Józef Napoleon Hutten-Czapski (1797-1852), from the Polish noble Leliwa family, was an insurgent during the November Uprising and an independence activist. He was the father of Bogdan Hutten-Czapski.
Biography Youth Józef Napoleon was born on 25 March 1797, in then Bromberg. He was the son of Kornelia née Plewińska and Józef Hutten-Czapski (1760-1810), a count and general in the Crown Army. He received his first education in Bromberg, then studied at the Piarists college in Warsaw, from where he graduated in 1815.
Designated in his father's will as the sole heir, at the latter's death in 1810, he felt into a dispute with his uncle Mikołaj Hutten-Czapski, who denied his rights to the inheritance. According to Józef's biography in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, certain indications could hint that Napoleon Hutten-Czapski was an illegitimate son recognized later by his father. As a result of the contention, Józef wound up as receiving only one of his father's farms ( or folwark) in Orłów near the then-Prussian city of Soldau. Furthermore, the Prussian authorities did not want to recognize his noble origins nor grant him the title of count. As a consequence, Józef Napoleon decided to sell his newly acquired folwark and moved back to the area of Bromberg. He ostentatiously called himself a "peasant" and from that moment on only used his confirmation name as a first name, i.e. Napoleon .
Between 1818 and 1821, Józef attended lectures at the Breslau (today's Wrocław) university and structured the very large Polish community into an academic corporation called "Polonia", modeled on the German Burschenschaft. Likewise, he established contacts with liberal German youth movements and with the secret anti-Russian organizations in the Congress Poland. These actions were noticed by the police who sentenced him to two months in prison, expelling him from the university.
Once released, Napoleon transferred to the Russian Poland where he purchased the Osówki estate (Masovian Voivodeship). At first the Russian authorities confirmed his noble title. However, Nikolay Novosiltsev, the local chief of the secret police, assessed him as a leader of the internationalist revolutionary youth movement, present all over Europe: accordingly, Konstantin Romanov then Governor of the Kingdom of Poland, ordered the decision to be rescinded.
In the following years, Józef Napoleon traveled extensively. For a while (1830), he stayed in Prussian Bromberg where he co-organized and co-led a patriotic conspiracy. Tracked by the Prussian authorities, one of the conspirators was found to have an important stock of weapons, ammunitions and medicines shipped by Hutten-Czapski from Paris.
November uprising The outbreak of the November Uprising (end of 1830) found Józef Napoleon Czapski in Paris. There, he was giving speeches in honor of Poland and Polish brotherhood, dragging attention for Polish uprising in France. He arrived in Poland in January 1831 on a false French passport. In April, he served in the "Poznań volunteer cavalry regiment" and fought in various battles and skirmishes (near Minsk, Ostrołęka, Łysobyki, Potycz and Nieborów). For his combat actions during the expedition to Siedlce, he was awarded the Golden Cross of the Virtuti Militari. From May to August, he was the Aide-de-camp to Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki, the commander-in-chief of the uprising. On 11 May 1831, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and on 31 July to lieutenant.
Józef Napoleon was present as well during the siege of Warsaw, where he arrived against orders as his regiment was not taking part in the defense of the city. Despite the looming failure of the uprising, he gave invigorating speeches, demanding the head of the generals. Such a stance put him before a military court: arrested by general Henryk Dembiński, he was released by general Jan Krukowiecki. On 24 September 1831, he was handed out a passport for scientific travel to France, England and other European countries, but he could no longer use it.
After the end of the revolt, Napoleon, under a changed name, made his way across the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian authorities labelled him the Robespierre of the uprising and tracked him with an arrest warrant. Denounced while staying in Gdańsk, Hutten-Czapski was arrested and detained for two weeks.
Exile On 14 December 1831 Józef Napoleon boarded an English ship and sailed to Ireland: he reached Belfast at the end of January 1832. Before long, he arrived to Dublin where he was received with an ovation. At many meetings with Daniel O'Connell's supporters, he made patriotic speeches quoted by Irish newspapers, which draw the attention of the police.
