friedrich. In Roman
they lived in a section called "Mosaik", which may mean it
was a Jewish neighborhood or ghetto.
In 1900, perhaps because of the pogroms and/or repercus
sions from his involvement in political protests, as well as
financial problems resulting from his father's death, Isidor
and his family decided to leave Romania. As will be seen
later, it is not clear whether Ana and her daughters preced
ed Isidor and his brother luju to the United States or
whether they followed later, but Isidor left Romania in a
singular way, again described by Irving Howe: "There fol
lowed a remarkable episode in which Jews....began to
leave as "fusgeyer" (walkers, wayfarers) who tramped
across the country....for the purpose of journeying on foot
to Hamburg and thence to America. The fusgeyer estab
lished a 'press' of their own. In these newspapers we find
appeals for aid, articles in which they say farewell to their
old home, and sometimes a bit of verse."3
In 1900, Isidor left Romania as a "fusgeyer','a group of
whom may be seen en route in the front page photo. Isidor's
journey would have taken many weeks on foot, since, as the
crow flies, the distance between Roman and Hamburg is
about 900 miles. As Isidor told my mother, he wrote most of
his group's "newspaper", which was actually a series of
pamphlets promoting the emigration of Jews to the US.
These were then sold to the Jewish populations of the towns
they passed through to raise funds for their livingexpenses.
From Hamburg, Isidor made his way to Paris. There he
claimed to have enrolled in an art school, the Academie
Julian, to study decorative art, costume design and drafts
manship, areas in which he later excelled in the USA.
However, in 1993,1 researched the complete enrollment
records of the Academie, which are on microfilm at the
French National Archives, and did not find Isidor's name.
A friend, who is an immigrant from Romania and who has
helped with some of my research, tells me that it would
not be out of character for a Romanian to inflate his cur
riculum vitae if need be, which might explain this and
other inconsistencies and possible exaggerations in Isidor's
Naturalization that he sailed to the United States on the
French Line ship La Lorraine, the stated date of arrival,
January 15, 1903, was a figment of his imagination. This, I
found out when I applied to the National Archives4 in
Washington for a copy of the passenger list for La
Lorraine's arrival in New York on that date and was told
there was no such ship's arrival. A perusal on microfilm of
the NY Times daily snipping news section for January,
1903 confirmed this, for on that date, La Lorraine was tied
up at her dock in Le Havre. It would take me many more
months to find out Isidor's real date of arrival in the USA.
I approached this aspect of the research by assuming that
Isidor had the month of January 1903 correct, but had for
gotten the exact day and so invented the 15th on the
assumption that nobody at the INS would be the wiser
when he filed his petition. This was the case, as his citi
zenship was indeed granted in 1939.
However, it was a problem for me, since the NY Times
shipping news showed La Lorraine to have arrived in New
York twice during that month, on the 3rd and the 31st. The
National Archives would do a search at a reasonable cost
for a name on a passenger manifest for a given ship's
arrival date, and send a photocopy of the relevant page, but
not for a name on two possible dates.
So, taking a shot, I asked for a search for his name on the
January 31,1903 arrival date. Weeks later I received a let
ter saying there was no such name. Not discouraged, I then
made the same request for the January 3rd arrival, but
again was told there was no such name. At that point I was
very discouraged, but wanted to see for myself, and so
threw caution to the winds, sent the National Archives
more than $100 and asked for photocopies of every page
of the manifest for both arrival dates of La Lorraine. Again
weeks went by, but finally in April 19981 received a thick
packet with page after page, written in flowery longhand,
which listed hundreds of immigrants from all over Europe
who had arrived on that ship on those dates. You can
imagine my triumphant feeling when there, on one of the
last pages of the January 3rd arrival, was Isidor's name, as
well as that of his brother luju, along with all sorts of other
information on both of them that I had been trying to find
out for several years. I don't know why the National
his Englewood, New Jersey summer home in 1940, while
my mother Frederica, glass-less, looks admiringly on.
Archives staff failed to find the names themselves. And so
Werther died January 16, 1956 in New York City.
the story continues.
Isidor and his 11-year-old brother had left Le Havre on La
Lorraine on December 27, 1902. (It is unknown how or
when luju left Romania and arrived in France.) Eight days
later they declared to the Ellis Island authorities that they
had no money, that Isidor's profession was "scholar',' that
their last place of residence was "Roman Mozaik" and that
they were going to join their mother, Ana F. Botosaneanu,
at 77 Eldridge Street in Manhattan.
Whichever the case, they were admitted, and shortly there
after Isidor changed his name to Werther Friedman. My
mother says he never liked the name Isidor and took his
new given name from the main character in Goethe's
"Sorrows Of Young Werther", a work he admired. No
doubt he reverted the family name back to his father's
original surname because Botosaneanu is unpronounceable
for most English speakers and, more importantly, because
in the United States there was no further need to deemphasize their religion. (luju became Jack Friedman.)
Werther's photo was taken for a frontpiece of a book of
poetry he wrote in 1918. Like many immigrant Jews, he
prospered in the USA, where he was known as a bon vivant
,,^.
"'
^
w
<*.»%*•
-* - «*«:
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ftL
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1 '•*
|A
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V
' The Immigrant Jews oFNew York: 1881 to the present. Irving Howe.
Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976. pp. 32-33.
: Immigration And Naturalization Service, 2nd Floor ULL1CO Bldg,
425 I Street NW, Washington. DC 20036. Attention: FOIA/PA Officer
' Howe, op. cit
4General Reference Branch (NNRG), National Archives and Records
Administration. 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
^^
B00k Review by Rae Barent
The World That Was: Hungary/Romania by Rabbi Yitzchak
Kasnett is the third volume in a series of handbooks for stu
dents in grade schools and high schools titled The Living
Memorial under the leadership of the Hebrew Academy of
Cleveland. Since the Hebrew Academy is traditionally orient
ed, so too is this book. While the aims of this student work
book, to make young people more aware of the destruction of
European Jewry, are admirable, there's not much here for our
purposes. About half the book is given over to homework
assignments and classroom exercises.
Another quarter is made up of is reminiscences of living in
Romania and Hungary with many photos from both the pre
war and the post-war period. The section on the history of
Romania does have some interesting bar graphs.
• 1899-% of Jewish Population: A Sampling of Towns in
Moldavia - for example Botosani with 51.8%
• 1904-% of Jewish Artisans in Selected Trades in Moldavia-
engraving was at the top with over 80%.
• Percent of factories owned by Jews
• Distribution of Jews by occupations in Romania
There is no index, but the Table of Contents will give you
X
f if*
NOTES:
20408.202-501-5170
This is another inconsistency, as Isidor had told my mother
that, in the immigrant tradition, he and luju had arrived in
the USA before the rest of the family and saved enough
money to finance the voyage to the US of Ana and their
sisters in about 1905. Since Isidor was only eighteen at the
time of their examination at Ellis Island, they may have
said Ana was already in New York to dispel any notion
that being so young they would become public charges and
possibly risk being refused admission.
;
31
am*
1
y
some idea of what the book is about:
KH'
*
..-».••'•
The first section - Teacher's Guide and Student Exercises -
consist of simply drawn maps paired with the same map with
no labels...students are to provide these.
The next two chapters are about Hungary-an Overview of
Jewish life and a photo montage of Hungarian synagogues.
Then we have an overview of the History of Jewish Life in
Romania followed by a photo montage of Transylvanian
Rabbis.
••Jifl
The rest of the book is Personal Reminiscence - about the
Capathians. about Sighet, about Munkacs, about Budapest,
even about Rabbi Sender Deutsch .
Photo 2
LM
and, like his father, was known to have an eye for ladies
his arm with a glass in hand is evident in Photo 2, which
The only other possibly valuable section is one dealing with
the social structure of Romania which combines some history
with an overview of the kinds of employment permitted to
Jews, of the comparatively mild treatment, and the subsequent
shows him and my father Howard enjoying a cold brew at
movement of Jews from Poland and Russia into Romania.
other than his wife. That he also loved an excuse to raise
32
Romanian Court Documents and Translations:
Submitted by Larry Herman
Mr. Prosecutor:
I, Mendel Moise Iancu, from
Burdujeni town From the
day of 6 of March. I was at
home. A group of men led by
Teodor Stirbu from Saligeni,
Jon Tipufran Fetesti and Vasil
I. Marchitan from Saligeni
along with other men invaded
my store and broke all the
Q^PÎ/VM* /f Qy\
doors and windows.
Faced with this situation I ran
together with my wife and
children to Grigore Rotaru
from Burdujeni. After this
uprising quieted down at the
same day around 3:00 PM, I
returned home. However,
Vasil Marchitan return with a
*+*'& r>l AAJi<ie<&. -ywt 'V*.4-<~"J'** &**&£.
hammer with the intention of
killing me after which again I
ran to my friends and I've
returned Thursday. When I
iLf^ jteZtJ^t*. SLt*c<d&2"fao$***J lu*4m&* fi^/i-'£<+*<&*.
returned home, I found all the
things destroyed and the best
things stolen. In addition,
they stole a wagon of cereals
(hay, etc.) from the silo.
e*.<,&*t~t. r>£s>++£ ^vt+îc **«?**<'
4X&*A*?C •£& -?*** <?-i£- -£-*'
>t Ja J&tt'rStoZ ?&
,+4+-. 0&+J& s<»~" svei+i'X st**#•-** -i*-»#-* j.<x->*' r*f*jt-
The thugs were: 1) Ionica
Risca; 2) Simion Sterli; 3)
Teoder Bandur; 4) Catinca
Hie Iftimesco; 5) Ion
Anichitoie; 6) Ion Rusu; 7)
Paraschiva Iftimesco. From
these seven, five were report
ed by their own children,
who have stated to the gen
darme (military police).
After these statements they've
returned part of the cereals.
The way Teoder Bandur,
fa ^ M Urn*.* <r $*** <& ^W7 J< **«y *y** •
£ke£o>i<r6-
•->**<
-<fc*<
s*M-
£ J,
4^ *W &m&* #*»<&*. tfitwtJ J/6~"~
Wtfttft.
.^, *<i~t^? *t /-m* -£e~
Catinca Iftimescu and Ionica
Risca. Ion Brisu stole a lot of
other things and part of the
cereals.
(Signed)
Respectively yours,
Mr. Prosecuter of the
Tribunal
Botosani
JlLw^ $&**&*. &&'S
ft
We found a letter in Paraschiva Iftimescu's attic and the gendarme by the name ofDascalesco
searched the attic and home and I've recognized three doiles and lots of lumber (construction)
and wood (fire).
I claim that of the statements of Maria of Gheorghi (George) Cloraei (George's wife Maria),
Aglaia Costache Partolie, Grigore, Simion, Sterle, Costache, Ionica Risca, Anica of Manoli
Daniline, who also Ion Anichetoei when he stole and carried with the wagon the cereals from
my home. I present as a witness. Gendarmes V. Dascalescu, Alecu Dimitriu and Marinine,
who had a search warrant and they found part of my things that they recognized to be mine
and they returned them to me.
I respectfully submit to be reimbursed the sum of 4,000 leis (enormous sum for time) and ask
for prosecution of the above named individuals.
[Signature Line)
Please receive my respect
Mendel Moise Iancu
t4ite *<<*t/f*jr(pe £/e*isf~,eJ*&£. e£*J? t*/»*~*~'V
33
34
From:
Bukovina
Submitted By:
Mr. David Fox
969 Placid Ct.
Arnold, MD 21012-1527
February 1919
GEOGRAPHY:
PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL
(1) POSITION AND FRONTIERS
THE Bukovina is in the extreme
east of the Austrian Empire. It lies
southeast of Galicia, between
47° 12' and 48°40' north latitude and
24°55' and 25*31' east longitude,
and has an area of 10,441 sq. km.
(about 4,030 sq. miles), or roughly
two-thirds that of Yorkshire.
On the north and northwest the
Bukovina marches with Galicia.
Elsewhere its boundaries are those
of Austria, touching on the south
west on Hungary, on the southeast
on Rumania, on the east on
Rumania and Bessarabia.
ascends the Dniester for some 35 miles, thence strikes
northeast to the southwest. It falls naturally into two parts,
a mountain region and a hill region, the division being
clearly marked by a line running roughly from Wiznitz on
south along an arbitrary line to the junction of the
the Pruth to Gurahumora on the Moldova. To the south
Czeremosz with the Pruth, ascends the former river to the
west of this line is a complicated system of densely-wood
ed mountains of sandstone formation, the ridges running
from northwest to southeast. The valleys are steep and nar
row, sometimes opening out into alluvial flats where culti
vation is possible. In the southwest, in the neighbourhood
The Galician boundary is for the most part well defined: it
source of the Bialy Czeremosz on the northwestern slopes
of the Carpathians, and so gains the Hungarian frontier.
The boundary between the Bukovina and Hungary is much
broken, but follows in parts the courses of the Cibo, the
Golden Bistritz, and the Tesna, and in part the watershed
of the Dorna. The same applies to that which in the south
divides the Bukovina from Rumania which follows for
some distance the courses of the Neagra and the Golden
Bistritz, in part the watershed of the Sucha, crosses the
Moldova at Kornoluncze, and reaches the Suczawa just
above its junction with the Sereth.
of the Doma and the Golden Bistritz, the mountains reach
an average height of over 1,500 ft., Giumalaul (6,100 ft.,
1,859 m.) being the highest point in the Bukovina. These
mountains form part of the mass of the Wooded
Carpathians, and fill all the space between the Golden
Bistritz and the Suczawa, the central point of the space
being formed by the Luczyna Mountains. This group con
tains the sources of the Czeremosz, the Suczawa. the
The Suczawa, the Sereth. and the Pruth all play a part in
Moldova, and the Golden Bistritz, and is thus the main
determining the eastern boundary, which between these
rivers follows minor topographical features. Between the
watershed of the country. The mountains in the extreme
southwest of the Bukovina, are spurs of the Kelemen group.
Pruth and the Dniester the Bukovina-Bessarabia boundary
is marked partly by the Rakitna, partly by a smaller stream
and some intervening hills.
(2) SURFACE AND RIVER SYSTEM
Surface
The Bukovina is a highland, rising in terraces from the
The hill region of the Bukovina consists of gentle, rolling
ridges of limestone and clay rising to some 1,650 ft. It is
watered by the Pruth, the Sereth. the Suczawa, and the
Moldova, which flow at an approximate height of 650 ft.,
and here make great curves to the southeast. The Suczawa,
the largest of these rivers divides the Bukovina into two
almost equal parts. The valley bottoms are flat and open,
35
while the higher regions have to a great extent been
cleared of their woods except on the steepest slopes, and
the land has been ploughed.
curves from northeast to southeast right through the
The mountain region of the Bukovina, is of little value for
cultivation, but, in addition to its extensive forests, pro
vides good summer pasture for numbers of cattle. The soil
of the hill region consists largely of loess or of alluvial
deposits; it is therefore fertile and well suited for cultiva
tion, which is being rapidly developed. The most fertile
region, containing some two-thirds of the agricultural land
The three remaining important rivers of the Bukovina-the
of the Bukovina, lies between the Pruth and the Dniester.
Fertility decreases between the Pruth and the Sereth, and
the hill region on both sides of the Suczawa is the poorest
part of the province, wheat being grown only in very small
quantities. On the other hand, the region south and east of
Suczawa is very rich. Floods are a hindrance to agriculture
in many valleys. The Bukovina is plentifully supplied with
water, except in the district to the south of Suczawa and
southwest of Bossancze, where rainwater cisterns are nec
essary both for man and beast.
River System
With the exception of a few small streams in the north,
which are tributaries of the Dniester, all the rivers of the
Bukovina, belong to the Danube system, and flow to the
Moldavian-Bessarabian plain. The southern rivers—the
Czeremosz (an affluent of the Pruth) and the Sereth, with
its tributaries the Suczawa, Moldova, and the Golden
Bistritz-run in rough parallel courses, and take their rise
within the Bukovina, in the neighbourhood of the Luczyna
Mountains. Only the Dniester and the Golden Bistritz have
well-defined rocky beds; the other rivers divide into arms
round islands in broad alluvial valleys as soon as they
emerge from the mountains, often changing their courses,
and causing serious damage by their floods.
As has been said above, the Dniester forms the northern
boundary of the Bukovina as far as Onut, where it is some
270 yds. wide. Its depth varies from 2 to 6-1/2 ft., and its
banks are sometimes nearly 500 ft., high. Its bed is rocky,
but contains in places a number of difficult sandbanks.
Hence, though navigable by small boats, it is chiefly used
by rafts.
The Pruth, one of the largest tributaries of the Danube,
flows right across the country at its narrowest part, parallel
with the Dniester, through a valley, which is wide and
open to the north, but on the south merges into a moun
tainous district. The Czeremosz, formed by the junction of
the Bialy Czeremosz (which, like the main stream itself, is
a boundary-river of the Bukovina) and the Czarny
Czeremosz, is its most important tributary, and has the
Perkalab as its affluent on the left bank. The Sereth, anoth
er left-bank tributary of the Danube, rises in the western
mountains near the Szurdyn Pass, on the opposite side of
the watershed to the Suczawa, and flows in a course which
Bukovina, whose borders it leaves not far below the town
of Sereth.
Suczawa, the Moldova, and the Golden Bistritz-are all
right-bank tributaries of the Sereth, though they join that
stream outside the borders of the province. Of these tribu
taries, the Suczawa rises near the Iswor Pass and opens out
below Straza to water the largest piece of open ground in
the country; the Moldova, whose course lies through deep
valleys, receives two important affluents, the Sucha on the
right bank and the Moldawitza on the left; and the Golden
Bistritz rises in Transylvania, entering the Bukovina at an
altitude of 3,172 ft., and receives the Dorna on the right
bank and the Cibo on the left.
The Dniester is the only river in the Bukovina, which is nav
igable otherwise than by rafts. The water in the Sereth, the
Suczawa, and the Moldova is always sufficient for rafts, but
their streams are not regulated and sandbanks are numerous.
(3) CLIMATE
The climate of the Bukovina is severe and thoroughly con
tinental. The eastern regions are characterized by violent
windstorms, which cause sudden variations in the tempera
ture amounting to as much as 64°F (18°C). The rate of
humidity is comparatively low and the climate in general
approximates to that of Russia. In the mountain region the
frost continues on an average from September 1 to June
10; in the hill district from October 1 to May 20. July is
the hottest month, January the coldest. The following table
shows the difference in average temperature between the
mountain region and the hill region:
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Hills
23°F(-5°C) 48°F(9°C) 66°F(19°C) 46°F(8°C)
Mountains 21°F(-6°C) 45°F(7°C) 61°F(16°C) 43°F(6°C)
Czemowitz in the north and Suczawa in the south both
have the same average summer temperature of 66°F
(19°C); but in winter Czemowitz averages 25°F (-4°C) and
Suczawa 28°F (-2°C).
The annual rainfall in the mountains often exceeds 33.5 in.
(850 mm.); in the hills it is often under 21.7 in. (550 mm.).
The valleys of the Pruth and the Dniester have the lowest
rainfall. June and July are the wettest months, and January
is the dryest. Snow lies everywhere between November
and April; it falls most heavily in the latter month and is
deepest in the neighbourhood of the sources of the
Suczawa. There is considerable cloud throughout the year.
The west wind is the commonest, both in summer and
winter, whilst in the spring westerly and northerly winds
prevail. Southerly and westerly winds bring a high temper
ature, heavy cloud and rain, and low pressure, whereas
northerly and easterly winds bring low temperatures, clear
er weather, less rainfall, and higher pressure.
36
(4) SANITARY CONDITIONS
Theclimate of the Bukovina, though severe, is healthy and
hardening. The people still rely to a great extentupon
herbs and spells, which are generally administered by old
women, in cases of illness. Only in the last extremity do
theycall in doctors, of whom there are few in the country.
Too much reliance cannot therefore be placed upon the
official statistics of the causes of death. In 1910,13 per
1,000of the deaths were ascribed to congenital weakness,
70 per 1,000to tuberculosis, and 90 per 1,000 to other
lungtroubles. Diarrhoea accounts for another 20-40 per
1,000, and scarlet fever and measles are also important
causes of mortality. The Lipovans, whose religion binds
them to rely on prayer alone in time of sickness, are a seri
ous danger during an epidemic. The rate of infant mortali
ty in the last decade was 240.3 per 1,000 births. The very
highdeath-rate among the gipsies is accompanied by an
equally high birth-rate.
