Romania Letter Writing Guide

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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.

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 (judetul) or nearby larger town in the address.

Sample Letter in Romanian
Stimate Domni/Pǎrinte,

Avand o mare dragoste pentru strǎmoşii mei din Romania, doresc foarte mult sǎ completez istoria familiei mele de acolo. Din acest motiv, apelez la bunǎvoinţa Dumneavoastrǎ cu speranta cǎ mǎ veţi putea ajuta cu procurarea unor date oficiale referitoare la strǎmoşii mei. Mai ales, aş dori sǎ aflu mai multe detalii genealogice despre persoana urmǎtoare:

Numele strǎmoşului (if the ancestors was a male) /strǎmoaşei (if the ancestor was a female): Locul naşterii: Religia: (insert appropriate religion from list below) Data naşterii (aproximativǎ): Data de cǎsǎtorie (aproximativǎ): Alţi membri ai familiei: (insert appropriate relationship from list below)

Pentru a documenta istoria strǎmoşilor mei, aş dori foarte mult sǎ procur copii ale certificatele lor de naştere/cǎsǎtorie/deces. Daca in acelaş timp puteţi sa-mi procuraţi deasemeni copii din actele oficiale sau sǎ le transcrieţi ale pǎrinţilor lui, care erau sǎ fi locuit in acelasi loc, v-aş rǎmine foarte recunǎscǎtor dacǎ aţi putea sǎ-mi trimiteţi si informaţia aceasta. Deoarece eu nu stiu limba romanǎ--scrisoarea aceasta fiind scrisǎ cu ajutorul unui prieten, v-aş ruga sǎ-mi scrieţi toate numele si localitǎţile fǎrǎ inflexii gramaticale.

A-şi aprecia foarte mult dacǎ mi-aţi scrie care ar fi costul total al lucrǎrii efectuate de Dumneavoastrǎ. In asteptarea rǎspunsului Dumneavoastrǎ, primiţi vǎ rog înalta mea consideraţie.

Cu mulţumiri,

Religions

Relationships

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: 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. that 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,