The Astors – America's 'Royal' Families

[Music] America's royal families the [Music] asers chances are you've heard the name of this prominent and obscenely Wealthy dynasty of Gilded Age America you may have been to a hotel Library subway station or town that bears their name vaguely remember that one of them went down with a Titanic or recall seeing their modern descendants in the US or UK splashed on the tabloids but who were these captains of industry and queens of society today we'll sort out the Aster family tree put faces to the famous names and unearth their scandals we'll explore how they got their incredible wealth what they did with it and what their descendants are up to today the Aster family traced their Roots back to Jovan and Greta asdor who left left Northern Italy for Zer Switzerland in the early 1600s the patriarch Johan yakob Aster was born in 1763 in Waldorf in what is now Germany he was the youngest of four sons of a butcher at 16 he moved to London with his elder brother George to work in their uncle's piano and flute business Johan learned English and anglicized his name to John Jacob Aster shortly after the American Revolution 20-year-old John Jacob boarded a ship Bound for Baltimore his intention was to work in his brother Henry's butcher shop in New York City he had no education but he was clever and gregarious while on board the ship he met an American Fur Trader and was impressed by the man's success in the 16 17 and 1800s fur was the biggest business in North America stylish European hats and coats were crafted from the pelts of beavers otter bears and other animals Native American tribes became dependent on trade for European goods and wars were fought over hunting grounds most famously the French and Indian war in the mid 1700s and over hunting devastated ecosystems John Jacob lived in a boarding house and courted his land lady's daughter Sarah Cox Todd the newly wed used her do of $300 to purchase raw hides from Native Americans John Jacob prepared them himself and resold them in London at Great profit he opened his own fur shop where he also sold his uncle's musical instruments Aster's business blossomed and his Traders were ruthless competitors Sarah had a keen and rugal mind and excellent business sense she worked alongside her husband to build their business and manage things while he was away all while delivering and raising eight children the success of a woman so baffled her competitors that Sarah was accused of Witchcraft in 1817 but nothing came of the ridiculous charges the asers sent a trading ship full of Furs to China which returned Laden with spices and tea they made incredible profits both coming and going in 1807 the Embargo Act closed off trade between the US and Canada cutting off the best supply of Furs John Jacob used his influence to get president Thomas Jefferson to approve his establishment of the American Fur Company which opened up new hunting territory along the trail Lewis and Clark had just explored John Jacob financed his own expedition to the Pacific his men discovered the southern pass through the Rocky Mountains which would be used by thousands of settlers on the Oregon Mormon and California trails in 1811 the company set up Fort Aster near the mouth of the Columbia river which was the first US community on the Pacific coast it is now atoria Oregon my dad's Hometown and a place dear to my heart the War of 1812 cut off trade with Europe so John Jacob got involved in the Opium smuggling business he purchased 10 tons of the hallucinogenic drug made from poppies from the Ottoman Empire and shipped it to China addiction reached epidemic levels and the Chinese fought back in the Opium Wars but by then John Jacob had ships in every ocean and outposts across the globe back in New York he had the opportunity to purchase a 75 acre lot at a discount price from a debt ridden whiskey distiller he divided the land and sold it in Lots making a huge profit that land is now Times Square John Jacob had the real estate bug he sold most of his shares in the fur trading company to to buy up Acres of undeveloped New York John Jacob correctly predicted New York City's rapid expansion northward he got a great deal on acreage from former Vice President Aaron Burr who was in disgrace after shooting Alexander Hamilton he had cheap tenements constructed to house The Surge of immigrants flooding into the city thus he became one of New York's earliest slum Lords he and Sarah lived far away in a mansion on un fashionable Broadway their wealth bought them entry into the highest echelons of New York Society but the old money Dutch families looked down on John Jacob who was rough and UNC at dinner parties he talked across the room blew his nose and even wiped his hands on ladies dresses and he had no interest in the upper set's favorite past time philanthropy he rejected