Little is known of Stanislaus Liskowski, father of Helena. Born in Poland, he migrated with his family to London where Helena met and married Alexander Rastigaev. His occupation is given as "gardener" on Helena's and Alexander's marriage certificate. The family folk lore is that the was a wealthy furrier. Alexander was a skin dresser in 1905 so there may be some substance in this belief.The Liskowski family disapproved of Helena's marriage to a former Don Cossack and when the Rastigaev family fell on hard times, they declined to give financial assistance and Helena was forced to work in a jute mill, dying prematurely of a brain haemorrhage.
The Liskowski family are descendants of the powerful Polish Lis family who gave the world of heraldry their personal symbol, the fleur-de-lis. The Liskowski coat of arms carries one of the first examples of the yellow fleur-de-lis. The filled crown above the shield indicates royalty and the necklace symbolises Polish royalty. The peacock feathers represent Islam and the arrow which pierces them symbolises military victory over the Saracens in the Crusades. The colour blue indicates that he family held land in Lithuania when it was part of the Polish empire. The six points on the stars boast dominion over six countries: Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Ruthenia (early Russia and Belarus) and Saxony; the Lis family originated in Saxony.
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