Three members of the
Astor family were named Henry:
1. Henry Astor (died 1833) was the brother of furrier and 18th century
New York City real estate mogul
John Jacob Astor.
Born in
Walldorf, near
Heidelberg to butcher
Johann Jacob Astor and Maria Magdalena, Henry's primary venture was a butcher shop (in 1776) on the
Bowery in
Manhattan, from which, along with other investments he was able to establish sizeable wealth. Astor died in 1833 and gave his fortune to his nephew
William Backhouse Astor, Sr..
2. Henry Astor (born 1797, died 1799) son of
John Jacob Astor.
3. Henry Astor (born 1832, died 1918), son of
William Backhouse Astor, Sr.The younger brother of
John Jacob Astor III and
William Backhouse Astor, Jr., Henry married Malvina Dinehart of Red Hook, NY in 1871. The match with Ms. Dinehart, whose father is variously described as the head farmer or the gardner for the Astor family farm in Red Hook (which Henry managed), was considered socially unacceptable. Henry was estranged from his father, brothers and all but one of his sisters as a result. His reputed disinheritance for falling in love with a poor woman became a celebrated scandal in New York society. Henry withdrew from New York society to live the quiet life of a gentleman farmer with his new wife in a house he designed himself in West Copake, NY. (Sometimes referred to in his time as Astorville.) Shortly before his death it became public knowledge that, although substantially reduced from a full share, his inheritance still put him among the richest men in the United States. Henry and Malvina were childless and his fortune reverted to his siblings and their issue upon his death, although his wife was guaranteed the interest from one-third of the estate for the remainder of her life.