New-York tribune., 1875-11-25
WILLIAM B. ASTOR.
uIs DEATH YESTERDAY.

.tor On the Goth Of March. 1S4s. tins son died IN
che CITY Of New-York. worth S2O,OOo,ooo' lester
asv his sou died worth. it is said, many mhii'ohs
-. 60 uho history nj this remarkable family Is the
h;s,orv Of each one Of them-s record OF genus III
.at;nc money combined with q genius for
Ino,;no IT. In single century their Efforts have
huilt up snch power that for an AStor 70 de is IKE
the death of king change IN dynasty NOT
that it affects the currents of politics or stops the
busy tide of life in the great city; Tor the richest
nan in America scarcely welded more political in
snonce tbap the poorest and his person was little
t,own TO the curious eyes of the public. But the
t;ngdom in wealth and property the dead Astor
laves behind him is SO vast and bounds the lives of
40 many, rich and poor. that the news viii come
home 70 thousands with personal meaning.
Itwas perhaps the misfortune OF William b. Astor
.hat he was compelled to spend his life in guarding
and increasing his fathers property. The task left
him no time for great ventures of his own. AS MI
Parton puts it, all the wages heTeceiTe for somuch
esre and toll is moderate subsistence for himself
and his family and the very troublesome reputation
NJ heinc the richest man in America" With such
rreat cares TO crowd his life there could be few
events and no romance in it. He was the patient
ahatemons. and laborous heir of the AstOr estate"
and the mas of his felow-citzens knew little else Of
b;r II Il by the impressive and almost incredible
history Of the first of the AstOrs that most of them
iii he iudged Yet each of his descendants has had
marked traits of his own and they by no means de-
ervs to be merged completely IN the founder OF the
line.
The original capital of the great AstOr estate may
la .s,d n have been the crown or two which John
J,cob had IN his pocket when at II he set out from
Waldorf with his bundle on his shoulder. He was
an hi, wav to America a journey that had been the
dream of his b0yish ambition for years hiIe vet
IN sight of his native village, he sat down under
tree and made three solemn resolutions 10 De
hoDest b be industrious, and not 70 gamble an
Of which he seems 10 have kept. lie worked
his passage down the Rhine by rowing
an the RATS of timber cut from the
BLACK Forest and earned enough to carry
him TO England where he took shelter with hls
brother George. who had already entered his uncles
papo and flute factory in London, the firm name
being then Astor & Broadwood, since widely known
a. Brnadwood g. Co. One of Young AStors biog-
rapbers saws he brought to London " pious, true,
and godly spirit, clear understanding. a SOUND
vonthfu elbow-Tease and the wish TO put II to good
use" His stay in England was merely tor the pur-
nose Of saving sufficient money and learning enough
of the language to set him on his feet IN America
II took two wears of the most rigid economy to give
him good suit of clothes and II guineas in money
and when he had succeeded in doing this, the news
of the treaty of peace which formally recognized
the independence Of the United States gave the
signal for his departure. Five Of his guneas went
for a ,teerage ticket, and some Of the rest he in
vested in flutes. that by this time the AStor
fortune had increased 10 seven flutes and five pounds
sterling in money II was from one Of his fellow
passengers that he got the notion OF buying furs Of
the Indians and frontier men and selling them 20 The
Iarre dealers In New-YOrk ne found another
brother. Henry. who welcomed him and bis flutes,
which we're about all be had left. owing TO two
months imprisonment in the ice OF Chesapeake
Bay. He soon found employment with
Quaker furrier At - a week and board. for he had
wisely resolved 60 learn the business before embark
ing in n. His wages raised at the end OF the
FIRST month. and he soon employed IN purchasing
frs and was sent up into Canada in place Of ms en-
ployer. All this time he graspng on every side
all the information he could get Of his business and
its countless details. and before long left the good
Quaker behind and struck out ioT himself. His trst
little shop was on Watefst.. where he worked early
and late and now and then travelling on foot over
the state TO purchase furS. II was not long
before his enterprise took him 10 London.
where he not only established advantageous con-
naclous with houses IL hs trade. but closed an
arraug cement to become the New-York agent Of the
house Of Astor & Broadw0od, becoming, II IS said
the first regular dealer in musical instruments III
New-YOrk. His WIFE the mother Of llham d.
Astor. was Sarah Todd whose dowry was $500 and
what was worth much mOre-a hearty desire o
help in her husbands business She became such
useful partner to hun that her husband used TO de-
clare "tnat her opinion in a matter Of busl-
ness was better than that OF most mer-
chants He was going now through the stage
which be afterwaTd described in this character
istic way: "The first hundred thousand dol
bapd tt Upt ]
easy TO make more" When be had been hard at
work lor fifteen years and was worth quarter Of
million he took for the first time house separate
from his store. Now be begau to buy ships and his
sails 70 whiten the Eastern seas. Riches rolled MP
on riches like snow a SNOWFALL WITH his quiet
way Of life. his uuOstentatous bearing, and ms
frugal pleasures, he was worth million, he used
70 say. before any suspected it,
The great secret OF the AstOr fortune seems 10
have been that Of buying real estate and keeping
hold Of T. This was the early policy OF the founder
Of the family. and William b. AstOr made 1t almost
the busines, Of his life. Not the revenue from his
great business that soon stretched TO nearly every
quarter of the globe but his astuteness in putting
away the profits here and there made John Jacob
Astor the owner Of twenty millions. lie had pro
found faith IN the future of his adopted city, and
kept buying and buying usually beyond the limits
of the rity and beyond tie boundaries of Tie most
sanguine expectations To give instances, ne sold
Wa-i. lot for - 900, then rather low price and
bought 30 lots above Caual-st., which were soon
worth $4,000. lie bought the Richmond Hill es-
tate of Aaron Burr. loo acres, at $1,000 an acre
and II years after il was worth $1,000 iot Ills
echeine Of Astoria was one which, he said. would
have made him. if successful, the richest man III Tire
world. IL was to maintain line Of trading-posts
from ST. Louis 20 the Pacific, depot OF skins ana