(5) RACE AND LANGUAGE:
The Bukovina lies on the great highway of migration from
east to west, and is consequently inhabited by a strange
mixture of races, even at the present day. Among them, it
is possibleto find traces of earlier peoples who have disap
peared, passed on, or been absorbed.
The Rumanians, who numbered 273,254, or 34 percent of
the population, at the last census, have a majority in the
south, southwest, the centre, and part of the east of the
Bukovina. They are most numerous on the middle Sereth
and in the Suczawa valley, where, excluding a few isolated
islands, over 75 percent of the population is Rumanian. On
the Moldova the position of the Rumanians is hardly less
strong. North of the Sereth they rapidly diminish in num
bers, and still farther north are only found in a few villages
but they are found scattered throughout the country, and
the greater part of the nobility and of the well-to-do classes
in the towns are Rumanian. How or whence they entered
the Bukovina, is uncertain, but they are true members of
the Rumanian people, speaking the Limba romana, which
is of Latin origin. The majority belong to the Orthodox
Church, and there are a very few Uniats among them.
The Ruthenians or Little Russians in 1910 numbered
305,100, or 38 percent of the population. With them are
included the Hutsulians, who speak their language, though
there are grounds for believing that they are of different,
possibly of Scythian origin. The Ruthenians form a solid
mass in the north and west, but they are also found almost
everywhere among the Rumanians, notably along the
lower Sereth. The country round the sources of the
Czeremocz, the Suczawa, the Moldova, and the
Moldawitza, as well as the whole northwestern mountain
region, is inhabited by the Hutsulians. The Ruthenians,
who speak Little Russian (or rather the dialect of it known
as Red Russian), have dwelt in the Bukovina, from a very
early date, and a number of them have probably been
assimilated by the Rumanians. The Ruthenian element
predominates among the lower classes: they are members
of the Orthodox Church.
The Germans in the Bukovina, in 1910 numbered 168,851
or 21 percent of the population, if we include the 102,919
Jews who are all Germans. They have an influence out of
proportion to their numbers, as it was they who colonized
and civilized the country. German is still the language of
culture and the official tongue. The Austrian occupation
has resulted in a large influx of soldiers and officials, with
the result that there is now hardly a village which does not
contain a German. They are most numerous along the mid
dle Suczawa and in the towns and mining regions of the
southwest, but there are also a number of German agricul
tural colonies in the hill regions. Most of them are Roman
Catholics, but at Alt Fratautz, near the Sereth, and
Badautz, near Radautz, over 75 percent of the population
is Lutheran. In the country districts the Germans preserve
an attitude of racial superiority, holding aloof from the
Rumanians; but in the towns they tend to drift with the
tide, using Ruthenian or Rumanian for business purposes.
The Jews are found in compact masses only in Wiznitz, on
the Czeremosz, where, they form three-quartersof the popu
lation, and Sadagori, which lies to the north of the Pruth, but
there are also many in Czemowitz and Suczawa. Elsewhere
they constitute some 5 to 10 percent of the inhabitants.
The Magyars in the Bukovina number about 10,000, but
their numbers are diminishing. There are a few Magyar
colonies near Badautz, and one at Josseffalva in the south,
but elsewhere they are not numerous. They are all Roman
Catholics, and work as farmers or market-gardeners.
There are 36,000 Poles, chiefly living in the towns. The
district of the Plesch is entirely Polish, and in Neusolonetz
the Poles number 78 percent. They are all Roman
Catholics, and generally retain their sense of nationality.
Most of the 3,000 Lipovans live in Fontina-alba and
Klimoutz outside Sereth, but.there are a few near the town
of Suczawa and at Lukowica, near Czemowitz. They are
Great Russians, belonging to the old Russian Church, and
speak Great Russian. They keep their traditional costume,
and their diet is largely vegetarian, while they do not touch
alcohol or tobacco. They are market-gardeners, bee-mas
ters, and fruit-growers. Physically, they are a fine people,
and as their religion forbids them to have intercourse with
strangers they preserve their race absolutely pure.
Gipsies are found all over the Bukovina, especially among
the Rumanians. The early regulations against vagabonds
were so severe that they are now virtually all settled, form
ing considerable colonies in many villages, many of them
working as smiths. They are nominally members of the
Orthodox Church, but their religion is said not to go much
beyond making the sign of the cross. They speak their own
language among themselves, though in a verycorrupt
37
n. POLITICAL HISTORY
form; but otherwise they use Rumanian or Little Russian.
The 657 Armenians, 311 of whom live in Czemowitz and
200in Suczawa, are an interesting ethnological feature of
the Bukovina. Those in Suczawa are Uniats, the others
mostly Orthodox. They speak Armenian among them
selves, but also use Rumanian or German. They nearly all
belong to the upper ranks of society,and are traders, offi
cials, or landowners. Their honesty, hospitality, and cour
tesy make them very popular.
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY
1769-74. Russo-Turkish War.
1772.
First Partition of Poland.
1774.
Austria claims northern Moldavia.
1775-6. Boundaries, settled by Conventions.
1786-90.The Bukovina incorporated for administrative
purposes with Galicia.
1790.
The Bukovina declared an autonomous province.
(6) POPULATION
1817.
Once more included in Galicia.
Distribution
1849.
The Bukovina created an autonomous duchy as
The population, according to the census of 1910, was
1864.
Rumanian Metropolitanate proclaimed at Synod
1873.
of Karlowitz: the Bukovina excluded.
Churches of the Bukovina and Dalmatia united
an Austrian Crown-land.
800,098, and was estimated at 818,328 in 1913. It is natu
rally mostdense in the fertile valleys of the rivers flowing
throughthe hill region, notably those of the Pruth, the
Sereth, and the lower Suczawa, where it often exceeds 300
under one Metropolitan.
(1) ORIGINS
to the square mile. There are also comparatively well-pop
ulated centres in the north and northwest. Kimpolung is
THE Bukovina has been described as a 'rendezvous' of
the largest settlement within the mountain district, where
peoples, so many races have in turn occupiedthe forest
the inhabitants are very scanty. The number of inhabitants
lands of this district, which lie about the head-waters of
per square mile in the Bukovina was 198 in 1910.
the Sereth, the Pruth, and the Moldova. In the early part of
the fourteenth century the Bukovina formed part of the
Voivodate of Moldavia, established by the Vlachs or
Towns and Villages
Czemowitz, with a population, including suburbs, of over
87,000, one-third of whom are Jews, is much the most
important town in the Bukovina, of which it is the capital.
It lies on the right bank of the Pruth, over which at this
point there are two bridges. The town, which is modem, is
the seat of the OrthodoxMetropolitan of the Bukovinaand
of the German University.
Other towns are Radautz (16,535), an important agricultur
Rumans who migrated from the Maramaros district of
Hungary. Compact bodies of Rumanians appearto have
settled along the eastern slopes of the Carpathians, where
Little Russians or Ruthenes were already established,
while the plains were still held by various Tatar tribes who
were not expelled until the second half of the fourteenth
century. In 1372 the Emperor recognized Louis of
Hungary as overlord of Moldavia, but the King of Poland
disputed his claims, and in the first half of the fifteenth
al centre on the Suczawa plain and the most German town
in the Bukovina; Suczawa (11,229), a neatly laid-out town
on the same river; Sereth (7,948), the oldest settlement in
century the Voivodes did homage to him. Under Stephen
the Great (1457-1504) Moldavia regained its indepen
theland, on the right bank of the Sereth; and Kimpolung
(8,748), on the upperMoldova, which owes its importance
Turks; under his successors, however, Moldavia became
to the traffic over the Mesticanesti Pass. Wiznitz (5,052),
with a largely Jewish population, on the Czeremosz, and
Berhometh (7,309), on the Sereth, are the chief centres in
dence, and he inflicted severe defeats on both Poles and
tributary to the Turks, who began to plant fortresses in the
country. The Rumanian principalities, hard pressed by
Poles and Turks, invoked in turn the protection of the
the northwest. Storozynetz (10,242), on the Sereth, and
Emperor and the Tsarof Russia, and the eighteenth century
Bojan (7,468), on the Prath, may also be mentioned.
found the Bukovina a bone of contention between these
Powers and the Turks.
Movement
The birth-rate in the Bukovina is 42.3 per 1,000 inhabi
tants. The illegitimate births number 107 per 1,000 births.
Between 1900 and 1910 the excess of births over deaths
was 14.39 percent, the loss by emigration being 4.82 per
cent. The net increase of population was thus 9.57 percent,
as compared with 12.93 and 13.1 respectively in the previ
ousdecades. The emigration of Germans in considerable
numbers to America did not begin till the present century.
(2) ANNEXATION BY AUSTRIA
Two events in the latterhalfof theeighteenth century, the
Russo-Turkish War (1769-74) and the First Partition of
Poland (1772), helped to decide the fate of the Bukovina.
After the conclusion of peace between Russia and Turkey
(at Kuchuk Kainarji), when it became evident that Turkey
could no longer retain the Rumanian Principalities, Austria
put forward its claim to the northern part of Moldavia.
This was based on (1) the need for settlement of the old
disputes concerning the frontier, (2) the desire for a 'cor-
38
don sanitaire' against the plague, and (3) the assertion that
the territory had been originally usurped by Turkey.
Simultaneously with the diplomatic introduction of the
claim the Imperial troops occupied various points in northem Moldavia.
Originally the frontier proposed by Austria followed a line
mnning from Chotin to Czemowitz across the Bukovina
forest; but in March 1775 the order was given to leave an
'undetermined frontier'. The protests of the ruling prince
and of the Moldavian boyars were passed over, with the
intimation that the question was one to be settled by
Austria with the Porte alone; the latter, however, was less
amenable than had been expected, because it feared inter
nal disturbances and hoped for external support from
France and Prussia.
Eventually, however, Austria secured the Convention of
May 7,1775, by which the lands contained by 'the
Dnjestr, the borders of Pokuta, Hungary, and Transylvania',
were surrendered to it, in order to facilitate communication
between Transylvania and Galicia. This district was one of
the most richly wooded of the Moldavian provinces, and
contained the ancient capital Suczawa and the town of
Czemowitz. The exact limits were to be determined
according to a fabricated Austrian map which the Porte
had been induced to adopt, and which represented the ter
ritory in question-to quote an Austrian statement-as a strip
of land with 'three or four market towns and eleven vil
lages, the rest consisting of forest and rugged land*.
The final Convention of May 12, 1776, ceded to Austria a
territory of 4,035 square miles, with a population of
70,000 inhabitants. Maria Theresa did not fail to shed a
tear over these 'Moldavian affairs...with regard to which
we are totally in the wrong....I must confess I do not know
how we shall come out of it, but hardly with honour, and
that grieves me beyond expression'.
(3) DECLINE OF RUMANIAN NATIONALITY
Administration under Austria.-The territory thus acquired
was constituted an autonomous province, under the name
'Bukovina', and placed for the time being under a military
administration which, however, retained Rumanian as the
official language. When this administration came to an end
the Bukovina was from 1786 to 1790 incorporated with
Galicia; its autonomy was, however, restored by an
Imperial patent dated September 19, 1790, which decreed
that 'Bukovina, shall, under this name, be always consid
ered and treated as an autonomous province with special
states'. At the close of the Napoleonic wars Austria revert
ed to the plan of uniting the Bukovina for purposes of
administration with Galicia.
When Austria entered into possession in 1777 the country
was almost denuded of population (this having sunk to
about 70,000) and immigration from the adjacent territo
ries was encouraged; this brought numbers of Ruthenes
from Galicia and Rumanians from Hungary and
Transylvania, together with a smaller infusion of Magyars,
Poles, and Germans, to reinforce the mixed population of
Rumanians and Ruthenes already in possession.
Reorganization of the Churck-TheiQ had not, so far, been
any separate organization for the province, and the only
body possessing any entity was the national, i.e. Orthodox
Church, which had been organized since the fifteenth cen
tury under a national Metropolitan at Suczawa, with a suf
fragan bishop at Radautz. The new Government proceeded
at once to the reorganization of this body, with the view
(as the Rumanian nationalists maintain) of destroying the
connexion between the Bukovina and Moldavia. Without
consultation with the Patriarch, the Austrian authorities
created the new diocese of the Bukovina, and a new
Constitution was elaborated for its government without
reference to the ecclesiastical authorities, while at the same
time the estates held by the Church in Moldavia were
renounced. The large number of monasteries of the Order
of St. Basil in the Bukovina were reduced to three and
their property passed (May 1785) into the hands of the
civil administration: an Imperial decree (1786) regularized
the status of the Church and about half of the existing
parishes were suppressed. The bishop was provided with a
Consistory, of which half the members were laymen, and
the Emperor became patron of the whole Church.
Changes in the Population.-Rumaman nationality also suf
fered under the new regime in regard to the composition of
its population. Many of its leaders, the boyars, abandoned
the province and withdrew to Jassy, and were followed
later by many members of the teaching profession.
Those boyars who remained were won over to the admin
istration by a lavish distribution of titles, while their chil
dren were educated in the German schools and became
willing functionaries of the new Government Commerce
and farming passed into the hands of foreigners, chiefly
Jews from Galicia and, has been pointed out, the immigra
tion of Poles, Germans, and Ruthenes was encouraged.
Although the Ruthenes submitted to the Orthodox Church,
and thus thwarted the aims of Catholic propaganda, their
continued influx gradually reduced the numerical superior
ity originally possessed by the Rumanians. A document of
1843 recognized Ruthenian as being with Rumanian 'the
language of the people and of the Church in Bukovina'.
(4) REVIVAL OF RUMANIAN NATIONALITY
Influence of Rumania.-The Bukovina shared to some extent
in the national movement of the nineteenth century which
was developing in the Rumanian as in other countries. A
certain measure of intercourse had persisted between the
boyars whohad emigrated and those who had remained in
the annexed territory, and this facilitated the penetration
into the Bukovina, of the cultural renascence which flour
ished in Rumania after the Peace of Adrianople (1829).
A certain number of young nobles, especially those of the
Hurmuzaki family, although educated at Lemberg and at
Vienna, took up the old Rumanian traditions with enthusi
asm, and asserted the rights of the Rumanian population to
supremacy in an autonomous Bukovina. Like other nation
al movements among the Rumanians, this also aimed, as
an ideal, at the complete reunion of their race, and empha
sized the bonds which united them to the Rumanians in the
Principalities and in Hungary. The loyalty which the
Rumanian upper class felt towards the Habsburgs, together
no doubt with their distrust of the Slav peoples by whom
they were surrounded, made them, however, look rather to
union within the frontiers of the Austrian Monarchy.
The Revolutionary Movement ofl848.-The movement
took a more positive aspect in 1848, when there were rev
olutionary outbreaks in Moldavia and Wallachia. In that
year the leaders of an abortive rising at Jassy, including
men who subsequently shaped Rumania, like Cogalniceanu,
the poet Alexandri, and the future ruler of the United
Principalities, Cuza, were exiled, and they found a wel
come refuge at the seat of the Hurmuzaki family in the
Bukovina.
The Church Question.-Under their influence, the head of
the Hurmuzaki family called together in Czemowitz a
meeting of the Rumanian clerics, and induced them to
demand the autonomous administration of the Orthodox
Church, a yearly assembly of all the estates, the
Rumanization of the schools and of the administration-in
short, complete administrative, political, and judicial*
autonomy, such as had been guaranteed at the time of the
annexation. But beyond these local demands there was
expressed a further desire more significantly national,
namely, that all members of the Rumanian Orthodox
Church of Austria and Hungary should be placed under
one ecclesiastical authority.
This programme was submitted to the Emperor in June
1848. Under the pressure of circumstances the imperial
Government recognized the Rumanian nationality, admit
ted the introduction of Rumanian in the schools, trans
ferred to the Consistory of Czemowitz the educational
control hithertoexercised by that of Lemberg, and, finally,
by a new Constitution, created in March 1849 the
autonomous duchy of the Bukovina as an Austrian Crown-
39
Karlowitz to proclaim separation from the Serbian Church,
but the now Metropolitanate at Czemowitz included only
the Rumanians of Transylvania and Hungary. The national
party in the Bukovina ascribed this result to the intrigues
of the authorities and the jealousy of the higher clerics;
after the accession of Prince Carol to the throne of
Rumania (1866), and in view of the imminent incorpora
tion of Transylvania with Hungary, the idea of an ecclesi
astical union, which should include all orthodox
Rumanians was finally rejected by the Government.
(5) REACTION IN THE BUKOVINA.
Repressive Measures.-Henceforward the efforts of the
Rumanians of the Bukovina were directed towards further
ing the cultural progress of their people, in order to main
tain at least their provincial solidarity. The imperial author
ity, however, showed little sympathy for these endeavours.
Publications founded in Nationalist interests were sup
pressed; lectures on Rumanian history were forbidden on
the pretext that the society which organized them had not
the status of an educational institution; permission for the
holding of a national congress was refused, and in
December 1869 the Emperor formally reaffirmed his privi
lege as patron of the Rumanian Church. The National
Party, composed of forty to fifty landowners and as many
officials and members of the liberal professions, had no
power of resistance, being without contact with the rural
proletariat, and without the support of a national middle
class. The younger and more spirited intellectuals risen
from below often preferred to emigrate to Rumania.
Evidence ofNational Feeling.-There were sporadic asser
tions of the national spirit, as for instance the assembly of
about 2,000 persons, including, for the first time, members
of the peasantry, which met in Czemowitz (June 1870) to
proclaim the national character and legal rights of the
Church of the Bukovina; or the festivities which took
place in August 1871, on the initiative of a group of stu
dents and with the concurrence of many notable person
ages from Rumania, on the occasion of the tercentenary of
the foundation of the monastery at Puma by the Moldavian
hero, Stephen the Great. But such incidents only stimulat
ed reaction. In January 1873, in order to accentuate the
distinction between the Church of the Bukovina and that
On the death of the head of the Orthodox Serbian Church,
of Rumania, the Imperial Government, without any refer
ence to the respective populations, and without heeding the
protests of public opinion and of the Churches, decided
upon the fantastic measure of uniting the Churches of the
Bukovina and Dalmatia under one Metropolitan. Two
years later, on the occasion of the anniversary of the
annexation of the Bukovina, Czemowitz received the gift
of a German University, which further promoted the policy
of denationalizing the Rumanian youth.
who had opposed Rumanian ecclesiastical independence,
the Emperor approved (June 15,1863) the principle of a
Rumanian Metropolitanate. In 1864a synod met at
That policy was largely successful, at any rate in so far as
the upper class was concerned. But the strenuous political
agitation organized by the Rumanians of Hungary called
land. In a memorandum presented to the Congress at
Olmutz in February, the Rumanian leaders, having failed
to secure the creation of a duchy embracing all the
Rumanians of the Monarchy, restricted their demand to the
ecclesiastical union, and persisted in this through the peri
od of reaction-during which there was for a time (185960) again a question of incorporation with Galicia.
40
forth an echo in the Bukovinaamong circles more democ
ratic in origin, action, and purpose. In 1891 a political
journal made its appearance, and early in 1892the consti
tution of a compactnational party, which adopted the
name 'Concordia', was announced, to represent 'the soli
darity of all the Rumanians of Bukovina in political,
national, and ecclesiastical matters' While insisting on the
one hand, upon the autonomy and historical individuality
of the Bukovina, and upon the right to a national cultural
development, the new, leaders reiterated their loyalty to the
Habsburg monarchy. This movement, however, never real
ized the aspirations of Rumanian nationality, and the field
was left open for the policy of the authorities which was
directed rather to the encouragement of other elements in
the population.
m. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
(1) RELIGIOUS
While the Rumanians, who number some 273,000, are cer
tainly the predominant race in the Bukovina, they are not
as numerous as the Ruthenes, who with a population of
305,000 form 38 percent of the whole population. They
occupy the northern and eastern parts of the province and
have pushed up the valley of the Sereth as far as the head
of the Moldova, where they form a wedge between the
Rumanians and the northeastern wing of the Hungarians.
Their nobles have adopted German culture and have
ceased in any sense to be leaders of the mass of the
Ruthene people. The teachers and priests, are generally
educated in the excellent German seminaries and trainingschools, and, not knowing where they may be called upon
to work, make themselves proficient in both the.
