Madeleine 1916 - 1922

1916

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/01/19/100185479.html?pageNumber=11

MRS. JOHN J. ASTOR GIVES DINNER DANCE
Hostess at the First Private Entertainment at Astor Residence Since Her Marriage. GREAT ARRAY OF SOCIETY Gold Service Is Used on Mrs. Astor's Table — 350 Guests Dance in the Picture Gallery.
Mrs. John Jacob Astor was the hostess last night at the first private entertainment she has held since her marriage, in the Astor residence, 840 Fifth Avenue. On two occasions she lent her house for charitable affairs. The entertainment began with a dinner and ended with dancing and a supper. The dinner guests numbered 200.
Mrs. Astor presided at a table seating thirty guests, which was placed in the dining room, and in each corner was a table seating twenty guests. The other tables were arranged around the fountain in the large inner hall. The gold service was used on the hostess's table and pink flowers adorned all of the tables.
After the dinner 50 or more additional guests came for the dancing which was held in the picture gallery which served as a ballroom, the orchestra being placed in a balcony at one end of the gallery. About 1 o'clock a supper was served.
....
guests included William K. Dick

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/02/26/100193428.html?pageNumber=4

not about Madeleine

ASTOR WAS IN PERIL.
Glass of Broken Skylight Falls at His Feet.
PALM BEACH, Flo., Feb. 25. — Vincent Astor had a narrow escape for serious injury here today. He was passing beneath a skylight in the Rotunda of his hotel, when glass, seventy-five feet above fell with a tremendous crash at his feet. It was a half inch thick and some of the pieces weighed more than a pound. The great chunks of glass fell with enough velocity to break a man's skull. One big piece fell about two feet from Mr. Astor.
A cocoanut that must have ben dropped accidentally by some sightseer in a high tower above the roof sent the heavy glass crashing. The Astor's yacht Noma arrived today. The Astor party will leave for Havana tomorrow.


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/04/29/100205495.html?pageNumber=11
$27,593 TO MAINTAIN ASTOR BABY A YEAR
Widow of Titanic Victim Has to Pay Excess Over $20,000 Allowed by Estate. INCOME OF BEQUEST $150,000 Mother, in Filing Report, Tells of Heavy Expenses of Residence Occupied by Family of Two.






https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/01/22/100185782.html?pageNumber=9

his first wife?

Mrs. John Astor Goes to Ottawa.
Mrs. John Astor, who has been staying at the Ritz-Carlton, left last night for Ottawa, where she will be the house guest for a few days of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. Last week, Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt visited the Duke and Duchess.
also
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/02/25/100193229.html?pageNumber=11

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/03/01/100337693.html?pageNumber=3

21 VERDUN CIVILIANS KILLED.
Military Authorities Have Now Forced All to Leave the City.
PARIS, Feb. 29. — Reports from Verdun say that twenty-one persons of the civilian population have been killed by shells which fell in the city. A small remnant of the population were urged by the authorities to go, and they crowded on freight cars, used for the handling of artillery, and, exposed to the snow and the cold, they departed for a safer region.

Mrs. John Astor's Mission.
Will Investigate Conditions of Women in Munition's Factories.


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/03/05/104021379.html?pageNumber=60

His first wife?????

Mrs. John Astor Asks Sympathy for England
Americans, She Believes, Have Been Somewhat Inarticulate in Expressing Good-Will Toward the British People in Their Fight
Mrs. John Astor is to take part in an extensive campaign in Europe to better the working conditions of women employed in the munition factories of the warring nations. etc.








https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/03/30/104670412.html?pageNumber=14

PADEREWSKI BALKS AT RANKE CONCERT
Mme. Schumann-Heink Also Refuses to Take Part in Benefit for Polish Children. MRS. ASTOR DECLINES AID Sends Letter That She Will Not Act as Patroness — Mrs. Wilson's Name Used on List.




https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/05/30/104676973.html?pageNumber=11 

MRS. ASTOR GOES DOWN TO DEFEAT
Plays a Hard Game, but Loses to Miss Alexander in Hartsdale Tennis Tourney.
Women's tennis occupied the centre of the stage yesterday in the Eastern New York championship tournament at the County Tennis Club at Hartsdale. Two rounds of the singles competition were played, among those who came through being Mrs. Edward Raymond, Miss Marie Wagner, and Miss Helen Gilleaudeau, a Barnard College player.
Mrs. John Jacob Astor forced Miss Alexander to a three-set match in the first round. With a good service and a fairly strong forehand, Mrs. Astor took the first, 6-3. Her weak backhand was particularly noticeable. Miss Alexander took good account of this and in the next two sets continually drove to Mrs. Astor's backhand with the result that she was able to win at 6-3, 6-4. Miss Katherine Force also competed in a three-set match and was defeated by Mrs. L. G. Morris at 9-11, 6-3, 6-2.




https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/04/11/100202284.html?pageNumber=15
"AFFINITIES" PLAY GOLF.
Mrs. John Jacob Astor and William K. Dick Win at Aiken.

Special--
AIKEN, S.C., April 10 The Winter colony of golfers here competed in a novel tournament today called "affinity foursomes" at medal play. Each pair was permitted to select the best six holes of the first nine and the best six of the second nine. Mrs. John Jacob Astor, playing with William K. Dick, won first honors with a score off 61-15-16, thereby capturing the prize offered by Mrs. Oliver Iselin.
Summary - all the players and scores <snip>


1916 June 17 Astor home inclined to discredit rumor of engagement

‘Madeline Force Astor, widow of John Jacob Astor, who went down with the Titanic, is to be married next week to William K. Dick, vice-president of the Manufacturers’ Trust Company of New York, according to a story appearing in the Brooklyn Times Union this afternoon. <snip> At the Astor home on Fifth avenue, it was stated that Mrs. Astor left on Thursday for Bar Harbor, where she plans to spend the summer. Servants at the Astor home were surprised at the rumor of the engagement of their mistress and were inclined to discredit it. At the home of William H. Force, father of Mrs. Astor, it was said that none of the members of the family could be reached. <snip> Mrs. Astor, now 22, was married to John Jacob Astor in 1911. A year later Colonel Astor was aboard the Titanic when it went down

(Long Beach Press, 1916)

1916 June 12 – WM K Dick at Bar Harbor


William K. Dick who is to marry Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor Thursday arrived this morning from New York. The ceremony will be at 2 PM Thursday afternoon in St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church. Preceding the ceremony there will be a luncheon at Isle Cote or the out-of-town guests. The bridal party will leave at once on a private car attached to the train on which the New York guests will return. It leaves at 3:45 PM. Mrs. Force will stay at Isle Cote while the couple are on their honeymoon trip. She will watch after the young John Jacob Astor during his mother’s honeymoon. (New York Times, 1916) (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916)


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/18/99440862.html?pageNumber=57

BAR HARBOR POPULAR.
The Larger Cottages Already Leased and Fifty Occupied.
BAR HARBOR, Me., June 17. — There has been an early influx of Summer sojourners here, and already about fifty of the cottages have occupants. Daily arrivals continue to supplement the colony of visitors, which promises to be unusually large this season. The greater number of the larger cottages have been leased and, with few exceptions, only small places are available.
<snip>
Mrs. John Jacob Astor and little son, John Jacob Astor 4th, arrived this week to take possession of Isle Cote, also a Vanderbilt cottage.


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/18/99440438.html?pageNumber=1

1916 June 18

MRS. JOHN J. ASTOR TO MARRY W.K. DICK

Four Years a Widow, She Gives Up Income of Millions for Love of Girlhood Friend. 

LOSES FIFTH AV. MANSION 

Trust from Husband Goes to Vincent Astor, Whose Wife Will Be Social Head of Family. 

Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of John Jacob Astor, who was lost on the Titanic, is to marry again. Tomorrow, reports say, at her estate in Bar Harbor, Me., she will become the wife of William K. Dick, member of an old and very wealthy Brooklyn family and a friend of her girlhood days.

By her act Mrs. Astor relinquishes the provisions made for her under the will of her late husband, which include the income of a trust fund of $5,000,000 and at the tenancy of the Astor home in Fifth Avenue, and at the same time renounces all title to a position of great prestige in New York society, which will now pass to Mrs. Vincent Astor, who will be mistress of the house in Fifth Avenue. The trust fund, the income of which Mrs. John Jacob Astor enjoyed, will now pass to Vincent Astor along with the title to the Astor mansion.

