Madeleine Astor - Courtship and Marriage

Courtship and Marriage

She met John Astor, reportedly the richest man in America, in 1910 and although it is not certain where they were first introduced there is a newspaper article which shows that he entertained the whole Force family at his home at Bar Harbor in September 1910. During their courtship he took her on automobile drives and yacht trips and they were often followed by the press. One of the press photos of Madeleine during this time is shown on the left.

Madeleine and John were engaged in August 1911 and married on September 9, 1911. There was a considerable amount of opposition to his marriage mainly because John had divorced his first wife only two years previously in 1909. Many were opposed to divorce at this time and felt that if people were divorced they should not be allowed to remarry. Some Episcopalian Ministers refused to perform the ceremony. The couple were eventually married at Beechwood which was John’s mansion in Newport, by a Minister of the Congregational Church.

After they were wed John Astor took Madeleine on his yacht and before he left he said. “Now that we are happily married I don’t care how difficult divorce and remarriage laws are made. I sympathise heartily with the most straight-laced people in most of their ideas but I believe remarriage should be possible once, as marriage is the happiest condition for the individual and the community."

After their marriage they had an extended honeymoon. They visited several places locally first, then in January 1912 they sailed from New York on the Titanic’s sister ship the Olympic and enjoyed a long Egyptian tour. It was while returning from this part of their honeymoon that they booked their passage on the Titanic.