Vanderbilt family
This article details the family of Cornelius Vanderbilt. For the university, see Vanderbilt University.The
Vanderbilts are a prominent family in history of the
United States.
The family was founded by
Cornelius Vanderbilt (
1794-
1877), the fourth of nine children born to a
Staten Island family of modest means. His great-great-great-grandfather,
Jan Aertszoon van der Bilt (
1620-
1705), was a
Dutch farmer from the village of
De Bilt,
Utrecht in the
Netherlands who emigrated to the Dutch colony of
New Netherlands as an
indentured servant in
1650. Jan's village name was added to the Dutch "van der" (from the) to create "van der Bilt" which was evolved to Vanderbilt when the English took control of
New Amsterdam (now New York). Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at the age of 11 and went on to build a shipping and railroad empire that, during the
19th century, made him one of the wealthiest men in the world.
The Vanderbilt family owned land in
Corwith Township, Michigan, which was settled about
1875. When the Vanderbilt-owned
Michigan Central Railroad came through in
1880, the
village of
Vanderbilt, Michigan, was established. Although Cornelius Vanderbilt always occupied a modest home, members of his family would use their wealth to build magnificent
mansions. Shortly before his death in
1877, Vanderbilt bequeathed
US$1 million for the establishment of
Vanderbilt University in
Nashville.
Members of the family dominated what has come to be known as the "
Gilded Age", a period when Vanderbilt men were the merchant princes of American life through their prominence in the business world and as patrons of the arts throughout the world.
Some of Cornelius Vanderbilt's offspring gained fame as successful entrepreneurs while several achieved prominence in other fields such as
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877-1915), a noted horse breeder, who went down on the
RMS Lusitania.
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, (
1884-
1970), gained fame as a sportsman, winning the most coveted prize in yacht racing on three occasions, the
America's Cup and his brother "Willie K" launched the
Vanderbilt Cup for
auto racing.
Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (
1898-
1974) became an accomplished writer, newspaper publisher, and film producer. However, others made headlines as a result of drug and alcohol abuse and multiple marriages.
Cornelius Vanderbilt had been awarded a gold medal by the United States government during the
Civil War for donating his steamer
"S.S. Vanderbilt" to the
Union forces. Inheritance of this medal became the symbol for the titular head of the Vanderbilt family.
In
1855 Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt donated 8.5
acres (34,000 m²) 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 (16,000 m²). A plot was kept for the Vanderbilt family in the
Moravian Cemetery and a number of them are buried there in the family mausoleum including the family founder. Their
mausoleum was redesigned in
1885 by
architect,
Richard Morris Hunt.
|
Frederick William Vanderbilt's mansion on the Hudson River |
Present-day economist
John Kenneth Galbraith said that several generations of Vanderbilts showed both the talent for acquiring money and the dispensing of it in unmatched volume, adding that they dispensed their wealth for frequent and unparalleled self-gratification and very often did it with downright stupidity. Confirmation as to the validity of Galbraith's views is that only forty-eight years after the death of Cornelius Vanderbilt one of his direct descendants died penniless. Within seventy years of his passing, the last of the ten great Vanderbilt Fifth Avenue mansions in
New York City had been torn down. In
1973, the first Vanderbilt family reunion took place at
Vanderbilt University. Of the 120 descendants gathered there, not a single one of those in attendance was a millionaire, though many other members of the family are from their family inheritance.
The family's modern legacy includes Vanderbilt University as well as Vanderbilt Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, which runs alongside
Grand Central Terminal, the New York City rail hub built by the Vanderbilt family.
Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt written by distant cousin
Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, was published in 1989. The Taggart family in Ayn Rand's
Atlas Shrugged is loosely based on the Vanderbilt family.
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Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877)
**
William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885)
***
Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899)
****
William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892)
****
Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942)
*****
Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974)
****
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942)
*****
Flora Whitney-Miller*****
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992)
*****
Barbara Whitney****
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915)
*****
Governor William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981)
*****
Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1912–1999)
******
Heidi Vanderbilt (1948–)
******
Wendy Vanderbilt Lehmen (1940–)
******
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III (1949–)
******
Nicolas Harvey Vanderbilt (1958–1984)
******
Victoria Emerson Vanderbilt (1959–)
******
Michael Dagget Vanderbilt (1967–)
*****
George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961)
****
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925)
*****
Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944)
******
Harry Cushing IV*******
Harry Cushing V*****
Gloria Vanderbilt (born 1924)
******
Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski (born 1950)
******
Christopher Stokowski (born 1955)
******
Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (1965–1988)
******
Anderson Hays Cooper (born 1967)
****
Countess Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi (1886–1965)
***
Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt-Shepherd (1845-1924)
***
William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920)
****
Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964)
****
William Kissam ("Willie K") Vanderbilt II (1878–1944)
****
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970)
***
Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1852-1956)
***
Florence Adele Vanderbilt -Twombly (1854-1952)
***
Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938)
***
Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt-Webb (1860-1936)
***
George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914)
****
Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976)
*****
George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (born 1925)
*****
William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (born 1928)
**
George Washington Vanderbilt (1839–1864)
The following list includes etiquette guru Amy Vanderbilt although it is believed she descended from either an uncle or brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt and is therefore not an official descendant-member of this family.By birth
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Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877)
*
William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885)
*
George Washington Vanderbilt (1839–1864)
*
Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899)
*
William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920)
*
Florence Vanderbilt (1854–1952)
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Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938)
*
George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914)
*
William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892)
*
Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942)
*
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942)
*
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915)
*
Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964)
*
William Kissam ("Willie K") Vanderbilt II (1878–1944)
*
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925)
*
Countess Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi (1886–1965)
*
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970)
*
Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974)
*
William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981)
*
Amy Vanderbilt (1908–1974)
*
Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1912–1999)
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George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961)
*
Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–)
*George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (1925–)
*William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928–)
*
Victoria Emerson Vanderbilt (1959–)
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Carter Cooper (1965–1988)
*
Anderson Cooper (1967–)
By marriage
*
Alva Belmont (1853–1934)
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Gloria Laura Mercedes Morgan-Vanderbilt (1904–1965)
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Grace Wilson Vanderbilt (1870–1953)
*FORTUNE'S CHILDREN: The Fall of the House of VANDERBILT By: Arthur T. Vanderbilt II ISBN 0-688-07279-8 Library CALL# 973.08 VAND
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Vanderbilt University