Mrs. Astor is 24 years old and her prospective husband is 29.

William K. Dick, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick of 20 East Fifty-third Street, is active in financial circles. He is the Vice President of the Manufacturers Trust Company of Brooklyn and Director in the Broadway Trust Company, the Cord Meyer Development Company, Citizens' Water Supply Company, Lake Charles Rice Milling Company, Vice President of the McKee Refrigerator Company, and Secretary and Treasurer of Rigney & Co.

After their wedding Mr. and Mrs. Dick will go West for their honeymoon. They will be gone about a month, and then will return to sped the Summer in a cottage on the Dick County estate, Allen Winden, at Islip, Long Island.

Long in Seclusion.

After her arrival here as a survivor of the Titanic disaster, in which her husband lost his life, Mrs. Astor went into seclusion in the Fifth Avenue house. It was there her child was born. So quietly did she live and so little was she or her family seen in public that it was not until her boy was 18 months old that news photographers got an opportunity to take pictures of the newest Astor heir. It was not until about two years after her husband's death that Mrs. Astor emerged from her seclusion.

A little less than a year ago Mrs. Astor gave a large dinner, the first entertainment she had given since her husband's death, and Mr. Dick was one of the guests. Later he figured on the guest lists of her entertainments at Aitken, S.C. and also at Bar Harbor.

Their friendship of their early days was renewed and it began to be noticed that he was rather often in her company. Still, so carefully was their secret guarded, that when this was commented upon the matter could be turned off lightly as a natural result of old friendship, and society has not suspected even since the have actually been engaged.

Mr. Dick is said to be very wealthy. The founder of the family fortune was his grandfather, William Dick, who made large sums out of sugar refining in association with such interests as the Havemeyers and the Mollenhauers.

The grandfather founded the Manufacturers Bank of Brooklyn, which ahs later been transformed into the Manufacturers Trust Company, a flourishing institution of most of the manufacturers of the Williamsburg district.

Learned the Sugar Business.

Mr. Dick's mother was Julia Mollenhauer, a sister of J. Adolph Mollenhaur, identified with large sugar interests. His sister married one of the Havemeyers, identified with similar interests. Mr. Dick himself learned the sugar industry from the bottom up., entering the Williamsburg factory of the Mollenhauer company as a boy. Mr. Dick's sisters married Horace Havemeyer and William Kingsland Macy respectively. He has a brother, Adolph Dick, who has just completed his junior year at Yale.

As  Madeline Force, Mrs. Astor's early years were spent in Brooklyn. Her father, William H. Force, was head of a large shipping and forwarding firm, with offices at 78 Front Street. His daughters were active in the younger set in Brooklyn and were friends of the younger members of the Dick family.

The announcement of the engagement of Miss Madeleine Talmage Force to John Jacob Astor was made by Mr. Force in August, 1911. Although society had known of Mr. Astor's attentions to his prospective bride, the announcement attracted much attention. Colonel Astor was then 47 years old and Miss Force was still in her teens, had in fact only left school the Spring before. Colonel Astor had already been married. His first wife, Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, obtained an interlocutory decree of divorce in 1909, which was later made absolute. The proceedings leading up the decree were widely commented upon for the trial set a new record for speed and secrecy in such matters.

Mr. Astor and Miss Force were married at the Astor estate, Beechwood, in Newport, on Sept. 9, 1911.

Marriage Made Difficult.

The marriage was not effected without difficulties, for there was trouble in finding a clergyman who would solemnize it on account of the bridegroom having been divorced. The minister who did officiate, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lambert of the Elmwood Temple Congregational Church of Providence, was later severely condemned by his congregation and other clergymen, and finally announced that he would leave the ministry and go into business.

Colonel Astor and his wife were on board the Titanic when that vessel went down. Colonel Astor died in a manner that effaced the memory of much of the criticism that had been directed against him. His wife, having only a confused recollection of what had happened, was rescued in one of the last lifeboats to put off.

When Colonel Astor's will was published it was found that practically all of the huge estate had been left to Vincent Astor as residuary legatee. There was a bequest of $5,000,000 to Muriel Astor, Vincent's sister, and a trust fund of $3,000,000 was created for the use of any child other than Vincent who might survive. The will had been executed nine days after his marriage with Miss Madeleine Force.

To his wife he bequeathed the income from a trust fund of $5,000,000 which she was to receive so long as she remained his widow. On her death or at her remarriage the capital of this fund was to go to Vincent Astor. On precisely the same terms she received the town house and its furnishings. She received outright $100,000 and the horses, carriages, and automobiles belonging to her husband.

The will directed that until the trust fund be set up she was to receive an income at a rate of $200,000 a year, and it is said on the best authority that this was about the sum she received annually as the income from the trust fund after it was established, which income she now gives up automatically when she marries Mr. Dick.

No Dower in Estate.

It was recorded in the will that these provisions for Mrs. Astor were made in lieu of dower, and all other claims upon his estate. It was well known that, according to the custom of the Astor family, Colonel Astor had by a prenuptial settlement given a large sum to his wife in lieu of her dower rights in the estate. There had been much speculation as to what this sum amounted to.

When the estate was appraised for the inheritance tax it was found that the appraiser set a value of $7,678,896 on the total inheritance of Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor. This was based on the actuarial probabilities of the number of years she would live to draw income from the fund created for her.

The appraisal also disclosed for the first time the amount of the much discussed pre-nuptial settlement. It was found to comprise two trust funds, one of which the appraisers valued at $1,384,415.10 and the other at $311,336.63 - a total of $1,695,751.73. Various action had placed this figure all the way from $200,000 to $2,000,000 and one account even went as far as to say it was $5,000,000.

Of the two trust funds, the appraisal established the fact that the smaller had been given outright with the power of disposal even during Colonel Astor's lifetime. So it is clear that he Astor estate has no claim on this amount. It was not made so clear as to the larger sum, the indications being that it was an incom for life whose principal reverted to Vincent Astor on her death, although the remarriage clause may also govern this sum.

Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor had one son by her marriage. He is John Jacob Astor also. He was born on August 14, 1912, almost exactly four months after his father's death on the Titanic, in the Astor home on Fifth Avenue.

The total amount Mrs. Astor gives up by her contemplated marriage is $3,571,036. This figure is derived also from the calculations of the Inheritance Tax Appraiser. Based on the number of years she would be expected to enjoy the life interests bequeathed her, the appraiser found that her interest in the $5,000,000 trust fund would be $1,094,199; the value of her state in the Astor mansion was appraised at $1,9974,627, and the interest in the furnishings and decorations of the house $502,210, which make the total given above as the amount she lost by remarriage.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/18/99440500.html?pageNumber=5

MRS. ASTOR DOESN'T DENY.

Secretary Says Mr. Dick Is Expected but Won't Say How Soon

BAR HARBOR, Me., June 17, Mrs. John Jacob Astor, through her social secretary, Miss Elizabeth Briggs, refused positively to confirm or deny the report that she would be remarried to William K. Dick on Monday next.
Miss Briggs said Mrs. Astor wished to say that no license had been issued, and Mr. Dick was not in Bar Harbor. She said Mrs. Astor was tired from her trip and later would give out a statement. When asked if Mr. Dick was expected, it was said that he was, but Miss Briggs would not say how soon. She also declined to say whether he would be a guest at Isle Cote, the Astor cottage. 
Mr. Dick arrived in Bar Harbor last season and registered at he Belmont on June 11, and remained about three weeks. He returned on Aug. 21 and went to the Malvern. On both visits he was attentive to Mrs. Astor, and spent much time on her tennis courts and was frequently a dinner guest.
It is said at the Malvern he was made a reservation for the first week in August, and that if he had changed his plans they did not know of it. Mrs. William H. Force and Miss Force are in New York.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/19/100213820.html?pageNumber=11

MAINE LAW DELAYS DICK-ASTOR WEDDING
Couple May Come to New York and Be Married to Avoid Five-Day Notice of Intention. CARDS PRINTED FOR TODAY License Application on Saturday Gave Principals First Hint That They Must Wait.

