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Mos Ion Roata, the peasant under corvee elected as deputy in the Ad-hoc Divan that voted for the Union of 1859 between Wallachia and Moldova, was named an honorary citizen of the Cimpuri Commune, his place of birth, at his 140th yearday, informs, on Wednesday, the Vrancea Museum.
"At 140 years since the passing of the peasant under corvee Ion Roata [e.n. - Mos, added before his name, means 'elder'], the Local Council of Cimpuri Commune voted on the posthumous granting of the title of citizen of honor to the best known son of the locality," shows a release of the Vrancea Museum.
A peasant, under corvee to the estate of Boyar Nicolae Dascalescu, Ion Roata is elected on October 26, 1857, by electors in Focsani, to the Ad-hoc Divan in Iasi, as a deputy representing peasants under corvee, thus tying his name forever to the Union of the Romanian Principalities. For his actions, after the War of Independence (1877-1878), he is awarded the Star of Romania, but, despite the important position he held, towards the end of his life he was forgotten and died a pauper.
The celebrity of the peasant from Cimpuri was later compounded by Ion Creanga, who wrote the story that now bears his name.
This year, the Mos Ion Roata Memorial House was taken over by the County Council and transferred to the Vrancea Museum, while local authorities proposed to unearth the story of the commune's most famous son.
The ceremony to award the honorary title took place at the Ion Roata Memorial House in Cimpuri, at the 140th yearday of Ion Roata, the certificate being handed by the authorities to Sevastita Burnichioiu, a great-granddaughter of Ion Roata, presently custodian of the memorial house.
On the occasion, the manager of the Vrancea Museum, Valentin Musca, announced the debut of a campaign that will culminate one year from now with the launching of a biography meant to unveil the historical truth of the life and actions of Ion Roata.
"Ion Roata is not only a story. Ion Roata is a reality that we try to bring to the present. We need models, we need vertical people, that the young generation take as a model. We want, through Ion Roata, to give an example that we respect our history, we know how to have a retrospective look on the facts of the past and prepare the future. That's why today, here, we are starting a campaign that will end one year from now, on the second day of Easter, when here, in this space, we will launch the biography of Ion Roata, because a lot of elements regarding his life and activity are thrown around without documentation," said Valentin Musca.
The events to commemorate Ion Roata continued at the cemetery of the Dormition of the Mother of God Church in the Gura Vaii village, the final resting place of the peasant who fought for the Union.
