Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant
Encyclopedia
Julia Dent Grant Cantacuzène Spiransky, Princess Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky, (6 June 1876 to 4 October 1975) was an American
author
and the first born grandchild of Ulysses S. Grant
and Julia Grant
, born in the White House during her grandfather's presidency. She was the daughter of Frederick Dent Grant
, (oldest son of Ulysses S. Grant
) and Frederick's wife Ida Marie Honoré
. Princess Cantacuzène was the author of three first-person accounts of the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917, as well as a personal historian of the Russian people during that time. As the wife of Russian diplomat Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, who was also Chief of Staff to Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, Princess Cantacuzène was in a primary position to observe both the Imperial and Bolshevik positions during the Revolution. The title of Countess Spiransky has been alternatively spelled "Speransky" and "Speranski."
on 6 June 1876. She was the first child of Frederick Dent Grant
and his wife Ida Marie Honoré
(1854–1930), the daughter of Henry Honoré
, of French ancestry, who made his fortune in Chicago real estate. She was named for her grandmother, the First Lady Julia Grant
née Dent. At the time of her birth, her father was assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
with the rank of lieutenant colonel. When Julia was five years old, her father took a leave of absence from the Army to assist his father, the former president Grant, in writing his memoirs.
Julia had fond memories of her grandfather, who died when she was nine years old. Due to severe financial setbacks, her family came to live with her grandparents in Long Branch, New Jersey and she spent the last year (1884–1885) of her grandfather's life in his home and with his companionship. Her memories of him were clearly fond ones, as she remembered the following:
In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison
appointed Julia's father as United States
minister to Austria-Hungary
. The Grant family traveled together to Austria-Hungary
. After Grover Cleveland
became president, Grant was confirmed to continue in his post in Europe. Julia made her formal début into society in Vienna, at the court of Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. Frederick Dent Grant resigned his position as US ambassasor in 1893, whereupon the family returned to New York.
(née Honoré,) who was representing the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition
(Chicago World's Fair.) From 1891 to 1893, aunt and niece travelled throughout Europe to promote interest in the Exposition as well as to collect art. Julia met Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène
, who was attached to the Russian embassy in Rome. Prince Michael (or Mikhail) was Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène, son of Prince Mikhail Rodionovich Cantacuzène and Elizabeth Siscard, was born on 29 April 1875 in Odessa, Russia. He was a distant relative of Grigorii L'vovich Kantakuzen, who was the Russian representative to the U.S. from 1892 to 1895. Two weeks after their first meeting in Rome, Prince Cantacuzène followed Julia to Cannes, ostensibly to serve under Grand Duke Kyrill. After a courtship of two days in Cannes, the couple separated for four months of wedding preparation. The couple married at Beaulieu
, an Astor home which her aunt Bertha Palmer
had leased for the summer season, in Newport, Rhode Island
, in a small, private Russian Orthodox ceremony the evening of 24 September 1899. The following day at noon there was an Episcopal Church wedding service in All Saints' Memorial Chapel, Newport. After her marriage, she combined her names, titles, and styles in a Russian manner as Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant; however, she was commonly referred to as Princess Julia Cantacuzène or Princess Cantacuzene.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène resided in St. Petersburg (later Petrograd) or at their estate in Ukraine
during their early married years, with the Princess giving birth to their three children, Mikhail Mikhailovich, Barbara or "Bertha" Mikhailovna, and Zinaida Mikhailovna. Princess Cantacuzène remained in St. Petersburg during World War I
in which Prince Cantacuzène served as aide-de-camp and later Major-General, and finally General, in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He served with distinction and was wounded in battle in 1914; as commander of the South Russia Cossacks, in 1915 he led 15,000 men in what has been called the last great cavalry charge against a fortified position in military history. The family left Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
; in 1917, they escaped from Petrograd with her jewels sewn into her clothing, and escaped via Finland to the United States. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. and attempted to attract support for a counter-revolution in Russia, but after news of the assassination of the Tsar and of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
, ended their activism. The couple relocated to Sarasota, Florida
, joining the firm founded by her aunt Bertha Palmer
.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène divorced on 27 October 1934, after which Mrs. Julia Grant Cantacuzène, having re-established her U.S. citizenship and reverted to non-aristocratic title and style, moved back to her native Washington, D.C.
She was survived, at her death, by her daughters, six grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Her books included, "Russian People; Revolutionary Recollections," (1919) "Revolutionary Days; Recollections of Romanoffs and Bolsheviki, 1914-1917," (1920) and "My Life Here and There." (1922) All of her books were published in the U.S. by Charles Scribner's Sons
, and in London by the firm of Chapman & Hall. Revolutionary Days was republished in December 1999 by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company.
