Encyclopedia Titanica

MRS. J. J. ASTOR IS WED TO WM. K. DICK

New York Times

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Simple Ceremony in Little Episcopal Chapel in Bar Harbor, with Sunshine as Good Omen
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FATHER GIVES BRIDE AWAY
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Relatives and a Few Friends at Nuptials, While Police Keep Crowd at Distance---Leave for California
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Special to The New York Times
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BAR HARBOR, Me., June 22---The wedding of Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor, widow of Colonel John Jacob Astor, and William K. Dick, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Henry Dick of New York, which was celebrated here at 2 o’clock this afternoon in St. Saviour's Episcopal Church, was a simple and quiet affair, without display or ostentation.

Perfect weather favored the occasion, and the sun shone brightly upon the vineclad church and through the stained glass windows, which was a good omen, according to the old inhabitants.
A large crowd of sightseers and. a battery of cameras and motion picture operators gathered earlier outside the church, but the bridal party evaded the curious gaze and the movie men by arriving some time in advance of the hour set, entering the church through a side door.

Perhaps the most disappointed among the crowd was "Grandma" Harris, who is 96 years old, and who stood a long time in watchful waiting, leaning on her came. She finally had to leave without having a glimpse of the bride. The local police kept the crowd at a certain distance.

John Jacob Astor IV. There

Among the first to arrive at the church were the bride's mother, Mrs. William H. Force, and her sister, Miss Katherine Force, and Henri Harnickel, Miss Force's fiancé. With them were young John Jacob Astor IV, looking dainty and sweet, his nurse, and Miss Elizabeth Briggs, Mrs. Astor’s secretary. Both Mrs. Force and her daughter were heavily veiled.

The ceremony was performed by the Rev. A. C. Larned, rector of the church.

The bride, who was unattended, wore a tailored suit of blue serge, with a matching hat, with a gray fax, thrown over her shoulder. Her patent leather pumps were topped with gray spats and her gloves were white.

Mr. Force gave his daughter in marriage, and Adolph M. Dick acted as his brother's best man.

After the ceremony Mr. Dick and his bride left by the side door and hurried to a motor car in waiting, and well guarded from the near approach of the curious by the police a shower of rice from some of the guests who had it concealed fell about them as they entered the car and were driven off.

Luncheons Precede Ceremony

Preceding the ceremony, the bride entertained her immediate relatives with a luncheon at Isle Cote, while Mr. Dick and his family had luncheon at the De Gregoire. The table decorations at Isle Cote consisted of a mound of white lilacs and pink roses. Mrs. Force wore a gown of black and gray flowered organdy, with a large black hat, and Miss Force appeared in a blue serge dress, with a black hat wreathed with white roses.

The train bringing the guests from New York was more than an hour late. It was met at Ellsworth, twenty miles away, by several automobiles, and the guests whisked away in a hurry to the De Gregoire, where luncheon was waiting. This party included the bridegroom's parents. Mr. and Mrs. J Henry Dick, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Havemeyer, Mr. and Mrs. William Kingsland Macy, the two latter being sisters of the bridegroom; Adolph M. Dick, Scott Pyle, Mr. and Mrs. J. Adolph Molienhauer, Lyman Hine, Dr. Nagel, Miss Eleanor Lawrence, and former Justice Henry A. Gilderaleeve.

Start for California

The bridal couple motored to Ellsworth, where they took a private car, attached to the 3:45 o'clock train, on which were most of the guests. They plan to spend a month in California, and upon their return, will divide their time between Bar Harbor and the bridegroom's home at Islip, L. I. Mrs. Force will look after young John Jacob Astor at Isle Cote during his mother's absence.

The chapel in which they were married was built by Mrs. Charles Carroll Jackson, in memory of her husband, and seats not more than fifty people.

The much-discussed marriage license, which played such havoc with the original plans for the wedding, was delivered at Isle Cote this morning by W. H. Sherman, the Town Clerk. The couple had planned to be married on Monday, but the Maine law requires the application for a license must be filed five days before the marriage can take place. The bride wrote personally to the Town Clerk last Saturday for the license, in the absence of Mr. Dick. Those who saw her engagement ring say it is a large emerald.

The guests at the church included among others, Mr. and Mrs. Ernesto Fabbri, Constantin Brun, the Danish Minister; Victor Cushman, Mrs. Lucian Carr, the Misses Jeannie and Marie L. Emmet, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Emmet of New York; Mrs. Eric MacDonald, and Albert Eugene Gallatin. No formal invitations were issued for the church, the invitations being made mostly by letter.

Relinquishes Income of $5,000,000

By her marriage the bride relinquishes the Astor mansion at 840 Fifth Avenue, as well as the income on $5,000,000 which was set aside by the late Colonel Astor's will. This property reverts to William Vincent Astor.

The friendship of Mr. Dick and his bride began when they were children, when the Force and Dick families resided in Brooklyn. Mr. Dick is 28 years old now and his bride is 24. It is said they had been engaged two months prior to the announcement of their engagement last Saturday, and their original intention was to marry this Fall. Their secret was guarded so well that not even the servants in the Astor mansion guessed at it.

Mr. Dick Worth $3,000,000

Mr. Dick Is Vice President of the Robert Chapman Company and the McKee Refrigerator Company and is connected with many other large corporations. He belongs to a family long identified with the sugar refining industry. A portion of his fortune, about $3,000,000, was inherited from his grandfather, William Dick, a pioneer sugar refiner of Williamsburg. The Dick town house is at 20 East Fifty-third Street, and they have a country place Allen Winden, at Islip, L. I.

The social stir caused by the announcement of Mr. Dick's engagement and approaching marriage to Mrs. Astor was hardly as intense as the announcement made in August, 1911, by Mr. and Mrs. William H. Force of the engagement of their daughter, Miss Madeleine Talmage Force, to Colonel John Jacob Astor. Eighteen months previous to this Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, the Colonel's first wife, had obtained a divorce.

In January of the following year Colonel Astor and his bride went to Egypt, and on their return to England, several months later, took passage on the Titanic, bound to New York on her maiden voyage. Then came the great disaster that shocked and saddened the world, when, on the night of April 14, the big vessel went down among the jagged icebergs. Colonel Astor was drowned, his bride being among the survivors. Later Colonel Astor's body was recovered and buried in Trinity Cemetery.

Trust Fund for Astor Child

John Jacob Astor, 4th, was born in the Astor mansion on Fifth Avenue on Aug. 14, 1912. The child is the great-great-grandchild of the founder of the Astor fortune, and to h1m was left a trust fund of $3,000,000 under his father's will, the widow being named as his legal guardian. When the then Mrs. Astor filed her first accounting as guardian, in 1915, it was shown that the infant's expenses each year exceeded $20,000 and that his mother had been compelled to pay more than $7,000 out of her resources.

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Encyclopedia Titanica (2004) MRS. J. J. ASTOR IS WED TO WM. K. DICK (New York Times, Friday 23rd June 1916, ref: #3078, published 24 June 2004, generated 3rd December 2024 09:42:50 PM); URL : https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/mrs-j-j-astor-is-wed-wm-k-dick.html