The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy. Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants went on to build grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York City; luxurious "summer cottages" in Newport, Rhode Island; the palatial Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina; and various other opulent homes. The family also built Berkshire cottages in the western region of Massachusetts; examples include Elm Court (Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts).
The Vanderbilts were once the wealthiest family in the United States. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American until his death in 1877. After that, his son William Henry Vanderbilt acquired his father's fortune, and was the richest American until his death in 1885. The Vanderbilts' prominence lasted until the mid-20th century. Thereafter, the family's 10 great Fifth Avenue mansions were torn down, and most other Vanderbilt houses were sold or turned into museums in what has been referred to as the "Fall of the House of Vanderbilt".
Branches of the family are found on the United States East Coast. Contemporary descendants include American art historian John Wilmerding, journalist Anderson Cooper (son of Gloria Vanderbilt), actor Timothy Olyphant, musician John P. Hammond, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and the Duke of Marlborough James Spencer-Churchill.
History
The progenitor of the Vanderbilt family was Jan Aertszoon or Aertson (1620–1705), a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland as an indentured servant to the Van Kouwenhoven family in 1650.Dorothy Kelly MacDowell. Commodore Vanderbilt and his family: a biographical account of the Descendants of Cornelius and Sophia Johnson Vanderbilt. 1989. University of Wisconsin The name of Jan's village, in the dative case, was added to the Dutch "van" ("from") to create "Van der Bilt", which evolved into "Vanderbilt" when the English took control of New Amsterdam (now Manhattan). The family is associated with the Dutch patrician Van der Bilt. His great-great-great-grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, began the rise of the Vanderbilt dynasty. He was the fourth of nine children born into a Staten Island family of modest means. Through his paternal great-great grandmother, Abigail Southard, he descended from Republic of Salé President Jan Janszoon and his son Anthony Janszoon van Salee. They were among the earliest arrivals to 17th-century New Amsterdam. In a number of documents dating back to that period, Anthony is described as tawny, as his mother was of Berber origin from Cartagena in the Kingdom of Murcia."Jan Jansen van Haarlem and Anthony Jansen van Salee", Brian A. Smith. Washington D.C. 2013 Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at age 11 and went on to build a shipping and railroad empire that, during the 19th century, would make him one of the wealthiest men in the world.
Starting with a single commercial boat for crossing from Staten Island to Manhattan, he grew his fleet until he was competing with Robert Fulton for dominance of the New York waterways, his energy and eagerness earning him the nickname "Commodore", a United States Navy title for a captain of a small task force. Fulton's company had established a monopoly on trade in and out of New York Harbor. Vanderbilt, based in New Jersey at the time, flouted the law, steaming in and out of the harbor under a flag that read, "New Jersey Must Be Free!" He also hired the attorney Daniel Webster to argue his case before the United States Supreme Court; Vanderbilt won, thereby establishing an early precedent for the United States' first laws of interstate commerce.
While many Vanderbilt family members had joined the Episcopal Church, Cornelius Vanderbilt remained a member of the Moravian Church to his death. The Vanderbilt family lived on Staten Island until the mid-1800s, when the Commodore built a house on Washington Place (in what is now Greenwich Village). Although he always occupied a relatively modest home, members of his family would use their wealth to build magnificent mansions. Shortly before his death in 1877, Vanderbilt donated US$1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) for the establishment of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
The Commodore left the majority of his enormous fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt. William Henry, who outlived his father by just eight years, increased the profitability of his father's holdings, increased the reach of the New York Central Railroad, and doubled the Vanderbilt wealth. He was the only heir to increase the Vanderbilt fortune. He built the first of what would become many grand Vanderbilt mansions on Fifth Avenue, at 640 Fifth Avenue. William Henry appointed his first son, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, as the next "Head of House".
Cornelius II built the largest private home in New York, at 1 West 57th Street, containing approximately 154 rooms, designed by George B. Post. He also built The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.
Cornelius II's brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt, also featured prominently in the family's affairs. He also built a home on Fifth Avenue and would become one of the great architectural patrons of the Gilded Age, hiring the architects for (the third, and surviving) Grand Central Terminal. He also built Marble House at 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.
George Washington Vanderbilt II, the 4th and youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and youngest brother of Cornelius II, hired architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to construct Biltmore Estate on near Asheville, North Carolina. The 250 room mansion, with of floor space, is the largest house in the United States.
