The Ilyiniches – founders of the Mir castle

The following materials were used for this purpose:
Certificates applying the history of South and West Russia; Certificates applying the history of West Russia; materials of the National historical archives of Belarus; monographs by V.V. Kalnin (which deal with Mir castle) and by A.N. Narbut (about the history of Belarussian families). Studies by K. Nesetsky and S. Vysloukhy are also of scientific interest.
Some information was specified and new facts were found in the course of our work. The previous scheme by J.Y. Yodkovsky was almost completely preserved and completed.
According to J.Y. Yodkovsky, Ilyinichs were a magnate family (coat of arms “Korchak”) well known in the Great Lithuanian Principality in the 15th-16th centuries. Ivan is considered to be the founder of the family. He and his descendants were called Ilyinichs by the name of their forefather Ilya who was freed by Duke Vitovt from providing carts for the government what was confirmed in a charter issued by king Kasimir Yagellon in 1447.
J.Y.Yodkovsky’s information about Ivan (Ivashka) was limited, he mentioned only the posts and estates of the latter. Using documents of archives we found out that Ivan was first mentioned in a description of the battle against crusaders on the 18th of September 1454 near to Khoyniky. Ivashka Ilyinich was faithful to his sovereign and saved his life that is why he was granted Volkovyssk province (“starostvo”), was elevated to a knight and given a coat of arms “Korchak”.
In the course of the research the information about the sisters of Ivan – Vas’ka and N.N. Butrimova was completed. We discovered that Vas’ka devised to her brother Ivashka settlements Tarassov and Malkov not in 1490 but on the 9th of April 1472; the ownership was confirmed by the king in 1473. J.Y.Yodkovsky did not mention the existence of Ivan’s second sister – N.N. Butrimova, he wrote only about her daughter Anna Butrimovna. Sen’ka Gedygoldovich adopted her. She was childless. Before her death in 1476 she devised Mir to a life long possession to her aunt Milokhna – the wife of Sen’ka Gedygoldovich, and after the death of the latter – to her brother Yuri Ilyinich.
J.Y.Yodkovsky wrote that Ivashka had two sons: Nikolay and Yuri. Nikolay Ivanovich Ilyinich had a son Nikolay and three daughters – Anna Senovich, Yelizaveta Shemetova and an unidentified one. We found out the name of the third daughter. It was Katarzhina Nikolayevna Ilyinichanka. Later she married Sbozhny Vernirovich. The second son of Ivashka Ilyinich – Yuri received the Mir estate from Anna Butrimovna. That inheritance was verified by an additional testament in 1486 (not in 1485 as according to J.Y.Yodkovsky).
Besides we discovered new facts. Probably Yuri inherited from his father Chernavchitsy, Chernovo, Malkovo, Komorovo, Vorontsevichy and other places which he mentioned in his will. Yuri Ilyinich’s wife was Yadviga – the daughter of Yan Yuryevich Saberesinsky (Sabrzesinsky) – voivode of Troky, head of Grand Duke’s court (marshalok), head of Polotsk province. Yan Saberesinsky devised one third of Shereshovo (580 kopas of Lithuanian groshs) to his daughter and Yuri Ilyinich.
J.Y.Yodkovsky considered the approximate date of Yuri Ilyinich’s death the year 1520. But the archives materials made it possible to specify the date of his death – 1526. He was buried in the Catholic St. Stanislav church in Vilno together with his wife, who died during the birth of her daughter Yadviga.
J.Y.Yodkovsky wrote about the daughter of Ivan Ilyinich, who was Dobrogost Narbutovich’s wife. According to the new information from the archives materials in 1496 Dobrogost had legal proceedings because of a quarter of the estate of Narbuchevo, which Ivan Ilyinich had bought from Ivan Gursky and presented to Dobrodost. King Alexander confirmed that ownership by his decree on the 20th of August 1496. Mrs. Dobrogostova lived out her husband and in 1506 she was at law with Albrecht Gashtold because of the estate in Ostrovna.
Information about Nikolay Ivanovich Ilyinich’s children and grand-children is also interesting. J.Y.Yodkovsky gave very few information about them. We completed it during our work. We discovered the following: Nikolay Ivanovich Ilyinich did not hold any posts, he had a cruel character, drank, lost almost all of his capital. In 1516 Mr. Alexander Soltanovich made a complaint that Nikolay Ilyinich came to his farmstead, took bread and killed his servant. Nikolay Nikolayevich Ilyinich was married to Elzhbeta Yakubovna Nemirichanka and died in autumn 1536. He left two sons behind: Ivan (Yan) and Shchasny, who did not play any considerable role in the affairs of the country, and the daughter Anna – the wife of Yan Gedroyts. Nikolay Ilyinich’s widow had a long life and lived out even her sons.
Anna Nikolayevna Ilyinichanka – Nikolay’s daughter, was married to Nikolay Zinovyevich. She devised her mother’s property – one third of the farmstead of Zelva, to her husband, who resold it to Yuri Ilyinich. She died childless.
