The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-28
John JACOB ASTOR'S LIFE
xrTcH OF THE FOUNDER OF THE
BY HIS GREAT-GRANDsoN.
nav This Enterprising Pioneer Built
Up His vast to Hard
Work, and Not TO Chance.

.ine contains an arucle Dy MT. William
Z-srsorf Aston on his great-grandfather,
Iohn Jacob Astor. sketching picturesquely
~ life and achievements of that celebrated
-fo,eer. 1T was" says Mr.. Astor, when
Neu York was rising from the ashes of the
.o,aacratfon of 1875 that a poor German
lad whose name was destined TO become
4suous. arrived at that city In November.
ri Ny great-gIandfather was born in a
reasants cottage in the village Of Waldorf,
o. Waldorf, the village in a wood near
heidelberg, on July Il, 1863. He received
.ba usual parish school education, and at
che age Of sixteen left home to escape a
etepmother's I'll usage. He set out on foot
for the Rhine, and. pausing for a last look
az the familiar scenes he was to behold no
more for many years. made three valuable
resolves. to which he adhered through life
to be honest. TO be Industrious and never
70 gamble" The youth went from Germany
% London. ard stayed there for four years,
hut at the end of that period, during which
no had learned the English language, he
sailed for America, where he had the pre-
hamilton Of great fortune" Arrived in New
York. he entered the fur trade, and by dint
Of hard work and frugal living secured in
a dozen years a commanding position in the
market. His operations were not confined
70 America. He was the first of our mer-
chants. says Mr.. Astor, Ito conceive the
idea of habitually circumnavigating the
globe. sending supercargoes with American
furs % England, thence carrying British
wares 70 China, and returning with tea"
The protector of these maritime enterprises
used to mediate upon them at leisure, con-
sidering their every detail. and then. hav-
ing set them in motion. he left it to his
captains and supercargoes to carry them
ont. They were urged forward without
fear or hesitation, and without advice
But at the outset or his fortune building
John Jacob Astor was himself active in
every direction. advancing his business.
A GENUINE PIONEER
His great-grandson
During the first years of his life in Amer
ica the development of the commercial es-
Enlistment Mr.. Astor was building up
called for his frequent presence among the
Indian tribes with which the fur trade was
carried on. He was obliged to be his own
agent at the frontier trading stations. MAX
ing agreements for the delivery of large
quantities of furs: and as his dealings null
tiplied. IL was no less necessary TO egulate
the affairs OF his agencies. In later life he
often spoke with enthusiasm of the incl
dents and adventures OF this period of his
career. II is easy to place before ones
Imagination the grandeur of the scenes he
then beheld in their primeval beauty:
Through the forests of lower Canada, of
New York and Michigan, he walked. guided
by cOurieurs dies bois. sometimes the first
European explorer of their recesses. He
traversed the great lakes with a band of
Ontario voyagers and shot the Sault Sainte
Marie in a birch canoe with a couple of In
dians. He visited encampments on the st.
Lawrence and at Saginaw bay. and beheld
along the Mohawk valley the last lroquoiS
wigwams-those final vestiges OF the in
trepid Six Nations. Wherever he went he
dealt with the chiefs, bargaining with them
in a spirit of fairness and humanity. and
fOrbidding his agents ever to sell liquor TO
the savages. These jOurneyings were con-
tinued through the summers of several
years. and their area extended from the
Hudson TO the copper rocks of Lake Su-
perior. Not many Europeans ever beheld
the magnificence of American scenery thus
IN aboriginal wildness. and few received
from il more profound and suggestive in
Traversing the history of the settlement of
Astoria on the north Pacific coast, Mr.. As
tor observes that his ancestor was not ac-
tuated by a mere desire of gain-for he was
already rich beyond the needs or any 1ndi-
vidual-but by a delight In the exercise OF
those faculties whose caliber had already
been so widely proved by the creation of a
vast emporium of commerce whose opera
tons would explore and civiliZe the entire
western coast of the continent, bringing its
eXpanse within the influence and control OF
the American government" Incidentally 1t
IS stated in this article that. far from hav-
Ing derived his fortune from this colonial
ton scheme. az is popularity believed, John
Jacob AstOr lost eSo0.OO0 on the venture, and
was nearly ruined by 1t.
A STORY DENIED.
Another popular misconception touching
the rules governing the administration Of
the Astor estate in later years is contra
Gieted in the following PASSAGE:
with the return OF peace and the with
drawal OF the British b~lockading squadron
from New York Mr.. Astor's consignments
10 England and China were resumed, and
-annHH-arn1 Wr-~4T IT. frnnn
commercial activity in 1871. AT the begin
mig Of this century he commenced buying
plots OF land on New York island, having
an early preSctence OF the growth or the
city by which il is now almost covered.
These purchases were made with such judg-
ment in the line of approaching expansion
as frequently 10 be sold again after a few
years for double or treble what he had paid
for them. With enlarged means these ac-
questions OF real estate assumed larger
proportions, ana took IN whole farms, Wnlch
gradually became covered with houses. To
snow that this species Of farming as prac-
uced with discrimination was not in vain
IL may be mentioned that one OF these farms,
purchased in ISL for $500. is now worth,
with its improvements, &l,400.OOO An anus
ING notion prevalent in America is that by
some queer rule OF his descendants no pur-
chase has ever been or ever can be parted
with As a matter of fact, the estate books
record the sale of hundreds of plots of land
curing the entire century, and ii should re-
gulIe 10 extraordinary acuHsea 10 perceive
mat so silly and narrow-minded a rule
Gould only be imagined by very silly ana
narrow-minded people.
These interesting notes On John Jacob
Astors social life and personal traits may
also be quoted:
Mr.. Astor's early domestic life was as
simple as was all his surroundings during
those primitive and provincial days. Two
years after his arrival he married, and was
soon able to live in a house of his own
Ile nrSt, We are told, that he possessed.
Ills wife. who had been brought up in New
FORK during the revolutionary period, and
VINO, upon the Withdrawal Of the British
garrison. saw enera Wa shington ride in
upon his famous white charger, was a de-
voted and loving helpmate through storm
anu sunshine. AnXieties and cares were
rarely wanting. and my great-grandfathers
I4Sc go fortune was due TO none or the happy
NnoiallS and favoring chances popularity
SsSoclated with those early years; the first
Aa4t Of his life was an arduOus truggle in
Nnlch adversely and disappointment only
simulated 10 further self-imDrovement and
70 a broader and prOfOunder study or the
consulted by the United States treasury
upon financial subjects, and was in CORE
SPondence upon monetary questions with
Lenry Clay, James Monroe, Thomas JET
ieTson. President Madison and Albert Gal
Iat!n, secretary Of the treasury. In 1916 he
vas appointed a director of the Bank of the
United states. He detested the shams and
lnSlncerities and pettifoggings whereby one
VINO IS approached by many beggars and
~ nor a few rOughs is often made 10 see
ne less attractive aspect OF human nature
o news and information OF use in his OPP
tatons over the globe, a comical instance
% which was his receiving intelligence from
Sxohtfeal BY special relays of the signing