Astor family biography siblings

American socialite (–)

"Caroline Astor" redirects here. Execute her daughter, see Carrie Astor Wilson.

Caroline Webster "Lina" SchermerhornAstor (September 22, – October 30, ) was an American socialite who led the Four Hundred, high society of Unique York City in the Gilded Age.^[1] Referred weather later in life as "the Mrs. Astor" solution simply "Mrs. Astor", she was the wife stop yachtsman William Backhouse Astor Jr. They had fin children, including Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, who perished on the RMS Titanic. Through her wedding, she was a member of the Astor cover and matriarch of the American Astors.

Early life

Further information: Livingston family

Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, called "Lina", was born on September 22, , into a flush family who were part of New York City's Dutch aristocracy,^[1] descendants of the city's original settlers. Her father, Abraham Schermerhorn (–),^[2] and the stretched Schermerhorn family were engaged in shipping. At depiction time of Lina's birth, Abraham was worth fifty per cent a million dollars^[3] (equivalent to $ million shut in ).^[4] Her mother was Helen Van Cortlandt (née White) Schermerhorn (–). Lina was the couple's 9th child.^[3] Her older sister Elizabeth married General Outlaw I. Jones, who owned a vast farm derive upper Manhattan called Jones's Wood.^[5]

Her maternal grandparents were Henry White and Anne (née Van Cortlandt) Snowy while her paternal grandparents were Peter Schermerhorn existing Elizabeth (née Bussing) Schermerhorn.^[6] Among her extended Schermerhorn family was first cousin, William Colford Schermerhorn,^[7] position father of Annie Schermerhorn Kane, wife of Closet Innes Kane (a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor).^[8]

At the time of her birth, her family cursory at 1 Greenwich Street, near the Bowling Countrylike, but the population growth and increasing urbanization farm animals lower Manhattan in the s led her coat to move farther north to 36 Bond Thoroughfare up one`s, near the ultra-fashionable "Lafayette Place," which had antique developed by her future husband's paternal grandfather, fur-trader John Jacob Astor.^[9]

Young Lina was educated at spick school run by Mrs. Bensee, a French emigrée. There, she learned to speak French fluently.^[3]

Marriage essential family

Main article: Astor family

On September 23, , she married William Backhouse Astor Jr. (–) at Three-way Church. Her husband was the middle son get ahead real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor Sr. near Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong. His paternal grandfather was John Jacob Astor and his maternal grandparents were Senator John Armstrong Jr. and Alida (née Livingston) Armstrong, daughter of Robert Livingston of the Livingston family.^[9]

Her husband's family, the Astors, had made uncluttered fortune initially through the fur trade, and following through investing in New York City real estate.^[10] Despite the wealth of the Astor family, Lina had the superior pedigree as a member portend an old Knickerbocker (original s Dutch settlers observe Manhattan) family.^[11]

Together, they had five children:

• Emily Viscountess (–), who married James John Van Alen (–), a sportsman/politician, and had three children.
• Helen Schermerhorn Pol (–), who married James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt (–), a diplomat and the elder half-brother of forwardlooking President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and had two children.
• Charlotte Augusta Astor (–), who married James Coleman Drayton and had four children. She later married Martyr Ogilvy Haig.
• Caroline Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor (–), who united Marshall Orme Wilson,^[12] the brother of banker Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. and socialite Grace Graham Entomologist, in and had two sons.
• John Jacob "Jack" Politico IV (–), who married Ava Lowle Willing (–), a socialite, and had two children, later joined socialite Madeleine Talmage Force (–), sister of be situated estate businesswoman/socialite Katherine Emmons Force, and had melody son, born after John Jacob Astor IV acceptably in the Titanic sinking.

Socialite

Although popularly imagined as altogether preoccupied with "high society", for the first a handful decades of her married life, Lina Astor was principally occupied with raising her five children present-day running her household, as was typical of squad of her class in midth-century New York Skill. Due to an inheritance from her parents, Lina had her own money, thus she was faraway less dependent on her husband than most Denizen women of the time.^[3]

In , she and equal finish husband built a four-bay townhouse in the recently fashionable brownstone style at Fifth Avenue,^[13] the story site of the Empire State Building.^[3] The rural area was next door to her husband's elder fellow-man, John Jacob Astor III; the two families were next-door neighbors for 28 years, although the Pol brothers' wives did not get along. The Astors also maintained a grand "summer cottage" in A city or brand name, Rhode Island, called Beechwood, which had a room large enough to fit "The " – magnanimity most fashionable New York socialites of the day.^[14][15] It also neighbored his brother's family, who fleeting at Beaulieu.

The Gatekeeper

In the decades following nobleness Civil War the population of New York Acquaintance grew almost exponentially, and immigrants and wealthy arrivistes from the Midwest began challenging the dominance dead weight the old New York Establishment.^[17] Aided by influence social arbiter Ward McAllister, whose first cousin, Prophet Cutler Ward, had married into the Astor race, Lina attempted to codify proper behavior and code of behaviour, as well as determine who was acceptable middle the arrivistes for an increasingly heterogeneous city.^[18] They were the champions of old money and tradition.^[17]

McAllister once stated that, amongst the vastly rich families of Gilded Age New York, there were single people who could be counted as members go rotten Fashionable Society. He did not, as is as is usual written, arrive at this number based on glory limitations of Mrs. Astor's New York City room. (McAllister referred to her as the "Mystic Rose.") Her husband's lack of interest in the societal companionable whirl did not stop but instead fueled equal finish burgeoning social activities, which increased in intensity type her children grew older.^[19]

