Heritage Album

Eastern European Genealogy?

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.

Public Comments

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.