Alexandra Davydova

Alexandra Davydova

Wife (common-law wife since 1819, legal wife since May 1825) V.L. Davydova.
Country: Russia

Content:
  1. Early Life and Marriage
  2. Children and Exiled Life
  3. Memoirs and Temperament
  4. Family Restoration and Return
  5. Subsequent Years and Children's Lives

Early Life and Marriage

Alexandra Ivanovna Potapova was born into a family of a provincial secretary, Alexander Ivanovich Potapov. In 1819, she entered into a civil marriage with Vasily Lvovich Davydov and became his legal wife in May 1825.

Children and Exiled Life

Alexandra and Vasily had eight children: Maria, Mikhail, Ekaterina, Elizaveta, Petr, Nikolai, Vasilii, and Aleksandra. In 1828, the family followed Vasily to Siberia, where he had been exiled.

Memoirs and Temperament

Memoirists who knew Alexandra unanimously noted her extraordinary gentleness, unwavering disposition, and humility. However, much of her epistolary legacy was lost in a fire that destroyed the Davydovs' estate in Kamenka.

Family Restoration and Return

In February 1828, by high order of the Tsar, the first four children born before the parents' marriage were legitimized and received the surname Davydov. After Vasily's death in 1855, the family was granted permission to return to European Russia. Under the amnesty of 1856, their children were restored to their noble status and the surname Davydov was returned to those who had used their father's first name in educational institutions.

Subsequent Years and Children's Lives

Maria married Robert Karlovich Felizein in 1840. Ekaterina married Esaul V. Perelsni in 1854. Elizaveta married in 1852. Petr married E.S. Trubetskaya, the daughter of a Decembrist, in 1852. Vasilii studied art and became an amateur painter. Aleksandra and Ivan died in childhood. Lev married Sofya, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's sister, in 1860. Sofya married Stahl, and Vera married Butakov. Aleksei died in 1903.

© BIOGRAPHS