How Did Vanderbilt Make His Money

Prominent American family

Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, Staten Island, N.Y.
Current region	United States East Coast
Earlier spellings	Van der Bilt, van Derbilt
Etymology	Van der Bilt ("from de Bilt")
Place of origin	De Bilt, Netherlands
Estate(s)	Vanderbilt houses

The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy. Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants went on to build grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York City; luxurious "summer cottages" in Newport, Rhode Island; the palatial Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina; and various other opulent homes.

The Vanderbilts were once the wealthiest family in America. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American until his death in 1877. After that, his son William acquired his father's fortune, and was the richest American until his death in 1885. The Vanderbilts' prominence lasted until the mid-20th century, when the family's 10 great Fifth Avenue mansions were torn down, and most other Vanderbilt houses were sold or turned into museums in what has been referred to as the "Fall of the House of Vanderbilt".^[1] ^[2]

Branches of the family are found on the United States East Coast. Contemporary descendants include journalist Anderson Cooper, actor Timothy Olyphant, musician John P. Hammond and screenwriter James Vanderbilt.

History [edit]

The progenitor of the Vanderbilt family was Jan Aertszoon or Aertson (1620–1705), a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland as an indentured servant to the Van Kouwenhoven family in 1650.^[3] ^[4] The name of Jan's village, in the genitive case, was added to the Dutch "van" ("from") to create "Van der Bilt", which evolved into "Vanderbilt" when the English took control of New Amsterdam (now Manhattan). The family is associated with the Dutch patrician Van der Bilt.^[5]

His great-great-great-grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, began the rise of the Vanderbilt dynasty. He was the fourth of nine children born into a Staten Island family of modest means. Through his paternal great-great grandmother, Abigail Southard, he descends from Republic of Salé President Jan Janszoon and his son Anthony Janszoon van Salee. They were among the earliest arrivals to 17th-century New Amsterdam. In a number of documents dating back to that period, Anthony is described as tawny or mulatto,^[6] as his mother was of Berber origin from Cartagena in the Kingdom of Murcia.^[7] ^[8] Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at age 11 and went on to build a shipping and railroad empire that, during the 19th century, would make him one of the wealthiest men in the world. Starting with a single boat, he grew his fleet until he was competing with Robert Fulton for dominance of the New York waterways, his energy and eagerness earning him the nickname "Commodore", a United States Navy title for a captain of a small task force. Fulton's company had established a monopoly on trade in and out of New York Harbor. Vanderbilt, based in New Jersey at the time, flouted the law, steaming in and out of the harbor under a flag that read, "New Jersey Must Be Free!" He also hired the attorney Daniel Webster to argue his case before the United States Supreme Court; Vanderbilt won, thereby establishing an early precedent for America's first laws of interstate commerce.

The Vanderbilt family lived on Staten Island until the mid-1800s, when the Commodore built a house on Washington Place (in what is now Greenwich Village). Although he always occupied a relatively modest home, members of his family would use their wealth to build magnificent mansions. Shortly before his death in 1877, Vanderbilt donated US$1 million for the establishment of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

The Commodore left the majority of his enormous fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt. William Henry, who outlived his father by just eight years, increased the profitability of his father's holdings, increased the reach of the New York Central Railroad, and doubled the Vanderbilt wealth. He built the first of what would become many grand Vanderbilt mansions on Fifth Avenue, at 640 Fifth Avenue. William Henry appointed his first son, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, as the next "Head of House".

Cornelius II built the largest private home in New York, at 1 West 58th Street, containing approximately 154 rooms, designed by George B. Post. He also built The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.

Cornelius II's brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt, also featured prominently in the family's affairs. He also built a home on Fifth Avenue and would become one of the great architectural patrons of the Gilded Age, hiring the architects for (the third, and surviving) Grand Central Terminal. He also built Marble House at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.

George Washington Vanderbilt II, the 3rd and youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and youngest brother of Cornelius II, hired architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to construct Biltmore Estate on 125,000 acres (51,000 ha) near Asheville, North Carolina. The 250 room mansion and 175,856 sq ft (16,337.6 m²) of floor space remains on top of the list of largest houses in the United States to date.

