John Jacob Astor
John Jacob (originally either
Johann Jakob or
Johann Jacob)
Astor (
July 17,
1763 -
March 29,
1848) was the first of the
Astor family dynasty and the first
millionaire in the United States, making his fortune in the
fur trade and
real estate industries.
Early life
Born in
Walldorf, near
Heidelberg in the old Palatinate which became part of Baden during the 19th century, Germany (currently in the
Rhein-Neckar district), his father was a butcher, and he learned English in London while working for his brother,
George Astor,
manufacturing musical instruments.
Astor arrived in the United States in March 1784 just after the end of the
Revolutionary War. He started a fur goods shop in
New York City in the late 1780s.
Fortune from fur trade
Astor took advantage of the
Jay Treaty between
Great Britain and the United States in 1794 which opened new markets in
Canada and the
Great Lakes region. By 1800 he had amassed nearly a quarter of a million dollars, and had become one of the leading figures in the
fur trade. In 1800, following the example of the "
Empress of China", the first American trading vessel to China, Astor traded furs, teas and
sandalwood with
Canton in China, and greatly benefited from it. The
Embargo Act from
Thomas Jefferson in 1807, however, disrupted his import/export business. With the permission of
President Jefferson, Astor established the
American Fur Company on
April 6,
1808. He later formed subsidiaries: the
Pacific Fur Company, and the
Southwest Fur Company (in which Canadians had a part), in order to control fur trading in the
Columbia River and
Great Lakes area.
The Columbia River trading post at
Fort Astoria (established in April 1811) was the first United States community on the Pacific coast. He financed the overland
Astor Expedition in 1810-12 to reach the outpost. Members of the expedition were to discover
South Pass through which hundreds of thousands settlers on the
Oregon,
California and
Mormon trails passed through the
Rocky Mountains.
His fur trading ventures were disrupted once again when the British captured his trading posts during the
War of 1812, but rebounded in 1817 after the
U.S. Congress passed a
protectionist law that barred foreign traders from U.S. Territories. The American Fur Company once again came to dominate trading in the area around the Great Lakes. In 1822, Astor established the
Astor House on
Mackinac Island as headquarters for the reformed American Fur Company, making the island a metropolis of the fur trade. A lengthy description based on documents, diaries etc. was given by
Washington Irving in his travelogue
Astoria.
In 1802, Astor purchased what remained of a ninety-nine year lease from
Aaron Burr for $62,500. At the time, Burr was serving as
vice president under
Thomas Jefferson and was desperately short on cash. The lease was to run until May 1, 1866. Astor began subdividing the land into nearly 250 lots and subleased them. His conditions were that the tenant could do whatever they wish with the lots for twenty-one years, after which they must renew the lease or Astor would take back the lot.
Real estate and retirement
In 1834, as the cost of fur went up due to over trapping, and the demand went down due to changing fashions, Astor withdrew from the American Fur Company, as well as his other ventures, and focused solely on Manhattan
real estate. Foreseeing the rapid growth northward on
Manhattan Island, Astor purchased more and more land out beyond the current
city limits. Astor rarely built on his land, and instead let others pay rent to use it.
After retiring from his business, Astor spent the rest of his life as a patron of
culture. He supported the famous
ornithologist John James Audubon,
Edgar Allan Poe, and the
presidential campaign of
Henry Clay. At the time of his death, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least 20 million dollars. In his Will, he gave orders to build the
Astor Library for the New York public (later consolidated with other libraries to form
New York Public Library), as well as a poorhouse in his German hometown, Walldorf. The great bulk of his fortune was bequeathed to his second son,
William Backhouse Astor Sr., instead of his eldest son
John Jacob Astor II (1791-1869).
John Jacob Astor is interred in the
Trinity Churchyard Cemetery on
155th Street in the
New York City borough of
Manhattan.
# Magdalen (1788-1832)# Sarah (1790-1791)#
John Jacob II (1791-1879)#
William Backhouse (1792-1875)# Dorothee (1795-1853)# Henry (1797-1799)# Eliza (1801-1838)# unnamed son (1802)
*
Astor family**
John Jacob Astor IV**
John Jacob Astor VI**
John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever*
Astoria, Oregon*
Astoria, Queens*
Astor Place (Manhattan)*
Astor Row*
Astoria, Author Washington Irving full text (pdf)
