“‘Insurance!’ exclaimed Astor, ‘can’t I insure your ship my self?’
“In vain the captain mentioned the rights of the other passengers. In vain he described the solitary and rock-bound coast, and detailed the dangers and difficulties which attended its approach. Nothing would appease him. He said he would take all the responsibility, brave all the perils, [...]

He was a thoroughly upright man, his transactions were rigidly honest; but as a man, candor compels the acknowledgment that he was not a safe or admirable model. He was utterly devoid of generosity. Liberal to an extreme with his own family, he was close and hard with others. He paid small wages to his [...]

This is the estimate of his character formed by Mr. James Parton. His friend Dr. Coggswell presents him in quite a different light. He says:
“Mr. Astor lived to the good old age of four score and four years and eight months. For some years previous to his death, which happened March 29, 1848, his manly [...]

“Another house, which was then engaged in the China trade, knowing the worth of this ‘king of captains,’ as Astor himself used to style him, bought him a ship and dispatched him to Canton two months after the departure of Astor’s vessel. Our captain, put upon his mettle, employed all his skill to accelerate the [...]

Great Fortunes Chapter 3: Alexander T. Stewart
In the year 1818, a European vessel anchored in the harbor of New York, after a long and weary voyage from the Old World. She brought many passengers to the young metropolis, the majority of whom came with the intention of seeking fortunes in this land of promise.
Among them [...]