Hutten-Czapski was fined £60 for revolutionary activities and illegal stay in Great Britain. The majority of the Irish population sided with him: a street collection and public lectures were organized to pay the fine and grant him the permission to reside in England, where he moved in April 1832 and stayed for almost a year. On his way to London, he stopped in Birmingham and attended a large rally advocating political reforms. In addition, on 23 May, he accompanied a political delegation coming from Birmingham to be received by the Lord Mayor of London. In early 1833, masonic friends obtained for him a French passport under the alias of Joseph Chapman.
From 1833 to 1837, Józef Napoleon was constantly on the move, especially between Paris and Switzerland. Indeed, together with other young revolutionaries and Carbonari, he had founded there the "Young Europe" union on 15 April 1834. This movement gathered the following organizations: "Young Italy", "Young Germany" and "Young Poland" (). He also traveled to Italy, Algeria, Spain and to London, where he met Giuseppe Mazzini then in exile.
In 1841, he went to Germany (Munich, Augsburg, Frankfurt) with a false passport under the identity of O'Brien, an Irishman. He was enthusiastically welcomed by his colleagues from the "Young Germany" organization, who helped him to go to (Russian) Congress Poland. In 1842, Czapski was arrested in Aachen for using a false passport, tried and sentenced. After a parole release, pending a decision from the Berlin Supreme Court, he left to France, where he lived until 1847.
In the French country, Napoleon was engaged in scientific and publishing works. Additionally, he was well-known for his generosity towards his fellow citizens in exile.
Back to Poland From 1844, Józef applied for permission to settle in Prussia. In 1846, he received the acquittal of the Supreme Court in Berlin and one year later he could return to occupied Greater Poland.
He did not take part in the Greater Poland Uprising (1848). In September 1852, as a representative of the local landed gentry, he attended the ceremony of opening the Bromberg–Piła railway line, chaired by King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Later on, he contracted cholera and was treated in Smogulec: he died on 17 September 1852 and was buried there.
Family Once established back in Prussian Poland, Józef Napoleon married Eleonora Czarnecka née Mielżyńska (1815–1875) on 29 January 1850. She was the daughter of General Stanisław Kostka Mielżyński.
Father-in-law, Stanisław Kostka Mielżyński Stanisław Kostka Mielżyński (1778-1826) was a military who fought during the Napoleonic Wars: in 1806, he served in the 3rd infantry regiment in Poznań and was appointed colonel; in 1807, he fought with his regiment near Tczew and entered Gdańsk captured by French troops. In 1808, his regiment was appointed to the Free City of Gdańsk; in 1809, Mielżyński distinguished himself in the defense of Toruń against Austrian forces. He received the Order of Virtuti Militari for his bravery; on 20 March 1810, he was promoted to brigadier general; in 1812, he accompanied Dąbrowski's division in Napoleon's Russian campaign; in 1813, he fought in the defense of Gdańsk against Bernadotte's Swedes and Prussians forces.
In 1815, after exile of Napoleon Bonaparte, Mielżyński managed his estates in Greater Poland (Pawłowice, Kąkolewo, Poniec, Smogulec, Gołańcz) which moved back under Prussian rule.
Countess Eleonora Laura Mielżyńska Eleonora was first married to Karol Czarnecki (1804-1888), a poet who took refuge near Smogulec after the end of the November uprising. She was at the time a wealthy countess, owner of the Smogulec estate. The union occurred in 1834. In 1836, they had a daughter Maria Eleonora Anna Czarnecka (1836-1920). Thanks to his wife's connections, the Prussian authorities extended the residence permit of Czarnecki (then a Russian subject) every year. In 1839, he was even allowed to purchase the Chwaliszewo estate near Schubin; a year later, on the occasion of Frederick William IV's accession to the throne, he was granted Prussian serfdom and a recognized nobility. Karol was very active in the field of arts, sponsoring exhibitions and publications.
