CountFelix Nikolayevich Sumarokov-Elston (Russian:Феликс Николаевич Сумароков-Эльстон; 24 January 1820 – 30 October 1877) was a Russian general who served as theataman of theKuban Cossacks and the governor ofKuban Oblast in the late 1860s.
Named Felix at birth, (a common name for illegitimate children) he was brought up byPrincess Elisabeth Khitrovo, a famous salon hostess who was a daughter ofPrince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov and the mother of CountessDorothea de Ficquelmont.
It has been widely rumored that Felix Elston was the natural son of Khitrovo's eldest daughter, Countess Ekaterina vonTiesenhausen (alady-in-waiting to KingFrederick William IV of Prussia's sister,Empress Alexandra of Russia) andPrince Augustus of Prussia.
It appears more likely that Felix's parents wereKarl Alexander Anselm Freiherr von Hügel (Regensburg, April 25, 1795 –Brussels, June 2, 1870) [himself the son of Johann Aloys Josef Hügel, later 1st Freiherr vonHügel (Koblenz, November 14, 1753 –Regensburg, 1826) and his wife Anna von Holthof, married in 1787] by Countess JozefaAndrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (Košice (Kassa), April 8, 1790 – 1868), a relative ofGyula Andrássy, married (inKošice (Kassa), February 7, 1808) to Miklós GrafForgách de Ghymes et Gács (1784 –Nagyszalánc (Slanec), January 10, 1857), by whom she had three sons, all of whom died unmarried and without any issue.[1] Recent investigations undertaken by one of his great-granddaughters and an English genealogist practically confirm this late ancestry,[2] not explaining, however, the motives why he didn't use his father's name but Elston, hisEnglishnanny's surname.
Felix Elston was prominent during thesiege of Sevastopol and was promoted tocolonel in 1855. After his marriage in 1853 with the Heiress of CountsSumarokov, he received the title of Count Sumarokov-Elston. By Imperial Decree of September 8, 1859 he was authorized to use the hereditary title of his father-in-law, with the condition of using his surname. From 23 August 1863 to 3 February 1869 he was anAtaman ofKuban Cossacks and from 1865 he was a governor ofKuban.
During his military service Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston received numerous awards, includingOrder of St. Vladimir of 1st degree,Order of St. Stanislav of 1st degree,Order of St. Anna of 1st degree with crown and others.
After 1868, he left military service because of poor health and lived abroad. He was a Russian representative at the wedding of PrinceMilan of Serbia to Russian noblewomanNatalia Keshko, in 1875 he was attached to KingOscar II of Sweden during his visitation of Russia. In 1875, he was appointed the head of theKharkov military district.
From his marriage with Countess Elena SergeievnaSumarokova (September 5, 1829 – April 15, 1901) (daughter of Count Sergei Pavlovich Sumarokov (1791-1875) and wifeMarchesa Aleksandra PavlovnaMaruzzi (ca 1808–1857)) he had seven children, including CountFelix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, later princeYusupov, who was the father of PrinceFelix Yusupov.
Australian conductorAlexander Briger is his great-great-great-grandson. Felix' son Paul Sumarokov Elston (1855) → Zinaida Sumarokov Elston (1886)→ Zinaida Bashkirova (1908)→ Andrew Briger (1922)→ Alexander Briger (1969).
