In September 2021, Cooper released a book he co-authored with Katherine Howe titled "Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty," where he revealed intimate stories and his thoughts on his ancestors. He fought regulation of the railroads as he engaged in rate wars and gave special rates to favoured shippers. When he died in 1885, rather than entrusting the fortune to the most business-savvy descendant, he divided it between his two eldest sons so they could share the "heavy responsibility.". Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. He lived in 1930, at address, Rhode Island. George Washington Vanderbilt II, born in 1862, was the youngest of William Henry Vanderbilt's children. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. There is a problem with your email/password. Young Vanderbilt was the owner of the forty-six-foot sloop yacht Ilderim, one of Burgess's last boats, which he had intended to put in commission this Summer. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. There are several anecdotes that describe his reckless lifestyle. While cleaning his mother's apartment, he came across letters and other items that revealed stories about the Vanderbilts. The turn of the century, however, saw a push for more public services, as well as a global conflict that was cutting into trade tariffs, as described by Heritage and ThoughtCo. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. William Henry "Billy" Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 - December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. [citation needed], 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. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. William was a frail youth and did not appear to be the ambitious entrepreneur his father had been at the age of 19. [2], He was matriculated at Columbia College with the class of 1841 but did not graduate, according to official records. On his 21st birthday, the night he came into his $15.5 million inheritance, he lost $70,000 gambling. Born in 1878, William Kissam Vanderbilt II was the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the fabled Commodore, who had first built the family's staggering fortune through steamship and railroad lines. Drs. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). On his discharge, he returned to racing in a major way. William was eventually given a role in his father's railroad business, where he further boosted its success. Death came very peacefully. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. By the time poor health forced him to resign his railroad presidencies in 1883, William Henry had nearly doubled the Vanderbilt family fortune. More. In 1857 he convinced his father to make him receiver of the bankrupt Staten Island Railroad and a few years later startled his father by putting the line back on a sound financial footing. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? ONCE A RAILROAD BUILDER Husband of Former Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt Early Forsook Medicine for Finance", "G. W. Vanderbilt Dies Suddenly. William Henry Vanderbilt was the fourth child and first son of Cornelius Vanderbilt's 13 children. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. William Henry Vanderbilt, the Commodore's successor (who estimated he earned $19.73 a minute) left a fortune worth $200 million - around $50 billion in today's terms - when he died in 1885. Dies In Home At 89. GREAT NEWS! Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. ). Little by little, he purchased land until he had 125,000 acres. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. He dropped out of school at 11 years old to aid his father at work, and five years later, he decided to establish his own shipping business that provided transport services to and from Staten Island and Manhattan, as reported by the National Railroad Hall of Fame. This was when the mode of transportation was horse and carriage, and the . VANDERBILT DIES IN FRANCE IN HIS 71ST YEAR; Was Eldest Male Survivor of Family That Built Fortune in New York Central. The press dubbed it Vanderbilt Row. The vase was over 9 feet tall and was mounted in bronze. The Vanderbilts, owners of a railroad empire brought to the top by ruthless patriarch Cornelius "the Commodore" Vanderbilt, were once the richest family on the planet. Permission to reproduce images (if available) must be obtained from the portrait owner. He was interred in the Vanderbilt family mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. Image Courtesy of the Frick Art Reference Library Popular Houses William received bad publicity and clarified his response with a subsequent interview by the Chicago Times. The public be damned! To the surprise of many, including the father, William not only improved the farming operation but was able to make it profitable, and in profits Cornelius believed. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. A collector's 16th-, 17th- & 18th-century maps of northeast America. His eight married daughters were ignored since they no longer bore the family name, but, of course, that was just one factor that barred his daughters from taking over the business. He fought against railroad regulation and engaged in freight rate wars to expand his business. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Failed to report flower. So in 1840 Cornelius decided to send William to Staten Island to run one of the Vanderbilt family's farms. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. (1821-85). Billy longed to show his father that he was not, in fact, a blatherskite, but never dared stand up to the Commodore. His father and mother their five other children, and Dr. J. W. McLane were at the bedside when the young man breathed his last. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Broadcast journalist Anderson Cooper is the child of Gloria Laura Vanderbilt with her fourth husband, Wyatt Emory Cooper. History, Archaeology & Art illuminate a Life on the Hudson, Bert's Maps "It was really fascinating to start to think of them as human beings and not just historical characters or people I'd read about," he said (via Town & Country Magazine). Billy took the advice to heart and doubled the family fortune before his death in 1885, but his own descendants would dwindle it all away in just a few decades. 