Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (May 19, 1879 – May 2, 1964) was a socialite politician and a member of the prominent Astor family.

Virginia

Her life began as Nancy Langorne on May 19, 1879 in Danville, Virginia. Her father had been a small time slave owner damaged by the Civil War. In her first years she thus lived near to poverty. Although at an early point in her life the family wealth had been regained or even surpassed through his skills as an auctioneer and later through involvement with the railroad. He even bought an impressive estate in the country . Her mother had been less of a figure in her life, but may have been more of an influence on her as a wit. She also had four sisters and three brothers.

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The main religious influence on her early life was Archdeacon Frederick Neve. This minister received his education at Oxford and came to Virginia to help the poor whites in the interior mountains. The work with him gave her the first taste of a more charitable life. Still her father's wishes sheltered her from any danger so she dealt mainly with the elderly or crippled.

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Her sisters early on showed a skill then deemed appropriate for nineteenth century Southern women. That being marriage to successful men who allowed them to have success in their own rights. Her brothers had mostly been unsuccessful. Her sister Irene served as a model for the Gibson Girl. In this period Irene outshone her in most respects.

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