Rumanian and Ruthenian languages. Although there is
some race hostility between the two leading peoples of the
Bukovina, this feeling is not embittered by religious differ
ences. Both belong to the Orthodox Church, only a small
number of the Ruthenes (26,000) being members of the
Uniat Church of Galicia.
The Metropolitans have generally been chosen from among
the Rumanian ecclesiastics, but they govern with a
Consistory of Rumanian and Ruthenian clerics; all their deci
sions have to be sanctioned by the Imperial authorities and
they have no share whatsoever in the administration of the
extensive properties of the Church. The clergy receive their
stipends from the 'Fund for the Religious' founded in 1782.
According to the census of 1910 (Oesterreichisches statistisches Handbuch, 1912\ out of a total population of
801,364 the Orthodox Church claimed, 68.4 of the popula
tion, 15.67 are assigned to the Catholic Church, 2.56 to the
Evangelical, and 12.86 are registered as Jews.
Germans. These last are found in greatest numbers in the
towns, where much of the trade and industry is under their
direction; in Czemowitz there are 41,000 Germans, 28,000
of whom are Jews. Many of the Jews have, however, also
settled on land as farmers.
(2) POLITICAL
Since 1849 the Bukovina has been an autonomous duchy
divided into nine districts and one autonomous municipali
ty, Czemowitz, which is also the seat of the provincial
Government The Diet, created by the Constitution of 1861,
is composed of 31 members; the Metropolitan and the rec
tor of the University-the latter since 1875-sitting ex officio.
The great landowners elect 10 members, the towns 3, the
Chamber of Trade and Commerce 2, and the rural districts
12. The Bukovina sends 14 members to the Reichsrat The
judiciary is under the authority of the Provincial High
Court at Lemberg, and there are in the Bukovina one
Provincial and 17 District Courts. The language of adminis
tration is German, but Rumanian and Ruthenian are recog
nized as in use (Iandesublich) in the country.
(3) EDUCATIONAL
With the exception of Dalmatia, the Bukovina shows the
lowest percentage of literates in the Dual Monarchy; 24.55
percent for men and 16.9 percent for women. In 1911 there
were in existence 531 elementary schools, in 216 of which
instruction was given in Ruthenian, in 179 in Rumanian, in
82 in German, and in the others in two or more of the lan
guages of the district The low standard of education pre
vailing among the people is due perhaps not so much to an
inadequate supply of vernacular instruction as to the fact
that the population is often very scattered and, except
among the German communities, is not always anxious to
avail itself of educational facilities. In the middle schools,
which have 5,600 pupils on the roll, 2,946 are German,
1,194 Ruthenian, and 1,193 Rumanian, and out of 700
pupils in Realschulen only 86 are entered as Rumanian,
and no Ruthenians appear on the roll, which is completed
by Germans.
There is a University at Czemowitz, largely in German
hands, but the Theological (Orthodox) Faculty is fre
quented by Rumanians and Ruthenians. There are also
three Gymnasia at Czemowitz, Radautz, and Suczawa
respectively.
In addition Czemowitz possesses an Episcopal Seminary,
an Industrial College, an Agricultural College, five Arts
and Crafts Schools, a Commercial School, and a Training
College for Teachers. The language of instruction in the
higher schools is German.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
The Roman Catholic Church, which owing to its active
missionary efforts has made considerable progress in
recent years, is chiefly supported by the Polish population
The division of interests between the two predominant
races in the Bukovina, together with the Austrian sympa
together with the non-Jewish elements among the
thies of the upper classes, have served to check the nation-
al movement. Rumanian leaders, who have tried to sow
the seeds of an awakening, have been forced by indiffer
ence or by persecution to abandon their activity and
migrate to Rumania. Dr. Awiel Onciul, a publicistand for
41
river as far as a point opposite Jassy, 150 miles from its
junction with the Danube. The cost of the work proposed
in the Bukovina was estimated at 3,000,000 kronen, of
which the province was to contribute 12-1/2 percent. By
this means timber, stone, tiles, minerals, cement, gypsum,
and other local products could be cheaply conveyed to
merly director of a bank, has recently come forward with
proposals which have made Rumanian politics still more
stormy. He has abandoned the national for a purely social
programme, and has joined with the Ruthenes in a scheme
for comprehensive rural and electoral reform. In return for
promises of improvement of their status, he secured the
of that part of the Pruth which flows through the
Bukovina, will be very important for the future of the
province if the proposals for the construction of waterways
support of many priestsand teachers, and acquired a large
in Galicia to connect the Vistula and the Dniester are ever
following among the peasantry, with the result that his
party obtained a majority in the assembly and was able to
carry through the electoral reform. The outbreak of war
did not allow its effects to mature, and it also put an end
for the time being to a new national movement which cul
carried out. If that part of the German Levant trade which
now goes via Lemberg, Czemowitz, and Jassy were divert
ed to waterways north of the Bukovina, the province,
which has communication with the west by rail only,
would stand in danger of complete isolation.
tural influences from Rumania were initiating among the
Rumania, Bessarabia, and the Black Sea. The canalization
IV. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Most of the main streams, though not navigable for ships,
can be used for rafts, and in this way are valuable for the
transport of timber to Galatz and the Black Sea.
(A) MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
(c) Railways
younger generation.
(a) Roads
The Bukovina is tolerably well served by railways. There
THERE were in the Bukovina in 1912 only 429 kilometres are 592 kilometres of line, and the proportion of railway
lines to area and population (viz. 1 km. per 17.6 sq. km.
of first-class roads maintained by the State
and
per 1,351 inhabitants) comparesfavourably with other
(Ararialstrasseri), a low total as compared, with that in
less
developed portions of the AustrianEmpire. The most
other provinces of the Austrian Empire. Dalmatia, with a
important
line is that connecting Czemowitz northwards
slightly larger area, has considerably more than double the
length of main roads, while Carniola, whose area is almost with Galicia and Germany via Kolomea, Lemberg,
Cracow, Breslau, and southwards through Rumania with
exactly equal to that of the Bukovina, has 603 kilometres.
Galatz
and the Black Sea. Of the total imports into
On the other hand, the mileage of second-class roads or
Rumania
about 9 percent (91,782 tons) go by this route,
local roads is proportionately high. As the Bukovina is a
and
of
the
exports some 2-1/2 percent (146,271 tons).
poorly developed province, the roads are probably ade
quate to its needs.
Of the remaining lines, one leads north to Tarnopol and
the
other branches off in a westerly direction to the
Roads run north and northwest via Tarnopol and via
Carpathians.
There is a narrow-gauge line which branches
Kolomea to Lemberg, southwestover the Carpathians into
off in a westerly direction from Hadikfalva, a station on
Hungary by two routes, one of which follows the line of
the railway, and southeast into Rumania to the valleys of
the Pruth and the Sereth.
It may be assumed, however, that many communications
weredestroyed during the first two years of the war, when
the province was the scene of constantfighting, while
many new roads and even canals and railways, as to which
we have no definite information, may have been construct
ed. Any estimate of the existing facilities for communica
tion can therefore be only approximate.
(b) Rivers and Canals
Before the war, the province possessed no navigable
the main line between Czemowitz and Suczawa, and
which eventually makes a sharp turn to the South, termi
nating at the foot of the Kirlibaba Pass. A broad-gauge
line, farther east, left the main Czemowitz line at Hatna
and ran to Dorna Watra, a growing watering-place. During
the war, this local line appears to have been carried over
the Carpathians and joined up to the Hungarian system.
There is also ground for thinking that a line has been car
ried over the Kirlibaba Pass, either northwards from the
Dorna Watra line or southwards from Seletyn. This exten
sion would be of narrow gauge. It is very possible that
other lines have been constructed during the war. Before
the outbreak of war all the lines were single tracks, but
there is a report that the main Czemowitz line and the line
waterways.A proposal for making the River Pruth avail
able for shipping from the Galician to the Rumanian fron
tier had been adopted by the Imperial Government, but, as
far as is known, has not yet been carried out. The Pruth is
navigable throughout its course in Rumania (about 400
The destruction of railways in this region during the earlier
miles), and shipsand lighters of 600 tons can ascend the
part of the war was enormous. No estimate is available for
to Doma Watra have since been doubled. All the lines are
the property of the Austro-Hungarian Government.
42
losses in the Bukovina alone, but a recent Austrian authori
2,842 hectares were under cultivation in 1912, and the
ty estimated that the damage caused by the war to the
tracks and rolling stock in Galicia and Bukovina together
amounted to nearly 500,000,000 kronen.
yield was 379,510 quintals. This represents a low rate of
production per hectare, and the whole output is trifling as
compared with that of Bohemia and Moravia, which reach
es tens of millions of quintals. The cultivation of tobacco,
never considerable, seems to have entirely disappeared.
Many parts of the southeast are suitable for vineyards, and
the cultivation of the vine is steadily increasing. The areas
occupied by the chief crops in 1912 were as follows :
(d) Posts and Telegraphs
Before the war there were in the Bukovina 231 post
offices, or one for every 3,469 inhabitants, and 105 tele
graph offices.
(B) INDUSTRY
(1) LABOUR:
Buckwheat
2,752
The Bukovina is fairly well populated for its size, having a
much higher rate of population to the square kilometre
than Dalmatia, Carniola, or any of the mountainous
provinces of the Empire. The main occupation of the
inhabitants is agriculture, and there is no deficiency of
labour for this purpose. There is some permanent emigra
tion. No recent statistics are available, but at the beginning
of the present century the total number of emigrants was
about 3,000 yearly. A large proportion of these go to
Germany and Hungary. A number of harvesters go into
Germany to work for a short time every year.
Clover hay
38,425
The agricultural labourers of the Bukovina are of a very
primitive type, and most of them are illiterate. Their pay,
about 40 to 50 heller for a day of ten hours, is probably the
lowest in the Empire. They are usually in the hands of Jew
money-lenders, and spend their lives in unsuccessfully try
ing to work off their debts. They cannot, therefore, afford
to be anything but industrious, but until the general level
of living is raised, they cannot be expected to appreciate or
adopt any improvements in their very primitive agricultur
al methods.
In comparison with the other less-developed provinces of
the Empire, the Bukovina has a fair number of agricultural
associations, credit societies, Raiffeisen banks, for there is
much enlightened and progressive activity in Czemowitz,
the capital. It does not appear, however, that these organi
zations have as yet succeeded in raising the standard of
living.
(2) AGRICULTURE
(a) Products of Commercial Value
About a quarter of the total area of the Bukovina is under
cultivation. The chief crop is maize, and next in order
come oats, rye, barley, and wheat, while potatoes are also
grown in considerable quantities. Maize is grown chiefly
in the low-lying easterly parts of the country; oats and
potatoes are mainly cultivated in the higher valleys of the
west.
There are practically no products of commercial impor
tance, though there is some exportation of. agricultural and
dairy produce. A beginning has been made with sugar beet;
Hectares
Hectares
Barley
33,593
Oats
Potatoes
Pulse
46,400
37,750
14,023
2,172
4,699
Rye
Sugar-beet
31,267
2,842
Hemp
5,453
Maize
62,964
Swedes
Wheat
6,580
22,204
Flax
Fodder (mixed)
There were also 128,463 hectares of meadow land. The
fruit harvest in that year amounted to 131,150 quintals.
The peasants, especially the Ruthenians, who amount to
about half the population, undertake cattle-raising, but they
show no great care or intelligence, and the accommodation
for the cattle is very primitive. Their breeds of cattle are
not good, though of late years attempts, have been made to
improve them by the introduction of fine draught animals
from the Alpine regions. Pigs are kept everywhere. There
are some rough-fleeced sheep in the mountains, on the
Dniester plateau, and on the lower Suczawa. The native
horses are sound and strong, and in the mountain districts
there is a small, sure-footed breed of eastern origin. Fowls,
ducks, and geese are plentiful.
Soldiers in the 1877-1878 War
Name
Rank
Aaimberg Herscu
Cpl
Aba Itic
Unit
Com.uvr.Art.
43
District
Place
City
Botosani
Botosani
Botosani
was in militia conting. 1871
Iasi
Despar 3
Iasi
in res con 1874
joined contingent 1876
Notes
Ababavei
Vasluiu
Slaonic
Vasluiu
Abram Solomon
Ilfov
Color. Albs
Tergu
Bucarst
in reserve since 1874
Piatra
in militia 1860
Aizenberg Marcu
reg 6 linie
Nemtu
Aizic Burah
Bacau
Aizic Iancovici Goldenb
Covurluiu
Aizic Leizer
Alamaru Haim
rg.15
Alamiru David
Altarescu Iacob
Siretu
Bacau
ioin.com.
Galati
corp.cont.1877
join con 1878
Suceva
Sumuzu
Falticeni
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
in res 1864
Bacau
Bis. de sus
Bacau
join.conting. 1876
Joined present conting. 1878
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Alter Avram
reg 5 lini
Nemtu
Piatra
Piatra
1866
Alter Barcu
13
Vasluiu
Crasna
Lipvetu
Alter David
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podlloi
joined conting
join, cont. 1878
Alter sin Iosub
13
Iasi
Iasi
on call at home
Alter Zeidic
rg.15
reg.cal.per
rg.15
Nemtu
Desus
Nemtu
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Nemtu
Bistrita
Bohus
join con 1878
join con 1878
join con 1878
Bucaresci
Col.de rosu
Bucaresci
loin.cont.
Neamtu
Piatra
Neamtu
reg 5 lini
Nemtu
Piatra
Piatra
1866
JHdi
reg 10 dor
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
join cont 1876
Altman Haim Iosubfraim
Amale Haim
Andronescu G. Iosef
Arabagiu Leiba
Arabagiu Leiba
Arabagiu Sinca
Aran Leibu
Argintaru Iosub
Cpl
15
Dolj
Ocolu
Crajova
in res 1868
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
join cont 1876
Aron David
Sqd train
Suceava
Somuzu
Flticeni
in res con 1871
Aron Iancu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despar 5
Iasi
in res con
Avraam Zalmen Copel
14
Bacau
Tasl. de sus
Bocsesci
join cont 1878
Braila
Vadeni
Gaiseanca
in res 1868
Botosani
Stefanesci
Stefanesci
1865
R. Sarat
Orasu
Buzeu
Avram Alter
Avram Avram
reg 6 cal
Avram Hofman
reg.2 Art
Buzeu
Sarata
Buzeu
res.contingent
join con 1870
Avram Iancu
bat 3 ven
Nemtu
PI. de Sus
Nemtu
in res 1866
Botosani
Piatra
Neamtu
Avram Hersu
Avram Iosif
Avram Iosul
reg 8 cal
Roman
Moldova
Roman
1868
Avram Isim
Com.uvr.Art.
Putna
Racaciuni
Adjud
Avram Lupu Itic
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podu Iloi
join con 1875
join, cont. 1878
Avram Marcu
reg 10 dor
reg 5Calar
reg 10 dor
Doli
Ocolu
Crajova
in res 1868
Prahova
Pitesci
Ploesci
in res con
Doli
Ocolu
Crajova
in res 1868
Falciu
Crasna
Bunesci
Avram Mihail
Avram Moise
Avram Simon
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Pacesci
join, cont. 1878
Avram sin Maer Belter
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
join, cont. 1878
Avram Smil
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
Avram Smil
13
Iasi
joined conting
join con 1877
join con 1875
join con 1878
Avram Simon
Avram Strul
Avram Strul
Avram Strul
Brgadier reg 3 art.
rg.15
reg 14 dor
Avram Strul
Iasi
Btosani
Botosani
Falticeni
Suceva
Sumuzu
Roman
Sir de Sus
Gasmit
1868
Neamtu
Piatra
Piatra
in res 1864
Azenberg Marcu
bat 1 ven
Nemtu
Tergu
Piastra
in res 1867
Azzil Moise
Rg.7Clr
Botosani
Siretul
Burdujeni
in mil con
Babel Arie sin Lieb Her.
14
Roman
Bis de sus
Roman
Babuiovici Aron
reg 12 dor
Falciu
Prutu
Husi
join.cont. 1877
join con 1878
Baihis Iancu
13
Iasi
Iasi
on call at home
Bainam Moise
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Ganania
Baintrap Mendel Leibu
11
Covurlui
Siretu
Balan Herscu
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
join.cont. 1878
joined conting
join cont 1876
Bandel Laim
Reg cal perm
Roman
Moldova
Roman
loin con
rg.15
Nemtu
Mijlocu
Bajeni
Bandel Strul
oincon 1878
Soldiers in the 1877-1878 War continued
44
Unit
District
Place
City
Notes
Bandoil Bercu
15
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
join cont 1874
Baras Moretz
Herghel Arm.
reg.!6Drb
reg.15Cal-ar.Perm
Ilfov
Bucuresci
in res con 1874
Herta
Herta
join con
Suceva
Siretul
Lespdi
join con
Falciu
Prutu
Husi
joined conting
Name
Rank
Baroncanu Aran
Bax Leiba
Beaghighiu Burah
Becu Simcan
12
Sgt
Dorohoiu
Bacau
Bacau
in res 1868
join con
Beila Iosob
Reg cal perm
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
Bercavici Smil
13
Vasluiu
Bahluiu
Barlsci
Bercovici Lupu
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
join, cont. 1878
join.cont. 1874
Bercu Ciobotaru
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Braniscra
Sculeni
in res con
Bercu Ciobotaru
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Braniscea
Sculeni
1869
Iasi
Desp.IV
Iasi
lom.cont.
Arges
Pitesci
Pitesci
lom.cont.
Dorohoiu
Berhamete
Mihaileni
Bercu David
rg.4Dorob
Bercu Grumberg
Bercu Ham
rg.15
reg 12 dor
Suceva
Moldova
Baca
Bercu Moise
Tutova
Tutova
Berlad
join con 1878
join con 1878
Bercu Simcan
bat 1 ven
Dorohoiu
Berhom-ete
Mihaileni
in res 1866
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
in res 1864
Nemtu
Muntele
Bicazu
join cont 1875
in res 1868
Bercu Itic
Bercu Simion
Bercu Solomon
-SSL
Beremberg Leibu
Beres Bercu
Berman Aron
Berner Avram
Blanaru Iosef
Blumenberg Moise
15
bat 3 ven
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
-
reg 1 art
Roman
Moldova
Roman
1868
-
2
Iasi
-
Iasi
res.contin.1871
13
Iasi
-
Iasi
Bat.2
Nemtu
join. cont. 1878
join.cont.1876
-
-
-
Com2MP
ii
Tergusoru
Despar. IV
Piatra
•I
in res con 1874
reg. 6 Calar.