39 William Henry Vanderbilt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images EDITORIAL All Sports News Archival Browse 39 WILLIAM HENRY VANDERBILT stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The younger, Cornelius "Corneel" Vanderbilt II, was wildly irresponsible and had built up so much debt that the Commodore refused to see him even on his deathbed. Try again later. William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870-1892) died of typhoid fever while attending Yale University. We run them because we have to. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. The fortune had doubled when he died less than nine years later. He roomed in Durfee Hall, Moses Taylor being his roommate. He was the favorite grandson of William H. Vanderbilt, who left him a legacy of $1,000,000, the income to come to him as soon as he attained his majority, and the disposal of the principal to pass into his hands when he became thirty years old. ", "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", Vanderbilt rehab a study in family memories, "DR. W. SEWARD WEBB DEAD IN VERMONT; Retired New York Capitalist Succumbs at Shelburne in His 76th Year. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. The Vanderbilts, still newly rich and with a reputation for crassness from their patriarch Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, were not on that list. Father. Please reset your password. Thanks for your help! Over time, the Commodore moved on to invest in steamships and then railroads, and before he knew it, he had built up the shipping and railroad empire New York Central and become the richest American. The cost of the ball was estimated to be over $250,000 (more than $6 million today, per theOfficial Data Foundation). The Vanderbilt organization at that point essentially became a railroad operation. His surviving brothers and sisters are Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., Gertrude, Alfred, Reginald, and Gladys. William Henry Vanderbilt, (born May 8, 1821, New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.died Dec. 8, 1885, New York, N.Y.), American railroad magnate and philanthropist who nearly doubled the Vanderbilt family fortune established and in large part bequeathed to him by his father, Cornelius. It was after Reginald's death when the Vanderbilts accused Morgan of being an unfit mother. He roomed in Durfee Hall, Moses Taylor being his roommate. William greatly expanded the railroad operations including the New York Central System. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Please reset your password. Several other railroads were acquired, and in the mid sixties William became a vice president of both the New York and Harlem Railroad and the Hudson River Railroad. Wander a lost world stretching from Connecticut to Delaware, Peter Douglas's Totidem Verbis He built and owned Biltmore, the largest home in the United States. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. By 1879, he was ready to sell some of his shares so that he would no longer be considered the sole owner. Even Billy, who ended up being the primary inheritor of the Vanderbilt fortune, wasn't allowed to get experience within the railroad empire until he was in his forties. McLane and Draper were almost beginning to hope, but it was soon evident that it was only a flicker of the candle, and all hope died with the last hemorrhage. 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. Ward was later prosecuted. His father regarded him as incompetent, and changed his opinion only when William had turned around the Staten Island Railroad (1857-63), which had been bankrupt. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. A second generation arrived at Biltmore House a year later. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Vanderbilt, American Heritage - The Public Be Damned, William Henry Vanderbilt - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Instead of helping out with the family's shipping business, Cornelius sent William to manage a family farm in Staten Island in 1840. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. William Henry Vanderbilt(May 8, 1821 - December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. . Biography. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. His father and mother their five other children, and Dr. J. W. McLane were at the bedside when the young man breathed his last. For example, after Alva Vanderbilt had her "Petit Chateau" constructed, her sister-in-law, Alice Vanderbilt, set out to build an even larger mansion that ended up being the "largest single family house in New York City at the time." He was a member of the Psi Upsilon Fraternity and one of the most popular men in his class. Son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, II and Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91806842/william-henry-vanderbilt. He grew up exposed to his mother's lavish lifestyle but in an interview with CBS News, he said that he didn't want to be associated with the Vanderbilt wealth. Seemed to be Recovering from Operation for Appendicitis When Heart Failed", "From farmland to air field to parkland in New Dorp", Appletons' Cyclopdia of American Biography, The last will and testament of the late William H. Vanderbilt, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Henry_Vanderbilt&oldid=1124276264. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 4 daughters. Rather than teaching his children his business skills, the Commodore often left them on their own until they could prove themselves to him. William H. Vanderbilt, eldest son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, died at 10:15 o'clock last night at the home of his father, Fifty seventh Street and Fifth Avenue. The other associate, Buck Grant, apparently was unaware of Ward's Ponzi scheme swindle. He has a unique ability to incorporate historical, religious, spiritual, scientific, archaeological and other forms . Vanderbilt II, Arthur T: Fortune's Children. The Vanderbilt organization bought the then bankrupt Long Island Railroad and William was put in charge to reorganize it. He was born in 1821 and as a young man, his father didn't believe that he was ambitious. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. According to NYC experts at 6sqft, the Vanderbilt family owned multiple GildedAgemansions on Fifth Avenue's millionaire row, including the massive three townhouses called the "Triple Palaces."