Romania Beginning Research: Difference between revisions

The earliest vital records were kept by churches. In Hungary, Walachia, and Moldavia these church records started in the mid 1700s. Civil registration records were kept and maintained by the Orthodox churches beginning in May 1831 in Walachia and in January 1832 in Moldavia. In December 1865 civil registration in these Romanian principalities was assumed by civil authorities. Dobrudja had become part of Romania in 1878; fifteen years before Bulgaria began civil registration in 1893. Civil registration in Hungary started in December of 1895, which means that the principal source for earlier research in Transylvania and the Banat must be church records. Some vital records of Romania; especially those of the German and Hungarian minorities, are now kept in archives in Germany and Hungary. Some records have been destroyed. Many are scattered in many small archives and private collections; some have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library. To determine whether the records you need have been microfilmed, check the Family History Library Catalog.

 

The Family History Library has not microfilmed records at the Romanian State Archives. By law vital records are kept in local civil records offices and parish offices for seventy-five years; then they are transferred to the State Archives in Bucharest or the district capital.  

 

 

Genealogical research may be possible by correspondence. It is necessary, however, to write information requests in Romanian. Use the [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Romania_Letter_Writing_Guide letter-writing guide]to compose your letter and send it to the appropriate address.