Figuring out Where my Great Great Grandpa Came From
Why I'm Doing This
The 4th of July, 2026, I realized I feel disconnected from American culture. It's cut and dry that I as a transgender person am not welcome here in the United States. So instead of fireworks, I did genealogy. I learned my great great grandpa, Octavian, came from Romania to the United States. So, I'm part Romanian and instead of dealing with America's bullshit, I'm going to be diving into my Romanian heritage.
This is Octavian with his wife, Georgia, my great great grandma. At this time, Cârțișoara, Sibiu, Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and he put down Hungary as his birthplace for the rest of his life. The Kingdom of Hungary was pursuing an aggressive policy of Magyarization at this time, meaning the Hungarian state was trying to assimilate his people culturally and linguistically. He and his family likely could not vote and the state was even pressuring people to Magyarize their names.
His exact birth year is unknown, some of his paperwork says 1895 and some of it says 1888. He came over to America through Ellis Island on a ship called the Ryndam in 1907. I found the exact ship manifest but his name is mispelled and his place of birth and nationality don't line up. He filled out a WWI draft card and was discharged via the 21st Development Company, 154th Depot Brigade at Fort Meade according to his draft card. However, looking through the records, he was shuffled around a lot and was assigned to become an engineer.
I've FOIA'd his military records and that will hopefully help me.
He married my great great grandma September 16th, 1919 and became a naturalized US citizen on May 3rd, 1920. She was a flapper who rode motorcycles and they definitely were in love because they had ten kids, nine of whom lived to old age. He passed away in the 1970s before my mom was born and is buried at a cemetary in the town I was born in. I used to run laps in that cemetary for cross country.
Octavian Didn't Want to Fight in WWI
Washington Herald, August 31, 1918
Evening Star, September 11, 1918
I imagine it was scary from his perspective. He was watching all the newspapers cheer on killing people from Hungary. If he was drafted and deployed to France, which was the endpoint for anyone drafted in WWI, he would have been looking across the trenches at people who might speak the same langauge as him, from villages like his, possibly his own family. On top of that, the Spanish Flu is ravaging a bunch of military encampments, so people are dying all around him and he can't get away without being sentenced to years of hard labor. Very sobering to think about.
Exploring the Culture, 7/18/26
So, I started by reading up on the culture on Wikipedia. The food looks amazing and I'm very excited that the fasts under the church mean that there are lots of vegan and vegetarian options. I also am just in love with the embroidery. The folk clothing is beautiful. There are several places selling it online and I wouldn't mind having some of those skirts and blouses. There's also a camp near me that teaches Romanian folk dance. It's about four hours away but it wouldn't be the worst drive. Also, Cleveland has a Romanian Culture Garden I'd like to check out when I'm up there.
7/25/26
I've found out that the Romanian Cultural Institute does online classes for learning Romanian. I'm watching their site and will sign up for their next class.
Also check out Peles Castle. It's beautiful!
Today, I learned about Mărțișor. They're a spring tradition in Romania where men gift them to women! Here are some folks selling them with the traditional red and white color scheme. All kinds of unique charms exist!
8/31/26
So, check out these folk clothes! The first is two girls from Transylvania! The second is Elisabeth of Wied, the first queen of Romania, in the national dress.
