The House of Wołodkowicz (, Valadkevičiai, Valadkovičiai, Volodkevičiai) is the name of a noble family originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Origin The Wołodkowicz are known in the Minsk and Nowogródek Voivodeship as early as the 15th century. By 1528, the family appears in the military census of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in which it is described as already “numerous and powerful” (Polish: dom rozrodzony i możny).
The family name is a Slavic patronymic derived from the given name Wołodko, a diminutive of Wołodymyr. Scholarly sources differ on which historical Wołodko is the family’s progenitor. Jabłonowski records the family as descended from Ruthenian princes through the Drucki line, a Rurikid princely house of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to Żychliński, citing Kojałowicz and the family’s official genealogical deduction (wywód szlachecki) as confirmed by the Petersburg Imperial Heraldry Department, the family is connected by blood to the ruling Lithuanian princes through Raczą, sister of Grand Duke Witold of Lithuania. The Sprostowania i Uzupełnienia (Corrections and Supplements) of the Złota Księga Szlachty Polskiej additionally propose descent from kniaź Wołodko Iwanowicz Horski, documented as starosta of Oszmiana in 1515. All three traditions agree the family is of Lithuanian princely origin. The family’s official genealogical deduction records it as "od kniaziów pochodzący" (descended from princes), a status confirmed by the Petersburg Imperial Heraldry Department after thorough examination.
From at least the late 16th century, the family held senior administrative and political offices in Minsk, including the voivodeships of Nowogródek and Smolensk, and the Metropolitanate of all Rus. The family was connected by marriage to the principal noble and princely families of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
History
15th and 16th century Members of the Wołodkowicz family appear in the records of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from at least the late 15th century. Seńko Wołodkowicz of Mścisław is documented in 1496 in a dispute over the estate of Hostoml, and in 1499, as a courtier (dworzanin) of Alexander Jagiellon, in connection with estates in the Mścisław region. Niekras Wołodkowicz served as namiestnik of Bełżyce in 1499. In 1551, Marcin Wołodkowicz, a royal boyar, received three villages in the Trakai district from King Sigismund II Augustus. In 1559, a Marcin Wołodkowicz served as royal messenger to Moscow during the Livonian War.
Marcin Wołodkowicz (c.1510–1595), possibly the same individual mentioned above, is regarded as the common ancestor of the principal branches of the Wołodkowicz family. He was the ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Moscow from 1573 and the Governor of Minsk from 1588. He was married to Rajna princess Drucka-Horska. Marcin Wołodkowicz had several children, most of whom had high positions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
17th century As a result, the family became far more numerous in the 17th century; its members mainly residing in the districts of Naugardukas and Minsk. During the 17th and 18th centuries members of the Wołodkowicz family played an important role in public life. Apart from political and governmental positions, members of the Wołodkowicz family held positions in the army and the Roman Catholic church. Stanislaw Wołodkowicz played an important role in the Battle of Vitebsk. He was taken prisoner and sent into exile to Kazan in 1655.
18th and 19th centuries The founder of the French line of the Wołodkowicz family, Henry (1765-1825), partook in the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794 and after its failure, emigrated to France. He was Aide-de-camp of Napoleon, served as a general in the French army and from 1806 he was appointed commander of the Polish Legion of the Grande Armée. During the French invasion of Russia, he was exiled to Siberia and after having received amnesty, he moved to St. Petersburg where he died. He was awarded the Legion of Honour and his name 'Henry' is immortalized in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Alexander Wołodkowicz (1806-1861) headed the rebels in the Vileika district during the November Uprising against the Russian Empire in 1830–1831. After the defeat, he emigrated to France. He was buried in Paris, but his heart was brought home and placed in the church of Radaškonys, the Wołodkowicz family's ancestral tomb.
Jakub Wołodkowicz was rector of the Jesuit College in Polotsk, Anna abbess of the Benedictine monastery in Minsk and Philip (1697-1778) Metropolitan of Kiev. Members of the Wołodkowicz family founded several monasteries and churches, such as a monastery and a seven domed church in Grozovo, a monastery in Navadvorcy, the Carmelite church in Minsk, the cathedral of Chelm, a church in Zary, a church in Radaškonys and a Russian Orthodox church in Čašnikai.
Branches There are several branches of the Wołodkowicz family:
"Gałąź Nowodworska" (Branch of Nowy Dwor) "Gałąź Iwanska" (Branch of Iwansk) "Gałąź Francuska" (French branch) "Gałąź Ukrainska" (Ukrainian branch) "Gałąź Galicyjska" (Galician branch)
The Wołodkowicz family was connected by marriage to the principal noble and princely families of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including Drucki-Horski, Drucki-Podbereski, Drucki-Lubecki, Pac, Podhorski, Połubiński, Puzyna, Reytan, Radziwiłł, Sapieha and Tyszkiewicz.
