Alexander von Avenarius

Alexander Avenarius is a doctor of a Finnish descendent, and of the Juusten family.

He was born on 19 December 1797 in Vuole, Ingria.

In 1741 one of the Avenariuses Georg Khristian was appointed pastor of Vuoles parish which is 60 versts off Saint Petersburg near the Finnish border. Georg Khristian Avenarius was born on 7 February 1709. He received University education, got married and had 6 children. Among them was his son Alexander who became the forefather of the Russian dynasty of the Avenariuses.

Alexander Yegorovich was born in Vuoles on August 31, 1759. He also received University education and after his father's death in 1787 he became senior priest of Vuoles parish. In 1781 he married Anna Stråhlman and had five sons with her, two of whom, Alexander and Jacob, were closely connected with Peterhof. His other son Peter (1894-1854), who had 15 children, was closely connected with Tsarskoe Selo where he was a pastor and taught catechism at Alexandrovsky lyceum.

As it has already been mentioned Alexander, the youngest son of Alexander Yegorovich Avenarius, was born on December 19, 1797. Having received primary education at home he graduated from Petersburg Medical Surgical Academy with the rank of a physician of the 1st department. He first he began to work in Obukhovsky hospital in the capital and on the 12th of January 1823 he was assigned as a physician to Strelyany; farmstead and patrimony of His Highness.

Evidently physician Avenarius attracted grand duke Konstantin Pavlovich who owned Strelna at that time. The same year Alexander Alexandrovich married Elizabeth, daughter of the physician Peter Ivanovich Lindström. He lived with her in a wooden house in Strelna. It is quite possible that the bride's father presented the newlyweds a plot of land in Peterhof as a wedding present.

At that time it was located near invalid houses of Life Guards Dragoon regiment (now here is N14 house Saint Petersburg prospect). Lindström received this plot of land in 1823 and immediately presented the project of the country house made by architect Franz Petrovich Brouwer. The head of Peterhof palace administration Jacob Yakovlevich Eichen sent the project for approval to the director of the palace board of administration in Tsarskoe Selo Jacob Vasiljevich Zaharzrhevsky. Brouwer's project was rejected. Instead of it was othe project was assigned to architect Vasily Maximovich. Gornostayev who worked for Zaharzhevsky at that time. This time there were no obstacles for the construction of the house and Peter Ivanovich Lindström built a house at his timber stock exchange in Strelna and transported it to Peterhof. At this time this plot of land was already registered for his daughter Elizabeth who married as mentioned before Alexander Alexandrovich Avenarius.

Since the end of December 1825 Russia was ruled by Nicholas I who made his goal to make Peterhof his permanent summer residence. He began to visit this place frequently and in autumn 1826 during one of his arrivals he drew the attention of the minister of imperial court prince Peter Mikhalovich Volkonsky to the facade of the "the house of doctor Avenarius at the driveway to the town on the big street " which he did not like.

Soon Volkonsky in his report sent to Zaharzhevsky on the 26th of November 1826 wrote that with the permission of his imperial majesty "Major-General Eichen was ordered to send the approved facade with the plan. I dispatch this plan for redesigning the facade designed by architect Rossi to your excellency for execution with the label marked by letter "A". At the same time I order you to present henceforth all the facades and plans of new constructions for my approval. Rebuke architect Gornostayev for the wrong facade submitted by him. Since this time all the projects of new buildings or any reconstructions in Peterhof were sent to the Minister of imperial court who after inspecting them showed them to the emperor and in case of their approval appended instructions approved with the permission of His Imperial Majesty."

Apparently Avenarius was the first person in Peterhof whom Nicholas I made rebuild his summer cottage in the course of its construction. In 1832 Alexander Alexandrovich was appointed senior doctor of Peterhof infirmary and moved to Peterhof preserving his house in Strelna too. At that time Peterhof imperial infirmary was practically the only medical institution in the whole growing town (besides it there was another small infirmary attached to the imperial lapidary factory) and Avenarius was the only doctor there. Many Peterhof dynasties owe their lives to this man who had worked in Peterhof for many years.

