Topics

16

Research Russian Roots / Anybody here with Huguenot of noble German roots in St.Petersburg?

« on: July 18, 2021, 06:09:43 AM »

It seems to me that these roots are rare even if you could think they were not. Somebody needed to collect information about these as such seems to be difficult to find. I sometimes found some Huguenot Centre somewhere, maybe in Germany, but they don't seem to know anything about this kind of an affair.

My family has a home-kept archive of about all family members in our line as far as it has been possible to keep since the year 1764 in Gross-Glogau, Lower-Schlesien. In those notes there are not only the dates of birth and death but also confirmation and marriage dates but also the names of the churches and graveyards as some hints to pages in some church books. I am getting old and I don't know where to leave all this information. Do you get in mind some place you could think of for this kind of a material? There, however, is some Archeological and Historical Museum in Glogau, Poland area nowadays. There is even some 'Schifflein Christie' church in that place that is evangelic and its building started in 1764 and I wonder if my family has had something to do with this church and also as the whole place happen to carry our surname???

In case you have some French or German roots in St. Petersburg before the Revolution in 1917 what direction of the Christian faith did your ancestors confess? And what language did they use as home language?

What has then been the real point in keeping this kind of information in details and especially if these people where not noble? My grandmother's brother ended in Germany and then Hitler asked our family who are you - are you some Jews? That time this homekept archive maybe saved them as they could go from the registers in Gross-Glogau in 1764 to France and they found a direct male line to some French Count. However, they didn't have any money to take these documents out of the registers. Now I have tried for years to find this line, but it seems impossible even if I liked to and wanted to know what 'Count' this was... In a piece of paper they have written that were are mentioned as noble, but I don't know where, probably even in some archive in Han(n)over...  I even saw some program in TV where they showed a lot of empty archive shelves - everything had been taken out and robbed in some archives... Who had done this and to what purpose? The genealogical business might be huge today...

Now I have started to think what is a 'Count' in fact... the information today you can get eg in Wikipedia makes at least me to think that this title could be anything... and as no line has been able to find today I even started to think if our ancestor was really some 'Count' and not something else... Whose family had some person who was invited to the Court in Preussen before the French Revolution and who was the inviter... for sure??? All this kind of things makes ones imagination run in case no correct information is to be found anywhere.

It is often hinted that your name must stand in some register of noble people in case you were some noble. However, I see to this matter in some different way. In case you were of some higher nobelty your life might have been threatened often. Huguenots are said to be the first refugees. Had it been in that case wise and secure to put your name or see to it that it will be kept there in some registers? I think that no! My grandmother still during her whole life feared something to happen to her and her family as all her relatives were killed in St. Petersburg around 1918. And an other question is did you have some money for this purpose to keep your information in some registers? I find it enough family members know who they are and what is your background. It also comes to my mind that in question of higher nobelty it might have been less important than in case of some lower nobelty to be in some periodical registers of noble people.

What then comes to my generation almost nothing has been told. Think if my generation born after the wartimes had been told that you are of such and such nobelty even if it cannot be seen anywhere in some registers... What had the children, whose other parent even is no noble, done with this kind of information... and had it been even dangerous in some place that is no longer some Grand Duchy of any kind and were a lot of wars were still to be waged and even some civil war? What had they done with that information when everybody has become poor and there is no property and they live in a country where individualism is number one and everybody needs to manage by own as well as he or she is able to???

In case you feel you are of some kind of nobelty - what does it mean to you? Does it make your life just complicated and not at all easy in this world of today where everything has become so strange you almost wish this world has come to the point of the end of this world as the Bible says once will happen?

In case you feel you are of some kind of nobelty that cannot be testified in any 'normal' ways, please, let us hear your family background story in this chain of mine! Let's see how many we can be! Sometimes I think that what was the point to end in St. Petersburg and not in other places on this planet. What were the real 'meaningful connections' between the Russian and French Royal Houses and was there some reason to be found why some families ended in St.Petersburg? 

17

Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / A strange badge and a St. Vladimir Cross??? Somebody's identity?

« on: July 18, 2021, 04:42:11 AM »

I have a badge that interest me a lot as it might tell something about some persons' background in Russia before the year 1920. Could anybody say something about the heraldry probably involved with it? The owner of this badge carried it on the right side of his white and black uniform jacket and there are two family pictures where he carries it.

