Romania Letter Writing Guide

Letter Writing Guide
The following is a guide for composing a letter in Romanian language asking for genealogical information. You may adapt it to your needs and use it to write to the Romanian State Archives, local civil records office, or parish in Romania. A sample letter in Romanian is included below. The letter is also available as a [[Media:Romanian Genealogical Word List.pdf|pdf]].

Before You Write
Genealogical research may be possible by correspondence. It is necessary, however, to write information requests in Romanian. Use the letter-writing guide to compose your letter and send it to the appropriate address. Be sure to type your letter including your name and address clearly and distinctly.

State Archives of Romania

Arhivelor Nationale din Romania Bdul Regina Elisabeta 49 Bucuresti ROMANIA

Civil Records Office

Oficiul Starii Civile [Town Name] ROMANIA

Parish

Parohia (insert appropriate religion from list below) [Town Name] ROMANIA

You must determine the location of the parish before writing. In some cases there are several towns with the same name. It is then necessary to specify a district (judeţul) or nearby larger town in the address.

Sample Letter in Romanian
Stimate Domn (sir), Părinte (pastor or priest),

Având o mare dragoste pentru strămoșii mei din România, doresc foarte mult să completez istoria familiei mele de acolo. Din acest motiv, apelez la bunăvoința Dumneavoastră cu speranța că mă veți putea ajuta cu procurarea unor date oficiale referitoare la strămoşii mei. În mod specific, aș dori să aflu mai multe detailii genealogice despre persoana următoare:

Numele strămoșului (if the ancestors was a male), strămoașei (if the ancestor was a female) _____________NAME_____________

Locul nașterii _____________PLACE OF BIRTH_____________

Religia _____________INSERT APPROPRIATE RELIGION (see list below)_____________

Data nașterii (aproximativă) _____________DATE OF BIRTH (Approx)_____________

Data căsătoriei (aproximativă) _____________DATE OF MARRIAGE (Approx)_____________

Alți membri ai familiei _____________NAMES OF OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WITH RELATIONSHIP (see list below)_____________

Pentru a documenta istoria strămoșilor mei, aș dori foarte mult să procur copii ale certificatelor lor de naștere/căsătorie/deces. Dacă in același timp puteți să-mi procurați de asemenea copii din actele oficiale sau transcrieri ale părinților lui, care au locuit în același loc, v-aș rămâne foarte recunoscător dacă ați putea să-mi trimiteți și informația aceasta. Deoarece eu nu stiu limba română--scrisoarea aceasta fiind scrisă cu ajutorul unui prieten, v-aș ruga să-mi scrieți toate numele și localitățile fără inflexiuni gramaticale.

Aș aprecia foarte mult dacă mi-ați scrie care ar fi costul total al lucrării efectuate de Dumneavoastră. În așteptarea răspunsului Dumneavoastră, primiți vă rog întreaga mea considerație.

Cu mulțumiri, YOUR NAME

English Translation
Esteemed Sir/Pastor, Priest,

Having a great love for my ancestor from Romania, I would like very much to complete the history of my family there. For this reason I appeal to your amiability in the hope that you will aid me in the procurement of official records pertaining to my ancestry. Specifically I would like more information about the following individual:

Name of ancestor, ancestress _____________

Place of birth _____________

Religion _____________

Birthdate (approximate if necessary) _____________ Marriage date (approximate if necessary) _____________

Other members of the family _____________


 * (Information about parents, brothers, sisters, husband or wife, etc. may help the priest or archivist in researching).

I would like to ask for certificates of birth/ marriage/ death. If you could at the same time find information on his parents, who are said to have lived at the same place, I would be most grateful. If possible, I would like to procure exact copies or transcriptions of the actual records. Inasmuch as I do not know Romanian--this letter has been written by a friend-- I would ask that you please give the information without grammatical endings.

Please let me know the cost of your work so that I can make payment. I am anxiously awaiting your reply, for which I will be most grateful.

Sincerely,

SIGNATURE

(Be sure to type your name and and address clearly and distinctly).