Visiting my Family’s Paris Roots

What might seem odd is that my grandfather, a Romanian of Ukrainian and Russian parentage would have a French grandmother. I too find it odd. His grandfather, Mikhail, the owner of a prosperous textile mill in Russia left Russia at the age of 18 in 1872 to avoid being kidnapped into the Russian army. He traveled eventually to France, an industrialized country, unlike his native Russian Empire. He saw the industry of western Europe which must have spurred him to build a textile mill in his hometown. It was there he met the abandoned Berthe Rose Brandon, her father having been killed during the Paris Commune, her mother having moved to live with relatives near Tours. Although it is uncertain how the two met, they were married and they returned to live in the city of Vinnytsia in eastern Ukraine where my father’s family originates.