The badge is of the size for about 5 x 4 cm. I have no idea what it could mean, who has made it, from what 'institute' it comes from and who has given it to the person who owned it. I cannot tell what metal it is but probably there is some mark A6 and probably has been covered with some gold. However, I cannot look at the mark now as I have put these things into frames so that they don't disappear easily.

The badge consists of the following things:
1) A laurels that goes around the badge
2) Double-headed eagle with crowns on its head and a  third crown on them
3) A hammer and maybe some scepter (some kind of a stick)
4) St. Georg in the middle of the whole thing and inside some tiny coat-of-arms form
5) Four tiny coat-of arms on both sides of the St. Georg and maybe with some text (initials???) on them

The person who owned this badge also own a St. Vladimir Cross. However, I have not found any suitable information about this cross as it seems to be of some more unusual kind as pictures of similar kind seems difficult to find.

This St. Vladimir Cross is in two parts - a bigger cross and a very tiny one. I don't know how the tiny one has been attached on some costume as it lacks some attachment system. There is no tape as normally seen in pictures, but just a tiny tape of some 3 cm like a brooch.

The person has never served in any army if it is not counted that he might have had something to do with Wrangel's army and destroying some bridges during some months. I also red somewhere that a St. Vladimir cross could be given to you due to your birth background and that some pension was involved with it. Somewhere I also red that some even more valuable St. Vladimir crosses were very moderate, but so unique there is no information to get about them anywhere. I have seen some pictures even here about uniforms and to me some of them look shabby to me. Even if this person don't have many marks on his clothing his uniforms and coats look very expensive in the photos that exist.   

The person also had a golden personal monogram where there is some crown on his initials. Might it have been usual to have personal monograms with crowns?

The person was born in 1883 and had participated the Technical Highschool of his time in St. Petersburg. When he left Russia with id-papers from the Belgium Consulate in Sevastopol he was already at the age of 37 years as stands even on these documents. Even if he came from St. Petersburg his place of birth has been mentioned only as 'Russia'. What men participated the St. Petersburg Technical Highschool of those times and as well was in contact with some monastery and even served as some diacon in church ceremonies as the helper of the priest? His parents have never been mentioned and the line to them and his family background has so been cut off. However, he cannot have been some illegitime child, but not even the first names of his parents are know opposite to his wife, with 'foreign' background. He was very civilized and the question rises that could he have been something else than some nobleman. But in that case - who was he??? His surname on the Russian as well as some other id-documents differs with only one letter from the name of a Russian historical person... but I cannot even mention whom, because it is so crazy... However, if he was some distant offspring of such a person it had been impossible - as I understand it - to carry such a surname in Russia even in his time - or today. In the West the surname has then been altered more.

He was a top name on the list of the Bolsheviks to be killed. 'Nobody' seemed to know anything about these marks during his lifetime or at least they were never talked anything about but found after his death. It is strange that it has been mentioned that he used to visit the Swedish King of his time as well that he served as some interpreter in some war negotiations (what negotiations?). The identity of this kind of a person cannot have been completely hidden - as it seems to be to the family of his own... His wife feared during her whole lifetime that the Bolsheviks could 'come' again... as they had killed her whole family in St. Petersburg... He stayed often in Wien and in Riga but his real nationality seems to be unclear. His religion is mentioned on the documents to be Greece Orthodox and on some passport there stands he can travel anywhere but not in Russia. His wife with 'foreign' background and two children were escorted out of the country my some embassy. Her background was possible to trace in times of Hitler as this asked them who are you - are you some Jews... but today even that line seems to be impossible to trace and is so cut in Gross-Glogau, Lower-Schlesien, in 1764, when the Huguenot ancestor is mentioned to be born there. Funny coincidences are that the same year they had started to build an evangelical church, Schifflein Christie Church, there in Glogau, and that from there comes even the sail-airplane that carry the same family surname as theirs. Later the wife of the brother of the wife of this mystical man was killed in 1928 so that some airplane poured its fuels on her in Vyborg. 

Thank you very much in advance for any kind of information you can give me. Probably you know some place where some more information could be received of these marks or a mystical figure and family of this kind.

18

Research Russian Roots / Is this enough information to solve the identity of a family?

« on: July 18, 2021, 04:35:13 AM »

I have a badge that interest me a lot as it might tell something about some persons' background in Russia before the year 1920. Could anybody say something about the heraldry probably involved with it? The owner of this badge carried it on the right side of his white and black uniform jacket and there are two family pictures where he carries it.

