Eva Aurora Charlotta Karamzin (née Stjernvall; 1 or 7 August 1808 – 13 May 1902) was a Finnish philanthropist and a lady-in-waiting in the Imperial Court of Russia. She is better known as Princess Aurora Demidova and Aurora Karamzina, titles that were acquired after her first and second marriages, to Pavel Nikolayevich Demidov and Andrei Karamzin, respectively.
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Early life
Karamzin was born on 1 August, 1808 at the Saari Manor in Ulvila, Finland, into a Swedish-speaking noble family. She was the daughter of lieutenant colonel Carl Johan Stjernvall and his wife, Baroness Eva Gustava von Willebrand, daughter of Baron Ernst Gustaf von Willebrand and his wife Wendla Gustava Wright. Through her mother, Karamzin was related to Adolf Fredrik Munck and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. She had an older brother, Emil, and two younger sisters, Emilie and Alexandra (Aline). Emil later became the Finnish Minister of State and a Baron. Emilie married Count Vladimir Musin-Pushkin; one of her daughters was Marie Linder, who became one of the first Finnish female writers. Alexandra became the second wife of 1st Baron of Seisal José Maurício Correia Henriques, later 1st Viscount of Seisal and 1st Count of Seisal.
Karamzin's father Carl Johan Stjernvall was a high official in the Grand Duchy of Finland, becoming the First Governor of the Viipuri Province in 1812. He acted in that role for three years before his death in 1815. The following year, Karamzin's mother married Procurator Carl Johan Walleen (1781-1867), who had also succeeded Stjernvall as the Governor of the Viipuri Province. Through this union, Karamzin had three half-brothers, one of whom (Vladimir Alfons) became a Major General and a Governor.