Posts about both sides of my family
On 17 December 1837, the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, Russia, burst into flame. Almost as soon as the last embers ceased to burn, Tsar Nicholas I started to plan the rebuilding of this remarkable structure, hoping the new palace would wipe the memory of this disaster from the minds
Being married more than once seems to be a familiar pattern for the males on both sides of my family. On my father’s side, my great grandfather, Otto v. Fircks, was married twice. On 10 January 1854 he married Catharina Hilda v. Oelsen, who died in 1868. On 29 April
As the mother of three boys I am conscious of the choices they make, especially when it comes to choosing partners. I can only hope they choose someone who they love and who loves them back, but also someone who I can get along with. I am mindful that I
There was good news and bad news when I discovered “Adapting to Modernity” by Heide W Whelan in the library. The good news, apart from the fact it is in English, was that it is the best resource I’ve found so far in my research about my father’s family. The
Amongst the myriad of objects I found when cleaning out my father’s possessions after his death, there were several pairs of cufflinks. Some of them, including an odd one out, are in the picture above. All of the cufflinks I have are known as toggle style, or swivel-back. This means
Among the many photographs from my mother’s side of the family are a few negatives, including two of glass. A quick Google search and I found this website. Apparently, there are two principal kinds of glass plate negatives: Collodion Wet Plate and Gelatine Dry Plate. I’m almost certain the negatives