The badge is of the size for about 5 x 4 cm. I have no idea what it could mean, who has made it, from what 'institute' it comes from and who has given it to the person who owned it. I cannot tell what metal it is but probably there is some mark A6 and probably has been covered with some gold. However, I cannot look at the mark now as I have put these things into frames so that they don't disappear easily.

The badge consists of the following things:
1) A laurels that goes around the badge
2) Double-headed eagle with crowns on its head and a  third crown on them
3) A hammer and maybe some scepter (some kind of a stick)
4) St. Georg in the middle of the whole thing and inside some tiny coat-of-arms form
5) Four tiny coat-of arms on both sides of the St. Georg and maybe with some text (initials???) on them

The person who owned this badge also own a St. Vladimir Cross. However, I have not found any suitable information about this cross as it seems to be of some more unusual kind as pictures of similar kind seems difficult to find.

This St. Vladimir Cross is in two parts - a bigger cross and a very tiny one. I don't know how the tiny one has been attached on some costume as it lacks some attachment system. There is no tape as normally seen in pictures, but just a tiny tape of some 3 cm like a brooch.

The person has never served in any army if it is not counted that he might have had something to do with Wrangel's army and destroying some bridges during some months. I also red somewhere that a St. Vladimir cross could be given to you due to your birth background and that some pension was involved with it. Somewhere I also red that some even more valuable St. Vladimir crosses were very moderate, but so unique there is no information to get about them anywhere. I have seen some pictures even here about uniforms and to me some of them look shabby to me. Even if this person don't have many marks on his clothing his uniforms and coats look very expensive in the photos that exist.   

The person also had a golden personal monogram where there is some crown on his initials. Might it have been usual to have personal monograms with crowns?

The person was born in 1883 and had participated the Technical Highschool of his time in St. Petersburg. When he left Russia with id-papers from the Belgium Consulate in Sevastopol he was already at the age of 37 years as stands even on these documents. Even if he came from St. Petersburg his place of birth has been mentioned only as 'Russia'. What men participated the St. Petersburg Technical Highschool of those times and as well was in contact with some monastery and even served as some diacon in church ceremonies as the helper of the priest? His parents have never been mentioned and the line to them and his family background has so been cut off. However, he cannot have been some illegitime child, but not even the first names of his parents are know opposite to his wife, with 'foreign' background. He was very civilized and the question rises that could he have been something else than some nobleman. But in that case - who was he??? His surname on the Russian as well as some other id-documents differs with only one letter from the name of a Russian historical person... but I cannot even mention whom, because it is so crazy... However, if he was some distant offspring of such a person it had been impossible - as I understand it - to carry such a surname in Russia even in his time - or today. In the West the surname has then been altered more.

He was a top name on the list of the Bolsheviks to be killed. 'Nobody' seemed to know anything about these marks during his lifetime or at least they were never talked anything about but found after his death. It is strange that it has been mentioned that he used to visit the Swedish King of his time as well that he served as some interpreter in some war negotiations (what negotiations?). The identity of this kind of a person cannot have been completely hidden - as it seems to be to the family of his own... His wife feared during her whole lifetime that the Bolsheviks could 'come' again... as they had killed her whole family in St. Petersburg... He stayed often in Wien and in Riga but his real nationality seems to be unclear. His religion is mentioned on the documents to be Greece Orthodox and on some passport there stands he can travel anywhere but not in Russia. His wife with 'foreign' background and two children were escorted out of the country my some embassy. Her background was possible to trace in times of Hitler as this asked them who are you - are you some Jews... but today even that line seems to be impossible to trace and is so cut in Gross-Glogau, Lower-Schlesien, in 1764, when the Huguenot ancestor is mentioned to be born there. Funny coincidences are that the same year they had started to build an evangelical church, Schifflein Christie Church, there in Glogau, and that from there comes even the sail-airplane that carry the same family surname as theirs. Later the wife of the brother of the wife of this mystical man was killed in 1928 so that some airplane poured its fuels on her in Vyborg. 

Thank you very much in advance for any kind of information you can give me. Probably you know some place where some more information could be received of these marks or a mystical figure and family of this kind.

19

Their World and Culture / What Christian directions did various royal families confess?

« on: July 17, 2021, 10:58:28 AM »

I made some search in Wikipedia about some ruler and I found it strange there was no information if he confessed the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican or some Protestant direction of the Christian faith.