countless requests to give to the less fortunate across the river from his country estate John Jacob watched as a village in Queens grew up the people named their town asoria in the hopes that the millionaire might be flattered into building them a Civic Center but he never got around to it John Jacob loved his money more than anything but he was depressed when his wife Sarah died in 1842 age 80 the home they had shared was too full of memories so he found a way to profit from his grief he moved into a new mansion further up town and had his family home torn down to make way for the aster house one of the nation's first and most luxurious hotels 309 rooms were illuminated by gas light and there was a bathroom on every floor with hot water rooms cost the princely sum of $2 a night in his final years John Jacob was the wealthiest person in the United States with a Fortune of $20 million over 600 million today or about 1% of the nation's GDP the same percentage Jeff Bezos has today John Jacob died in 1848 age 84 and was buried next to Sarah in Trinity Church Cemetery in Upper Manhattan he ordered his son to burn his papers so the extent of his underhanded dealings would never be fully known the miser's will shocked everyone as he bequeathed an incredible sum to fund a poor house and orphanage in his hometown of Waldorf Germany and the aster Library which later became the New York Public Library historic Aster Street in Green Bay Wisconsin and Aster place and subway station in lower Manhattan are named in his honor eldest son John Jr suffered from mental illness so the business and the bulk of the fortune went went to Second Son William back house who was named after a friend of the family as a child William spent his free time helping in the first St he was sent to Germany for University then came home where his father changed the name of the company to John Jacob Aster and Son William married Margaret Armstrong the daughter of a senator and they had seven children he loved money but it didn't make him happy a friend said he sits in his office as if it for a prison to which his father has condemned him still he made shrewd decisions and doubled the family fortune he bought a disused farm and a few years later Fifth Avenue was built right through it the thorough Fair became the fashionable address of the upper crust and William gifted adjoining lots to his two eldest Sons on which they built mansions for their own families William back house died in 1875 age 83 the emerging American aristocracy modeled themselves after the nobility of Europe this included the idea of primogeniture or the oldest son inherits the bulk of the wealth in this way massive fortunes wouldn't be dwindled among a large family daughters were furnished with generous does and expected to secure their own Futures by marrying rich but William and Margaret had three sons John Jacob III William back house Jr and Henry Henry fell in love with Malvina dinard the daughter of a poor farmer his parents were outraged at his unambitious marriage and disowned him he moved to his in-law's farm and remained estranged from his own family for the rest of his life that left Brothers John Jacob and William to fight a cold war over the family fortune John Jacob joined the family firm and married Charlotte austa Gibbs she was was deeply religious and supported the newly formed Children's Aid Society and sat on the board of the Women's Hospital of New York she was distraught that the hospital didn't accept cancer patients so she persuaded her husband to build the New York cancer hospital in addition to their mansion on Fifth Avenue the couple shared a vacation home bellu in Newport Rhode Island and a country estate new in Irvington New York John Jacob left home to fight for the Union in the Civil War and was promoted to Brigadier General he considered his time in service and doing something outside the family business the best years of his life second brother William back house Jr was mostly interested in spending money to support his lavish lifestyle he entered an arranged marriage with Caroline sherah horn member of an old money Dutch New York family Caroline had been raised to believe that she was of a higher class and was unimpressed asked to be marrying a second son of a family whose Fortune was only two generations old the couple were miserable after four daughters Caroline finally delivered a son after that William made no attempts to hide his many Affairs humiliating his wife she found solace in socializing but William often came home drunk and caused a scene breaking up her parties she recruited his friends to keep him at his Club late after the Civil War the city grew exponentially wealthy immigrants and newly minted millionaires from the Western us jostled for places Caroline was appalled by the nvo reach and felt it was her duty to be the