Peter Demens ( – January 21, 1919),''Full Steam Ahead! The Story of Peter Demens. Founder of St. Petersburg, Florida.'' Albert Parry. p. 4 & p. 47 Great Outdoors Publishing Company. 1987. born Pyotr Alekseyevich Dementyev (), was a Russian nobleman who migrated in 1881 to the United States and became a railway owner and one of the founders of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, United States.

Early life

Demens was born in May 1850 as Pyotr Alexeyevitch Dementyev to a wealthy family in Vesyegonsky District,

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much o ...

, in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Demens was a liberally minded, well-educated aristocrat, a first cousin of Prince Petroff and a captain in the

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard ( ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as counterintelligence for preventing sabot ...

. His father died when he was an infant, leaving him two estates, one near the czar's capital of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and another close to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

.Jim Robison. "When Florida Boom Went Bust, Russian Nobleman Turned To Writing". ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' (Florida). OSCEOLA; P. K6. March 23, 2003. His mother died when he was 4. He reportedly grew up in a stone house with servants and became master of his family estate at 17. He received training as a forester managing his large family estates, which would serve him well in the future. Demens was raised by his maternal uncle Anastassy Alexandrovich Kaliteevsky, marshal of the Vesyegonsk district nobility, who became the boy's tutor and guardian of his land estates. When he was 10, Demens was sent to Saint Petersburg to study at Gymnasium No. 3. Demens did well enough to transfer to the First Technical School in Saint Petersburg. In 1867, he became a lieutenant in the czar's infantry guard. He rose through the ranks to command sentries at the czar's

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

and the home of Crown Prince Alexander III. Four years later, he resigned his commission and became a squire. He married Raisa Borisenko, who was also an orphan brought up by relatives. He was elected as county marshal of nobility, and became an outspoken writer and active in his rural government. It is reported that Demens sympathized with populist leaders and never adopted

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

or radical notions. Some sources state that Demens became outspoken about the czarist regime and left Russia following the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881. Other sources note that he left Russia as a political exile in 1880. He emigrated to the United States and anglicized his name to Peter Demens.

In the United States

In May 1881, "leaving his family behind, emenssailed for

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, hoping for American promise of mobility and opportunity". He reportedly "spent his sea voyage studying an English language textbook". "Arriving in New York with $3,000 to start a new life, Demens embarked for Florida" ("spending one day in New York before boarding a train bound for his cousin's

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

orange grove"). Because land in Jacksonville was expensive for him at the time, Demens took "a steamer to the back country, where he expected to get more for his money". He decided to enter the lumber business ("investing in a sawmill and a construction company in Longwood, Fla."William H. Parsons. "Raise a toast to Demens (de-MENS)". '' St. Petersburg Times'' (Florida). NEIGHBORHOOD TIMES; GUEST COLUMN; P. 2. May 24, 2000.), and in 1885 Demens was supplying railroad ties to the narrow-gauge Orange Belt Railway. When the railroad could not pay its debts, Demens took over its charter. As owner of the railroad, Demens " xtendedits lines to link Kissimmee with Jacksonville and

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

" (with the help of

Hamilton Disston Hamilton Disston (August 23, 1844 – April 30, 1896)"He Died Without Warning", ''The Washington Post'' (May 1, 1896). was an American industrialist and real-estate developer who purchased 4 million acres (16,000 km²) of Florida land in 18 ...

). Among potential investors, he successfully invited and entertained Philip D. Armour in Florida, and named a train depot in his honor. Demens went into great debt to get the line completed, and sold it in 1889; the railroad eventually was bought by Henry B. Plant, owner of the

Plant System The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western ...

of railroads. Demens co-founded

, with John Constantine Williams Sr. On June 8, 1888, the first train pulled into the terminus in southern

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

(the end of the line) with one passenger. The area had no official name and no real streets or sidewalks. After a drawing of straws, Demens won and named the location of his terminus St. Petersburg, Florida, after Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he had spent half his youth. Williams would have named it

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, which name was given to the first hotel.

Death and legacy

Demens eventually retired to Alta Loma, California, to the family ranch that later became known as the Demens-Tolstoy Estate. He died there in January 1919; he was survived by his wife, three sons, and two daughters. Reportedly, "the descendants of Peter Demens now live in California and British Columbia, ncludinga grandson, Peter Demens Tolstoy ("writer

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

, who wrote ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' and '' The Death of Ivan Ilych'', is his great-grand uncle"), a great-grandson, Greg Demens, and a great-great-grandson, Greg Demens." Demens Landing in St. Petersburg, Florida is named in his honor. In 1979, a historical marker honoring Demens was erected in St. Petersburg, Florida, by the Congress of Russian Americans.

Sources

* Gene Burnett
"Florida's Past: People and Events That Shaped the State"
Pineapple Press. August 1998. History – 280 pages. . * Grismer, Karl H. "The Story of St. Petersburg". St. Petersburg, FL: P. K. Smith, 1948. * Peter Demens. "My Life in America". * Mohoff, George & Jack Valov. "A Stroll Through Russiantown" 1996. Chapter 13, pp. 83–88, "Captain Peter A. Demens".

References

External links