Another Nikolay’s daughter was Yelizaveta (Elzhbeta). Through her uncle Yuri Ivanovich Ilyinich she got married to Mr. Yan Shemetovich. She died in 1524. She declared by her will that she wanted to be buried in the Roman Catholic St. Jacob church in Velikaya Zel’va – her estate which she inherited from her mother. She devised Zel’va, like other estates, to her daughter Anna. She named her husband and Anna’s father Yan Shemetovich as her guardian. Her body is probably in Zel’va. Her daughter Anna Shemetovna got married to Mr. Lavrin Volsky in 1531 after the death of her mother.
The third daughter of Nikolay Ilyinich – Katarzhina (J.Y.Yodkovsky did not mention her name) also got married through her uncle Yuri Ilyinich to Mr. Zbozhny Vernerovich. They both died before 1529 and left behind a son Stanislav and a daughter Anna.
The researcher’s information about Yuri Ivanovich’s children is more complete. Yuri’s elder son – Ivan (Yan), according to J.Y. Yodkovsky, received by his father’s will the estates Chernavchitsy, Lyntupy and Komarovo. But this information may be completed. Yuri deprived Ivan of the inheriting rights by his will in 1526 “because the latter brought sorrows and worries to his father”. But Ivan regained the rights for ownership after Yuri’s death. In 1526 he received the estate of Chernavchitsy. Besides Stanislav Ilyinich let his brothers Ivan and Shchasny have Lyntupy and Komarovo, which were devided in two. Vorontsevichi were owned by the brothers together.
Ivan Yuryevich Ilyinich was in the king’s good graces. On the 19th of August the king granted him possession of the towns of Mstislavl’ and Radoml’ but he had to give one half of tribute to prince Mikhail Mstislavsky. In 1529 the king’s governor in Mstislavl’ Ivan Ilyinich received two king’s decrees about the cases of the monasteries Pustynsky and Onufriyevsky. The verifying certificates may be found in the Acts applying to the history of West Russia. Ivan died childless in spring 1537. In the same year on the 24th of January he wrote a will by which he gave one third of his estates to his wife Elzhbeta Friedrichovna and other possessions – to his brother Shchasny. Ivan Yuryevich was buried together with his parents in the Roman Catholic St. Stanislav cathedral in Vilno.
There was no information about Yuri’s second son – Nikolay except his name. The date of Nikolay’s death was specified. He died soon after his father in the same year 1526 before sharing the father’s legacy.
In 1531 Yuri’s third son Stanislav died, who, according to J.Y.Yodkovsky, in 1526 inherited Mir from his father. We specified this date. Due to the archives documents he received Mir from his father in 1527 and a quarter of Byala – from his mother. In 1528 he gave 55 horses to the governmet, besides he gave 7 horses from the estate of Vorontsevichy which he did not share with his brothers. Stanislav owned Mir not long. In 1531 he died being young and childless. He was poisoned at a banquet by the wife of his servant Novitsky. The court sentenced the guilty to be burned. The sentence was performed by the brother Shchasny. In November of the same 1531 year the case between Shchasny and Ivan Ilyinich started. They argued about the ownership in Mir after the death of their brother Stanislav.
We also completed the information about the fourth son of Yuri – Shchasny (Felix). He inherited a quarter of Byala from his mother. As we noted above in 1531 after the death of Stanislav the case started between Shchasny and Ivan because of Mir. Mir castle went to Shchasny and other Mir farmsteads were given to Ivan. In 1528 Shchasny gave 32 horses to the government. His wife Sofya Radzivill died in 1544 and was buried in Vilno. Their only son Yuri was the last representative of Ilyinich family. We did not find any new information about him.
The fate of two Yuri’s daughters – Yadviga and Anna also may be traced in documents. Yadviga was Yan Abramovich’s wife, who in 1528 gave 43 horses to the government. She died before she got 30 years old.
Anna got married to Peter Stanislavovich Kishka – voivode of Polotsk (1521), head of the province of Drogichin and Zhmud’ and kashtelyan of Troky who in 1528 gave 224 horses to the army.
So, the research work of J.Y.Yodkovsky started the study of the genealogy of Ilyinich family. The information in his article is fundamental and may be used in the present time with some specifications and additions.

The following materials were used for this purpose:
Certificates applying the history of South and West Russia; Certificates applying the history of West Russia; materials of the National historical archives of Belarus; monographs by V.V. Kalnin (which deal with Mir castle) and by A.N. Narbut (about the history of Belarussian families). Studies by K. Nesetsky and S. Vysloukhy are also of scientific interest.
Some information was specified and new facts were found in the course of our work. The previous scheme by J.Y. Yodkovsky was almost completely preserved and completed.
According to J.Y. Yodkovsky, Ilyinichs were a magnate family (coat of arms “Korchak”) well known in the Great Lithuanian Principality in the 15th-16th centuries. Ivan is considered to be the founder of the family. He and his descendants were called Ilyinichs by the name of their forefather Ilya who was freed by Duke Vitovt from providing carts for the government what was confirmed in a charter issued by king Kasimir Yagellon in 1447........