Madeleine Astor

Madeleine Talmage Force (June 19, 1893 – March 27, 1940) was an American socialite and a survivor of the RMS Titanic. She was also the widow and second wife of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV.

Early life

Madeleine Talmage Force was born on June 19, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the younger daughter of William Hurlbut Force (1852–1917) and Katherine Arvilla Talmage (1863–1930). Madeleine's elder sister Katherine Emmons Force (1891–1948) was a real estate businesswoman and socialite. Through father William, she and Katherine had French ancestry and were grandnieces of builder Ephraim S. Force (1822 – March 12, 1914). Mother Katherine had Dutch ancestry.

William Hurlbut Force was a member of a well established business family. He owned the successful shipping firm William H. Force and Co and his father had been prosperous in the manufacturing industry. In 1889 William had married Katherine Talmage who was the granddaughter of Thomas Talmage, a former Mayor of Brooklyn. William and his wife Katherine were part of the Brooklyn society and he was a member of numerous prestigious clubs in this city. He also owned a notable art collection. The family were members of the Episcopal Church which was also the church of the Astor family.

John Jacob

John Jacob may refer to:

See also

John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor (July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848), born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American businessman, merchant, fur trader, and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States. He was the creator of the first trust in the United States. He emigrated to England as a teenager and worked as a musical instrument manufacturer.

Astor moved to the United States after the American Revolutionary War. He entered the fur trade and built a monopoly, managing a business empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. Seeing the decline of demand, he got out of the fur trade in 1830, diversifying by investing in New York City real estate and later becoming a famed patron of the arts.

Biography

Early life

Johann Jakob Astor was born in Walldorf near Heidelberg in the old Palatinate. It became part of the Duchy of Baden in 1803. (It is now in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.) He was the youngest son of Johann Jacob Astor (July 7, 1724 – April 18, 1816) and Maria Magdalena Vorfelder (1730–1766). His three elder brothers were Georg (later "George"; April 28, 1752 – December 1813), Heinrich (later "Henry"; 1754–1833), and Melchior (1759–1829). Astor's father was a butcher; he first worked in his father's shop and as a dairy salesman. In 1779, at the age of 16, he moved to London to join his brother George in working for Astor & Broadwood, their uncle's piano and flute manufactory. While there, he learned English and anglicized his name.

RMS Titanic

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK, to New York City, US. The sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew, making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. The RMS Titanic, the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service, was the second of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, and was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast with Thomas Andrews as her naval architect. Andrews was among those who died in the sinking. On her maiden voyage, she carried 2,224 passengers and crew.

Under the command of Edward Smith, the ship's passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. A high-power radiotelegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger "marconigrams" and for the ship's operational use. Although Titanic had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, there were not enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard due to outdated maritime safety regulations. Titanic only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—slightly more than half of the number on board, and one-third her total capacity.

Local churches (affiliation)

The local churches are a Christian movement founded in China whose beliefs and practice are based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. They condemn denominationalism and instruct believers to meet together with no name or basis other than the city or locality in which they reside. They emphasize the subjective experience of Christ as well as the Biblical truths regarding Christ and the church. Nee was influenced by the writings of the Plymouth Brethren.

Local churches are found on every continent and claim several million members.

History

Origins

The development of the local churches as a group can be traced to the conversion of Watchman Nee in Fuzhou, China. At an early age, Nee committed his life to Christian ministry. Mostly self-educated, he published his interpretation of the inner Christian life and of New Testament church practices through books and magazines after moving to Shanghai in 1927.

Witness Lee was an early follower of Nee's. Nee and Lee met for the first time in Chefoo in 1932. In 1934, Lee moved to Shanghai to work with Nee. One of Lee's many responsibilities was editing Nee's publications. In the following years, Nee published many works and held regular conferences and trainings for church workers. Nee, Lee and other workers established over six hundred local churches throughout China and Southeast Asia before the Communist Revolution of 1949.