I checked something off my bucket list yesterday: a trip to Coal Grove, Ohio, to find the grave of a Russian ballerina.
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| Image from findagrave.com |
Antoinette Sherpetoksy was born in Lithuania May 7,1894, in the days of Imperial Russia. From an early age she trained as a ballerina until as a teenager she was performing with the Imperial Russian Ballet, in front of royalty. It has been said that Czar Nicholas II was so taken with her that he gifted her with valuable jewelry.
Her family left Russia, possibly due to the turbulence of the political situation and the poverty that had much of the Russian population in its grip in the early 1900's, and moved to Chicago sometime before 1910.
Antoinette continued to perform in her new home. She became a member of a Chicago ballet company, and was given the nickname "Teeny" because of her small stature. She was considered, however, to be a perfect physical specimen and was featured on the cover of a magazine of the time as a prime example of the human form.
Teeny met her husband James Peters in Chicago. A native of Ironton, Ohio, he was an industrialist, an inventor who worked within the steel industry; he was also a writer, according to his obituary, although I do not know what kind of writing he did. This was the heyday of the steel industry in both Ohio and Chicago, and the Peters became quite well-to-do and well-known, he in industrial and business circles and Teeny in the art world. She toured extensively for many years.
Teeny opened a school for dance In Chicago. After James retired and the couple moved to his hometown of Coal Grove (originally named Petersburg for his father who was and early industrialist in the area and laid out the town), she continued to operate her school in Chicago and taught dance in Florida as well when the couple moved to Del Ray Beach in the Sunshine State. The Peters kept a home in Chicago, however, and often visited the Chicago area. I can imagine that Teeny longed for the artistic world of the city in which she had lived for so many years.
It was the day before her birthday, May 6, 1962, that tragedy struck. While in the Chicago area to visit family, the Peters' car was struck by a car driven by a young man whose vehicle swerved across the median and struck them. Teeny was killed instantly, as was the young man and his companion.
James had his beloved wife's body brought to Coal Grove, Ohio to be interred in a glass-topped casket in a mausoleum in his family's plot in the historic Woodland Cemetery. The jewels given her by the Tzar were buried with her. Eleven years later James would be buried in the mausoleum by her side.
But Teeny was not to enjoy eternal rest. The mausoleum was vandalized, her coffin opened and the jewels stolen. The Peters' coffins were moved to a new mausoleum and enameled portraits of the couple were placed on the outside. Sadly, vandals targeted those too, and the portraits were eventually destroyed and removed. You can still see the outline of the ovals on the outside of the mausoleum.
The cemetery is beautiful, filled with mature trees and wandering lanes.
One section is reserved for veterans of the Civil War.
There were flowers on the door, testimony that Teeny has not been forgotten. A stained glass window graces the back wall.
Peeking through the barred front entrance to see the stained glass.
Local legend has it that the ballerina is still dancing. She has been seen twirling among the gravestones at night to some ghostly music that only she can hear.
All I can say is, dance on, Teeny.
Thee local historical society sometimes offers a ghost walk through the cemetery, and I believe it would be well worth attending.
If you want to visit Teeny, here is the easiest way to find Woodland Cemetery:
From Huntington, WV take Route 52 West to the Coal Grove exit (Route 243). At the end of the exit ramp, turn left. Go about 1/2 mile or maybe less, past a Wendy's and a Speedway. You will come to a 3-way stop. Turn right--you'll be on old 52 West. Go about 1-2 miles and turn right onto Lorain Street. Stay on Lorain for a pretty good way--at least a mile, I think. You'll pass some industrial/business sites and go over the 4-lane highway. The cemetery is on the right. (It closes at dusk, so please do not trespass!)
Sources:
1910 US Census
Ironton Tribune newspaper article
Russian Revolution, History.com
Findagrave.com
Balletwebb
The Lawrence Register
Theresa's Haunted History of the Tristate
Ancestry.com
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
Thank you for sharing this interesting bit of history!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the story, Brig!
DeleteSo tragic. Sad that the graves were vandalized. But im glad she still dances!!
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking of what a life she must have had, the changes she saw in her lifetime. Amazing.
DeleteWhat an interesting post, Sue. Our esteemed government has just announced new immigration laws to come into force now that we're no longer part of the EU. It will be much harder to recruit care workers, nurses and seasonal agricultural workers from abroad, but apparently foreign ballerinas will still be able to work here - so that's alright then!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy, John! But who understands the ways of the politicians? Certainly not me.
DeleteA lovely story, up until the accident.
ReplyDeleteHow could her husband have expected her glass covered coffin, with jewels, to be safe?????????????????????
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A good question. I suppose he thought because the mausoleum was locked, the cemetery closed its gates at dark, and they had security on the grounds? Still seems odd. But then, he was acting while still in deep mourning, and one doesn't think so rationally at that time.
DeleteOh I enjoyed reading about the famous ballerina
ReplyDelete