U.S. Consular Post, Bucharest, Romania — Emergency Passport Applications and other records

Introduction:

This database consists of 941 extracts from the records of the U.S. Consular Post in Bucharest, Romania, 1860-1941, which are part of the U.S. National Archives' Record Group 84 (RG 84): The U.S. State Department's files from Foreign Service Posts abroad.  These records are stored at the U.S. National Archives II, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740.

There are 138 volumes in Record Group 84 for the Consular Post of Bucharest, Romania, 1860-1941.  After a survey of the contents of these volumes by members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW), it was determined that only eight volumes contained significant genealogical material and those eight were indexed.  A total of 941 names, assumed to be Jewish, were included in the index.  A copy of the complete survey with a description of each of the 138 volumes is available at the National Archives.

The volumes indexed are numbers 14, 40, 97, 134, 135, 136, 137, and 138.  Volumes 14 (1879-1883), 40 (1905-1916) and 97 (1922-1924), contain records of birth, marriage, death and registration of American citizens.  Volumes 134-138 contain emergency passports issued from January 1920 through September 1926.   Each application contains a photograph of the applicant and very often other family members.  Many also contain naturalization, passport and birth certificate numbers.

Listed below is the volume number, title found on spine of volume (if present), dates covered and contents of volumes that were indexed.

• Vol. 14 - Instructions from Department of State, Roumania, 1880-83, Consular instructions, reciprocity rights of US citizens.
• Vol. 40 - Registration of American Citizens 12-B American Consulate; 1905-1916, Certificates of Registration of American Citizens.
• Vol. 97 - Miscellaneous Record Book - 22C - American Consular Service, 1923, Marriages, births & deaths.
• Vol. 134 - (no title) - 3 Jan 1921 to 30 Dec 1921, Emergency passports with photos affixed.
• Vol. 135 - (no title) - 16 Jan 1920 to 31 Dec 1920, Emergency passports with photos affixed.
• Vol. 136 - (no title) - 7 Jan 1925 to 30 Sept 1926, Emergency passports with photos affixed.
• Vol. 137 - (no title) - 4 Jan 1922 to 30 Dec 1922, Emergency passports with photos affixed.
• Vol. 138 - (no title) - 2 Jan 1923 to 31 Dec 1924, Emergency passports with photos affixed.

Database fields:

Here is a description of fields in the Romania Passport Applications Database:

• Surname, Given Name — Last name and first name(s) of the individual whose name appears in the original document.
• Volume # — Records are stored in bound volumes, numbered as shown above.
• Doc / Page # — The number in this column refers either to the page number or the number given to the document.
• Application Date — Date of application for passport.
• Birthdate — Date of birth.
• Birthplace — Place of birth.
• Comments
• Residence in USA — City in USA where relative resides.
• Family — Names of any other family members mentioned in the documents.

Sample documents:

Here are samples from several different emergency passport applications from the collection. Click on each of the images for a larger view.

Obtaining records:

Mail requests for records:

Archives II
Textual Reference Branch
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland 20740

Include in your request the following information, if indicated in the database:

• RG 84
• Master Location Register (MLR UD Number 195) and Consulate location (Bucharest, Romania).
• Volume #
• Page #
• Date (may be date of document or date received by post)
• Document #
• Complete name of individual as it appears in the database

For copies requested by mail, loose papers will be photocopied, but documents from bound volumes will be put on microfilm only. Minimum fee is $10 for the first 15 pages or less to be microfilmed.

On-site requests for records:

Records are pulled five times each day, Monday thru Friday.  9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.,11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.  An archivist must review the pull slip when turned in.  If research is to be conducted on Saturday or after the last retrieval time on a particular day, you must arrange in advance to have records available. 

Records will be in the Textual Research Reading Room on the second floor within one hour of the scheduled pull time.   Pull slips may be submitted in the Textual Research Reading Room, 2000.

Textual Research Room hours:

• Monday & Wednesday 8:45 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:45 a.m. - 9 p.m.
• Saturday, 8:45 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Phone requests for records:

Additional Information on U.S. State Department Records:

• "JGSGW Indexes More State Department Records," by Roberta Solit, in Avotaynu, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Fall 1994), page 37.
• "Lesser Known Resources at the U.S. National Archives," by Suzan Wynne, in Avotaynu, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1988), page 7.

Roberta Solit and Rita Margolis
August, 2001.

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