Matthew Astor Wilks

1844 - 1926  (82 years)

• Name	Matthew Astor Wilks
  Born	3 Mar 1844	Manhattan, New York, New York, United States   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  FindAGrave	https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=159031558
  Residence	1861	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Protestant Church of England
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-268337
  Died	9 Jul 1926	Manhattan, New York, New York, United States   [2]
  Buried	Immanuel Cemetery, Bellows Falls, Windham, Vermont, United States   [2]
  Person ID	I268337	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Matthew Wilks,   b. 1816, , England ,   d. 20 Jun 1899, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 83 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Astor Langdon,   b. 1818, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States ,   d. 2 Jun 1896, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 78 years)
  Family ID	F36834	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Matthew Astor Wilks was buried in the Astor vault in St. James Churchyard, Hyde Park, NY. In Sylvia's next to last will, dated 1939, she left $20,000 to St. James Church, "for the upkeep and maintenance of the burial vault of Matthew Wilks, and of the plot in which it is located." Admittedly, this was not her husband, but it is a large vault, and I assumed that the reason she left this money to St. James was because her husband was buried there also. From FaG member Faith Eckler on May 20, 2016 1: 34 PM _____________________ Betrothal of an Heiress. MRS. HETTY GREEN AND HER DAUGHTER. Mrs. Hetty Green announces "the engagement of her only daughter. Miss Sylvia Green, to Mr. Matthew Astor Wilks, of New York, eldest son of the late Matthew Wilks, of Cruickston Park, Galt, Ontario." These are the formal terms in which the American lady banker who has amassed by her own genius for business a fortune estimated at £10,000,000 proclaims the realization of her fondest hope. Miss Sylvia Green has been reported at various times to be betrothed to different foreign noblemen, but her mother has always declared that a "plain American gentleman is good enough for the daughter of Hetty Green." When a year ago the eccentric lady, discarding her rusty black dress and coal scuttle bonnet, migrated with her daughter from a modest Hoboken flat to palatial apartments at the Plaza Hotel, where she entertained some of the leading figures of New York society to a grand "gold service" dinner, the curious public immediately expressed the vociferous conviction that Miss Green was about to be betrothed. Mrs. Green, while refusing to confirm the report, profited by the occasion to emphasise that the Greens, far from being of plebeian origin, belonged to a "fine old Knickerbocker family." After only a month of almost royal extravagance Mrs. Green and her daughter retired to a modest boarding house in New York, and were not heard of again till last month. Miss Green is 36 years of age, and does not pretend to be younger. Her fiance is 57 years old, and is a great grandson of the original John Jacob Astor. He is well known in New York society and has an independent for tune estimated at several million dollars. He has three sisters, one of whom is Mrs. William Keefer, wife of a surgeon-major in the British Army. The World's News Sydney, NSW Sat 27 Mar 1909 Page 17 _____________________ HETTY GREEN'S DAUGHTER TO WED A NEW YORKER WHO IS OLD ENOUGH TO BE HER FATHER. Daughter of the Richest Woman in the World Never Cared for Men or Society, and Now Will Wed an Old Man With Several Millions. NEW YORK, Feb. I8.\emdash Matthew Aster Wilks of New York City will soon become the son-in-law of America's richest woman. Announcement of his engagement to Silvia Green, the only daughter of Mrs. Hetty Green, the marvelous female financier, has been made to intimate friends and relatives of the family through his sister, Miss K. J. Wilks, who resides in Galt, Ontario. The few words, which change him from a comparatively poor young man to a figure that must in the future occupy a conspicuous position in American finance, are contained in the intensely formal announcement, which was received today. It reads: "Mrs. Hetty Green. New York, announces the engagement of her only daughter. Miss Silvia, to Mr. Matthew Astor Wilks, New York, eldest son of the late Matthew Wilks, Cruickston Park, Galt, Ontario." Mr. Wilks has been out of town for several days, it was said at his home. 110 Madison avenue, tonight. It was impossible to learn the date fixed for the wedding, but friends of Mrs. Green thought it would take place next June, probably. Though Mr. Wilks can no longer be called a young man and Miss Green is past 30, their romance nevertheless has given lively satisfaction to the limited social circle aware of its progress. It blossomed and grew under the eye of the Countess Annie Leary, who introduced Miss Green into society nearly a dozen years ago. Mrs. Leary has been on terms of intimacy with the descendants of John