Bessarabia Court Records

Background

This database will ultimately contains tens of thousands of Jewish surnames, as referenced in court cases across various jurisdictions, including the Kishinev District and City Courts, the Kishinev Court of Appeal, township and city courts, orphanage and justice of the peace records, as well as district land courts in Bessarabia (including Beltsy, Yassy, Kagul, Lapushna, Lipkany, Soroki, Tighina, Orgeev, Bendery). It also includes records from private and public notary offices in Bessarabia, Kishinev and district tribunals, and courts during the period of Romanian occupation (1918-1944). This database also encompasses police and quester inventories from the same period, as well as records from the People's Courts and the Supreme Court of the Moldavian SSR.

The data is primarily sourced from the inventories of the State Archive of Moldova, covering the years 1806 to 1980. These historical records serve as a valuable resource for future research in the holdings of the State Archive of Moldova.

Chisinau, currently the capital of Moldova, was known as Kishinev during the period between the two World Wars, when it was part of Romania. Before World War I, Chisinau served as the capital of Bessarabia Gubernia in the Russian Empire.

Examples of Court Cases in the Database:

• Case of Pekerman (Middle Class, Kishinev): A complaint against notary Likharev for embezzling 1,300 roubles of Pekerman’s funds.
• Investigation of Burglary: Case of a break-in involving the painting collection of Kishinev resident Lelbakh N.
• Claim by Merchant Yuliy Liberman: A lawsuit against Uskat Anton Yakovlesich and Uskat Grigoriy Yakovlevich for a debt of 5,117 roubles and 50 kopecks based on a promissory note.
• Property Rights Case: A case involving Borukh Altman, a resident of Kishinev, asserting his rights to immovable property.
• Marriage Dissolution: The case of the divorce between spouses Sima and Nukhim Bekerman.
• Illegal Tobacco Sale: A case against Tsinman B., a resident of Pelenia, Beltsy Uyezd, for the illegal sale of tobacco.
• Property Deed Violation: A case concerning a dispute over the property deed of Volf Groysman, a resident of Tighina.
• Illegal Border Crossing: The personal file of Leyb Krupnik, who illegally crossed the border from the USSR to Romania.
• Old-Age Maintenance Claim: A case filed by Khaya-Sura Iosifovna Kats against Iosif Berkovich Kats and Mendel Berkovich Kats for the recovery of old-age maintenance funds.

Record Information:

There are currently 5,952 records in the collection. Each record includes the following details:

• Name: Surname and given name of individuals involved in the court case.
• Place of Residence: Town, Uezd, and Guberniya of the individuals.
• Archive Information: Archive name, fond name, case number, and inventory page number.
• Court Information: The full name and location of the court.
• Case Description: A brief description of the case.
• Case Dates: The start and finish dates of the case.

Acknowledgements:

This project was made possible by the contributions of volunteer researchers Elena Leyderman, Genny Imas, and Margarita Samoylova. The project leader is Vladimir Boxer (Ashdod, Israel) - vbokser@jewishgen.org.

Searching the Database

This database is searchable via the JewishGen Unified Search and the JewishGen Romania Collection