The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-12-09
The Late William B. AstOr.

The Late William B. AstOr.
The New York San gives the follow
ing facts regarding the late William b.
Aston, who died on the oath ult.:
AsToR's YOUTH.
John Jacob Astor, the father Of vii
liam b. Astor, was born in Heidelberg,
and, coming 10 this country in early life,
embarked in the fur trade and amassed
fortune. Mm. h. Astor was born at
l49 broadway, on the l9th of Septem-
Der, 1872 There his father carried on
his busiGrSs as a hirrier, and lived with
his family In she same house. Six years
after the birth of the future millionaire,
the elder Aston, having accumulated be-
tween S2OO, 900 and SS0o,000 hired a
house N 223 Broadway, the site of the
existing Aston House, and moved into it
with his family, retaining the premises
in the lower part of the city as a place
of business only. From q very early
period of his life William Il. Astor was
his fathers principal assistant. He
learned the fur business thoroughly,
and acquired, too, those habits of in
dustry, perseverance, aud economy
which finally made him the Rothschild
of America His father intrusted the
trade he had built up so well almost
wholly TO the management of his son,
so that the latter may be said to have
himself accumulated much of the for
tune accruing to him when John Jacob
Aston died.
After some years the old fur-trader
began to send his wares to China, re-
ceiving in return consignments of tea,
a business that soon became enormous
| " profitable. John Jacob Astor doubled
his already large fortune in avery short
time.
STUDENT LIFE.
Hitherto his son had received no book
education beyond what he had been able
| TO give himself in the few hours snatched
from the pursuit of his business. But
now his father, realizing that the future
management of his increasing business
must, to continue successful, be intrust-
ed to one possessed of a better education
than he had given his son, sent him to
the university of his native town, Heidel-
/ berg. There the young student made
excellent use of his opportunities, learn
ing fast, and obtaining numerous hon
orS in the college. He became a thor
ough German linguist, branch of
| knowledge which subsequently was of
inestimable service to him. He was
also an accomplished musician, and,
like all German students of that day,
and indeed of our time, he became a
skillful swordsman. He remained in
Germany several years, and returned to
America only when his father felt his
presence indispensable to the manage
ment of his business, now swollen TO
colossal proportions.
William b. Astor had not lost his taste
for business, and, after travelling entire
ly over Europe, which at that time was
by no means the simple journey of to-
day, he returned to New York, and once
more entered the fur store. His uncle,
Henry AstOr, in whom was the same
aptitude for amassing money that seems
TO have characterized every member of
the family, had accumulated vast for
tune. He was greatly attached to his
nephew, and on his death he bequeathed
to him 100000. This legacy did not
tempt William b. AStor to forsake his
fathers business. He invested the
money, and carried on the fur trade
with greater energy than ever. His
fathers increasing age and infrmities
rendered his attention to the business
uncertain, and finally almost the entire
management fell upon the son. Out of
the profits of his trade John Jacob
Astor had purchased the site upon which
his dwelling in Broadway was built, and
in 1885 he built the Astor House on it,
and transferred the whole property to
his son. Soon afterward he gave him
the residence in Lafayette Place adjoin-
ing the Aston Library.
, In 1913 John Jacob AstOr died at the
age of eighty-three or eighty-four years,
leaving an estate valued at upward of
$50, 100000.
THE GREAT LIBRARY.
The institution with which William
B. Astor's name is popularity identified
is the Aston Library. The original fund
for founding it was 100000, of which
100000 was for the site, building, and
purchase of books, and S180,000 was to
be used from time to time to increase
the library. The remainder was to con-
stitute a reserve fund Since the insti-
tuition was founded upward of 100000
has been expended on it, and William
b. Astor, out of his private funds, gave
| Mr.. Cogswell, a former librarian, an
annuity of $1,000. The first gift was
made in 1859, when the first building
was furnished. Afterward Mr.. Astor
gave the trustees a site $50 feet deep by
eighty feet wide, upon which a second
and better building was erected. In
1866 he gave the library $4,000, of
which $4,000 was invested in books
Among the original trustees of the IL
brary were William B. Aston, Washing
ton Irving, Joseph c. Cogswell, and
Fitz-Greene Halleck.
Mr.. Astor was a much more liberal
man than was generally supposed, but
he gave unostentatiously, and many of
the charities benefited by his bene-
factions never knew the giver of the
most liberal gifts. On one subscription
list, in possession of Mr.. Isaac H. Brown,
appears the entry $3.50 from ''the son of
/ a Mason" the giver was Mr.. Astor,
who was not a Mason himself, though
his father had been an active member
of the order.
1t is estimated that Mr.. Astor's estate
will not amount to less than one hun
dred million dollars, the whole of which
vast sum will probably pass under the
control of his son William Aston.
RECOLLECTIONs OF AsTOR.
William B. Astor'S eldest brother was
a person of eccentricities, and could not
be trusted alone. His tutor was APP
pointed his guardian at a handsome
salary and attended him wherever he
went. He was often very violent in his
dealings with those with whom he came
in contact, and his quarrels
with his guardian were fire.
quent. He was secluded from society
as far as possible, and was for long
time confined in his house at Fourteenth
Street and Ninth Avenue, and there he
died a few years ago.
William B. Astor lived for long