, where she lunched regularly until 1970. She was active in the White Russian community in Washington. She went blind before she turned 80 years old, but regained partial eyesight two weeks before she turned 90.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and the first born grandchild of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and Julia Grant
Julia Grant
Julia Boggs Dent-Grant , was the wife of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, and was First Lady of the United States from 1869 to 1877.-Background:...
, born in the White House during her grandfather's presidency. She was the daughter of Frederick Dent Grant
Frederick Dent Grant
Frederick Dent Grant was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his uncle, Frederick Tracy Dent...
, (oldest son of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
) and Frederick's wife Ida Marie Honoré
Ida Marie Honoré
Ida Marie Honoré Grant was an American socialite, philanthropist, and ambassador's wife.-Biography:Born Ida Marie Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré. Ida attended St...
. Princess Cantacuzène was the author of three first-person accounts of the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917, as well as a personal historian of the Russian people during that time. As the wife of Russian diplomat Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, who was also Chief of Staff to Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, Princess Cantacuzène was in a primary position to observe both the Imperial and Bolshevik positions during the Revolution. The title of Countess Spiransky has been alternatively spelled "Speransky" and "Speranski."
Early life
Julia Dent Grant was born at the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on 6 June 1876. She was the first child of Frederick Dent Grant
Frederick Dent Grant
Frederick Dent Grant was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his uncle, Frederick Tracy Dent...
and his wife Ida Marie Honoré
Ida Marie Honoré
Ida Marie Honoré Grant was an American socialite, philanthropist, and ambassador's wife.-Biography:Born Ida Marie Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré. Ida attended St...
(1854–1930), the daughter of Henry Honoré
Henry Honore
Henry Hamilton Honoré was an American businessman.Honoré moved to Chicago, Illinois, from Louisville, Kentucky in 1855 and made his fortune in real estate. Henry Honoré fathered six children with his wife, Eliza J...
, of French ancestry, who made his fortune in Chicago real estate. She was named for her grandmother, the First Lady Julia Grant
Julia Grant
Julia Boggs Dent-Grant , was the wife of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, and was First Lady of the United States from 1869 to 1877.-Background:...
née Dent. At the time of her birth, her father was assigned to the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment
The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against Indians on the Texas frontier. Today the regiment exists as separate squadrons within the U.S. Army...
with the rank of lieutenant colonel. When Julia was five years old, her father took a leave of absence from the Army to assist his father, the former president Grant, in writing his memoirs.
Julia had fond memories of her grandfather, who died when she was nine years old. Due to severe financial setbacks, her family came to live with her grandparents in Long Branch, New Jersey and she spent the last year (1884–1885) of her grandfather's life in his home and with his companionship. Her memories of him were clearly fond ones, as she remembered the following:
My grandfather wasn't exactly gay, and I do not remember his laughing ever, but the talk between us was very interesting. He always took me seriously. I felt promoted and felt inclined to live up my position as his companion. Sometimes he would pinch my ear or my cheek and say softly, 'Julianna Johnson, don't you cry," and it rather teased me. But generally he held my pudgy dimpled hand on the palm of his, and we learned to count the fingers and dimples together; sometimes I made a mistake and sometimes he did so, letting me correct him. And he taught me "cat's cradle" with a string. We walked together hand in hand, silent frequently, but at other moments talking of our surroundings, and he called me habitually "my pet," or "my big pet," which made me very proud. I was not at all afraid of him, for he had a charming, gentle way of acting always, and though his face was generally grave, now and then a sudden gleam lighted up the eyes and made them seem to smile in answer to my chatter.
In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
appointed Julia's father as United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
minister to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. The Grant family traveled together to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. After Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
became president, Grant was confirmed to continue in his post in Europe. Julia made her formal début into society in Vienna, at the court of Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. Frederick Dent Grant resigned his position as US ambassasor in 1893, whereupon the family returned to New York.
Marriage and Family
Immediately after her father's tenure (1883–1887) as a police commissioner of the New York Police Department, Julia Dent Grant traveled to Europe in the company of her maternal aunt, Bertha PalmerBertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
(née Honoré,) who was representing the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
(Chicago World's Fair.) From 1891 to 1893, aunt and niece travelled throughout Europe to promote interest in the Exposition as well as to collect art. Julia met Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène
Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène
Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Prince Cantacuzène, Count Speransky was an Imperial Russia minister Chief of Staff to Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia...
