BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Denis Iliin, the ancestor from whom the Denissoffs trace their
descent, left his home in Novgorod because of religious persecution during the
reign of Alexis (1645-1676) and settled in Five Huts, a village in the Don
region. During Peter the Great's expedition to the Black Sea (1696), he stopped
at Five Huts and ordered Denis and several of his fellow Cossacks to join the
expedition. Peter was favorably impressed by Denis, and rewarded him for his
brave conduct during the attacks on the Azov fortress. Subsequently, Denis was
made Ataman (chief) of the Cossacks in the region. Originally independent
frontiersmen, the Cossacks became an important and privileged element in the
Imperial Russian Army as the Empire expanded. The Denissoff family remained
prominent in military service throughout the 18th and 19th centuries; Il'ia
Fedorovich Denisov (1718-1792) distinguished himself in the war against Prussia
(1756-1763), and received a gold medal from the Empress Maria-Theresa. Fedor
Petrovich Denisov (1732-1803) participated in numerous campaigns during the
reign of Catherine the Great, who made him a general of cavalry and gave him
the title of Count and 1,200 serfs along with various awards. Adrian Karpovich
Denisov (1763-1841) took part in the historic march of Marshall Suvorov across
the Alps and retired at the rank of Lieutenant General in 1825. Vasilii
Avksentiievich Denisov (1788-1829) pursued Napoleon's army beyond the Rhine in
1812. Although the family is most noted for its military service, Vasilii
Il'ich Denisov has a most distinguished civil career as a Senator and a member
of the State Council. His son Il'ia left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution.
With the death of Il'ia Denisov in 1971, these family papers passed to his son,
Basile A. Denissoff.
