Eastern European Genealogy?

Question

My wife is from Romania and we would like to build her family tree. Does anyone know of any websites or orgs that cater to the Eastern European genealogy community? She can only trace her family back on paper a few generations due to destruction of records. Her last name is Pitaru.

Answer 1

the Mormons may be able to help you.  They were doing a lot of genealogy searches over there before the War.  they have records that no one else has and don't charge for access.  you might have to pay shipping to get the records to a location near you though.

Answer 2

We don't really know what records survived on a town-by-town basis. The Communists didn't usually "destroy" records as much as they moved them around and adulterated them for the greater good.

I would personally suggest you contact a Romanian Orthodox church (there are several near Detroit if you have trouble finding one). That gives you a pipeline of educated Romanians with direct ties into the whole country and access to sacramental records that predate Communism. They'll know where things were hidden and how to tap into them. You also get ready made translators who can write the letters for you.

Answer 3

www.jewishgen.org--you didn't say if your wife was Jewish, but this website has 1200 listings for the search "Pitaru" in Romania:

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Bessarabia --    List 1 record  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Bucovina --    List 7 records  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Maramures --    List 9 records  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Moldavia     List 26 records  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Transylvania  --   List 14 records  

Vsia Rossiia 1895 Business Directory  --  List 1 record  

Tabele Barbatilor - Census of Jewish Men in Romania, 1942 --   List 46 records  

Kishinev Moldova Marriage and Divorce Records  --  List 28 records  

Bessarabia Duma Voters List  --  List 130 records  

Kishinev Moldova Death Records --   List 45 records  

Kishinev Moldova Birth Records --   List 73 records  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - USA - New York  --   List 4 records  

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry - Canada - Quebec     List 3 records  

Tirgu Mures deportation list 1944 --   List 25 records  

Tirgu Mures Ghetto List  --  List 24 records  

Transnistria: Lists of Jews Receiving and Sending Support --   List 3 records  

The Jews of Oradea --   List 4 records  

List of The Jews of Des (Dej) used in the Ghettoization of May 3-10, 1944  --   List 51 records  

Jews From Iasi (Jassy) Who Survived the Transports --   List 2 records  

The JewishGen Yizkor Book Necrology Database - Bessarabia --   List 9 records  

The JewishGen Yizkor Book Necrology Database - Bucovina  --  List 4 records  

The JewishGen Yizkor Book Necrology Database - Crisana --   List 8 records  

The JewishGen Yizkor Book Necrology Database - Maramures --   List 6 records  

Jewish Families Deported from Dorohoi to Transnistria  --  List 89 records  

Bucharest Jewish Gazette List of Jewish Males That Must Report for Labor - October 1942 --   List 3 records  

Podu Iloaiei Census 1898 --   List 1 record  

Cluj Children Survivors --   List 2 records  

Rautel Camp Listings   -- List 3 records  

Claims Conference, Romania --   List 541 records  

Who Perished On The Struma --   List 4 records  

1200 matches found for that search.

www.familysearch.org--1 listing

Monique PITARU - U.S. Social Security Death Index

Birth: 26 Jun 1935  State Where Number was Issued: New York  Death: 10 Sep 2000

www.ellisisland.org had these 2 listings:

First Name: Bluma

Last Name: Pitaru

Ethnicity: Rumanian, Hebrew

Last Place of Residence: Radametz, Rumania

Date of Arrival: Jul 30, 1907

Age at Arrival:  28y    Gender:  F    Marital Status:  M  

Ship of Travel: Furnessia

Port of Departure: Glasgow

Manifest Line Number: 0030



First Name: Zeida

Last Name: Pitaru

Ethnicity: Rumanian, Hebrew

Last Place of Residence: Bultzetze, Rumania

Date of Arrival: Jul 30, 1907

Age at Arrival:  33y    Gender:  M    Marital Status:  M  

Ship of Travel: Furnessia

Port of Departure: Glasgow

Manifest Line Number: 0029





Hope this gives you something to work with.