Special to The New York Times

BAR HARBOR. :Me., June 18. Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of John Jacob Astor and William K. Dick filed notice of their intention to marry with the Town Clerk of Eden on Saturday, it became known here today. In accordance with the provisions of the Maine law that five days must elapse between the filing of intention and the marriage ceremony, the wedding cannot take place before Thursday. It is possible that the wedding would be solemnized in New York before that day. 
It was said that the original intention was to have the wedding at the Astor country home here on Monday and that announcement cards bearing that date had already been printed. Discovery of the provision to the Maine law requiring five days intermission between the filing of intention and the ceremony made a postponement necessary.
Plans for the wedding were indefinite, it was said. but there is a possibility that Mrs. Astor and Mr. Dick will leave for New York before Thursday to avoid the Maine law's restriction and have the ceremony before that day.
Mrs. Astor today confirmed through her social secretary the report hat she was to marry Mr. Dick, but said that no definite plans for the wedding had been made. 
Mrs. William H. Force of New York, mother of Mrs. Astor, and Miss Katherine Force, whose engagement to Henri C. Harnickell, a New York broker, was, announced in 1912, arrived here today and went at once to Isle Cote, Mrs. Astor's home.
Although Mrs. Astor had taken great interest in the tennis tournament on the Swimming Club tennis courts and in golf on the Kebo Valley golf links in previous seasons, it was noticed last year that she became an infrequent visitor there. It was said that she and Mr. Dick with other friends were using private tennis courts and links on the Astor estate for their games. 
Summer residents here often saw her riding to tl1e Inn at Jordan Pond with Mr. Dick and other friends. but it was not suspected that Mrs. Astor was engaged.
It was learned in Newport today that the provisions of the will of the late  John Jacob Astor as published were correct. It was said that lawyers familiar with Mrs. Astor's plans knew of no intention to contest the will nor had they heard of the engagement to Mr. Dick until they had read it in the newspapers it was said.



https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/20/100214063.pdf
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/20/100214063.html?pageNumber=11

1916 June 20
MRS. J. J. ASTOR TO WED IN BAR HARBOR
Her Marriage to William K. Dick
Is to be Held on Thursday Afternoon
AT ISLE  COTE  OR  CHURCH

Bridal Party and Guests to Leave
After a Luncheon for New York-Honeymoon in West.

Special to The New Tork Times

BAR HARBOR, Me., June 19. -
It was announced here today that the marriage of  Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of John Jacob Astor, and William K. Dick, will take place in Bar Harbor on Thursday afternoon. It will not be definitely decided until tomorrow whether the ceremony will take place at Isle Cote, Mrs. Astor's cottage, or at St. Saviour's Episcopal Church. The Rev. Dr. .A. C. Learned, rector ot the church is to officiate.
Miss Briggs, Secretary to Mrs. Astor, said today that all the details had not been definitely arranged. Mrs. Astor is to wear a traveling dress of blue, and the ceremony is to be followed by a luncheon. At 3 o'clock, on Thursday, the bridal  party  and  guests will leave on the train for New York.
Mr. Dick and his bride continuing West on their honeymoon. Mr. Dick has already engaged by wire reservations consisting of seven sections and a drawing room and compartment adjoining.
Their guests will arrive from New York on Thursday, and will includ Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick, the parents of the bridegroom; Mr. and Mrs Horace Havemeyere, and Mrs. and Mrs. william Kingsland Macy, the two latter being his sisters; also Adolph M. Dick, his brother; Mrs. Seth Barton French, Miss Dorothy Sturges, Scott Hoyle, and Lyman N. Hine. Others present will be Mr. and Mrs. J. Adolph Mollenhasuer, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Force, Miss Katherine Force, and Victor Cushman.
Mrs. Astor motored twenty miles to Ellsworth this morning to meet her father, William H. Force, who was delayed, and will probably arrive tomorrow. Mrs. Force and her daughter, Miss Katherine Force, arrived here on Sunday.
As the application for the license was made on Saturday, the Main law stipulates that five days must elapse between the application and  the granting of it. This was made a law in 1915. It was said that the original intention was to hold the wedding today, which happens to be Mrs. Astor's twenty-fourth birthday.





1916 June 22 - Wedding of Mr. William Karl Dick and Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor

·        Place: St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor, Maine (NYT article: ‘It will not be definitely decided until tomorrow whether the ceremony will take place at Isle Cote, Mrs. Astor’s cottage, or at St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church.’)

·        Ceremony: Rev. A. C. Larned, rector, lasted 20 minutes

·        Description: Simple, no music, no flowers, no attendants, chapel only seats 50 persons [‘In the chancel of St. Saviour’s, brilliantly lit for the occasion, and under a tower where hundreds of doves were cooing, the only music for the occasion, the simple Episcopal ceremony was performed by the Rev. A. C. Larned, rector of the church.’ (Reading Times, 1916)]

·        Honeymoon travels: Tuesday registered at Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, motoring ‘leisurely’ down the coast to a house by the sea in Santa Barbara, CA which they have leased for their honeymoon.

·        Madeleine wore: NYT Article: Miss Briggs, secretary to Mrs. Astor said that Mrs. Astor will wear a traveling dress of blue. Brooklyn Times Union article: Simple blue serge traveling suite with a blue straw hat and white gloves to match. (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916)

·        NYT Article: Guests include (Brooklyn Times Union reported that 23 witnessed the ceremony)

o   Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick (parents of groom)

o   Mr. and Mrs. Horace Havemeyer (groom sister)

o   Mr. and Mrs. William Kingsland Macy (groom sister)

o   Adolph M. Dick (groom brother)

o   Mrs. Seth Barton French

o   Miss Dorothy Sturges

o   Scott Hoyle

o   Lyman N. Hine

o   Mr. and Mrs. William H. Force (bride parents)

o   Miss Katherine Force (bride sister)

o   Victor Cushman

o   John Jacob Astor, 4th (New York Times, 1922)

o   Henri Harnickel (fiancé o Miss Katherine Force - (New York Times, 1922))

·        June 22, 1916 Mr. Dick and Mrs. Astor went motoring in the afternoon. She wore a rose-colored coat and a small black hat trimmed with white flowers (New York Times, 1922)

·        Brooklyn community interest in the wedding – prominent families: bride’s great-grandfather Thomas G. Talmage, was mayor of Brooklyn in 1845. In 1845 WKD’s paternal grandfather began his business making a fortune in sugar refining trade and his maternal grandfather (John Mollenhauer) was also a ‘power in the sugar business.’

·        Brooklyn community interest in the wedding – Mr. Dick’s resume: Mr. William K. Dick is (1916) the vice-president of the Manufacturers’ Trust Company of Brooklyn, with an office in Broadway, Williamsburg, and the vice-president and director of the Robert Chapman Company, of the McKe Refrigerator Company, and o Rigney and Company.  He is director o the Broadway Trust Company, the Bi-Products Reclaiming Corporation the Cord Meyer Development Company, the German Savings Bank, the Lake Charles Milling Company, the Citizens’ Water Supply Company, and the Commercial National Bank of Long Island City.  He is a member of Metropolitan Bankers, Piping Rock, Meadow Brook, Rauet and Riding Clubs. Chairman o the Crosstown Transit Committee of Brooklyn and is active in local Brooklyn affairs. 

·        Residence: Town House at 20 East 53rd Street Manhattan and country home ‘Allen Winden’ at Islip Long Island.

·        ‘Mr. Dick is said to have been a delicate child, unlike his brother, Adolph, now a junior at Yale, and owing to his frail constitution, has been always regarded as the “pet of the family.”’ (Reading Times, 1916)

·          (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916) Sources for the details of the wedding: (Brooklyn Life, 1916) (New York Times, 1916) (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916) (Reading Times, 1916)


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/21/301872452.html?pageNumber=11


1916 June 21
WM. K. DICK AT BAR HARBOR.
He Arrives for His Wedding to Mrs. John Jacob Astor Tomorrow.

Special to the NYT

BAR HARBOR, Me., June 20
William K. Dick, who is to marry Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of Colonel John Jacob Astor, Thursday, arrived this morning from New York.
During the afternoon,, he and Mrs. Astor went for a long motor ride. They were accompanied by Mr. Dick's brother, Adolph M. Dick, who is to be best man at the wedding.
THe ceremony will be performed at 2 o'clock Thursday afternoon in St. Saviour's Episcopal Church. Preceding the cermeony there will be a luncheon at Isle Cote for the out-of-town guests. The bridal party will leave at once on a private car attached to the train on which the New York guests will retunrn. It leaves at 3:45 o'clock.
William H. Force, father of Mrs. Astor, is on his way by motor, and will reach Bar Harbor tomorrow night, accoding to a telegram received. Henri Harnickel, fiance of Miss Katherine Force, will arrive Thursday morning.
Mrs. force will stay at Isle Cote while the couple are on their honeymoon trip.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/22/104678215.html?pageNumber=11 
MRS. ASTOR WEDS TODAY.
John Jacob Astor, 4th, to See His Mother Marry William K. Dick.
MRS. ASTOR WEDS TODAY.
John Jacob Astor, 4th, to See His Mother Marry William K. Dick.

