Baron von Schilling

Baron Gustav Tobias von Schilling (1859–1912), known in Russian records as Gustav Gustavovich, was born in St. Petersburg. He attended the Petrischule, studied law at Dorpat, and completed his legal education in St. Petersburg. Before his American assignment he worked in the Foreign Ministry’s central offices. The Erik Amburger database identifies him as first secretary in Washington from 1892 to 1894. ¹

As chargé d’affaires in November 1892, Schilling brought the passport and naturalization certificate of Jacob Goldstein to the State Department for authentication. Goldstein was detained at Kharkov, and Russian officials suspected that his identity differed from the one in the documents. Alvey Adee told Schilling to submit a formal inquiry. Secretary of State John W. Foster objected that sending the papers across the Atlantic unnecessarily prolonged the detention and risked undermining the ordinary acceptance of American passports. ²

Schilling subsequently returned to ministry work, including service as an official for special assignments. He received the court rank of chamberlain in 1908. He died in Rome in 1912 and was buried in the Testaccio cemetery. ^{1, 3}