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Cornelius Vanderbilt was a 19th Century American shipping and railroad tycoon. He was best known as the patriarch of the socially prominent Vanderbilt family of New York, and as the founder of the New York Central Railroad. [1][2]
Cornelius was born and grew up in Staten Island, New York. He was the child of Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand van Derbilt, and had nine brothers and sisters.
His name translated from Dutch, literally means "From De Bilt" which is where his great-great-great grandfather, Jan Aertzoon, came from.
He quit school at age 11 to work on his father's ferry in New York Harbor; when he was age 16 he operated his own boat and transporting goods and passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan.[3]
Cornelius worked as a Ship Transport entrepreneur, later after building his wealth he paid the expenses for the building of new rail lines and was considered a Rail Transport Magnate.
During the 1830s, textile mills were built in large numbers in New England as the United States developed its manufacturing base. Some of the first railroads in the United States were built from Boston to Long Island Sound, to connect with steamboats that ran to New York. By the end of the decade, Vanderbilt dominated the steamboat business on the Sound, and began to take over management of the connecting railroads. In the 1840s, he launched a campaign to take over the most attractive of these lines, the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, popularly known as the Stonington. By cutting fares on competing lines, Vanderbilt drove down the Stonington stock price, and took over the presidency of the company in 1847. It was the first of the many railroads he would head.[1]
In 1873, he made the $1 million dollars gift that founded Vanderbilt University. [2][3]. He also founded the Provident Loan Society[2] and the New York Central Railroad[2][3]. He served on the Board of Directors of the Erie Railway, Central Railroad of New Jersey, Hartford and New Haven Railroad, and the New York and Harlem Railroad.[1]
The one thing that people in modern day know most about him is his incredible wealth, which, he acquired with hard work throughout his life. Upon his death in 1877, his wealth was estimated to be worth $215 billion in 2016 United States dollars.
It was January 4, 1877 when Cornelius passed away from typhoid fever. He was buried in the family vault in the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island.[1]
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He made a very successful ferry service that carted people and produce from Staten Island to New York. In 1812 he earned the name Commodore and a heavy profit by building forts around New York. Soon after in 1817 he got a job working on a steamboat with a man named Thomas Gibbons, Cornelius was the captain. He continued Ferrying people only he sold his schooners and sloops for the job and the route now moved from New York City and New Brunswick. He flattened his competitors with a lower price for fares, only charging $1 for a ride. Fulton and Livingston had issues with him charging such low wages, their rides were around $4. They took them to court where Gibbons and Cornelius won. Cornelius left Gibbons in 1829 and set up his own ferry service where he proved to be very successful. In 1863 after selling his boats in 1857 he became the president of the New York and Harlem railways. He sold his boats because he thought of railroads to be the way of the future. Later on he also acquired the Hudson River, New York Central, Lake shore and Michigan, and the Canada southern railways. He improved the quality of all the railways and combined a few of them together before dying. His strong ambition to be rich which drove his competitors out of business and made him the richest man in America. The other companies always saw him as a threat because his low prices sent them hurtling out of business some even paid him to stop using the same routes that they used. He always did what was necessary to put him on top. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a significant person because he made transportation available, more comfortable, and affordable. He was not known as the nicest man but he built a strong railway and enough money to support his family many times over.
This week's featured connections are American Founders: Cornelius is 11 degrees from John Hancock, 8 degrees from Francis Dana, 17 degrees from Bernardo de Gálvez, 10 degrees from William Foushee, 10 degrees from Alexander Hamilton, 16 degrees from John Francis Hamtramck, 11 degrees from John Marshall, 12 degrees from George Mason, 15 degrees from Gershom Mendes Seixas, 12 degrees from Robert Morris, 12 degrees from Sybil Ogden and 11 degrees from George Washington on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
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"Cornelius Vanderbilt." All Biographies. 2005. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. <http://all-biographies.com/business/cornelius_vanderbilt.htm>.
"Cornelius Vanderbilt biography - Transportation tycoon." Financial Inspiration Cafe - Your companion on your journey to financial freedom. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.financial-inspiration.com/Cornelius-Vanderbilt-biography.html>.
"Cornelius Vanderbilt." NNDB. 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. <http://www.nndb.com/people/365/000022299/>.
Crandall, John. "Cornelius Vanderbilt:Commodor Vanderbilt." Suit101.com. 20 July 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://transportationhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/cornelius_vanderbilt>.
Davidson, James West, and Micheal B. Stoff. The American Nation: Civil War to the Present. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. Print.