HER OPERA BALLS WERE BIGGER THAN YOURS
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor was born September 22, 1830. She was the 9th child of a wealthy Old Dutch shipping family. Lina, as she was called, went to a private school and learned French, needle work, and deportment. She married William Backhouse Astor on September 23rd 1853. William Backhouse Astor was a grandson of fur trader turned real estate magnate John Jacob Astor I. The Astors had more money, but Schermerhorn was a Knickerbocker name and held more social clout. Mrs. Astor and William Backhouse Astor had five children : Emily, Helen, Charlotte, Carrie, and John Jacob IV. Mrs Astor had no real interest in society until her children were older. Then she took a serious interest - as in she wanted to define and control society.
America was emerging as a world power and New York became its financial and cultural center. Society as it came to be defined throughout the Gilded Age didn't really exist before. Caroline Astor wanted clearly defined boundaries with rules about etiquette, dining, decor, and dress to show the world that America not only had class and culture, but could define class and culture. Mrs. Astor hated gossip, and refused to lose her temper publicly. She detested showy displays of wealth and did not appreciate the arrivistes flaunting their dollars along the avenue. In Mrs. Astor's world, society meant money, but money did not always mean society.
Her marriage to William Backhouse Astor was never a love match. Mrs. Astor inherited her own wealth and did not rely on the Astor fortune. She summered at her Newport home, Beechwood, and spent her time arbitrating society with her gentleman in waiting Ward McAllister. Mrs. Astor awarded the society worthy with calling cards. Without one you would never be allowed to attend one of her functions. She held her Opera ball the first Monday in January. Guests attended the opera and arrived at 11 P.M., greeted by Mrs. Astor standing underneath a portrait of herself. After dancing came an eight course plated dinner - buffets were too nouveau riche.
The balls ceased for about 6 years as Mrs. Astor faced difficulties. Her daughter Emily died young, and Carrie had a scandalous affair and ran off with her paramour. Her nephew Waldorf became the keeper of the Astor family financial holdings. Waldorf felt that because of this, his wife should be society's Mrs. Astor. Lina of course disagreed. Waldorf tore down his mansion, built a hotel, and moved to Europe. The Waldorf Hotel, height of New York City luxury hotels was referred to by Mrs. Astor as the "glorified tavern next door." Mrs Astor and Ward McAllister parted ways in 1890 after Ward McAllister wrote a tell all book about his and Lina's social set. Her son John Jacob Astor IV demolished their Fifth Avenue mansion and built the Astor Hotel. The Astors moved further up 5th Avenue to a double mansion. Once settled in her new mansion, Mrs. Astor held her last three opera balls from 1905 until her death October 30th 1908. Mamie Fish, Tessie Oelrichs, and Alva Vanderbilt took her place as New York Society mavens. The women she tried to keep out of society now defined society.
SOURCES :
Caroline Astor. Wikipedia.
Cooper, Anderson / Howe, Katherine ~ Vanderbilt : The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.
FURTHER MEDIA :
BOOKS :
The Social Graces ~ Renee Rosen
PODCASTS :
Graham, Beckett / Vollenweider, Susan, hosts. "The Mrs. Astor." The History Chicks, Episode 8, 9 May 2011.
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