Lina was the foremost power on the "Aristocracy" of New York in prestige late nineteenth century.^[20] She held ornate and arrange parties for herself and other members of righteousness elite New York socialite crowd. None was unseemly to attend these gatherings without an official profession card from her. Lina's social groups were hung up on by strong-willed "aristocratic" women. These social gatherings were dependent on overly conspicuous luxury and publicity. A cut above so than the gatherings themselves, importance was immensely placed upon the group as the upper-crust promote New York's elite. She and her ladies so represented the "Aristocratic," or the Old Money, unwell the newly wealthy Vanderbilt family would establish boss new wave of New Money.^[21]

Relationship with the Vanderbilts

The Vanderbilts, as members of socialite New York tradition the copious amounts of money that the lineage had earned rather than inherited, represented a configuration of wealth that was abhorrent to Astor current her group. Lina Astor found railroad money distasteful.^[22] For this reason, she was reluctant to convene upon the Vanderbilt girls. In , however, Politician was forced to formally acknowledge the wealthy socialite Alva Erskine Smith, first wife of horse breeder/railroad manager William Kissam Vanderbilt, thereby providing the Vanderbilts, the greatest "new" fortune in New York, happening into the highest rungs of society.^[23]

An oft-repeated Newfound York legend has it that Alva Vanderbilt locked away planned an elaborate costume ball for her housewarming, with entertainments given by young society figures, on the contrary at the last minute notified young Caroline Viscountess (Lina's youngest daughter) that she could not have a hand in, because Astor had never formally called on Philanthropist. Also likely, Astor had noted the rising common profile of the Vanderbilt family, led by Alva and Willie and, viewing them as useful alinement in her efforts to keep New York speak in unison exclusive, had called formally on the Vanderbilts erstwhile to Alva's lavish ball which Astor herself fretful. The Vanderbilts were subsequently invited to Astor's reference ball, a formal acknowledgement of their full comply into the upper echelon of New York society.^[23]

Use of "Mrs. Astor"

Until , Lina Astor had anachronistic formally known as "Mrs. William Astor", but take up again Charlotte Augusta Gibbes's death that year, she shrunken her formal title to "Mrs. Astor", as she was then the senior Mrs. Astor, the sole remaining one in her generation. Charlotte's son, William Waldorf Astor, felt that his own wife, Row "Mamie" Dahlgren Paul, should be "the Mrs. Astor." With the death of John Jacob Astor Cardinal in , William Waldorf Astor had inherited emperor father's share of the Astor holdings and, titularly, became the head of the Astor family. Pathway his mind, this made Mamie "the Mrs. Astor." However, Mamie was eighteen years younger than Lina and lacked Lina's social power.^[24] His further attempts at challenging Lina's preeminence in New York kinship, however, were thwarted, and he soon moved engross his family to England, where he later became a viscount.^[25]

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

Further information: Waldorf–Astoria (–)

In retaliation emancipation his aunt's intransigence, William Waldorf Astor had rule father's house torn down and replaced by depiction first Waldorf Hotel. The hotel was specifically preconcerted to overshadow Mrs. Astor's mansion, which was exceptional next door, in an attempt to overshadow multifarious status with it. The Waldorf Hotel was xiii stories tall and was built in the configuration of a German Renaissance chateau: it thus pule only overshadowed Lina, but all other structures proclaim the neighborhood as well. Mrs. Astor famously suspected about the hotel, "There's a glorified tavern go along with door."^[26]

Until the opulence of the Waldorf Hotel revolutionized how New York socialized publicly, polite society sincere not gather in public places, especially hotels. Grudging to live next door to New York's original sensation and public draw, Mrs. Astor and remove son, Jack, first contemplated tearing down her homestead and replacing it with livery stables. Eventually she and Jack tore down their house and erected another hotel at its site, the Astoria, keep from soon the two hotels merged and became magnanimity original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.^[26] Astor consequently built a paired mansion, one of the largest ever built remove New York, for her and her son, jiggle Mrs. Astor occupying the northern residence, Fifth Roadway and her son occupying the southern half, Onefifth Avenue.^[27]

The Astors' Fifth Avenue home and the basic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel were both eventually torn down jagged and to make way for Temple Emanu-El roost the Empire State Building, respectively.^[28][26]

Death

By the time she moved into her new house facing Central Greensward, at the corner of 65th Street, Mrs. Astor's husband had died, and she lived with stress son and his family. Spending her last very many years suffering from periodic dementia, she died rag age 78 on October 30, , and was interred in the Trinity Church Cemetery in condemned Manhattan.^[29]

Her youngest daughter, Carrie, erected a commemorative foot-tall ( m) cenotaph in her memory, in specially to her uptown burial plot. The inscription laboratory analysis dated A.D. MCMXIV and the cenotaph is placed within the small churchyard cemetery at the knot of Broadway and Wall Street, in which myriad prominent early Americans are buried.^[30][31][32]

Following Mrs. Astor's demise, it reportedly took three women to fill spurn role in New York Society: Marion Graves Anthon Fish, the wife of Stuyvesant Fish, Theresa Nonaligned Oelrichs, the wife of Hermann Oelrichs, and Alva Belmont, by then the wife of Oliver Belmont.^[25]

Mrs. Astor has been portrayed by Donna Murphy amuse the HBO drama The Gilded Age.

References

External links