The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-23
THE wnsON-AsToR WEDDING.
Information About the Families of the Prin-
cipals to the Contract,


cipals to the Contract.
'Gath's' New York Letter.
You have noticed the marriage of Miss Astor
to a son of r. T. Wilson, formerly of East Ten
nessee. There are two Aston brothers here, and
the bride is the daughter of the least known of
these two. The other Astor, John Jacob is very
well known and has a son who is minister to
Rome. l suppose, without knowing much about
it, that both the Astors are Republicans, but
John Jacob Is especially so. MIR. Wilson, on the
other hand, as | have always heard was a cattle.
trader and furnisher of beef to the confederate
army Later in the war he joined " K. Steven
son and others and had line of bloekade-pun
ming steamers between Europe and America. He
closed out the war rich, because these steamers
got cotton and other things to Europe, where
they sold at high figure, and the profits of the
firm, which involved half dozen big men, re-
manned in gold.
Mr.. Wilson then competed with Malone for
possession of the railroad system between Nor
folk and Memphis Malone got hold of one end
of it and Wilson the other, and then they had a
street fight somewhere. Wilson, however, had
the longest head for business and in the course of
time he was seen in business circles as a banker,
making advances on cotton, etc He was large
man, weighing probably 240 pounds, broad
shouldered, and his hair soon turned white He
gave much attention to business that for a
while his health seemed to be running down
On the other hand he was respectable family
man, brought up his children thoughtfully, and
they were good-looking children, like their pa
rentS ana soon made Unelr way In this curious
New York society, which is no more formed for
ultimate purposes than if we lived in the year
of 623
There really was more society on this island
in the time of Peter Stuyvesant than now. The
people of that day did understand each other
and the present New York society is fugitive
unsettled, and perhaps the least of all organized
societies on our continent. The Southerners
who have come here have to some extent mod
eled this society and given it sanctums and cir
cles, but business is so much greater than
clety in New York that you can hardly teach the
german to a New York set but they straightway
forget it in one season, and have to be taught it
all over again. They are like the missionary's
account of the Eskimos whom he under took
to teach to read, so that they might read the
Bible and become Christians But they were
very dull people, and the winters were
awfully long in that climate, and quite dark
So, in the short summers they learned Just
enough of reading to forget it all in the winters
Finally it occurred to the missionary to convert
them first and teach them to read afterward
That's what the Southern element is doing now
with New York society, having endeavored for
some years to show them how to advance, pose
sling out their arms, put their thumbs in their
vest holes etc. The Southerners have despaired
of doing anything with the NorthernerS, and
have commenced to marry them, hoping that in
course of time they may persuadethem to behave
afterward.
Mr.. R. T. Wilson is president of the new rail
road from Memphis to New Orleans recently
completed. The railroad unites the Huntington
system, or the Chesapeake & Ohio, with the
other huntington system at New Orleans.
Tine H Go1d SYSTEM yGu know
through Arkansas and Kansas. Mr.. Wilson
has recently been successful here in making the
right connections keeping firm hand on the
business be originally had and extending his
credit One of his children is married into the
Goelet family and a set of old burghers of this
| town who owned valuable real estate which other
people have improved for them.
If our Southern friends want to know how a
comparative stranger could come here and in a
| few years grapple the Astor family on one slde
| and the Goelets on the other, let them clearly
understand that Wilson was a money maker;
| that he first made money and then they saw his
| social points He was an applicant you may
member, for the Cincinnati Southern railroad
after it was finished 1t was leased, however,
| to the Erlanger syndicate, and Changer
married the daughter of John Slidell, who
was himself from the State of New
York. slidel, also had the money-mak-
ing propensity powerfully These are
the kind of men who succeed in the great vent
ures of life-men who are merchants by nature;
to whom banking comes incidentally, as a por
! ton OF merchandise; who know credit and how
many fools require it, and how to charge for it.
The Aston family itself is bottomed on q set of
| old fddies jews harps ETC., brought out here
| by John Jacob Aston the first His brother,
! German mechanic, made Them and worked
them off on John Jacob who worked them off on
a eenfdng hemisphere chiefly made up of trap
pers and Indians. The industrious Indian and
trapper mutually caught the beaver and old
John Jacob gave them a jew's-harp for the
beaver skins. By disseminating music all over
the plains he literally entrapped all the skins
Since that time wealth in this country has been
called the skin game The iew's-harp having
been merely the eharterer and collector of that
time has long since died out, but the skins re-
main the solid material of social greatness in
this country.