Matthew Astor Wilks acre estate known as Cruickston Park and mansion designed by Detlef Lienau. Through his mother, Wilks was great-grandson of America's first millionaire John Jacob Astor, the fur trader and real estate magnet. Among his first cousins were DeLancey Astor Kane, Woodbury Kane, S. Nicholson Kane, and John Jacob Astor IV. His father, an English gentleman, was the son of a reverend and was born in London. Wilks, who inherited several million dollars from his family, began buying up property in lower Manhattan in 1876. He torn down the various mixed buildings and commissioned architect Charles W. Clinton to build a
William Backhouse Astor Jr. of real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor Sr. (1792–1875) and Margaret Rebecca (née Armstrong) Astor (1800–1872). His siblings included elder brother John Jacob Astor III, who married Charlotte Augusta Gibbes; Emily Astor, who married Samuel Cutler Ward; Laura Eugenia Astor, who married Franklin Hughes Delano; Mary Alida Astor, who married John Carey; Henry Astor, who married Malvina Dinehart; and Sarah Astor, who died in infancy. Astor's paternal grandparents were fur-trader John Jacob Astor and Sarah Cox (née Todd) Astor. His uncle, William Sr.'s elder brother, was occasional poet John Jacob Astor Jr., who never married or had children. His maternal