I suppose the members of some royal families were at least normally not any kind of atheists...

Couldn't it be possible to put here some information about the religions directions of various royal families? 

20

French Royals / Huguenot Counts in France before the French Revolution?

« on: July 17, 2021, 10:19:55 AM »

Does anybody know where some information about the French Huguenot Counts, who left the country before the French Revolution, could be found?

The case I am looking for is such that a French so called Huguenot Comte... had been invited out of France to some Court and this Court must have been the Court of Friedrich II Great.

21

Imperial Transportation / Does anybody know something about the owners of private train wagons?

« on: July 17, 2021, 08:05:25 AM »

What kind of people did have some train wagons of their own for their private use? Did they usually own the wagons or were there probably some wagons that were hired for some private use?

Is it possible to get to know somewhere something about of the owners of the private train wagons?

What kind of travelling did they do with their private wagons?

What happened to the wagons after The Revolution?

22

Their World and Culture / Who used the boxes in the Mariinsky Theatre before The Revolution?

« on: July 17, 2021, 07:40:12 AM »

I made a Google search about Mariinsky Theatre, Opera House. I was in fact interested about the interiors and boxes in this theatre before the Revolution in 1917. The reason to this is I know a family that claims their family used to have the box number 2. and this makes me wonder a lot. I understand it must have been so that some families had boxes of their own - but in Mariinsky Theatre and number 2.!!!??? I started naturally to think that in case this family had a box with that tiny number who might have had the box number 1.

On Wikipedia page they tell there was an other theatre in the Winter Palace e g for some quest of the Tsar family. Then there is a picture of a box in Marijnsky Theatre with the following text: "Although this box was not officially referred to as the "Tsar's Box", this box is where the Emperor and his family always sat when attending performances at the theatre." Now I am still wondering had this box some number and in that case was its number 1. or what? And I am still wondering if this is the box number 1. where was the box number 2. situated - next to box 1. or maybe on the other side of the theatre??? And in case they were situated next to each others what family could sit next to the Tsar family??? To me this is something unbelievable and more unbelievable in case somebody says that the family having box number 2. was not even a noble family???!!!

What do I know about the family that is said to have been using the box number 2.? Their daughter was singing male roles in this opera already as young. She did have main roles in such operas as eg Faust, Tosca, Traviata, La Boheme, Butterfly her last part as Tatjana in Eugen Onegin before she left the county when all her relatives had been killed around 1918-20. The family was a Huguenot family and had its roots in France from where their ancestor had left the country before the French Revolution and he has been said to have been some Count in France. I have always thought this kind of a family from Russia is some emigrants but recently I heard their daughter say that we were no emigrants... And the reason to this might be - as I understood it - they had been escorted out of Russia by some embassy and not fled as some others. However, they were not allowed to take anything out of the country. Later Hitler's men asked this family who are you - are you Jews? Those times it was still possible to enter some registers and a direct male line to some Count in France was found and this saved the family from Hitler's actions. However, the family didn't have the money to take out any such documents those days and today it seems to be impossible to get any information anywhere. This daughter, the opera singer, had a husband that is said to have been a top name on the lists of the Bolsheviks to be killed and probably he left Russia via Sevastopol with some papers from the Consulate of Belgium. Those documents are still left and readable. This family never had any Nansen's passports. Somewhere I red that into the country where they ended came a heterogenous group of emigrants from Russia, but also some very few but most high noble people from Russia. In the country where they then lived nobody has ever mentioned there could be some 'most high Russian nobles' living there... So this is a mystery! 

This box number 2. makes me wonder a lot what family could this kind of a family be??? There are some hints somewhere that this could be some kind of a noble family by its roots but nothing official today.

If it could be possible I would naturally ask Marijnsky Theatre if they know something about the box number 2. in times before the Revolution!!! But maybe this matter is a more suitable case for this discussion forum.

Do you get some thoughts, ideas or opinions in this kind of a matter?

23

Their World and Culture / What information there is about 'schools' in St. P-g in times of the Revolution?

« on: July 17, 2021, 06:02:22 AM »

What information is there to get about these institutions? Something about who were their students?

The Technical Highschool or University in St. Petersburg around 1895-1917?

The Music Conservatorium (educating opera singers???) around 1895-1917?

The Academy of Art around 1895-1917?

Was there some University in St. Petersburg in those times?