Putna
Corodu
Adam
join con
2
Tutova
Orasu
Focsani
rg.15
reg.cal.per
Nemtu
Bistrita
Bohus
join con 1878
Brusca Zisu
Roman
Roman
in res con 1870
Buimn Zavel
13
Vasluiu
Tergu
Mijlocu
Herasci
join, cont. 1877
join, cont. 1878
Blumenfeld Iosef
Brainstain Aba
-
-
Bril Itic
Buium Marcovici
Burah Itic
13
Soldier
Burah Leiba
6
Jfcli
Burah Nahman
Burah Strul
13
Crasna
Mun-de-sus
Bacau
Trotosu
Ter. Ocnei
in res 1865
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
join con 1878
Falciu
Prutu
Husi
in res 1868
Iasi
Bahluiu
Baiceni
join, cont. 1878
Burducica Iosef
Roman
Burit Avram
Braia
Burt Mihel Urechi
Buzatu Maer
14
Sgt
Orasu
Roman
Buzeu
lom.cont.
join.cont. 1878
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Falciu
Soimu
Falciu
Buzatu Meer
Com2MP
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
in res con 1870
Caciularu Simsa
rg.15
rg.15
Rg8Clr
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
join con 1878
join con 1878
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
in res con 1876
3
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
disch 3 yrs rein
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
join con
Roman
Sir.-de-sus
Dagatu
join.cont.1875
join, cont. 1878
join cont 1876
join con 1878
join con
join, cont. 1878
join con 1878
join cont 1876
join cont 1874
Cacugin Marcu
Caengiu Zaide
Caiman Cunca
Caiman Meer
Soldier
Rg8Clr
Canter Berler
Capelovici Berem
Carpen Aron
Casapu Berlu
Casapu Daniel
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Rafael
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
PolSq Iasi
reg.!6Drb
Roman
Cascer Maer
13
Iasi
Ceaus Grigore
Ceprezaru Marcu
Cherpel Aron
reg 7 cal
J&H
Dorohoiu
Roman
Cosula
Drhoiu
Botosani
Siretu
T Buceria
Petra
Iasi
Nemtu
Petra
15
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
Nemtu
Piatra
Piatra
1866
Chioru Luts
reg 5 lini
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Chiva Lelovici
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
join con 1878
join cont 1876
Chioru Herscu
Name
Rank
Cioara Haim
Ciobotaru Avram
Ciobotaru Ghersim
Ciobotaru Herscu Iosub
Ciobotaru Smil Solom
Unit
45
District
Place
City
Notes
Bacau
Trotosu
T. Ocnei
in res 1864
15
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
join cont 1874
reg 5Calar
Rg.7Clr
Falciu
Hornicea
Husi
join con
Iasi
Desprt IV
Iasi
under flag con
14
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
join.cont. 1877
Ciofu Bercu
Rg.7Clr
Vasluiu
Mijlocu
St Div Iasi
Bacau
Bist. de Sus
Beresa
Ter. Glod
join con
Ciuraru Naftulea
Clic Moise
Cofariu Haim
Contort Rohol
reg 5Calar
Rg8Clr
Covrluiu
Hornicea
Beresci
join con
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
in res con 1874
1
Dolgiu
Ocolu
Crajva
Rg8Clr
rg.15
Neamtu
Piatra
Piatra
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
-
-
1869
5
Covurluiu
Despart. 1
Galati
Croitorlu Salman Bercu Marin -
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Croitoru Pavel
Rg8Clr
rg.15
Namtul
Piatra
Piatra
Suceva
Desus
Nemtu
joined con 1878
join con 1877
join con 1878
join cont 1876
joined conting. 1878
ioin.cont. 1877
join con
join con 1878
6
Bacau
Bis de Sus
Glodurile
in res 1865
reg 5 lini
R. Sarat
Ramnicu
Ranicu
in res 1864
Berlad
in res 1869
Berlad
Cotiugaru Itic
Cotugaru Haim
Covrigaru Hatcal
Crimer Morit
Croitoru Hoise
Croitoru Iosef
Croitoru Iosef
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Croitoru Israel
Sgt
6
Tutova
Croitoru Israil
Sgt
Tutova
Botosani
Cosula
Harlau
Siretu
T. Buceria
Croitorul M. Berla
3
reg.l6Drb
reg 7 cal
Reg cal perm
rg.15
Rg8Clr
Tergul
Tergului
Cunia Hie
St Div Iasi
Dansky Aron
Dascalu Avram
Croitoru Itic
Croitoru Leibis
Croitoru Leizer Manos
Croitoru Marcu
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
rejoined contin. 1870
join con
join con 1878
join con
join cont 1876
join con
Iasi
Despart 5
Iasi
in res con
14
Bacau
Tasl. de sus
Bacau
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Botosani
Dascalu Iosef Alecu
14
Bacau
Tasl. de sus
Moinesci
David Golingen
reg 12 dor
Tutova
-
Berlad
David Iancu
10
Puma
Garlele
Odobesci
David Itic
13
Vasluiu
Furidurile
Dragsci
David Marcu
5
Puma
Orasu
Focsani
David Rersen
rg.15
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
join cont 1878
join cont 1876
join cont 1878
join con 1879
joined cont.
join. cont. 1877
join cont 1876
David Smil
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 5
Iasi
in res con
13
Vasluiu
Stemuic
Vasluiu
David Solomon
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
David Strul
rg.l5dorb
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
joined conting
join.cont. 1878
join cont 1876
Neamtu
desus
TNmtu
res.cont.1874
Tutova
Tutova
Berlad
Siretu
Ganan-ia
join con 1878
joined conting
Roman
Roman
Roman
in res 1868
T. Frumos
in res con 1874
David Smil
Dohotariu Itic
reg 12 dor
Dorfman Saim
Dranciu Adolf
11
Covurlui
Drojdieru Sulea
14
Bacau
8
Droscaru Moise
Res.Cont. 1872
Esau Simion
State Bat Foe.
Iasi
Carligatura
Fabis Marcu
15
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
Faibis Hofel
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
join cont 1874
join.cont. 1878
Faibis Iancu
reg 5Calar
Botosani
Pitesci
Pitesci
in Mil con
Faibis Leiba
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
join cont 1876
Faighilis Iosef
2 rosiori
Failus Sula
Fara Iosif
Feidel Leizer Herscu
Feldman Herman
Fenchelstein Vilhelm
Feredicru Itic Moise
Feredieru Iosif
Cpl
13
Rg8Clr
Sanit. Sen
j&IL
Iasi
Desp.IV
Iasi
ioin.cont.
Putna
Orasului
Focsani
in contin 1870
Ilfov
Mah. Jicnit
Bucuresci
Iasi
Branistea
Sculeni
join, cont. 1878
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
join con
Falticeni
join con 1872
JUbCYQ
Suceva
Somuzu
wv»mi«««
Falticeni
x aiuwwm
,1^*" ^w.. -— . —
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Suceava
joincon 1878
46
Name
Rank
Unit
District
Place
City
Notes
13
Vasluiu
Crasna
Tanab
join. cont. 1877
Vasluiu
Prahova
Pun-gesci
Bacau
Finchilescu Leiba
Fiser Iosub
5
Folic Zaharia
2
Bacau
Bistrita
Fraid David Leiba
reg.15Calar.Perm
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
corp con 1877
join con 1878
Fraim Lazer
4
Tutova
Tutova
T. Puesci
in res 1865
Frideric Berla
7
Roman
Moldova
Roman
joined present conting. 1877
Froim Frenchel
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
Iasi
in res con
Froim Leibu
reg.l6Drb
rg.15
Dorohoiu
Herta
Herta
Suceva
Samuzu
Falticeni
gave notice Lv
join cont 1876
Froim Sulea
14
Bacau
Tasl.de sus
Main-esci
Res.Cont. 1871
Froim Zeidel
rg.15
Rg8Clr
Suceva
Sumuzu
Falticeni
Neamtu
Piatra
Piatra
join con 1878
join con 1878
Froim Smil Itic David
Gavriloea Ilie
George Iaje
Ghelberg Itic
Ghelberg Mendel
3
Bacau
Trotosu
T. Ocnei
in res 1864
6
Roman
Fundu
Baicesci
rg.15
Suceva
Mijlocu
Podoleni
Ghersin Avram Nula
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
join con 1877
join cont 1876
join con
join cont 1876
under flag con
join con 1878
Ghidman Bercu
reg 6Calar
Putna
Racaciui
Orl de sus
Ghita Zeilic
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
Glaisberg Leon
Goldenberg Aran
Rg.7Clr
rg.15
Iasi
Desprt IV
Iasi
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Goldenstein Iancu
State Div. Buc.
Ilfov
Col. Verde
Bucuresci
Goldenstein Sigman
9
Focsani
Orasu
Buzeu
ioin.cont.
Ggesci
Dragsci
join con
join. cont. 1878
was in reserve contingent
join con 1878
join con
join con
joined conting
ioin.cont. 1874
join con 1878
joined conting
join cont 1876
join con 1878
Golder Azic
reg 5Calar
Falciu
Mijlocu
Grumberg Itic
Grunberg Avram
13
Vasluiu
Fundurile
7
Covurluiu
Siretu
Galati
Grunstain Ancel
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Haham Avram Lupu
Reg cal perm
reg.l6Drb
Suceava
Borcea
Roman
Haham Iosub
Botosani
Siretul
Burdujeni
Haim Berc
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
Haim Herscu
5
Puma
Orasu
Focsani
Poenle
Haim Herscu
14
Roman
Moldova
Haim Iancu
rg.15
Suceva
Sumuzu
Flticeni
Haim Iancu
13
Iasi
Bahlui
Iasi
in res con 1873
Haim Iosub
15
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
Haim Manole
Haim Marcu
Haim Meer
rg.15
Rg.7Clr
Suceva
Bistrita
Buhus
NeamtuI
DeSus
Nemtul
in res con
6
Vasluiu
Crasna
Miclesci
joined conting
join. cont. 1878
join. cont. 1878
Haim Moise
11
Covurlui
Siretu
Ganania
Haim Moise
13
Vasluiu
Racova
Pngesci
Haim Sahman
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
Haim sin Haim
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
join cont 1876
Haim Smil
8
Bolgrad
Prutu
Bol-grad
in res 1864
Haim Smil Zaref
7
Neamtu
Bis.de sus
Piatra
Haim Tinichigiu
14
Roman
Moldova
T. Bacesei
join.cont. 1878
Haimavici Mendel
reg 7 cal
Vasluiu
Fundu
Neg-resei
1867
Haimovici Alter
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
joined conting
join.cont. 1874
join cont 1874
join con
Han Meer
rg.l4dorb
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Haninanici Sulem
15
Nemtu
Bistritea
Buhus
Harabagiu Moise
reg.l6Drb
Dorohoiu
Berhomete
Mahaileni
Haretu Iancu
Bat.l
Dorohoiu
Herta
Herta
Hascal Herscu
reg 8 cal
Roman
Moldova
Carligi
res.contin.1871
1868
join con
Hascal Moise
Reg cal perm
Neamtu
Piatra
Piatra
Hasial Itic
2
Tutova
Berlad
Berlad
Heler Moise
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Carligi
Heraru Mendel
Herman Leidar
15
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
5
Iasi
T. Frumos
Herman Solomon
4
R. Sarat
Carligat
R. de Sus
join con 1878
join cont 1874
under flag contingent 1878
Ramnic
Name
Hers Leiba
Herscovici Aron
Rank
Unit
7
Place
City
Notes
Botosani
Botsani
in res 1868
11
Botosani
Covurlui
Herscovici Avram loscovici
Herscovici Copel
Reg cal perm
reg. 15 Dorob.
Iasi
Neamtul
Herscovici Herscu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
5
Nemtu
Herscu Abas
Herscu Avram
Herscu Avram
Herscu Avram
Herscu Buric
Soldier
47
District
Horincea
Ganan-ia
joined conting
Despart 1
Iasi
join con
DeSus
Urecheni
join con
Despar 4
Iasi
in res con
R. de Sus
Nemtu
res since 1870
reg.2 Art
Ilfov
ColVerde
Bucrsci
in res con 1874
bat 1 ven
Iasi
Bahluiu
Iasi
in res 1867
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Com.uvr.Art.
Roman
Moldova
Roman
disch.con.1875
in res con 1874
join, cont. 1878
Herscu Gutman
Herscu Haim
Herscu Haim Smil
Herscu Iancu
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podu Hoi
reg 10 dor
Com.uvr.Art.
Doli
Roman
Ocolu
Crajova
in res 1868
Moldova
Roman
in res con 1874
Suceava
Suceava
Falticeni
Herscu Iancu Solomon
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
join, cont. 1878
Herscu Hie
com sanit
Prahova
Sf. Impar.
Ploesci
1868
Herscu Hie
St Div Iasi
R. Sarat
UrbRamu
R.Sarat
in res con
Herscu Iosub sin Zeilig
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podu Iloi
join, cont. 1878
Herscu Leiba
Nemtu
de sus
Nemtu
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
join cont 1876
join cont 1876
join con 1878
Herscu Moise
rg.15
rg.15
reg 12 dor
Rg8Clr
Roman
Fundu
Chilile
in res con
Herscu Moise
12
Falciu
Podoleni
Csmsci
Piatra
joined conting
join con 1877
join con 1870
Herscu Leiba
Herscu Leizer
Tutova
Berlad
Herscu Moise
15
Neamtu
Piatra
Herscu Simeon
reg 7 cal
Dorohoiu
Cosula
Drhoiu
Holdenstein Volf
St Div Buc
Dambov
Jalomita
Tergovesci
1869
Holdman Morit
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
Horodnicenu Meer
15
Suceava
Somuzu
Folticeni
Horovici Herscu
13
Iasi
-
Iasi
joined conting
join con 1878
joined conting
Horovici Hie
Com 2MP
Iasi
-
Iasi
in res con 1872
Iacob Maer
8
Ilfov
Sf. Vineri
Bucaresti
Iacob Magder
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Vasluiu
in res.conting. since 1870
joined conting
join con 1878
Iacob Moise
State Div. Buc.
Ilfov
ColVerde
Bucrsci
Iacov Filip
reg.2 Art
Prahova
Dambvita
Ploesci
in res con 1874
Iancovici Haim
14
Bacau
Tasldejos
Tetcani
Iancu Avram
11
Puma
Iancu Caiman
7
Falticeni
Iamuzu
Suceva
Codaesci
Iancu Haim Hie
13
Vasluiu
Mijlocu
Iancu Herscu
14
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
Iancu Herscu
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Iancu Herscu
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
Iancu Moise Moise
13
Iasi
Iancu Moscovici
13
Iasi
Iancu Rosental
10
Puma
Bilesci
Focsani
join cont 1878
joined conting
join. cont. 1877
join.cont. 1870
join cont 1876
join. cont. 1878
join. cont. 1878
joined conting
joined cont.
Iancu Samuil
Buzeu
Sarata
Buzeu
ioin.cont.
Iancu Strul
rg.8Calar.
rg.15
Suceva
Samuzu
Petra
join cont 1876
Idel Itic
13
Iasi
-
Iasi
on call at home
Ilesinger Carol
Sanit. Ser.
-
-
Hie Haim
Suceava
Somuzu
Hie Mendel
Bat. geniu
reg 8 cal
Roman
Sir de Sus
Bara
1868
Incu Huser
9
R.-Sarat
Orasu
Buzeu
Ioina Haim
rg.15
Nemtu
Bistrita
Briesci
Iosef Bercu
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
res.contingent
join cont 1876
joined conting
Iosef Frentbet
Reg cal perm
Tutova
Petrosa
Tutova
in res con
Iosef Haim
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 4
Iasi
join con
Iosef Ilie
6
Covrluiu
Stllie
Galati
in res 1868
Iosef Leibu
2
Tasl. de Jos
Valea Rea
Bacau
Ganania
-
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
-
Falticeni
join con 1872
in res con
48
Unit
District
Place
City
Notes
13
Iasi
Frumos
Iosef Marcu
10
Putna
Carligat
Racaaiuui
oined conting
joined cont
Iosef Moise
reg 6Calar
Tecuciu
Zeletin
Cilnsci
in res con
Iosef Moise Bir
15Cal.per
Nemtu
DeSus
Nemtu
Iosef Rosental
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
join con 1878
joined conting
Iosef Solomon
8
Buzeu
Sarata
Buzeu
ioin.cont.
Suceava
Samuzu
Falticeni
Iosif Iancu
State Div. Buc.
Ilfov
ColVerde
Bucrsci
Iosub Alter
15
Nemtu
Piatra
Petra
Iasi
was in mil, conting. 1872
join con 1877
join cont 1876
joined conting
Somuzu
Flticeni
in res con 1870
Name
Rank
Iosef Maeer
Iosif Aron
Iosub Israel
13
Iasi
Iosub Itic
Rg8Clr
Suceava
Iosub Sacagiu Moise
Isac Iancu
Cpl
Valea Seca
13
Vasluiu
Mijlocu
Codaesci
join, cont. 1877
Botosani
Dmbovita
Cabuna
Gaesci
Pngesci
Con-desci
join con 1876
join, cont. 1878
join cont 1876
join con
Isac Marcu
13
Vasluiu
Racova
Isac Smil
15
Nemtu
Bistrita
Isel Chiva
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 4
Iasi
Itic Alter
reg 5 lini
Botosani
Stefanesci
Stefanesci
1869
Bacau
Bacau
Bacau
res since 1870
Itic Avram
Itic Berc
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Cotnra
join, cont. 1878
Itic Butuaru
reg.!6Drb
Dorohoiu
Bascu
Saveni
join con
Itic Coltatu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 5
Iasi
m
Itic Fraim
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
join, cont. 1878
Itic Herscu
Com2MP
Botosani
in res con 1870
com 7 Iasi
Botosani
Tergului
Tergului
Botsani
Itic Herscu
Botsani
1867
Botasani
Botosani
Btasani
in res 1869
join con
Itic Iancu
Itic Iancu
reg cal perm
Itic Itic
res con
Putna
Racaciuni
ValeaSeca
Neamtu
desus
Tnmtu
res.cont.1874
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podulloi
join, cont. 1878
join con 1878
join, cont. 1878
Itic Lupu Zalman
13
Itic Moise
rg.15
Suceva
Bistrita
Buhus
Itic Ois
13
Vasluiu
Bahluiu
Baiceni
Roman
Moldova
Roman
res since 1870
Dorohoiu
Cosula
Dorohoiu
Itic Pesih
Itic sin Iosef Herscu
Iticovici Iasub
8
reg 7 cal
reg 12 dor
rg.15
reg 8 cal
Iticovici Leiman
Juster Haim
Lachman David
Laiberg Sail
Landau Frantz
Subch
Nemtu
Desus
Nemtu
corp.cont.1878
join con 1878
join con 1878
join con 1878
Roman
Sir de Sus
Bara
1868
Iasi
Bahluiu
Iasi
join con 1872
join, cont. 1877
joined conting
Botosani
Btosani
Tutova
Berlad
Sanit. Ser.
Dorohoiu
Lazar Marcu
R.13dorob
Vasluiu
Crasna
Lebes Zelter
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Leiba Alter
13
Iasi
Leiba Avram
Com2MP
Leiba Herscu
Mihailesci
Dobrov
Vasluiu
Iasi
on call at home
join con 1874
Falciu
Ungaria
Ungureni
res.cont.1871
Leiba Iancu
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Biliesci
join, cont. 1878
Leiba Iosul
reg 8 cal
Reg cal perm
Roman
Sir de Sus
Miclauseni
1868
Iasi
Despart 2
Iasi
join con
Leiba Leizer
Leiba Meer
Leiba Moise
Leiba Sin Haim
Leiba sin Iancu
Leiba Smil
Leiba Vais
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
joinxont. 1877
R. Sarat
Orasu
Buzeu
res since 1871
reg.cal.per
Iasi
Branistea
Prscani
in res con 1870
13
Iasi
Iasi
on call at home
St Div Iasi
Iasi
reg.cal.per
Iasi
Leibe Iancu
8
Roman
Leibiscu Herscu
bat 1 ven
Leibovici Itic
Leibovici Leon
Leibu Avram
Sgt-major
Sgt
Despart 1
Iasi
join con
Iasi
join con 1878
Roman
Roman
in res 1868
Suceva
Iamuzu
Falticeni
in res 1868
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
Botosani
Prahova
Ploesci
joined conting
join con 1876
reg 13 dor
Botosani
Cosula
Frumusica
1866
Name
Rank
Unit
49
Leibu Caiman
bat 2 ven
Leibu Haim
Leibu Herscu
Leibu Hersen
Leibu Isac
Leibu Itic
Leibu Mihel
Leibu Svartman
Leider Leibu
Leiser Solomon
Leizer Barba Lala
Leizer Itic Saniel
Leizer Solomon
Rg8Clr
District
Botosani
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
in res con 1870
bat 1 ven
Iasi
Bahluiu
Botsani
in res 1868
Tasl. de sus
Podurile
Sgt
Bacau
Ilfov
bat 2 ven
Botosani
Lupu Avram Goldenberg
Cpl
Lupu Leiba
Lupu Lupu
Lupu Moise
Maer Alexandm
-
Maer Fise
-
Maer Iosul
-
Mahmud Smil
-
Mailer Marcu
-
Manole Manich
-
Manzu Itic
-
Sgt
Manzu Itic
Marcu Abraam
Marcu Alter
-
in res con
Botosani
Iasi
Tergusoru
Ploesci
res.contin.1871
in res 1868
Buzeu
Tohani
Mizil
res. since 1874
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
Iasi
in res con
13
Iasi
Bahlui
Iasi
Nemtu
Mijlocu
Uscati
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Baiceni
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podu Iloi
rg.15
rg.15
rg.15
reg 2 liuie
rg.15
jrsJl
Maer Avram
Notes
in res 1867
1
Cpl
Letarus Strul
City
Iasi
in res 1869
Sgt-maj Bat.2Venatori Prahova
Losner Itic
Lupu Aizic
Marcu Chibici Filip
St Div Iasi
reglros
Place
Botosani
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Nemtu
Petra
Craioveni
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Doljiu
Campu
Calafat
Nemtu
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
Desus
Nemtu
Neamtu
DeSus
Nemtu
joined conting
join cont 1874
join, cont. 1878
join, cont. 1878
join cont 1876
join con 1878
join cont 1876
Discharged 1864
join cont 1876
join cont 1876
join con 1875
reg 2 ros
reg 8 cal
Roman
Moldova
Roman
1868
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
joined conting
Regl line
reg 13 dor
reg 2 ros
Iasi
-
Iasi
res. since 1869
Botosani
Tergului
Botosani
1866
Botosani
Stefanesci
Stefanesci
1870
1
Ilfov
ColorGlb
Bucarst
res. since 1873
join cont 1876
in contingent since 1872
rg.15
Suceva
Siretu
Pascani
2
Bacau
Trotusu
3
Bacau
Trotusu
Terg.ocna
Terg.ocna
St Div Iasi
Ramnic
UrbRamu
R.Sarat
in res con
10
Tecuciu
Berlad
Corods
Militia Conting
4
Arges
Pitesci
Pitesci
ioin.cont.
