Astor Library him as president. After two years, in 1891, Thomas M. Markoe was chosen to the office, which he held until the 1895 consolidation. John Jacob Astor III, son of William B. and grandson of John Jacob Astor, died in 1890, having served as trustee since 1858 and as treasurer since 1868. By his will, $400,000 was left to the library. As William Waldorf Astor declined to fill the vacancy, the board ceased to have an Astor on it. At the time of consolidation the trustees, in order of seniority, were Markoe, Henry Drisler, John Lambert Cadwalader, Henry C. Potter, Stephen
William Waldorf Astor Hotel in 1897, and the complex became the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In 1891 he fell into a family feud with socialite Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn (1830–1908), wife of Willy's uncle businessman William Backhouse Astor, Jr. (1829–1892) and mother of rival cousin Jack, over who should be the "official Mrs. Astor". After Lina won the argument, Willy moved with his wife and children to England. He rented Lansdowne House in London until 1893. That year he purchased a country estate at Cliveden-on-Thames in Taplow, Buckinghamshire from the Duke of Westminster. To disappear from public view, in the summer of 1892, Astor faked