LUCIAN-VALERIU LEFTER

COMPLETIONS TO THE HISTORY OF GHENGHEA FAMILY

Having an age confirmed in the fifteenth century, Ghenghea family started to

gain political importance in the sixteenth century, when some of its members
held dignitaries, and reached its peak during the next century, when Ionaşco
Ghenghea became great logofăt of Moldavia (1616-1634). His followers went into
anonymity. They reappear in the eighteenth century aware of their boyar origin
and in modernity they were recognized as such, being given boyar ranks, among
the latest Tudori Ghenghea in 1858, probably a sympathizer of the anti-unionism
in Moldavia.

Keywords: Moldavia, boyars, villages, family, modernity, hierarchy.

Unexpected lights overrun the misty past of our history when

documents from the time of Romanian modernity hidden in the archives
everywhere arise. In evoking the figures of former boyars, I have recently
stopped1 upon the genealogical links that joined at a distance of several
generations two great boyars of their time: Ioan Tăutul, faithful adviser of
Stephen the Great in the second half of the fifteenth century, and Ionaşco
Ghenghea, great logofăt of Moldavia in the first decades of the seventeenth
century, during the years 1616-1634 (with break). Marrying Irina, Ionaşco
Ghenghea becomes the son-in-law of Agafia, Petru Huhulea’s daughter and
Odochia’s granddaughter, in her turn Ioan Tăutul’s granddaughter. The career
of this great boyar – Ionaşco Ghenghea – was marked by the accumulation of a
large land area, over 60 villages in all Moldavia – some of them inherited by
his followers – both in the south and north part of Moldavia, in later Bucovina
where, in 1788, brothers Ghenghea could be found living in the Voloca village
of Cernăuţi county, asking the council of noblemen from Liov to recognize
their old boyar origin since “they come from Ghenghe great logofăt”2.
However, the origin of this family is closely related to the south of
Moldavia, the lands of Covurlui and Tutova. At the time of Stephen the Great,
on 16 January 1495, there lived Petre “Ghenghe” with his siblings, Gavril,
                                                            
1 Lucian-Valeriu Lefter, De la Ioan Tăutul la Ionaşco Ghenghea. Pământul şi moştenirea

genealogică, in Pro Bucovina. Repere istorice şi naţionale. Volume coordinated by Mihai-

Bogdan Atanasiu and Mircea-Cristian Ghenghea, Bucharest, 2010, p. 15-37.
2 For more information see ibidem, p. 27-35.

The Romanian Journal of Modern History

Vol. I, No. 2, December 2010, pp. 47-50 
 Lucian-Valeriu LEFTER

Maruşca and Muşata, who ruled the Popeşti village (now extinct), on Jeravăţ
river in the land of Tutova. In the same area, but farther south, an old forest
preserved the memory of the former masters: “Ghenghea’s wood”, which in
1676 by means of a donation of răzeşi ends up under the domination of Costea
Adam3. Moreover, among the villages bought by the Adams we can count the
Ghengheşti village in 1688, later given to the Adam monastery. The village in
the vicinity of the monastery is today near the forests, remnants of the boyar
Ghenghea’s wood and it is called Ghingheşti in the Drăguşeni commune, in
northern part of Galaţi county. Other villages in the same area of the old
county of Covurlui keep the memory of their old masters in their history.
Thus, within the borders of Giosăni estate (now included in Urleşti, Corni
commune, Galaţi county)4 the priest Năstase „Ghenghe” claimed the right of
possession. In a document dated 2 May 18085, pârcălab of Galaţi, Ioan Jora,
wrote that “in the past”, when the răzeşi gathered, priests Gheorghe Huzun
and Năstase „Ghenghe” claimed, without supporting documents that they
had the right to possess the Giosăni estate, since the priest Ghenghea had sold
the part of the land which he thought it was rightfully his, 30 fathoms.
Consequently, the priest had to pay this part of the estate, but not having
enough money he prayed the răzeşi to help him, who eventually “felt pity for
him and brought out the 30 fathoms of all parties” and thus was completed
this document in 1808, priest Năstase Ghenghea being relieved of liability.
Just as the răzeşi from Bucovina belonging to Ghenghea family claimed
their old boyar origin those from the south of Moldavia claimed the same. This
fact is confirmed as such by the rulers of Moldavia, like Ioan Alexandru
Calimah, who gives the rank of vornic de poartă to Costandin „Ghenghe”, on
7 June 18176. Over several years, on 7 May 18207, the same boyar recieves from
the lord of the country the right to bring seven foreign people from abroad to
be established on his estate and exempt from tax. Probably related to the priest
Năstase Ghenghea and to the vornic Costandin Ghenghea, there was another
boyar of the place, Tudori „Ghenghe”, who received a diploma issued by
Prince Nicolae Conachi Vogoridi, as a caimacam of Moldavia, on 12 September
18588 (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), being given the rank of serdar for his services in
the country, being most likely a definite anti-unionist.
                                                            
Paul Păltănea, Note despre Adămeştii din ţinutul Covurlui (Galaţi), in ArhGen, V (X),
3

1998, 3-4, pp. 91-92.

4 Tezaurul toponimic al României. Moldova, Vol. I, Repertoriul istoric al unităţilor

administrativ-teritoriale 1772-1988, Part 1, Bucharest, 1991, p. 619.

5 AND (Craiova), Colecţia Documente, CCXXXIV/2.
6 Ibidem, CCXXXIV/8.
7 Ibidem, CCXXXIV/14.
8 Ibidem, CCXXXV/32.

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All this documentary information is able to complete the long history

of a boyars’ family who survived for centuries, with its probable beginnings in
the founding time of Moldavia, knowing that the name “Ghenghea/Ghenghe”
is of Hungarian origin: the adjective gyenge means weak, frail9. The
Transylvanian origin of this family is proved by finding similar families over
the mountains: Gyenge of Miklósvár, in the Szekler land, ennobled in the 17th
century, or another one much older, Gyenge of Csikenöfalva, in Maramureş,
name which, in the midst of modernity, reminds us of the beginnings of the
country.

caimacam: the ruler’s surrogate; the boyar in charge of ruling the country while the
ruler was absent.
logofăt: the boyar who led the Divan and, in the absence of the ruler or of the
metropolitan, ruled the council.
pârcălab: from the 18th century – a boyar in charge of the judicial and administrative
affaires in a county.
răzeş: low ranked boyars who jointly owned the land of the village they were
belonging to; little landlord.
serdar: during the 17th-18th centuries – army commander, especially for the cavalry;
in the 19th century it represented an honorary office.
vornic: boyar charged with overseeing the court, with the leadership of the
country’s internal affairs and having judicial powers.
vornic de poartă: an office specific to Moldavia – during the Middle Age it
represented the official from the low rank boyars initially charged with selecting the cause
for trial in front of the ruler’s gate and prosecute ordinary cases; in the second half of the
18th century, they were given judicial competence for more important cases.

                                                            
9 Lucian-Valeriu Lefter, op. cit., p. 35.

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 Lucian-Valeriu LEFTER

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

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