Special to the New York Times

BAR HARBOR, Me., June 21 - John Jacob Astor 4th will be at the wedding of his mother, Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of Col. J. J. Astor, and William K. Dick when it takes place tomorrow at 2 PM in St. Saviour's Episcopal Church. After his mother leaves here on her bridal journey the child will remain with his grandmother, Mrs. William H. Force at Isle Cote.
It was said at the house today that Mr. Dick could only get away from his business for three weeks, but that Mrs. Astor hoped they would be gone a month. They will not confine their stay to any fixed place in California, but put the time in traveling.
No invitations have been issued for tomorrow's ceremony, and no outsiders will be admitted to the church.
Mr. Dick is staying at the home of Mrs. Eric McDonald on Highbrook Road. He went motoring this afternoon with Mrs. Astor, who wore a rose-colored coat and small black hat trimmed with white flowers.
Among the recent arrivals for the wedding was Henri Harnickel, the fiancé of Miss Katherine Force. [note: this was later denied by KF] Their engagement was announced three years ago, and no date has been set as yet for their marriage.

1916 June 22 - ?  Honeymoon

(Brooklyn Times Union, 1916) ‘William K. Dick has accepted the offer of Mrs. E. C. Cushman’s cottage in Santa Barbara, California and the couple is expected to leave Bar Harbor in a private car late today for the Pacific coast. In Rose Bowered Cottage. At Santa Barbara, in the rose-bowered Cushman cottage, the centre of an estate in the Monticito Hills, Mr. and Mrs. Dick will pass a honeymoon of three weeks.’


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/23/104678499.html?pageNumber=11 
MRS. J. J. ASTOR IS WED TO WM. K. DICK
Simple Ceremony in Little Episcopal Chapel in Bar Harbor, with Sunshine as Good Omen. FATHER GIVES BRIDE AWAY Relatives and a Few Friends at Nuptials, While Police Keep Crowd at Distance
- Leave for California.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/23/104678499.html?pageNumber=11

1916 June 23

Simple Ceremony in Little Episcopal Chapel in Bar Harbor, with Sunshine as Good Omen.

FATHER GIVES BRIDE AWAY

Relatives and a Few Friends at Nuptials, While Police Keep Crowd at Distance - Leave for California.

Special to The New York Times.

BAR HARBOR, Me., June 22

The wedding of Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of Colonel John Jacob Astor, and William K. Dick, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick of New York, which was celebrated here at 2 o'clock this afternoon in St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, was a simple and quiet affair, without display or ostentation.
Perfect weather favored the occasion, and the sun shone brightly upon the vineclad church and through the stained glass windows, which was a good omen according to the old inhabitants. 
A large crowd o sightseers and a battery of cameras and motion picture operators gathered early outside the church but the bridal party evaded the curious gaze and the movie men by arriving some time in advance of the hour set, entering the church through a side door.
Perhaps the most disappointed amount the crowd was "Grandma" Harris, who is 96 years old, and who stood a long time in watchful waiting, leaning on her cane. She finally had to leave without having a glimpse of the bride. The local police kept the crowd at a certain distance.

John Jacob Astor IV There.

Among the first to arrive at the church were the bride's mother, Mrs. William H. Force, and her sister, Miss Katherine Force, and Henri Harnickel, Miss Forces fiance. With them were young John Jacob Astor IV, looking dainty and sweet, his nurse, and Miss Elizabeth Brigggs, Mrs. Astor's secretary. Both Mrs. Force and her daughter were heavily veiled.
The ceremony was performed by the Rev. A. C. Larned, rector of the church.
The bride, who was unattended, wore a tailored suit of blue serge, with a matching hat, with a gray fox thrown over her shoulder. Her patent leather pumps were topped with gray spats and her gloves were white.
Mrs. Force gave his daughter in marriage, and Adolph M. Dick acted as his brother's best man.
After the ceremony Mr. Dick and his bride left by the side door and hurried to a motor car in waiting, and well guarded from the near approach of the curious by the police. A shower of rice from some o the guests who had it concealed fell about them as they entered the car and were driven off.

Luncheons Precede Ceremony.

Preceding the ceremony, the bride entertained her immediate relatives with a luncheon at Ilse Cote, while Mr. Dick and his family had luncheon at the De Gregoire. The table decorations at Isle Cote consisted of a mound of white lilacs and pink roses. Mrs. Force wore a gown of black and gray flowered organdy, with a large black hat, and Miss Force appeared in a blue serge dress, with black hat wreathed with white roses.
The train bringing the guests from New York was more than an hour late. It was met at Ellsworth, twenty miles away, by several automobiles, and the guests whisked away in a hurry to the De Gregoire, where luncheon was waiting. This party included the bridegroom's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Havemeyer, Mr. and Mrs. William Kingsland Macy, the two latter being sisters of the bridegroom; Adolph M. Dick, Scott Pyle, Mr. and Mrs. J. Adolph Mollenbauer, Lyman Hine, Dr. Nagel, Miss Eleanore  Lawrence, and former Justice Henry A. Gildersleeve.

Start for California

The bridal couple motored to Ellsworth, where they took a private care, attached to the 3:45 o'clock train, on which were more of the guests. They plan to spend a month in California, and upon their return, will divide their time between Bar Harbor and the bridegroom's home at Islip, Long Island. Mrs. Force will look after young John Jacob Astor at Isle Cote during his mother's absence.
The chapel in which they were married was built by Mrs. Charles Carroll Jackson, in memory of her husband, and seat not more than fifty people.
The much-discussed marriage license, which played such havoc with the original plans for the wedding, was delivered at Isle Cote this morning by W. H. Sherman, the Town Clerk. The couple had planned to be married on Monday, but the Maine law requires the application for a license must be filed five days before the marriage can take place. The bride wrote personally to the Town Clerk last Saturday for the license, in the absence of Mr. Dick. Those who saw her engagement ring, say it is a large emerald.
The guests at the church included among others, MR. and Mrs. Ernesto Fabbri, Constantin Brun, the Danish Minister; Victor Cushman, Mrs. Lucian Carr, the Misses Jeannie and Marie L. Emmet, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Emmet of New York; Mrs. Eric MacDonald,, and Albert Eugene Gallatin. No formal invitations were issued for the church, the invitations being made mostly by letter.

Relinquishes Income of $5,000,000.

By her marriage the bride relinquishes the Astor mansion at 840 Fifth Avenue as well as the income of $5,000,000 which was set aside by the late Colonel Astor's will. This property reverts to William Vincent Astor.
The friendship of Mr. Dick and his bride began when they were children, when the Force and Dick families resided in Brooklyn. Mr. Dick is 28 years old now and his bride is 24. It is said they had been engaged two months prior to the announcement of their engagement last Saturday, and their original intention was to marry this Fall. Their secret was guarded so well that not even the servants in the Astor mansion guessed at it.

Mr. Dick Worth $3,000,000.

