Hello
I’m trying to find out if an old story passed down from my great grandmother is true. That being; that her elder sister was a Governess to the Tsar of Russia’s children. Her name was Charlotte Helen Jane Campbell Le Cronier, (b. 24th August 1839 Coutance, France but she was a British Subject of Jersey). Her parents died when she was young but according to the 1861 census she was living in Jersey with her cousin [a medical doctor who studied in Paris]. Then according to the 1871 census she was a French Governess in Stratford Abbey Boarding School for girls in Shroud, Gloucestershire. She is not mentioned on any further censuses [1881 or 1891] but died on 16th December 1897 in her sister’s home in Kingston, Surrey.
The period that I have no record of (through the 1870s and ‘80s) coincides with the time when the children of Tsar Alexander III would be at the height of their studies. I note that the Grand Dukes Michael, George and Nicholas all spoke fluently in both English and French but I can’t find any mention of who taught them.
If anyone can help, give me any leads or advice as to how I can pursue this, I would love to hear from them.
Regards
Bilbo.
