History

How families are like trees – a metaphor still used today

I love family trees. One can gather so much information from them if they have been done correctly. And if there are blanks, that just means there is so much more to research and discover – so many opportunities to disappear down multitudes of rabbit holes. Bliss! “Like a tree,

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Starting over – could he forge a new life?

After writing the final chapter of the story of my great-grandmother’s escape from Russia with her second husband, which you can start reading here, I was curious about her second husband. Where did he come from? Where and how did they meet? What did he do when they finally settled

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At long last they made their escape Final

In this final episode, we learn how my great-grandmother and her husband finally was able to leave Russia to be with her daughter, my grandmother. If you have missed the first four chapters of her story, you can start reading them here. Last week we followed my great-grandmother as she

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At long last they made their escape Part Four

So far I have been unable to find any photographs of my great-grandmother and her second husband during their last years in Russia. It is no wonder perhaps, with the chaos that surrounded them and the drudgery of everyday life. Who knows whether they even still owned a camera. The

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At long last they made their escape Part 3

Last time our story ended when my grandmother finally learned her mother and step-father had made their way back to Petrograd and how to contact them. She could at last get in touch with her mother. My grandmother had discovered my great-grandmother’s address through an acquaintance of her elder sister,

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