Marcu Herscu
-
5
Roman
Moldova
Geresu
res.since 1876
Marcu Hoisie
-
5
Iasi
Despart 3
Iasi
Marcu Iancu
-
Bat. geniu
Reg cal perm
reg.cal.per
Dambvita
Delului
-
Roman
Fondu
Iusesci
Vaslui
Stemnic
Osesti
in res con 1878
13
Iasi
7
Bacau
-
Marcu Iosub
-
Marcu Iuclea
-
Marcu Maer
-
Marcu Mendel
-
Marcu Mihel
-
Marcu Moise
Sgt-maj
Sgt
-
join con
join con
Iasi
on call at home
in res 1868
reg 10 dor
Doli
Ocolu
Luzi Calug
Crajova
Com.sanit
Buzen
Buzen
Buzen
in res con 1874
5
Roman
Berhamele
Mihaileni
Petra
Bis.de sus
Meer Aron
-
reg 5Calar
Falciu
Hornicea
Husi
join con 1878
join.cont. 1875
joined conting
join con
Meer David
-
2
Cvurluiu
Siretu
Cuca
res.contin.1871
Meer Herscu
_
rg.l5dorb
Nemtu
de sus
Nemtu
join cont 1876
Meer Strul
.
3
Puma
Bilesci
Focsani
res.cont.1874
Mendel Haim
-
5
Neamtu
Sir. de sus
Neamtu
Mendel Iosef I.
_
Iasi
-
Iasi
Carligat.
Despart 3
T. Frumos
Mendel Iosef II
Reg cal perm
Reg cal perm
reg 1 dor
reg.2 Art
join con
join con
Doli
Ocolu
Crajova
in res 1869
Ilfov
Belvedere
Bucrsci
in mil con 1871
join.cont. 1878
join.cont. 1877
Marcu Moise
Marcu Smil
-
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Marcu Solomon
-
5
Roman
Despart 3
Iasi
Marvas Maer
-
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Vasluiu
Mendel Leopold
Sgt
Mendel Moise
-
Mendel Strul
.
Mendelovici Avram
_
Meraru Mendel sin Ios.
-
Iasi
14
Roman
Moldova
T.Bacesei
4
Iasi
Despart. IV
Iasi
14
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
50
Name
Rank
Merghel Avram
Unit
St Div Iasi
reg 6Calar
Mihail Mihel
Com.uvr.Art.
Mihalovici Avram
Mihel Avram
reg 5Calar
Mihel Leibu
District
Place
City
Notes
Iasi
Despar 4
Iasi
in res con 1870
Putna
Racaciui
Tadjud
loin con
Covurlui
Siretul
Galati
in res 1872
Vasluiu
Despart 3
Iasi
join.cont. 1875
Bistrita
Bacau
m
Bacau
res con
Mihel Leibu
reg.cal.per
Bacau
Bis de jos
Bacau
in res con 1872
Moche Iancu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 2
Iasi
in res con
Moise Abara
Bacau
Bis de Jos
Tamos
in res 1868
Moise Aizro
Putna
Orasu
Focsani
Bacau
Bistrita
Bacau
res.since 1876
Moise Alter
Sgt
Moise Bercu sin Leiba
reg.calar. perm. Roman
Moldova
Roman
ioin.cont.
Moise Branstein
13
Vasluiu
Mijlocu
Borasesci
join, cont. 1877
Moise Danila
Putna
Racaciui
Dmnsci
join con
Moise Diamant
reg 6Calar
reg.l6Drb
Botosani
Tergul
Botsani
join con
Moise Haimici
bat 3 ven
Roman
Moldova
Roman
in res 1868
join. cont. 1878
join con
Moise Hala
13
Iasi
Botosani
Moise Herscu
Rg.7Clr
reg 5 lini
Carligaturil
Tergului
T. Frumos
Moise Herscu
Botosani
Cosula
Harlau
1869
Moise Iancu
13
Iasi
-
Iasi
on call at home
Moise Iancu
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
joined conting
Moise Iancu
reg 7 cal
reg 3 art.
Iasi
Carlig.
Ten Frum
1869
R.Sarat
Ur. Ramu
Ramnicu
Moise Iosub
5
Tecuciu
Nicoresci
Tecuciu
join con 1872
Moise Itic
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 5
Iasi
1865
Moise Laizer
reg.l6Drb
Botosani
Siretul
Burdujeni
Bacau
Bistrita
Bacau
left after 1 yr
Despart 3
Iasi
Taslau
Mainesci
"
Moise Iosif
Moise Marcu Chilaru
Moise Matiu Isciba
Reg cal perm
reg.cal.per
Botsani
join con
join con 1878
Moise Mihel
Botosani
Iasi
Bacau
Tergul
Moise Mihel
Rg8Clr
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
in res con 1870
R. Sarat
R. de Sus
Ramnic
join con 1870
Moise Mendel
Moise Rosensfeig
Moise Rosu
Sgt
join con 1876
Botosani
Iasi
Despar 4
Iasi
Roman
Tutova
Iasi
Moldova
Roman
in res con 1878
Crasna
Dolhesci
join con 1878
Moise Sin Iosef
reg.2 Art
reg.cal.per
reg 12 dor
Reg cal perm
Despart 3
Iasi
join con
Moise Smil
Com.uvr.Art.
Putna
Racaciuni
Adjud
in res 1872
Moise Smilovici
12
Falciu
Prutu
Husi
Moise Solomon
1
Tecuciu
Tecuciu
Tecucu
Moisi David
Rg.7Clr
Iasi
Despart V
Iasi
joined conting
joined con1874
under flag con
Neamtu
Piatra
Neamtu
rg,15dorb
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
join cont 1876
join con 1878
Moise Sin Avram
Moise sin David
Moisi Iancovici
Mongiu Sloim
*EL
Montorianu Mauriciu
Com.sanit
Ilfov
Col Galb.
Bucuresci
Moreus Maer
reg 2Calar
Arges
Pitesci
Pitesci
in Mil con
Morit Svart
13
Vasluiu
Fundurile
join, cont. 1877
Moritz Rosenthal
Doljiu
Craiova
Dragsci
Medal de diu
Moscovici Berhaim
Roman
Despart 3
Iasi
join.cont.1875
join con
in res 1869
Moscovici Herscu
Rg.7Clr
Vasluiu
Funduri
Gribesci
Moscovici Moise
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
in res con
Moscu Leibu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
Despart 3
Iasi
join con
Naftule Flaiva
10
Putna
Bilesci
Focsani
Naftulea Avram
14
Roman
Moldova
TBacesei
Naftulea Herscu
rg.15
reg 7 cal
Suceva
Sumuzu
Flticeni
Suceava
Somuzu
Botosani
Naiberg Avram
rg.15
Rg.7Clr
Iasi
Desprt IV
Iasi
joined cont.
ioin.cont. 1878
join con 1878
join con 1876
join.cont. 1875
join con 1878
under flag con
Naiman Itic
8
Covur-luiu
Siretu
Galati
res. cont. since 1874
Naftulea sin Iancu
Naftulea Smil
Nahman Nahman
Nemtu
Mijlocu
Rsboni
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Name
Rank
Naisat Morit
Natarsan Avram
Negru Saim
Nestor Zisul
District
Place
City
Notes
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despar 1
Iasi
in res con
reg 12 dor
Tutova
Orasu
Berlad
Jfcl5.
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
join con 1877
join cont 1876
Vasluiu
Slaoma
Vasluiu
J£l5
Nemtu
Muntele
Pangarati
join cont 1876
Cpl
Noh Bercu
51
Unit
Nuhan Relel
Bacau
Bistrita
Bacau
res.cont.1871
Nusen Sin Itic
Botosani
Siretu
Botsani
corp.cont.1878
Opincaru Herscu
Opincaru Moise Strul
15
Nemtu
Muntele
Calugareni
join cont 1876
15
Suceva
Somuzu
Falticeni
join cont 1874
Orenstein Leiba
13
Osia Ovidea
Palanchovici Iosif
Palic Avram
State Bat. Cr.
_rgJl
Iasi
Codru
Bciumi
join, cont. 1878
Neamtu
Sir, de sus
Neamtu
Craiova
joincon 1876
Dolju
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Papuc Iancu
reg.l4dorob.
reg 8 ros
Sarata
Or. Buzeu
Pascal Iancu
State Bat Galati Braila
Badeni
Braila
join cont 1876
join.cont. 1875
join con 1878
join con 1876
Pataju Marcu
13
Iasi
Pavel sin Hie
13
Iasi
Carligaturil
Carligaturil
T. Frumos
T. Frumos
join, cont. 1878
join, cont. 1878
Palticinenu Sloim Iancu
Buzeu
Peisch Simsa
reg 14 dor
Roman
Sir de Sus
Schisa
1868
Peret Haim
Com.sanit
Iasi
ColVerde
Focsani
in res con 1870
Pesih Leiba
5
Neamtu
Sir. de sus
Neam-tu
Pinhas Marcu
rg.15
Suceva
Bistrita
Buhus
Pitaru Iancu
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Polac Smil
5
Putna
Putna
Focsani
Pomano Herscu
Rg8Clr
Bacau
Bis de Jos
Bibiresci
Postelnicu Dudel
15
Nemtu
Mijlocu
Uscati
join con 1878
join.cont. 1874
join con
join cont 1876
Rabita Daniil
3
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
res cont 1872
Rachieru Itic
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Vasluiu
Ranistein Aba
3
Putna
Redler Moise
Nemtu
Petra
Bdesci
Rendler Burah
rg.15
reg 8 cal
joined conting
join.fl.con.1876
join con 1878
Roman
Sir. de Sus
Hadrausi
1868
Riven Huna Iancu
13
Iasi
Branistea
Sculeni
-
Focsani
Roscovici Moise
15
Nemtu
Mijloclu
Uscati
join. cont. 1878
join cont 1876
Rosen Solaman
4
Ilfov
CoLRosie
Bucaresci
in res 1869
Rosenberg David
Reg cal perm
Iasi
Carligat.
T. Frumos
join con
Rosenfeld Solomon
St Div Iasi
Bacau
Bis. de sus
Bacau
in res con
Tutova
Berlad
Berlad
in res 1865
Iasi
Iasi
Petra
Rosenthal Marcu
Rosu Manos
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Rosu Marta Leibu
14
Roman
Bis de sus
Bacau
Rosu Nusem Lipa
Rotenberg Solomon
reg cal perm
Rg8Clr
Nemtu
Petra
Tergu
Roman
Moldova
Roman
join, cont. 1878
join con 1878
join.cont. 1874
join con
join con
Rudicu Moise
3
Tutova
Tutova
Pitesci
res.cont.1874
Iasi
join, cont. 1878
Sir de Sus
Schisa
1868
Iasi
on call at home
Rosim Hie
13
13
Vasluiu
reg 14 dor
Roman
13
Iasi
com sanit
R. Sarat
Ramnicu
13
Vasluiu
Fundurile
Epuresci
Dragsci
join.cont. 1877
4
Arges
Pitesci
Pitesci
ioin.cont.
Sanit. Ser.
Ilfov
_
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
-
Bat.2
Ilfovu
Bucaresti
rg.15
rg.15
Nemtu
Petra
Suceva
Sumuzu
Flticeni
15
Suceava
Somuzu
Folticeni
6
Roman
Moldova
Roman
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Ruschier Leiba
Sabavan Lupu
-
Sac Hie
Sacagiu Herscu
Safer Aron
Samoil Avram Iancu
Santal David
Sapira Herman
Sapira Leonida
.
.
-
•i
Sarf Leiba
-
Schiopu Mendel
-
Schvartz Iancu
-
Scortaru Bercu
.
Sebovinenu Strul
-
-
-
1868
Bucrsci
join con 1872
Iasi
join con
it
Petra
"
"
1878
join cont 1876
join con 1878
join con 1878
join.cont. 1876
52
Unit
District
Place
City
Notes
Sfetcovici Herscu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
Iasi
in res con
Sfetcus Iosef
13
Iasi
Name
Rank
Segalian
Sidman Iancu
Dorohoiu
Herta
Herta
join, cont. 1878
corp.cont.1877
Sigal Strul
Covrluiu
Siretu
Galati
in res 1868
Bat.3
Bacau
Bistrita
Bacau
res.cont.1871
Sanit. Ser.
Hfov
-
Bucuresci
Com Mil Police
Hfov
Col. Verde
Bucuresci
Siman Itic
Vasluiu
Simon Haim
_
Rg8Clr
Namtul
Piatra
Piatra
join con 1872
under flag con 1878
join con
Simon Iosub
_
5
Suceava
Suceava
Falticeni
Simon Leiba
_
Rg8Clr
Bacau
Bis de jos
Letea
join con
Simon Maer
-
8
Covur-luiu
Siretu
Galati
res. cont. since 1874
Simsa Marcu
Sgt
5
Roman
Moldova
Halanesu
join.cont.1875
Sin Leiba Iancu
.
8
Botosani
Tergu
Botsani
mil.cont.1877
Simionescu Iosef
Sgt-maj
Simionescu Pincus
Sin Moise Naftule
-
reg.l6Drb
Dorohoiu
Bascu
Saveni
Sin Smil Moise Stoler
-
Com.uvr.Art.
Botosani
Botsani
Reg cal perm
Iasi
Tergului
Despart 3
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Vasluiu
join con
join con 1877
join con
joined conting
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 2
Iasi
in res con
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
Podu Iloi
10
Putna
Zabrauci
Soveja
join. cont. 1878
joined cont.
4
Bolgrad
Prutu
Sloama
res since 1876
5
Botosani
Botosani
Botosani
Nemtu
Peatra
Piatra
ioin.cont.
Murgesci
join con 1878
Iasi
join con
Singer Iosef
Siraghel Smil
Sloim David
Sloim Haimavici
Sloim Lipa
Sloim Smil
Sloimsin Aaer
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Slote Haim Ioil
Iasi
Smil Aron
reg.l ros.
reg 12 dor
Tutova
Smil Avram
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Tergu
Despart 3
Dorohoiu
Herta
Herta
discharged
Vasluiu
Racova
Pungenti
join con
Smaer Samoil
Smil Burah
Smil Mendel
Soi Sin Ascal
Rg.7Clr
Rg.7Clr
Soloman Fraim
Solomon Aizic
reg.cal.per
Solomon Alter
Solomon Avram
State Bat Galati
15
Solomon Ham
Solomon Itic
Iasi
Desprt IV
Iasi
under flag con
Roman
Moldova
Roman
in res 1869
Iasi
Copou
Putna
Solomon Fraim
Solomon Haim
Hfov
Iasi
in res con 1874
Focsani
res.cont.1874
join con 1877
Covurluiu
Sietu
Galati
Vasluiu
Slaonic
Vasluiu
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
join cont 1876
Putna
Orasu
Focsani
Bacau
Bis de sus
Gldrile
join con
Botosani
Cosula
Frumu-sica
in mil con
Falciu
Podoleni
Radu-caneni
join con
res con 1871
Solomon Mini
Rg8Clr
Rg.7Clr
reg 5Calar
Solomon Moise
Com.uvr.Art.
Covurlui
Siretul
Galati
Solomon Naiman
reg.2 Art
Putna
Racaciuni
Adjud
in mil con 1870
Solon sin Avram Sloim
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
join.cont. 1878
Specler David
Sperber Ignat
Rg.7Clr
Iasi
Solomon Leizer
Bahluiu
Bilces-ci
in res con
Moldova
Roman
join con 1875
Stare Bercu
State Div. Buc.
Roman
reg.15Cal-ar.Perm Suceva
Mutele
Brsceni
join con
Steen David
15
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
Nemtu
desus
Nemtu
join cont 1876
join cont 1876
Moldova
Brsturi
in res con 1872
Suceva
Moldova
Rosceni
1869
14
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Stoler Saica Strut
12
Falciu
Prutu
Husi
join.cont. 1878
joined conting
Strul Bercovici
Reg cal perm
Reg cal perm
Roman
Bacau
Moldova
Roman
join con
Bis de sus
Glodurile
join con
Strul Herscu
Iasi
Bahluiu
Iasi
Strul Herscu
Putna
Garlei
Odobesci
in res 1867
Tecuciu
Bercheciu
Ganania
joined conting
Stefter Hentel
15
Stern Iancu
Com2MP
Stern Iancu
reg 5 lini
Stern Morit
Strul Davison
Strul Leibo Goldstein
10
Name
Rank
Unit
Strul Leibu
Strul Lupu
reg.2 Art
Strul Marcu
Strul Meer
Strul Moise
Strul Moise
Strul Pitner
Strul Solomon
District
Place
53
City
Notes
Sucer
Faltceni
ioin.cont.
Putna
Focsani
in res 1871
Bacau
Tasl. de sus
Mainesci
Neamtu
desus
Tnmtu
res.cont.1874
join con
Reg cal perm
reg 5 lini
Botosani
Borcea
Roman
Roman
Moldova
Roman
1869
14
Roman
Moldova
join.cont. 1878
join, cont. 1878
in mil con 1870
join cont 1876
15
Nemtu
Muntele
Poian.Giur
Podu Iloi
Bucuresci
Stanger
reg.cal.per
Suceava
Somuzu
Falticeni
join con 1877
13
Iasi
Iasi
Iasi
Despart V
Iasi
Svartz Mauriciu
Rg.7Clr
reg 5Calar
join, cont. 1878
under flag con
Ilfov
Col Rosu
Bcursci
join con
Taigman Taibus
13
Iasi
Carligat
T. Frumos
joined conting
Strulovici Strul
Sulam Mendel
Sulem Calma
Susterman Suler
Svartz Isac
13
Iasi
Bahluiu
State Div. Buc.
Ilfov
Col. Verde
Taive Haim
2
Prahova
Ploesci
Polesci
res. since 1871
Teiler Avram
10
Tecuciu
Nicoresci
Csmsci
Tenier Iancu
10 dorob.
Tecuciu
Nicoresci
Csmsci
State Bat Galati
Braila
Badeni
Braila
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
Tucher Caiman
rg.15
reg 12 dor
Tutova
Corodu
Corlaman
joined cont.
joined cont.
join con 1876
join cont 1876
join con 1877
Tingelstein Iosif
Tinlehigiu Itic
User Leibu
5
R.-Sarat
Orasu
Buzeu
res since 1871
Vadana Herscu
6
Roman
Moldova
Roman
Vaisbuch Lupu
14
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
Vaisbuch Moise
14
Bacau
Bis de sus
Glodurile
Vaisler Herscu
10
Tecuciu
Bercheciu
Ganania
Vaisrin Brum Marcu
11
Covurlui
Siretu
Ganania
join.cont. 1877
join.cont. 1877
joined conting
joined conting
Vararu Mae
reg 6Calar
Putna
Zabrauti
Panciu
join con
Bacau
Bistrita
Bacau
res.cont.1871
Vecslea Meer
Vecsler Iancu
St Div Iasi
Iasi
Despart 3
Iasi
in res con
Verscu Strulu
reg 10 dor
Doli
Ocolu
Crajova
reengaged 1871
Versu Bercu
13
Iasi
Iasi
on call at home
Iasi
Iasi
on call at home
Damacheni
join con
join con 1872
Vexler David
13
VidnerIancu
reg.!6Drb
Dorohoiu
Vohtberg Constantin
Sanit. Ser.
