DOCSLIB.ORG

Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794-1877

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794-1877 CORNELIUS VANDERBILT 1794-1877 “Law? What do I care about the law? Hain’t I got the power?” That was the way Cornelius Vanderbilt defied the government and the public to make his millions. Born in New York, he had started as a Staten Island ferry boy when still quite young. He was quite illiterate but his Herculean strength, his dexterity, courage, and shiftiness made him a master of river and coastal sailing vessels in five years. He started his business career at the age of sixteen when he borrowed $100 from his mother to buy a shaky old boat, and in five years he owned a sizable number of ships, had repaid his mother and saved $1000. He possessed a wharf rat’s tongue and a rough wit. He took joy in combat. All his life he loved a fight. Opposition was a tonic to him. When there wasn’t any competition, he set out to create some. When his keen eye detected a line making a large profit, he would swoop down and “drive it to the wall” by offering better service at lower rates. When the opposition was driven out, he would raise rates without pity for his clients’ misery. During the War of 1812 the British fleet moved into New York harbor and menaced the people and the shipping. The American commissary general called for bids to transport supplies to the military posts around the harbor. Cornelius bid for the job and got it. He quickly gained a reputation for daring and reliability. No voyage stumped him. He delivered supplies any time, anywhere, no matter where the British ships lay. He added more and more boats and ferries. Once he bought a condemned schooner from the government and used her to carry an oyster cargo. In her he raced to the oyster beds off Virginia, winning over the New York fleet. Then, appropriating the best oyster beds, he would load up and race home to put his oysters first on the market. [Oysters were a very prized food in the 19th century and were even shipped on trains to the Mid-West and Western states and territories.] He sold his first cargo of oysters for a price sufficient to pay for his ship. But the fishermen bore him no love. By 1850 he owned the largest fleet of steamboats and ferries in the world. He was given the title of “Commodore.” His lines crossed the Atlantic, New York to France. He had over one hundred vessels afloat, earning about $100,000 a month. His chief rival was E. K. Collins. At one time Collins paid Vanderbilt $56,000 a month to keep silent and inactive while he (Collins) collected a government mail subsidy of $900,000! In 1853, from such deals as this, Vanderbilt had a fortune of $11,000,000, which he kept invested at 25% interest. “The Commodore was taking in money through every port hole.” It was when he was past seventy that he became a railroad magnate. He entered into combat with James Fisk, Jay Gould, and Daniel Drew for the control of the Erie Railroad. By 1873 he controlled the railway systems reaching as far west as Chicago. Most men would be content with a fortune of $10,000,000 when they were seventy, but not the Commodore. He had to start in on a new career and fight his way to a fortune ten times that in the last years of his life. To raise $7,000,000 due to his stockholders as dividends, exorbitant freight rates and economics had to be put into operation. The rolling stock [all the vehicles that move on a railway] was consequently neglected, repairs postponed. As a result there were many accidents, people lost their lives or were permanently injured. But the Commodore was making his $25,000,000 a year! It is said that $50,000 of absolute water [refers to watered stock, which means that on the corporation’s books it looks like the stock is worth more than it actually is] was poured into each mile of his railroad, but the investors could rely on their 8% dividend. Once, when he was on a European tour, Vanderbilt’s enemies seized control of one of his properties. He sent a note to them that has become historic: “Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I will not sue you, for law takes too long. I will ruin you.” And he did. The Commodore was well known on Wall Street. He was tall, handsome in a way, wore a fur coat and plug hat winter and summer. Though he gained financially from both the War of 1812 and the Civil War, his deed bore no marked patriotism like Jay Cooke’s [financier who helped fund the Union effort.] He lost a son in the bloody battle of Shiloh, but didn’t commemorate his son’s memory like Leland Stanford did [Stanford University is named for his son, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died of typhoid as a teenager], although he did give $1,000,000 to Vanderbilt University. His money, invested heavily in New York real estate, made huge sums for him as the city grew. At one time he was referred to as the landlord of New York City. Though no American ever began his career on a thinner shoestring, his estate was estimated to be worth $105,000,000 at his death. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • RETROSPECTIVE BOOK REVIEWS by Esley Hamilton, NAOP Board Trustee
    Field Notes - Spring 2016 Issue RETROSPECTIVE BOOK REVIEWS By Esley Hamilton, NAOP Board Trustee We have been reviewing new books about the Olmsteds and the art of landscape architecture for so long that the book section of our website is beginning to resemble a bibliography. To make this resource more useful for researchers and interested readers, we’re beginning a series of articles about older publications that remain useful and enjoyable. We hope to focus on the landmarks of the Olmsted literature that appeared before the creation of our website as well as shorter writings that were not intended to be scholarly works or best sellers but that add to our understanding of Olmsted projects and themes. THE OLMSTEDS AND THE VANDERBILTS The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations 1879-1901. by John Foreman and Robbe Pierce Stimson, Introduction by Louis Auchincloss. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991, 341 pages. At his death, William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885) was the richest man in America. In the last eight years of his life, he had more than doubled the fortune he had inherited from his father, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), who had created an empire from shipping and then done the same thing with the New York Central Railroad. William Henry left the bulk of his estate to his two eldest sons, but each of his two other sons and four daughters received five million dollars in cash and another five million in trust. This money supported a Vanderbilt building boom that remains unrivaled, including palaces along Fifth Avenue in New York, aristocratic complexes in the surrounding countryside, and palatial “cottages” at the fashionable country resorts.
