Grandfather

What happened to her fur coat?

I often find documents in the many papers I inherited, which make me wonder about why they have been kept for so long. Documents which nowadays we would (and I do) throw out after they are no longer needed – of course many of our documents are now virtual. In

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Seven Drops of Blood – the Voronov Crest

According to the memories of my great-grandmother, Anna Pavlovna Voronov, many of the male Voronovs (Woronoffs), my maternal grandfather’s family, were in the Russian military. In 1722, during the time of Peter the Great, one of my ancestors – Prokopy (Prokofy) Petrovich Voronov was severely wounded while fighting. I assume

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Countess Olga Kleinmichel and partner at fancy dress ball

Dancing with the English at Taganrog 1919

Prior to delving into my family history I had no idea that the English played a role in the Russian Civil War. Of course I knew my grandparents eventually escaped Russia on a British steamer, but I did not realise there was a British mission to South Russia from late

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The Major General, His Awards and His Family

Major General Alexei Aleksandrovich Voronov was my maternal great-grandfather. I have written about him once before here. Since then I have discovered a bit more about him. Alexei attended the Pavlovsk military school, graduating in around 1870 as a “Harness Junker”, which appears to have been a rank of senior

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My grandmother with my mother

On birth, foreboding, love letters and rabbits

Researching family history, for me, is more than drawing connecting lines on a family tree. I always want to know more about my ancestor’s stories, how they lived their lives, what their thoughts were. Often this information can be gleaned from the letters they wrote or the memories they jotted

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