In the 19th century, the branch of Iwansk became the most prominent of all branches of the Wołodkowicz family. Iwansk together with neighbouring villages was bought by Tadeusz Wołodkowicz in 1774. This was to become the main, though not the oldest, domain of this branch of the family. Owing to entrepreneurship and fortune the wealth of the Iwansk branch further increased during the next generations. Two years later Iwansk was inherited by his brother Wincenty (1761-1838) chamberlain of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, who passed his properties to Emanuel Ignacy. Last owner of Iwansk was the son of Emanuel Ignacy, Wincenty Wołodkowicz (1846-1927). In 1917 his estates (Iwansk, Kopciowicze, Czaszniki, Solomerecze, Wojsznarowo, Podolanka, Stare Siolo, Krasne Siolo, Imszarki, Slobodka, Hatsyanava, Fedzki, Tovpentsy, Naviny, Vishanki, Pachaevici, Demidovichi, Prystoi, Medvedsk, Krasnitsa, Punki, Smolance and Deksniany) made about 100.000 hectares, including more than 20 towns and villages, as well as a paper mill ('Skinia'), mills, distillery plants, breweries, a brickyard and a glass factory. Iwansk had a famous stable of horses, which won prizes at races in Moscow and St. Petersburg. During the revolution of 1917, Wincenty Wołodkowicz escaped to Poland, where he died in Bydgoszcz in 1927.
Coat of arms The Wołodkowicz family uses the Radwan odmienny (differenced Radwan) coat of arms, which was originally the family’s own proprietary arms (Polish: herb własny), later categorised under the Radwan name.
The blazon, as described by Kartłowicz and cited by Niesiecki, consists of: two combined anchors in the shape of the letter H; a cross surmounted by a bird holding a ring in its beak; on a gules field in banner form; with a princely mantle of ermine (płaszcz gronostajowy) and a closed princely crown (mitra książęca) as external ornaments.
Following the assimilation of the family’s proprietary arms into the Radwan heraldic clan system, the later forms of the arms replaced the two anchors forming H with the standard Radwan device: a gonfannon ensigned of a cross in chief, and fringed in base, all or, while retaining the bird holding a ring in its beak as the distinctive differencing element.
The Wołodkowicz family has used the princely crown in its arms for centuries, a status confirmed by the Petersburg Imperial Heraldry Department after examination. The family’s official genealogical deduction records this as consistent with its descent from Lithuanian princes.
The Radwan odmienny arms should be distinguished from the standard Radwan coat of arms and from the arms of a separate family of the same name, Wołodkowicz herbu Łabędź (Swan arms), confirmed by Russian imperial decree on 6 November 1849. Only the Radwan odmienny branch uses the princely crown.
Notable members
(fl. 1600-1670), wojewode of Nowogródek and Minsk and senator of the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth in the second half of the 17th century. Writer of historical books like 'The history of Inflant Wars', 'The life of prince Casimir' and 'On incorporation of the inflants by king Sigismund August'. Krzystof Wołodkowicz was very handsome and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire commissioned Krzystof's portrait for his palace in Istanbul. Married to 1. Halszka princess Drucka-Sokolinska and 2. Izabela princess Massalska. Philip Wołodkowicz (1697-1778), bishop of Chelm, metropolitan of Kiev. (1735-1760), landowner, hooligan, notable for extraordinay physical force and courage. Fought bears with a wooden fork only. He is mentioned in Book VI "Pan Tadeusz" by Adam Mickiewicz as a man standing above the law. Sentenced to death for his improper behaviour. Jan Henryk Wołodkowicz (1765-1825), general in the French Army, aide de camp of Napoleon. Commander of the 2e Legion du Nord. Founder of the French branch. Married to 1. Anna Ferguson-Tepper, 2. Thérèse de Lasseray. Wincenty Wołodkowicz (1761-1838), chamberlain of king Stanislaw August, marshall of the nobility of Borisov. Founder of the branch from Iwansk, Married to 1. Teresa Przezdziecka 2. countess Jadwiga Tyszkiewicz. Emanuel Ignacy Wołodkowicz(1805-1852), landowner, entrepreneur. Married to 1. Victoria princess Drucka-Lubecka, 2. Alina princess Drucka-Lubecka. Alexander Wołodkowicz (1806-1862), commander during the uprising Russia of 1830-1831, diplomat. Author of "Ni paix, ni sécurité pour l'Europe avec la Russie" (Paris 1855) Wincenty Wołodkowicz (1846 1927), last owner of Iwansk, landowner, entrepreneur, State counsellor of the Russian Empire, honorary judge of the province of Lepel. Married to Sophia baroness Hartingh.
References
Sources
Wołodkowiczowie, studium genealogiczne, Ottawa 1978