Puma
VolfLeider
reg.!6Drb
reg 12 dor
rg.15
Rg8Clr
reg 12 dor
Volf Leizer
Zaharia Leizer
Zaid Bercu
Zaida Miuster
Zalman Avram
Cosula
Focsani
Suceava
Samuzu
Horodincea
Dorohoiu
Herta
Mhalni
join con
Tutova
Tutova
Puesci
Nemtu
Petra
Petra
join con 1878
join con 1878
Fundu
Muscel
join con
Tutova
Orasu
Berlad
join con 1877
Mihaileni
in res 1866
join, cont. 1878
Zalman Zisu
bat 1 ven
Dorohoiu
Berhomete
Zalman Zolaman
13
Vasluiu
Stemnic
Cosme-sci
Zeilic Avram
13
Iasi
Codru
Vasluiu
join, cont. 1878
Ruginosa
Zeilic Maer
reg 7 cal
Rg.7Clr
Rg8Clr
reg 5Calar
Reg cal perm
Zeilic Moise
Zelin Moise
Zendel Fisel
Zingher Strul
Zisu Itic
Zizu Iosub
Cpl
Suceava
Siretu
Botosani
Cosula
Curtesci
1866
Botosani
Tergu
Curtsci
in mil con
Suceava
Siretul
Cstesci
in res con
Tutova
Bistrita
Berlad
in res con
Botosani
Borcea
Roman
join con
Iasi
Despart.I
Iasi
shown to the prefecture's or mayor's home. They were
ROM-SIG articles illuminate family legend:
54
The Pogrom of 1907, Recalled
kept overnight in a room and slept until morning, protected
by the mayor until the danger of violence had passed. This
by Beryle Buchman
problem never recurred nor was the reason for thepogrom
Both of our great-grandfathers owned flour mills. Samuel
(Smiel) Goldenberg, our maternal great-grandfather, from
Iasi, Romania, married Ruhla (Rachel) Taylor. We know
nothing about her family. Their children were Edys; Ester
Lea (Esther Leah); Feiga Sobel (Fanny Sophie), our grand
mother; Mottel; Hanna; Chaim; and William. There were
at least three other children; however, we do not know
known to them then.
Wedo not know if our grandfather's store was looted or
vandalized. It is not a coincidence that my father arrived in
the United States shortly after the pogrom. He told me
many times that there was no future for a Jewishyoung
man in Romania. Either before or immediately after this
pogrom, the family decided that my father and his brother3
their names.
should go to America.
Our paternal great-grandfather Schneer Zalmon Solomon
(about 1830-about 1913) and his family lived in Pungesti,
Aunt Jeanette was ninety-two years old when I asked her
for more details of my father's last visit home from Iasi to
say good-bye to his family in Pungesti. I was amazed how
clear her memory was of the incident that took place when
she was only five years old. Aunt Jeanette remembered
that her brother Rudolph had been so considerate, because
he brought her a present, a beautiful, big ball.
Romania. Zalmon had at least one brother, Charlie. We do
not know the names of any other siblings. Dina Gross was
Zalmon's first wife. Their children were our grandfather
Saul, his brother Eli, and sister Rifca. After Dina died,
possibly in childbirth, Zalmon married Feiga. We do not
know her maiden name. Their children were Mendelea
(Mottel or Matilda), Marea Zalmon, Leiba, Dina, Aron,
Rahmil, Charlie (Charelik), Max, and Marcu.
Our grandfather Saul Solomon, aka Sloim Zalmon
Solomon, (15 Sept 1860-1 Mar 1935) married FeigaSobel
(Fanny Sophie) Goldenberg (10 May 1862-3 Feb 1940).
Theyran a dry goods storein Pungesti. Seven of theirchil
dren livedto adulthood: IancuTelichi (Jack) (19 Dec 18821936); Aaron (25 Jan 1886-October 1953); Rahmil
(Rachmiel or Rudolph), my father, (24 July 1888-7 June
1980); Isie (Hie) (30 July 1890-7 Jan 1979); Claire (About 4
April 1895-Nov 1982); Jeanette (9 Sept 1902-4 Nov 1996);
andRebeca (Betty) Sloim (15June 1908-14 Feb 1994).
After his Bar Mitzvah, my father, Rudolph, went to work
Grandfather Saul gave my father and Aaron what money
he could gather and blessed them4 before they left for
America. Can you imagine the scene when my grandpar
ents bade farewell to their sons, not knowing if they would
ever see them again? How many families have gone
through worse? My father said that his father had to bribe
anofficial to get them out of Romania.5
My grandparents hoped and prayed that their sons, in turn,
would be able to bring the remaining family to America as
soon as possible. Unfortunately, World War I interfered in
1914. The Solomons arrived in Manchester, England, in
1913, having trained from Romania through Berlin, and on
to Cherbourg, France, where they boarded the ferry to
England. They initially stayed with Golda Solomon, wife
of Saul'sbrother Illie. The family was delayed in their
immigration to Manhattan, New York until after the war,
at a leather factory in Iasi. We believe thathe stayed with
his aunt Mottel Goldenberg and her second husband, Lupu
(William) Steinberg. Aunt Jeanette remembered that Lupu
and arrived July 4, 1923.6
was a butcher. My father told me that the women in the
Daddy used his Hebrew name, Rachmiel, on his US
family helped him prepare for his journey to immigrate to Declaration of Intention and the Petition for
the United States, and among other things, sewed shirts for Naturalization. From those documents, I also learned that
him. He explained that it would have been better if they
he had departed fromAntwerp, Belgium, on November 2,
had givenhim the money to buy new shirts in America.
1907, sailing on the S. S. Zeeland, a shipregistered with
When he arrived in this country, people made fun of his
European-cut clothes.
He explained, 'The shirts made me look likea peasant,
like the farmers in the fields, but I wore them anyway."1
Aunt Jeanette remembered the pogrom of 1907. She was
four years old at the time. Jeanette did not know where her
father was or what had happened to himduring theturmoil
of the pogrom. Her mother took her sister, Claire, and
Jeanette2 by the hand and walked what seemed to be a long
distance. They reached a bridge guarded by a few soldiers.
Jeanette remembered that her mother paid them some
money and asked for directions. Then they were led or
the Red Star Line. He arrived at Ellis Island on November
12, 1907. With that information, I was then able to locate a
copy of the ship's manifest, which contained additional
information. Hisbrother Aaron had accompanied him on
the entirejourney from Pungesti to New York.
My cousins and I have spent over twenty-five years
researching our Romanian family history, tape recording
interviews withour relatives, and obtaining copies of
important documents that provided the proofof kinship,
dates of immigration, and documentation of naturalization
as United States citizens. We continually telephone, write,
FAX, and e-mail as we update our history when we obtain
55
new information or documents.
of the middle-class merchants, the Sudits, as Paul Pascal has explained
I am archiving all ofmy family history records on my com
puter.7 I am using Microsoft Word 20008 to compose the
historical account of our family and toedit the explanations
in his lectures and articles in ROM-SIG News.
of the documents that have been discovered in Romania
and the United States. In addition, I am using another soft
ware program, Generations, formerly Reunion, to maintain
the database of names and create charts and reports.
Aunt Jeanette Solomon Schweid had a phenomenal memo
ry. We have transcribed numerous tape recordings, and
taken even more numerous notes about events that she
clearly remembered since her youth. In fact, we are indebt
ed to herfor her ability to edit stories about our family that
had been mistakenly recorded. She was never wrong about
the family facts. She was blessed with incredible interest in
the family activities and could recall essential details about
family lifein Pungesti since she wasfouryears of age.9
2 Aunt Rebeca (Betty), the motherof my twin cousins, Robert and
Richard, had notbeen born yet, asher birth date was one year later,
June 15, 1908.
3 Both boys were working and saving money for the trip to America
4 Place for blessing.
5 Inaddition, our grandfather's business deteriorated in the years after
that pogrom. He eventually went bankrupt. By 1910 or 1911, the fami
ly was forced to move on to the neighboring townof Vaslui
6 Their first home in America was at 140 East 17thStreet, which was
located in the Gramercy area of NYC
7 We share these files with any cousin that is interested in receiving a
copy by e-mail. This also gives us a safe backup if anyone loses the
information.
8 From the beginning of this project, I have used the latest version of
Word aseach new version had features that made writing thehistory
much easier.
9 Fortunately, she lived until age 94, when she expired in Los Angeles
from cardiac complications following surgery for a fractured hip
1 I included this partof the story to emphasizethat our family was one
A Story of Amazing Mazel
And how requests to archives might be followed by replies
that are totally unexpected, and which bring incredible
results.
Nov. 17th, 1998: At 6:30 this morning, the phone rang,
those familiar three long-distance rings. Surprised, I
jumped to answer. It was a man calling from Cimpulung
Moldovensc, Bukovina, by the name of Reinhardt
Quirsfeld, speaking French with a Romanian accent.
Having an early business meeting to attend, I really could
n't afford the time to converse with him, so I promised to
return his call that evening. With seven hours time differ
ence, this is rather difficult to do. He called back twice
leaving messages, to make sure that I had the right tele
phoneand mobile phone numbers. I must admit to having
felt a little uncomfortable about this call.
I arrived home from work and still had my coat on, when
the phone rang. I ran to answer. It was Reinhardt again. He
was convinced that I had made an error and that the name
Ostfeld that I was searching for was really Quirsfeld! He
had found my name on letters which I had written in
Romanian some months ago, in the Archives of the city
halls of Vatra Domei, Cimpulung Moldovenesc1, Fratautii,
Radauti and Roman. Oddly, I had received replies from
none of these city halls (except Cimpulung Moldovenesc
which informed me that no records were available), but
here was a complete stranger in a foreign country, who
knew, not only how to reach me, but also a good portion of
my family history - unnerving, to say the least.
Researching his family, he has already found 44 Quirsfelds
in the Catholic Siret cemetery, although he noted that
"there are no archives left in existence in Siret'.' In Vatra
Domei, he found 6 Quirsfelds, with Hebrew names! This
perplexed both of us - had there been intermarriage? Or,
was the family originally Jewish? He related that among
others he had found in the Jewish cemetery of Vatra
Domei, were Samuel Quirsfeld (married to Maria
Zimmerman) and Maria Quirsfeld (married to Karolina
[sic] Venzel).
He has found both Protestant and Catholic tombstones for
his family and thinks that his family could perhaps have
had Jewish origins. However, he was completely unaware
of the phenomenon of the Napoleonic decree ordering the
adoption of surnames by the Jews, and of the many and
haphazard methods, sometimes even humorous, by which
they chose these names.
Quirsfeld's family has lived in Bukovina since 1800, and is
originally German and Austro-Hungarian, some members
from even Hungary itself. The call lasted over half an
hour, as though money were no object. I asked if I could
return the favor and help him with his research in some
way. His only request was to ask me to see if there are any
Quirsfelds in North America, particularly in Canada.
On Dec. 17th, having heard no news, having had no
answerto my subsequentsnail mail letters since receiving
a neat, hand-written list of his Ostfeld findings, I became
uneasy. I telephoned and talked to Mrs. Quirsfeld at home;
her husband would be at home again at Christmas and
would telephone me, I was informed. Reinhardt's wife
both speaks and writes English very well, and was com
pletely familiar with the correspondence that we had
begun. This must be the reason for the letters that he
sends, in almost-perfect English. She promised to have
him call me on his return for Christmas, which he did.
January 21st, 1999: Reinhardt phoned again at 8am. He
wanted to know if I had received the second installment
56
of the incredibly comprehensive information that he sent
me. "Yes", I told him, "I did." Was it helpful? I said that it
was indeed!
He asked if I would want any more information, the next
time he goes to research the cemeteries, in other towns in
Bukovina. I couldn't believe my ears! Yes, I would most
certainly like to have more information, particularly from
the latter and middle parts of the last century (the 19th),
and the early part of the 20th century; I would like to
find any record that exists, of my great-grandmother,
Shaindel (nee Ostfeld) Kastner, who passed away around
the year 1920, in Radauti. He said that he would try to
find these for me.
Unable to find anyone bearing his family name in Canada,
I tried the United States, and did manage to find a small
number of them. However, he already knew all of the
Quirsfelds, whose information I sent him, as they form a
branch of his family with whom he had been in touch:
Edward J. Ouirsfeld and his aunt, Mrs. Lindsay (nee
Quirsfeld), among them.
From our conversations I learned that Reinhardt, about
45, is a mathematics professor who teaches at a college
with campuses in Iasi and Arad (near Timisoara). He com
mutes between the two campuses, staying at each for twoweek periods. He took pains to tell me that his sister is a
doctor, and to list the professional credentials of his fami
ly. Very pleasant on the telephone, he has a terrific sense
of humor and infectious enthusiasm. An avid genealogist,
he seems to be enjoying this long-distance genealogical
relationship, and sent me a photo of himself and asked me
for one of myself.
saying that he is "conservative" He saidthat he had
looked at his friend's laptop and was impressed, but that
he prefers communicating by letter, and doing his work
manually.
Finally, I was asked to reciprocate, however small the
effort. He asked me to look for a book in the library,
"German Emigration from Bukovina to theAmericas",
published by William Keel and Kurt Rein in 1996, as "you
might find some information about myfamily Quirsfeld".
Unfortunately, there were no Quirsfelds mentioned in it,
although I was able to find some potentially helpful infor
mation, which I photocopied and mailed to him. He also
asked me to contact a specific researcher in Ottawa, and
whose name he found on a list in a library book - Richard
Carruthers-Zurowski. Not a difficult request to fill, I did
succeed in talking with Mr. Carruthers-Zurowski, who reg
ularly submits messages to the Bukovina Genealogy Mail
Group2. He had already received my email and had made
initial contact with my friend "Hardy" as Reinhardt likes
to be called.
After cataloguing the records that Hardy had sent me, I
realized that these, as well as his photographs of certain
cemeteries, would amount to a little bonanza for certain
Bukovinaresearchers. So, after consultation with my
cousin, co-researcher and good friend, Bruce Reisch, the
innovator of the JewishGen Radauti Shtetlink Website3,1
arranged to have Hardy's willing consent to publish them
on the site. They will appear later this year.
I am now at the point where two of the unconnected
branches of Ostfelds, of which I have seven, are linked,
thanks to his work. Others are filled out much more than
In early March, three more letters arrived, accompanied by they had been before.There is every indication that most
photographs of tombstones, lists of more records, a few
of these fragmented branches will eventually work them
taken from official vital records, and other information
about the cemeteries in Siret, Cimpulung, Radauti and
Fratauti, bringing to a total of 75 records that he has found
for me, almost entirely Ostfelds, but a few Kastners among
selves into some connection. I have still not ascertained
the names of the siblings of my great-grandmother,
Shaindel Ostfeld Kastner, nor thoseof her parents, but that
is coming - with time, hard work, networking
them. This is a genealogist's dream come true!
and....patience, lots of patience. And, I have found a new,
In a recent letter, he writes, "I am sending some new data
about yourfamily. I have been in the cemetery from
Cimpulung and I have taken thefollowing photos of your
family graves which have inscriptions also in Latin, not
equally committed and enthusiastic, genealogical friend.
only in Idisch (sic). There may be also others, but I don't
understand Idischand I can't take photosof them all, as
there are very many. This from a man who doesn't speak
English! He explained that he writes the letters with a dic
1 The townof 'Timpulung Moldovenesc" is referred to locally as
"Cimpulung".
2 Subscribe by sending message to listproc@.lists.gpfh.sk.ca, then send
posts to bukovina-gen@.Iists.gpfh.sk.ca
3 JewishGen Radauti Shtelink Website,
http//www.jewishgen.org/shteUlnks/radauti/radautz.html
Merle Kastner
tionary beside him. And, of course, his wife helps him.
4858 Cote-des-Neiges, #904.
Montreal, Qc, Canada
Then came a phone call, in which Reinhardt excitedly
talked about how he had succeeded in tracing his family
even further - to 1700, in Gollnitz, Germany, and has
H3V1G8 Merlekast@videotron.ca
found 4 new branches. I suggested to Reinhardt that he
would benefitgreatly from a computer, he answered by
57
SephardiC JeWS in Timisoara
deba,e- P"*- Dr- Moshe Camiilly-Weinberger has been
But let us get acquainted with the Sephardic community of ^1*the *?*ct °" ^^1 ^"sions, such as in
Timisoara. The town itself was an important center of the ^Sepher
ff>win8
WOTks^ZS ??&
ve-Shaiph, New York, 1966, page 216-22;
Turkish administration between 1522 and 1716. But the
^^^^'^
NeW YorkNew
"*'York, 1977, from page
and Freedom...,
traces ofJews there date back totimes preceding the era of -Censorship
70 on;
Turkish occupation. All the same the most ancient tomb
stone of the cemetery was raised under the Turks, and
according to its inscription, the rabbi and surgeon Asriel
Asael-who died in the year 1636-was presumably a
Sephardic Jew.
Rabbi Meir Amigo and his 4 comrades arrived from
Constantinople at the town about the middle of the 18th
century, and a synagogue of the Sephardic as well as one
of theAshkenasian community became built up simultane
ously in Timi§oara in the year 1762. Similarly to
Gyulafeh6rv£r some problems of the Sephards' and
Ashkenasians' coexistence arose also at Timi§oara. As a
consequence, at the early 30s of the 18th century a get-let
ter (letterof ritual divorce) has caused some problems
within the community, yet without any special exciting
events or disputes.
Namely, as it is known, the letters of divorce have to be
made out extremely precisely with respect to the name of
the person and the locality in order to avoid any abuse and
misunderstanding respectively. When the problem regard
ing the validity of a divorce-letter arose Rabbi Meir Asch
of Eisenstadt adopted the view that the get-letter may be
accepted though the Ashkenasian spelling rules have not
been respected but the way of writing-as applied in the getletter-has complied with the Sephardic linguistic sense.
In the year 1836, the possibility of Sephards' and
Ashkenasians' common praying in religious services was
also brought up in Timi§oara, presumably in the inner
town and owing to the diminishing number of participants.
The rabbi of Bratislava had brought also in that case a rec
-Ashkenasim u-Sephardim be-Transylvania u-Banat, bemeah XVIDQX, see: Studies presented to Rabbi Dr.
Alexander Safran, Hoboken: Ktav, 1922, page 39-50.
Among the Sephards ofTimi§oara there were many excel
lentrabbis in the course of theirhistory. The first rabbi of
theSephardic community was Jacob Moshe of Belgrade
(from 1739 to 1741, or so). There were 2 communities in the
town working collaterally and their order of succession-as it
could be stated-has been disclosed by Dr. Jacob Singer.
He also made us acquainted by one of his studies with the
Sephardi habits informing us that in the 40s of our century
even 2 Sephardic communities existed in Timi§oara. From
his study we learn to know of several habits and rites, for
instance that while maskir liturgy that much important in
Ashkenasian communities, was not usual in the Sephardic
rites on occasion of Yom Kippur and the 3 Feasts of pil
grimage. Whereas they commemorated the dead of theirs
in the course of the liturgy on Kol Nidre eve. Neither did
they pray the Kol Nidre with the melody as uniformly
usual everywhere in Ashkenasian world, but with another
melody composed of Ottoman, Moorish and Spanish ele
ments. The Sephards regarded their Spanish roots with
care and with a kind of proudness and avoided to get mar
ried with Ashkenasians, if that was possible.
Reprinted with permission from Dr. Ladislau Gy6mant
et. al., eds., Studia Judaica II (Cluj: Editura Sincron,
1993), 73-74
onciling decision straightening out the issue, by consider
ing the common praying possible, still making perfectly
clear at the same time that beyond that both communities
have to observe their own traditions of law, habits and way
of life.
Finally the starting place of the so-called fish debate dis
cussedeven beyond the country's borders-was Timi§oara
to decide the question whether it is allowed to eat the ster
let or not. In the opinion of the Sephards of Timisoara was
the ingestion of that sort of fish permissible upon the tradi
tions of their former home, while the Rabbi of Timi§oara
declared it as forbidden. As a consequence this became the
topic of a mighty polemic launched by the rabbi Isaac
Grieshaber of Paks, town in Hungary.
