Bassarabescu descended from "boyar" families that occupied court positions in Wallachia: his father, Alecu, was a "pitar"; his mother, Elisa, was the daughter of a "staroste", relatives with General Romulus Boteanu. Alecu had received a progressive education at the Saint Sava Academy; his colleagues there later instigated the 1848 Revolution in Wallachia. Although he had settled in the Danube port of Giurgiu, his own family was more closely associated with Bucharest, the national capital. Noted members of this branch include Nicolae "Nae" Bassarabescu, who worked as a journalist in the liberal-radical press, later setting up the first newsstand chain in town, and composer George Bassarabescu.