Titled America Ladies in the Russian Court

[griffh]

In another thread I contributed the information below and was encouraged to start a thread on the topic and thought that this might be a good place to begin.  Even my modest American family has ties to several european titles, however only one is to the Russian aristocracy.  Well enough of that, and here is the information about the titled American women that comprised the last Imperial court of Russia.  If anyone has more information about these American women or knows of more American women who carried Russian titles I hope that they contribute the information.

At the Russian Court of Nicholas II there were quite a few American titled women. 

Princess Suzanne Belosselsky-Belozersky, nee Miss Whitier (the Belosselsky-Belozersky's had been the original owners of Serge Palace in St. Petersburg);

Princess Julia Cantacuzene, Countess Speransky, nee Miss Grant (the granddaughter of President U.S. Grant);

Countess Lili Nostitz, nee Miss Bouton (widow of Baron von Nimptsch); Madame Marian Artizimovitch (wife of the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs);

Baroness Hoyningen-Huehne, nee Miss Lothrop (who created the fashion house, Yteb in Paris after the Revolution and whose brother George became the famous fashion photographer);

Baroness Fanny Ramsay, nee Mis Whitehouse (who looked so much like the young Empress Alexandra and was considered one of the great beauties of the beau mode);

Madame Mamy Bachmeteff, nee Miss Beale, (whose husband was the the last Czarist Ambassador to America). 

I am sure that there were even more but those are the only one's I currently know of.  Titled American Women even had their own magazine which was published in NYC up until the end of WWI, which I believe was called "Titled American Women".  I must add that I am eternally grateful to this fourm as I have learned the identity of the two Russia Princes that I am related to distantly through marriage, and a contributer to this fourm grew up blocks away from my Great Aunt's townhouse in Paris in the Passy!  I had memorized her address as a child and was even told that such a street did not exist in the Passy, however this gentleman, who was a decendent of Russian aristocrats and whose grandmother's home was in the Passy, recognized the address of my Great Aunt's home immediately.  You can imagine that it has been so difficult to sort fiction from fact and it is so reassuring that what I was told by both my maternal Aunty and my paternal Uncle turned out to be true. 

I possess all three of Princess Cantacuzene's books and Countess Nostitz's book, but I am not clear if there are other biographies on the other American titled ladies in Russia. 

[jacqueline]

Griffh,
What an interesting topic! I hope more information will be found and posted about this subject here.

Thank You,
Jacqueline

[amelia]

Dear Griff,

Could you please post all three books by Princess Cantacuzene?  I have Revolutionary days, and I really find her way of writting very pleasant and I would like to get the other two.

Thank you very much
Amelia

[griffh]

Thank you Jaqueline and Amelia for your interest in this post. 

Amelia here are the three books by Princess Cantacuzene.

Princess Cantacuzene, Countess Speransky, nee Grant, Revolutionary Days, Recollections of Romanoffs and Bolsheviki, 1914-1917, Small, Maynard & Co., Boston, 1919.   This book included the series of articles the Princess wrote for The Saturday Evening Post.

Princess Cantacuzene, Countess Speransky, nee Grant, Russian People, Revolutionary Recollections, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1920.

Princess Cantacuzene, Countess Speransky, nee Grant, My Life Here and There, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1921.

I am also learning that there were several titled American women married to the foriegn Ambassadors assigned to the last Russian Court and I will try to post their names as I find them. 

[amelia]

Dear Griffh,

Thank you so much. I am going to see if I find these books in amazon or elsewhere.  I am also looking forward to your information on the American ladies , titled in Russia.

Take care,
Amelia

[ashdean]

Lili Nostitz wrote her memoirs in the late 1930's after the Count's death when she was remarried to a Spanish aristocrat and living comfortably in Biarritz. Does anyone know of her later life ?.  Thanks in Advance....

[Prince_Christopher]

A wealthy heiress named Susanna "Suzanne" Bransford, known as Utah's Silver Queen, married as her 4th husband Prince Nicholas Vladimirovich Engalitcheff, who at one time served as Russia's Vice-Consul in Chicago.  They weren't married until sometime around the late 1920's or early 1930's.  His first wife was also an American, a lady named Evelyn Pardridge, and they would have been married much earlier.

[griffh]

Prince Christopher thanks for the additional information.  It made me think that it would really be interesting to start a list of American women who married Russian aristocrats after the Revolution and to include the American wives of the various foriegn diplomats attached to the last Russian Court.

[Prince_Christopher]

Prince Christopher thanks for the additional information.  It made me think that it would really be interesting to start a list of American women who married Russian aristocrats after the Revolution and to include the American wives of the various foriegn diplomats attached to the last Russian Court.

Yes, it would be interesting to start such a list.  I am interested in Americans who married titled foreigners, and this would be a good place to list the Russian ones.

