Blogs which describe people or events related to my maternal line.
I never know what treasure I will find whenever I dig through the countless documents, certificates and photographs left to me when my father died. There is documentation from both sides of my family, mostly in either German or Russian. But now and again I stumble across something in English,
Chrysanthemums are the traditional flower for Mother’s Day in Australia. They are also the birth flower for November, which was coincidentally my mother’s birth month. There appear to be many different meanings for chrysanthemums. Some say they symbolize optimism and joy, although some believe the yellow chrysanthemum is meant to
Easter Sunday is here and once again the holiday reminds me of food. Last year I wrote a post about some of the traditional Russian Orthodox sweet dishes eaten only at Easter; the Kulich and the Paskha. For several years I tried my hand at making both of these. Mostly
My grandfather was a lieutenant in the Russian navy. He served on the Imperial Yacht, the Standart, which had been built by the order of the Russian Emperor Alexander III. This photo shows a group of Russian naval officers, together with Tsar Nicholas II and his family. It is taken
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