In 1836, John Jacob Astor's son and heir, William Backhouse Astor Sr, purchased Rokeby mansion in Barrytown, New York from his father-in-law, John Armstrong Jr, after marrying his daughter Margaret.

Initially named 'La Bergerie' (the sheepfold) for the Merino sheep that grazed here, Armstrong changed the name of the house to Rokeby at Margaret's request, in honour of the Sir Walter Scott poem of the same name.

The 43-room mansion passed to William's granddaughter, Margaret Astor Ward, and her husband, John Winthrop Chandler, who both died tragically young, leaving behind 11 children, the so-called 'Astor Orphans'. The children were brought up at Rokeby.

One became the artist Robert Winthrop Chanler, and several of his painted murals now hang in the home's halls. Steeped in faded grandeur, the mansion is still owned by a branch of the family.

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