As evidenced by the nephew of Alexander Alexandrovich teacher Nicholay Petrovich Avenarius who published his book "Our family chronicles" in Warsaw in 1872, his uncle: "was characterized by lively temperament and constant need of activity, ..., in spite of all his different official duties and significant practice he always found time for his favorite occupation construction and hunting. If there are inborn inclinations Alexander Alexandrovich had a calling of an architect. Considering monetary interests to be of secondary importance he was striving to fulfill plans that appeared in his head..."

Infatuation of Alexander Alexandrovich with construction activity manifested itself in full measure in Small sloboda (that was how New Peterhof was called at that time ) where starting with 1826 a few years after the buildings of the regiment were pulled down he put up buildings sequentially on all the territory along Pochtovaya street up to the corner of Olginskaya street which was built in early 1830's and also another plot of land in Jaegersky street in Old Peterhof. Alexander Alexandrovich parted with all his estates in Peterhof within different periods of time after finishing their construction with the exception of one building in Peterhof street in Jaegerskaya sloboda which remained his property till the end of his life. The area obtained by Lindström in Small sloboda was 20 sazhen wide along the road and in 1835,Elizaveta Petrovna, wife of Alexander Alexandrovich, got permission to build one more house.

In 1839 the Avenariuses had a contract for three plots of land with buildings in this Peterhof sloboda. Of these constructions only one stone two-storeyed building has been preserved till today (at present it houses cafe "Moncourage" ) at the corner of Saint Petersburg prospect and Olginskaya street. In Jaegerskaya street was also preserved a formerly two-storeyed stone house (now the third floor has been added) with mansards with services of Avenarius near former offices (houses N7 and N9 in Peterhof street). The house was built in 1848 and two years later Alexander Alexandrovich sublet it for hotel "Darmstadt" which stopped functioning only at the beginning of the last century.

It should be noted that starting with 1868 for about ten years this house was used as Peterhof district prison instead of a hotel, its main building being on the territory of the buildings of the Offices (the complex survived). Avenarius built stone constructions of brick at his own plant in Strelna as well as at his plant near Personal dacha which he rented for some time.

On the 5th of April 1847 Alexander Alexandrovich submitted an application for his transfer as a the head doctor to Kalinkin hospital in the capital at the suggestion of physician in ordinary Arendt. His request was approved and Avenarius left the service at Peterhof infirmary not terminating his contacts with Peterhof where remained cottages built by him. In 1858 by order of emperor Alexander II, Avenarius was sent to Novgorod gubernia "to take part in meetings of the nobles on account of abolishing serfdom" and on the 5th of March 1866 he retired because of his illness. During his long labour activity Alexander Alexandrovich got the rank of a councillor of the state and received a number of rewards.

Only various diamond rings according to the Imperial order did he receive ten and he was also awarded with the order of Saint Vladimir of the 4th class, the order of Saint Stanislav of the 2nd class and the order of Saint Ann of the 2nd class with the Imperial crown.

He was a member of the Finnish Literary society. Having retired Alexander Alexandrovich philanthropized, treated poor people free of charge supplying them also with free medicines, he often lived in Peterhof where he helped his son who was building in Gostilitsky street opposite the railway station "Old Peterhof" to build a summer cottage and cultivate a garden.

Alexander Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Petrovna had nine children Among them were five sons: Konstantin, Alexander, George, Nikolay and Peter and four daughters: Sophia, Adelaide, Pauline and Natalia. Full councillor of the State Alexander Alexandrovich died on the 14th of December in 1892 five days before his 95 anniversary and was buried in the family memorial crypt of the Avanariuses at Holy Trinity cemetery of Peterhof where are buried his wife Elizaveta Petrovna who died on the 9th of February 1881, his two sons and other representatives of this dynasty what would be told below.

