DeLancey Astor Kane (August 28, 1844 – April 4, 1915) was an American soldier and horseman who was prominent in New York Society during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

. He was called the "father of coaching in the United States."

Early life

Kane was born on August 28, 1844, in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. He was the second of eight children born to Oliver DeLancey Kane (1816–1874) and Louisa Dorothea (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Langdon) Kane (1821–1894). His brothers were Walter Langdon, John Innes Kane,

Woodbury Kane Woodbury Kane (February 8, 1859 – December 5, 1905) was a noted yachtsman and bon vivant, and member of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. A director of the Metropolitan Register Company, Kane served aboard the ''Columbia'' in the 1899 America' ...

S. Nicholson Kane Samuel Nicholson Kane (July 2, 1846 – November 15, 1906) was an American soldier and sailor prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age who served as the Commodore of New York Yacht Club. Early life Kane was born on July 2, 1846 in New ...

. His sisters were Louisa Langdon Kane, Emily Astor Kane (who married

Augustus Jay Augustus Jay (October 17, 1850 – December 25, 1919) was an American diplomat and member of the prominent Jay family. Early life Jay was born on October 17, 1850 in Washington, D.C. He was the only child of Peter Augustus Jay and Josephine (n� ...

and was the mother of Peter Augustus Jay), and

Sybil Kent Kane Sybil Kent Kane (1856 – February 15, 1946) was an American socialite who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Kane was born at the family home on August 28, 1844, in Newport, Rhode Island. She was the second you ...

. Kane was a grandson of Walter Langdon and Dorothea (née Astor) Langdon of the Astor family and a great-grandson of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

. He was a cousin of Colonel

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sinki ...

. His paternal lineage descended from John O'Kane who emigrated to the country in 1752 from

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

and

Antrim, Ireland County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, O'Kane (who dropped the "'O" once in America) was living at Sharyvogne, his estate in

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...

, which was confiscated after the War due to his

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

ties. His eldest son, John Jr., stayed and became one of the most prominent merchants in New York. The family lived fashionably in lower Broadway. Their summer cottage, Beach Cliffe, designed by Detlef Lienau, was one of the earliest Newport houses "to attain a sort of Beaux-Arts purity." Kane graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, in 1868. Following his service in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, he studied at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and in 1873, graduated from Columbia Law School.

Career

Kane, who inherited $10,000,000 from his mother's family, was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the First Cavalry, U.S.A. from 1868 to 1870, when he retired as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, a title by which he was known for most of his life. In 1876, Kane founded, with Col. William Jay, The Coaching Club of New York devoted to the coaching of horses which he picked up after his time spent in England. His

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

, "Tally-ho" was the first private stagecoach for pleasure riding in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Society life

In 1892, both Kane and his wife Eleanora were included in

Ward McAllister Samuel Ward McAllister (December 28, 1827 – January 31, 1895) was a popular arbiter of social taste in the Gilded Age of late 19th-century America. He was widely accepted as the authority as to which families could be classified as the cream o ...

's "

Four Hundred 400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. Mathematical properties 400 is the square of 20. 400 is the sum of the powers of 7 from 0 to 3, thus making it a repdigit in base 7 (1111). A circle is divided into ...

", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into

Mrs. Astor Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the The Four Hundred (1892), Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later ...

's ballroom. He was a member of the Union Club,

Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...

, the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most aristocratic gentlemen's clubs in th ...

, Country Club, the Coaching Club, the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

and the

Larchmont Yacht Club Larchmont Yacht Club is a private, members-only yacht club situated on Larchmont Harbor in the Village of Larchmont, in Westchester County, New York. History The club was founded in June 1880 by Frank L. Anthony, Fred W. Flint, William C. F ...

s. His wife's father built them a county estate, known as "The Paddocks" in Davenport Neck,

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. The estate had a panoramic view of the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

and

Fort Slocum Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comm ...

Personal life

In 1872, Kane was married to Eleanora Iselin (1849–1938), the daughter of Adrian Georg Iselin, a prominent New York merchant and banker. Eleanora was also the sister of Adrian Jr.,

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and Charles Iselin. In 1901, Kane and his wife purchased the former home of Arthur Astor Carey in Newport for $100,000 where he became a permanent resident. Together, they were the parents of one child: * DeLancey Iselin Kane (1877–1940), who was painted by

Thomas Wilmer Dewing Thomas Wilmer Dewing (May 4, 1851November 5, 1938) was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. Schooled in Paris, Dewing was noted for his figure paintings of aristocratic women. He was a founding member of the Ten American ...

in 1887. Kane died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on April 4, 1915, at the Kane estate in Davenport Neck in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

*
Painting of DeLancey Iselin Kane dressed in a sailor suite
by

in 1887 at the

Museum of the City of New York A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...

Painting of Eleanora Iselin Kane (Mrs. DeLancey Astor Kane)
by

in 1888 at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, DeLancey Astor 1844 births 1915 deaths

DeLancey Astor Kane DeLancey Astor Kane (August 28, 1844 – April 4, 1915) was an American soldier and horseman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. He was called the "father of coaching in the United States." Early life Kane was born on Au ...

United States Military Academy alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Columbia Law School alumni Military personnel from New Rochelle, New York People included in New York Society's Four Hundred Iselin family Kane family United States Army officers People from Newport, Rhode Island