Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-02-28
NO. g..
DEATH or JOHN LiCOB ASTON.
sketch of the Rnmous Family Of MiI.
liountrcs.


liOunircs,
John Jacob Astor, the well known mil
lionai-e real estate owner of New York
died suddenly at his home in that city ON
Saturday morning Mr.. Astor was the
grandson Of the founder Of the Astor fam
lily in this country, whose name he bore.
John Jacob Astor, the elder, was the fourth
and youngest son Of butcher Of Waldorf.
Germany Dislking his fathers trade, he
came TO this country in 1888, when 20 years
old, and laid the foundation Of the family
fortune by trading in furs At the close
OF the Revolutionary war he settled in New
York, foreseeing that that city would be
come the metropolis of the country. He
began Immediately the policy Of securing
large holdings of real estate in the city. a
policy which has been followed by his son
and grandson, and has resulted in making
the Astors the largest individual holders of
real estate in this country The elder As
tors fortune amounted TO at least 500. 0OO.-
600 when he died of old age in lS4S He
left four children and the bulk Of his es-
tate was given TO his eldest son, William
b. Astor, who had been his partner in bust
ness and had accumulated a personal for
time Of Sj,0000 900. The son continued the
business policy Of his father, carried to
completion his project for establishing the
Astor library, for which the elder Astor
left bequest of S40O, ,0OO made many
public gifts of his own, and had increased
the estate to at least S45 000 600 when he
died in 1875. This estate was left to his
two sons, of whom John Jacob was the ell
der, and a daughter.
John Jacob Astor, the third in the line in
this country Of this noted family, was born
in New York in 1922. He received a lib
eral education, and his life record as a man
and a citizen has been an honorable one.
He made meritorious record during the
civil war, serving for a time on Gen. Nc
Clellan's staff As the head of the Astor
family he maintained its character and per
petuated its traditions by benefactons and
healthy public spirit His wife, to whom
he was married in 1S47, was woman of
rare excellence and benevolence of charac-
ter. She built lodging houses for news
boys in various parts of the city and took
an intelligent and personal interest in the
schools of the metropolis Her death a
year or more ago, was a serious loss to the
community for which she did so much, and
was deeply lamented by the street boys,
who had grown to regard her with ideal
reverence.
William Waldorf their son, to whom de
scends the bulk Of the estate and the head
ship Of the family, is graduate of Colum-
hia law school and has served one term in
the state Senate. After an unsuccessful
candidacy for Congress he was sent by
President Cleveland as minister to Italy in
1885, and retained that position two years
John Jacob Astor was man of striking
personal appearance, being over six feet in
height, stout, somewhat inclined to corpu-
lence, and straight as an arrow. When on
the street his quick, elastic step and smil-
ing face, friuged with small gray side whis
kers, invariably attracted attention. His
dress was simple and conspicuously neat.
While many of his charities were published
others were never known to the public but
in nearly every work of benevolence in the
city his name or that of his wife, often
both jointly, appeared. Mr.. Astor was
religious man and member of Trinity
church, where he had been a vestryman
for years, and was always to be found in
his place on Sunday.
Among the valuable buildings owned by
him was the we'll known landmark, the
Astor house, which his grandfather built
and sold to his father for 81. There is
scarcely a ward, street or avenue in the
city in which Mr.. Astor did not own real
estate, the total annual taxes on these hold
ings amounting to $400, 900. AS long ago
as 1877 VIM. B. Astor owned no less than
120 buildings in the city.