Ceaușescu was born in the small village of Scornicești, Olt County on , being the third of nine children of a poor peasant family (see Ceaușescu family). There is a birth certificate showing he was actually born on . His father Andruță (1886-1969) owned of agricultural land and a few sheep, and Nicolae supplemented his large family's income through tailoring. He studied at the village school until the age of 11, when he left for Bucharest. Journalist Cătălin Gruia claimed in 2007 that he ran away from his supposedly extremely religious, abusive and strict father. He initially lived with his sister, Niculina Rusescu, and then became an apprentice shoemaker.