Like English royalty and with comparable pride, the Astors drew on a tiny pool of only a few names to mark and continue their succession. Within the compass of the present narrative, descent in the male line was as follows: John Jacob Astor, the founder, begat William (Backhouse), who begat three sons, John Jacob III, William Jr., and Henry. The eldest of these three sons, John Jacob III, begat another William (Waldorf ), who in turn begat John Jacob V. William Jr., meanwhile, begat John Jacob IV, who begat yet another William (Vincent) and John Jacob VI. John Jacob II, the founder’s other son, was mentally incompetent and had no part in the succession. Henry Astor, his nephew, was virtually expelled from the family after he married a farmer’s daughter.