Page "Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor" Paragraph 1

Astor was born Nancy Witcher Langhorne in Danville, Virginia, in the United States.

Her father was Chiswell Dabney Langhorne and her mother was Nancy Witcher Keene.

Her father's earlier business venture had depended at least in part upon slave labour, and the outcome of the American Civil War caused the family to live in near-poverty for several years before Nancy was born.

After her birth her father began working to regain the family wealth, first with a job as an auctioneer and later with a job that he obtained with the railroad by using old contacts from his work as a contractor.

By the time she was thirteen years old, the Langhornes were again a rich family with a sizeable home.

Chiswell Langhorne later moved the family to their estate, known as Mirador, in Albemarle County, Virginia.