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Family photo archives

A family photo album inherited from a grandmother is often the only and most reliable source of knowledge about one’s ancestors. Family members silently look at you from the monochrome images preserved in family photo albums.

The owner of such an archive does not always realize its value. Yet these yellowed photographs contain the unique history of every family. Photographs of ancestors can help reconstruct your family tree. They also contain a wealth of information about the past and the events of the time — from fashion trends and festive traditions to urban development and the growth of local enterprises.

The Mariupol Local History Museum once held a priceless collection of family photographs that had been preserved for decades in family archives and, thanks to the thorough research of museum staff, eventually became part of the museum collection.

The “Family Photo Albums” project introduces the lives of prominent Mariupol residents who contributed to the development and improvement of various areas of the city’s life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The family memory of Ukrainians suffered greatly throughout the dramatic 20th century. During the Soviet era, people were often forced to renounce their ancestors, especially if they were considered to be of “undesirable” origin, as such family ties could sometimes be life-threatening. As a result, many Ukrainians still do not know the history of their families. The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has also made many family archives inaccessible or led to their destruction. At the same time, it is precisely now that many Ukrainians are reflecting on their family history and roots.

The “Family Photo Albums” project offers a new perspective on personal family photo collections. The pages of these albums and their yellowed family photographs can become the first step toward collecting and preserving the history of your own family. As museum professionals, we are convinced that every photographic archive is invaluable as part of our local historical heritage. After all, the history of Mariupol is made up of the individual histories of Mariupol families, vividly reflected in your family photographs.

As part of the project, the Mariupol Local History Museum accepts digital copies of family photo archives belonging to Mariupol residents and is also ready to assist with digitizing physical photographs.

For inquiries, please contact: mamu1920@ukr.net

OSTOSTLASKY FAMILY PHOTO ARCHIVE

The Ostoslavsky family was known in Mariupol for its activities in the field of secondary education. Vasily Ivanovich, a graduate of Novorossiysk University, first taught mathematics and physics in a men's gymnasium, later took the position of inspector, who was elected from senior teachers to monitor order in classes and management in boarding houses, in fact he was an assistant to the director. Valentina Epifanivna (nee Ivashchenko) herself acted as the founder of educational institutions in Mariupol: in 1887 - a private school for girls, later - a women's gymnasium, which she headed. The family had a daughter Olga and a son Ivan. Olga Vasilievna, like her parents, became a teacher. Ivan Vasilevich, after graduating from Moscow University, became a famous specialist in aerodynamics. For many years, Professor Ostoslavsky worked on aircraft design at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute and taught at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

 

Family photos were donated to the museum by Ivan Vasilyevich's daughter, Valentina Ivanovna Ostoslavska, in the early 1990s.

FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS OF MARIUPOL PROPHET KONSTYANTYN ANANIEVYCH AGAP'EV (1858-22.01.1943)

Костянтин Ананьєвич народився у с. Мангуш Маріупольського повіту. Закінчивши Катеринославську духовну семінарію, понад десять років працював сільським учителем. У 1892 році був посвячений у сан. З 1895 року – священик Свято-Георгіївської церкви села Сартана. З 1912 року – священик Свято-Харлампіївського собору міста Маріуполя. У 1915 році був звільнений від служби парафіяльного священика та призначений на посаду законовчителя жіночої гімназії В.Є. Остославської. Був священиком Свято-Катерининської (грецької) церкви до її закриття. В окупованому Маріуполі (1941-1943 рр.) організовував духовне життя, був обраний духівником усього духовенства міста та округу.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE OLMEZ FAMILY ARCHIVE

Fedor Petrovich Olmezov and Elizaveta Minichna were married in Mariupol in 1908.

Fedor was born in Taganrog. He studied at the Kherson Seminary and Kazan University and took part in the First World War. As a former prisoner of war, he lived in Germany for many years and was only able to return to his homeland and reunite with his family in 1949.

Elizaveta was born in the village of Starohnativka. Her father, Mina Kajaspir, sent his daughter to study at the Mariupol Mariinsky Gymnasium. During the First World War, Elizaveta served as a nurse with the Red Cross and subsequently worked as a medical nurse throughout her life.

The couple had two sons, Volodymyr and Petro. At the beginning of the 21st century, Elizaveta and Fedor’s great-great-granddaughter, Elizaveta Volodymyrivna Popova, lived in Mariupol.

The digital copies of the photographs from the family album were donated to the museum by Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Popov, who is dedicated to preserving his family history.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE FAMILY ARCHIVE OF NINEL YEVHENIVNA LUKIANENKO

У січні 2020 року до Маріупольського краєзнавчого музею принесла фотографії з сімейного архіву Нінель Євгенівна Савченко – у минулому медсестра. Її чоловік – офіцер ВПС Олексій Петрович Батенко був сином відомого стратонавта, лікаря-офтальмолога Петра Михайловича Батенка (1904 – 18.07.1938), який загинув разом із трьома іншими стратонавтами 18 липня 1938 р. під час польоту біля м. Сталіно. Мати Нінель Євгенівни – Валентина Миронівна своє життя присвятила педагогічній діяльності, працювала вихователькою в дитячому садку №25. Дід Нінель Євгенівни – Мирон Якович Савченко – брав участь у Першій світовій війні, служив рядовим інженерних військ.

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