Arbiter of proper etiquette she decided who was and was not a member of New York Society she threw lavish balls and only a calling card from her gained entry those who were snubbed might as well hop the next train to Topeka only four 400 people were considered part of fashionable Society it has long been said that 400 was the number of elegantly dressed bodies who could squeeze into Caroline's Ballroom but that number actually came from her friend and fellow snob Ward McAllister one of the many families Caroline turned her nose up at were the Vanderbilts who had recently made millions in railroads after repeatedly snubbing social climber Alva Vanderbilt Alva turned the tables and uninvited Caroline's daughters to her own housewarming which was the social event of the Season Caroline was finally forced to call on Alva but she was far from done feuding after her brother-in-law John Jacob III died she had calling cards printed which proclaimed her the Mrs Aster next door her nephew William Waldorf Aster was outraged as the only son of the eldest son he felt that his wife M should be the Mrs Aster but M was 18 years younger and lacked Caroline social gravitas William Waldorf threw the towel in and moved his family to London exclaiming America is no fit place for a gentleman but he shot his aunt a devastating parting blow he had his Fifth Avenue Mansion demolished and the luxurious Waldorf Hotel built in its place Caroline had to put up with a year of living next to a construction site then her Mansion was cast in Shadow by a 13-story German Renaissance Chateau and she was Disturbed at all hours by Hotel guests who came to the Waldorf for magnificent parties which rivaled her own Caroline's son jack threatened to tear down their mansion and replace it with a stable the stench of which would certainly Drive Away Hotel business but in the end he wouldn't let Prime real estate go to waste he and his mother moved out and built a matching hotel called the aster which was taller than the Waldorf and in the interest of good business the cousins merged their hotels and the Waldorf atoria was born by this time Caroline was estranged from her husband he spent most of his time aboard the Ambassador at the time the largest private yacht in the world which was nicknamed The Floating Harum William docked in Jacksonville Florida in between cocktails and Showgirls he managed to make some decent Investments there he invested in real estate Citrus Groves and hotels launching the Florida tourism industry he died in 1892 age 62 Caroline ruled New York for another 16 years she and her only son John Jacob Aster I 4th known as Jack built double Mansions further north on Fifth Avenue facing Central Park Caroline died in 1908 age 78 with William waldorf's departure to Great Britain we now have two branches of the Aster family to follow first let's see what the British asers got up to then we'll come back to the States William Waldorf known as Willie wanted to make a name for himself separate from his family's wealth so he entered politics he won a seat in the New York State Senate but he grew frustrated with his constituent and his rival's personal attacks president Chester A Arthur appointed him ambassador to Italy there he fell in love with art and returned to the states less and less after the blowup with his aunt William moved his wife and five children to England he built a Gothic mansion in London purchased cvon house from The Duke of Westminster and restored heer Castle the family home of Queen andalin for his philanthropic contri contributions he was awarded citizenship and the title of vicount thus he became a member of the House of Lords and could play at politics without all that election nonsense but the American and British press were not impressed and frequently lampooned him Willie faked his own death to avoid headlines but the ruse was discovered and he was mocked more than ever he fought back with his money and bought several London newspapers Willie died suddenly of heart failure while on the toilet eldest son Waldorf met Nancy Longhorn Shaw on a transatlantic Crossing she was the daughter of an American Southern Railroad Tycoon and had escaped an abusive marriage at their wedding his father presented the couple with the Sony Diamond a 55 karat Stone which was owned by the Mughal of India it passed around the royal families of Europe appearing and disappearing until it was purchased by the asers in 1906 Waldorf and Nancy had five children and a happy marriage he was elected to the House of Commons but upon his father's death he became vicount and took his seat in the House of Lords Nancy decided to run for his vacant seat in the Commons she impressed with her informal American style and wit and won the seat becoming the first female member of the British Parliament she was greeted at Paddington Station by a