Mr. Dick is Vice President of the Robert Chapman Company and the McKee Refrigerator Company and is connected with many other large corporations. He belongs to a family long identified with the sugar refining industry. A portion of his fortune, about $3,000,000, was inherited from his grandfather, William Dick, a pioneer sugar refiner of Williamsburg. The Dick town house is at 20 East Fifty-third Street, and they have a country place, Allen Winden, at Islip, Long Island.
The social stir caused by the announcement of Mr. Dick's engagement and approaching marriage to Mrs. Astor was hardly as intense as the announcement made in August 1911, by Mr. and Mrs. William H. Force of the engagement o their daughter, Miss Madeleine Talmage Force, to Colonel John Jacob Astor. Eighteen months previous to this Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, the Colonel's first wife, had obtained a divorce.
In January of the following year Colonel Astor and his bride went to Egypt, and on their return to England, several months later, took passage on the Titanic bound to New York on her maiden voyage. Then came the great disaster that shocked and saddened the world, when, on the night of April 14, the big vessel went down among the jagged icebergs. Colonel Astor was drowned, his bride being among the survivors. Later Colonel Astor's body was recovered and buried at Trinity Cemetery.

Trust Fund for Astor Child.

John Jacob Astor, 4th, was born in Astor mansion on Fifth Avenue on August 14, 1912. The child is the great-great-grandchild of the founder of the Astor fortune, and to him was left a trust fund of $3,000,000 under his father's will, the widow being named as his legal guardian. When the then Mrs. Astor filed her first accounting as guardian, in 1915, it was shown that the infant's expenses each year exceeded $20,000 and that his mother had been compelled to pay more than $7,000 out of her resource.

1916 July 10 – famous astrologer Prof. Sothons Letillier predictions

Title: What The Stars Predict For Madeleine Force’s Second Romance: Remarkable Parallel in the Difficulties That Best Both Marriage Ceremonies and Other Extraordinary Similarities That Make Astrology Fear Another Tragedy Menaces Her Happiness (Prof. Sothnos Letillier, Famous Astrologer, 1916)

Copyright: 1916, by the Star Company, Great Britain Rights Reserved

Figure Captions:

·        Mrs. William K. Dick. Astrologer Declares That the Malevolent Astral Influences Which Beset Both Her Marriages with Difficulties and widowed Her On Her First Honeymoon Will Leave Further Marks on Her Life.

·        William K. Dick – a Man o a Type Very Similar to the Late Col. Astor, and, According to Astrology, the Only Kind o Man Col. Astor’s Widow Could Possibly Marry.

·        During the ‘Affinity Foursomes’ on the golf links at Aiken, S. C., last April the stars smiled on Mr. Dick’s persistent suit.

·        Travel, whether by land or water must always be fraught with the greatest danger for Mrs. Dick.

·        An Automobile or Railway accident threatens Mrs. Dick late in August or early September.

·        The stars hold out little promise of married felicity for Mr. and Mrs. Dick

·        The Little Son of the Late Col. John Jacob Astor. The Stars Say He is Destined to Have a Baby Half-Sister Next April, and Probably Still Another Later On.

·        From Left to Right, Mrs. Dick’s Own Horoscope, That of Her First Wedding Day and That of Her Second. The First Two Foretold the Titanic Disaster as Well as the Troubles That Marred Both Her and All Three Foreshadow Still Further Unhappiness for Her.


Article Take-Aways:

·        The public interest of this couple is ‘natural’ in view of

o   bride’s wealth,

o   social position,

o   the publicity she received through the Titanic sinking,

o   personal sacrifice of a large part of the wealth inherited from Col Astor through post-nuptial agreements due to marrying her childhood sweetheart,

o   difficulties with the wedding ceremonies

§  ‘first marriage was solemnized in defiance of the laws of the church’

§  Bishops and priests of all the leading denominations refused to sanction it on account of Col. Astor’s previous divorce

§  As a result, the wedding had to be postponed from day to day while a nation-wide search was made for a clergyman careless enough of the opinion of the church to perform the ceremony.

§  ‘second marriage was only a little less difficult’

§  Her mother strongly opposed the marriage to Mr. Dick as ‘Col. Astor’s will imposed altogether too high a price to pay for even so rich and in every way a desirable husband’

§  “Better a lifelong widowhood than to sacrifice the wealth and social prestige your marriage to Colonel Astor brought.”

§  Mrs. Force finally had to give her reluctant consent to the marriage.

§  The ceremony in Bar Harbor had not given sufficient consideration to the laws of the State of Main and consequently the date had to be postponed to the great embarrassment and inconvenience of all concerned.

·        It is on the basis of coincident problems with both weddings that this astrologer ‘asks the stars’ to tell if the second romance ‘will end as dismally as the first’

·        The astrologer claims: ‘No more convincing proof of the value of astrology could be asked than that which is revealed by a study of the stars that rule Mrs. Dick. They point so clearly and convincingly to all the important things which have already befallen her that we may well accept with confidence their message regarding what the future holds in store.’

·        Predicts second marriage will end in tragedy. ‘The menace, however, may be avoided, or at least neutralized, provided Mrs. Dick proves strong enough to resist the powerful lure the sea has for her.’

·        Predicts that if Mrs. Dick is widowed again, she will marry again an older man of education, refinement, and great financial ability – astral requirements.

·        Fates of Madeleine Force and William K. Dick were intertwined in their early childhood, and only ‘a most unusual combination of circumstances prevented his becoming her first husband instead of Colonel Astor’

·        Editor Note: Announcement of their engagement was made to their families and friends a few days after winning the Affinity Foursomes.

·        Little ‘promise of marital felicity’ due to antipathies of relatives by marriage rather than their own incompatibility.

·        Mrs. Dick will be fortunate with children. Predict two girls in the second marriage.

·        Predicts that closing months of 1918 to latter part of 1920 will be the most ominous period of Mrs. Dick’s whole life.


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/07/02/104679989.html?pageNumber=71

SUMMER FOLK FLOCK TO BAR HARBOR
BAR HARBOR, Me., July 1. — An interesting program of the Swimming Club events for the season has just been completed. During the month of July there will be daily morning concerts followed by an hour of dancing. In the afternoon, with the exception of Mondays and Thursdays, there will be solo concerts.
<snip>
Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Scott and family of Philadelphia are back at Chiltern for the season. Mr. Scott was formerly President of the Swimming Club and has always played in the tennis tournaments there. He has won seral matches, and with Mrs. William K. Dick as partner captured honors in the mixed doubles.
<snip>





https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/08/06/104025520.html?pageNumber=89
BAR HARBOR'S GAY SUMMER
Outdoor Sports and Varied Social Functions Keep Summer Residents Busy.
BAR HARBOR, Me., Aug. 5. — Outdoor life, for the most part has claimed the attention of the Summer sojourners during the past week. The men's championship match on the Swimming Club courts Las attracted large galleries from the various harbors.
<snip>
Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick made a short visit to Isle Cote this week, remaining two days.
<snip>
Mrs. and Mrs. Nils Florman of New York have concluded a visit to Mrs. William H. Force at Isle Cote.
<snip>





https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/08/20/104025875.html?pageNumber=68
BAR HARBOR'S GAYEST WEEK
Pageant to Aid American Ambulance in France a Brilliant Success.
BAR HARBOR, Me., Aug. 19. — With entertainments crowding each other, the past week has been the gayest of the season.

description of entertainment

'Mr. Scott has several times before captured laurels with the racquet in the Bar Harbor tournaments, and last season, with Mrs. William K. Dick, was winner in the mixed doubles.'


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/08/20/104025967.html?pageNumber=58 
map of Newport 'summer colony' 

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/08/28/104688979.html?pageNumber=9

not about Madeleine 

ASTORS VISIT BAR HARBOR.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie Also Stop at Maine Resort.
BAR HARBOR, Me., Aug. 27. — Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Astor, who spent three days here this week on their yacht Noma, have returned to Newport. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie and Miss Carnegie, who are cruising on the yacht Surf, left today for Novia Scotia.



https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/28/100225458.html?pageNumber=13
1916 October 28
W.K. DICK RENTS A HOUSE.
He and His Wife, the Former Mrs. Astor, to Live at 57 West 53d St.

William K. Dick and his wie, who was formerly Mrs. John Jacob Astor, are to spend the Winter at 37 West Fifty-third Street. The house was rented furnished by Mr. Dick from William M. Rodewald, who recently went abroad to attend the marriage of his daughter, Miss Marie L. Rodewald, to Lieutenant Allan D. Perrins.
Mr. Dick's parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick, live at 20 East Ffifty-third Street. The younger Mr. and Mrs. Dick have been spending the Summer at his place at Islip, Long Island.
The house is in the same residential district as the Astor mansion, at 840 Fifth Avenue, the title to which passed to Vincent Astor at the marriage of Mrs. Astor to Mr. Dick.