As for the children of Alexander Alexandrovich it was possible to establish the following facts:

• Sophia Alexandrovna was born on 23 December 1824 and in 1845 she married a pharmaceutist of Peterhof palace infirmary Egor Karlovich Kulstedt (1810-1864). She had 4 sons and 3 daughters. One of them, Egor Egorovich, inherited his grandfather's summer cottage in Peterhofskaya street and his other brother Karl Egorovich was the author of a small book "Memoirs of an old citizen of Petrograd" published in 1916 in which he also wrote about life in Peterhof. Karl Egorovich Kulstedt was managing director of a brick plant in Peterhof which had been rented by A. A. Avenarius and he had two excellent summer cottages in Sobstvenny avenue. Some members of the Kulstedt family were buried at Holy Trinity cemetery of Old Peterhof. The year of death Sophia Alexandrovna 4.9.1883 St. Petersburg.
• Konstantin Alexandrovich was born on 21 February 1826, he studied at the 2nd Petersburg gymnasium and then at the college of the means of transport. After finishing it he worked at the Ministry of railways. In 1855 he married Daria Karlovna Velsh. He did not have his own children, he fostered three girls. He died on 20 March 1889 having the rank of a full councillor of the state and was buried in the family crypt of the Avenariuses at Holy Trinity cemetery of Old Peterhof. In the same place was also buried his foster daughter Matilda Konstantinovna (1852-1885).
• Adelaida Alexandrovna was born on 18 December 1827. In 1846 she married Ivan Alexandrovich Mordvinov, she died in 1860 leaving her daughter Alexandra and two sons: Vladimir and Sergei.
• Paulina Alexandrovna was born on 9 June 1829, in 1857 she married Alexander Grigorjevich Berdyugin who died in 1867. In 1872 she and her son lived at her parents' house. Her further life is unknown.
• Alexander Alexandrovich was born on 10 April 1831 in Strelna, his mother gave him primary education and in autumn 1840 he was sent to be educated by a pastor. In 1842 he entered the 2nd class of the 2nd Petersburg gymnasium, then he studied at Annensky school and in 1848 he became a student of Saint-Petersburg medical and surgical academy. He graduated from it in January 18545 with a diploma of a physician. After graduating from the Academy he was sent as a battalion physician to the regiment of prince Friedrich of the Netherlands which was located in Novgorod gubernia. In June of the same year he was transferred to Peterhof as a junior physician of Life Guards Uhlan regiment and of Peterhof military hospital. After changing several regiments Alexander Alexandrovich retired. From March 1857 till November 1859 he was senior doctor at Peterhof palace infirmary. After that he was transferred to Kalinkin hospital in Petersburg. From 1860 he had been studying obstetrics and gynecological diseases abroad for two years and from 1865 he worked in Odessa. In 1862 Alexander Alexandrovich married the widow of a privy councillor Emmanuil Bogdanovich Aderax, Eugenia Mikhailovna nee Myagkova who died in winter 1871 leaving her 13-year old daughter to be brought up by her husband. Some years later Alexander Alexandrovich married Sophia Mikhalovna Dietrichs who was daughter of a full councillor of the state. On December 13, 1877 he accepted again the post of a senior doctor at Peterhof palace infirmary where he worked only till October of the following year. Then he returned to Odessa again as a senior doctor of Quarantine. At that time he had the rank of a councillor of the state. Characterising him his cousin Nikolay Petrovich wrote:"he was a man with the kindest heart who was deeply attached to his relatives. He always had unperturbable cheerfulness which was close to carelessness in his youth and besides he was distinguished by his apt but not insulting wit ". His life after returning to Odessa is not known.
• Natalia Alexandrovna was born on 19 May 1833, she married Alexander Danilovich Shumacher and had six children: Alexander, Arkady, Georgy, Vladimir, Leonid and Nadezhda .Alexander Danilovich Shumacher (1820-1898) occupied a high position in the society. He was a full privy councillor of the state, senator and director of the economic department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was buried at Holy Trinity cemetery of Old Peterhof next to son Georgy (1865-1871) who died at an early age. Natalia Alexandrovna lived in Petersburg according to evidence for 1915, her further life is not known.