    [Show full text]
  • What Are You Going to Do About It? Ethics and Corruption Issues in The
    What Are You Going to Do About It? Ethics and Corruption Issues in the New York State Constitution By Bennett Liebman Government Lawyer in Residence “What Are You Going to Do About It?” Ethics and Corruption Issues in the New York State Constitution By Bennett Liebman Government Lawyer in Residence Government Law Center Albany Law School Edited by Andrew Ayers and Michele Monforte April 2017 Cover image: “The Prevailing Candidate, or the Election carried by Bribery and the Devil,” attributed to William Hogarth, circa 1722. It depicts a candidate for office (with a devil hovering above him) slipping a purse into a voter’s pocket, while the voter’s wife, standing in the doorway, listens to a clergyman who assures her that bribery is no sin. Two boys point to the transaction, condemning it. Image courtesy of the N.Y. Public Library. Explanation of the image is drawn from the Yale Library; see http://images.library.yale.edu/walpoleweb/oneitem.asp?imageId= lwlpr22449. CONTENTS I. Introduction ....................................................................... 3 II. Ethics Provisions in the State Constitution ........ 5 A. Extant Ethics Provisions in the Constitution .............. 5 B. Banking and Ethics ....................................................... 6 C. The Canal System and Ethics ..................................... 11 D. Bribery and Ethics....................................................... 15 E. Free Passes, Rebates, and Ethics ............................... 23 III. Restrictions on the Authority of the State Legislature
    [Show full text]
  • Hair Vigor, Apolis
    to follow the course of Peru and the South our representative was both greatly sur- WASHINGTON. IIOTEL AREIVALS. DAILY American Bepublics. If Cubans desire to prised and astonished; surprised over the SECOND EUROPE. EXPRESS - be annexed to the United States, the action so soon taken, and astonished over Saturday j- OT. EDITION. o'clock !.. by American ( Jovernmer.t is willing to pur- the contents of the following letter, writ- A SUIT FOR LIBEL. i.VLT IIOl sK. Extent of the the liertlraai island from Spain for a sum of on of commercial Corner Main and k irst streets. tire. chase the ten a broken half sheet 2. money hereafter to be agreed upon. note: JO Poarce.NO L S Morris, Tenu 3 Pauls, October w A , O'CLOCKP. decision the Spanish Govern- conversa- j ,y,lllo,,1,ie,' da W I' iVcker, Ahi 3J. It is estimated that the loss by the fi: Whatever "'Assure Mr. Fisk that in the Ohio River Interests Attended to. J;rud,welU ment ma- - arrive at, if it persists in prose- J h vl Kantoiowick, Ark among the shipping at Lordeaux wi.t tion with the Sun reporter, yesterday, l'orohs, N W Clark. Scotland jolii to THE LOUISVILLE EXPRESS. cuting the war it must be done on humane what he says my imputing be- Mrs A D .N.aeUie, do II W Ferguson, do r.vaiivuie. r2.ich millions of francs. regarding A ne A w, do troupe of principle?, for humanity demands it." littling or derogatory respect- ka, F II Hozer, Ke The artistes now performing at October 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wabash—The Gould Downfall
    THE WABASH—THE GOULD DOWNFALL THOMAS C. CAMPBELL, JR.1 Wabash- Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, known to THEmany people of Western Pennsylvania as the old Wabash Railroad, was constructed in the period from 1901 to 1904 by George Gould, the son of Jay Gould. This was not the first of the Gould railway ventures, nor the greatest finan- cially, but none of the others received more publicity. In1867, Jay Gould along with "Jim" Fisk and Daniel Drew decided to obtain control of the Erie Railroad through pur- chasing a majority of the outstanding stock. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt of the New York Central was at that same time planning to control the Erie as it was one of the New York Central's greatest competitors. Gould, Fisk, and Drew were directors of the Erie, and the Commodore de- sired to relieve them of their duties after purchasing a ma- jority of the Erie stock. He ordered his brokers to: "Buy the Erie. Buy it at the lowest figure you can, but buy it." The brokers in carrying out the orders discovered that they had bought more Erie stock than was legally in existence. After carefully examining the newly purchased stock, some of it appeared to have been printed on new paper with the ink hardly dry. The three Erie directors had been printing illegal issues of stock to sell to the brokers. Fisk's response was : "Give us enough rag paper, and we'll hammer the ever- lasting tar out of the mariner from Staten Island." Drew, in speaking of the incident, said: "It was goodnight for the Commodore, because there is no limit to blank shares a print- ing press can turn out.