1916 after their honeymoon – rent summer home in Islip

Lease home of the late Charles A. Schieren adjoing the estate of his father J. Henry Dick at Islip, Long Island. (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916)





BAR HARBOR'S GAYEST WEEK
Pageant to Aid American Ambulance in France a Brilliant Success.
BAR HARBOR, Me., Aug. 19. — With entertainments crowding each other, the past week has been the gayest of the season.


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/28/100225458.html?pageNumber=13

1916 October 28 – Rent a house

W.K. DICK RENTS A HOUSE.
He and His Wife, the Former Mrs. Astor, to Live at 57 West 53d St.

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick rent 37 West 53rd Street for the winter (house rented furnished by William M. Rodewald)  Cost is about $6K. (New York Times, 2016) (Brooklyn Times Union, 1916)

Mr. and Mrs. John Henry Dick (parents) live at 20 East 53rd street.

In the same residential district as the Astor Mansion, 840 Fifth Avenue, the title passed to Vincent Astor when Madeleine remarried.

1917

GUARDIAN FOR ASTOR BABY.
Will Judge Whether $75 a Day Is Too Much to Spend for Him.
Cornelius J. Sullivan was appointed special guardian yesterday of John Jacob Astor, infant son of the late Colonel John Jacob Astor, in the accounting proceedings by the boy's mother, Mrs. William K. Dick, filed recently in the Surrogates' Court.
The mother's report shows that the child's maintenance costs more than $75 a day, and it will be the duty of the special guardian to report to the Surrogate whether the expenditure is justified.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/04/15/102333297.html?pageNumber=20

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/04/15/102333297.html?pageNumber=20
SON TO MRS. WM. K. DICK.
Former Mrs. John Jacob Astor Was Married Last June.
A son was born yesterday to Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick at their home, 37 West Fifty-third Street. Mrs. Dick was formerly Mrs. John Jacob Astor, and her marriage to Mr. Dick. who is a son of Mr. nnd Mrs. J. Henry Dick of this city, took place last June at Bar Harbor.
Her first son, by Colonel Astor, who was lost on the Titanic, was born in August, 1912. She was appointed guardian over young John Jacob Astor, the sixth member of the familyly of that name, until he becomes 14 years of age. Mrs. Dick is 26 years old, and Mr. Dick is four years her senior. They have been spending much of their time at their country place at Islip, L.I., since their marriage.


1917 May 19 – William H. Force, Madeleine’s father, died at his residence 11 East 68th Street Manhattan

 

1917 July 21 – Annual Horse Show at Islip Polo Club to benefit the Red Cross

Madeleine and her son Jacob Astor attended a horse show at Islip Polo Club to benefit the Red Cross at Bayshore Long Island. (Altoona Tribune, 1917)


 

1918 January 12 (New York Times, 1918)

“BALTIMORE, Md., Jan. 12.—Mrs. William K. Dick, formerly Mrs. J.J. Astor, who entered Johns Hopkins Hospital last evening, left the hospital this afternoon and returned to the Hotel Belvedere. Her purpose in coming to Baltimore was to have Dr. L. F. Barker diagnose an ailment from which she was suffering. It is believed she will stay in Baltimore under Dr. Barker's care for several days.”



https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/01/13/113305010.html?pageNumber=18

1918 January 13

Mrs. Wm. K. Dick Leaves Hospital.

Special to The New York Times.

BALTIMORE, Md., Jan. 12.—Mrs. William K. Dick, formerly Mrs. J.J. Astor, who entered Johns Hopkins Hospital last evening, left the hospital this afternoon and returned to the Hotel Belvedere. Her purpose in coming to Baltimore was to have Dr. L. F. Barker diagnose an ailment from which she was suffering. It is believed she will stay in Baltimore under Dr. Barker's care for several days.


1918 July 20 Annual Islip Horse Show to Benefit Red Cross

Music by the band from the US Naval Air Station at Bayshore, Long Island

Sailors were aiding wherever they could be of assistance.

Camp fire girls in costume sold programs at 25 cents each.

‘Probably one of the latest fashions to be seen and dating back to Egyptian times, was the noted addition to many of the young misses wearing apparel, the harem veil.’

William K. Dick was on the executive committee.

Mrs. William K. Dick, Henry Dick listed as being boxholders.

Source: (Brooklyn Times Union, 1918)

 




 

1919 April

William and Madeline Dick and children move from their country home called 'The Gables' at Islip, Long Island to an apartment in the LaSalle Hotel in New York City. Her mother, Mrs. William H. Force was also living in an apartment at LaSalle Hotel. (New York TImes, 1919)

 


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/05/15/96305350.html?pageNumber=17


SECOND SON TO MRS. DICK.

Mother Was Widow of Col. John Jacob Astor, Lost on Titanic.

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick are receiving congratula on the birth of a son at the La Salle Hotel, 26 East Sixtieth Street. Although the child was born on Monday afternoon, it did not become known to many of the friends of the family until yesterday. Last night it was said that the mother and son were doing nicely.

Mrs. Dick was formerly Miss Madeleine Force, whose first husband was Colonel John Jacob Astor, who was lost on the Titanc. Her irst son, John Jacob Astor, Jr., was born on August 14, 1912, after the death of the Colonel Astor, who left a trust fund of $3,000,000 to his son, which was not afected by his mother's second marriage.

In June 1916, at Bar Harbor, the widow of Colonel Astor was married to Mr. Dick. Thier first son was born April 1, 1917.  They habe been livving sinc thier marriage at The Gables, Islip,L. I., but came to town and took an apartment at the La Salle several weeks ago.




1919 May 14 Wed Page 14 NYT

Baby boy 8.5 lbs born 1:30 pm on Monday. 

Dr. William E. Studdiford was the attending physician.

Reporter was told the baby was not yet named as they have had too much to think about.

Prior to her marriage with Col. John Jacob Astor she had a prenup that gave her real estate valued at over $1M as well as a collection of jewelry.

Direct quotes in the article:

‘It is a fine, perfectly normal, eight and a half pound baby,’ he (William Dick) said. ‘Mrs. Dick and he are both doing nicely.’

‘What will the new baby be named?’ asked the reporter

‘O, we haven’t decided yet,’ Mr. Dick replied ‘We’ve had too much to think about.’

Reporter reiterated that Mrs. Dick was had received a $15M trust fund and the Astor Mansion at 840 5th Avenue but under conditions of the Astor will this reverted to Vincent Astor when she remarried. William Dick's fortune was estimated to be between $3M and $4M. Col. Astor also left $3M to his son John Jacob Jr. which was unaffected by her second marriage, but she was also not spending any of it on his needs according to the Surrogate's Court, and instead was allowing it to invest and grow until he comes of age. (New York TImes, 1919)


https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/07/20/97102680.html?pageNumber=19

HORSES IN BAYSHORE RING.

Rain Keeps Attendance Low at Islip Polo Club Show.

BAYSHORE, L.I., July 19.—Owing to the inclement weather there was only a small attendance at the Victory Horse Show, held under the auspices of the Islip Polo Club, when the judging began this morning. Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Blum of ...

Class 12 Children's Saddle Ponies, Small

  • first: Monkey b. g. 12 1/2 hands aged owned by Mrs. D. F. Arnold
  • second: Gleeful, br. g. 10 hands, 6 years, owned by WKD
  • third: Bib, added entry, owned by Harry Dahl

Jumping, Open to All 

  • first: Jack Patton, ch. g. owner, C. H. Robbins
  • second: Hero, ch. g. owner Fred Bertuch
  • third: Maple Leaf ch g owner WKD


1919 July 19 William Karl Dick’s Horses at the Victory Horse Show

‘Owing to the inclement weather there was only a small attendance at the Victory Horse Show, held under the auspices of the Islip Polo Club, when the judging began this morning.’ (New York Times, 1919)

NYT had the List of Winners in all classes – There are a couple classes where William K. Dick horses received awards:

·        CLASS 12 – Children’s Saddle Ponies, Small – Won by Monkey, b. g., 12 1/ hands, aged, owned by Mrs. D. F. Arnold; second, Gleeful, br. G., 10 hands, 6 years, owned by William K. Dick; third, Bib, added entry, owned by Harry Dahl.

