Managing database transactions in a distributed database system includes: maintaining, at a first node, a first plurality of records of transactions, each associated with a transaction and including a start time of the transaction and a start time of an oldest transaction that was active at the start time of the transaction; maintaining, at a second node, a second plurality of records of transactions, including records of completed transactions associated with the second node, each including a transaction start time and a transaction end time; receiving at the second node, a message from the first node including a start time of an oldest transaction that was active at the transaction start time of the oldest currently active transaction in the system; and removing, from the second plurality of records, any records of completed transactions with a transaction end time occurring before the start time of the oldest transaction.