New York Central Divident Sheet Signed by Wm. B. Astor and John Butterfield - Au for Sale

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New York Central Divident Sheet Signed by Wm. B. Astor and John Butterfield - Au For Sale

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New York Central Divident Sheet Signed by Wm. B. Astor and John Butterfield - Au:
$360.00

5 Stock Dividend Sheets signedby Wm B. Astor and John Butterfield. Large sheets measure 11 1/4" x 17 1/4". William Backhouse Astor (1792-1875), Capitalist, was born in New York City, the son of John Jacob Astor. He is best known as the "augmentor of the Astor millions". He became a man of great wealth. On the death of his father in 1848, he succeeded to the rank of the richest man in the United States as some $18,000,000 out of $20,000,000 estate was left to William. The father's policy of buying real estate in the section of New York City south of Fifty-ninth St. between Fourth and Seventh Avenues was continued by William until the greater part of the fortune was invested in land and buildings. He thus became commonly known as the "landlord of New York". His fortune, estimated at about $50,000,000, was divided equally between his sons John Jacob and William. Stock transfer of the MOHAWK & HUDSON RAILROAD, Dated 1836 and signed by William B. Astor. A nice portrait of Astor is included. Fresh Excellent Condition. William Backhouse Astor Sr. (September 19, 1792 " November 24, 1875) was an American business magnate who inherited most of his father John Jacob Astor's fortune. He worked as a partner in his father's successful export business. His massive investment in Manhattan real estate enabled major donations to the Astor Library in the East Village, which became the New York Public Library. William was born in New York City on September 19, 1792 and named after William Backhouse, a friend of his father who was a New York merchant. He was a son of fur-trader John Jacob Astor (1763"1848) and Sarah Cox Todd (1761"1834). His seven siblings were Magdalena (1788"1832), Sarah (1790"1790), John Jr. (1791"1869), Dorothea (1795"1874), Henry (1797"1799), Eliza (1801"1838), and an unnamed brother who died shortly after his November 13, 1802 birth. He attended local public schools. His spare hours and vacations were employed in assisting his father in the store. When he was sixteen, he was sent to the University of Gttingen in Germany, where he joined the German Student Corps Curonia of the Baltic German students; later he moved to the University of Heidelberg. He chose as his tutor a student, afterward known as the Chevalier Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen, with whom he also traveled. In 1815, he returned to the United States and entered partnership with his father, who changed the name of his firm to John Jacob Astor & Son and engaged in the China trade. William's elder brother John Jacob Astor Jr. was sickly and mentally unstable, and had no part in the business. He worked there until his father's death. One source argued that his role in the company was never anything more than as "an industrious and faithful head clerk", despite his official title of head of the firm's chief subsidiary, Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.