Catharine was the natural daughter * of ;a country girl™
and
* I ihall here fay a few words concernmg confirming the lownefs o f her birth and her
the authors from whom I have principally marriage with the Swediih dragoon,
extra&ed this account o f Catharine I . T h e Voltaire, in his Life o f Pefer I . has
firft and moit authentic o f thefe is Weber, -fiightly-paired over the early adventures o f
i . Weber was the Hanoverian refident at Catharine: he mentions nothing o f her
Peterlburgh during part o f the 'reign o f . birth, her marriage with the ¡Swediih fpi-
Peter I. and took extraordinary pains to id ie r , as circumftances derogatory from the
obtain the belt information relative to the honour o f the mother o f -the emprefs Eli-
origin o f Catharine. He learnt the Ruffian -«zabeth, by whofe defire he wrote .the Life
language o f W uripb, who had; been tutor to -o f Peter the Great. But, willing .to enno-
Glu ok’s «children at' the time when Catha- JBle the family o f C ath ar in e !, he records a
rine was in that miuifter’ s houfe at Marien- ftrange fiery, which has all the air o f a io -
. burgh, and who was a t Peterlburgh in 1 7 14 : onance, o f a brother o f Catharine, named
from him, therefore, he was able to.obtain Scavronlki, who was found To 'he the fon o f
the molt authentick intelligence. -C an we a gentleman o f Lithuania. Voltaire cites
with for more accurate information.? W e - for his authority Jfi le maouferit curieux
ber -may pofiibly have been miftaken in a “ ,d’un faomme qui etait alors an fervice
few trifiing-incidents, but his narrative upon “ du czar & qui parle com me temoin but
the wholeis-.to be depended upon. Se e V e - without mentioning bis name.
randerteLR«fs.land,'Vol. III. p. ,7— 10. From Voltaire many Luicc.eeding authors
v 2i La Motraye, in his Travels, has given have advanced that Catharine was o f the
a fliort account o f Catharine’ s 'family, & c. family o f Scavronlki; and i t is certain that
Among other intelligenceyhe colleiledunuch the emprefs Elizabeths acknowledged th,at
information from a Livonian girl, who had family as 'her relations, andconferred feveral
been fold by -the Ruffians To the T urks , and besoufs.upon its memherts.
: -whom he bought in Turkey o f the Jani- This anecdote .concerning Scavronlki4s
'. zaries : this .gill knew Catharine at Mari- pofitively contradifted by a pafFagein B-afie-
-- e-nburgh, and told him feveral particulars vitz, who aflifted Menzikof in ¡railingCa-
- relating to her, which were afterwards con tharine -to the throne, and who .mull have
firmed tofiim in Livonia. Th e account o f known i f any brother <of Chat liar me had
L a Motraye correfponds with-that .of Weber' -been at Peterlburgh during the life o f Peter,
-in the principal events, differing only in a He affterts, that Catharine 'did'riot produce
few-trifling .points. any o f her relations vdiriing Peteris life.:
3. Bruce has alfo given an account o f that after his death ajjej-fon made his ap-
the origin o f Catharine in his Memoirs pear ancle a tPcter-iburgh -as her brother tm-
lately publifhed, which he relates as he der the name o f count .H e n d r ik o f th a t lie
w -heard it told by t’hafe who knew her from Jived in bbfeurity during the reigns o f Pe ter
her infancy. His narrative correfpands, I I .4nd Anne,; and that'Elizabeth made bis
uponthe whole, with -that o f W eber in all fon a chamberlain. Bufohiug -IX<p. 529 c,
eflential circumftances. In the courfe o f Weber alfo upon this head relates “ that
this inquiry -I fliall point out one or two “ a near relation o f Catharine .¡came 'to Pe -
.»immaterial inftances wherein they differ. “ terihurgh with his family, con filling 0f
, Thefe-three perfons ere the principal au- “ three fons and tw-o daughters. He -was
r'thors-cwho were in Ruffia towards' the -be- “ called cotint lkay.oronfki” '£vCtvrtafol.y the
. ginning o f this century, and who colle&ed fame as Scavronlki]; “ the eldeil daughter
i informatipn upon the {p o t: -we .may there* “ Sophia was taken by the emprefs'to be
, fore rely upon them with more 'fafety than “ her maid o f honour ; the other children
~«pon later authors.; and-they all agree in “ were educated by their father. T h e ar-
“ rival
C A T H A R I N E
and was bom at Ringen, a fmall village
upan the Lake CHAPTT7
vii, .
