FEMALE ROLE IN UKRAINIAN NOBILITY’S FAMILY HISTORY: FOUR CATHERINES OF THE GALAGAN FAMILY

Abstract

The article states that “women’s history” explores women not only in the economic, political, social sense, but positions them as equal actors in history. This research perspective provides scientist an effective instrument for studying the history of social communities and family genealogical history. Social practice in Ukraine presented significant legal rights and social freedom of women from Middle Ages to the times of Cossacks. Socio-political and legal changes in incorporation processes of Ukrainian lands in the Russian Empire during the 18th century gradually deprived women of property, family and social rights. Nevertheless, elite female has retained her own significance in the socio-political and cultural way of life. The article explores the “female factor” in the history of one of the most famous families of the Ukrainian Cossack nobility, the Galagan family, during 18–19th centuries. The formation, rise and decline of this kind reflect the individual stages of “new elite” generation in Ukraine of early and modern times. The author defines the essential role of women of the Galagan family in supporting sustainability and social role activity in over two centuries history of the family and creates generalized psychological and personal characteristics of four women — representatives of this kind. One of the levers of acquiring social status of the Galagans, whose founder, Ignat Galagan, comes from the Cossack class. In the 18th centrury marriges were beneficial and signed within the officer of the corporation, but also had to involve family members of the imperial elite. That is why wives of the third, fifth and sixth heirs of the family — Ivan, Pavlo, Gregory — came up from old families that had Cossack roots, which took a prominent place both in imperial hierarchy of Razumovsky — Daragan, Gudovich and Kochubei. The actions of women — the representatives of the Galagans, especially Catherine Yefi movna Galagan (1740–1823, of Daragan) and Catherine Vasilievna Galagan (1783–1868, of Kochubey) — defined property and social status of the family in 1760–1850s. These women, together with their fortunes, took care of preserving family assets, avoid debt or made it their responsibility, conscientiously paying debts, inspired by men, took care of the functioning of economic ancestral estates and manors. They ran the family legacy after the death of husband and tried to prevent the dissipation of assets due to the distribution between heirs or inappropriate actions of descendants. Catherine Yefimovna Daragan remained family values in such condition that it helped her grandchildren to expand and build palace and park complexes in Sokyryntsi and Dyhtiari estates thanks to inheritance. Catherine V. Gudovich after the untimely death of her husband, managed to increase family fortune and successfully run numerous estates, including burdensome estate in Sokyryntsi. Catherine Kochubei (1826–1896), the wife of the sixth genus Gregory Galagan (1819–1888), well-known social, public and cultural person, was a decent assistant of her husband in his social, cultural and educational activities. After his death Catherine was taken care by school activities, which were patronized by the family. Catherine Lamzdorf, Gregory Galagan’s niece, daughter of his sister Mary Galagan (1822–1876), married as Komorowski, mother of three sons-heirs, could be a guarantor of continuation of the Galagan family in the end of 19th century after the untimely death of Pablo Galagan, direct descendant. Thus, the importance of women in the Galagan family history during 18–19th centuries was specified due to national traditions of property legal independence of women and purely family reasons.