The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-29
WILLIAM ASTOR'S DEATH.
rerz DRAYrON AFFAIR FASTENED
THE END.

Som etn1nR OF BIS LlIe anu fortune.
The Effect His Death Will Have on
society"
From the Baltimore Sun.
NEW YORK, April 26.-The city was
clarified to-day at noon by the crying of an
..axtra" in the streets telling Of the sudden
death at hotel in Paris last night of Will
5orn Aston, the third on the list of Americas
,yreat millionaires The doings of the Astors
are always an interesting local topic, and
al the recent publicity given to this
branch Of the family over the Coleman
Drayton scandal lent the news an additional
innortance at this time. Mr.. Aston was the
father CT Mrs. J. Coleman Drayton, and was
.,raatly worried over the scandal in which
her name was involved.
At John Jacob Astor's house, 374 Fifth
avenue. it was said that the news of Mr..
Astor,s death was received by cable late last
night. and was great shock. Mr.. Astor had
bee1 i'll with congestion Of the lungs, but his
condition was not considered critical He
6,ed at II o'clock last night, and the news was
Srmedlately cabled to Mrs. John Jacob
Ast)r.
William Astor was in his 62d year, hav-
ing been born July II, 1880. He was the
second son of William Backhouse Aston,
who was the second son of the original John
Jacob Astor the pelter and furrler. who
came over from Germany more than a
century ago, landing in Baltimore in 1854
William b. Astor, the father of William
4stJr. died in 1875. The mother of Will
lam Aston was a daughter of Gen. Arm
srong, who Secretary Of War in the
cabIAet of President Madison. The staid
and sedate ways of the Astors have been
remarked for a whole century, but Will
lam Astor's sedateness took the turn of in
doent righteousness.
William Aston had the personal appear
auce of wealthy Englishman, and the bent
of his mind was essentially British. He
seems to have simply accepted the grand
fortune left to him by his father as mat
ter of course, and to have devoted his life
to getting as much enjoyment out of it as a
man without any special ambition could.
He wandered over the world in his steam
Yacht the Nourmuhal, which is a small
ocean steamship. caring nothing for New
York, and was seldom seen here, spending
most of his time in Paris or on his yacht.
A SOCIAL AUTocRAT.
In 1858 William Aston married Caroline
Webster Schermerhorn Of New York. For
many years the influence OK Mrs. William
Astor in society matters has been all pow
erful, and she has, in fact, been the sole
arbiter Of the fate of those who have sought
to gain admittsnce to the Inner circle" or
the creme de la creme, as Ward McAllister
calls IT. Her predecessor had been Mrs.
John Jacob Astor. her sister-in-law, and
after her death it was natural that she
should assume the scepter, the wife of Will
lam Waldorf Aston not being recognized by
her as entitled to take the lead. Not long
after John Jacob Astor's death, however
there was a clash of authority at Newport
when Mrs. William Waldorf asserted her
right to be known as Mrs. Aston" title
which had long been appropriated by her
aunt. Mrs. William Aston.
MRS ASToR'S DIAMONDS.
Mrs. Aston owns probably the finest COL
lection of jewels in America When att
tendlnt; the opera or private receptions she
has frequently appeared in q blaze Of
diamonds. At her entertainment at Del
monlco's her throat was encircled with
three strands Of these jewels, each stone of
great size. She has frequently been seen at
the opera wearing $50, 600 worth Of
dlarr.onds but on one occasion she sur
pas bed herself, the display being valued at
m ore than 100000.
Mr.. Aston was not man of shining social
incinatlons, and he never figured promi-
nently, il at all, at these gorgeous enter
salnmenJs. He let his wife manage things
as she pleased. All their children, however,
had their mothers tastes ana have followed
in her train in the social swim. Mrs. James
Roosevelt, Mrs. Orme Wilson, Mrs. j. Cole
man Drayton and John Jacob Aston are the
only children now living. Their eldest
daughter Mrs, Van Allen, died several
years ago, leaving three children, none Of
Wnoln has yet appeared In society.
A FORTUNE OF $4,000, 600.
Next to his nephew, William Waldorf
Aston, and probably Jay Gould, whose fort
dne Is supposed to run up to a hundred
millions of dollars, William Astor was the
richest citizen of America His wealth was
recently estimated at between So, 900, 900
and S6U,OUO 600, the greater part of which
Is lnvested in New York real estate. Will
lam Aston could never expect to equal the
wealth of his brother, the late John Jacob
-Astor, who received the lions share of the
patrlmony, and whose fortune at his death
was estimated at $780, coo. The dispar-
lty IN their fortunes was the result simply
OF inheritance Their father. William B.,
who Inherited the bulk of old John Jacob
Astors money, invested it in real estate
ana left two-thirds of it to his eldest son
ana the otner third to William.
ABOUT TO BUILD HOUSE.
When Mr.. and Mrs William Astor de-
parted for Europe the last time 1t was an-
nounced tina: they would not return till
1913. Before leaving for Europe Mr.. Aston
instructed Richard Il. Hunt the architect,
10 draw plans for mansion to cover the
entire lot at Fifty-1rst street and Fifth
avenue. Mr. Hunt is now al work on the
FAN''' 4 no OIu w ulldIU ASLOE TSSlO6QCS,
at the corner Of Thirty fourth street and
rum avenue, will be torn down and
business building erected on the site. The
motel that William Waldorf Astor is build
ing on Fifth Avenue and Thirty-third
street overshadows the William Astor
property, and adjoins 1T so that the hotel
guests will be able to walk into the windows
VI the private residence.
THE SKELETON IN THE CLOSET.
y 4nere can be no doubt that the Drayton-
Porrowe affair has been heavy trial to
poIh Mr.. and Mrs. Astor, and it may have
Geen The indirect cause of the millioDaire's
Geath. Their third daughter is the wife Of
=. COLEMAN Drayton, q man of good ante
eelehls and member of wealthy Philadel-
plia family. Mr.. and Mrs. Drayton have
t''ed abroad for some time and month or
% ago statement was cabled to this coun-
ppy That Drayton had challenged H. Alsop
norrowe, young New Yorker, for undue
etyentlons to Mrs. Drayton, but that Bor-
.owe had refused to fight on the ground
IuaV Drayton had condoned his wife's con-
pIcL aud was receiving a large income from
t uel family. Borrowe and Drayton came to
slLs country on the same steamer and a
personal collision on board was feared, but
TToIlng happened. Borrowe returned to
dd.ugIald and is reported to have fought
uuei with Edward Fox, who had been his
OOlQd6ntial friand in tho nravtop fair