Search results
Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Astor" or simply "Mrs. Astor", she was the wife of yachtsman William Backhouse Astor Jr.
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor was the doyenne of American high society in the latter half of the 19th century, who held the ground of “old money” in the face of changing times and values. Caroline Schermerhorn was the daughter of a wealthy merchant and had colonial Dutch aristocracy on both.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- She Came From Big Money. They say anyone can make it in America, but Caroline Astor was not just anyone. Born in 1830 to the Schermerhorn clan, she could trace her ancestors all the way back to the founding of New York City, a claim many would beg, borrow, and steal to make.
- She Had The Wedding Of The Year. After an extravagant childhood, Caroline came out into the world with a bang. After learning the best manners money could buy, she married William Backhouse Astor, Jr.
- She Married Down. Today, the Astor family is a towering dynasty, and old New York and the Gilded Age are practically synonymous with the clan. But believe it or not, it was Caroline who was stooping when she married William, not the other way around.
- She Was Ambitious. Caroline had been brought up to be unfailingly polite and prim, but the young wife was hiding a dark secret. She quite liked lording her status over people, and after giving William five children, she set about distinguishing herself from anyone beneath her in society.
Feb 7, 2022 · Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, known as “The Mrs. Astor,” reigned supreme in New York society to the extent that her annual social schedule was broadly publicized.
- Elizabeth Block
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, or "Mrs. Astor," as she preferred to be called, was the best-known leader of this movement to redefine the upper crust of New York. Caroline Astor was born in New York in 1830. Her father was a wealthy merchant with good connections in New York society.
Feb 21, 2022 · Who was the Mrs Astor? Simply known in society by this time as the Mrs Astor, she had been born Caroline Schermerhorn in September 1830, into the city’s Knickerbocker elite; her family could trace their lineage back to the earliest settlers in colonial North America.
Born in 1830, the daughter of a wealthy merchant of the Dutch aristocracy, Caroline Schermerhorn was the Grande Dame of American society from the 1860s to the turn of the century.
