William B. Astor - Mohawk and Hudson Railroad - Stock Certificate - Autographed For Sale

William Backhouse Astor (1792-1875), Capitalist, 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 fathers 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. This very early stock transfer of 1836 on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company is issued to Wm. B. Astor. (Not signed) Includes a nice portrait. Excellent Condition and Very Rare! 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 Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.