·        Jumping, Open to All. Won by Jack Patton, ch. G., owner, C. H. Robbins; second, Hero, ch. G., owner, Fred Bertuch; third, Maple Leaf, ch. G., owner, William K. Dick.

In Brooklyn Life, after a colorful description of the event: The Victory Horse Show in Islip, Long Island took place Saturday July, the text read ‘The horses of Mr. William K. Dick of Bay Shore figured in the awards several times but like Sir Ashley’s never at the top. Later he is identified as one of the box holders present. (Brooklyn Life, 1919)

Identified Mr. William K. Dick as a boxholder (Brooklyn Times Union, 1919)

 


William Karl Dick (1888 - 1953) and his wife Madeleine (centre) with friends on a race course, circa 1920. Madeleine was the widow of John Jacob Astor, who died on the 'Titanic'. (Photo by Paul Thompson/FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) This image has a bunch of restriction on use even if you pay hundreds of dollars to use it! https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/william-karl-dick-and-his-wife-madeleine-with-friends-on-a-news-photo/98000717 



https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/08/01/99047969.html?pageNumber=17

ASTOR SALE LIKELY TO HELP MRS. DICK
Permission to Dispose of Trust Property Would Raise Her Income to $60,000. NOW GETS $43,000 FROM IT 
Trustee Has Offer of $1,200,000 for Realty in West Thiry-Fourth Street—Affects Vincent.
A petition filed in the Supreme Court yesterday by the United Trust Company, which was named as trustee in the ante-nuptial agreement executed in 1911 by the late Colonel John Jacob Astor, his intended wife, Madeleine T. Force, and her father, William H. Force, by which Mr. Astor put the property at 22 to 30 West Thirty-fourth Street in trust, the income to be paid to her after his death during her lifetime, shows that Mrs. Astor, who is now Mrs. William K. Dick, has been receiving $46,000 a year from the property.
The trust company asked permission to sell the property, and if it is granted the three parcels involved will be sold  to Nathaniel Spear for $1,200,000, and the income to Mrs. Dick will be increased to $60,000. Mrs. Vincent Astor has an interest in the property because it will go to her husband upon the death of his former stepmother, and for that reason an order was obtained from Justice Erlanger yesterday to serve a copy of the petition on Mrs. Astor in Paris by malling it to her in care of Morgan, Harjes & Co. before Aug. 4.
The case is to be heard on Aug. 16, when an application for the appointment of a referee to take testimony and report on the application will be made. Notice is also to be served on Mrs. Dick at Islip, L. I., and on Vincent Astor at 23 West Twenty-sixth Street.
The petition states that the ante-nuptial agreement provided that Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor was to get the income from the property if she survived her husband, and that she did  survive him when he died April 15, 1912, on the Titanic. His will, giving the property to his son Vincent as part of the residuary estate after the death of the life beneficiary, was probated May 22, 1912.
The petition states that the premises consist of a six-story business building, 75 feet deep, covering 22 to 26 West Thirty-fourth Street, and two four-story buildings, each 25 feet wide, consisting of Nos. 28 and 30. The first parcel is leased to Spear & Co. under a lease expiring Sept. 1, 1925, at $22,500 a year, and the two other buildings are rented to the United Cigar Stores for $23,500 until May 1, 1925, making the total rental $46,000.
The trust company states that unless the property is sold it probably will be necessary to "expend considerable money in the alteration of the two buildings now leased to the United Cigar Stores before the sale can be leased again for a term of years." The petition says further:
"An opportunity has now arisen whereby the petitioner can sell the entire premises to Nathaniel Spear, President of Spear & Co., the lessee of the larger portion, for a price which, in the opinion of the petitioners represents the fair market value of the premises. The agreement entered into with the said Nathaniel Spear, subject to the approval of the court, is to sell the premises above stated for $1,200,000, all of which is to be paid in cash, which will result in an income of $60,000 instead of $46,000, and the petitioner will be relieved of the expense of altering the premises."


1922 August 31 – Return to Islip from stay at the Ambassador.

Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick of 7 East 84th Street who had been at the Ambassador for a few days, returned yesterday to Islip, Long Island. (New York Times, 1921)

1922 September 23 – Madeleine’s annuity from John Jacob Astor increases from $46/yr to $60/yr

Her annuity comes from a trust fund from the rental of the properties at 22 to 30 West 34th Street. These properties were sold for $1.2M to Nathaniel Spear, President of Spear and Co.  (New York Times, 1922)



https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/09/23/99077669.html?pageNumber=12

1922 September 23

MRS. DICK MAY GET MORE ASTOR INCOME

Referee Favors Sale of Property which Would Increase Her Annuity to $60,000.

If a referee's report filed in the Supreme Court yesterday is confirmed, Mrs. Madeleine Force Dick, now the wife of William K. Dick, and formerly the widow of John Jacob Astor will receive an income of $60,000 from the trust fund set apart or her in Colonel Astor's ante-nuptial agreement, instead of $46,000 a year which she has received of late from the rental of the properties at 22 to 30 West Thirty-fourth Street.

The report was filed by William E. Russell, who was appointed referee to hear an application by the United States Trust Company, named as trustee under Colonel Astor's ante-nuptial agreement, for permission to sell the West Thirty-fourth Street realty for $1,200,000 to Nathaniel Spear, President of Spear & Co. Colonel Astor's agreement, made in 1911, set apart the property names as a trust fund, from which he was to get the income during his lifetime, and upon his death it was to go to Miss force, who was about to marry him, and upon her death it is to revert to his estate. Mrs. Dick was not represented in the proceedings, but the Astor estate and Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Astor were represented by attorneys.

Referee Russell states that the premises consists of a six-story non-fireproof building, with seventy-fie foot frontage on West Thirty-fourth Street, leased to Spear & Co. for $2,500, and two four-story buildings, 28 to 30 West Thirty-fourth Street, leased to the U. S. Cigar Stores for $23,500, both leases expiring in 1925. Mr. Spear has agreed to pay cash for the property. The $1,200,000 invested at 6 per cent will bring $60,000 or $14,000 more than the present income.

The referee reports that the evidence submitted shows that upon the expiration o the present leases they cannot be renewed on a more favorable basis, without the expenditure of a considerable sum. The entire property was taxed by the City of New York last year at $1,380,000 and for 922 the assessment on the land is $1,254,000 and on the building $136,000, a total of $1,390,000.

On the other hand, one realty dealer estimated the value at $1,100,000 and another at $1,161,720, and both agree that the land also is worth $1,045,000. They also agree that the tendency of large mercantile establishments to move northward from Thirty-fourth Street will result in a decline rather than in an increase in value of West Thirty-fourth Street property.



1922 December 5

Marriage announcement: Madeleine’s sister Miss Katherine Force to Major Spencer in the home of Mrs. William K. Dick 7 East 84th Street Dec. 6, 1922. (New York Times, 1922)

1922 December 5

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/12/05/98793473.html?pageNumber=19

MISS KATHERINE FORCE TO WED MAJOR SPENCER

Their Marriage to Take Place Tomorrow at the Home of Her Sister, Mrs. William K. Dick.

suspected for some time but never formally announced Major Lorillard was severely wounded in France during the war. He was married to Miss Mary R. Sands in 1905 but divorced last March. Their son Lorillard Spencer Jr. is with his mother




1927 November 6 (New York Times, 1927)

NYT article: ‘Mr. and Mrs. William K. Dick of New York entertained at dinner Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Polhemus of New York and Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Cooke off Honolulu.

1931 July 2 – Mrs. J. Henry Dick dies (William K. Dick’s mother)

‘ISLIP, L.I., July 2.—Mrs. Julia T. Mollenhauer Dick, society leader and philanthropist, dies here today at her home in Ocean Avenue of a heart attack. Four weeks ago she fractured a hip by a fall in her home. She was in her sixty-ninth year.’ (New York Times, 1931)








Altoona Tribune. (1917, Aug 8). Mrs. William K. Dick and Son. Altoona Tribune, 5. Altoona, Pennsylania.

Brooklyn Life. (1912, Feb 24). Automobile Owners of Brooklyn and Long Island: New 1912 Registrations. Brooklyn Life, 44. Brooklyn, New Yord.

