William Henry Vanderbilt

"Billy" Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on May 8, 1821, to Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and Sophia Johnson.

His father Cornelius frequently berated and criticized him, calling his eldest son a "blockhead" and a "blatherskite". Billy longed to show his father that he was not, in fact, a blatherskite, but never dared stand up to the Commodore. A major turning point in their relationship occurred on the family trip to Europe on the steamship Vanderbilt in 1860, after which the two became very close and Billy was given a greater role in business matters.Stiles, T.J. (2010). "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. New York: Vintage Books. {{ISBN|9781400031740}}.

He matriculated at Columbia College with the class of 1841 but did not graduate, according to official records.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8BBAAAAYAAJ|title=Catalogue of Matriculants who Have Not Graduated, 1758-1897|publisher=Columbia University|year=1897|location=New York City|pages=16|language=en}}

File:Fifth Avenue at Fifty-First Street, New York City, 1900.jpg on Fifth Avenue]]

His father carefully oversaw his business training, starting him out at age 19 as a clerk in a New York banking house. After joining as an executive of the Staten Island Railway, he was made its president in 1862 and three years later was appointed vice-president of the Hudson River railway.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

In 1869, he was made vice-president of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, becoming its president in 1877. He took over for his father as president of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Canada Southern Railway, and the Michigan Central Railroad at the time of the Commodore's death.

Vanderbilt's railroad holdings included Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway, the Detroit and Bay City Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, the Hudson River Bridge, the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad, the Michigan Midland and Canada Railroad, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, the New York Central Sleeping Car Company, the New York and Harlem Rail Road, the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad, and the Staten Island Rail-Road.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

File:Modern Colossus of Rail Roads - Keppler 1879.jpg

File:New York and Harlem Rail Road 1873.jpg

In 1883, reporter John Dickinson Sherman questioned him about why he ran the limited express train: "Do your limited express trains pay or do you run them for the accommodation of the public?" Vanderbilt responded with: "Accommodation of the public? The public be damned! We run them because we have to. They do not pay. We have tried again and again to get the different roads to give them up; but they will run them and, of course, as long as they run them we must do the same." The interview was then published in the Chicago Daily News, but Vanderbilt's words were modified. Several accounts of the incident were then disseminated; the accounts vary in terms of who conducted the interview, under what circumstance and what was actually said. Vanderbilt received bad publicity and clarified his response with a subsequent interview by the Chicago Times. In that interview he was quoted saying: "Railroads are not run for the public benefit, but to pay. Incidentally, we may benefit humanity, but the aim is to earn a dividend."{{cite news|last1=Watson|first1=Elmo Scott|title=The Truth About that "Public Be Damned" Interview|volume=LVII|page=7|work=Lake Benton News|publisher=A. E. Tasker|agency=Western Newspaper Union|issue=3|publication-place=Lake Benton, Minnesota|publication-date=November 6, 1936|type=Newspaper print|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1018&dat=19361106&id=DbckAAAAIBAJ&pg=1501,734632|access-date=5 September 2018|via=Google News}}

In 1884, the firm Grant & Ward went bankrupt and ruined the investments of both Ulysses S. Grant and Vanderbilt, whom Grant had convinced to invest $150,000. Ferdinand Ward, known as the Napoleon of Wall Street, had, unknowingly to both Grant and Vanderbilt, operated the company as a Ponzi scheme that resulted in financial ruin for many. The other associate, Grant's son Buck Grant, apparently was unaware of Ward's Ponzi scheme swindle. Ward was later prosecuted. To pay Vanderbilt back, Grant mortgaged his Civil War memorabilia, including his sword. Although this did not fully cover the $150,000 debt, Vanderbilt accepted the memorabilia as payment and wiped out the $150,000 debt owed by Grant. Vanderbilt later recouped Grant's other mortgaged war memorabilia, including the memorabilia given by Grant, and returned them to Ulysses S. Grant's wife, Julia Grant, after Grant's death in 1885.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

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File:John Singer Sargent - Mrs. William Henry Vanderbilt (Maria Louisa Kissam).jpg, 1888]]

In 1841, Billy married Maria Louisa Kissam (1821–1896), daughter of the Reverend Samuel Kissam and Margaret Hamilton Adams. Together, they had nine children:

1. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899) who married Alice Claypoole Gwynne;{{cite news |title=Mrs. Vanderbilt Sr. Dies In Home At 89. Widow Of Financier, Long Ill. Was A Leader In Brilliant Era Of New York Society |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/04/23/archives/mrs-vanderbilt-sr-dies-in-home-at-89-widow-of-financier-long-iii.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 23, 1934 }} they were the parents of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt as well as Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and paternal grandparents of Gloria Laura Vanderbilt.{{cite news|title=MR. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT DEAD; Succumbed Suddenly Yesterday to Cerebral Hemorrhage. DUE TO STROKE OF PARALYSIS Wife and Daughter Gladys Only Members of His Family With Him. He Had Come to This City on Monday from Newport to Attend a Railroad Meeting -- Funeral Services to be Held on Friday.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1899/09/13/archives/mr-cornelius-vanderbilt-dead-succumbed-suddenly-yesterday-to.html|access-date=15 April 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 September 1899}}
2. Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924) who married Elliott Fitch Shepard in 1868;{{cite news|title=Elliott F. Shepard Dead; He Expires at His Home After Taking Ether. Had Given No Indication of Serious Illness -- but Evidently Had the Possibility of Death in Mind -- His Family at His Bedside -- a Peculiarly Eccentric Character -- Politician, Editor, and Relig- Ious Enthusiast -- Often Amusing, but Always in Earnest.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/03/25/archives/elliott-f-shepard-dead-he-expires-at-his-home-after-taking-ether.html|access-date=18 January 2018|work=The New York Times|date=25 March 1893}} they were the parents of Alice Vanderbilt Shepard and Elliott Fitch Shepard Jr.{{cite news|title=MRS. SHEPARD OF A HEART ATTACK; Daughter of the Late William Vanderbilt Succumbs Suddenly in Fifth Avenue Apartment, WAS IN HER 79TH YEAR Had Attended the Wedding of Her Granddaughter, Louise Schleffelin, on Saturday.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/04/archives/mltb-sttep-dibb-of-a-itt-jtac-daughter-of-tho-late-william.html|access-date=18 January 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 March 1924}}
3. Allen William Vanderbilt (1846–1847) who died at age 11 months.{{cite web |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1208.pdf#page=24 |title=Vanderbilt Mausoleum, Staten Island |page=24 |first=Michael |last=Caratzas |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |date=April 12, 2016 |access-date=October 1, 2022}}
4. William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920) who married (1) Alva Erskine Smith{{cite news|title=W.K. VANDERBILT'S GIFTS.; House to Grandson, Marquis of Blandford.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/01/29/archives/wk-vanderbilts-gifts-house-to-grandson-marquis-of-blandford.html|access-date=18 July 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 January 1920}} and (2) Anne Harriman Sands Rutherfurd.{{cite news|title=W.K. VANDERBILT DIES IN FRANCE IN HIS 71ST YEAR; Was Eldest Male Survivor of Family That Built Fortune in New York Central. CHILDREN AT HIS BEDSIDE Duchess of Marlborough and Her Brothers Present with Financier's Widow. ESTATE NEAR $100,000,000 $300,000,000 Left by His Father in Eight Shares Believed to be Over Billion Total Now.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/07/23/archives/wk-vanderbilt-dies-in-france-in-his-71st-year-was-eldest-male.html|access-date=18 July 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 July 1920}}
5. Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1852–1946) who married William Douglas Sloane (1844–1915) and later Ambassador Henry White.{{cite news|title=MRS. HENRY WHITE DIES IN LENOX AT 94; Daughter of W.H. Vanderbilt, Widow of Envoy to Paris, Gave Sloane Hospital|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/07/29/archives/mrs-henry-white-dies-in-lenox-at-94-daughter-of-wh-vanderbilt-widow.html|access-date=21 July 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 July 1946}}
6. Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952){{cite news |title=Ms. Twombly Dies In Home Here at 9:41. Daughter of W. H. Vanderbilt Was Last Surviving Grandchild of Commodore Vanderbilt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/04/13/archives/is-tombly-dies1-in-home-here-at-941-daughter-of-w-h-vanderbilt-was.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=September 13, 2015}} who married Hamilton McKown Twombly.{{cite news|title=H. M'K. TWOMBLY, CAPITALIST, DEAD; Brother-in-Law of W. K. Vanderbilt Never Recovered from Shock of His Son's Death. DIRECTOR OF MANY ROADS His Death Occurred at Florham Park, His Beautiful Estate and Model Farm, Near Morristown, N. J.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/01/12/104916765.html?pageNumber=9|access-date=24 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 12, 1910|language=en}}
7. Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938){{cite news|title=F. W. Vanderbilt Dies in Hyde Park – Grandson of Founder of the Family Fortune – 61 Years on New York Central Board – Owner of Famous Yachts – Gifts to Hospitals, Colleges and Other Institutions Totaled Millions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/30/archives/f-w-vanderbilt-dies-in-hyde-park-grandson-of-founder-of-the-family.html|access-date=18 September 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 June 1938}} who married Louise Anthony Torrance.
8. Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936) who married William Seward Webb.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/05/01/vanderbilt-rehab-a-study-in-family-memories/ Vanderbilt rehab a study in family memories], Chicago Tribune, May 01, 2005{{cite news|title=DR. W. SEWARD WEBB DEAD IN VERMONT; Retired New York Capitalist Succumbs at Shelburne in His 76th Year. ONCE A RAILROAD BUILDER Husband of Former Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Early Forsook Medicine for Finance.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/10/30/archives/dr-w-seward-webb-dead-in-vermont-retired-new-york-capitalist.html|access-date=19 May 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 October 1926}}
9. George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914){{cite news |title=G. W. Vanderbilt Dies Suddenly. Seemed to be Recovering from Operation for Appendicitis When Heart Failed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/03/07/archives/gw-vanderbilt-dies-suddenly-seemed-to-be-recovering-from-operation.html |quote=George Washington Vanderbilt of New York died suddenly this afternoon at his Washington residence, 1,612 K Street. With him at the time were Mrs. Vanderbilt and their thirteen-year-old daughter, Miss Cornelia S. Vanderbilt. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 7, 1914 |access-date=April 21, 2011}} who married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Peter G. Gerry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/12/22/archives/mrs-peter-g-gerry.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 22, 1958 }}

