Astor family


The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to the Italian and Swiss Alps,
the Astors settled in Germany, first appearing in North America in the 18th century with John Jacob Astor, one of the wealthiest people in history.

Founding family members

was the youngest of four sons born to Johann Jacob Astor and Maria Magdalena vom Berg.
The Astor family can trace their ancestry back to Giovan Asdour and Gretta Ursula Asdour. Giovan was born in Chiavenna, Italy, and died in Zürich, Switzerland. Their son, Hans Pieter Asdor, was born in Switzerland and died in Nußloch.
John Jacob and his brother George, born in Walldorf left Germany and moved to London in 1778. There, they established a flute making company. In 1783, John Jacob left for Baltimore, Maryland, leaving his brother in charge of the London business, and was active first as a dealer in woodwind instruments, then in New York as a merchant in opium, furs, pianos, and real estate. After moving to New York, John met and married Sarah Cox Todd. She worked alongside her husband as a consultant, and was accused of witchcraft after her success with the company in 1817. The accusations never led to legal action. They had eight children, including John Jacob Astor Jr. and real-estate businessman William Backhouse Astor Sr..
John Jacob's fur-trading company established a Columbia River trading post at Fort Astoria in 1811, the first United States community on the Pacific coast. He financed the overland Astor Expedition in 1810–1812 to reach the outpost, which was in the then-disputed Oregon Country. Control of Fort Astoria played a key role in British and American territorial claims on the region.
John and George's brother Henry also emigrated to America. Henry was a horse-racing enthusiast, and purchased a thoroughbred named Messenger, who had been brought from England to America in 1788. This horse became the founding sire of all Standardbred horses in the United States today.
Melchior, the third of the four brothers, remained in Germany.
During the 19th century, the Astors became one of the wealthiest families in the United States. Toward the end of that century, some of the family moved from America to England and achieved high prominence there. During the 20th century, the number of American Astors began to decline, but their legacy lives on in their many public works including the New York Public Library. British descendants of the Astors hold two hereditary peerages: Viscount Astor and Baron Astor of Hever.
While many Astor family members joined the Episcopal Church, John Jacob Astor remained a member of a Reformed congregation to his death.

Family namesake places

For many years, the members of the Astor family were known as "the landlords of New York". Their New York City namesakes are the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and Astor Row, Astor Court, Astor Place, and Astor Avenue in the Bronx, where the Astors stabled horses. The neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, was renamed to incite John Jacob Astor to invest there.
Beyond New York City, the Astor family name is imprinted in a great deal of United States history and geography. Astor Street, in Chicago's landmark Gold Coast district, is named after John Jacob Astor. There are towns of Astor in the states of Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Kansas and there are Astorias in Illinois, Missouri, and Oregon. In Astoria, Oregon, the primary elementary school, a filming location for the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop, is called John Jacob Astor Elementary. The city is also home to the Astoria Column.
In Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom, there was a secondary state school named Astor of Hever School. It was located within Oakwood Park, a former residence of the Astor family, which the family gifted to the Borough of Maidstone to be used for educational purposes. Whilst the Astor of Hever School changed its name in the early 2010s, it is still located on the Oakwood Park Estate, along with a Grammar School, a Catholic Secondary school and the Maidstone campus of Mid-Kent College. At one time the Oakwood Park Estate also contained an educational farm attached to the Astor of Hever School.
There is a neighborhood called Astor Park just south of downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin. At the heart of this neighborhood is a park ; the Astor family donated this land for the building of a trade school.
The Astors were also prominent on Mackinac Island, Michigan, and Newport, Rhode Island, with their summer house, Beechwood. At Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, there are the Lord and Lady Astor Suites; the hotel salon is called Astor's. There is even a Hostel in York, England called The Astor. In addition, a dormitory at St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island, bears Astor's name.
The Danubius Hotel Astoria in the center of Pest, Budapest, Hungary, opened in 1914, was given its name by the original hotel owners and Mihály Gellér, the first General Manager of the hotel, who formerly worked for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. In Shanghai, China there is the Astor House Hotel in the Bund.
Mount Astor in Antarctica was named after Vincent Astor by the explorer Richard E. Byrd.

