Matthew Astor Wilks

Matthew Astor Wilks (March 3, 1844 – July 9, 1926)[1] was an American clubman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.[2]

Matthew Astor Wilks
Photograph of Wilk's mother-in-law, Wilks, and his wife, on his wedding day, 1909
Born(1844-03-03)March 3, 1844
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 9, 1926(1926-07-09) (aged 82)
New York City, U.S.
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1909)​
RelativesSee Astor family

Early life

Wilks was born in New York City on March 3, 1844. He was the one of seven children born to Matthew Wilks (1816–1899)[3] and Eliza Astor (née Langdon) Wilks (1818–1896).[4] His siblings included Elizabeth Wilks;[5] Alice Eugenia Wilks, who married William Napier Keefer; Katherine Langdon Wilks; and Eugene Langdon Wilks, who married Marquerite R. Briquet. He spent part of his year in Galt, Ontario, in Canada, where his father had a 1,000 acre estate known as Cruickston Park and mansion designed by Detlef Lienau.[6]

Through his mother, Wilks was great-grandson of America's first millionaire John Jacob Astor, the fur trader and real estate magnate. Among his first cousins were DeLancey Astor Kane, Woodbury Kane, S. Nicholson Kane, and John Jacob Astor IV.[7] His father, an English gentleman,[8] was the son of a reverend[6] and was born in London.[3]

Career
The New York Stock Exchange (left) and the Wilks Building (right), 1921.

Wilks, who inherited several million dollars from his family, began buying up property in lower Manhattan in 1876.[9] He tore down the various mixed buildings[9] and commissioned architect Charles W. Clinton to build a ten-story Italian Renaissance revival building, known as the Wilks Building, from 1889 to 1890 at 15 Wall Street in New York City.[10] The building, located at the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street, was torn down in 1923 in order for its adjourning neighbor, the New York Stock Exchange,[10] to expand into what became known as the New York Stock Exchange annex, designed by Trowbridge & Livingston.[9]

Society life

In 1892, Wilks was included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[11] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[12] Upon Caroline Schermerhorn Astor's death in 1908, Wilks was one of the pallbearers at her funeral.[13]

Wilks, who was considered "a man of independent fortune" was a member of the University Club of New York, the Metropolitan Club, the Badminton Club, the Turf and Field Club, the Fencers Club, the Knickerbocker Club, the New York Yacht Club and the Automobile Club of America.[1] He was considered one of the "society 'swells'" along with Lispenard Stewart and Elisha Dyer.[14] Wilks and his wife were fond of the Opera and had a box at the Metropolitan Opera House,[15] and had a home in Newport, Rhode Island.[16]

Personal life

On February 23, 1909, the then 63 year old Wilks was married to 38 year old Sylvia Ann Howland Green at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey.[17] She was the only daughter of financier Hetty Howland Robinson, known as "the world's richest woman," and Edward Henry Green.[18] Sylvia was the sister of businessman Edward Howland Robinson Green and the grandniece of Sylvia Ann Howland.[18][19]

Wilks died on July 9, 1926, at his home, 7 West 81st Street in New York City.[1] He was buried at Immanuel Cemetery in Bellows Falls, Vermont.[5] His widow, who was then living at 998 Fifth Avenue,[20] died on February 5, 1951, leaving an estate of $94,965,229 (approximately $1,071,064,000 today).[18][21][22][23]

References
  1. "Matthew A. Wilks Dies. J.J. Astor Descendant. Son-in-Law of the Late Hetty Green Was a Member of Many Clubs" (PDF). New York Times. August 4, 1926. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  2. Flynn, John T. (1941). Men of Wealth. Ludwig von Mises Institute. p. 245. ISBN 9781610163293. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. "Matthew Wilks" (PDF). The New York Times. June 21, 1899. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. "WILKS" (PDF). The New York Times. June 6, 1896. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. "MATTHEW A. WILKS'S WILL.; Mrs. Hetty Green's Son-In-Law Left Estate to Widow" (PDF). The New York Times. September 21, 1926. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  6. Redshaw, Rachel Morgan. The Past of Cruickston Park: Scandalous Marriages, the Rich Families of New York and the Unsinkable Titanic (PDF). North Dumfries Municipal Heritage Committee. p. 16. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  7. "COL. DE LANCEY KANE DIES OF PNEUMONIA; Noted Horseman and Astor's Great-Grandson Initiated Coaching in America. LONG A SOCIAL LEADER Graduate of West Point Who Inherited $10,000,000 Served in the Cavalry in Our Army". The New York Times. 5 April 1915. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  8. O'Connor, Harvey (1941). The Astors. A. A. Knopf. p. 314. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. Miller, Tom (6 November 2016). "The Lost Wilks Building - Wall and Broad Streets". Daytonian in Manhattan. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  10. Gabrielan, Randall (2000). New York City's Financial District in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 9780738500683. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  11. McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  12. Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  13. Wallach, Janet (2013). The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age. Anchor Books. p. 276. ISBN 9780307474575. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  14. Homberger, Eric (2004). Mrs. Astor's New York: Money and Social Power in a Gilded Age. Yale University Press. p. 154. ISBN 0300105150. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  15. "FEWER NEWCOMERS IN OPERA PARTERRE Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Astor Wilks Among Those in Golden Horseshoe. OPENING IS NEXT MONDAY Musical Foundation Has Leased Box Owned by Frederic A. Juilliard" (PDF). The New York Times. November 6, 1922. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  16. "MRS. HETTY GREEN AGAIN IN SOCIETY Son of the Richest Woman in the World Denies That She Is Ill. GOES TO NEWPORT SOON Mother of Mrs. Matthew Astor Wilks May Continue Her Social Campaign -- Has Made Many New Friends" (PDF). The New York Times. April 6, 1910. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  17. "Green Grist". Time. May 3, 1937. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  18. "MRS. HETTY WILKS DEAD AT AGE OF 80. Daughter Of Hetty Green, Noted For Financial Manipulations, Wed Descendant Of Astor "Accustomed To Economy" Active Until Last Year" (PDF). New York Times. February 6, 1951. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  19. "The Woman Who Loved Money". New York Social Diary. 21 August 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  20. Netburn, Deborah (7 August 2000). "Astor's 998 Fifth Home Gets $16 Million Nibble; Buyers Kept on Ice". Observer. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  21. "Hetty Green's Daughter Leaves $94,965,229". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1952. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  22. "Hetty Green's Only Daughter, 80, Dies". Los Angeles Times. February 7, 1951. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  23. "Wilks Estate Is Put At 95 Millions, Third Of It In One Checking Account; Mrs. Wilks' Assets Put At 95 Millions". New York Times. March 20, 1952. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
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