    [Show full text]
  • Handout 3 Morgan and Vanderbilt - Documents
    Handout 3 Morgan and Vanderbilt - Documents J.P. Morgan One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J. P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U. S. Steel, General Electric, and other major corporations. The Connecticut native followed his wealthy father into the banking business in the late 1850s, and in 1871 formed a partnership with Philadelphia banker Anthony Drexel. In 1895, their firm was reorganized as J.P. Morgan & Company, a predecessor of the modern-day financial giant JPMorgan Chase [& Co.]. Morgan used his influence to help stabilize American financial markets during several economic crises, including the panic of 1907. However, he faced criticism that he had too much power and was accused of manipulating the nation’s financial system for his own gain. The Gilded Age titan spent a significant portion of his wealth amassing a vast art collection. J.P. Morgan: Early Years and Family John Pierpont Morgan was born into a distinguished New England family on April 17, 1837, in Hartford, Connecticut. One of his maternal relatives, James Pierpont (1659-1714), was a founder of Yale University; his paternal grandfather was a founder of the Aetna Insurance Company; and his father, Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90), ran a successful Hartford dry-goods company before becoming a partner in a London-based merchant banking firm. After graduating from high school in Boston in 1854, Pierpont, as he was known, studied in Europe, where he learned French and German, then returned to New York in 1857 to begin his finance career In 1861, Morgan married Amelia Sturges, the daughter of a wealthy New York businessman.
    [Show full text]
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form
    A "T* rt Form No. 10-300 ^eM-, \Q-1^ CV DHiA \J'i i ri UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS _______TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS______ NAME L , HISTORIC Gibbons Mansion AND/OR COMMON Mead Hall LOCATION STREET & NUMBER 36 Madison Avenue _NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY. TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Madison _ VICINITY OF 5th. STATE CODE COUNTY CODE New Jersev 34 Morris 027 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE —DISTRICT —PUBLIC 3C-OCCUPIED _ AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM X-BUILDING(S) X-PRIVATE —UNOCCUPIED —COMMERCIAL —PARK —STRUCTURE —BOTH —WORK IN PROGRESS X-EDUCATIONAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —OBJECT _JN PROCESS X-YES: RESTRICTED —GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —BEING CONSIDERED — YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION _NO —MILITARY —OTHER: OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Drew University_ STREET & NUMBER 36 Madison Avenue CITY. TOWN STATE Madison — VICINITYOF New jersey o -1 9 V^> LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDS< ETC.MQrris C QUrthOUSe STREET & NUMBER Court & Washington Streets CITY, TOWN STATE Morristown TvT CJT.T _T a v < REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE New Jersey Historic Sites Inventory (#1867.4) DATE 1960's —FEDERAL ^STATE —.COUNTY —LOCAL s+-r»Y-n r> Qn-h >s Qffj Department of Environmental Protection CITY. TOWN STATE Trenton New Jersey DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE ^-EXCELLENT —DETERIORATED —UNALTERED X_ORIGINAL SITE _GOOD , —RUINS X-ALTERED —MOVED DATE_ —FAIR _UNEXPOSED DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Mead Hall (Gibbons Mansion) is an exceptional 2 1/2 story brick Greek Revival mansion house.