Astor family tree

  • John Jacob Astor Sr.
  • *Magdalena Astor
  • ** Charles Astor Bristed Sr.
  • *John Jacob Astor Jr.
  • *William Backhouse Astor Sr.
  • **Emily Astor
  • *** Margaret Astor "Maddie" Ward
  • ****John Armstrong Chaloner
  • ****Winthrop Astor Chanler
  • ***** Theodore Chanler
  • ****William Astor "Willie" Chanler Sr.
  • ****Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler Sr.
  • ****Margaret Chanler Aldrich
  • **** Robert Winthrop Chanler
  • **John Jacob Astor III
  • ***William Waldorf Astor I
  • ****Waldorf Astor
  • *****William Waldorf "Bill" Astor II
  • ******William Waldorf Astor III
  • *******Flora Katherine Astor
  • *******William Waldorf "Will" Astor IV
  • ******* James Jacob Astor
  • *****Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor, Countess of Ancaster
  • ****** Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
  • *****Francis David Langhorne Astor
  • *****Michael Langhorne Astor
  • ****** David Waldorf Astor
  • ****** James Colonsay Langhorne Astor
  • ****** Kathleen Nancy Jane Astor
  • ****** Georgina Mary Astor
  • ******* Thomas Michael Nelson
  • ******* Alice Catherine Nelson
  • ******* Clare Emma Nelson
  • ***** John Jacob "Jakie" Astor VII
  • ****The Hon. Pauline Astor
  • ***** Rachel Pauline Spender-Clay, Lady Bowes-Lyon
  • ******Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Stair
  • ******* John Dalrymple, 14th Earl of Stair
  • ****** Simon Bowes-Lyon
  • **** John Jacob Astor V, 1st Baron Astor of Hever
  • *****Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever
  • ****** John Jacob "Johnny" Astor VIII, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever
  • ******Sarah Violet Astor-Lopes
  • *******Harry Marcus George Lopes, married Laura Lopes
  • ***** John Astor
  • **Mary Alida Astor
  • *** Margaret Laura Astor Carey
  • **** Louis Zborowski
  • ** William Backhouse Astor Jr.
  • ***Emily Astor
  • **** James Laurens Van Alen
  • ***** Jimmy Van Alen
  • ***** Louise Astor Van Alen
  • ***Helen Schermerhorn Astor
  • **** James Roosevelt "Tadd" Roosevelt Jr.
  • ***Carrie Astor Wilson
  • **** Marshall Orme Wilson Jr.
  • *** John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV
  • ****William Vincent Astor
  • ****Ava Alice Muriel Astor
  • *****Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky
  • ******Marina Ivanovna Obolensky
  • ******Ivan Ivanovich Obolensky
  • ******David Ivanovich Obolensky
  • *******Natalya Elizabeth Davidovna Obolensky
  • *******Octavia Willing Davidovna Obolensky
  • ******Sergei Ivanovich Obolensky
  • *******Alexander Vasily Sergeyevich Obolensky
  • *******Christopher Chapman Sergeyevich Obolensky
  • ***** Sylvia Sergeyevna Obolensky
  • **** John Jacob "Jakey" Astor VI
  • *****William Backhouse Astor III
  • ******William Backhouse Astor IV
  • ******Gregory Todd Astor
  • *****Mary Jacqueline Astor
  • ******Nicholas Astor Drexel
  • * Dorothea Astor 1795–1874)
  • **Eliza Astor Langdon
  • *** Matthew Astor Wilks
  • ** Louisa Dorothea Langdon
  • ***DeLancey Astor Kane
  • ***S. Nicholson Kane
  • ***John Innes Kane
  • ***Emily Astor Kane
  • ****Peter Augustus Jay
  • *****Susan Mary Jay
  • ***Sybil Kent Kane
  • ***Woodbury Kane