• Georgy Alexandrovich was born on 11 July 1835 in Peterhof. Since early childhood he was passionately fond of the Guards cavalry but it was not easy for him to reach his goal. Evidently his parents were not very happy with his desire to serve in the army and first he studied in several educational institutions including the 5th Saint Petersburg gymnasium and the Academy of Fine Arts before he “managed to convince his father to send him to serve in the army and then on 6 April 1854 he becomes a Junker in the 5th battalion of the Austrian regiment…” Owing to the petition of his father in February 1862 Georgy Alexandrovich was transferred as a cornet to Life Guards of his Majesty Uhlan regiment which was located in Novgorod gubernia. In spring 1863 the regiment was sent to Poland to suppress the uprising. After that he stayed there. Among those who participated in battles against Polish rebels was cornet G.A.Avenarius who was awarded with the order of St. Anna of the 4-th class. Having been given promotion Georgy Alexandrovich became not only a colonel but he was also awarded with the orders of St.Stanislav of the 3d class, St.Anna of the 3d class, St.Stanislav of the 2nd class and other awards. After his service in Warsaw in 1871 he was transferred to a reserve squadron of his regiment which was in Pavlovsk at that time .The same year he married Sophia Leontjevna Wilhelm .He died on 18 May 1889 in the rank of major general and was buried in the family crypt of Holy Trinity cemetery in Old Peterhof.
• Peter Alexandrovich was born on 23 May 1843 in Peterhof. His cousin in the book which had already been mentioned above wrote that Peter Alexandrovich who was sent to study to the 5th Petersburg gymnasium and later to the Technological institute studied badly but from childhood he showed himself in a different field: His instrument was not his pen and books but strong muscular hands armed with a chisel, a hammer and a saw. There was not a single thing (real and not abstract) that he could not disassemble, then assemble, repair and make… During the time free from studies at school Peter Alexandrovich worked in the workshop made by him in the yard. There with the help of only one friend he made a small steamboat which caused surprise of his teachers: in this case all different kinds of work: turning, blacksmith’s, founding were made with his hands. Later he travelled many times on this ship to Peterhof and Kronstadt. As a result of this hobby his parents allowed him to leave Technological institute and study ship mechanics. Peter Alexandrovich visited many countries on board the monitor “Pervenets” and frigate “Alexander Nevsky”. Frigate “Alexander Nevsky was ship-wrecked near the Danish coast and Alexander Alexandrovich returned home by land. He became an officer with the rank of an engineer-mechanic and worked at Putilovsky plant for some time and from 1871 he began to work for Moscow-Brest railway company. In 1874 Peter Alexandrovich purchased a plot of land with all constructions in Old Peterhof in Gostilitskaya street. He was not satisfied either with the constructions or the size of the purchased plot and submitted an application to pull them down and adding a part of marshy lands along the railroad where formerly they “took clay for the brick plant” Peter Alexandrovich motivated his request by his wish to have a good summer cottage with a garden which his almost 80 year old father (whose summer cottage was used almost entirely as a prison) wanted to cultivate. Application of Peter Alexandrovich was approved and he built a new house which was big enough not only for growing various trees, making flower beds but also for well-kept paths with a pond which though weed-filled still exists today. In 1880 Alexander Alexandrovich decided to sell his mansion and placed an advertisement in the newspaper: “For sale is summer cottage of P.A. Avenarius in Old Peterhof which is situated near the railroad; besides two houses, services and a pond there is a big area occupied by a meadow and new wood suitable for building summer cottages.” But due to the fact that either there were no buyers or they did not agree with the price, the summer cottage was not sold at that time. After that Peter Alexandrovich allowed the tenants to build a stall for selling fruit at the border of this plot of land with the square near the railway station. The size of the summer cottage allowed to let a part of the house to summer residents. Among them were: “1877” – full councilor of the state Valerian Alexandrovich Polovtsev; - 1885 – military engineer Mikhail Ivanovich Miller. Having buried his parents, two brothers and other relatives in the family crypt of the Avenariuses at Holy Trinity cemetery, Peter Alexandrovich left Peterhof having sold his estate to the 2nd guild merchant Vladimir Karlovich Corpus in 1898. At that time he was Managing Director of Nevsky horse railroad station and Chairman of the Board of the Society of seaside railroads…