File:Vanderbilt mausoleum.jpg on Staten Island, where William Henry is buried.]]

In 1883, he resigned all his company presidencies and had his sons appointed as important chairmen but left the day-to-day running of the businesses to experienced men appointed president.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

Vanderbilt died on December 8, 1885, in Manhattan, New York City, suffering a stroke during an appointment with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad president Robert Garrett.{{cite news |title=Wm. H. Vanderbilt Dead. He is Prostrated by Paralysis While Talking to Robert Jarrett, President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Dies Without Speaking. His Vast Wealth Estimated at Two Hundred Millions. |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/277689512.html?dids=277689512:277689512&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=DEC+09%2C+1885&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=WM.+H.+VANDERBILT+DEAD&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604050222/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/277689512.html?dids=277689512:277689512&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=DEC+09,+1885&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=WM.+H.+VANDERBILT+DEAD&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |quote=William H. Vanderbilt died at his residence in this city, of paralysis, at half-past two o'clock this afternoon. He arose this morning at his usual hour, and at breakfast served to the members of the family, most of whom were present, he appeared to be in his usual health and in a more than usually happy frame of mind. |newspaper=Washington Post |date= December 9, 1885|access-date=2008-08-01 }} He was interred in the Vanderbilt Family Mausoleum that he had commissioned in New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. His estate was divided among his eight surviving children and his wife, the bulk of the estate going to his eldest two sons, Cornelius and William.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} His youngest son George inherited his Staten Island mansion and farm, which became Miller Field airbase and parkland.{{cite news |url=https://www.silive.com/homegarden/interiordesign/2010/06/from_farmland_to_air_field_to.html |title=From farmland to air field to parkland in New Dorp |first=James G. |last=Ferreri |newspaper=Staten Island Advance |date=June 24, 2010 |access-date=September 29, 2022}}

Image:Vanderbilt Y E47 jeh.JPG

Vanderbilt was an active philanthropist who gave extensively to a number of philanthropic causes including the YMCA; funding to help establish the Metropolitan Opera (which was not an entirely selfless act; his and other New York "new money" families had been socially excluded from the New York Academy of Music and set up the Metropolitan as competition); and an endowment for the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He donated a large amount to complete the McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia. In 1880, he provided the money for Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to construct the Wesley Hall building for use as the Biblical Department and library and included lecture halls and 160 dormitory rooms for students and professors, as well as a cafeteria. The building was destroyed by fire in 1932 and his son Frederick made another donation to help cover the insurance shortfall and allow a new building to be constructed.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

Vanderbilt was an avid art enthusiast; his collection included some of the most valuable works of the Old Masters, and over his lifetime Vanderbilt acquired more than 200 paintings, which he housed in his lavish and palatial Fifth Avenue mansion.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

• List of richest Americans in history

{{reflist}}

• Stiles, T.J. The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (2009), scholarly biography of his father with many details on William
• Vanderbilt II, Arthur T. (1991). Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. New York: William Morrow. {{ISBN|9780062224064}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622945/William-Henry-Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt] Encyclopædia Britannica 2008
• {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Vanderbilt, Cornelius|year=1889 |short=x |notaref=x}}
• [https://archive.org/stream/lastwilltestamen00vand#page/n9/mode/2up%20 The last will and testament of the late William H. Vanderbilt] Publisher: Taggart & Miller, New York 1886
• [http://vanderbiltfamily.wordpress.com/ Vanderbilt Family Genealogy and photos]

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William Henry

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Category:Burials at the Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum