I believe that it was in the late 1980s, or around 1990, that my Aunt Linda mailed us photocopies of the microfilm negative of the baptismal certificate of my grandfather Alex Olar. Along with the baptismal certificate was a single-typed page of an outline family history of my grandfather. Copies of the certificate and family history were simultaneously mailed to all of the surviving children of my grandfather. However, a number of years later, when I spoke with Aunt Linda about the baptismal certificate, she did not remember how the certificate had been located or who had sent it to her. In a letter of Feb. 1995, she told me, "Someone in the family sent a copy to me and I in turn sent it to your father."
In any event, whoever it was who collected this information and sent it to us, someone in my family evidently had done some very helpful genealogical research. I do not know how he or she managed to find my grandfather's baptismal certificate, or where it was found, but I am very grateful that we have it, as it provided many additional details of the Olar family history that otherwise would have been unknown to us.
Using photo viewing and editing software, my cousin Greg Budovec converted the negative back to a positive, and supplied the image which you see here:
As one might expect, although the photocopied negative of my grandfather's baptismal certificate is a good and generally legible copy, in several places it is not easily legible, and in other places it is illegible. Nevertheless, here is an analysis and annotation of those passages that I am able make out, with translation and comments from myself and from genealogical researchers Donna Einarsson and Cosmin Ciocan:
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Archidiecesa ort. or. a Bucovinei. Ducatul Bucovina.
[Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Bucovina, Duchy of Bucovina]
Protopresviteratul ort. or. al Siretiului, Districtul politic: Siretiu
N-rul exhib. 2ig. Comuna politica: Tereblecea
Testimoniu de botez.
[Proof of Baptism]
in condica nascutilor a parochiei ortodocs orientale din Tereblecea
tom. [LARGE STAMP] pag. 75-76.se aila precum urmeaza:
[In the birth register of the Eastern Orthodox parish in Tereblecea
vol. [ ] pag. 75-76 there is:]
N-rul curinte si N-rul casei: Sese spre dece /16/ [indecipherable] 153
[Criterial number and house number:]
(Note: The indecipherable script resembles a cursive capital "C" followed by a dot or very
small circle, and then what looks like a large cursive lower case "s" followed by a cursive
flourish that almost resembles the letters "rd." As for the number "153," Ioan was still
living at house number 153 when he died in 1892, and Ioan's family continued to live there
for several more years, according to the Tereblecea parish register of deaths. That house was
destroyed by the Russian army around 1940 along with the other old Romanian houses of
Tereblecea.)
Anul, luna si diua nascerii: Una mie, opt sute, optdeci si trei, Martie in septe
spredece / 1883 Martie 17./
[Year, Month, & Day of Birth: One thousand, eight hundred, and eighty-three, March the seven-
teenth / 17 March 1883]
Anul, luna si diua botezului: Una mie, opt sute, optdeci si trei, Martie in nouaspre
dece / 1883 Martie 19./
[Year, Month, & Day of Baptism: One thousand, eight hundred, and eighty-three, March the nine-
teenth / 19 March 1883]
Numele de botez al pruncului: Alecsie
[Name of the baptised baby: Alex]
(Note: In fact, the name on the certificate looks like "Aleesie," but my grandfather was
named Alex. In an email of 11 April 2001, Cosmin Ciocan said, "Alecsie is an archaic
spelling of Alexe which is in turn a derivative of Alexandru, Romanian for Alexander." On
the other hand, since Romanian children were customarily given saints� names at that time,
it is likely that my grandfather was placed under the patronage of St. Alexis when he was
baptised. In any case, my grandfather in effect was named for his mother Alecsandra.)
Religiunea: Ortodocsa orientala
[Religion: Eastern Orthodox]
Sexul: barbatesi
[Sex: male]
legitima
Nascerea: legitima
nelegitima
[Birth -- legitimate or illegitimate: legitimate]
Numele de botez si tatalui: Ioan alui Andrei Olar, agricultor din Tereblecea.
de familie, starea
si domiciliul maicii: Alecsandra nascuta Toderiuc.
[Names of the baptised's John son of Andrew Olar, peasant farmer of Tereblecea.
father and mother and their
social status and residence: Alexandra nee Toderiuc.]
Numele de botez si de familie Teodor Dornian, agricultor din Tereblecea.
starea si domiciliul nasilor:
[Name, social status, and Theodore Dornian, peasant farmer of Tereblecea
residence of the baptised's
godparents:
(Note: Romanian agricultor literally means "farmer." However, most Romanian "farmers"
living in villages or small towns during the 1800s would be lower class. Cosmin Ciocan
comments, "I think peasant would be a better word instead of farmer. One shouldn't expect
a rich proprietor with cattle and everything. Most of the people in a village at the
end of the XIX century worked 5 to 10 hectares of farming land.")
Numele de botez si de familie Agafia Zotec din Tereblecea.
si domiciliul moasei:
[Name and residence of Agafia Zotic of Tereblecia.
the baptised's midwife.]
Numele preotului, carele au bo- Ilarion Dracinschi, preot de ajutor din Tereblecea.
tezat:
[Name of the priest who Ilarion Dracinschi, assistant priest
administered the baptism: of Tereblecea.]
Spre adeverire urmeaza subscrierea mea proprie si intiparirea sigilului bisericesc.
[To prove this my signature and church stamp follows.]
(Note: At the bottom left of the certificate there is a round seal or stamp.)
Parochia ort. or. din Tereblecea, Iulie iu 12/25. 1906.
Stefan Seleschi
parochl.
(Note: According to Donna Einarson, these concluding lines of the baptismal certificate show that the certificate is a handwritten duplicate of the original parish record. In an email of 11 April 2001, she commented, "For my family's Baptismal Certificates, they were copied for proof of age for emigration purposes -- the dates all match to their dates of emigration." However, it seems that my grandfather Alex Olar probably may not have left Bucovina until 1909 or 1910, after his marriage. At this time we cannot tell why he obtained a baptismal certificate in July 1906. Did he have plans to go to America at that time, but changed his plans for some reason? Whatever the case, my father has told me that his mother never had anything like a birth certificate or baptismal certificate, which would help to explain why there was uncertainty about the year of her birth.)
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