Family and Friends --Bielinksa -- Biography

Ludovica Maria Bielinska, née Morsztynowna was the daughter of the Royal Treasurer of Poland, Jan Andrzej Morsztyn (Morstin) (1621-1693). Morsztyn was not only active in politics (supporting strong ties of Poland to France), he also became a major literary figure, translating Tasso, Marino and Corneille into Polish. His own poetic style was heavily influenced by Giambattista Marino (1569-1625). In 1680 the daughter of this multifaceted and influential man married Casimir Ludwig Bielinski, Starost of Marienburg, not far from Danzig. He was Royal Treasurer of Poland from 1702 until his death in 1713. In 1716 their daughter, Katharina (1684-1761) married Baron Johann Viktor Besenval. (Later, in Paris, Jean-Jacques Rousseau became a tutor in her house.) In 1710 their son, Franz Bielinski (1683-1766), became Starost of Marienburg and a General in the Polish Royal Guard. In 1733 Franz Bielinski accompanied Stanislaus Leszczynski to Danzig after his election as King of Poland. However, after Stanislaus was deposed for the second time Franz Bielinski entered the services of August III, the new King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. In 1742 this king appointed him Royal Grand Marshall of Poland. In Warsaw Franz Bielinski acquired a large, select library and subsidized various authors and their works, most notably Lukas Gornicki, the elder.