Posts about both sides of my family
A few weeks ago I promised to share the story of how my great-grandmother, Catherine Kleinmichel, and her second husband managed to escape from Russia. At the time I did not know his name and also did not realise I had a photograph of him (see above – it must
Do you ever associate one word or concept with someone in your family – either close relative or ancestor? When I think of my maternal grandmother – Olga Woronoff – the word which always springs to mind is religion. My grandmother was very religious. Her day began, ended and was
On this day, 102 years ago, my grandmother, Olga Woronoff, began a diary which documents their last months in Russia and their movements during the Civil War. My grandfather, Paul Woronoff, was fighting with the White Army (the Volunteer Army) and my grandmother had travelled to the south of Russia
The only family holidays I remember all took place before I began school. After that, I cannot remember going on any holidays as a family. Looking back through old photos it seems New Jersey was the place my parents preferred for holidays. Although I have no idea where the main
After their escape from Russia in 1920, my maternal grandparents – Olga and Paul Woronoff – together with my great Aunt Tata, made their way to France via Constantinople. As far as I can tell, my grandfather had been assigned to the White Army’s naval base in Paris but by
This week’s post was prompted by watching this video from the YouTube channel “In the Steps of the Romanovs”. The video reminded me of my teenage years when I would help my mother make blini (Russian pancakes) during Maslenitsa week. Maslenitsa week is similar to Shrove (or Pancake) Tuesday, except