Detailes of the long-continueddebating are beyond the
frames or the present study, yet as a conclusion it may be
stated that the Ashkenasian viewpoint was victorious in the
Lmu
Chtycl
58
The Jews of Braila
From Gertrude Singer Ogushwitz:
Dear Editor:
GRATUIT
AHUL L—No. 1.
BBAUA,3QIULIB.1807.
I'm enclosing four lists of
Jews of Braila who gave
tsedakah during the years
iV 2
1897,1901,1903, and
1904. These lists were
located at the Central
Archives for the History
of the Jewish People in
Jerusalem. The first page
of the 1904 list, letters A
to Ki, could not be found
at the Central Archives.
ZIAR AL COMUNITATII'ISRAELITE DIN BRAILA
SUB DIRECJIUNEA UNU1 C0M1TET.
**m
PROGRAMDL NOSTRIL
Fa-cars Israelii ars o ides deoitbiid a->
1897 SINGER, Ed. I. was
my father's brother,
Edouard Iulius, (1864-
supra inodutuldt organisms acomunitdftindstrs.
Causa acsstar diverging ds mults Ori fa*
xars, ssts Itpsa unul organ centralis) car* din
ciltid to sand td st diseuts cu saA ford pas
1905) who married in
sions astittnl viUtU ais uosilrs*
Braila in 1899 and emi
ifulft sunt wtr'o usscUnpi complecU ds
ds eels tits petrec to slrnd sotist&t3or% si numat prisiUgiu\H ocultel au dr'sptut a iniriga
dupd pofta\si to profits* lor. Assst niar, mie
grated to New York in
December of that year
with his bride, Augusta
Pearl RAUCH.
1901 SINGER, D. was
my grandfather's brother,
David SINGER who
lived in Arad. (1938-dec)
1901 SINGER, Hotel
Splendid, was probably
my father's brother
Zsigmund (called Zsigo
by the family), who lived
alone in Braila after the
death in 1899 of my
grandmother, Julia
(SPILLER) SINGER, and
the subsequent emigra
tion of my grandfather,
Gyula/Julius SINGER,
and my father, Victor
Julius SINGER, in 1900.
1903 SINGER, Hugo
1904 SINGER, David
and SINGER, Hugo
-A
J>7
la format, dor destul ds Int&pator psntru a
desbats asttpra dureribr ndstrt, it pmsm la
disposifiea pttbliciUul, si orceins pots scris totr'tnsuk in orhc* siil si sub propria respundere, operand a Umpeai odatd tiiuafisa destul
ds tncureatd a comtmii&fU Israelite Br&Stns.
Redaotlunea.
BULETINUL SBMBSTRIAL
d inlmlalailQMJM dis BriUIa*
diagnostic* baia, si a-I da to acelas! timp
medioamentul eel mal Bigur,furaisat de ud
urmaoitt public.—Gaud tp ernncr pririren
In regiftnu do bolnevl, Tel gosi po langa
israelii rotnaol, bolgarf, greet, arnienl, tdrol,
persiauT. germaal si ungart, to(I caatap ca
eeeasf iDgrijre; alAtarl do preotal crestin,
Test po bancs to sola dea$teptore po erreul
ortodox; alWurl do fameia cersetdre de ma-
hala, rosl dama ourfltol tmbracata; dar pt core
noroile o tileso si roeurgft la ojutorul desintoressai aoordattutorora Ori osebire do eloai.
Bar to redo ospeoulare din paftea uoulbolnar, si obiar daca t'ar InuUupla asemeooa
eat, aeeasta nu lasemooozi absolut oimiea
to oamfirul eel mare de adertra(I soraid eare
merits ejotoral.
Mobilierol cabinotnlul de eonaaltafie aa
complooteToQ Wto celf oeeesoro, preoum mas&
do cautare, mesQ(ft de operate, material bo*
gBtda, pansamento etc—>Ecoaomie po spinaraabolnarolnl.po i!a Clcuk; din contra, a*
ceea co s'a pftrut neeasar, fio cat de scamp,
ia procurat, nomal oorespaDsead scopulul.
Pontra a a In eareot ea dtsposi(iuDiIo
Asez&uiantul creat do elassa filantropiol sanitaro.
abonat la minislerul, do interne
Br&ileaaft a ajuns la ud grad de.deiroltare^ . Bulttinul am
saniiar, Farmacopta HootAnd; ba
care treboe sdample de baourie inima ue-earal
membra al Societal.
In 12 lonuarie 1807 a'a detchta Am*
aperaa cu, timpul a asesa In caneelario ua
Dtunfir do orrajo mediealo moderne neeessaro
trnl de bolnart arolu respeetabtla cifrl de
tament modern.
bolatoriol; si dopi sese luo( de tile, regit,
5083 eousulta$iun! si uiedicainente.grataite
la Ambalatoriu. 183 eoMoJtatraoT la do*
mieiliul boluovilor mnl grerl, 3G7 ordonaufo
grutuito cxooutato la faruiaoie. Anibalatcrial Ia>'.
roelit este attta de eunosaut poilulatfuoil, to
cdt din atrfeile eele mat dtpartato, ba obiar
din Botele inveeimite rio ziloio bolnarf, airasl
de reputa(innea institutiunit, do primirea uroooa oe Ii se aeorda, si de folosol material
•oo-l ob(in.
In ade?Sr, nu este lueru.Betoaejuiat.a.
modlonlal pootra consultaro fi alloro de traViitornl oe soridol
Am tomauat color
12 membri onorulel diploma decernatatai el
ror &stalpir poterniol de granit po care so
rasamft .Ambulatorioi Israelit" ai perspectira
na asa do todeportaU a 9Spitalu!*i Israelii*
. UoitC to caget, uai(I nt fapto. fie-caro
dintroBOl/do la cel mal modest membra pfloft
la proteotorol: begat, va area ambi(iaaoa
do a apftra de orl-ce atao opera nostra do
caritate, si a da ast-fel no ezomplu do sott-
daritato, do orgaoiaaro si administrafio.
59
CONTE0LUL
Veniturile Ambulatoriulul Israelii pe primal semestru (897
Abramotlcl IL
Agent Iacob
Agent leak
Aoonim
Bach FrateUl
Banque do Roumania
Bargol Robert
Baron & Sabetej
Decker W.
Bercoffiti Arnold
Bereaoa & Co.
Hermann <k Kauimann
Uenutem Iosef
Bernstein Max
Blank Josef
Blank J.
Blank L
liochorj L
24 —jHHlpero Leo ••
20 .-teollporn Heidi
|Conetanticescu 0.
Corn Nico
Cunduria A. S.
Curia Panafte
Daniel alicbel
IManisnt Bombard
Dinoeruann M. H.
Dreyfus Louis & Co.
Cockier L
l
a
a
HerachkoviB H. U
a
ft — Benchkovtti Laos
•
12
Neumann L
Ocna EUas
Pollack I &
6
6
10- Poaaxaentlrer Phllipp
60 — Rapaport W. B.
60
Repaport Uorite
Bedelmann L
. ft
8-
RedolmanB Loop.
a
3
Bohmaan Ign.
6 - Bainor A.
8 - Beisch Leib
20 — Rciacher Iosef
24—ERosen
24—Rosen A.
a
10 — Koae&berg Sign.
t
i
i
a
6—JeJaNkclae
a
12 — Boie&svvig Meier
6 -Meltelce G.
a
W|— Uothmana M.
80
Bottenberg A Co.
20 - Kate Mayer I*,
iCIobul Regal
*
0-
24 — Boxechkovita Ban!
ft - Benchkowite 8amttei
lO-fflenowttxM.
24- BUM Zaharia L
8-BinebboralL
6-HoralkL
3- BoraateJalC
Transport lei
6r- Keatoriano A. D-r
a
Brodner Leopold
Carantifios 0. N.
1777«—•
6 — Btrpetela B.'
W-ltskowIti lullua
60 - Kali M. Co.
Cbatia*r l'eui(J«schek&Co.)
- •'
100 — Hermann B»
90— Hermann David
Brluer Loo
Boiebower Iacob
.•
Transport lei ,
6 —BGrupper M.
lOOj- Kate L.
a
t
3
a
24
I
BOO - Kirkoriaa A Hirache&bejB
20 — Klrarhea laidor
6 — Klrscbao Kalmaa.
6<— Kirecbea Oakar.
ft!—Blrechei.?.
80-KtUeaH*
201. Kiwilwh a L '
Samuel 4 Friedeberg
8cbimachlaovlts D.
ft}- Segall FrinL
a
10-Segall 11. L.
a
60- BeaaU Hoiae
•
a
•
a
13-ft
Beldmans A. S.
ardelU K A.
60LbereteJu Osiaa
80 —
24- Bfaaer Kd. 1.
a
Bjrcua nermann
HO1- Klarsfetd D.
t
Solomoa leak
24-K.arsfeUB.
•
100—faffler H.
20 — ICrauamann Morits*
8
tttek L D-r
20 — Lenders A Co,
a
icherr loaef
Ettltnger L
12-Uchter£U|
•
cbwinwr H.
Feltelsobn S.
24-LelbowiUL
t
jardelU Paul A.
lOOJ— Lory George
a
aubmana L
3 — Lev/cater U.P.
a
3 — Uebreich Leon
a
ajlor A.
•f ichll&ger B. k Co.
Klnaerbut B.
Fischer Iceef
Focsaaraau Eliae
15— LilBchiU Lupa
ftl— Ucbter ft Borcowtta
a
jchner H.
a
Jacher Lupa
Focfflneanu Samuel
24—LinJenaan P.
a
Friokel Max
10 - LitrhaeJaky U.
a
FritdmaoaFratil
8 — Ubelaoba laidor
10-Label Nathan
6 - Lowenlohn W.
I
Garten A.
Gaspar W.
Goldenaweig Hugo
Goldstein Fralft
Goldstein 0. 8.
Goldstein Samuel
Gottlieb M.
Greet* & Fischer
Grttnbaum I.
a
a
6 - Werhsler laidor 2L
Weioberg Leo
10 — afarcotid A Naftatt
6 — Marcuo Altar
a
Welsasiaoa Borah.
. 60 Wonder A Krimoat
12 60 VTlIdermana 8.
a
*6—vnteiiug a
f
a
120 — Zennann
Zerfflaoa A.
60,— Marmoroach, Blank A Co,
16-Haver Morita
t
0 — Uehlaaan Aron
a
Grflablatt L.
6 - Ueodl Theodor
ft — Mokraoer 8. *
a
ilHadtarsL
1777 I
a
6 —
12|— Yougbapdriaa B. H.
4-
Zligler kllaa
ftHZcrtfL
VOTA. (a) taMrastaa aaoal, (a) itaMStrlsl al (t) triatfttiU,
10
8
60
8
10
8
8
100
60
8
8
8
20
9
40
16
68 —
12
•8
•12
12
6
10
26
6
36
6
6
6
60
6r—
1260 —
2Q6
100 — Zuckermana
10-
a
Do roportat'.
6
8
.0
6
12-
t
t
6 — Marcus Idel
60—1
10—j
20- Weintraab B,
20- Weiatraob L
8— .Vaadelbaom A&drel
40 — LttpeacB 8.
GrttBOjsrg Boasioa
Grnpper G.
GiU&btfg Bemhaxd
De roportat .
40 — Wasaerman L U.
8-
10 —
8
«b6siell 8.
EUenberg IL
FoiUer LtM.
FIMermana llarcu
0
20-H
1260
10-*
iteJo Sign.
12
2800 60
laaoulaoi
Total lei
555S-
60
•a?
'
vv:.v
.••V.'
„v ..,. xr .... .iyji... -r vr^v.tfffWlS^-ijr *• l*|
Persoaiielor carlau bine-voit a contribui pentru Intretinerea $eoalei Israe
scoaloi de fete ôn'f? din^Braila, prin, cumperare de bilot
'SUMA
SUMA
OFERITA
N U,M E L E
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lei fa
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P. T.
P.T..
&barbanel H.
AbramoTicI L.
* 10
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20
10
10
Alesiu C. Archondi C. G. "
Asian alarg.
Bach FratelU
100
20
Balan B.
Bfneralesea Droc
10
Baacotescn P..
20
Baron Joine
5
Basarabianu G. 0.
60
Bayerchal cVLevy
Behlea Eug.'
5
20
Bereorits Arnold
BoreoTitx ATram '
BercoTitz Leon
• 10
'•'6
..'5
fierger Solomon '
5
6
Berman & Saoimann
Bernhardt Josef..
Bernstein Frap •'V
• 10
.10
Bernstein Jose/,. .
Bernstein Mai
•
Bertrand
MO
:
Blank'Iar..;.:.v.. ;..
Bias Loop.
Blomberg Ad.?''"• "'
Bluaberg Joa. .'
Boanti V.L
Boschanoff &1. K. B.
Braunateia Aaccl .
Broeiner J. M. .
Broeiner Leop.
. 10
6
5
a. 5
:'*?5
10
10
10
.•• 6
io
Braser Leo ,
Butareecu D. •
Buxoianu & Ocha -
.10
20
10
10
<2armelli & Bucur
Cats L. Jacques
10
; 6
Cateica Y2 X
Caiaigheta N.
Cavadia Gb.
Cavadia SlaVr.
Ciorann Director
P. T. •-•
••':ii
Chiracs B. M. •"' v*4.f
^0
GaetaTG,:'"'*.
•u
Ga»ran.:N.;;
20
âno
Jngei
Jones
Ghriasoveloni M. Z.,:'h'-
Oaliatsatoa -Freres.
Cohen Henri ••'•*,v%^.
40
Gejtoin Courad~
15
Jorga
.10
MO
Joyiti
Jritz
JtlCO'
. J5
Kiizet
Kolfli
Kohm
Korni
Ivrimt
Kiric
.V.20
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Cobn Iacob fl.
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Conataatinetcu.'P. ^v...v;' ,10
Corbn L ^.:;.,//.;*&.
'*10
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GiUTara;:D^::si;Dr2 '. rilO
Giuvaxa" Jancu C J:.v
Glttckiaann^du;^ "•••.
:-'5|
Gpld Lttpu#•.£ ;£ •.-. r:20
Goldberg:Bliai r.f'-':'
to
Goldenberg;Darid ;'-'r::
201
Goideuzweig^ngo-. v, *•'
Goldstein.'A*^Fiu; 0'".; "•
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Etptei
Ellmann. Ji- R^-Msr&K
—
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Vv20
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420
Guttmann Aiaig-.p
? Seilpern:-Carl/v *. ..!"•
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«5 K Haracopu* C'v *'.:';y. • *
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FeMer.L/feU.^:
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Finkelstein L;*r*^r>£ ;i^6
•Jffaracopu^:;"?>i..; •!'• • .'161
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p
Fischer 1/ cV jSohn^.^
Flacba Ionaa "^??,*•*:*•:
10
Focsaneanu;Sam;. *|S?^
5
20
20
Fotia a-Vf't;. .v'.<?i''
FrAnkelMIax'':"
Famiotti Fratt
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Landt
Last
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Lichtt
Lischi
Lobel
Lobel
Ldwei
Lnkac
Lupei
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Malco
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Marct
alarm
Marul
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Tip.-:.„Comerciala", Jos. Bi
61
1901
tSTA
oalei braelito-Bomftne de bae$i „Fra# Abraham ;i David ScbTOrmann" tji a
re de bilofce pentra balol dat in seara de 13|26 Ianuarie 1901.
râtm
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64
REMEMBER
40 years since the massacre of the Jews from
Northern Transylvania under Horthyst occupation
From: The Federation of Jewish Commumties in
the Socialist Republic of Romania
Documentary Section
Bucharest, 1985
%J "Halmeu
c. . •
Sighet
HUNGARY
Brebe\ti
*^j
ViseuV<ler'^
Baia Mare
Dragomiresti \
{• Valea LuiMihai
/
Ceheiu
/
Smleul Silvanei
f oOradea
eclean
•Bistrata
BCrasna
^w*—n.
^
,
(
• Reghin
\
^^
\
•Tirgu Mures
J
•GHETTOES
•CENTRES OF CONCENTRATION
\
N
Themapof Northern Transylvania under Horthyst occupation, indicating
\
centresof concentration of Jewish population andthe Ghettoes.
V
Sf. Gheorghe
\. *
Jewish Population* in Northern Transylvania
Before Deportation May, 1944
166,061
Deported May-June, 1944
The Forced Labour Detachments (1942-1944)
151,180
14,881
Returned to Transylvania
Survivors
To Other Countries in the World
15,769
10,000
9.6%
6.1%
Total 155%
Killed in the Holocaust - Nearly 130,000 Jews
*
D5
Pinkas
Hakehilot, vol.II
l
/
65
The Martyrdom of Jewish Population
ff (Jrt Jewish population
_L
2.
in Northern Transylvania
Total in cities
Oradea
T33026,150
20,578
19,838
Salonta
740
593
190
403
Total, in villages
TOTAL CIUC COUNTY
5,572
2,525
3,876
2,067
1,093
444
2,783
1,623
Total In cities
Miercurea Ciuc
887
268
619
299
559
330
126
204
528
173
355
1,209
19,097
17,723
16,763
114
7,355
6,845
6,500
1,095
11,742
10,878
10,263
TOTAL BIHOR COUNTY
Gheorgheni
Total In villages
TOTAL NASAUD COUNTY
Total in cities
Bistrita
1,638
16,551
14,530
13,504
1,026
2,021
34,089
10,609
10,609
23,480
10,377
6,780
5,193
1,587
3,597
6,375
2,623
2,198
Nasaud
425
TOTAL CLUJ COUNTY
Total In cities
Clui
Huedin
Total in villages
4.
TOTAL MARAMURES COUNTY
Total in cities
Sighet
Total in villages
5.
TOTAL MURES COUNTY
Total in cities
Tirgu Mures
Reghin
Total in villages
6.
Total in villages
TOTAL ODORHEI COUNTY
858
960
1,374
39,583
10,144
10,144
29,439
10,426
7,328
5,693
1,635
3,098
6,426
2,773
2,358
820
815
285
2,812
4,485
1,363
1,058
1,941
1,410
1,300
552
89
89
211
Carei
Simleul Silvaniei
322
309
Dej
Total In villages
11,485
10,619
4,397
3,360
6,222
8,145
10,478
4,566
3,719
5,912
TOTAL TREI-SCAUNE COUNTY
942
800
Total in cities
Sf. Gheorghe
Tirgul Sacuiesc
475
378
472
404
Total in villages
33,987
7,836
7,836
26,151
6,900
4,088
3,213
864
271
2,394
1,568
9,363
25,370
13,885
11,533
2,030
97
461
5,596
2,308
2,308
3,288
3,526
3,240
2,480
531
429
TOTAL SOMES COUNTY
Total in cities
615
823
300
300
Zalau
Baia Sprie
Total in villages
345
510
3,653
1,049
13,754
4,391
Satu Mare
16,523
13,740
13,337
305
TOTAL SALAJ COUNTY
Total in cities
Baia Mare
unaccounted for
3,122
Total in villages
313
T337
9,283
8,190
8,000
110
415
313
TOTAL S ATU-MARE COUNTY
Total in cities
11.
21,337
Total cities
Odorhei
Total in villages
10.
