Galyzin
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or GOLYZIN (gō-lēt'sēn), one of the most powerful and distinguished Russian families, whose members have been equally prominent in war and diplomacy from the 16th century downward. VASILI, surnamed the Great, born in 1643, was the councillor and favorite of So Sophia, the sister of Peter the Great, and regent during his minority. His great aim was to to bring Russia into contact with the W. of Europe, and to encourage the arts and sciences in Russia. His design to marry Sophia and plant himself on the Russian throne miscarried. Sophia was placed by her brother in a convent and Vasili banished (1689) to a spot on the Frozen Ocean, where in 1714 he died. AMALIE, PRIN- CESS GALITZIN (1746-1806), daughter of the Prussian general, Count von Schmettau. She was remarkable for her literary culture, her sympathetic relations with scholars and poets, but, above all, for her ardent piety. Having separated from her husband, she took up her residence in Münster, where she gathered round her , including a circle of learned companions Jacobi, Hemsterhuis, Hamann, and Count Stolberg. Prince DIMITRI ALEXEIEVITCH, a Russian diplomat and statesman; born Dec. 21, 1738; was ambassador to the court of France in 1763, 63, and to The Hague in 1773. He was in correspondence with Voltaire and was the author of several works relating to geology. He died in Brunswick, Germany, March 21, 1803. DIMITRI AUGUSTINE, son of the foregoing; born in The Hague, Dec. 22, 1770; became a Roman Catholic in his 17th year; was ordained a priest in the United States by Bishop Carroll of Baltimore in 1795; and betook himself to a bleak region among the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, where he was known as "Father Smith." Here he laid the foundation of a town called Loretto. He was for some years vicargeneral of the diocese of Philadelphia. He wrote various controversial works, including a "Defense of Catholic Principles" (1816), "Letter to a Protestant Friend" (1820), and "Appeal to the Protestant Public" (1834). He died in Loretto, Pa., May 6, 1841.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's, writing in 1921, ran the family down from the 16th century as one "equally prominent in war and diplomacy" without noticing that its public career in Russia had just ended: Prince Nikolai Golitsyn was the last chairman of the Council of Ministers under Nicholas II, holding office only from January to the fall of the monarchy in February 1917, and was shot in Leningrad in the 1920s. The Revolution stripped the family of its estates, and surviving Golitsyns scattered into exile in Paris, Britain and America, where descendants still bear the name. The transliteration has also settled down: the forms "Galyzin" and "Galitzin" have given way to Golitsyn, though the American priest of the entry is still known as Demetrius Gallitzin. His memory has grown rather than faded — Loretto, Pennsylvania survives, a Pennsylvania town and a state park carry the Gallitzin name, and his cause for sainthood was formally taken up in the 20th century, giving him the title Servant of God.
Written for this edition, 2026.