What was cornelius vanderbilt

Upon his death in , at age 82, Cornelius Vanderbilt, also known as Commodore Vanderbilt, was the wealthiest man in the United States and probably the greatest of the nineteenth century railroad barons. Earlier in his business career he probably was the greatest shipping tycoon in the United States. His estate was worth million dollars, a sum unheard of in those days. He left the bulk of his estate to his son William Henry Vanderbilt, because he was the only child who had been actively involved in the business that produced the Vanderbilt fortune.

William Henry also had been instrumental in building and expanding the railroad business since he joined his father in the management of the organization upon becoming an adult. His parents were poor and his father earned his living by providing low level transportation services.

As was usual for the common people in those days, Cornelius went to work at age 11, and was employed by his father. We know little of his parents but his ancestors came from the town of De Bilt, in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

His great great great grandfather was Jan Aertsen who came to New Netherland as an indentured worker in , at the time of the early Dutch settlements including New Amsterdam.

Cornelius married his first cousin, Sophia Johnson [] on December 19, when he was only 19 and she was only 18 years old. They had their first child, Phebe Jane Vanderbilt [] the following year in Eleven more surviving children followed until the last one, George Washington Vanderbilt [], was born twenty five years later.

Between the years and Cornelius worked for his father and for the ferry services serving Staten Island. They provided him with the money but with the understanding that he would share the profits from the business with his parents.

There was a lot of competition in the ferry service business, but Vanderbilt competed on the basis of lower fares, asking as little as 18 cents per trip.

The war of provided new opportunities for growth. The forts around New York City expanded and Vanderbilt obtained a government contract to supply them. Between and he expanded with additional schooners for freight and passenger services in Long Island Sound and in the coastal trade from New England to Charleston, South Carolina. In he sold all his sailing vessels and became a steamboat captain and partner with Thomas Gibbons who operated a ferry service between New Brunswick, New Jersey and New York City.

The Vanderbilt-Gibbons partnership charged only a quarter of the competitive fares. It soon became the dominant ferry service on the busy Philadelphia-New York City route.

During the time period the partnership made a fortune. Again he competed on the basis of price and quickly eliminated the competition. He then expanded his service to Albany, New York. He also opened passenger and freight service to the Long Island Sound, Providence and Connecticut areas. By the s Vanderbilt had a fleet of steamships and he had become the biggest employer in the United States. Their second child, a son was born in but died from typhoid fever while attending Yale University in , at age You would expect that after such setbacks in your personal life you would be easier on your third child, a son named Cornelius Vanderbilt III, born in But Cornelius Vanderbilt II was a hard-nosed man.

When his son announced, in , that he wanted to marry Grace Graham Wilson, the daughter of a New York banker, his father refused to give his permission, reason unknown. Three years later when his father died, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, the disinherited son got half a million dollars and his younger brother Alfred Vanderbilt, received the other 70 million.

As an aside Alfred did not have a long life to enjoy his riches. As the figures show he also did not have a long life. He undertook the same course of action for Sophia at one point as well, after Vanderbilt showed amorous interest in the family's young governess.

In , seeing the potential in a new technology, Vanderbilt partnered with Thomas Gibbons in a steamship business, the Union Line. During his tenure with Gibbons, Vanderbilt learned how to manage a large commercial operation and became a quick study in legal matters. Gibbons was ferrying customers between New York and New Jersey, a clear violation of an state-sanctioned monopoly given to Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston. Vanderbilt and Gibbons hired Daniel Webster to defend their position.

In Gibbons v. Ogden , the U. Thus, it was unconstitutional for the New York legislature to give Ogden exclusive shipping rights. Vanderbilt soon became known for his sharp business acumen.

Competitors struggled and finally paid him to take his business elsewhere. He then shifted his operations to the Hudson River, going head to head against the Hudson River Steamboat Association, another monopoly. Implementing this business model several times made Vanderbilt a millionaire. In the s, he constructed a large but modest family home at 10 Washington Place, in present-day Greenwich Village. His handwriting was nearly illegible, his grammar atrocious and laced with profanity.

He despised ostentation, living a relatively simple and disciplined life. Again, his timing was perfect. Though offering a treacherous ride for its users, the Transit Company was a success. Nearing 60 years old, Vanderbilt was ready for something else. The Erie Railroad War came to a bizarre close when Gould and Fisk gained ultimate control of the railroad, pushing Drew to retire while paying back Vanderbilt for his watered down stocks.

The station eventually was torn down and replaced by present-day Grand Central Terminal, which opened in Rockefeller , Vanderbilt did not own grand homes or give away much of his vast wealth to charitable causes. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist.

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