    Members by birth order

  1. John Jacob Astor Sr.
  2. William Backhouse Astor Sr.
  3. Charles Astor Bristed Sr.
  4. John Jacob Astor III
  5. William Backhouse Astor Jr.
  6. Matthew Astor Wilks
  7. DeLancey Astor Kane
  8. S. Nicholson Kane
  9. William Waldorf Astor I
  10. John Innes Kane
  11. Sybil Kent Kane
  12. Woodbury Kane
  13. Carrie Astor Wilson
  14. John Armstrong Chaloner
  15. Winthrop Astor Chanler
  16. John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV
  17. William Astor "Willie" Chanler Sr.
  18. Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler Sr.
  19. Margaret Chanler Aldrich
  20. Robert Winthrop Chanler
  21. Peter Augustus Jay
  22. Waldorf Astor
  23. James Roosevelt "Tadd" Roosevelt Jr.
  24. Marshall Orme Wilson Jr.
  25. John Jacob Astor V
  26. William Vincent Astor
  27. Louis Zborowski
  28. Theodore Chanler
  29. Ava Alice Muriel Astor
  30. Jimmy Van Alen
  31. William Waldorf "Bill" Astor II
  32. Francis David Langhorne Astor
  33. John Jacob "Jakey" Astor VI
  34. Michael Langhorne Astor
  35. Susan Mary Jay
  36. John Jacob "Jakie" Astor VII
  37. Gavin Astor
  38. John Astor
  39. Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Obolensky
  40. Princess Sylvia Sergeyevna Obolensky
  41. Simon Bowes-Lyon
  42. Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
  43. John Jacob "Johnny" Astor VIII
  44. William Waldorf Astor III
  45. John Dalrymple, 14th Earl of Stair

    Spouses by birth order

  46. Vincent Rumpff : husband of Eliza Astor
  47. Franklin Hughes Delano : husband of Laura Eugenia Astor
  48. Samuel Cutler "Sam" Ward : husband of Emily Astor
  49. John Winthrop Chanler : husband and widower of Margaret Astor Ward
  50. Caroline Webster Schermerhorn : widow of William Backhouse Astor Jr.
  51. James John Van Alen : husband and widower of Emily Astor
  52. Augustus Jay : husband of Emily Astor Kane
  53. James Roosevelt "Rosey" Roosevelt Sr. : husband and widower of Helen Schermerhorn Astor
  54. Count William Eliot Morris Zborowski : second husband of Margaret Laura Astor Carey
  55. Marshall Orme Wilson : husband of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor
  56. John Jay Chapman : husband of Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler
  57. Richard Aldrich : husband of Margaret Livingston Chanler
  58. Amélie Louise Rives : wife of John Armstrong Chaloner
  59. Ava Lowle Willing : first wife of John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV
  60. Harriet Sylvia Ann Howland Green: wife and widow of Matthew Astor Wilks
  61. Natalina Cavalieri : second wife of Robert Winthrop Chanler
  62. Herbert Henry Spender-Clay : husband of Pauline Astor
  63. Margaret Louise Post : wife and widow of James Laurens Van Alen
  64. Robert Joseph Collier : husband of Sarah Steward Van Alen
  65. Nancy Witcher Langhorne : widow of Waldorf Astor; first female British MP to sit in the house of commons
  66. Minnie W. Collins : widow of William Astor "Willie" Chanler
  67. Julia Lynch Olin : second wife and widow of Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler
  68. Theodore Douglas Robinson : husband of Helen Rebecca Roosevelt
  69. Lawrence Grant White : husband of Laura Astor Chanler
  70. Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound : wife of John Jacob Astor V
  71. Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky Neledinsky-Meletzky, first husband of Ava Alice Muriel Astor
  72. Helen Dinsmore Huntington : first wife and widow of William Vincent Astor
  73. Madeleine Talmage Force : second wife and widow of John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV
  74. Louis Bancel LaFarge : husband and widower of Hester Alida Emmet
  75. Roberta Brooke Russell : third wife and widow of William Vincent Astor
  76. The Hon. Sir David Bowes Lyon : husband of Rachel Pauline Spender-Clay
  77. Mary Benedict "Minnie" Cushing : second wife of William Vincent Astor
  78. John Aylmer Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair : husband of Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon
  79. Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster : husband and widower of Nancy Phyllis Louise Astor
  80. Joseph Wright Alsop V : second husband of Susan Mary Jay
  81. Irene Violet Freesia Janet Augusta Haig : widow of Gavin Astor
  82. Hon. Sarah Kathleen Elinor Norton : first wife of William Waldorf "Bill" Astor II
  83. Janet Bronwen Alun Pugh : third wife and widow of William Waldorf "Bill" Astor II
  84. Roderick McEwen : husband of Romana von Hofmannsthal
  85. Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones : wife of William Waldorf Astor III, mother-in-law of British PM David Cameron
  86. Elizabeth Constance "Liz" Mackintosh : second wife of John Jacob "Johnny" Astor VIII
  87. Jools Miles Holland : second husband of Christabel Mary McEwen
  88. Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond : husband of Janet Elizabeth Astor
  89. Edward Richard Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham : first husband of Christabel Mary McEwen
  90. Laura Rose Parker Bowles : wife of Harry Marcus George Lopes