    [Show full text]
  • The Men Who Built America
    “THE AMERICAN ECONOMY WAS LINKED BY RAILROADS, FUELED BY OIL AND BUILT BY STEEL.” Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Episode 1: A New WAR BEGINS J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford – their names are synonymous with As the nation attempts to rebuild following the destruction of the innovation, big business and the American Dream. These leaders Civil War, Cornelius Vanderbilt is the first to see the need for unity sparked incredible advances in technology while struggling to to regain America’s stature in the world. Vanderbilt makes his mark consolidate their industries and rise to the top in shipping and then the railroad industry. Railroads stitch together of the business world. The Men Who Built America™ chronicles the the nation, stimulating the economy by making it easier to move connections between these iconic businessmen and explores the goods across the country. But Vanderbilt faces intense competition way they shaped the country, transforming the early on, showing that captains of industry will always be chal- U.S. into a global superpower in just 50 years. lenged by new innovators and mavericks. Tracing their roles in the oil, steel, railroad, auto and financial Key TERMS to DEFINE industries, this series uses stunning CGI and little-known stories to ARCHETYPE, ENTREPRENEUR, INFRASTRUCTURE, INGENUITY, examine the lives of these iconic tycoons. How did these leaders INNOVATION advance progress, and what were the costs and consequences of American industrial growth? What role did everyday Americans Discussion Questions play in this growth, and how were their voices heard? This series is an excellent companion for course units on business, American 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vanderbilts and the Story of Their Fortune
    Ml' P WHi|i^\v^\\ k Jll^^K., VI p MsW-'^ K__, J*-::T-'7^ j LIBRARY )rigliam i oiMig U mversat FROM. Call Ace. 2764 No &2i?.-^ No ill -^aa^ceee*- Britfham Voung il/ Academy, i "^ Acc. No. ^7^V ' Section -^^ i^y I '^ ^f/ Shelf . j> \J>\ No. ^^>^ Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive in 2010 witii funding from Brigiiam Young University littp://www.arcliive.org/details/vanderbiltsstoryOOcrof -^^ V !<%> COMMODORE VANDERBILT. ? hr^ t-^ ^- -v^' f ^N\ ^ 9^S, 3 '^'^'JhE VANDERBILTS THE STORY OF THEIR FORTUNE BT W. A. CKOFFUT A0THOR OF "a helping HAND," "A MIDSUMMER LARK," "THE BOUKBON BALLADS," " HISTOBr OF CONNECTICUT," ETC. CHICAGO AND NEW YORK BELFOBD, CLARKE & COMPANY Publishers 1/ COPYKIGHT, 1886, BY BELFORD, CLAEKE & COMPANY. TROWS PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY, NEW YORK. PREFACE This is a history of the Yanderbilt family, with a record of their vicissitudes, and a chronicle of the method by which their wealth has been acquired. It is confidently put forth as a work which should fall into the hands of boys and young men—of all who aspire to become Cap- tains of Industry or leaders of their fellows in the sharp and wholesome competitions of life. In preparing these pages, the author has had an am- bition, not merely to give a biographical picture of sire, son, and grandsons and descendants, but to consider their relation to society, to measure the significance and the influence of their fortune, to ascertain where their money came from, to inquire whether others are poorer because they are rich, whether they are hindering or promoting civilization, whether they and such as they are impediments to the welfare of the human i-ace.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 a DIRTY YEAR Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York By
    A DIRTY YEAR Sex, Suffrage, and Scandal in Gilded Age New York by Bill Greer EXTENDED ENDNOTES The endnotes in the published version of A Dirty Year are limited to quotations. For readers interested in detailed sourcing for facts, descriptions, and so forth, I have prepared this extended set of endnotes by chapter and page. These endnotes include the references for quotations found in the book, as well. For ease of reference, the Bibliography follows these endnotes. I have added a handful of entries. ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE ENDNOTES CA—Commercial Advertiser NYEP—New York Evening Post NYH—New York Herald NYT—New York Times NYTrib—New York Tribune WCW—Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly NYS—New York Sun 1 Chapter 1 3 love triangle . Herald . Day’s Doings: NYT, Jan. 7, 1872; Aug. 31, 1872; July 3, 1872; July 12, 1872. 3 Fisk had spent: Fisk’s life is well chronicled in newspapers from 1867 to 1872 and in several contemporary books: R. W. McAlpine, The Life and Times of Col. James Fisk, Jr. (New York: New York Book Company, 1872); Willoughby Jones, The Life of James Fisk, Jr. (Philadelphia: Union, 1872); Marshall Stafford, The Life of James Fisk, Jr. (Philadelphia: National Publishing, 1874). A modern biography is W. A. Swanberg, Jim Fisk: The Career of an Improbable Rascal (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1959). 3 Josie Mansfield . brownstone: McAlpine, 502–505; Jones, 335–339. 3 Grand Opera House . staged theatricals: NYT, Nov. 3, 1870. 4 Fisk invited . worked on Mansfield: Jones, 342. McAlpine, 501–502. 4 “the grand entrée” and “the Woodhull and Claflin Wing”: NYT, Jan.