Jacob Astor. Her father was the fashionable hatter of Old New York and his store in Astor house was the resort of the beaux and merchants early in the last century. He bought his furs and pelts from the original Astors. Miss Green has never cared for gay society and when she was under the chaperonage of Miss Leary appeared at receptions and teas more frequently than at dinners, balls or the opera. She has been reported engaged to the Earl of Yarmouth, the Duke de La Torre and one or two others, but the reports have always been denied. Her mother, who is nothing if not plain spoken, has declared she would rather her daughter wed a plain American than a foreign nobleman. Her sensational though short-lived plunge into tho giddy whirl of fashionable hotel life was ex plained last May by a friend at the Plaza. "Mrs. Green is anxious that her daughter marry into some well known and honored family, and it is only natural that she should move into a fashionable place." Although lie lives in a modest brown stone front dwelling at 440 Madison avenue, he is believed to be worth several million dollars, inherited from his father, who died in 1899. Mr. Wilks is about 57 years old. The Saturday Blade, Volume 21, Number 39, 20 February 1909 ________________ HETTY GREEN'S DAUGHTER IS NOW MRS. WILKS WEDDING PARTY PURSUED BY A MOB. Bride 43 Years of Age, Groom 65 and Said to Have the Gout - Mother's Fear of Fortune Hunters Scared Away Daughter's Many Suitors - Hetty Bosses the Affair. NEW YORK, March 4.\emdash Miss Sylvia Green, daughter of Mrs. Hetty Green, and heiress to $75,000,000. was married last week at Morristown, N. Y., to Matthew Astor Wilks of New York City and Galt, Ontario. The ceremony was performed in St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church by the rector, the Rev. Philemon F. Sturges. There were no ushers or bridesmaids. Howland Pell gave the bride away and Woodbury Langdon Jr. was best man. A great crowd had gathered in front of the boarding house where Hetty and her daughter lived, waiting developments. Suddenly a one-horse carriage appeared on the scene. As it stopped at the curb Hetty Green, dressed in a black gown, black satin wrap, and black veil, suddenly came out. Miss Sylvia Green accompanied her. She wore a heavily embroidered gown, a white picture hat. and as soon as the young woman in blue opened the door of the cab Mrs. Green. with surprising agility for a woman of her age. and Miss Sylvia; ran down the steps, jumped into the cab the door slammed, and the horse started it needed some energetic coaxing on the part of the driver to get the stiff legged horse to move quickly, but he finally succeeded, and the cab rattled away. The newspaper men who were watching were for a moment handicapped, but there happened to be a grocer's wagon and two delivery wagons standing in the street, and these were quickly chartered and the chase began. The cab headed for the Lackawanna depot, about a mile away. It was an odd chase and attracted much attention. Errand boys, clerks, workingmen and others ran after the wagons until, a mob of about 200 was in hot pursuit, cheering for the bride and for everything else. The Morristown express had attached a private car. Some of the guests were already in the car and welcomed the bridal party. There were no more incidents until Morristown was as reached at 10:20 o'clock. Mr. Wilks, his best man. and his sister. Miss Katherine L. Wilks, were waiting there, and carriages soon took the party to the Morristown inn. There the party waited until noon, when all walked across the street to St. Peter's Church. The interior of the church had been decorated and the local organist began to play the Mendelssohn wedding march as the bridal party entered. Miss Green, leaning on the arm of her cousin, Howland Pell, led. The next was Mrs. Hetty Green alone. The bridegroom walked with his best man, Woodbury Langdon. As the party left the church there was a battery of cameras, and the bride shrank back behind an umbrella. Her mother pushed the umbrella to one side and said: "If they want a picture let it be a good one." Then the bride and bridegroom posed with her on the church steps. The bride is 43 years of age. The groom is a great-grandson of the first John Jacob Astor, is 65 years of age, worth $2,000,000, and has the gout. The Saturday Blade, Volume 21, Number 41, 6 March 1909

  
  

• Sources

  [S1946] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo Twp. - 1861 (South Division), Div. 1 Page 4. [S3231] Find A Grave, Matthew Astor Wilks (1844 - 1926) - Find A Grave Memorial. (2017). Findagrave.com. Retrieved 12 June 2017, from https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=159031558.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 3 Mar 1844 - Manhattan, New York, New York, United States Residence - Protestant Church of England - 1861 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 9 Jul 1926 - Manhattan, New York, New York, United States Buried - - Immanuel Cemetery, Bellows Falls, Windham, Vermont, United States  = Link to Google Earth