Accused of a crime of indecency, Czarnecki had to flee from Prussia and remained abroad until 1850. In between, Eleonora fell in love with Józef Napoleon, then administrator of her estate. She got the annulment of her first marriage in 1850 and espoused Hutten-Czapski the same year. A year later, their son Bogdan Franciszek Serwacy was born.
In the meantime, Karol Czarnecki returned to Prussia in 1850, but was arrested for his crimes and was sentenced to a year and a half in the prison of Koronowo. When he returned to freedom, his ex-wife was widowed: however, fearing Karol's deeds, she asked the authorities to ban him to stay in Prussia. The Prussian minister of interior, though allowing him to return to his estate of Chwaliszewo in 1853, banned any contacts with Eleonora. Eventually, she took refuge in Switzerland with her son Bogdan. She died in Berlin on 6 December 1875.
Fragmentary family tree and biographies
Franciszek Mirosław Czapski (1607-1677) Jan Chryzostom Czapski (1656-1716) Ignacy Hutten-Czapski (1700-1746) Ludwika Hutten-Czapska (1720-?) Anna Hutten-Czapska (1720-1789) married Teodor Pawłowski (1710-?) Józef Hutten-Czapski (1722-1765) Antoni Michał Hutten-Czapski (1725-1792) Mikołaj Adrian Joachim Hutten-Czapski (1753-1833) Józef Grzegorz Longin Hutten-Czapski (1760–1810) Józef Napoleon Hutten-Czapski (1797-1852) Bogdan Hutten-Czapski (1851-1937) Emeryk August Hutten-Czapski (1894-1979), son of Karol Jan Alexander Hutten-Czapski, adopted Franciszek Stanisław Hutten-Czapski (1725-1802) with Eleonora Laura Działyńska (1743-1763) Maria Hutten-Czapska (1760-?) Anna Hutten-Czapska (1760-?) with Zofia Mielżyńska (1741-1771) Ignacy Hutten-Czapski (1770-?) Franciszek Hutten-Czapski (1767-?) with Weronika Joanna Radziwiłł (1754-?) Stanisław Hutten-Czapski (1779-1844) Marian Hutten-Czapski (1816-1875) Edward Czapski (1819-1888) Adolf Hutten-Czapski (1819-1883) Karol Józef Hutten-Czapski (1777-1836) Maria Salezja Salezya Hutten-Czapska (1818-1897) Adam Józef Erazm Hutten-Czapski (1819-1884) Karol Ignacy Hutten-Czapski (1832-1877) Emeryk Zachariasz Mikołaj Hutten-Czapski (1828-1896) Zofia Hutten-Czapska (1857-1911) Karol Jan Alexander Hutten-Czapski (1860-1904) Elżbieta Hutten-Czapska (1867-1877) Jerzy Hutten-Czapski (1861-1930) with Józefa Thun-Hohenstein (1867-1903) Leopoldyna Elżbieta Hutten-Czapska (1887-1969) Elżbieta Maria Hutten-Czapska (1888-1972) Karolina Maria Hutten-Czapska (1891-1967) Maria Dorota Leopoldyna Hutten-Czapska (1894-1981) Józef Czapski (1896-1983) Stanisław Gedeon (1898–1959) Róża Maria Hutten-Czapska (1901-1986) with Polina Annenkowa (1873–1955) Teresa (1903)
Franciszek Mirosław Czapski (1607-1677) Chamberlain of Malbork, he married Zofia von Holtzen. Their issue includes, among others: Tomasz Franciszek (1675–1733), bishop of Chełmno; Jan Chrysostom (1656–1716), castellan of Elbląg; Piotr Aleksander (1660-1717), castellan of Chełmno.
Jan Chryzostom Czapski (1656-1716)