cheering crowd of suffragettes Nancy's career eclipsed Wald dorfs and he focused on breeding racehorses she served for 26 years and supported the establishment of Nursery schools raised the drinking age from 14 to 18 and was a famous rival of prime minister Winston Churchill leading up to World War II she took the unpopular stance of appeasing Adolf Hitler it ended her career Waldorf died in 1952 and now F in 1964 waldorf's younger brother John Jacob Aster V won a gold medal in rackets at the 1908 Olympics his grandson John Jacob Aster iith retired from the House of Lords in 2022 Waldorf and ny's eldest son William Waldorf II known as Bill served as a naval intelligence officer during World War II at a VE Day cocktail party he met Sarah bearing a linguist at Bley Park in the post-war excitement they wed in just one month but they were poorly suited and divorced after their son was born his second marriage also failed his third bride was one of the world's most famous models bronwin alen pug who was 23 years his Junior Bill who was now in the House of Lords was involved in the infamous pruma Affair accusations of infidelity and perjury brought down prime minister heral McMillan's government bill himself denied having an affair with showgirl Mandy rice Davies the stress caused a heart attack and he died in 1966 age 58 bronwin was left widowed with two young daughters she gave clivedon to the National Trust and moved into a more modest mansion in the 1980s she became a psychotherapist and published a memoir Bill's eldest son William Waldorf Aster the third is the current holder of the vi County and seat in the House of Lords he married Annabelle Jones founder of Home Fishing Company AKO direct they have three children together her daughter Samantha from her first marriage is the wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron William and Annabelle share Ginge Manor a sprawling 17th century Pile in Oxfordshire their son The Honorable William Waldorf will a i 4th married model laury STS and they have four children will carries on in his five times great-grandfather's footsteps he has recently been involved in a real estate Scandal over people purchasing homes from his company only to discover that they didn't actually own their homes they only owned a long-term lease now let's see what the American branch of the Aster family has been up to William and Caroline had four daughters Emily Helen sh and Caroline their mother pushed them towards marriages with old moneyed gentlemen Helen married James Roosevelt half brother of future President Franklin D Roosevelt her only brother John Jacob Aster IV known as Jack wed socialite Ava low willing she was a great Beauty but was hoty and mistreated their two children Jack escaped his unhappy home to fight in the Spanish American war he handed his yacht over to the war effort Jack was socially awkward and unusually attached to his mother his many gaffs led the press to dub him jack ass tour he was something of a misunderstood genius he patented several inventions including a bicycle break a method of producing gas from Pete Moss and he helped develop the turbine engine he also wrote an early science fiction novel about life on Saturn and Jupiter in the year 2000 a journey in other worlds published in 1994 correctly predicted climate change telephone networks solar power and air and space travel but being a Visionary didn't pay as well as the family business Jack invested in real estate and built several hotels where he managed to sneak in a few Innovations the Waldorf atoria was the first to offer room service he also hired an Innovative Chef who came up with Waldorf salad eggs benedict and thousand island dressing when his mother died Jack was no longer Under Pressure to remain in his unhappy marriage the divorce Scandal was compounded when Jack 47 announced his engagement to 18-year-old meline Talmage Forest the couple fled the gossip to enjoy a seven-month honeymoon in Egypt and Europe meline fell pregnant and Novelty seeking Jack booked passage home on the latest and greatest luxury liner the HMS Titanic in the the early morning hours of April 14th 1912 Jack lifted meline and her maid and nurse through a window to get them aboard a Lifeboat he asked if he could be allowed to join his wife as she was in a delicate condition but a sailor told him that it was women and children only Jack bid his wife farewell and assured her that he would see her in the morning the ship disappeared below the waves half an hour later Jack Aster's corpse was recovered 8 days later and and identified by initials stitched in his jacket and a gold watch which his son John Jacob Aster v 6 wore for the rest of his life Jack was buried with his family at Trinity Church Cemetery mateline was left a wealthy Widow but she never got along with her stepchildren as a child Vincent had