History of Spala Hunting Lodge and Skierniewice Palace

[gdudzinski]

I'm trying to put together a family history and am currently missing information about my paternal grandfather, Marian Dudzinski. I know that he was employed first by Tsar Alexander III (from March 1881) in the capacity of "Dietarius", whatever that may be (I have the beautifully handwritten letter of employment from the Imperial Court!) and later by Tsar Nicholas II, as "Smotritel Dvortsovykh Zdanii" (Majordomo? / Chamberlain?) first of Spala Hunting Lodge and later of Skierniewice Palace, until his death in 1910 from being kicked by one of his Imperial Majesty's horses!. Marian's two brothers (Józef and Czeslaw) were also employed by the Imperial Court. After Marian's death, his wife (Elzbieta) continued to live at either Spala or Skierniewice (not sure which), receiving a widow's pension from the Imperial Court. My father (Zbigniew) was born in Spala in 1902 and his education was paid for by the Court until 1917, when other events supervened!

All the above I only found out after my father died (in England in 1974) from an accumulation of about 40 Russian documents dating back to 1875 that had been squirrelled away by a cousin of mine. And I only found these when clearing her Warsaw flat after her death.

I wonder if any information exists anywhere -- in books or archives -- about court life at the time of the Russian occupation of Poland. All hints and suggestions gratefully received!

George Dudzinski

[Превед]

I'm trying to put together a family history and am currently missing information about my paternal grandfather, Marian Dudzinski.

The name seems to be spelled Dudziński in Polish.

I know that he was employed first by Tsar Alexander III (from March 1881) in the capacity of "Dietarius", whatever that may be

From Latin dies, day: Day labourer or clerk paid per day.

"Smotritel Dvortsovykh Zdanii" (Majordomo? / Chamberlain?)

= Keeper, warden or caretaker of Court Buildings.

My father (Zbigniew) was born in Spala in 1902 and his education was paid for by the Court until 1917, when other events supervened!

Interesting, he must have had some fascinating memoires to tell. Considering that the Romanovs were quite hated in Poland, his perspective from a family employed by them and benefitting from their largesse would be interesting.

[Mike]

I have the beautifully handwritten letter of employment from the Imperial Court

It would be interesting to see it. Can you post a copy here?

[gdudzinski]

Yes, Mike, I'd be happy to post a copy... if someone would explain to me how to post a pdf document on this site! Alternatively, give me an e-mail address and I'll send it.

[Mike]

Please send to chereisky@gmail.com

[violetta]

Dear George

FIles on the Imperial Hunting Lodges are kept in the Archives of the Old Acts ( Archiwum Akt Dawnych in Polish) in Warsaw. There you can find a lot a lot (!!!!) of documents relatd to both the hunting lodge and employees. I had a chance to look through some files while preparing a book though I have to say that there are lots of files on the residencies in the former Kingdom of Poland. Maybe you should turn to the Archives in Warsaw?

I'm trying to put together a family history and am currently missing information about my paternal grandfather, Marian Dudzinski. I know that he was employed first by Tsar Alexander III (from March 1881) in the capacity of "Dietarius", whatever that may be (I have the beautifully handwritten letter of employment from the Imperial Court!) and later by Tsar Nicholas II, as "Smotritel Dvortsovykh Zdanii" (Majordomo? / Chamberlain?) first of Spala Hunting Lodge and later of Skierniewice Palace, until his death in 1910 from being kicked by one of his Imperial Majesty's horses!. Marian's two brothers (Józef and Czeslaw) were also employed by the Imperial Court. After Marian's death, his wife (Elzbieta) continued to live at either Spala or Skierniewice (not sure which), receiving a widow's pension from the Imperial Court. My father (Zbigniew) was born in Spala in 1902 and his education was paid for by the Court until 1917, when other events supervened!

All the above I only found out after my father died (in England in 1974) from an accumulation of about 40 Russian documents dating back to 1875 that had been squirrelled away by a cousin of mine. And I only found these when clearing her Warsaw flat after her death.

I wonder if any information exists anywhere -- in books or archives -- about court life at the time of the Russian occupation of Poland. All hints and suggestions gratefully received!

George Dudzinski

[gdudzinski]

Dear Violetta,
Thank you very much for that very useful hint. I've had a quick look at the site you mention, and my first impression is that it's not exactly intuitive -- I'm going to have to do some heavy reading before I get any sense out of it, I feel! It's puzzling, but while most branches of my family tree (jungle?) are proving relatively easy to get to grips with, the Dudziński branch is proving resistant. I'm hoping, though, that this Document Archive will ultimately yield some useful  information.
Thank you again!

[violetta]

This is a State Archives containing documents issued before 1918 i.e. before Poland gained independence. I know that State Archives provide services connected with genealogical and similar search. So probably the best idea is to gather as much infrmation about the Dudzinskis and turn to them. Of course they charge for their services.
The Achives has a huge collection of documents connected with ROmanov Hunting Lodges. I`ve seen some of them while preparing a book chapter on Imperial residences in Poland. Due to lack of time I did not have a chance to read all the documents ( Besides I don`t live in Warsaw) but yes, there also have files on the employees working for the Imperial family. SO turn to the Archives and good luck!