Matthew Astor Wilks

Matthew Astor Wilks (March 3, 1844 – July 9, 1926) was an American clubman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age. Early life Wilks was born in New York City on March 3, 1844. He was the one of seven children born to Matthew Wilks (1816–1899) and Eliza Astor (née Langdon) Wilks (1818–1896). His siblings included Elizabeth Wilks; Alice Eugenia Wilks, who married William Napier Keefer; Katherine Langdon Wilks; and Eugene Langdon Wilks, who married Marquerite R. Briquet. He spent part of his year in Galt, Ontario, in Canada, where his father had a 1,000 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 magnate. 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. Career