Does somebody know anything about a house in Crimea, owned by some scientist, that might have been turned to some Music Conservatorium after the Revolution?

24

Their World and Culture / What information is there about Russian noble surnames?

« on: July 17, 2021, 05:51:20 AM »

What information is there to know about old Russian noble surnames other than the most common ones appearing everywhere?

I red somewhere that if some noble man had some child outside marriage the child could get his father's name maybe altered with some letter. Do you know any other cases like this where some surname is altered somewhat - maybe with only one letter?

Somewhere I even red: there were other very old ruler families (and there were added than the Romanovs)... What old ruler families there are of this kind? Somewhere I even red that even Alexander Nevsky might have some descendants. If this is really true shouldn't such be mentioned somewhere on the history pages? As you understand I know very little about Russian history, but I understand that in case such persons might really exists they impossible could carry that old surname. Could a similar case be the Rurik-family - St. Vladimir?

25

Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Russian Heraldry? Anywhere to get some information?

« on: July 17, 2021, 05:26:00 AM »

I have a topic with photos I aimed to put here. However, I don't seem to know how to put the photos here and I don't find help anywhere here. Could somebody tell me how I can move my photos here??? My article seems to need the photos.

Thanks in case somebody helps me!

26

Imperial Transportation / Some car by the mark DUX?

« on: July 09, 2019, 03:08:40 PM »

Does anyone know what kind of a car was something by the mark DUX that existed at least in the time of the Russian Revolution?

I have not found anything in West except probably some bus by the mark DUX.

Nowadays there are at least here madrases for beds by the mark DUX - are seats the only thing left of Dux?

27

Imperial Russian History / Technical university or highschool in St. Petersburg around the year 1900?

« on: July 09, 2019, 03:02:30 PM »

Is there something to say about the Technical University or Highschool for Engineers in St. Petersburg for youngsteers who were born around the year 1880?

Who could come a student there? Was it expensive? Could someone grown up in some monastery enter The Technical University in St.Petersburg?

What kind of education was given?

What kind of jobs and positions could such Engineers get after their examination?

Does someone but me have some mark in heavy metal of an Engineer that was then carried in black or white uniform jacket?

28

Imperial Russian History / Is there anything to say about the Rurik family or families?

« on: July 09, 2019, 02:53:02 PM »

Yes, I would like to know something about the Rurik families. Has somebody something to tell me?

29

Research Russian Roots / Could this "mark" tell something of some family with Russian roots?

« on: April 27, 2017, 05:22:27 AM »

St. Petersburg Technical University... INQUIRY... Could you probably help me? I have a rather heavy “mark” that has belonged to an engineer who is said to have attended and examinated from your Technical University. This mark is called here as an mark of an engineer and given by your university. But is this so or could this be something else? There is no-one to ask here. He carried this “mark” on the right side of his uniform... (in one picture black and in an other white uniform). On this mark there are for example the Double-headed eagle with a crown, wreath going around the middle where there is the St. Georg fighting, eight very tiny seals (=simple coat of arms?) four of which in either side of the St. Georg, some hammer or the like etc. Its height is about 5 cm and width about 4,5 cm. He was born in 1883 so this is already ancient history. Did your university give this kind of marks to their educated students or do you have any idea what this could be? Do you have any register of the names of the students educated by your university so long ago? Any knowledge of their background? Parents? Connections to some monastery? I would be very grateful if you could help me in this matter somehow. I need finally to find some suitable place for this thing. I have no idea where in Russia send this inquiry of mine to start with and I found this mail-address of yours on you page. A problem is also that I don’t know any Russian. Thank you so much in advance for you possible co-operation and greetings...

30

Research Russian Roots / Any painter anywhere in our days with some Russian Emigrant roots?

« on: June 20, 2014, 02:55:12 PM »

Hi,

Do you know anyone anywhere who is a painter / sculpture / drawing, but also some descendant of some Emigrants from Russia from the times of the Russian Revolution?

I don't know anyone. There might have been "many" in Paris soon for about a 100 years ago... persons like Marc Chagall who was even a Jew or Tamara Lempicka who traveled to America before the war broke out... The Fabergé family is known and they have even some Huguenot roots...

In case you know someone, please, let me know... and if you have some pictures... can we have some... it would also be nice to have some pictures of old houses, cars etc in the Russian area before the Revolution... they could maybe made to something...

Thanks a lot for your possible answers and greetings, Painter's Gallery, paintersgallery.blogspot.com