Bessarabia Business Directory, 1924

13,144 Records

Business Directory · Bessarabia · Moldova · Ukraine

Background

This database contains records of more than 13,000 grocers, teachers, local officials, stone carvers, butchers, bakers, innkeepers, lawyers, peddlers, rabbis, and many others who worked in the early 1920s in Romania’s eastern counties (formerly Bessarabia Gubernia of the Russian Empire), and who were apparently Jewish.

The information was extracted from the Anuarul “Socec” al României-mari [“Socec” Annuary of the Great-Roumania], published in Bucureşti in 1924–1925 by the prominent Romanian publishing house Socec & Co. The Library of Congress describes the two-volume set as a historic address book that “stands as the most complete survey of Greater Romania during the interwar period.”

About the publisher: Socec & Co. was founded in 1856 in Bucharest by Ion V. Socec, a Jewish bookseller who built his shop into the first bookstore chain in Romania, with 13 stores by 1939. The company published leading Romanian writers and printed textbooks. The business directory was intended as an annual publication, but its editions were based on data collected before 1923. Page images for the full directory are available via the Library of Congress European Reading Room. Bessarabia pages begin at image number 1913.
Coverage by County

The database covers 705 localities across nine counties that formed the Bessarabia region, plus Chişinău (Kishinev) separately. No Jewish names appeared in listings for many towns and villages. The table below shows the number of localities and records extracted per county, with 1924 population figures for selected towns.

View Coverage Table by County
County & Selected Towns Localities Records Population (1924)
Bălţi 98 895 372,012
Bălţi (Beltsi) 13522,000
Sculeni (Skulyany) 1022,094
Pârliţa (Parlitsa) 941,350
Răşcani (Ryshkany) 502,980
Făleşti (Foleshty) 492,640
Alexăndreni 47900
Cahul 28 253 147,266
Cahul (Kagul) 9212,000
Leova (Leovo) 373,442
Cetatea Albă 56 1,391 374,806
Cetatea Albă (Belgorod Dnestrovskiy) 60633,900
Tarutino (Tarutyne) 1676,087
Tatar-Bunar (Tatarbunary) 1409,898
Chişinău (county, excl. capital) 76 575 395,596
Hânceşti (Ganchesty) 1226,608
Nisporeni (Nisporeny) 546,000
Hotin 126 2,497 399,532
Hotin (Khotyn) 827—
Lipcani (Lipkany) 3294,062
Edinţi-Târg (Edinets) 1484,200
Secureni (Sekuryany) 1837,200
Briceni (Brichany) 7510,030
Ismail 24 640 228,878
Ismail (Izmail) 19737,000
Chilia Nouă (Kiliya) 17412,944
Reni 8212,866
Orhei 110 1,926 342,557
Orhei (Orgeev) 73320,000
Teleneşti (Teleneshty) 3345,100
Rezina 1825,500
Soroca 112 1,988 381,509
Soroca (Soroki) 62727,800
Mărculeşti-Colonie (Markuleshty) 2115,435
Vadu-Raşcov (Vad-Rashkov) 989,140
Tighina 74 1,220 314,778
Tighina (Bendery) 56735,400
Căuşanii-Noi (Kaushany) 1664,622
Cimişlia (Chimishliya) 657,157
Chişinău (Kishinev), capital 1 1,669 133,000
Fields Recorded

Each record contains the following fields:

Occupation (Romanian) — In plural form as listed in the directory
Occupation (English) — Translated into English
Last Name
First Name / Initial — If given
Address — In major cities and county capitals
Town name (1924)
County name (1924)
Today’s location — Current county and nation (Moldova or Ukraine)
Comments — Additional information from the directory listing
Research Notes
Finding Original Directory Images

The Library of Congress created page images for the entire printed directory and made them available online through its Digital Collections. A complete description of the directory, research suggestions, and a link to the page images is available at loc.gov/rr/european/phonero/romdir.html. Bessarabia pages begin at image number 1913. To find the pages for a specific county, refer to the LOC county guide.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the independent Republic of Moldova was formed from most of Bessarabia, while significant portions came under Ukrainian rule. Names have changed since 1924 for many towns and villages. The database shows the present name, county or province, and modern nation for each 1924 locality.

Searching This Database

This database is searchable via the JewishGen Romania Database and the JewishGen Ukraine Database.

Databases like this one are made possible entirely through volunteer effort and generous donors. Your contribution helps fund transcription, research, and preservation of Bessarabian Jewish records.

Support the Bessarabia Research Division

Last updated September 2012.
For questions, contact the JewishGen Bessarabia Research Division.