Samuel Nicholson Kane (July 2, 1846 – November 15, 1906) was an American soldier and sailor 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 We ...

who served as the Commodore of

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. ...

Early life

Kane was born on July 2, 1846 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was one 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 ...

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

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 ...

John Innes Kane John Innes Kane (July 29, 1850 – February 1, 1913) was an American explorer, scientist and philanthropist who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Kane was born in 1850, one of eight children born to Oliver DeLa ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

. He was the grandson of Walter Langdon and Dorothea (née Astor) Langdon and the 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 Lt. Col.

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 Ulste ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, 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 or ...

, 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 ...

times. His eldest son, John Jr., stayed and became one of the most prominent merchants in New York. The family lived at "Beach Cliffe", designed by

Detlef Lienau Detlef Lienau (17 February 1818 – 29 August 1887) was a German architect born in Holstein. He is credited with having introduced the French style to American building construction, notably the mansard roof and all its decorative flourishes. Trai ...

, which was one of the earliest Newport cottages "to attain a sort of Beaux-Arts purity." After prep school in New York, Kane attended and graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

in June 1866. After his service in the Navy, he entered

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in England where he graduated in 1873. After returning the United States, he studied law at

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

Career

After the Naval Academy, Kane was assigned the grade of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

and began working on the staff of Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...

. He resigned from the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1868. After the Navy, he attended university in England then returned to the United States for law school, and was admitted to the bar. Even though he was admitted, due to his "ample means", he did not practice his profession. In 1874, he became a member of the

, where he served as Commodore and an officer for many years. During the beginning of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

, he volunteered as an Ensign and in ten days, was promoted to Senior Lieutenant, serving on the staff of Admiral

Charles Dwight Sigsbee Charles Dwight Sigsbee (January 16, 1845 – July 13, 1923) was a rear admiral in the US Navy. In his earlier career, he was a pioneering oceanographer and hydrographer. He is best remembered as the captain of , which exploded in Havana Harbor, ...

, serving until the end of the war. Kane was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

on November 15, 1898.

Society life

In 1892, Kane, along with two of his brothers and their wives, 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", 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 Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Asto ...

'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 t ...

, the

, and the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

Personal life

Kane lived at the Kane family mansion at 23

West 47th Street ''West 47th Street'' is a documentary film produced by Lichtenstein Creative Media. ''West 47th Street'' is an intimate cinéma vérité portrait of four people with serious mental illness as their lives naturally unfold over a three-year peri ...

in Manhattan. In 1889, he was described as:

"He is an enthusiastic yachtsman, and is an excellent whip. He has traveled much, is a discriminating collector of books, and is exceptionally well-like, being very affable and a ''raconteur'' of unusual eloquence."

Kane, who suffered from cirrhosis hepatitis, died of intestinal hemorrhages in a sleeping car in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisd ...

about thirty miles from

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on November 15, 1906. He had been in Hot Springs for three weeks seeking treatment. He was buried at Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, DeLancey Astor 1846 births 1906 deaths Samuel Nicholson Kane United States Naval Academy alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Albany Law School alumni People included in New York Society's Four Hundred Kane family