Help with Countess Natalia Sheremetyeva Obreskova? Friend of Chopin.

[Forum Admin]

I am asked for anyone's help with information about a Countess Natalia Sheremeteyva who married an "Obreskov", born circa 1785-90, and was a close friend of Frederick Chopin. Any information? Thanks.

FA

[Svetabel]

I think you speak about Natalia Vasilievna Sheremeteva, from untitled branch of the Sheremetevs, who was married to Dmitriy Mikhailovtch Obreskov (1790-1864).
She was a daughter of Vasiliy Sergeevitch Sheremetev (1752-1831)and Tatiana Ivanovna Marchenko (1770-1830)- they had children:
Sergei (1792-1866)
Petr (1799-1837)
Nikolai (1801-49)
Natalia
Yulia (1800-62), who married Vasiliy Alexandrovitch Sheremetev (a relative also from the untitled branch)

[Svetabel]

Natalia was born in 1795 and died in 1865, according to the Genealogy of Sheremetevs, issued in 1899. She had 5 children from D.M.Obreskov:

Vasiliy (1819)
Mikhail (1821-84)
Ekaterina (1822-74)
Tatiana (1827 - ?)
Nikolai, who was Chopin's pupil

Famous Dolly Ficquelmont said in her diary about the Obreskov family and a scandal around them in 1832. Dmitriy, husband of Natalia, was appointed General-governor of Wilno, moved there alone without his family and soon cheated on his wife with a number of Polish noble women. Before this he had been a good husband and father.

[Forum Admin]

Sveta you are amazing! Thank you so much!

[Forum Admin]

One more question.  Sveta wrote she was from the "untitled" Sheremetyev branch. Yet, my friends' documents refer to her as "Grafinya" and "Countess" (Comtesse). Can this be explained please?

[Svetabel]

One more question.  Sveta wrote she was from the "untitled" Sheremetyev branch. Yet, my friends' documents refer to her as "Grafinya" and "Countess" (Comtesse). Can this be explained please?

I guess it's a usual mistake when a famous family has titled and untitled branches. The Sheremetevs were a large clan, and the untitled branches were numerous while the Counts were not. But the Counts were rich and famous in Russia and Europe, so the 1st thought with a family name Sheremetev was about titled branch.
Natalia was from the untitled one, it's a solid fact from the Genealogies. Her husband was also untitled ( though a privy councellor and btw obsviously an agent of Russian secret police). She doesn't remarry.
The question is that what sort of documents your friend own? Who and when wrote it? Is it in Russian, French, English?  Is it of 19 century or later...

[Forum Admin]

They are the special order documents and receipts for a custom made pianoforte she ordered from a French maker, from the 1840s.  my guess is the French simply assumed she was a Countess of the family.

[Marc]

Any information on Obreskov family?

[Svetabel]

Any information on Obreskov family?

Ordinary ancient noble family )). Here's a wikipedia article on them:

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B

[Naslednik]

How interesting.  I always thought that Chopin was unhappy with the amount of power that Russia had over Poland. (Isn't that what he expresses in the Revolutionary Etude?) So I wonder what his friendship was like with this Russian noblewoman.  Does anyone know?