We were exploring the Old St. Andrews Parish Church graveyard the other day looking for a specific headstone. In the process of doing that, I came across a stone that really caught my attention. Based on the age and place of birth of this “Prince,” I thought that he may very well be a member of Russia’s deposed royalty that escaped the Bolshevik revolution. That got me wondering how a Russian Prince came to be buried in a small graveyard in Charleston. A little research turned up a lot of great info on the fascinating life of Prince Sergei M. Poutiatine, who died in Charleston in 1966. He was born in the Russian Empire at St. Petersburg from a family in the Russian nobility. He married Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna before World War I. During the war, he served four years in the Imperial Fourth Rifle Regiment, was wounded twice, and received the Cross of St. George from Tsar Nicholas II. As the Bolshevik revolution gained momentum, he and Princess Maria fled Russia just as members of their extended family had been assassinated by the Bolsheviks. They moved through several European countries, lost their only son to a brief illness, and ended up divorcing in 1924. In 1930 Prince Poutiatine moved to New York City. He married Shirley B. Manning, the heiress of an industrialist. She had attended school at the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina. Sergei became an American citizen in 1940. After he naturalized, he dropped the title of “Prince” and insisted that everyone call him “Mister.” Shirley and Sergei had been wanting a place to move to where the climate was better, so, after much looking around, they bought a house in Riverland Terrace, specifically 716 Wappoo Hall Rd. [the current-day address is 2150 Wappoo Hall Rd. -- thanks to Jo Humphreys for sleauthing that]. They lived there until Sergei’s death in 1966 at the age of 72. Later, Shirley sold the house and purchased 25 Lamboll St., downtown Charleston. The house was built by Thomas Waring, the editor of the Charleston Evening Post. Shirley died on September 7, 1990 and is buried next to Serge. For years, her house at 25 Lamboll was opened up to the annual house tours.
Posted in the Charleston History Before 1945 Group
Anne Worsham Richardson (1919–2012) was a self-taught South Carolina artist celebrated for her vivid bird paintings and lifelong dedication to wildlife. Growing up in Turbeville, she developed her artistic skill independently and later created a licensed sanctuary on James Island, where she cared for injured animals that inspired her work. With her husband, Johannes Peter Paszek, she established the long-running Birds I View Gallery in Charleston. Her paintings were displayed in major museums and even in a German castle. Richardson was the first woman bird painter honored by the National Wildlife Federation’s “Art Print of the Year” award and was named the official artist of South Carolina’s state bird, flower, and butterfly. A founder of the Charleston Artist Guild, she spent her life promoting art, conservation, and appreciation for the natural world.
Learn More from the South Carolina Encyclopedia
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