Hello,
I've just returned from a trip to Romania where I was able to gain
access to a number of documents in the Suceava Archives and in Vatra
Dornei. This message is to let you know what I found and what I
photographed, and also to ask for advice on what to do with the
material -- I would like to share this with you, insofar as it is
useful, but I don't necessarily know how to go about doing this, and I
need advice on whether it is OK to publicise the information. The
other thing is I don't alway have a precise idea what the material is
about, someone more competent to judge would need to clarify.
At the Suceava Archives I photographed a number of metrical books from
Campulung and Gura Humorolui which -- since they are listed on the Leo
Baeck Institute website among the available holdings at the Suceava
archive -- may already have been photographed (if so, please confirm),
namely:
Campulung: births 1859-93, deaths 1857-77
Gura Humorolui: marriages 1857-1907, deaths 1857-1909
I was also given access to metrical books that do not appear on the
list of Suceava archive holdings advertised on the Leo Baeck Institute
website, which I also photographed:
Suceava: births 1906-1909, 1910-1913, marriages 1904-1909, deaths
1906-1911, 1911-1916
In addition, it transpires that the Suceava Archives hold cadastral
records for Campulung, Dorna Candrenilor and Vatra Dornei, which I
also photographed in part. (These were the only localities about
which I enquired, presumably the archives hold similar records for
other localities.) For each locality, I took photos of the available
cadastral map, dating from around 1856, of the title pages of each
item in the file relating to that locality, and in selected cases, all
of the pages pertaining to a given item. Items included registers of
Grundparzellen, Bauparzellen and Gelöschenparzellen for the years 1861
and 1866, and also something entitled "Verzeichnis", which seem to be
some kind of census or headcount (listing the individual's address).
I'm afraid my German is basic, and while I think I know what some of
these things are, all I am prepared to say is the registers list names
and other biographical data of interest. It would be helpful if
someone more knowledgeable could translate/explicate the precise
nature of the documents.
I photographed the 1866 Grundparzellen and Bauparzellen registers in
their entirety for each locality, and also if I remember correctly,
the earliest such registers, if any was available for a year prior to
1861.
I also learned fortuitously that the Suceava Archives hold
"Nationality Registers" for many districts. I am not sure what these
are about, but I suppose they record individuals who acquired Romanian
nationality after 1918. I was only able to take a few furtive
snapshots of one or two of the volumes, as the archives are closely
guarded by a small and very irritable gnome. These registers do
record Jewish names, with their dates of birth and other details (I
have yet to review the material). The Archives have an index of
Nationality Registers (i.e., of the localities or districts for which
there are registers), which I also photographed.
În Suceava I also met with someone who provided me with a file of some
sort of Romanian (?) "passport" applications. I am still awaiting
clarification on the nature of these documents. It seems these were
requests for visas to travel through former Austrian lands (Poland,
Austria, Czechoslovakia) for periods of up to several months. The
index provides the names of applicants over the period 1921-30, but
the records proper that have been made available to me cover only the
years 1921-1923. Each record provides biographical data of the
applicant (from memory: place and date of birth, domicile, occupation,
a detailed physical description, intended destination(s), duration of
voyage, and date of application or date of issue.
In Vatra Dornei I gained access to the Temple, where I photographed a
number of registers. I am not sure what these are about. I think
they all date from after WW II. One in particular seems to be a
register of the Jews who returned to Vatra Dornei after the war
(indicating inter alia the date of their return, their address in
Vatra Dornei and, in annotations, dates they left for Israel or passed
away), another lists contributions of some kind and so forth. Again,
the one thing I can state quite confidently is there is information
attached to names.
I learned that in Vatra Dornei they have the land registers and
property deeds going back to 1873. As a favour I was shown an index
listing a number of PÄCHTs and their former assets (designated by
numbers), as well as the documentation associated with one of these
assets. However, when I pressed for full access to the PÄCHT records
my request was rebuffed on the grounds this would be a gargantuan job.
I don't know if this was true or if it was a pretext to prevent me
from getting the information. Elsewhere I was told that many current
"owners" (who paid to acquire their dwelling or business) have no
legal title to the asset, so they are exposed to the risk of claims by
descendants of former owners.
Finally, I visited the old cemetery in Siret and the cemetery in Vatra
Dornei, and took quite a few photographs in case they are of interest.
A local in Vatra Dornei has since offered to do some searching for me
in the cemetery there, but before responding to his offer I would like
to know what work if any has already been carried out in the context
of the various cemetery preservation / restoration initiatives that I
understand have been underway for a number of years now. Who should I
approach to find out what has been done / what is projected for the
Vatra Dornei cemetery?
Jeremy Pacht
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Received on 2021-09-03 23:52:15