Socialite; Philanthropist. Mrs. Astor, nee Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, was the wife of John Jacob Astor III. Known to family and friends by her middle name, Augusta, she was the firstborn child of Thomas Stanyarne Gibbes Jr. of South Carolina and the former Susan Annette Vanden Heuvel. Described as a "Southern belle", in 1847 she became the bride of John Jacob Astor III. Shunning ostentatious displays of wealth, the couple resided in a dignified but relatively plain brownstone at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street in New York City. Her husband went on to serve the Union cause with distinction during the American Civil War, for which he was brevetted a brigadier general of volunteers. Their only son, William Waldorf Astor, later became a British subject and was raised to the peerage as the first Viscount Astor.
A deeply religious woman, "Augusta" Astor and her husband, who regarded his Civil War service as the greatest work of his life, dedicated their time and fortune to a variety of charitable causes. Mrs. Astor, in particular, was especially notable as an early supporter of cancer research and enlightened care for those suffering from the disease, which was believed to be incurable in her day. She herself eventually succumbed to it at age 62, predeceasing her husband by three years. The couple are buried side by side in Trinity Cemetery in northern Manhattan. Their son, who went on to found the British branch of the family, was buried in England after his death in 1919.
A deeply religious woman, "Augusta" Astor and her husband, who regarded his Civil War service as the greatest work of his life, dedicated their time and fortune to a variety of charitable causes. Mrs. Astor, in particular, was especially notable as an early supporter of cancer research and enlightened care for those suffering from the disease, which was believed to be incurable in her day. She herself eventually succumbed to it at age 62, predeceasing her husband by three years. The couple are buried side by side in Trinity Cemetery in northern Manhattan. Their son, who went on to found the British branch of the family, was buried in England after his death in 1919.
Socialite; Philanthropist. Mrs. Astor, nee Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, was the wife of John Jacob Astor III. Known to family and friends by her middle name, Augusta, she was the firstborn child of Thomas Stanyarne Gibbes Jr. of South Carolina and the former Susan Annette Vanden Heuvel. Described as a "Southern belle", in 1847 she became the bride of John Jacob Astor III. Shunning ostentatious displays of wealth, the couple resided in a dignified but relatively plain brownstone at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street in New York City. Her husband went on to serve the Union cause with distinction during the American Civil War, for which he was brevetted a brigadier general of volunteers. Their only son, William Waldorf Astor, later became a British subject and was raised to the peerage as the first Viscount Astor.
A deeply religious woman, "Augusta" Astor and her husband, who regarded his Civil War service as the greatest work of his life, dedicated their time and fortune to a variety of charitable causes. Mrs. Astor, in particular, was especially notable as an early supporter of cancer research and enlightened care for those suffering from the disease, which was believed to be incurable in her day. She herself eventually succumbed to it at age 62, predeceasing her husband by three years. The couple are buried side by side in Trinity Cemetery in northern Manhattan. Their son, who went on to found the British branch of the family, was buried in England after his death in 1919.
A deeply religious woman, "Augusta" Astor and her husband, who regarded his Civil War service as the greatest work of his life, dedicated their time and fortune to a variety of charitable causes. Mrs. Astor, in particular, was especially notable as an early supporter of cancer research and enlightened care for those suffering from the disease, which was believed to be incurable in her day. She herself eventually succumbed to it at age 62, predeceasing her husband by three years. The couple are buried side by side in Trinity Cemetery in northern Manhattan. Their son, who went on to found the British branch of the family, was buried in England after his death in 1919.