Wirtzerwe, v—N— t
*1 rival o f thefe f rangers gave rife to many *l that ihe became the miftrefs o f Tiefen-
**'-rep©rts- concerning the origin o f Catba- “ Moiifen, a ciptaih o f a Svvedifti troop, by
“ rine,; that her father, .whofe-name was “ whom ilie had a f o n t h a t he afterwards
faid t.o be John Rabe, ..was^a quarter- “ gave her in marriage to a dragoon o f his
m mafter in a Swediih regiment; that her “ troop, with whom fife-lived three years ;
“ mother was the daughter o f a town-fe- “ until (he was:taken prifoaer at Narva by
“ c rotary o f Riga, and was delivered in “ the Ruffians.'^ But'this miriifteT, who is
** i68 z o f Catharine. T h e widow, after-' well' irffbrftaed in What relates t© the latter
• J, her hulband’s death, went to' her refa-- part o f Catharine^ life , and the means by
“ tions at Riga, 'but dying foon after- which file afoended the throne, feerris to
**-wards, G luck took the foundling into have retailed many idle reports about her
" 'h is family. Thefe reports, which began family and early- hiftory. BuL Hift. Mag,.-..
“ to circulate, bccafioned a public decree, X L p. 48.
“ forbidding all perfons-, upon pain o f Before I clofe this note I m n l n e c e f c i ly
“ death, from uttering difrefpeilful -ex- mention the,opimon o f Bufching, who, dur-
“ preffions again!! the late emperor,'..or the in g his refidence at Peterlburgh, coliecred
“ reigning, emprefs and her family.” Ve r . . a conilderable degree o f authentick infc-c-
RufT. vol. III. p. 76. ' marion upon the various parts o f the Rul-
We may indeed take it for granted, that .fian-hiftory: amonglt others, he has given--
if-Catharine’s family had been, nobly de- anecdotes-of Catherine I. which he opens
foended, the fee ret would have-been difco- by faying, “ all the'accounts w h ich writer^
vered duiing the life o f Peter, and have “ have hitherto given, or rather conjectured,
been-favourably received by that emperor-, “ o f the birth and family o f Catharine I.’
who was prevented by the obfeurity o f her “ are falfe.^ Tbid. III. p. iq c i He lays,' that
birth from carrying her with him to Paris, her family was from Lithuania, her father’s
ant willing to expofe her to-any in fu lt: “ 11 hame was Samuel, her brother was count
“ ne vouloit pas-l’Sxpofer, dlt-on, aux re- Charles Scavronlki, one filter.was Chriftina
** huts qu’il craignait pour elle, vu l'obfczp- married to count Simon Hendrikof, and the
“ rite dc f a nalffance^ de la delicatefle Fran- other, whofe. name Was Anne, to Michael
“ caife* Baflevitz in Buf. -Mag. IX. p. 316. Yefimoiki. He confirms her marriage with.
An Aufirkin envoy, .-who was at Peter- the Swediih dragoon,.but places the fcene at
iburgh in 1725,, aadwrote an account to his Frauftadt in Poland, and no: at Marien-
eourt o f her accefiion to the throne, fays, burgh. He informs us, that he obtained
“ that flie was a natural daughter o f a this information from .m old lady whofe
“ Livonian nobleman, whofe name was Al- name he conceals, who died lately at Peter-
“ Vendhel; that her mother afterwards iburgh, and who knew Catharine from her
“ married'a rich peafant, from whom, ihe firft appearance in Ruilhi, and was o-reatly
“ had a fon and a daughter: .that the in that empreiFes favour. He adds alfo, aa-
“ former was put to death by Peter for account o f an officer who brought Carha-
“ openly declaring himfel-f to be the bro- rine’s-fifter Anne from Lithuania to Peter-
“ ther o f Catharine; and that the fifter iburgh.. With great deference, however
“ received for forae time a pen.fion o,f 300 to fo refpe&able an authority, we cannot^
“ roubles from the emprefs ; but was at- merely upon this hearfay evidence, fet afide-
“ terwards confined in a houfe o f corre&ion the teftimohies o f Weber, La Motraye, and
“ during the reign o f P e te rL by Catha- Bruce:, this ftory feems, in effeft, the fame
“ rine’s defire.'’ He adds, “ that Catha- flying report as that in Vo ltaire; and the>
“ line was brought up in Gluck’s houfe j lady who gave the iuteUigence to Bufching
m i g h t