While some of Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants gained fame in business, others achieved prominence in other ways, e.g.:

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915), was a passenger on the RMS Lusitania and died when it sank.
Alfred's eldest son, from his first marriage, William Henry Vanderbilt III was Governor of Rhode Island.
Alfred's second son Alfred Jr. became a noted horse breeder and racing elder.
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970) gained fame as a sportsman. He invented the contract form of bridge and won the most coveted prize in yacht racing, the America's Cup, on three occasions.
Harold's brother William Kissam "Willie K" Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup for auto racing.
Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–2019) was a noted artist, designer, actress and author.
Gloria's son, Anderson Cooper, is a Peabody Award and Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and television producer and personality.
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was a sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art

In 1855, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt donated 45 acres (18 ha) of property to the Moravian Church and Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. Later, his son William Henry Vanderbilt donated a further 4 acres (1.6 ha). The Vanderbilt Mausoleum was designed in 1885 by architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted.

Vanderbilt family tree [edit]

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877)
- William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885)
  - Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899)
    - Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt (1869–1874)
    - William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892)
    - Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942)
      - Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974)
    - Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
      - Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986)
        
        Pamela Tower (1921–2013)
        
        John LeBoutillier (born 1953)
        
        Whitney Tower (1923–1999)
        
        Flora Miller Biddle (born 1928)
      - Barbara Whitney (1903–1983)
      - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992)
    - Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915)
      - Governor William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981)
      - Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (1912–1999)
        
        Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III (b. 1943)
        
        James Platten Vanderbilt (born 1975)
      - George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961)
    - Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925)
      - Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944)
      - Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (1924–2019)
        
        Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski (born 1950)
        
        Christopher Stokowski (born 1952)
        
        Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (1965–1988)
        
        Anderson Hays Cooper (born 1967)
        
        Wyatt Morgan Cooper (b. 2020)
    - Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886–1965)
      - Countess Cornelia "Gilia" Széchényi (1908–1958)
      - Countess Alice "Ai" Széchényi (1911–1974)
      - Countess Gladys Széchényi (1913–1978)
        
        Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea (1936–1999)
        
        Daniel Finch-Hatton, 17th Earl of Winchilsea (born 1967)
        
        Tobias Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone (born 1998)
      - Countess Sylvia Anita Gabriel Denise Irene Marie "Sylvie" Széchényi (1918–1998)
      - Countess Ferdinandine "Bubby" Széchényi (born 1923)
  - Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924)
    - Florence Shepard (1869–1869)
    - Maria Louise Shepard (1870–1948)
    - Edith Shepard (1872–1954)
    - Margaret Shepard (1873–1895)
    - Alice Louise Vanderbilt Shepard (1874–1950)
      - Dave Hennen Morris Jr. (1900–1975)
      - Louise Morris (1901–1976)
      - Lawrence Morris (1903–1967)
      - Noel Morris (1904–1928)
      - Emily Hammond Morris (1907–1995)
      - Alice Vanderbilt Morris (1911–1986)
    - Elliott Fitch Shepard Jr. (1876–1927)
  - William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920)
    - Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964)
      - John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897–1972)
        
        John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough (1926–2014)
        
        Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 1955)
        
        George John Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (born 1992)
        
        Lady Henrietta Mary Spencer-Churchill (born 1958)
        
        Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill (born 1929)
      - Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956)
    - William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878–1944)
      - Muriel Vanderbilt (1900–1972)
    - Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970)
  - Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1850–1946)
    - Florence Adele Sloane (1873–1960)
      - William Douglas Burden (1898–1978)
        
        Katharine Sage Burden (born 1927)
        
        Katharine Sage Sohier (born 1954)
        
        Andrew White Burden (b. 1935)
        
        William Douglas Burden III (born 1965)
    - Emily Vanderbilt Sloane (1874–1970)
      - Adele Sloane Hammond (1902–1998)
        
        John Vernon Bevan Olyphant (b. 1941)
        
        Timothy David Olyphant (born 1968)
      - John Henry Hammond Jr. (1910–1987)
        
        John Paul Hammond (born 1942)
    - Lila Vanderbilt Sloane (1878–1934)
      - Frederick Vanderbilt Field (1905–2000)
  - Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952)
    - Alice Twombly (1879–1896)
    - Florence Vanderbilt Twombly (1881–1969)
      - Alice Twombly Burden (1905–1905)
      - William Armistead Moale Burden (1906–1984)
      - Shirley Carter Burden (1908–1989)
        
        Shirley Carter Burden Jr. (1941–1996)
    - Ruth Twombly (1884–1954)
    - Hamilton McKown Twombly Jr. (1887–1906)
  - Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938)
  - Eliza "Lila" Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936)
    - James Watson Webb II (1884–1960)
      - Lila Vanderbilt Webb (1913–1961)
        
