Fulton-Greene County GaArchives News.....Atlanta and Moscow Linked by Thrilling War Romance July 17, 1921 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Denise Murphy denisemurphy13@msn.com March 1, 2008, 4:29 pm The Atlanta Constitution July 17, 1921 Atlanta and Moscow Linked by Thrilling War Romance By Bessie Shaw Stafford This could really be a “once upon a time story,” for little did Mrs. Hal Davison reckon when she, who at that time was Natalia Beklemisheva, volunteered for training as a nurse, and entered the hospital at Petrograd, when her own country, Russia, was a strong ally of the French and English armies arrayed against Germany, that fate would find her making her home in Atlanta, Ga., U.S.A., and residing in an attractive bungalow at 1047 Orme circle. In the year of 1914, when the Germans marched against France, the subject of this sketch entered upon her training at the St. Eugene hospital in Petrograd, from which she was graduated, afterward going to London in 1917 to visit her uncle, Peter Porohovshaikov, who was head of the Russian commission for placing ammunition orders and acting as legal advisor for his country. At this period, the grand duchess of Russia was visiting her cousin, the Dowager Queen Alexander, in London, and was also cut off from her country by the revolution, so as an act of patriotism, she sponsored the hospital at Harrogate, England, and among those who volunteered service as a war nurse was Natalia Beklenmisheva. Romance Begins. In the course of events and circumstances relating to the war, transfers placed her in other Russian hospitals. Then orders arrived to proceed to Siberia, and it was there where the real romantic adventure of her life began, and the Prince Charming of real life played the all important role. Dr. Hal Davison, an American army surgeon in the American forces, was serving in Russia, and after the completion of this service, he was discharged to take an appointment in the Red Cross in Siberia. It was in this latter country that the pathway of the nurse from Russia, and the physician from America crossed. This brings the story to the Red Cross hospital at Tomsk, Siberia, with Dr. Davison as the superintendent. There were fully 2,000 beds in the hospital, and only 40 nurses on the staff to care for the sick and wounded. Here the unit of 14 nurses and three doctors reported for duty from the British Red Cross which had been demobilized, having selected service in this hospital at Tomek, rather than return to England. Orders announced that the Bolshevik army was advancing and retreat must begin immediately, requiring three months to accomplish this forced move into Viadivostok. Thrice Wedded. Then came the deadly typhus which attacked Dr. Davison, and the pretty nurse appointed on his case was Natalie Beklemisheva. She saved his life with her careful and efficient manner of handling the case, so the fairy story runneth to the “and they married” stage, bring-wedding ceremony was performed on March 31, by L.W. Convis, of the Y.M.C.A. in Siberia. But this was not the only time Dr. and Mrs. Davison plighted their troth, for the second ceremony was performed in the Protestant church in Viadivostok by the Lutheran minister. On April 6, for the third and last ceremony, Dr. and Mrs. Davison stood in the Russian Orthodox church on the Russian Islands, near Viadivostock. A water color picture of this church, portraying the minaret type of Russian architecture, hangs on the all of the living room. The Yomel Maru. Following their marriage, Dr. Davison was named as one of the physicians, and Mrs. Davison as a nurse of the staff of the special boat, the Yomel Maru, a Japanese freighter, which had been chartered by the American Red Cross, in order that the children of Russia, about 300 in number, who had been separated from their parents on account of the internal conditions in Russia for two years, might be cared for. Admiral Kolchack, head of the government, requested the American Red Cross to take these children, both boys and girls to a Russian port on the Pacific and place them aboard the freighter, for a trip around the world, hoping that conditions would be settled on their return. The Yomel Maru was totally without accommodations, and these conveniences were hurriedly built for the trip. A staff of teachers was appointed, lessons organized, games and sports arranged, athletic drills and exercises made part of the daily program, while picture shows and dances formed some of the amusement features of the trip. The boat left on July 13, and spent two days in Japan, her first port. From there she made straightway for San Francisco, and two weeks were spent in the California city. New York via the Panama Canal, was the next stop, with a stay of two weeks on Staten Island. Here the children were entertained on their first visit to American by numerous patriotic societies. The destination was Finland, the western entrance to the borders of Russia, and after a trip lasting over three months, these children were turned over to the department of civilian relief, and 600, meaning a very large percentage, found their parents and relatives. Mrs. Davison Talks. Seated on handsomely embroidered pillows, brought from China, and placed on the floor before a divian in her home on Orme circle, Mrs. Davison talked in the most charming, unaffected and natural way, holding the writer’s attention with the interesting details of her life. She bears the strongest of close-up views, as her brunette beauty is of pronounced and clear type. Soulful brown eyes look at you and are expressive of humor and merriment, while her skin is fair enough to show that the deepening rich color is natural and untouched with rouge. Her hair is of the most exquisite shade of brown, with a glossy luster, bespeaking perfect care, which she wears plainly wound around her forehead. Shapely white hands denote her birth and breeding. Mrs. Davison was born in Moscow, and when she was one year old her mother died, and at five her father’s death left her an orphan. This --------- uncle, Peter Porohovshaiv ---- lawyer and a judge, being a ------lor, adopted her and planned ----- niece a careful and natural-------lined childhood. She was educated by governesses, who taught her Russian, French, English and -------- man languages, and she speaks -------fluently. When she was a little girl she ------ about the same sort of life ---- did the very same things any American gift might do in her girlhood days. She rode horseback, --- to dances, attended musicals ---------. Her friends were among - ------ own set, and she had many among royalty. The advantage of travel was hers, and with her uncle she spent much of her time I England, France and Switzerland. Little Pete. The best part of the “married and lived happily afterward” story has been saved for its close, in the personality of Pete Davison, the cutest little blonde baby boy, who is just about two months old, and named for the beloved uncle, Peter Porohovshaikov, in far away Russia, but who will come to Atlanta next Christmas to visit his niece and great nephew. Pete as yet takes his naps in his crib on the ----ping porch; plays with his baby --- and coos, all unconscious that his mother and daddy met in such romantic fashion, were married three times and gave their valuable services to a war-worn country—one as an American surgeon and the other as a Russian nurse; but some day he will grow up to manhood to appreciate the telling of this true story. Additional Comments: Hal McClum Davison was born in Woodville, GA. His parents were Charles C. and Elizabeth Davison. 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