Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant

Julia Dent Grant Cantacuzène Speransky, known as Princess Cantacuzène and Countess Speransky, was born on June 6, 1876, and died on October 4, 1975. She was an American author and historian, and the eldest child of Frederick Dent Grant and Ida Marie Honoré. Her paternal grandfather was Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. Julia was born at the White House during her father's military service. Her mother was the daughter of Henry Honoré of Chicago, and her maternal grandmother was Julia Dent, a First Lady of the United States.

During her childhood, Julia Dent Grant lived with her family in various locations due to her father's military appointments. In 1889, her father was appointed as the United States minister to Austria-Hungary, leading the family to reside in Vienna, where Julia made her formal debut at the court of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. After her father's resignation in 1893, the family returned to New York.

In her early adult years, Julia traveled Europe with her maternal aunt, Bertha Palmer, between 1891 and 1893, promoting interest in the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and collecting art. She met Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène in Rome, who was serving at the Russian embassy. The couple became engaged after a brief courtship in Cannes, and they married in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 24, 1899. Their wedding included a Russian Orthodox ceremony and an Episcopal service.

The couple lived in Saint Petersburg or at their estate in Ukraine during their early married years. Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène served as aide-de-camp and later achieved the rank of Major-General and General in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He was wounded in 1914, and in 1915, as commander of the South Russia Cossacks, he led a significant cavalry charge. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the family fled Russia, escaping via Finland to the United States. Julia is known to have sewn her jewels into her clothing during their escape.

Julia and Mikhail had three children. They eventually settled in Sarasota, Florida, where they joined the firm founded by Julia’s aunt, Bertha Palmer. The marriage ended in divorce on October 27, 1934.

As an author, Julia Speransky wrote articles published in The New York Times, The Saturday Evening Post, and Woman's Home Companion. Her published books include "Revolutionary Days: Recollections of Romanoffs and Bolsheviki" (1919), "Russian People; Revolutionary Recollections" (1920), and "My Life Here and There" (1922). All were published by Charles Scribner's Sons in the United States and Chapman & Hall in London.

In her later years, she was a founder of the Sulgrave Club. She went blind before age 80 but regained partial eyesight shortly before her 90th birthday. Julia Dent Grant Speransky died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 99 and was buried at the National Cathedral.