Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-08-18
Aston AND HIS MONEY.
now HE MADE 1T AND HOW He KEPT \
THE LOVE OF IT RULED HIN LIKE
A TYRANT.

now HE MADE 1T AND HOW HE KEPT Il
THE LOVE OF IT RULED HIN LIKE
A TYRAHT.
The ancient city Of Heidelberg il
famous throughout the world no les
for its silk stocking and handkerchie
manufacture, cotton, wax-lights, etc.
than for its institutions of learning
And who has not heard OF the rin d,
Neckar, pressed from grapes grown OF
both sides OF tho mountain in its capac
ious tun, originally containing five hun
dred and twenty-eight hogsheads, and
when rebuilt, enlarged to six hundred
which is still shown to strangers p
Though the castle and the garden arr
in ruins, the statues Of the ancient elec
tors and Count Palatines are still to b,
seen ON the front of the CASTLE and thu
remains of the hall of tho chevalieri
are still visible; while the granite col
umns formerly supporting part O.
the imperial palace at ingclhcim, neal
Mayence, are seen supporting the roo
OF the fountain Of the castle.
1t was near this historic city, in the
little village of Waldorf, not quite .
decade over n century ago, that the
light of the world first shone upon O
person who was destined to a remark
able career in the New World for
here John Jacob Astor was born on
the 18th of July, 1903.
His father, Jacob Astor, was butcher
Of that village, and "nc'er-do. well" OF
tho RIP Van WiHkie kind, who having
little TO do in his line Of business in q
village where animal food was consid.
cred a luxury, spent his leisure time,
which was pretty much all Of it, in
about the way poor Rip did, though
we are not informed that he ever be.
came the worse for liquor, excepting
to become us idle as the bcer-guzzling
gossips did who spent their time in the
beer-house, where the father of the
future wealthy New York merchant
made merry over his troubles, and for.
got them in the hilarity surrounding
him.
Yet there was one season Of the year
when business was brisk with old Jacob,
and that was during the harvest time.
Ii was then the custom in Germany
for the farmers to each set apart a bull
lock, calf sheep or pig, and fatten
against the harvest season and these
animals the village butcher was called
upon to kill and prepare. So this sea
son found jolly Jacob Astor on his
journey from house TO house, making
sausage-mcat of the big, or otherwise
preparing the flesh of the other animals
in the way the owner desired, fire.
quently spending from one to several
days at the house where he was en-
gagged, according to the length of time
il took him to accomplish his work.
Jacob Astor's wife, and the mother
of our hero, was, however, different
person than her shiftless husband
She was thrifty, hard-working, saving,
and as devoted to her family as her
husband was to the beer-house. II the
truth must be told Dame Astor was
blessed (2) with a peculiarity of the
Van JVinkle household, as well as her
husband, "a somewhat free use of the
tongue, which she used in vixenish
manner at times, with much the same
result that attended Dame Van Wnkie's
exercise Of II, though in this case II
drove the boys from home to seek con.
gcniality in the world at large, and
seemed to have little effect on the easy.
going husband and father.
So out from beneath the parental
roof went the Astor boys at a compar.
atively young age, and, inhcriting their
mothers's thrift and business qualities,
fought their way successfully. Two
Of the brothers of our hero had pre-
ceded him-one to become dealer in
musical instruments in London, and
the other to follow his fathers calling
in Baltimore.
II had been the intention of tho fa-
ther to have John Jacob follow his own
calling; but the soul of the youth re-
belled against the "uncanny" business,
and so at the age of sixteen he was al
lowed to go out into the world to seek
his fortune; but not till after the death
Of his mother, and the marked dislike
to him taken by the step-mother his
father brought home subsequently to
the event.
With two dollars in his pocket, and
his scanty wardrobe swung over his
shoulder on stick, the future million
aire passed the confines of the Black
Forest, and reached the Rhine, where
he was soon in negotiation with some
Of the lumbermen for chance at the
oar of one of the immense RATS of that
region, which, instead of floating down
stream, as on our rivers, are rowed by
n large number of men, sometimes sew
cnty or eighty to a craft; and as the
work is hard, and disasters often over
take the laborers, the wages paid are
high for that country-at that time be-
ing about ten dollars for the two weeks
passage, in addition TO the coarse fare
furnished.
But what were either labor or dan
gertoyoung Astor? His eye was upon
London, and America invited him
smilingly at future day, when the
war should cease its ravagcs; for ever
since his elder brother had been in
America, il seemed to him as though
that was to be his future home.
Hence il was with enthusiastic earn.
cstncss that our future merchant Ia
bored at the oar that was 10 aid in car.
rying him to his destiny, and with
pride he took his first-earncd ten dol
lars when the raft arrived at the little
Dutch seaport of Katwykaan Zoe, at
the mouth of the Rhine, where he was
not long in engaging passage for Lon
don. Here, in his brothers manufac-
tory, he went to work at once but
worked as hard in learning the English
language Ms in making musical instru-
mcnts, so that in six weeks time he
could speak It sufficiently well to make
himself understood, though TO the day
of his death he could not rid himself OF
the Gcrmanic accent.
In September, 1888, news of the
peace between Great Britain and tho
colonies was published in Europe, and
young Astor Immediately made pre-
parations to emigratc to the Old World.
4 - A ~ 4 A..