of 1911, the recently divorced J.J. Astor IV, wed Madeleine Talmadge Force, age 18. After their wedding at Beechwood in Newport, RI, the newlyweds departed for Ferncliff aboard their 262 foot steam yacht, Noma. It was on their return from a trip to Egypt in the spring of 1912 that John Jacob Astor IV died aboard the Titanic. Madeleine, who was pregnant with John Jacob Astor VI, survived.

In 1928, Fawan was discovered in a boathouse on Sebago Lake, Maine on the estate of Thomas A. Lamb. She was purchased by Mr. Clarence O. Case and kept on Sebago Lake until 1944 when it is believed a member of the

Thurston family took her to Portland, Maine. From the late 1950s through 1990, Fawan was enjoyed by the family of Robert Roode in Newburyport, Massachusetts. For the last decade, she was owned by two couples on Seneca Lake in New York. Fawan was purchased in 2003 by Bob and Elizabeth Tiedemann and brought to Newport, RI, where she has undergone a major structural restoration.

We hope to learn much more about Fawan’s intriguing history and would appreciate hearing from anyone that may have further information.

< BACK