Elena Sergeyevna 'Nelly' Denissieff (1900 - ?)

Person Notes:

Memories written by her cousin, Eleanor Jauncey:
"We had no news from Russia, until Vera's daughters turned up. Their French governess was a brave woman. Somehow she got them to Archangel and found an English ship there, bullying the Captain to take them to England. I do not remember all the details, but eventually the three Denissieff girls and Mania the governess got to Nice, where Aunt Nell (with still help from relations) took them in. Now they are all married. . . . Nelly married a nice young Polish count, Kyril Armfelt, a very nice man. They eventually settled in Paris, where he died. Nelly is still there. Their daughter went to Ballet school and became the leading ballerina of the International Ballet."

". . .There were several winters and summers at Nice, as I grew up. Mother and I went so often that I do not always remember which year things happened. The first year, I remember, the girls (Nelly, Iya and Mariamne -- note the M in her name) were young and welcomed English amusements. Dumb Crambo was a tremendous success."

"The three girls and I had long walks, but Aunt Nell thought it bad for them to do real hard walking or long expeditions. She was 100 years out of time's modern ways. . . . The next effort to give the girls something to do and to keep them from being bored was the idea of acting a little play in the garden. As soon as I found out that no one of the three was inclined to learn any part but that they were all willing to dress up and remember something of the movements, I changed it to be done in dumb show. Nelly, in my pink silk dressing gown, as the Lady. Mariamne, in Uncle Serge's best pyjamas, as Harlequin (with whom Nelly ran away eventually). Iya, in a silk evening cloak, as Disappointed and Quarrelsome Hopefuls. The two Schmitz girls, very nice friends from Nice, and their Dame de Compagnie, Mme Magnoli (and, of course, Aunt Nell and Mother), were audience, and I think the girls enjoyed it. The garden made an excellent scene, with a corner of the house walls and paved ways of the garden. At least, it kept them with something to do for several weeks. "

A few of the memories written by her youngest sister, Mariamne:
"I had two brothers, Serge (nicknamed Serjack) the eldest, then came Alexander (Alec), Nelly (you all called Mimi) and Iya (Violet in Greek)."

"In those days, one had servants. We had seven. The butler, Ossip, had a daughter; she was about seven and Mimi taught her to read. She also taught me a poem "My First Tooth". I could recite it at the age of three."

"Rex was Mimi's cocker spaniel given to her by her godmother for passing an exam. She was then 15 years old."

"Before carrying on, I would like to say a few words about Father. He was a mining engineer on the staff of the Mint. He coached Mimi for maths. She never liked them and was never good at them. . . He was also a sportsman in his younger days, and won prizes in cycle races, amongst them a gold pendant representing a bicycle wheel of gold with a diamond in the centre that he eventually gave to Mimi."

"We actually sailed the day the Bolsheviks came into power. There was a large passenger ship in the harbour about to sail and years later, we found out the Mimi's future husband, Kyril Armfelt (you know as Papy) and his mother were on board heading for Poland."

— English Translation of the Armfelts' Marriage Certificate:
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
of
Kyrill ARMFELD
and
Helene DENISSIEFF

On June 2, 1923, at 10 A.M, appeared in their communal home,
Kyrill ARMFELT (Count), businessman, 25 yrs old, born at Helsingfors, Finland, on September 21, 1897, domiciled at Nice, 28 Boulevard Joseph Garnier, son of Alexandre ARMFELT, person of independent means, at Helsingfors, and Sophie MEORDER, his spouse, divorced, unemployed, of Nice,
and
Helene DENISSIEFF, 22 yrs old, unemployed, russian nationality, born in Saltino, Italy, on July 21, 1900, domiciled at Nice, Chateau Saint-Laurent, Avenue Saint-Laurent, daughter of Serge DENISSIEFF, Engineer at Petrograd, Russia, and Vera PLAOUTINE, his deceased spouse.

No-one opposed their wish to marry and the future spouses declared not having made a marriage contract.

Kyrill ARMFELT (Count) and Helene DENISSIEFF wanting to have each other as spouses, were pronounced, in the name of the law, husband and wife.

Done in presence of the following witnesses in Nice:
Alexandre ZEVASCHOFF, General, of Villefranche-sur-mer, Alpes-Maritimes, and Jean MATUSZYNSKI, Colonel, retired brigade Commander, Officer of the Legion d'honneur, and Croix de Guerre, who, after reading of the document, signed with the spouses. and us, Francois AUGIER, Municipal Counsel of Nice, delegated Civil Officer.

— French Naturalisation Paper:
A l'origine cette personne était de nationalité étrangère, elle est devenue française en bénéficiant d'un décret de NATURALISATION. Le premier texte concernant les naturalisations d'étrangers en France est un arrêt du Parlement de Paris daté de 1515: L'enfant né en France de parents étrangers est Français s'il choisit de se fixer définitivement en France.

Numéro de décret : 511-39 SUJET : Armfelt Sexe : Féminin Identité de naissance : Denissieff Naissance : le 21 juillet 1900 à Saltino (Italie)

Lieu de l'acte : FRANCE Date de l'acte : le 24 décembre 1938

— About the time of the birth of Nelly's older brother, Alec, his mother hired a nanny, Emma Pugh (later Bate), an English nurse who would care for all five Denissieff children. She saved a number of photos from her time with the Denissieff family, offering a rare glimpse into the private life of a family in Imperial Russia.