    [Show full text]
  • Verley Archer Papers
    Verley Archer Collection 1960’s - 1980’s Collection Number: MSS 254 Size: 8.76 linear feet Special Collections and University Archives Jean and Alexander Heard Library Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee © Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives Verley Archer Collection Scope and Content Note The Verley Archer Collection consists of materials relating to the Vanderbilt Family Reunion held in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of Vanderbilt University, March 16-17, 1973. Ms. Archer conducted extensive research into the genealogy of the Vanderbilt family and located descendants of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt living in 1973. Included in the Verley Archer Collection are research notes and materials, completed questionnaires from family members, correspondence, publicity materials, and published books, all relating to the Family Reunion and Centennial Celebration. The 21 boxes in this collection cover approximately 8.76 linear feet. The collection is arranged in 3 series: Subject Files (Series 1); Vanderbilt Centennial (series 2); and Verley Archer’s Research Materials (Series 3). The Subject Files, Series 1, are the most extensive part of this collection. They consist of letters, completed questionnaires, and biographical information on most of the over 500 members of the Vanderbilt family living in 1973, as well as some earlier family members. These are arranged alphabetically by last name. Married women descendants are cross-referenced by their maiden names. Series 2 consists of the form letter mailings sent to his Vanderbilt relatives by William H. Vanderbilt, III and their responses. Also included are publicity articles about the Vanderbilt Family Reunion and Vanderbilt University Centennial. There are lists of descendants attending the Reunion and of gifts to Vanderbilt University from the descendants.
    [Show full text]
  • VANDERBILT MAUSOLEUM, Staten Island
    Landmarks Preservation Commission April 12, 2016, Designation List 487 LP-1208 VANDERBILT MAUSOLEUM, Staten Island Built: c. 1884-87; Richard Morris Hunt, architect; F. L. & J. C. Olmsted, landscape architects; John J. R. Croes, landscape engineer Landmark Site: Borough of Staten Island, Tax Map Block 934, Lot 250 in part, consisting of the entire mausoleum, its steps, and retaining walls; the hillock enclosing the mausoleum; the terrace in front of the mausoleum’s main facade and the base and walls of the terrace; the pathway leading from the terrace northeasterly, southeasterly, southwesterly, and southeasterly, beneath the arch near the southernmost entrance to the lot, to the lot boundary; the entrance arch and gates, and the adjoining stone retaining walls extending from the south face and sides of the arch northeasterly and southwesterly to the north and south lot lines; the stone retaining walls extending from the north face of the arch along both sides of a portion of the pathway; the land beneath the opening in the entrance arch; and the land upon which these improvements are sited. On September 9, 1980, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the Vanderbilt Mausoleum and Cemetery and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No. 5). The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. A representative of the trustees overseeing the property testified in opposition to the proposed designation. A representative of New Dorp Moravian Church also testified in opposition to the proposed designation. Two people spoke in favor of the proposed designation, including a representative of the Preservation League of Staten Island.
    [Show full text]
  • Riding the Rails Quiz
    Riding the Rails The advanced industrial development of the United States and much of the white settlement of the Western portion of the country coincided with, and was spurred by, the invention and spread of the railroad in the 19th century. How much do you know about this history? 1. Pick the year when the most miles of railroad tracks were in service in the United States: 1896 1916 1946 1996 2. The immediate trigger of the Financial Panic of 1873 occurred when: The Northern Pacific Railroad, spurred by the grant of millions of acres of federal land, built financially unsustainable lines into these nearly uninhabited territories, finally causing its stock to fall and the finance house that was its agent to go bankrupt. The thousands of immigrant workers who had been employed by the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads to lay the first transcontinental line finished the job in 1869 and were laid off and suddenly entered the labor pool, driving down wages in many industries. A long strike by railroad workers on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad spread nationwide and paralyzed the movement of freight, causing business activity around the country to stall. Financiers Jay Gould, James Fisk, and Daniel Drew manipulated the stock price of the Erie Railroad in order to gain complete control over the company from Cornelius Vanderbilt. 3. If you boarded a passenger train in 1870, with which of the following items of safety equipment was it likely equipped? Automatic air brakes Automatic coupling mechanisms to join and separate the car Steam heating in the passenger cars None of the above 4.
    [Show full text]