        John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (born 1938)
      - James Watson Webb III (1916–2000)
    - William Seward Webb Jr. (1887–1956)
    - Vanderbilt Webb (1891–1956)
  - George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914)
    - Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976)
      - George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (1925–2020)
      - William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928–2017)
- Emily Almira Vanderbilt (1823–1896)
  - William Knapp Thorn (1851–1911)
  - Caroline Roberts Thorn (1858–1949)
    - Jeannette Thorn Kissel (1889–1957)
      - Aline Thorn Pease (born 1919)
        
        Kenneth Peter Lyle Mackay, 4th Earl of Inchcape (born 1943)
      - Richard Thorn Pease, 3rd Baronet (1922–2021)
        
        Richard Peter Pease, 4th Baronet (born 1958)
        
        Nichola Pease (born 1961)
      - Derrick Alix Pease (1927–1998)
        
        Jonathan Edward Pease (born 1952)
- Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt (1830–1882)

Members (by year of birth) [edit]

The following list includes Amy Vanderbilt (1908–1974), as it is believed she descended from either an uncle or brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt and is therefore not a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877)
William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885)
Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt (1830–1882)
Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899)
Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924)
William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920)
Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1850–1946)
William Knapp Thorn (1851–1911)
Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952)
Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938)
Eliza "Lila" Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936)
George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914)
Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942)
Emily Vanderbilt Sloane (1874–1970)
Alice Louise Vanderbilt Shepard (1874–1950)
Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942)
Elliott Fitch Shepard Jr. (1876–1927)
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915)
Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964)
William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878–1944)
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925)
James Watson Webb II (1884–1960)
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970)
Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886–1965)
Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986)
John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897–1972)
Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974)
William Douglas Burden (1898–1978)
Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956)
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992)
Muriel Vanderbilt (1900–1972)
Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976)
Governor William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981)
Mary Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944)
Frederick Vanderbilt Field (1905–2000)
William Armistead Moale Burden II (1906–1984)
Amy Vanderbilt (1908–1974)
Shirley Carter Burden (1908–1989)
John Henry Hammond Jr. (1910–1987)
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (1912–1999)
George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961)
James Watson Webb III (1916–2000)
Sir Richard Thorn Pease, 3rd Baronet (1922–2021)
Whitney Tower (1923–1999)
Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (1924–2019)
George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (1925–2020)
John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough (1926–2014)
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928–2017)
Flora Miller Biddle (born 1928)
Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill (born 1929)
Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea (1936–1999)
John Wilmerding (born 1938)
Shirley Carter Burden Jr. (1941–1996)
John Paul Hammond (born 1942)
Kenneth Peter Lyle Mackay, 4th Earl of Inchcape (born 1943)
Jonathan Edward Pease (born 1952)
John LeBoutillier (born 1953)
Sage Sohier (born 1954)
Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 1955)
Sir Richard Peter Pease, 4th Baronet (born 1958)
Lady Henrietta Mary Spencer-Churchill (born 1958)
Nichola Pease (born 1961)
William Douglas Burden III (born 1965)
Anderson Hays Cooper (born 1967)
Daniel Finch-Hatton, 17th Earl of Winchilsea (born 1967)
Timothy David Olyphant (born 1968)
James Platten Vanderbilt (born 1975)
George John Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (born 1992)

Spouses (by year of birth) [edit]