http://dokumente.ios-regensburg.de/amburger/index.php?id=61023

Some data about Avenarius family tree. The most reliable can be considered the study made by J.Mukula and J.Avenarius according to which the ancestors of Russian Avenariuses were Finns. This fact is confirmed by numerous documents. The main connecting link with other representatives of Avenarius family tree is their belonging to Lutheranism. They are also integrated by the family name itself. The chain Habermann -Kauranen -Avenarius when translated into Russian means oatsman (or simply Ovsov in Russian). Due to the fact that in the spiritual world of that time Latin dominated, preference was given to Latin names Thus the family name. AVENARIUS became firmly established. The origin of the Russian branch of Avenarius family is connected ethnically with Finns and Swedes as well as with Germans and Russians which left its specific imprint on its further history .So having become Russian national subjects the first Avenariuses still used to speak Finnish or Swedish for a long time at home and only later the Russian and the German language became their way of life. Russianizing of the family is especially marked at the turn of XIX – XX centuries. If for obvious reasons the first marriages with Germans practicing Evangelical and Lutheran religion prevailed, by the beginning of the XX century men loyal to the tsarist monarchy started marrying their Orthodox partners.

http://win-petergof.narod.ru/Peterhof.doc/Avenarius.htm//

Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Авена́риус (19 [30] декабря 1797, Вуолы, Российская империя — 14 [26] декабря 1892, Петергоф, Российская империя) — русский медик, придворный доктор, старший врач Калинкинской больницы. Действительный статский советник. Брат Я. А. Авенариуса, отец П. А. Авенариуса

Родился в Вуолес Ингермаландия.19.12.1797г., Умер в Петергоф 14.12.1892г.

Он учился St. Petri-Schule , в 1814 – 1816 гг. изучал медицину в университете Дерпта и в 1819-20гг. в медико-хирургическом отделении Обуховской больнице в Санкт-Петербурге и по окончании получил звание врача I класса. В этом качестве он поступил в 1821г. в Обуховскую больницу вольнопрактикующим врачом и 12.01.1823г. определен к Стрельнинской Мызе и вотчинам Великого Князя Константина Павловича. 16.02.1824г. стал лейб-медиком и в 1828г. утвержден военным врачом. В 1832 он переведен в Петергоф по Высочайшему повелению в качестве старшего врача с титулом придворного врача, где он в 1843г. возглавил придворный лазарет. В 1847г. переведен в Калинкинскую больницу в Санкт-Петербурге старшим врачом и в 1852г. стал членом медицинского полицейского комитета. В 1855г. он возведен в ранг ДСС с титулом «Превосходительство». Член финского литературного общества .В 1858г. на основании Высочайшего повеления переведен в Новгородскую губернию для принятия участия в дворянском собрании по случаю освобождения крестьян от крепостной зависимости. 05.03.1866г. уволен в отставку по болезни. Свой досуг он занял филантропией, т.е. бесплатным лечением бедных и даровым снабжением их самодельными лекарствами.
Он был прирожденным архитектором и много занимался строительством. Также его страстью была охота и, кроме того, он был большим любителем лошадей.

Он был награжден орденами Владимира IV степени, Станислава II степени, Анны II степени с императорской короной. Также неоднократно получал в награду алмазные и бриллиантовые перстни.
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Высшее чиновничество Российской империи. Краткий словарь - Сергей Волков Страница 5

ЦГИА СПБ Фонд 1981 дело 3 01.01. 1791-31.12.1811. Метрическая книга родившихся за 1791-1811 г Вуолы.

Некоторые данные о генеалогическом древе Авенариусов. Наиболее достоверным можно считать исследование Ю. Мукулы и Ю. Авенариуса, согласно которому предками русских Авенариусов были финны. Этот факт подтверждается многочисленными документами. Главным связующим звеном с другими представителями рода Авенариусов является их принадлежность к лютеранству. Они также объединены самой фамилией. Цепочка Хаберманн-Кауранен-Авенариус в переводе на русский язык означает овсян (или просто Овсов по-русски). В связи с тем, что в духовном мире того времени господствовала латынь, предпочтение отдавалось латинским именам. АВЕНАРИЙ утвердился прочно. Происхождение русской ветви рода Авенариусов этнически связано с финнами и шведами, а также с немцами и русскими, что наложило свой специфический отпечаток на ее дальнейшую историю. Таким образом, став русскими национальными подданными, первые Авенариусы еще говорили по-фински или по-шведски. долгое время находились дома и лишь позже русский и немецкий языки стали их образом жизни. Русизация семьи особенно заметна на рубеже XIX – XX веков. Если по понятным причинам преобладали первые браки с немцами, исповедовавшими евангелическое и лютеранское вероисповедание, то к началу XX века мужчины, лояльные царской монархии, стали жениться на православных партнершах.