Hello all:
 I am trying to pin down the dates for the marriages of my maternal great grandparents and/or my great-great grandparents. My great grandparents were Hersch Wigderovici and Ghitl Osais ( or possibly Grunberg). They  lived in Stefanesti, Romania and were probably married there, or in Botosani.  Hersch's father was Wigdor and he married Sara Dina (or Sura Dyna), a widow from Russia, possibly Odessa, who brought three children onto the marriage.  They also lived in Stefanesti and I am thinking were married there.
I would appreciate any help.
Thanks.
Aline Petzold,
St. Paul MN

I'd be interested in hearing how you uncover such specific dates as well, Aline, but I can offer two thoughts from someone who's spent a lot of time in on-line archives from Romanian Jewry of that time.

First, many marriages were recorded well after the fact. In the eyes of the authorities, that made most children "illegitimate." I have several examples of marriages taking place when the children were already in their teens.

Second, if you are trying to distinguish between two possibilities for your great-grandmother's father's name, I think "Grunberg" is more likely. "Osias" -- often "Osias Hersch" as I've seen it -- was a common first name. By the same token, I have come across a number of Grunberg surnames from the period (and am even distantly related to some). I suspect it was a matter of a confused form, and it's likely that your g-g-grandfather on that line would have been Osias Grunberg, father of Ghitl.

I'm happy to be corrected by someone who knows more than I do, but that's my educated guess.

Good luck
--
Joe Kraus
Shavertown, PA
krausj2@...

Joe,

The is no Grunberg - whatever spelling variation - in Stefanesti 1865 to 1900.  The first child recorded for Herscu and Ghitla was born in 1878. Judging from the age of wife, a marriage may  have taken place NOT before 1870. Such civil marriage was not recorded. On the marriage of the prior generation, judging from ages of Herscu and Ghitla, it took place BEFORE civil records started in Romanian Moldova, thus unknowable.

Luc Radu
Great Neck, NY