Brooklyn Life. (1915, Jul 10). Final Polo Game for Eagle Trophy. 12. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Life.

Brooklyn Life. (1916, Jul 1). Brooklyn Interest in the Dick-Astor Wedding. Brooklyn Life, 10. Brooklyn, New York.

Brooklyn Life. (1919, July 26). This Week in Society: VIctory Horse Show at Islip. 8. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Life.

Brooklyn Times Union. (1914, August 12). Manufacturers-Citizens Trust Company. 2. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Times Union.

Brooklyn Times Union. (1916, June 22). Mrs. Astor Weds William K. Dick: Baby John Jacob Astor Sees Mother Married: 23 Witness Ceremony: Couple Will Spend Honeymoon at Santa Barbara, CA. 1. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Times Union.

Brooklyn Times Union. (1916, October 28). William K. Dick Rents House in Manhatten. 3. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Times Union.

Brooklyn Times Union. (1918, July 21). Society Out in Force at Islip Horse Show. 13. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Times Union.

Brooklyn Times Union. (1919, July 17). Many Entries for Horse Show: Islip Polo Club Event at Oakwood Park Saturday. 3. Brooklyn, New York: Brooklyn Times Union.

Long Beach Press. (1916, June 17). Will Become Bride of Wm. Dick: Mrs. Madeline Force Astor Soon to Be Married, Is Report Circulated. PART OWNER OF BROOKLYN TIMES: Widow of John Jacob Astor Denies License Issuance But Not Engagement. 1. Long Beach, California: Long Beach Press.

New York Times. (1910, September 11). Col. Astor Weds Madeleine Force: Early Morning Ceremony at Beechwood, the Bridegroom's Newport Home. New York, New York: New York Times.

New York Times. (1916, April 11). "AFFINITIES" PLAY GOLF. Mrs. John Jacob Astor and William K. Dick Win at Aiken. 15. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/04/11/100202284.html?pageNumber=15

New York Times. (1916, June 20). Her Marriage to William K. Dick Is to be Held on Thursday Afternoon AT ISLE COTE OR CHURCH Bridal Party and Guests to Leave After a Luncheon for New York: Honeymoon in West. 11. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/20/100214063.html?pageNumber=11

New York Times. (1916, June 21). WM. K. DICK AT BAR HARBOR: He Arrives for His Wedding to Mr. John Jacob Astor Tomorrow. 11. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/21/301872452.html?pageNumber=11

New York Times. (1918, January 13). Mrs. Wm. K. Dick Leaves Hospital. 18. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/01/13/113305010.html?pageNumber=18

New York Times. (1919, July 20). HORSES IN BAYSHORE RING: Rain Keeps Attendance Low at Islip Polo Club Show. 19. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/07/20/97102680.html?pageNumber=19

New York TImes. (1919, May 114). Mrs. William K. Dick Gives Birth to Another Child, Infant Half-Brother of John Jacob Astor is also Son of a Millionaire. 14. New York Times.

New York Times. (1921, August 31). Social Notes. 9. New York, New York. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/08/31/98725223.html?pageNumber=9

New York Times. (1922, 12 5). Miss Katherine Force to Wed Major Spencer: Their Marriage to Take Place Tomorrow at the Home of Her Sister, Mrs. William K. Dick. 19. New York Times, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/12/05/98793473.html?pageNumber=19

New York Times. (1922, June 22). MRS. ASTOR WEDS TODAY. John Jacob Astor, 4th, to See His Mother Marry William K. Dick. 11. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/06/22/104678215.html?pageNumber=11

New York Times. (1922, September 23). MRS. DICK MAY GET MORE ASTOR INCOME: Referee Favors Sale of Property which Would Increase Her Annunity to $60,000. 12. New York, New York. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/09/23/99077669.html?pageNumber=12

New York Times. (1927, July 20). MANY ENTERTAIN AT HOT SPRINGS: New York Well Represented at Week-End Dinner and Luncheon Parties. GAY COLONY AT THE RESORT Mrs. Charles Kohler, Mrs. William K. Dick and Baroness Rosenkrantz Among the Hostesses. 19. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/11/07/101699247.html?pageNumber=19

New York Times. (1931, July 2). MRS. J. HENRY DICK, PHILANTHROPIST, DEAD: Broke Hip Recently—Daughter of John Mollenhauer, Pioneer Sugar Refiner. 14. New York , New York : New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/07/03/96203157.html?pageNumber=14

New York Times. (1933, September 5). FIERMONTE GETS DIVORCE: Pugilist Was Linked in Nevada Reports With Mrs. Dick. 22. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/09/05/99924577.html?pageNumber=22

New York TImes. (1933, July 22). MRS. DICK GETS DIVORCE: Former Mrs. John Jacob Astor Silent About Future Plans. 6. New York, New York: New York TImes. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/07/22/99722306.html?pageNumber=6

New York Times. (1933, June 5). MRS. DICK GOES TO RENO: Her Secretary Refuses to Comment on Divorce Report. 12. New York, New York: New York TImes. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/06/05/105140582.html?pageNumber=12

New York Times. (1933, September 14). MRS. DICK IS INJURED: Falls on Floor of Bermuda House, Breaking Shoulder. 48. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/09/14/105803358.html?pageNumber=48

New York TImes. (1933, November 28). Mrs. Dick Married to Fiermonte, Boxer, In Civil Ceremony in Hospital Room Here. 1. New York, New York: New York TImes. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/11/28/105823554.html?pageNumber=1

New York TImes. (1933, November 4). MRS. DICK RETURNS: CARRIED TO HOSPITAL. Still Suffering From Effect of Broken Arm, Doctor Says — Silent on Boxer. 6. New York, New York: New York TImes. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/11/04/90650393.html?pageNumber=6

New York Times. (1933, June 10). MRS. W.K. DICK IN RENO: Former Madeleine Force Astor Will Ask Divorce. 16. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/06/10/119445884.html?pageNumber=16

New York Times. (1934, June 30). MOTHER OF ASTOR TO ATTEND BRIDAL: Despite Illness, Mrs. Fiermonte Goes Alone to Newport for Marriage to Miss French. FORMER HUSBAND A GUEST W. K. Dick to Be in Trinity Church Today — Rehearsal for the Ceremony Takes Place. 13. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/06/30/98426130.html?pageNumber=13

New York Times. (1935, March 10). Dick -- Campbell. 89. New York, New York. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/03/10/93459426.html?pageNumber=89

New York Times. (1936, June 11). THE J.C. COWDINS ARE DINNER HOSTS: They Entertain in Roof Garden of St. Regis for Lord and Lady Milford Haven. 22. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/11/85401718.html?pageNumber=22

New York TImes. (1939, December 5). MRS. MADELEINE DICK LOSES HOME BY FIRE: $50,000 Winter House Destroyed —$100,800 Jewelry Stolen. 29. New York, New York: New York TImes. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/12/05/112731068.html?pageNumber=29

New York Times. (1940, December 17). ACCEPT OFFER BY DICK: Mrs. Fiermonte's Executors Agree to Compromise on Claims. 32. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/12/17/129163312.html?pageNumber=32

New York Times. (1940, April 10). MRS. DICK'S ESTATE LEFT TO 2 OF SONS: William F. and John H. to Get Principal of Age of 28. 16. New York, New York. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/04/10/92937069.html?pageNumber=16

New York Times. (2016, October 28). W.K. DICK RENTS A HOUSE: He and His Wife, the Former Mrs. Astor, to Live at 57 West 53d St. 13. New York, New York: New York Times. Retrieved from https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/28/100225458.html?pageNumber=13

Prof. Sothnos Letillier, Famous Astrologer. (1916, July 10). What The Stars Predict For Madeleine Force’s Second Romance: Remarkable Parallel in the Difficulties That Best Both Marriage Ceremonies and Other Extraordinary Similarities That Make Astrology Fear Another Tragedy Menaces Her Happiness. 12. New Castle, Pennsylvania: The New Castle Herald.

Reading Times. (1916, June 23). Mrs. Astor Weds William K. Dick: Titanic Widow Forfeits $5,000,000 Bequest by Her Marriage. 7. Reading, Pennsylvania: Reading Times.

Reisen, J. (2020, April 8). Remembering the Dogs of the Titanic. American Kennel Club. Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/remembering-dogs-titanic/

 

 










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