While some of Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants gained fame in business, others achieved prominence in other ways: Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915), was a passenger on the RMS Lusitania and died when it sank. Alfred's eldest son, from his first marriage, William Henry Vanderbilt III was Governor of Rhode Island. Alfred's second son Alfred Jr. became a noted horse breeder and racing elder. William Kissam Vanderbilt's son Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970) gained fame as a sportsman. He invented the contract form of bridge and won the most coveted prize in yacht racing, the America's Cup, on three occasions. Harold's brother William Kissam "Willie K" Vanderbilt II launched the Vanderbilt Cup for auto racing. Cornelius Vanderbilt II's granddaughter Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–2019) was a noted artist, designer, actress, author, and business woman. Gloria's son, Anderson Cooper, is a Peabody Award and Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and television producer and personality. Cornelius Vanderbilt II's daughter Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was a sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
In 1855, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt donated of property to the Moravian Church and Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. Later, his son William Henry Vanderbilt donated a further . The Vanderbilt Family Mausoleum was designed in 1885 by architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Vanderbilt family tree
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885) Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1899) Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt (1869–1874) William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892) Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942) Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974) Gertrude Vanderbilt (1875–1942) Flora Payne Whitney (1897–1986) Pamela Tower (1921–2013) John LeBoutillier (born 1953) Whitney Tower (1923–1999) Flora Miller Biddle (born 1928) Barbara Whitney (1903–1983) Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1899–1992) Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915) Governor William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981) Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (1912–1999) Heidi Vanderbilt (1948–2021) Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III (born 1949) James Platten Vanderbilt (born 1975) George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961) Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925) Cathleen Vanderbilt (1904–1944) Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (1924–2019) Leopold Stanislaus "Stan" Stokowski (born 1950) Christopher Stokowski (born 1952) Carter Vanderbilt Cooper (1965–1988) Anderson Hays Cooper (born 1967) Wyatt Morgan Maisani-Cooper (born 2020) Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper (born 2022) Gladys Moore Vanderbilt (1886–1965) Countess Cornelia "Gilia" Széchényi (1908–1958) Countess Alice "Ai" Széchényi (1911–1974) Countess Gladys Széchényi (1913–1978) Christopher Denys Stormont Finch-Hatton, 16th Earl of Winchilsea (1936–1999) Daniel Finch-Hatton, 17th Earl of Winchilsea (born 1967) Tobias Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone (born 1998) Countess Sylvia Anita Gabriel Denise Irene Marie "Sylvie" Széchényi (1918–1998) Countess Ferdinandine "Bubby" Széchényi (1923–2016) Count Peter von und zu Eltz (born 1948) Countess Alexandra von und zu Eltz (born 1986) Count Albrecht von und zu Eltz (born 1988) Countess Marie von und zu Eltz (born 1991) Count Nicholas von und zu Eltz (1950–2012) Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt (1845–1924) Florence Shepard (1869–1869) Maria Louise Shepard (1870–1948) Edith Shepard (1872–1954) Margaret Shepard (1873–1895) Alice Louise Vanderbilt Shepard (1874–1950) Dave Hennen Morris Jr. (1900–1975) Louise Morris (1901–1976) Lawrence Morris (1903–1967) Noel Morris (1904–1928) Emily Hammond Morris (1907–1995) Alice Vanderbilt Morris (1911–1986) Elliott Fitch Shepard Jr. (1876–1927) William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920) Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964) John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897–1972) John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough (1926–2014) Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 1955) George John Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (born 1992) Lady Henrietta Mary Spencer-Churchill (born 1958) Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill (born 1929) Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956) William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878–1944) Muriel Vanderbilt (1900–1972) Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970) Emily Thorn Vanderbilt (1850–1946) Florence Adele Sloane (1873–1960) James A. Burden III (1897–1979) William Douglas Burden (1898–1978) Katharine Sage Burden (born 1927) Katharine Sage Sohier (born 1954) Andrew White Burden (born 1935) William Douglas Burden III (born 1965) Emily Vanderbilt Sloane (1874–1970) Adele Sloane Hammond (1902–1998) John Vernon Bevan Olyphant (born 1941) Timothy David Olyphant (born 1968) John Henry Hammond Jr. (1910–1987) John Paul Hammond (1942-2026) Lila Vanderbilt Sloane (1878–1934) Frederick Vanderbilt Field (1905–2000) Florence Adele Vanderbilt (1854–1952) Alice Twombly (1879–1896) Florence Vanderbilt Twombly (1881–1969) Alice Twombly Burden (1905–1905) William Armistead Moale Burden (1906–1984) Shirley Carter Burden (1908–1989) Shirley Carter Burden Jr. (1941–1996) Ruth Twombly (1884–1954) Hamilton McKown Twombly Jr. (1887–1906) Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938) Eliza "Lila" Osgood Vanderbilt (1860–1936) James Watson Webb II (1884–1960) Lila Vanderbilt Webb (1913–1961) John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (1938-2024) James Watson Webb III (1916–2000) William Seward Webb Jr. (1887–1956) Vanderbilt Seward Webb (1891–1956) George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914) Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (1900–1976) George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (1925–2020) William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928–2017) William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil Jr. (b. 1958) Aubrey Vanderbilt Cecil (b. 1990) Emily Almira Vanderbilt (1823–1896) William Knapp Thorn (1851–1911) Caroline Roberts Thorn (1858–1949) Jeannette Thorn Kissel (1889–1957) Aline Thorn Pease (1919-2010)