Caroline Webster Schermerhorn

1830 - 1908  (78 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and 69 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Caroline Webster Schermerhorn  [1]
  Birth	22 Sep 1830
  Gender	Female
  Death	30 Oct 1908
  Siblings	8 Siblings
  1. Henry White Schermerhorn,   b. 31 Jul 1810   d. 28 Nov 1811  (Age 1 year)   2. Augustus Van Cortlandt Schermerhorn,   b. 4 Mar 1812   d. 16 Oct 1846  (Age 34 years)   3. Archibald Bruce Schermerhorn,   b. 18 Feb 1814   d. 27 Apr 1862  (Age 48 years) + 4. Elizabeth Schermerhorn,   b. 14 Mar 1816   d. 19 Aug 1875  (Age 59 years) ▻ NN Jones,  m. 30 Aug 1838   5. Anna White Schermerhorn,   b. 15 Feb 1818   d. 23 Nov 1886  (Age 68 years)   6. Helen Schermerhorn,   b. 22 Jul 1820   d. 18 Dec 1893  (Age 73 years)   7. Cordelia Schermerhorn,   b. 15 Mar 1823   d. 14 May 1839  (Age 16 years)   8. Catharine Schermerhorn,   b. 19 Mar 1828   d. 24 Oct 1858  (Age 30 years) + 9. Caroline Webster Schermerhorn,   b. 22 Sep 1830   d. 30 Oct 1908  (Age 78 years) ▻ William Backhouse Astor, Jr.,  m. 20 Sep 1853
  Person ID	I53768	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	28 Apr 2003

  
  

  Father	Abraham Schermerhorn,   b. 9 Apr 1783, Hyde Park, Dutchess, New York, USA d. 3 Feb 1850 (Age 66 years)
  Mother	Helen White,   b. 12 Nov 1792   d. 25 May 1881 (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	12 Sep 1809
  Family ID	F128871	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	William Backhouse Astor, Jr.,   b. 1830   d. 1892 (Age 62 years)
  Marriage	20 Sep 1853
  Children	+ 1. Emily Astor,   b. 1854   d. 1881 (Age 27 years) + 2. Helen Astor,   b. 1855   d. Nov 1893 (Age 38 years) + 3. Charlotte Augusta Astor,   b. 1858   d. 1920 (Age 62 years) + 4. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor,   b. 1861   d. 1948 (Age 87 years) + 5. Col. John Jacob Astor,   b. 13 Jul 1864   d. 15 Apr 1912, Titanic (Age 47 years)
  Family ID	F21949	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 Apr 2003

  
  

• Notes

  She used her position to establish herself as Queen of the American High Society and rule over the latter for almost 30 years. She employed Ward McAllister, a well known socialite and bon vivant to help her arbitrate New York's Society and establish a list of 400 people, who were to be considered the social elite of America. Thereby, Mrs Astor deliberately eliminated the nouveau rich, railroad or industrial captains of the Gilded Age, to favor instead family descent and old wealth. Mrs Astor's annual January ball that took place at the Astor's vast 5th Ave mansion was the social event of the year, nobody was allowed to miss. The number of 400 was actually derived from the capacity of the Astors ballroom. Mrs Astor's lavish dinner parties were even more coveted events and an invitation was particularly coveted by the newly rich, for the social significance it conveyed. In latter years, Mrs Astor was challenged by Alvah Vanderbilt, the exuberant wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt, a third generation heir of the more recent Vanderbilt family, whose wealth was derived from ownership of the New York Central Railroad. The Astors also had a summer house in Newport R.I., a place called Beechwood, from where Caroline Schermerhorn Astor extended heir reign to this fashionable summer resort in New England. http://www.astors-beechwood.com/page2.html [1]

  
  

• Sources

  [S1463] A Classification of American Wealth.