[griffh]

Prince_Christopher I am also interested in finding all the titled American women in Europe prior to WWI and in the post war period.  I think Jacquoline Kennedy's sister, Princess Radizwill represented the end of the smart American marriages to foriegn titles.  I wish I could locate copies of the magazine, "Titled American Women" which was published in NYC but so far I have not been able to trace any copies on any of the vintage magazine sites.

Well anyway, here is a complete list of the rest of Princess Cantacuzene's published articles for the Saturday Evening Post.


Author, CANTACUZENE, PRINCESS

(Chronological listing of articles published in The Saturday Evening Post by Princess Cantacuzene.)

1918:
Sep 21, Sep 28, 1918………………..Last Days of the Russian Autocracy.
Nov 9, Nov 16, Nov 23, 1918……….From the Romanoffs to the Bolsheviki.

1919:
Mar 8, 1919………………………….The Revolution in the Village   
Apr 19, 1919…………………………A First Move Toward Law and Order in Russia
Apr 26, 1919…………………………The Russian Reign of Terror 
May 17, 1919………………………..The New Tyranny   
Jul 26, 1919………………………….Kolchak 
Nov 1, 1919………………………….Daughters of Russia   

1920:
Feb 21, 1920…………………………Siberian Impressions 
Aug 14, Aug 28, Sep 18, 1920………Childhood Impressions
Oct 2, 1920…………………………..Life in Vienna
Oct 23, 1920…………………………Court Life in Vienna 
Nov 13, 1920…………………………Vienna and Chicago
Nov 27, 1920…………………………New York
Dec 4, 1920…………………………..My Marriage 
Dec 18, 1920…………………………Early Years in Russia 

1921:
Jan 15, 1921…………………………Early Disorders in Russia
Feb 5, 1921…………………………..Before the Cataclysm

1922:
Jan 21, 1922…………………………Country Life in Old Russia
Mar 4, 1922…………………………   Court Life in Old Russia
Apr 8, 1922………………………….Winter Life in the Czar’s Capital
(1922 continued)
Aug 5, 1922………………………….Society and Statesmen
Sep 9, 1922…………………………..Public Men in Dinner Coats
Oct 21, Nov 4, 1922………………….Europe Revisited
Nov 25, 1922…………………………Between Kaiser and Democracy
Dec 23, 1922………………………….Salvage in Central Europe

1923:
Jan 6, 1923…………………………..The New Austria
Jan 13, 1923…………………………The Leaders of the New Austria
Jan 20, 1923…………………………London Conversations
Feb 24, 1923…………………………Hungary
Mar 10, 1923…………………………Trailing the League of Nations
Mar 31, 1923…………………………The Last Shall be First

1924:
Mar 15, 1924………………………….As We Judge Ourselves

1932:
Apr 16, 1932………………………….Parlor Propagandists

You can obtain photocopies of these articles by requesting them from:

Photocopy of Articles for Saturday Evening Post of nonfiction articles published prior to 1971 are available at $25 per article.

To order, send check payable to:

Post Archives
Box 567
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Tel: 317-634-1100 ext. 327

[ashdean]

Barbara Hutton's first husband was a "Prince" Mdivani while her fourth was a Prince Troubetskoy.Prince Serge Belosselsky- Belozersky  married as his 2nd wife Florence Crane.While Prince Serge Obolensky was married to Alice Astor.

[Prince_Christopher]

Barbara Hutton's first husband, Alexis Mdivani, was first married to Louise Astor Van Alen.  Louise married secondly Alexis' brother, Serge Mdivani, who died a year or so later, I think in a polo accident.  A third brother, David, married the American actress Mae Murray.  Along with their two sisters, Roussie Sert and Nina Huberich, they were known as the "marrying Mdivani's" in the press and they were bad news.  Their princely title is suspect. 

In addition to her two Russian princes, Babs Hutton also counted as husbands a Danish count and a German baron, among others.

[Prince_Christopher]

Prince_Christopher I am also interested in finding all the titled American women in Europe prior to WWI and in the post war period.  I think Jacquoline Kennedy's sister, Princess Radizwill represented the end of the smart American marriages to foriegn titles.  I wish I could locate copies of the magazine, "Titled American Women" which was published in NYC but so far I have not been able to trace any copies on any of the vintage magazine sites.

I wish there was a book preserving the lives of these women, but mostly they can only be found in secondary sources.  I have thought of writing one myself but have never found the time.  If you go back to the 1800's and include the foreign titled marriages made in all European countries, there are probably hundreds, maybe even thousands, of them. 

[ashdean]

Prince Michael Cantacuzene after his divorce from julia Grant married a second American lady.Prince David Chavchavadze married several ladies as did his uncle....

[Prince_Christopher]

Prince David Chavchavadze married Helen McLanahan Husted.

Prince Michael Cantacuzene, son of Prince Michael and Julia Dent Grant, married three American ladies: Clarissa Curtis, Florence Bushnell, and Florence Clarke Hale.

Prince Serge Putiatin, divorced husband of Marie Pavlovna the younger, married secondly Shirley Manning.