Rzeczpospolita
Obojga Narodow Polski i Litwy (The Commonwealth of Poland and (of the Grand
Duchy of) Lithuania) was the largest country in Europe. However, in 18th
century the neighbouring powers, namely Russia, Prussia and Austria, decided to
wipe her out from the map of Europe. In 1772 in the 1st partition
the Commonwealth lost only an insignificant part of her territory. In the 2nd
partition (1793) she lost, however, the entire Gr. Duchy of Lithuania and
Ukraine. Two Ukrainian provinces, namely Volhynia and Podolyia, as well as a
remainders of the (former) Palatinate of Kiev, were captured by Russia. Russia
also captured the entire Gr. Duchy of Lithuania. However, Russia became the
only partitioning power, who gave back administration to the Poles. She joined
Kiev and the surrounding lands to the remainders of the Palatinate of Kiev
(which belonged to the Commonwealth in the pre-partition period), to form the
Gubernia of Kiev. Also Smolensk and the surrounding land, which belonged to
Russia, were formed to become the Gubernia of Smolensk, and were (unofficially)
joined to the former Gr. Duchy of Lithuania. In 1803 the tsar Alexander I
declared that Polish will be the official language in the former Commonwealth,
including the two newly created Gubernias of Kiev and Smolensk. The civil
administration (including courts) was given back to the Polish nobles. In
Volhynia and in Podolyia, which were inhabited by very many Polish-speaking
people, even the governors were in many cases originating from Polish aristocracy,
like e.g. the count Dunin-Borkowski in Volhynia, or Hudym-Lewkowicz in
Podolyia.
However,
the Russian authorities demanded a verification of all titles of nobility,
since the noblemen in the former Commonwealth were amounting to approx. 8.5 %
of all people, while in the native Russia it was hardly exceeding 0.5 %. Titles
of nobility were verified by the so-called Deputy Associations of the Nobles
(DAN) in each gubernia. However, there was a strong resistance of the DANs
against the Russian authorities at St. Petersburg, and this verification has
failed. By approx. the year 1802 practically noone has written the so-called
application for nobility to the appropriate DAN. A lot of such applications
were, however, written (in Polish) just in the year 1802 itself, because the
nobles were afraid of some counterattack from the Russian authorities after
assassination of the tsar Paul I in the year 1801, who, by no means, was an
enemy to the Poles. However, even after the year 1802, the DANs had positively
verified nearly all of the applicants, who applied for their nobility. This had
changed dramatically after fall of the November uprising against the Russians
(1831/32). Polish tongue was withdrawn from administration (in the three
Ukrainian Gubernias on 1.01.1833, in Lithuania and Belarus a couple of years
later); the Greek Catholic Church was liquidated in the years 1834-36; Polish
(or Lithuanian) law was withdrawn from courts in 1840; Polish money became
illegal in 1845). In the years 1840-45 the so-called Central Committee in Kiev
took over the process of verification into its hands, and within a couple of
years approx. 81 % of all nobles in Ukraine were declassed, to become
officially the “townsmen”, “the odnodvortsy” (a native Russian social class –
something between the nobles and the peasants), and the “peasants” themselves.
The declassed nobles were obliged to pay taxes and were forced to military
duties (however, this is not clear whether this law was also applied to the
townsmen).
In
consequence of these historical events, the DANs were collecting documents
associated with each noble family in the so-called “sprawa” (Russian “delo”).
An average delo contains between 100 to 500 documents, and is now being kept at
the archive in gubernia’s capital (Zhitomir for Volhynia; Kamieniec Podolski
(now moved to Khmielnitski (former Proskurov)) for Podolyia; and Kiev for the
Gubernia of Kiev). In Zhitomir one can find two catalogues (delos) for the
Mozhayski-Mozarowski, and for the Mozarowski families (in fact, however, this
is the same family), containing more than 950 documents. Documents until
approx. 1833 have been (hand)written in archaic Polish, while those after the
year 1833 in archaic Russian, respectively.
The
catalogue (delo) on the M-M family begins with the application for nobility
written to the Deputy Association of the Nobles of Volhynia by Teodor Tymofiey
Mozhayski-Mozarowski on 17.12.1802 (one of the pages of this document can be
found on the starting page (click on the COA and scroll down)). Certainly, to
this application he did attach several documents, including history of the M-M
family
So, this is
the 1st page of history (KONKLUZJA) of the Mozhayski-Mozarowski family written
and printed out around the year 1797 by Teodor Tymofiey Mozhayski-Mozarowski
(attorney-at-law at Krzemieniec (Kremenec) in Volhynia). It mentions the
following donations of the land called as "Ziemia Smolniana" (known
later as "Kamienszczyzna") : to the prince Andrei Dmitrievich
Mozhayski in the year 1392; from Wladyslaw III Warnenczyk to Ivan Andreevich
Mozhayski in the year 1436 (next confirmed to his son Andrei Mozhayski); after
death of Andrei this donation was confirmed by Alexander Jagiellonczyk to his
brother Semen Mozhayski in the year 1496.
The
document also mentions Grzegorz (Grigoriy)Martinovich Mozarowski, who in the
year 1544 received confirmation of donation of a land around Nieumierzyce (now
Lewkowicze, 3 km east of Mozhary and 25 km west of Ovruch) from Zygmunt I
(Sigismund the 1st, king of Poland and the grand prince of Lithuania), made
earlier to his father Martin Mozhayski.
In the year
1570 a share of this property was made in Nieumierzyce ... (continued on page
2)