Horace F. Clark (1815–1873): 1st husband of Maria Louisa Vanderbilt
Nicholas B. La Bau (1823–1873): 1st husband of Mary Alicia Vanderbilt
Elliott Fitch Shepard (1833–1893): husband of Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard
Frank Armstrong Crawford Vanderbilt (1839–1885): 2nd wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt
William Douglas Sloane (1844–1915): 1st husband of Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt (1845–1934): wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II
Hamilton McKown Twombly (1849–1910): husband of Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly
Henry White (1850–1927): 2nd husband of Emily Thorn Vanderbilt
William Seward Webb (1851–1926): husband of Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Webb
Alva Belmont (1853–1933): 1st wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt
Louise Vanderbilt (1854–1926): wife of Frederick William Vanderbilt
Anne Harriman Vanderbilt (1861–1940): 2nd wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt
Richard M. Tobin (1866–1952): 2nd husband of Florence Adele Sloane
Jacques Balsan (1868–1956): 2nd husband of Consuelo Vanderbilt
Grace Vanderbilt (1870–1953): wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt III
James A. Burden Jr. (1871–1932): 1st husband of Florence Adele Sloane
Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871–1934): 1st husband of Consuelo Vanderbilt
Dave Hennen Morris (1872–1944): husband of Alice Vanderbilt Morris
Harry Payne Whitney (1872–1930): husband of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
Edith Stuyvesant Gerry (1873–1958): wife of George Washington Vanderbilt II
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt (1875–1935): 1st wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt II
George G. McMurtry (1876–1958): 4th husband of Teresa Sarah Margaret Fabbri
László Széchenyi (1879–1938): husband of Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi
Ralph Pulitzer (1879–1939): 1st husband of Frederica Vanderbilt Webb
Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977): 2nd husband of Gloria Vanderbilt
Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960): wife of James Watson Webb II
Frederick Osborn (1889–1981): husband of Margaret Louisa Schieffelin
John Francis Amherst Cecil (1890–1954): 1st husband of Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt
Vivian Francis Bulkeley-Johnson (1891–1968): 2nd husband of Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt
Aileen Osborn Webb (1892–1979): wife of Vanderbilt Webb
Frederic Cameron Church Jr. (1897–1983): 1st husband of Muriel Vanderbilt
John J. Emery (1898–1976): 2nd husband of Adele Sloane Hammond
Jack Speiden (1900–1970): 2nd husband of Rachel Hammond
Arthur Duckworth (1901–1986): 1st husband of Alice Frances Hammond
Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt (1901–1978): wife of Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
Marie Norton Harriman (1903–1970): 1st wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Charles Bosanquet (1903–1986): husband of Barbara Schieffelin
Earl E. T. Smith (1903–1991): 1st husband of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl
Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt (1904–1965): 2nd wife of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt
Dunbar Bostwick (1908–2006): husband of Electra Webb
George W. Headley (1908–1985): 3rd husband of Barbara Vanderbilt Whitney
Eleanor Searle (1908–2002): 3rd wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Pat DiCicco (1909–1978): 1st husband of Gloria Vanderbilt
Benny Goodman (1909–1986): 2nd husband of Alice Frances Hammond
Edward P. Morgan (1910–1993): 2nd husband of Katharine Sage Burden
Christopher Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea (1911–1950): 1st husband of Countess Gladys Széchényi
Edwin F. Russell (1914–2001): 1st husband of Lady Sarah Consuelo Spencer-Churchill
Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1915–1990): 2nd wife of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
Louis Auchincloss (1917–2010): husband of Adele Burden Lawrence
Kenneth James William Mackay, 3rd Earl of Inchcape (1917–1994): 2nd husband of Aline Thorn Pease
Orin Lehman (1920–2008): husband of Wendy Vanderbilt
Edwin D. Morgan (1921–2001): 1st husband of Nancy Marie Whitney
Charles Scribner IV (1921–1995): husband of Jeanette "Joan" Kissel Sunderland
Stanley Schachter (1922–1997): husband of Sophia Duckworth
Sidney Lumet (1924–2011): 3rd husband of Gloria Vanderbilt
Marylou Whitney (1925–2019): 4th wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Wyatt Emory Cooper (1927–1978): 4th husband of Gloria Vanderbilt
Tina Onassis Niarchos (1929–1974): 2nd wife of John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
Rosalba Neri (born 1939): 3rd wife of Henry Cooke Cushing IV
Rosita Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (born 1943): 3rd wife of John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough
Amanda Burden (born 1944): 1st wife of Carter Burden
Neil Balfour (born 1944): 3rd husband of Serena Mary Churchill Russell
James Toback (born 1944): 1st husband of Consuelo Sarah Churchill Vanderbilt Russell
David Rosengarten (born 1950): husband of Constance Crimmins Childs
John Silvester Varley (born 1956): husband of Carolyn Thorn Pease
Crispin Odey (born 1959): husband of Nichola Pease
Edla Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (born 1968): 2nd wife of James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough

References [edit]

^ "Review of Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt". The New York Times. September 24, 1989.
^ Vanderbilt, Arthur T., II (1989). Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt . New York: Morrow. ISBN0-688-07279-8.
^ Dorothy Kelly MacDowell. Commodore Vanderbilt and his family: a biographical account of the Descendants of Cornelius and Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt. 1989. University of Wisconsin
^ Woodard, Colin (September 29, 2011). "Chapter 6 - The Colonies' first revolt". American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. Penguin. ISBN9781101544457 . Retrieved 13 May 2017.
^ List of Dutch patrician families in the Nederland's Patriciaat 1910–2007/2008 (PDF).
^ Dubois, Laurent; Scott, Julius S. (Jan 11, 2013). Origins of the Black Atlantic. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN9781136096341.
^ "The Van Salee Family". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
^ "Jan Jansen van Haarlem and Anthony Jansen van Salee", Brian A. Smith. Washington D.C. 2013