Early Life
Maria was born into a wealthy noble family in Kiernozia. Her father, who died before she was born, was a landowner and starosta of Gostyń; her mother came from the wealthy Zaborowski family. Maria had six siblings: Benedykt Jozef, Hieronim, Teodor, Honorata, Katarzyna and Urszula-Teresa. She grew up in her ancestral home, Kiernozia, where she also received her education. Nicholas Chopin, Frédéric Chopin's father, was one of her tutors.
In 1805 she married Athenasius count Colonna-Walewski, starosta of Warka district and a once-chamberlain to the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. Walewski was a wealthy landowner, but was four times older than his young bride. Maria and Athenasius had one son, Antoni Rudolf Bazyli Colonna-Walewski, although it is believed by some historians that he was an illegitimate child, conceived shortly before Maria's marriage.
Read more about this topic: Marie Walewska
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