In February 1896, she threw a housewarming ball for 600 guests, greeting each one of them while standing beneath her portrait by French society painter Charles Carolus-Duran. (When McAllister died in 1895, the amiable and popular Harry Lehr took his place alongside Astor.) Her mother infamously chose to leave the home and build a new mansion uptown (840 Fifth Avenue at 65th Street completed in 1896), motivated in part by her disdain for the forthcoming Waldorf Hotel to be built by her nephew William Waldorf Astor, a commercial enterprise situated distastefully close to her home. It was the site of extravagant balls to which only the approved Four Hundred, as determined by her mother and society gadfly Ward McAllister, could attend. This was her parents' brownstone, replete with art gallery, ballroom, and the imprimatur of architect Stanford White, who had redesigned the interior in 1879. She wed Wilson in November 1884 among her family’s art collection (they preferred French Romantic landscapes-Jean Corot and Jules Joseph Lefebvre, to name just two) in their home at 350 Fifth Avenue.

Carrie persisted, and the marriage was eventually allowed. The favorite daughter, Carrie, was described by one popular magazine as the “‘beauty’ of the house of Astor.” She debuted in society and as a teenager took a liking to banker Marshall Orme Wilson, who hailed from a family that her parents deemed arriviste. He would later die in the sinking of the Titanic. John Jacob Astor IV, Caroline’s son, at an 1897 ball. Tall, slim, and mustached, he caught the eye of portraitists, photographers, and caricaturists alike. John Jacob lived extravagantly, married illustriously (twice), and died tragically on the RMS Titanic. Carrie lived into her late eighties, having accompanied and co-hosted events with her mother, and continuing the latter’s legacy after her death in 1908. Their sister Charlotte married lawyer James Coleman Drayton in 1879 they divorced in 1894 and two years later she wedded the Englishman George Ogilvy Haig in London.īy far the two most luminous and best remembered of the Astor children were the youngest: Caroline (known as Carrie) and John Jacob IV. Roosevelt, half-brother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at Grace Church in downtown New York in 1878. The next sister, Helen, commissioned a white satin dress with orange blossoms and old Belgian lace from the elite House of Worth in Paris for her wedding with James R. They divided their time between England and Newport, before her premature death in 1881. Not only were they a Who’s Who of society, but also a What’s What of New York landmarks the names Astor, Schermerhorn, and Roosevelt are familiar today on street signs, monuments, and university buildings.Įmily, the eldest daughter, married James John Van Alen in 1876. Through their marriages-their weddings were the darlings of the mainstream and tabloid press each time-the string of well-to-do surnames associated with the family grew longer. In birth order, they are Emily Astor, Helen Schermerhorn Astor, Charlotte Augusta Astor, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, and John Jacob Astor. Despite Caroline’s husband’s penchant for spending more time on his yachts than with his wife, the couple had five children together: four daughters and one son. Her gown of black, lightened up in the front by a little white, was one of the handsomest that she has worn this season.”Īn illustration of Caroline 'Carrie' Schermerhorn’s 1884 marriage to marshall orme wilson from Sepia Times // Getty ImagesĬaroline’s standing had been solidified when in 1853 she married William Backhouse Astor Jr., an investor in real estate and railroads and a descendant of the first Astor to come to America, fur trader John Jacob Astor. Astor wore her wonderful emeralds, set off by a profusion of diamonds.

In 1905, Town & Country reported that “Mrs. Her favorite fragrance was a “sweet odor somewhat like wild lavender and garden roses mixed.” Her precious stomacher of diamonds was believed to have once been worn by Marie Antoinette.

Astor, never knowing that the courteous hostess was well aware of their efforts, even scheming, to procure for some climber the coveted card.”Īs leader of society, Astor’s possessions and personal preferences were continuously gossiped and reported upon. In 1895, The Redwood Gazette wrote, “Below the surface there are surprises, occasioned by the presence of some one unexpected, some one who has gained prestige by her presence at Mrs. Astor’s home at 840 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was built between 18.

Character portrait male socialite