, who was attached to the Russian embassy in Rome. Prince Michael (or Mikhail) was Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène, son of Prince Mikhail Rodionovich Cantacuzène and Elizabeth Siscard, was born on 29 April 1875 in Odessa, Russia. He was a distant relative of Grigorii L'vovich Kantakuzen, who was the Russian representative to the U.S. from 1892 to 1895. Two weeks after their first meeting in Rome, Prince Cantacuzène followed Julia to Cannes, ostensibly to serve under Grand Duke Kyrill. After a courtship of two days in Cannes, the couple separated for four months of wedding preparation. The couple married at Beaulieu
Beaulieu
-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...
, an Astor home which her aunt Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
had leased for the summer season, in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, in a small, private Russian Orthodox ceremony the evening of 24 September 1899. The following day at noon there was an Episcopal Church wedding service in All Saints' Memorial Chapel, Newport. After her marriage, she combined her names, titles, and styles in a Russian manner as Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant; however, she was commonly referred to as Princess Julia Cantacuzène or Princess Cantacuzene.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène resided in St. Petersburg (later Petrograd) or at their estate in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
during their early married years, with the Princess giving birth to their three children, Mikhail Mikhailovich, Barbara or "Bertha" Mikhailovna, and Zinaida Mikhailovna. Princess Cantacuzène remained in St. Petersburg during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in which Prince Cantacuzène served as aide-de-camp and later Major-General, and finally General, in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He served with distinction and was wounded in battle in 1914; as commander of the South Russia Cossacks, in 1915 he led 15,000 men in what has been called the last great cavalry charge against a fortified position in military history. The family left Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
; in 1917, they escaped from Petrograd with her jewels sewn into her clothing, and escaped via Finland to the United States. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. and attempted to attract support for a counter-revolution in Russia, but after news of the assassination of the Tsar and of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas and...
, ended their activism. The couple relocated to Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, joining the firm founded by her aunt Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène divorced on 27 October 1934, after which Mrs. Julia Grant Cantacuzène, having re-established her U.S. citizenship and reverted to non-aristocratic title and style, moved back to her native Washington, D.C.
Children
- Prince Mikhail Mikhailovitch Cantacuzène, Count Spiransky (b. 21 July 1900, St. Petersburg, d. December 1972), married firstly Clarissa Curtis, daughter of Thomas Pelham Curtis and Frances Kellogg Small, secondly Florence Bushnell Carr, thirdly Florence Clarke Hall. He had a son and a daughter from his first marriage.
- Princess Barbara Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky (b. 27 March 1904, St. Petersburg, d. 1991) married firstly Bruce Smith, secondly William Durrell Siebern. She was known as Bertha. She had a son by her first husband.
- Princess Zinaida Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky (b. 17 September 1908, St. Petersburg, d. 1984) married Sir John Coldbrook Hanbury-Williams, son of Major-General Sir John Hanbury-WilliamsJohn Hanbury-WilliamsMajor-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams GCVO, KCB, CMG. John Hanbury-Williams was the youngest son of Ferdinand Hanbury-Williams, of Coldbrook Park, Monmouthshire. After attending Wellington College, he went on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and in 1878 he was commissioned into the 43rd...
and Annie Emily Reiss. She was known as Ida. She had three children, a son and two daughters.
She was survived, at her death, by her daughters, six grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Writing career
Cantacuzène was the author of numerous articles which appeared in the New York Times, Saturday Evening Post, and Woman's Home CompanionWoman's Home Companion
Woman's Home Companion was an American monthly publication, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s....
Her books included, "Russian People; Revolutionary Recollections," (1919) "Revolutionary Days; Recollections of Romanoffs and Bolsheviki, 1914-1917," (1920) and "My Life Here and There." (1922) All of her books were published in the U.S. by Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, and in London by the firm of Chapman & Hall. Revolutionary Days was republished in December 1999 by R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company.
Later life
She was a founder of the Sulgrave ClubSulgrave Club
The Sulgrave Club is a private club located at 1801 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington D.C., United States.-History:...
, where she lunched regularly until 1970. She was active in the White Russian community in Washington. She went blind before she turned 80 years old, but regained partial eyesight two weeks before she turned 90.
Further reading
- Croft, Lee B., Ashleigh Albrecht, Emily Cluff, and Erica Resmer. Entry on Grigorii L'vovich Kantakuzen (pp. 126–131) in Ambassadors: U.S.-to-Russia/Russia-to-U.S. Capstone Publications. 2010. ISBN 978-0-557-26469-8. Treats genealogy of Kantakuzen Princely line from Russian sources and from Princess Julia's personal writings.
Books Authored
- Revolutionary Days: Recollections of Romanoffs and Bolsheviki, 1914-1917, published 1919, Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
- Russian People, Revolutionary Recollections, published 1920, Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
- My Life Here and There, published 1922, Charles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's SonsCharles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...