3,752
1,362
T53T
25,806
21,930
211
523
182
341
10,382
4,145
3,369
1,175
7,213
2,970
394
145
249
2,255
1,496
6,437
25,037
16,892
12,960
3,623
590
1,665
1,056
4,243
14,440
8,362
5,460
2,673
440
2,194
10,597
8,530
7,500
950
80
2,067
2,155
1,230
1,020
68
925
169
128
116
12
328
41
229
6,078
8,323
3,336
2,699
4,987
631
344
288
56
287
66
Yeshivot in Northern Transylvania*
1. Baia Mare - Founded by dr. Moshe Aharon Hakoen Krauss - 1930
2. Batarci- Founded by Shochet and Daian Rabbi Iosed- 1920-1940
3. Beclean - Founded by Rabbi Smuel Ehrenfeld - after 1866
4. Bistrita - Founded by Rabbi Slomo Zalman Ulman
5. Carei - Foundedby Dcutiel Zalman Wolf- Beginning of 19thCentury6. Cehul Silvaniei - Founded by Rabbi Moshe Klein - 1870
7. Copalnic - Manastur - Founded by Rabbi BeniaminZeev Schwartz
8. Craciunesti - Founded by Rabbi Avraam Haim Reiman - 1928
9. Dej - Founded by Rabbi Menahem Mendel Paneth - 1862-1942
10. Gherla - Founded by Rabbi Itzhac Iosef Hakohen - beginning 20th Century
11. Halmeu - Founded by Rabbi laacov Salom Klein
12. Hida - Founded by Rabbi Ihiel Meir Paneth - 1925-1944
13. Huedin -
14. Iclodul Mare - Founded by Rabbi Haim lehuda Broin
15. Ileanda Mare - Founded by Rabbi Iosef Paneth - 1926
16. Leordina - Founded by Rabbi Haim Eliahu Cvaiman - 1860-1880
17. Marghita - Founded by Rabbi Hilel Lichtenstein - 1850
18. Mediasul Aurit - Founded by Rabi Zwi Ghinsberg - end of 19thCentury
19. Negresti - Foundedby Rabbi lehuda Leib Weinberger - 1893-1930
20. Nimigea de Jos - Founded by Rabbi Avraam Slomo Katz
21. Nusfalau - Founded by Rabbi Asher Anshil Weis - 1920
22. Oradea Mare - Founded by Rabbi Israel Nahman Drohobitsher - 1780
23. Pir - Founded by Rabbi Alexander Zusa - 1920-1930 (8-10 pupils)
24. Reteag - Founded by Rabbi Smuel Suria and Simson Haiman
25. Rodna - Founded by Rabbi Asher Rubin
26. Ruscova - Founded by Rabbi Avraam Slomo Katz - 1930,75 pupils
27. SatuMare - Founded by Rabbi lehuda Grunwald - 1898, 3 more yeshivot
28. Sighet - Founded by Rabbi Ikutiel lehuda Teitelboim - 1858
29. Simleul Silvaniei - Founded by Rabbi Mordehai Halevi Horowitzer
30. Singeorgiul de Padure - Founded by Rabbi Isashar Kohn
31. Strimtura - Founded by Rabbi Moshe Kizelnic
32. Tasnad - Founded by Rabbi Haim Betalel Paneth - 1803-1874.
At the time of Rabbi Mordehai Brisk is the biggest Yeshiva in Transylvania
33. Tirgu Lapusului - Founded by Rabbi MosheTeitelboim - 1885-1935
34. Tirgu-Mures - Founded by Rabbi Isashar Beer Kohen - after 1870
35. Tint - Founded by Rabbi Avraam Salom Ieruham Friedman - 1926
36. Valea lui Mihai - Founded by Rabbi Moshe Iohanan Senfeld
37. Viseul de Sus - Founded by Rabbi Smuel Smekla Ghintzeler- 1866-1944
* Pinkas Hakehilot, vol. 11
67
Jews Deported From Main
Yiddish Press
Points of Embarkation
in Northern Transylvania*
in Northern Transylvania
(Figures arebased on information gathered by theHungarian
Military Headquarters in Kosice, where the deportations from
Northern Transylvania were transited to Auschwitz)*
1944
-16 MAY Sighetul Marmatiei
3,007
1. Yiddishe Folkstzaitung
2. SigheterTzaitung
1893
3.
DiVarhait
1896
ti
4.
Yiddishes Folksblat
1899
ii
5.
Zion
1904
it
6.
Ahavat Zion
1908
1893
-17
"
Okormezo
3,052
7.
-18
"
Sighetul Marmatiei
3,248
-19
-19
"
"
Viseul de Sus
Satu Mare
3,032
3,006
8. Maramureser Yiddishe Tzaitung
9. Yiddishes Folkstzaitung
1910
10. Kol Mevasher
1899
-20
"
Sighet
3,104
-21
"
Viseu
3,028
-22
"
Sighet
3,490
11. Yiddishe Tzaitung
12. Yiddishes Folkstzaitung
1928
-22
-23
"
"
Satu Mare
Oradea
3,300
3,110
-23
-25
"
"
Viseu
Oradea
3,028
3,145
-25
"
Cluj
3,130
-25
-25
-26
"
"
"
OcnaSlatina
Viseu
Satu Mare
3,317
3,006
3,336
Yiddishes Blat
1910
1910
1921
13. Yiddishe Prese
1928
14. Maramureser Bleter
1931
15. Oifgang
16. Iang Maramures
1933
1941
Sighet
M
ti
ii
ti
ti
Cluj
Sighet
M
ti
it
ti
ii
17. Kolenu - Unzere Shtime
1935
Viseul de Sus
18. Algemeine Yiddishe Prese
19. Agudat Hazovhim
1920
Bistrita
1929
Baia Mare
20. Di Vohe
1930
1933
Dej
Dej
22.Transilvanishe Prese
1934
Baia Mare
-27
-28
-29
"
"
"
Tirgu Mures
Dej
Cluj
3,183
3,150
3,417
21.Yiddishe Shtime
-29
-29
"
"
Satu Mare
Oradea
3,306
3,130
* Pinkas Hakehilot, vol. II
-30
"
Tlrgu Mures
3,203
-30
-30
"
"
Oradea
Satu Mare
3,187
3,300
-31
"
23.Transilvanishe Yiddishe Tzaitung 1934
Somcuta Mare
Cluj
3,270
Hebrew Press
-31 "
-31 "
1 June
1 "
2 "
Baia Mare
Simleul Silvaniei
Oradea
Satu Mare
Bistrita
3,073
3,106
3,059
2,615
3,106
in Northern Transylvania*
2
"
Cluj
3,100
3
"
Oradea
2,972
Hatoy
1874
Sighet
Beit Vaad Lehahamim
1875
Oradea
Hashemesh
Vaad Hahamim
1878 Sighet
1898 sighet
1900 Sighet
1895 Sighet
1901 Sighet
Ohel Itzhak
1903
Kneset Hahamim
1905 Sighet
1931 Sighet
1933 Marghita
1933 Marghita
Meghed lerahim
Agam Maim
4
"
Reghin
3,149
5
5
"
"
Oradea
Baia Mare
2,527
2,844
6
"
Dej
3,160
6
7
"
"
Bistrita
Simleul Silvaniei
2,875
1,584
10. Darkener
8
8
8
9
27
"
"
"
"
M
Dej
Cluj
Tirgu Mures
Cluj
Oradea
1,364
1,784
1,163
1,447
2,819
13. Leket Sobana
1934
14. Hamessef
1934
Oradea
15. Halihot Olam
1943
Oradea
131,641
16. Haeskol
1930 Cluj
1942 Cluj
Saarei Zion
11. Kevutei Buhurim
12. Kovet Mefarshei Hatora
* Braham L. R. op. tit.
17. Ohel Sem
As can be seen the figures do not corroborate with the other
sources. What is essential today is the frantic pace of deportations.
* Pinkas Hakehilot. vol. II
Satu Mare
Satu Mare
68
Well-known Rabbis Killed During the Holocaust
Name and Surname
1. Aizikson Avraham Isashar Dov
2. Arenreich Shlomo Zalman
3. Bindigher Elimelech
4. Birsk Moshe
5. Broin Haim lehuda
6.
Dr. Dantzig Shmuel Beniamin
7.
8.
9.
10.
Dr. Davidovits D. Mihali
Elias laacov Shmuel
Elias Moshe
Feldman Moshe Israel
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
FischEliezer
Fisch Haim Moshe
Freind Elimelech
Frelad Israel
Freind Moshe
Freind Moshe Arive
Friedlender Elimelech
Friedman Avraham Shalom lemham
Friedman Dov Esashar
20. Ghinzburg Shmuel Smelka
21. Gross Aharon
22. Gross Ikutiel lehuda
23. Gross Shmuel
24. Hager Alter Menahem Mendel
25. Hager Baruch
26. Hager Menahem Mendel
27. Horowitz Avraham Avus
28. Horowitz Naftali
29. Horowitz Pinchas
30. Halpert Iosef Zwi
Place of Pastershio
Poienile de Sub Munte
Simleul Silvaniei
Dei
Tasnad
Iclod
Sighetu Marmatiei
Sf. Gheorghe
Gherla
Sic
Dragomiresti
Satu Mare
Copainic Manastur
Jidovita
Reghin
Gheorgheni
Nasaud
Prundul Birgaului
Turt
Poienile de Sub Munte
Mediesul Aurit
Tirgu Lapus
Sighetu Marmatiei
Carei
Borsa
Viseu de Sus
Viseu de Sus
Carei
Budesti
Bistrita
Somcuta Mare
31. Heiman Simson
Reteag
32. Jungreitz Asher Anshil Halevi
Zalau
33. Kahana Zwi
34. Katz Ioel
Sapinta
35. Kishelnik Moshe
Ardud
Rozavlea
36. Kohn Ghershon Menahem Mendel
Singeorgiu de Padure
37. Klein laacov Shalom
38. Klein Shlomo Zalman
Halmeu
Cehu Silvaniei
Baia Mare
Sanislau
39. Dr. Kraus Moshe Aharon Hakohen
40. Kraus Natan Anshil
41. Leibovici Iehoshua
42. Lichtenstein Avraham Dov
43. Lichtenstein Beniamin Zev
Reteag
Lechinta
Bistrita
Bucium
Cehu Silvaniei
Lechinta
44. Lichtenstein Haim Zwi
45. Lichtenstein Iosef Shmuel
46. Lichtenstein Simon
47. UJw Smaie
48. Panet laacov Elimelech
49. Panet Ihiel Meir
50. Poldk David lehuda
51. Rozenbaum Meir
Sovata
Gherla
52. Rozenfeld Menahem lehuda Halevi
Bistrita
53.
54.
55.
56.
Valea lui Mihai
Rubin Asher
Rubin Meir Iosif
Sic Alexander Zusa
Sofer Menachem
Odorhei
Dei
Hida (Cluj)
Rodna
Pir
Tg. Mures
57. Spitz Meir
Bistrita
58. Stroli Moshe
Baia Sprie
59. Shapira Pinchas
Cuhea
Seini
60. Schwartz Avraham
61. Schwartz Avraham lehuda Hakohen
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
Schwartz Iosef Hakohen
SchOnfeld Ihezkel
Teitelboim Ikutiel lehuda
Teitelboim Shmuel
Toib Moshe Ezra
Isurun laacov Israel
Dr. Vaida Istvan
Vider Baruch Avraham
Toplita
Oradea
Valea lui Mihai
Sighetu Marmatiei
Nusfalau
Gherla
Reghin
Oradea
Odorhei
70. Weinberger Mordechai Azriel
Marghita
71.
72.
73.
74.
Nusfalau
Hida
Weiss
Weiss
Weiss
Weiss
Asher Anshil
Haim Aharon
Itzhac Aizic
Shmuel David
75. Weiss Zwi
76. Weidman Ihezkel
Sapinta
Tulghes
Ulmeni
Sacel
69
Jewish Printers in Northern Transylvania
Places-Time-Titles (number)*
Wr. Loc. W/ Jewish
Aiier
me Total
iouu titles
une
After the
crt pnnt facihtes 1873-1880 1881-1890 1891-1900 1901-1910 1911-1920 1921-1930 1931-1940 1941-1944 Holocaust pub.vols.
1
Sighet
2
3
Satu Mare
Seini
4
Cluj
5
Oradea
6
Marghita
1
7
Simleu
8
Dej
9
Beclean
17
36
74
20
20
25
3
26
2
42
24
177
16
6
72
8
130
2
6
56
83
28
19
5
92
5
30
37
73
8
8
3
37
2
25
5
2
3
3
2
14
29
32
11
235
257
101
83
844
18
10
39
132
42
205
23
7
10 Other cities
TOTAL
1
10
10
* Pinkas Hakehilot, vol. II
Jewish Printers in Northern Transylvania
Location with Printing Facilities and Authors,
According to Their Roots
"flE
crt
Loc w/ Jewish
print facilites
Local
Authors from other
Authors from
Authors from
Authors from
Authors
areas than Trans.
Hungary
Romania
other countries
41
37
12
45
47
22
7
54
177
44
29
28
29
130
92
1
Sighet
72
2
Satu Mare
47
3
Seini
—
Total
205
4
Cluj
34
18
4
31
5
5
Oradea
33
13
10
1
73
6
Marghita
6
5
7
Simleu
8
14
9
16
9
2
6
1
8
Dej
3
6
2
23
14
9
Beclean
10
Other cities
TOTAL
-
-
3
37
1
5
2
2
10
43
9
5
6
20
255
194
123
90
182
83
844
-
70
Jewish Population in Transylvania and the Banat
Comitatul, Orasul 1722-36 1767-69 1776-78 1781-82 1785 1787-88 1839-40 1869 1880
Arad, comitat
inclusiv
97
155
168
80
152
352
2080
-
-
_
—
195
—
-
—
—
294
-
—
-
-
7000
8018
1920 1930 1940 8/30/1940
1890
1900
6945
9645 10012 7822 8900 9448
1910
-
Arad, ora$
Alba de Jos
Bistrita-Nasaud
_
_
5362 2293 2736
2779
2806
3280
3851
3845
2313
3965
4349
6346
7254 6856 6398 66426
-
6426
Bihor
(inclusiv Oradea)
82
286
209
1093
6270
Brasov
Ciuc
-
-
-
-
Fagaras
Alba Iulia
—
-
9
150
-
105
105
150
150
Tirnava Mare
_
_
—
—
7
—
-
-
-
—
—
—
-
-
-
-
11690
277
679
868
1250
1503
1560 2519 2760
21333
305
528
706
1514
2357
1861
2345 2067
2067
640
675
905
560
432
282
848
681
800
1200
800
Trei Scaune
Hunedoara
12497 21187 25968 28978 32462 29058 2189226949
—
544
300
486
698
1222
1222
1634
1996
2470
4032
5679
4656 4643 3674
2221
2698
2855
2751
2485
4730
1561
—
2672 2274
800
-
—
si Mica
Cluj, comitat
Cluj, oras
Chioar
—
Crasna
—
Caras Severin
Maramures
—
371
—
74
—
670
—
—
-
—
—
—
—
1033
—
90
Mures-Turda
Nazna
-
1530
3965
—
145
-
—
44
308
2254
9079
68-70
—
Rodna
—
55-60
129
80-100
-
-
-
9849
9356 1336410582
-
2582
3246
—
—
4795
3765 2646 1916
—
-
-
-
10582
-
26295 33463 45073 65694 65694 36535 33891 39583
39583
9853 10426
10430
[222]
—
2999
—
[21061
453
330
-
6964
2536
—
—
—
18535
110663]
6677
—
274
12581 14409 1701019097
4782
13
228
215
Baia Mare
Carei
29
2-12
3735
4965
7550 7551
[701] [963] [1402] [1792] [2030] [3623]
[2139] (2491] [2571] [2349] [2255]
—
65
80
118
Satu Mare
comitat si oras
Sibiu
Solnoc Dabica
112
—
40
668
2753
—
—
-
-
—
—
-
673
1003
630
72
366
386
Timis,
Timi§oara
2569
172
[220]
-
[53]
8711
16588 20981 22849 26337 29468 36250 2390525037
275
586
422
7079
7580
1598
6799
7006
—
[1206] [2000]
—
—
1565
1460
1353 1418
9890 11767 12797 12506 1057610478
4870
5916
6728
-
37997
—
10428
[9368] 10950] [11788]
[155]
Turda Aries
—
—
—
40
Torontal
Odorhei
64
-
-
—
—
6-10
-
841
1355
1931
2465
2648
2569 2183 2736
357
581
768
1198
1313
1025
—
2252
—
1306
823
823
Zaraud
TOTAL
1108
2651
1267
1100
7491
7872
32613
^
103611 130497 139106 182608 223082 186760 168862179512
V
170694
71
Romanian Sources in New York City Compiled By Ruth Gavis
[Organization
First Roumanian American Congregation
Shaarei Shomayim (Gates of Heaven)
89 Rivington Street
(Between Ludlow and Orchard)
New York, New York 10002
Description
One of the oldest synagogues in the city, dating back to the mid 1800's, it is now housed in
a Romanesque style building which was constructed in 1881. Through the years, the syna
gogue has had many illustrious choir members, cantors, and congregants. Among these
were George Burns, Red Buttons, Eddie Cantor, Moishe Koussevitsky, Moishe Oysher, Jan
Pearce, and Richard Tucker. As a result, the synagogue earned the nickname of "The
Cantor's Carnegie Hall". The synagogue offers daily services primarily attended by a small
Rabbi Jacob Spiegel
Study Phone (212) 673-2835
Home Study (212) 777-5735
Fax(212) 358-1264
Yeshiva University and Library
500 West 185 Street *
New York, NY 10033
Phone (212) 960-5451/5355
Library (212) 960-5382
number of shopkeepers from the surrounding area. Guests are welcome. Tours of the sanc
tuary can be arranged for individuals or groups.
NOTE: Annual Reports from about 1915 are at the Yeshiva University Archives, 500 West
185 St., New York, NY 10033. (See entry below).
Annual Reports from about 1915 for the First Roumanian American Congregation Shaarei
Shomayim. They have materials from The Central Relief Committee, a few Romanian
Yeshiva Records, Yizkor Books, and over 150titlesrelatingto Romanian Jews.A picture
ID is necessary to use the library.
Hours are 9am to 5:30pm Monday through Thursday, 9amto 12:30pm Friday, 12pm to
6:30pm Sunday-
Sammy's Roumanian Steak House
157 Chrystie Street (off Delancy Street)
Owner Sammy invites guests to turn back the clock to meals like the ones cooked by their
grandmothers. Along with Roumanian and other East European specialties, the restaurant
(212) 673-0330
serves steaks "unmatched anywhere for flavor and tenderness". In addition, there is enter
tainment with Israeli singers and musicians and sing-alongs with old Yiddish songs.
World Federation of Hungarian Jews
This is a social club which covers territory that is part of Romania.
New York, NY 10002
136 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Leader: Peter Hamori
Phone (212) 725-1211
Romanian National Tourist Office
14 East 38th Street
(between 5th and Madison)
12th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Director: Simeon S. Alb
This is the official agency for tourism in Romania where either in person or by mail you
can obtain brochures and maps for travel in Romania. Although genealogy is not the mis
sion of the agency, Director Alb can offer suggestions for contacting the National Archives
in Bucharest.
Hours are 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. It is, however, a single person operation so
that it is advisable to call ahead before you visit.
Phone(212)545-8484
Fax (212) 251-0429
Email: ronto@erols.com
Website: www.rezo.com/ronto
Romanian Cultural Center
200 East 38 Street (near 3d Avenue)
New York, NY 10016
Amalie Topirceanu
Phone (212) 687-0180
Fax (212) 687-0181
Romanian Consulate
200 East 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
Consul: Cela Sudeu
Phone (212) 682-9122
The Cultural Center has regularly scheduled conferences, concerts and exhibitions on cur
rent topics of Romania interest. There is also a small library with most books in Romanian
although a few shelves are devoted to books in English. For current happenings, the Center
has newspapers and magazines in Romanian.
Hours are 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday, but closed each day between 1pm and
2pm for lunch.
The Consulate will search for archival information about family members who were born or
lived in Romania ONLY if you have precise dates, places, and names of persons and their
parents. Tlie cost for this service is $30 in cash or money order. Checks are not accepted. It is
preferable to call first before visiting the Consulate or sending your data by mail. You may
be advised to contact the Romanian Consulate in Los Angeles, CA or in Washington, DC if
you live outside the New York area and are closer to one of these areas. Hours are 10am to
1pm Monday through Friday.
Romanian Journal
A weekly newspaper in the Romanian language, the Journal is published every Wednesday
415 Concourse Avenue
and contains information of interest to Romanians in the USA and abroad. There are sec
Bronx, NY 10455
tions devoted to Israel and news specifically for Jewish Romanians. The Journal also has
programs throughout the USA in the Romanian language on radio and television. Contact
the editor for specific programs and times. Office hours are 12am to 12pm Monday and
Tuesday and 12am to 12pm on Wednesday through Friday.
Editor: Sorrin Botezatu
Phone (718) 993-8555
Fax (718) 993-8334
I

ROM-SIG NEWS

Transcription

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