been verbally abused by his mother and raised by servants after his parents divorce he and his father reconnected over their shared love of automobiles but Vincent felt abandoned again when Jack began spending all his time with meline who was 2 years younger than Vincent he was 20 when he inherited the bulk of his father's estate he was unique among the asers in that he had a social conscience he sold the family's slum housing at a discount to the city for development into new clean and safe apartment complex Tas and he built public playgrounds in Harlem and the Bronx he still had the aster business Gene and invested in the emerging film industry and launched Newsweek magazine Vincent found a new father figure in his cousin Franklin D Roosevelt he had a ramp built on his yacht so the disabled president could enjoy sailing weekends with him in 1927 the Waldorf atoria Hotel was looking ated and couldn't compete with the plaza or the St Regis also an Astra property Vincent and his British cousin Waldorf who had buried the hatchet auctioned off the furniture and sold the land to developers and in its place they put up a little project called the Empire State building a new Waldorf atoria Hotel was constructed further Uptown on Park Avenue and 50th Street the 47 story 1400 room are Deco Hotel was completed in 1931 despite the Great Depression it became the new fashionable destination for presidents and foreign royalty Vincent married Helen denmore Huntington but during the wedding celebration he contracted months which left him infertile Helen was a lesbian so that marriage only lasted 26 years his second wife Mary fell in love with another man and he agreed to divorce her only if she would find replacement Mary offered up her friend Brooke Russell she and Vincent established the aster Foundation to relieve human suffering in New York City Vincent died of heart failure in 1959 age 67 and was buried in Sleepy Holo Cemetery he left all of his $75 million to his foundation with Brooke as executive Brooke remained a prominent philanthropist and was involved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art art the New York Public Library the American Academy of Arts and Sciences the Animal Medical Center New York hospital and many other organizations she also turned the aster estate ferncliffe into a nursing home towards the end of her life she suffered Alzheimer's disease her grandson Phillip accused his own father Tony of abusing Brooke and stealing her money Brooke Aster died in 2007 aged 105 she didn't have to see her name in headlines as her son was sentenced to 3 years in prison and died in 2014 Vincent's sister Ava Alice Muriel Aster got $10 million from their father she married a Russian prince Serge oblinsky they divorced and she went on to three more marriages Jack Aster's postumus child John Jacob Aster v 6 called Jakey was known in the press as the Titanic baby Jakey was ostracized by his older half siblings Vincent accused his stepmother of sleeping around and claimed Jakey wasn't a real Aster thus Jakey grew up feeling cheated as he and his mother only received 6 million about 175 million today plus a country estate and a yacht while Vincent got 69 million 2.6 billion today he was a lonely Young man and was eager to marry his fiance broke up with him after an argument and he immediately married her best friend Ellen French they had one child and divorced Jakey wed three more times the third marriage didn't even last through the honeymoon but his fourth marriage to sue Stanford lasted until her death when his brother Vincent died Jakey sued his widow Brooke claiming that she had manipulated him into giving his money to charity Jakey won only A4 millionar he died in 1992 age 79 the remaining American asers have fallen into semi-obscurity they are still wealthy but are no longer the massive investors and leaders of society that their ancestors were jakey's grandson Gregory Todd Aster played his great grandfather in Titanic the musical on Broadway in 2012 want even more tea on History check out the history Tea Time Podcast you can now follow history tea time on Facebook Instagram and Tik Tok if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other Royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 205,220

Keywords: history, documentary, royal family, royalty, Lindsay Holiday, History tea time, john jacob astor titanic, john jacob astor iv, caroline astor, gilded age, new york history, the 400, dollar princesses, the gilded age hbo, gilded age history, caroline schermerhorn astor, new york city history, victorian new york, american history, astor family, the astors, americas royal families, john jacob astor, wadorf astoria, william backhouse astor, robber barons, vanderbilt family

Id: 5EWUXm1RZsk

Length: 28min 57sec (1737 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 02 2024